One Sunday night in the early part of June 1915, a Zeppelin airship
paid a visit to the East Coast of England. It sailed over a wide area
and bombs were dropped in various places. As a result of this visit
several people were killed and a number were badly hurt.
About twenty-four hours later, a Zeppelin was sighted on the coast of
Belgium by two airmen, one British and the other French. The airship
was chased and the British aviator came up with it between Ghent and
Brussels.
He dropped bombs upon it which caused the gas in the envelope to
explode. The airship was set on fire and fell to the ground and its
crew of about twenty-eight men were killed. It is most probable that
this was the airship which had just paid a visit to England.
The British airman who did this splendid piece of work was Flight
Sub-Lieutenant Warneford of the Royal Naval Air Service and he was only
twenty-four at the time. His machine was a monoplane, and very small
compared with a Zeppelin, as can be seen in the picture.
The splendid deed was performed at a height of about 6000 feet above
ground. The Zeppelin was flying lower than usual as it was nearing
its hangar or shed. This gave Warneford his chance to get above it,
and after that his work was a matter of careful aim. It really took
only one bomb to fire the envelope, and then there was no hope for the
Zeppelin.
The gas in the envelope exploded with such force that it made
Warneford’s machine turn completely over.
This somersault in the air emptied one of the petrol tanks; and the
airman, righting his machine, saw that he must go down to fill it from
the supply kept in another part of the machine. Meanwhile, the bullets
from German rifles were flying all round him. He was, of course, in
enemy country and near the town of Amandsberg.
[Illustration: WARNEFORD AND THE ZEPPELIN.]
In the open country outside of the town he saw a piece of waste land
which seemed to be lonely and deserted. Down he planed to this spot and
set to work at breathless speed to fill his tank while the Germans
were racing to the place to try to capture or kill him.
At last all was ready and he took his seat in the machine. It rose into
the air just as a number of Germans came in sight and began to fire
at it. But no shot took effect, and the plucky airman made his way in
safety to the French lines.
There were many people watching this famous fight in the air, which
took place over the town about four o’clock in the morning. Here is the
story of the fight as told by one of these spectators:
“The airship was flying over Amandsberg and attempting to escape the
two airmen by descending. A great number of civilians watched the fight.
“Obviously, the Zeppelin had already had a skirmish with its pursuers,
as it was slightly listing to the left side. Shots were exchanged with
the two airmen, one of whom was daring enough to approach close to the
airship in an attempt to fly over it.
“After a sudden bold swoop this airman was seen to drop some explosives
on the Zeppelin which was at once wrapped in flames. The balloon
covering was now fiercely burning, and after some minor reports and
one big explosion, the airship dropped upon the convent school of
Amandsberg. The nuns tried to bring the children to a place of safety,
and two sisters who had rushed into the street with little ones in
their arms were badly hurt.
“The Zeppelin crew were all killed and only the framework of the great
airship remained. The streets of the town were at once closed, and the
people were ordered indoors. The British airman finally disappeared in
a north-easterly direction.”
Not long afterwards Warneford was killed while flying near Paris in an
aeroplane of a new type which was being tested. It was a sad ending to
what promised to be a useful career, but the fame of the young airman
V.C. was already made; and boys who love adventure will always be proud
to read the story of the first Briton who was able, single-handed, to
bring down a Zeppelin.