Air Stories, April 1936 — page 70: what you’re looking at

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

AIR STORIES the daring plan of stealing the Wasp, and he had felt confident that, given a few favourable conditions, he could accomplish the apparently impossible. When he had so easily got into the dock- yard, and when he had managed, unob- served, to get into the cockpit, he had been certain of success. He did not feel quite so sure now, but then he had just been shot with considerable force on to his head, and that is enough to shake anyone’s confidence. The trouble was that he had been delayed in getting out of his hiding- place in the tail of the aircraft. He had crept in over the top of the tank easily enough, for he was a small man. But getting out again had proved a much harder matter; just because there hap- pened to be a splinter, or a nail pro- jecting from the inside of the fuselage above him. This had caught in the collar of his jacket, and with the small amount of purchase he had been able to exert, had held him fast—until the Wasp had dived. Now he scrambled to a sitting position and took hurried stock of the situation just as the two machine-guns opened fire. He saw that he was diving on a ship towards which tracer streamed, and that he might collide with it at any moment. He wrenched at the controls, and although there seemed to be considerable resistance to his pressure, the machine came out of the dive and banked to starboard. He had control of the ’plane, that was one thing accom- plished. But the guns were still blazing away without any help from him, and now they were aimed at a small yacht dead ahead. That must be the English Admiralty yacht. He pulled up and set off on a south-westerly course. If his plans had not miscarried, there would be an Italian yacht waiting down Channel which would salve the essential mechanism of the ’plane if he could put it down on the water in its vicinity. HE visitors on board the ‘‘ Witch ’”’ had watched that spectacular dive on to the target-ship with interest. ‘*So far, you see,’’ exclaimed the loud-speaker, ‘‘the movement has proceeded according to plan. Now watch carefully what happens. The machine- guns are about to open fire on the target.’’ There was a gasp of astonishment from the onlookers as streams of tracer leapt from the diving machine. For, though they had expected it to happen, the. obedience of the aeroplane seemed positively uncanny. ‘*I don’t believe it!’’ said Mrs. Fitzwilliam, the Premier’s wife, with emphasis. ‘‘ What don’t you believe ? ’’ inquired the Under Secretary to the Foreign Office. ‘‘That that aeroplane is empty. I mean, I’m sure that there is a pilot in the thing. It’s too ridiculous to expect us-to ....”’ ‘‘And now,’”’ broke in the loud- speaker, talking rapidly and with an excited ring in its voice, ‘‘ comes the great event. The torpedo will drop away atany moment .. . and remember that the anti-aircraft guns of three battleships are trained on the aeroplane and will open fire the moment the torpedo has been loosed. This should have already happened, I think.’’ The voice slowed up, and a faint anxiety was apparent. ‘‘ Yes, definitely, it is too late this time, and the aeroplane will have to be brought round again. Just some slight misjudgment—very excusable when we think of the circum- stances. Hullo. ..!” The last remark was one of astonish- ment, the cause of which was obvious to even the least initiated of the spec- tators. For the Wasp had banked vertically to starboard, a wing-tip seeming as though it must touch the water. It altered course some 9o degrees, and then flew straight towards the yacht, and but a few feet above the sea. ‘* There is no need for alarm,’’ said the loud-speaker rapidly, ‘‘ but it is thought advisable that vou all move across to the starboard side of the ship.’’ A bluejacket came running down the | deck. ‘‘ Hurry across, please.’’ ‘‘T knew there was a pilot in that machine ! ’’ said Mrs. Fitzwilliam tri- 356 LDOOLK