Great Britain. Royal Navy; World War, 1914-1918 -- Naval operations
"Well, I got over the Mohl," he added. "That's the German pier at
Zeebrugge. The Mohl showed up black, and the water looked lighter in the
darkness. I was up about 2,500 feet, and dropped bombs on the seaplane
base. I mean, of course, the German air base. Only a few moments, and
they showed that they were ready for me, as the heavens around were
lighted up with searchlights. I dropped a few more of my 'eggs,' and
could not be certain of what damage I accomplished, although I saw
flames spurt up from several places. Then the enemy sent up two long
rows of rockets, making an avenue of light so that I could have read by
it. These infernal things parachute when they get to a certain height
and, with the fire hanging from them, stay stationary, leaving but one
exit. If I had run the machine into the rockets it would have been
ablaze in no time. These fireworks stay in the air for about two
minutes, which is a devil of a long time when you are up there. Thanks
to this lighted avenue, I showed up more distinctly than I would have
done in the daytime. The end of the avenue, I knew, was the target of
their anti-aircraft gunnery. I flew out, and shrapnel tore all around
me. My machine was struck several times, and, as bad luck would have it,
the patent point of my magneto fell out just when I got to the spot
where shrapnel was thickest.
"My chances of getting home then seemed pretty slim--engines out of
order, lit up by fireworks, up 2,500 feet, and a target clear as a
pikestaff for the gunnery. However, I managed to slide in the direction
of the ship on the French coast. It seems easy to keep out of the way of
the guns; but, of course, they have a demoralising effect on a man in
the air. Not so much at dark as in the day, though. Well, I got home all
right.
"Only a day or so afterwards I dropped a bomb on or near a German
U-boat, and I can't say to this day whether I struck or damaged her.
"'Very lonely,'" murmured the pilot, reading from his log. "'Just saw a
torpedo boat.' On the next day, let's see.... Oh, yes.... 'Saw two
German destroyers, and raced back to our ship, and British ships sped
after the Germans.'
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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