Air Stories, April 1936 — page 58: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

AIR STORIES personal animosity he seemed to bear towards the unsightly German balloons. In a week he succeeded in demolishing six of them. Although the observer in a balloon was ‘‘ almost a civilian,’’ the ‘‘filth and corruption’’ (as we called flaming onions, phosphorous shells and machine-gunnery from the ground) that one had to face justified the claim that, as far as courage was concerned, it required the same amount to destroy one balloon as to bring down two enemy machines. Afterwards ‘‘ Timbertoes ’’ Carlin, as Mannock had nicknamed him, was shot down on the German side of the line, and the details of his capture by the enemy were related by a German who was made prisoner by us. This enemy spoke of a British airman ‘‘ with lots of medals and a wooden leg ’’ who attempted to escape by running back to the British lines. A Collision in Mid-Air EFORE this, however, Carlin and ‘‘Grid ’’ Caldwell had a serious ‘‘ set to’’ in mid-air. They attacked a German machine together, and each, in his determination to ‘‘ finish ’’ the enemy, forgot the existence of the other, with the result that they crashed together in mid-air. Carlin’s machine was not so badly damaged that he could not regain control, but one of the C.Q.’s wings was so badly smashed that controlling the machine was impossible. It spun determinedly towards the earth. ‘¢Grid,’? however, was not beaten. He climbed out on to the wing and managed to stop the spin, only to find himself diving straight into the ground a little on our side of the lines. Before the shattered S.E.5 hit, ‘‘ Grid ’’ jumped, and, somersaulting, came to rest in the shell-bespattered ground. To revenge himself, he went up on the next squadron patrol twelve hours later, and vented his wrath on several E.A., sending one crashing to earth. Raiding the Enemy’s Aerodromes HROUGHOUT July, the squadron kept up the pace, driving the enemy fighters to seek the refuge of the ground, and early in August, working with several other squadrons, ‘'74’’ set out on a daring venture. Previously, pilots of the Mannock and Ball type had deter- mined to prove that the air was no safe place for Huns, but in this August attack the zrith Wing commenced a studied demoralisation of the enemy by proving to them that they were not even safe when on the ground and in their own hangars. Courtrai aerodrome, the nest of the German fighters, was attacked by machine-guns and bombs, each S.E.5 carrying. six 20-lb. Cooper bombs and over 1,000 rounds of am- munition. It was this overwhelming desire to make the air safe for Britishers that completed the demoralisation of the German fliers and ground forces. Gradually the infantry and gunners, backed up by the invincible air fighters, turned the tables on the advancing German troops, and by September it was clear that our side had the: Germans ‘fon the hop.’’ As evidence of the vigour that was put into the final struggle, No. 74, who had been about ten miles behind our lines, had to move up to La Lovie near Poperinghe and, ultimately, to Courtrai, the place they had so often attacked and over which they had waged such gallant battles. In the latter part of October, up till the Armistice, chasing the Germans further and further on the road to Berlin, Caldwell, Roxburgh-Smith, Kiddie, Gauld, Gordon, Giles and Ferrand added still more victories to the brilliant record of the squadron. Ferrand, taking his first hurdle in fine style, brought down three enemy machines in flames on his first patrol over the lines. His own machine, riddled with bullets, collapsed on landing. In his book on the life, work and death of Mannock, Ira Jones (known the world over as ‘‘ Taffy ’’) states ; ‘“‘The glorious title of King of Air Fighters of the War of 1914 belongs by right of conquest to Major ‘ Mick’ Mannock.’”’ That being so, the squadron that owed so much to his leadership may justly be described as ‘‘ The ruling princes of the air.’’ 344 CoOnniclooo SJ (C(O)