Full resolution (JPEG) - On this page / på denna sida - XXIII. Farewell to Bapaume
<< prev. page << föreg. sida << >> nästa sida >> next page >>
Below is the raw OCR text
from the above scanned image.
Do you see an error? Proofread the page now!
Här nedan syns maskintolkade texten från faksimilbilden ovan.
Ser du något fel? Korrekturläs sidan nu!
This page has never been proofread. / Denna sida har aldrig korrekturlästs.
FAREWELL TO BAPAUME 365
escapes him. He sights far away a French aeroplane steering
straight towards him, but he does not change his course.
They come nearer and nearer to one another. Neither makes
the sHghtest sign of giving way. The spectator from below
cannot but think that they are sailing to an inevitable catas-
trophe, that they are lost already. But they seem to change
their minds before it is too late, for a collision would bring
them both to earth and kill them, and this is considered by
both parties to be a useless and unpractical sacrifice. Hence
one of them gives way before it is too late. The Frenchman
is often armed with a machine gun for the benefit of his
German colleague. In that case the German by a skilful
manoeuvre suddenly dips under his opponent or passes over
him. If he passes under, the machine gun becomes useless,
as it cannot fire downward. If he passes over, he benefits
by the protection of the lightly armoured bottom of the
aeroplane. The main thing to avoid is to remain on the same
plane with the other machine. Again it may happen that
the Frenchman likewise rises, and that a sort of skyward
race begins between the two opponents, each trying to get
above the other. In such cases the breathless spectator sees
the machines circle round each other like a couple of playful
may-flies, approach, separate, pursue, fire, but always
avoiding collision. It is a tension which simply cannot be
described, and whilst this goes on in the air the guns thunder
angrily below and the soldiers lie in wait for one another in the
trenches.
When everything goes normally, the airman may be up for
three hours. When he has completed his task he returns to
the German lines, stops the motor and glides to earth in four
minutes, although the time seems infinitely longer. He vol-
planes down and may under certain circumstances alight
without restarting the motor. He admits that it is not without
some feeling of relief that he sets foot on the ground once
more. Yet he is never entirely safe, for the flying stations are
always singled out for special attention from the enemy bomb-
throwers.
French airmen often go up without an observation officer,
but his weight is taken up instead by an extra bomb supply.
When the machine is burdened by the weight of two men only
three bombs can be taken, otherwise six or more are carried.
The accuracy of aim depends on the amount of practice.
<< prev. page << föreg. sida << >> nästa sida >> next page >>
