Show GERMANS SHOOT DOWN 6 BALLOONS twelve observers in one day trust to parachutes in leaps for life PERIL IN BURNING GAS BAGS flames ladely to overtake the de observers many narrow escapes from death one relates experiences behind the british lines in france leaps for life from burning observation balloons when attacked by german airplanes were described by ob servers of the british rojal flying corps to an associated press correspondent spon dent when he visited one of their camps behind the lines a few days ago A balloon ascent at the front 13 nev er a light undertaking and on one day recently when the correspondent vis cited a station in a fairly inactive part of the line six balloons containing 12 men were shot down by german airplanes all within sight of one another one of the 12 officers who were compelled to reach terra fanna by the parachute route told the story of his trip we were perched at 3 feet he said and had been up only halt an hour when a column of smoke two miles southward attracted our notice there goes no 16 said my observer two white flecks floating earthward told us that the two passengers of the balloon had got clear in time just then two similar specks appeared sud denly from under another balloon warning us that the boche was out for a wholesale killing this time six more white specks now appeared and since it was evident that the entire line was being attacked I 1 gave the order to haul down sudden attack by airplane at 1000 feet I 1 ordered the winch stopped no more billions bil loons had been attacked and although ours wai now the only one up I 1 could see british fighting planes ascending from the clr bromes behind us to chase away the enemy so I 1 decided to venture ap again we ascended to 3 feet this time and soon were at work again then suddenly something happen ed it happened swiftly as in a dream we dlan t even see the german alba tross approaching but our ground boffl and his scouts gave us the alarm just a second or two before the hawk was on us I 1 heard my observer at the telephone bay suddenly that stand byl good heaven 1 then he turned calmly to me and said with a smile sorry old man we must get out at once he helped roe over the side first 1 I drowned and heard a bumph as the parachute left its case this was thelast the last sensation I 1 attempted to ana ayze as I 1 fell like a stone for feet I 1 saw the badloo balloo shoot violently upward and then my view was blotted out by a large white umbrella which suddenly appeared abbie my head and I 1 realized that the parachute had opened I 1 dlan t look down as I 1 felt my body swaying easily in the breeze the roar above told me that the albatross had done its work and the balloon ans afire you cannot of course maneuver a parachute and there Is always the possibility of the burning balloon over taking 00 oo and burning your only means of escape but before I 1 reached the ground I 1 aw far in front the crash ing to earth minus n wing she had been hit by a cluster of antiaircraft shells the next thing I 1 knew was that I 1 wa lying in the middle of n plowed field while a short distance olt I 1 saw my observer coming across toward me narrow escape from death all 12 of the officers of the M decked balloons escaped safely on this occasion they are not always io fortunate same station n few dav before an was shot and killed when dropping in his parachute ills balloon had been set afire by a german airplane and as usual he and his companion tools to their para chutes they had hardly got clear of the balloon when the attaching air plane swooped docu on them lt inn chine gun in full play one of the cers was killed and although the jtb er escaped his parachute wa torn by a bullet the balloon commander told the story of nn officer who had gone up alone and whose balloon was shelled v hen flying at 4 feet these oc cassons it Is dangerous to haul down for the position of the winch Is thereby given away to the enemy gunners at last after a cloud of shrapnel had appeared almost under the basket and no response came down the telephone wire to inquiries as to whether everything was all right the ground officer gave the order to haul down ten inS flutes later the car touched the ground and the observer was found lying at the bottom of the basket unconscious but unhurt it was a bad case of shell shock from which the officer was several months in erang A few days ago at a nearby station a balloon suddenly caught fire for no apparent reason the two observers tried to escape in their parachutes but the blazing balloon overtook them and they were killed theories as to the cause of the disaster were numerous but the one most generally accepted was that the balloon had been fired by an electric spark from a thunder cloud |