HEADQUARTERS OF GERMAN NTH ARMY, "Somewhere" in France, Dec.
6.--Sensational duels between hostile aeroplanes are regular occurrences
now, and not infrequently aerial battles take place between whole
squadrons. I heard this from the chief of an aeroplane squadron, who was
returning from a reconnoitring flight around Rheims. When I met him he
was traveling in his luxurious private limousine which he had brought
with him into the field from Berlin. My military motor car had executed
a flank attack on the road embankment with disastrous results, and the
aviator kindly gave me a lift into town and some interesting
information.
"We are all eagerly awaiting orders for a raid on England," the Captain
led off. "Yes, I have flown over Paris. Going to Paris is mere
chauffeur's work. The six machines of my squadron have covered 15,000
miles since the war began. The French machines are about twenty miles an
hour faster than ours; but there is no advantage in going so fast, for
you can't make good observations. At a height of 6,000 feet, you are
quite safe against fire from below. We also find the safest thing to do
is to circle right over a battery. They can't get at you then.
"Fights in the air are regular occurrences now. We attack every chance
we get in spite of the fact that we have only our revolvers against the
machine guns which they have mounted on their aeroplanes. We find the
best defense against their machine-gun fire is to get up close to the
French aeroplane and then dodge and twist in sharp dips and curves,
spoiling the aim of their mounted machine gun, and giving us an
advantage with our revolvers.
"One of the most interesting engagements was between a squadron of four
of our aeroplanes armed with revolvers and a big and a little
'Bauerschreck,' [the German nickname for the armored French aeroplanes
armed with machine guns.] The fight lasted for nearly an hour at an
altitude ranging from 5,000 to 6,000 feet, the big 'Bauerschreck' being
finally forced to land, while the little one flew off. One of our
aviators did a fine piece of work recently, landing behind the French
lines, destroying the railway at that point and flying off again. The
French are magnificent fliers, and so are the English, but we Germans
have the training. Especially in trained observers we have a big
advantage."
I saw one of the German flier heroes in a base hospital. To the nurse's
chart over his cot were pinned the Iron Cross of the second and first
class and a bunch of flowers, and the Surgeon General coaxed him to give
the details of the winning of his decorations.
Sergt. Luchs and his observer were returning from an aerial
reconnoissance when they were overtaken and attacked by a fast French
aeroplane. The effectiveness of the French machine gun fire was later
shown by seventy holes in the wings of the German aeroplane. For
forty-five minutes the battle in the air lasted--6,000 feet up--revolver
against machine gun, ending only when Luchs was shot through the lungs
and liver. He was able to guide his machine safely to the ground within
the German lines before he lost consciousness. But one of his revolver
bullets had gone home, probably puncturing the gasoline tank, for the
French aeroplane was also seen making a forced landing.
Gen. von Heeringen, Commander in Chief of the Nth Army, told me a
similar story about two officers who fought with revolver against
machine gun until their motor and tank were shot to pieces, forcing them
to glide to earth. The General said he had learned about their bravery
only by accident, as they had reported only the results of their
reconnoissance.
That the German aviators are at a disadvantage in fighting against the
Allies' aeroplanes armed with machine guns was freely admitted by Gen.
von Heeringen, who said significantly that that would be attended to in
the near future.
"French aeroplanes have paid me a number of visits," the commanding
General said with a laugh, "Our aviation camp seems to be an attraction
for them. We have shot down six of them in the last few weeks. Our
gunners are really only just beginning to get the hang of it, with
practice. The trouble in peace time was always to find some sort of a
target to train our gunners in the use of the new motor gun. We couldn't
very well ask of our own aviators to go up and let themselves be shot
at. But now the French are affording us just the moving target we have
been looking for, and our shooting is improving splendidly."
Gen. von Haenisch, von Heeringen's brilliant Chief of Staff, who as
former Inspector General of the aviation arm had more to do than any
other one individual with bringing German military aviation to its
present high pitch of efficiency, supplemented his chief's remarks by
saying:
"We recently brought down a French aeroplane from an altitude of 8,100
feet. Our new gun can shoot four miles high."
I had the interesting experience of visiting an aviation camp in the
field, inspecting a full sample line of aero bombs, and looking over the
very latest thing in German military aeroplanes, a big new Aviatik
biplane. For the benefit of THE NEW YORK TIMES readers, who have grown
accustomed to headlines about "German Taubes over Paris," it must be
explained that, just as all German cavalry are not Uhlans, so all German
aeroplanes are not Taubes. "Taube" is the name of the German military
monoplane, of which there are comparatively few in use; and I am
informed that hardly any Taubes have flown over Paris, the bomb-throwing
visitors having been the more practical double-decker Aviatiks. The new
model which I inspected had a monoplane body, observer and pilot sitting
tandem fashion, the Mercedes motor (several cylinders) being in front.
It was designed, not for speed but for weight-lifting, as indicated by
its formidable arsenal of bombs.
The beauty of workmanship and finish of these infernal machines was
interesting. The forty-pounders and twenty-pounders looked like
miniature torpedoes, with slightly bulb-shaped bodies and tapering
rounded noses, with a tiny three-bladed propeller for a tail and a steel
ring to serve as a hand grip. When the aviator is ready to drop a bomb
all he has to do is to make a simple adjustment, taking not more than a
second, which releases the propeller, and then throw the bomb overboard.
As it drops the propeller is set into rapid motion and drives the
clockwork mechanism inside the bomb. After a hundred-yard drop it is all
ready to explode when it strikes. There are also round cannon-ball-shaped
bombs, and special bombs for starting a conflagration when they strike.
Following the lead of the French, the Germans have also adopted the
"silent death," and half a dozen of the German aerial darts were given
me for souvenirs. They are of steel, about three inches long, with one
end pointed and the other flanged, so as to give a rotary motion as they
whizz through the air. They look more murderous than they really are,
for I was told by one of the aviator officers that they were not very
effective. The Germans, methodical in everything, wanted no doubt left
in any one's mind that the "silent death" was introduced by the French
and only copied by them in self-defense; so every one of the steel
darts--a touch of grim humor--bears on one side of the point, in French,
the legend "French invention" and on the other side "German
manufacture."