"Green Balls" : The Adventures of a Night-BomberBewsher, Paul
History
"Green Balls" : The Adventures of a Night-Bomber
Bewsher, Paul
World War, 1914-1918 -- Aerial operations
Our engines are opened out, and we fly level again. Beneath us are the
pale roads, and the dark lines of canals, and the chiaroscuro of
villages and forests. Five or six miles to our left we look down into
the cauldron of Bruges. It is a wonderful and awe-inspiring sight, and
as it does not threaten us to-night we look at it with keen interest.
The most noteworthy feature is a vicious-looking row of four
searchlights, near together and spaced at even intervals, like a line of
footlights at a theatre. These four beams of light move across the sky
in strange and unpleasant formations. Now the two end ones stand upright
while the two central ones sweep forward. Now the whole four move to and
fro in a determined and formidable sweep. Now the two middle ones cross
each other in a gigantic X of light, and the two outer ones sweep to and
fro with the beat of a mighty metronome. We called these four lights the
"Lucas Cranwell" lights, as they were like a landing light set of this
name which we were experimenting with on our machines. Later on in the
year, to our great relief, they were removed. The moral effect of a
group of lights like that is very great. You were frightened before you
approached the objective. They were a clever set of lights, too, because
on one occasion they were _switched_ right on to our machine and held
it, without any preliminary groping in the sky.
In addition to the "Lucas Cranwell" lights are five or six other
powerful searchlights standing in a circle round the town, moving to and
fro in a languid and sensuous way. Ferocious little spurts of light on
the ground in a dozen places indicate the position of anti-aircraft
guns, and here and there in the sky appear the quick and vivid flashes
of the bursting shells. To complete the picture of activity the lovely
necklaces of flaming jade rise up in great curves--sometimes only five
or six in a string--sometimes twenty or thirty at once.
Now comes the time when I have to begin to seek my objective. Up to the
present, the coast-line and the centres of activity at Ostend,
Zeebrugge, and Bruges have rendered the use of a map unnecessary. I
have scarcely had need to look over the side. Now, however, I have to
begin to do some work.
I know by the waving searchlights that I am about six miles south of
Bruges. I look over the side and see a main road running S.S.E. I
identify it on the map and see that a railway should shortly appear.
Soon I distinguish, with difficulty, the thin line of a railway track,
which is a difficult thing to see by night or day--the best guide being
any kind of water--canals, rivers, or lakes--then a good white road, or
a forest, and lastly a railway line.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account