OUTWITTING
—»
A scout, sometimes colled n fighting
scout, has no bomb dropping or recon
nolterlng to do. 11is duty is just to
tight, or. as the order was given to me,
"You are expected to pick tights and
not wait until they come to you!"
When bomb droppers go out over
the lines In the daytime a scout squad
ron usually convoys them. The bomb
droppers tlv at about twelve thousand
feet, and scouts a thousand feet or so
above them.
If at any time they should be at
tacked, it Is the duty of the scouts to
dive down and carry on the tight, the
orders of the bomb droppers being to
go on dropping bombs and not to tight
unless they have to. There is seldom
a time that machines go out over the
lines on this work in the daytime that
they are not attacked at some time or
other, and so the scouts usually have '
plenty of work to do. In addition to
these attacks, however, the squadron !
is Invariably under constant bombard
ment from the ground, but that doesn’t
worry us very much, as we know pret
ty well how to avoid being hit from
that quarter.
On my first flight, after Joining the
squadron, I was taken out over the
lines to get a look at things, map out
my location In case I was ever lost,
locate the forests, lakes and other
landmarks and get the general lay of
the land.
One thing that was Impressed upon
mi- very emphatically was the locution
of the hospitals, so that in case I was
ever wounded and had the strength to
pick my landing I could land as near
as possible to a hospital. All these
things a new pilot goes through dur
ing thi‘ first two or three days after
Joining a squadron.
Our regular routine was two flights
a day, each of two hours’ duration.
After doing our regular patrol, It was l
our privilege to go off on our own hook
If we wished, before going back to
the squadron.
I soon found out that my squadron
was some hot squadron, our flyers be
ing almost always assigned to special
duty work, such as shooting up
trenches at a height of fifty feet from
the ground.
I received my baptism Into tills kind
of work the third time I went out over
the lines, and I would recommend It
to anyone who is hankering for excite
ment. You arc not only apt to be at
tucked by hostile aircraft from above,
but you are swept by machine-gun fire
from below. I have seen some of our
machines come back from this work
sometimes so riddled with bullets that
I wondered how they ever held to
gether. Before we started out on one
of these Jobs, we were mighty careful
to see that our motors were in perfect
condition, because they told us" the
“war bread was bud In Germany.”
One morning! shortly after I Joined
the squadron, three of us started over
the line of our own accord. We soon
sealers, coming toward us. This type
of machine Is used by the Huns for
artillery work and bomb dropping, and
we knew they were on mischief bent.
Each machine had a machine gun In
front, worked by the pilot, and the ob
server also hud a gun with which lie
could spray all around.
When we first noticed the Huns, our
machines were about six miles back
of the German lines and we were lying
high up In tlie sky, keeping the sun
behind us, so that the enemy could not
see us.
We picked out three of the machines
and dove down on them. I went right
by the man I picked for myself and
ills observer In the rear seat kept
pumping at me to heat the hand. Not
one of my shots took effect as I went
right down under him, hut 1 turned
and gave him another burst of bullets,
and down he went In a spinning nose
dive, one of his wings going one way
and one another. As I saw him crash
to the ground I knew that 1 had got my
first hostile aircraft. One of my com
rades was equally successful, hut the
other two German machines got away.
We chased them back until things got
too hot for us by reason of the appear
ance of other German machines, and
then we railed it a day.
This experience whetted my appetite ,
for more of tlie same kind, and I did
not have long to wait.
It may be well to explain here just
what a spinning nose bend is. A few
years ago tlie spinning nose dive was
considered one of the most dangerous
things u pilot could attempt, and
many men were killed getting Into tills
spin and not knowing how to come
out of it. In fact, lots of pilots
thought that when once you got Into
a spinning nose dive there was no
way of coming out of It. It is now
used, however, In actual flying.
The machines that ure used in
France are controlled in two ways,
both by hunds and feet, the feet
working the yoke or rudder bar
which controls the rudder; that steers
the machine. The lateral controls
fore und aft, which cause the ma
chine to rise or lower, are controlled
by a contrivance called a "joy stick."
if, when Hying in the air. a idiot
should release lits hold on tills stick, ,
It will gradually come toward tlie
pilot.
In that position tIn* machine will
begin to climb. So if a pilot Is shot
and loses control of tills “Joy stick,"
Ids machine begins to ascend, and
i-llmlis until tile angle formed he- i
mines too great for it to continue or
Hie motor to pull the plane; for u
fraction of a second it stops, and the
motor tlien being tile heaviest, it
causes the nose of the machine to fall
forward, pitching down at a terrific
rate of speed and spinning at the |
same time. If the motor is still run
ning. 'I naturally Increases the speed
mudi more than it would If the mo
tor were shut off, and there is great
danger that the wings will double up
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•nu«dng tV.? machine tn break apart.
Uthough spins are made with the
notor on, you are dropping like a bull
>elng dropped out of the sky and tie*
•elocity increases with the power of
he motor.
Tills spinning nose dive has been
'requently used In "stunt" flying in
■event years, but is now put to prae
leal use by pilots in getting away
'rom hostile machines, for when a
nan is spinning it is almost impos
sible to hit him, r.nd the man making
|he attack Invariably thinks his en
■my Is going down to certain death
n the spin.
This is all right when n rnnn Is
iver his own territory, because he
•an right Ids machine and come out
>f It ; hut if it happens ovi r Herman
errltory. the Huns would only follow
dm down, and when he came out of
'he spin they would he above him.
laving nil the advantage, and would
-hoot 111rii down with ease. It is a
rood way of getting down into a
•loud, and is used very often by both
'ides, but It requires skill and eour
ige by the pilot making It if he ever
•xpeets to come out alive. A spin
icing made by a pilot intentionally
ooks exactly like a spin that is made
»y a machine actually being shot
lown. so one never knows whether It
s forced or intentional until the pilot
■ithcr rights Ids machine and comes
nit of it. or crashes to the ground.
Another dive similar to this one is
tnown as just the plain dive. As
sume. for Instance, that a pilot flying
it a height of several thousand feet
s shot, loses control of his machine,
ind the nose of the plane starts down
villi the motor full on. He is going
O'Brien Standing Beside the First Machine in Which He Saw Active Service.
i
at a tremendous speed and in many
Instances Is going so straight and
swiftly that the speed is too great for
the machine, because it was never
constructed to withstand the enor
mous pressure forced against the
wings, and they consequently crumple
up.
If. ton, in an attempt to straighten
the machine, the elevators should be
come affected, as often happens In
trying to bring a machine out of a
dive, the strain Is again too great on
the wings, and there Is the same dis
astrous result. Oftentimes, when the
patrol tank Is punctured by a tracer
bullet from another machine In the
air. the plane that Is hit catches on
fire and either gets Into a spin or a
straight dive and heads for the earth,
hundreds of miles an hour, a mass of
flame, looking like a brilliant comet
in the sky.
The spinning nose dive is used to
greater advantage by the Germans
than by our own pitots for the reason
that when a tight gets too hot for the
German, he will put Ids machine In
h spin, ami us the chances are nine
out of ten that we are fighting over
German territory, he simply spins
down out of our range, straightens
out before he reaches the ground, and
gets on home to his airdrome. It Is
useless to follow him down inside the
German lines, for you would lu all
probability he shot down before you
ran attain sufficient altitude to cross
the line again.
It often happens that n pilot will
>e chasing another niurhlne when
suddenly he sees It start to spin. I*er
Sups they are fifteen or eighteen thou
sand feet lu the air, and the hostile
machine spins down for thousands of
East. He thinks he lias hit the other
machine and goes home happy that
lia baa brought down another Hnn.
Be report* the occurrence to the
IguadroB, telling how he shot down
his enemy; but when the rest of the
squadron come In with their report,
or some artillery observation balloon
sends In a report, It develops that
when a few hundred feet from the
ground the supposed dead man In the
spin has come out of the spin and i
gone merrily on his way for his air
drome.
_
CHAPTER III.
Captured by the Huns.
I shall not easily forget the 17th of i
August, 1017. I killed two Huns In
i the double-seated machine In the
morning, another In the evening, and ;
i then I was captured myself. I may
| have spent more eventful days In my
life, but I can't recall any just now.
That morning. In crossing the line
on early morning patrol, I noticed
two German balloons. I decided that
as soon ns my patrol wits over I
i would go off on my own hook and see
wlmt a German balloon looked like
nt close quarters.
These observation balloons are used
by both sides in conjunction with the
artillery. A man sits up In the bal
loon with a wireless apparatus and di
rects the firing of the guns. From his
point of vantage he can follow the
work of Ills own artillery with a re
markable degree of accuracy and at
the same time he can observe the ene
my’s movements and report them.
The Germans are very good at this
work, and they use u great number of
these balloons. It was considered a
very Important part of our work to
keep them out of the sky.
There arc two ways of going after a
balloon In a machine. One of them is
to cross ihc lines at a low altitude, tly
ing so m ar the ground that the mail
with tlie antiaircraft gun can’t bother
you. You fly along until you get to the
level of the balloon and If. in the
meantime, they have not drawn the
Imiloon down, you open tire on It and
the limn is you use will set it on fire
If they land.
Tlie other way is to fly over where
you know the balloons to lie, put your
machine In a spin so that they can’t
hit you, get above them, spin over the
balloon anil then open fire. In going
buck over the line you cross at a few
hundred feet.
This Is one of the hardest Jobs in
the service. There Is less danger In
attacking an enemy’s aircraft.
Nevertheless, I had made up m.v
mind to either get those balloons or
make them descend, and I only hoped j
that they would stay on tlie Job until
1 hud a chance at them.
When our two hours’ duty was up,
therefore, I dropped out of the forma
tion us we crossed tlie lines ami turned
buck again.
I was at a height of 15,000 feet, con
siderably higher than the balloons.
Shutting my motor ofT, I dropped down
through the clouds, thinking to find
the balloons at utiout five or six miles
behind tiie German lines.
Just us 1 came out of tlie cloud
banks I saw below me, about a. thou
sand feet, a two-seater hostile ma
chine doing tirtlllery observation and
directing the German guns. This was
at a point about four miles behind the
German lines.
Evidently the German artillery saw
me and put out ground signals to at
tract the Hun machine's attention, for
I saw the observer quit his work and
grab his gun. While their pilot stuck
the nose of his machine strulglit
down.
But they were too late to escape me
1 was diving toward them at a speed
Of probably two hundred miles nn
hour, shooting all the time as fast as
possible. Their only chance lay In
the possibility that the force of my
drive might break my wings. I knew
my danger in that direction, hut as
soon as I mine out of my dive the
lluns would have their chance to get
mi*, and I knew I had to get them first
and take a chance on my wings hold
Ing out.
Fortunately some of my first bullets
found their mark, and 1 was aide to
come out of my dive at about four
thousand feet. They never came out
of theirs !
Hut right then came the hottest sit
uation in tile air I had ever experi
enced up to that time. The depth of
my dive had brought me within reach
of tin* machine guns from the ground,
and they also put a barrage around me
of shrapnel from antiaircraft guns
and I had an opportunity to “ride the
barrage," as they call It In the U. F. C.
To make the situation more Interest
ing. they began shooting "flaming on
ions" at me. "Flaming onions" are
rockets shot from a rocket gun. They
are used to hit a machine when It Is
flying low, and they are effective up
to about five thousand feet. Some
times they are shot up one after an
other In strings of about eight, and
they are one of the hardest things to
go through. If they hit the machine,
it is hound to catch fire and then the
IIg Is up.
< To he ('ontinued )
- -*•
I
Saturday, August 3
Low water . .,V 1 1 a.m 1
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Low water . 5:59a.in. .5
High water .12 :16 p.m. 1" 2
Low water . 5:3tip.m L'.H
High water.11 42 p in. 12.S
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