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Show RAIDING PLANES TERRIFY ENEMY London. The progressive effectiveness effective-ness of the allies, both in the construction construc-tion of airplanes and in the air fighting, fight-ing, has never before been more clearly clear-ly proved than In the recent operations on the western front. In last month's offensive the harrying of German cavalry, cav-alry, marching infantry and transport by low-flying airplanes was the first example of a really large scale counter-offensive from the air. From a R. A. F. officer of long experience ex-perience it was learned that It Is now a deliberate method of air fighting not conducted on the tip and run principle of one swooping dive to earth, bringing the airplane into close rifle range only at the lowest point of the (live, but by machines which fly audaciously low until their ammunition Is exhausted, so low that pilots have identified the regimental insignia of the troops attacked, at-tacked, so low that the airplane wheels have been known to skim the earth. Transport Columns Broken Up. The object of these low-flying pilots has bee", to disorganize the Germans by a sin Ren burst of fire at close range, and very successfully they have done It, especially when breaking up transport trans-port columns and causing stampedes of frightened horses. But the method has developed until now a British airplane air-plane will fly along not merely across a trench, machine-gunning it, and such a thing may happen, as at Hamel, where airplanes and tanks co-operated to such purpose that the Infantry advanced ad-vanced upon an already quite disorganized disor-ganized enemy. It is routine work for the low-flying airplane to Interrupt German working parties far behind the lines with machine ma-chine gun fire, and when one remembers remem-bers that the snme parties nre likely to be bombed in their billets from the air hy night, their heart for work may be imagined, for both day and night the bombing of railways, airdromes, camps and dumps goes on. And this is almost by the way. The soldier comes before supply, and it is the soldier who Is the objective of the low-flying airplane, the soldier who suffers in person and morale, by the ceaseless bombing of billets. It IS the aggressive air war of the entente which steadily and accumulatively deprecli ates the morale of the German soldier, "And an ammunition dump was blown up." What thrilling stories may lie behind many of these brief stereotyped stereo-typed phrases In the official communication communi-cation ! "An ammunition dump was blown up," nnd much else besides. Sprays Them With Bullets. Here is just one little incident told by Lieut. L. Walmsley of the It. A. F.,! which may serve by way of illustra Hon : The Germans were reported to be, concentrating at the village of X. A little chaser was run out, and the pilot ordered to confirm the report. Ten minutes' flying brings him to the trench lines, and the deafening noise of battle drowns even the sound of the engine. The -Germans are attacking and a long, ragged, gray line of piled up corpses, which the airman at first mistakes mis-takes for sandbags, shows the terrible price they are paying. But. sheltering behind this ghastly rampart of human flesh are living Huns, and the pilot dives down until he Is only 50 feet above them. Then, as lie skims over the line, he opens fire with both guns, pouring out a hail of death that soon visibly thickens the Inanimate In-animate gray masses. But there Is even more important work at hand. The village of X Is quickly reached. The market square is crowded with artillery and ammunition ammu-nition carts. Diving to a height of less than oOO feet, the airman drops a bomb, and turns, just In time to avoid the force of the concussion caused by the tremendous explosion that follows. fol-lows. A direct hit has been made on the ammunition cart, and the havoc wrought In that market square baffles description. The roads leading backward from the village are now carefully recon-noitered. recon-noitered. There Is no sign of life until a large wood Is reached. Here a squadron of Uhlans Is found. A second sec-ond bomb Is landed right in the midst of them, and in a few seconds the adjoining ad-joining fields are brown with stampeding stam-peding horses. |