TOLD BY THE ADMIRALTY
Official communications are apt to make cold reading, but how much may
be ‘read into’ them! Considered in the light of a lively imagination
they convey a great deal. Between each line a story of considerable
length and great interest might be written. Take, for instance,
the following communication issued by the British Admiralty in the
latter part of October, 1916: ‘Yesterday afternoon, one of our naval
aeroplanes attacked four enemy seaplanes off Ostend. Our machine was
under fire from all four seaplanes, but succeeded in bringing down one,
which was completely destroyed, and in driving off the others.’
This was the second British aerial success against odds in the same
week. A few days previously a naval single-seater machine attacked a
large German double-engined tractor seaplane. The enemy pilot and
observer were shot, and the seaplane dived vertically into the sea two
miles off Ostend. Another British naval aeroplane destroyed a kite
balloon in the same locality on this occasion.
We may crave for further details, but the time is not yet. Naval and
military censors, though subjected to much adverse criticism, are wise
in their generation.
Experience has shown that it is far better to give a light touch or
two of romantic colouring, than to fall into the fault of conveying
the kind of direct and definite information which might by some chance
prove of service to the enemy. The following communications are
above suspicion in the direction named, but they are not devoid of
colour. They enable one to appreciate in a very real sense the heroic
achievements of our naval aviators:
Between August 25 and 31, 1916, a series of attacks were carried out by
naval aircraft upon the Bulgarian lines of communication beyond Kavala.
On the twenty-fifth the railway station and bridge at Buk (about
twenty-two miles north-east of Kavala) were successfully bombed. On
the twenty-sixth a similar attack upon the railway station at Drama
(twenty-two miles north-west of Kavala) resulted in the burning of a
large petrol store and considerable destruction among the rolling stock
in the sidings. Bombs were also dropped on the billets of the enemy’s
troops at Doksat (fourteen miles north-west of Kavala).
On the twenty-seventh, Okgilar (twenty-five miles north-north-east of
Kavala) railway station, where the headquarters of the 10th Division
were situated, was successfully attacked. The station buildings were
set on fire and considerable damage was done to the permanent way.
On the twenty-eighth Drama Station was again bombed. The station
buildings were considerably damaged. On the same day Kavala forts were
attacked with excellent results.
On the twenty-ninth a large body of infantry and transport concentrated
at Porna (about thirty-two miles west of Kavala, on the Seres—Drama
line) were attacked. Considerable havoc was caused in the village
and among the troops. A large fire was started among the stores in
the transport park. The moral as well as the material effect of this
bombardment seems to have been considerable, as a reconnaissance made
on the following day showed that all troops, camps, and transport had
been removed from this district.
On the thirty-first an attack was made on Angista railway station
(twenty-five miles west-north-west of Kavala). Direct hits were made
and extensive damage was caused.
Further communications issued by the Admiralty in the same month showed
that between August 25 and 29 a series of attacks and reconnaissances
upon the enemy railway communications in Palestine were carried out by
a British seaplane squadron. These fights were made under hazardous
conditions, due to the fact that the railway runs, for the most part,
behind a range of mountains difficult for seaplanes to surmount.
Bombs were dropped on Afuleh Junction, where considerable damage
was done to the rolling stock, permanent way, and to stores in the
vicinity. A railway engine and fourteen carriages were also set on
fire and destroyed. The railway stations at Tulkeram and Ardana and
an enemy camp four miles north-west of Remleh (thirteen miles from
Jaffa) were successfully bombarded and severely damaged. And on August
26 a seaplane bombarded the railway station at Homs (about eighty
miles north of Damascus). This flight, carried out at a distance of
forty-five miles inland under extremely adverse conditions and through
clouds low down on the mountains, was a singularly fine performance for
a seaplane.
At a later date, from September 13 to September 22, further series of
attacks were carried out by naval aeroplanes operating against the
Bulgarian coast. On the thirteenth the head quarters of the Bulgarian
10th Division at Bademli Chiftlik were attacked, with considerable
effect. Subsequently these head quarters were removed elsewhere,
but were discovered, and attacked three days later, with excellent
results. A large explosion was caused, and a fire, which lasted for
a considerable time, broke out among the buildings. On the sixteenth
considerable damage was caused to transport proceeding on the road
towards Drama, and on the same day the shipping in Foujes harbour
was bombed. On the seventeenth and eighteenth the rolling stock,
gun emplacements, and stores at Drama station were bombarded and
considerable damage done to them. On the nineteenth a column of troops
and transport were thoroughly plied with small bombs, which caused
considerable damage and confusion.
In October, 1916, a hostile seaplane was shot down and destroyed
by one of our naval aircraft. The enemy machine fell into the sea.
This was evidently the raider that approached Sheerness at 1.45
p.m., flying very high. Four bombs were dropped, three of which fell
into the harbour. The fourth fell in the vicinity of the railway
station, damaging several railway carriages. No casualties, however,
were caused. Naval aeroplanes went up and the raider made off in a
north-easterly direction. But our men of the Royal Naval Air Service
pursued the enemy machine, and after a short, sharp battle in the air,
sent it diving into the sea.