diff options
Diffstat (limited to 'old/50339-0.txt')
| -rw-r--r-- | old/50339-0.txt | 6751 |
1 files changed, 0 insertions, 6751 deletions
diff --git a/old/50339-0.txt b/old/50339-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 14436d9..0000000 --- a/old/50339-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,6751 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook, The Spider Web, by T. D. Hallam - - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - - - - -Title: The Spider Web - The Romance of a Flying-Boat War Flight - - -Author: T. D. Hallam - - - -Release Date: October 30, 2015 [eBook #50339] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - - -***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE SPIDER WEB*** - - -E-text prepared by Richard Tonsing and the Online Distributed Proofreading -Team (http://www.pgdp.net) from page images generously made available by -Internet Archive (https://archive.org/) - - - -Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this - file which includes the original illustrations. - See 50339-h.htm or 50339-h.zip: - (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/50339/50339-h/50339-h.htm) - or - (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/50339/50339-h.zip) - - - Images of the original pages are available through - Internet Archive. See - https://archive.org/details/spiderwebromance00halluoft - - -Transcriber's note: - - Text enclosed by underscores is in italics (_italics_). - - - - -THE SPIDER WEB - - -_My acknowledgments are due to the Editor of 'Blackwood's Magazine' and -to the Editor of 'The Times.'_ - -[Illustration: P. I. X.] - - - - -THE SPIDER WEB - -The Romance of a Flying-Boat War Flight - -by - -P. I. X. - -With Illustrations - - - - - - - -William Blackwood and Sons -Edinburgh and London -1919 - - - - _TO - THE JOLLY - FINE FELLOWS, - OFFICERS AND MEN, - OF THE WAR FLIGHT, - FELIXSTOWE._ - - - - -CONTENTS. - - - CHAP. PAGE - - I. THE SPIDER WEB 1 - - II. LIKE A FAIRY TALE 38 - - III. THE PHANTOM FLIGHT 75 - - IV. STICKY ENDS OF L 43, U-C 1, AND U-B 20 109 - - V. THE FATAL FOUNTAIN AND END OF U-C 6 145 - - VI. WINGED HUNS AND THE TALE OF THE I.O. 183 - - VII. INTO THE BIGHT AND END OF L 53 215 - - VIII. THE FUTURE: RUNNING THE U.S. MAIL 245 - - - - -LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. - - - P. I. X. _Frontispiece_ - - PORTE BABY WITH BRISTOL BULLET ON TOP PLANE _Facing p._ 4 - - CHART SHOWING THE SOUTHERN PORTION OF THE - NORTH SEA AND THE BIGHT OF HELIGOLAND " 8 - - SHEDS AND SLIPWAYS AT FELIXSTOWE " 18 - - FELIXSTOWE PATROL AREA WITH SPIDER WEB PATROL, - SHOWING SUBMARINES SIGHTED AND BOMBED, - AND THE WIRELESS FIXES FOR FOUR MONTHS " 32 - - 5-TON FLYING-BOAT " 40 - - BOAT ON PATROL. 230-LB. BOMB SHOWING ON - MACHINE FROM WHICH PHOTOGRAPH WAS - TAKEN " 56 - - DESTROYERS ON BEEF TRIP " 80 - - PORTE SUPER BABY TAXI-ING ON THE WATER " 104 - - '77 IN THE MIST " 116 - - BOMBS BURSTING OVER SUBMARINE " 130 - - LIFTING 230-LB. BOMB INTO PLACE " 144 - - DUTCH SAILING-VESSEL PHOTOGRAPHED FROM A - FLYING-BOAT " 178 - - HUN MONOPLANE DIVING IN TO SHOVE HOME AN ATTACK _Facing p._ 186 - - THE BOAT THAT STOOD ON ITS NOSE " 206 - - LIGHTER WITH FLYING-BOAT BEING TOWED IN - HEAVY SEA " 220 - - CULLY'S CAMEL ON WAY TO TERSCHELLING " 232 - - WHITE LINE F.-B. _SWIFT_ AND F.-B. _SWALLOW_, 200 - TONS " 256 - - 15-TON PORTE SUPER BABY, 1800 HORSE-POWER " 264 - - ERECTING THE 15-TON FELIXSTOWE FURY " 266 - -[Illustration] - -The Spider Web. - - - - -CHAPTER I. - -THE SPIDER WEB. - - -I. - -There is magic in salt water which transmogrifies all things it -touches. The aeroplane with its cubist outline undergoes a sea change -on reaching the coast and becomes a flying-boat, a thing of beauty, -a Viking dragon ship, a shape born of the sea and air with pleasant -and easy lines, and in the sun, the dull war-paint stripped from the -natural mahogany, a flashing golden craft of enchantment. - -During the war nothing was published about the flying-boats, partly -because they worked with the Silent Navy, and partly because they -were produced in the service. They were created to harry and destroy -the German submarines, and were a manifestation of the genius of the -English-speaking peoples for all things connected with the sea. - -There is a tang of salt in the adventures of the men who boomed out -in them over the narrow waters, for they had to do with submarines -and ships, and all that that implies. In their job o' work of bombing -U-boats, attacking Zeppelins, fighting enemy seaplanes, and carrying -out reconnaissance and convoy duties, there is as much romance as -in any particular effort in the war. In the future, grown great in -size, the boats will form the winged Navy, and will carry mails and -passengers over the water-routes of all the world. - -Boat seaplanes, or flying-boats as they are called by the men who use -them, are a true type of aircraft designed for dealing with the chances -and hazards of flying over the sea. They have a stout wooden boat hull, -planked with mahogany and cedar, to which the wings, with the engines -between the planes, are attached. They carried a service crew of four: -Captain, navigator, wireless operator, and engineer. Float seaplanes, -which the boats superseded, were practically land machines with two -wooden floats instead of wheels, and struck you as being aeroplanes on -a visit to the seaside which had put on huge goloshes in order to keep -dry. On seeing one pass overhead it was usual to say: "There she goes -with her big boots on." - -Float seaplanes were not very seaworthy, breaking up quickly in rough -water; and many a brave lad, down at sea in them with engine trouble, -has been drowned. They are very much to-day what they were in 1914. - -From the very beginning of things there was much faith shown by the -sea-going pilots of the Royal Naval Air Service in the seaplane as a -weapon to do down the U-boat. But the technical people of the service -neglected float seaplanes; and flying-boats, of which they did not -approve, took a long time to develop. Instead of perfecting seaplanes -the slide-rule merchants developed scout land machines with the idea -of using them off the decks of ships, and a strong force of aeroplane -pilots was collected and provided with fast and handy aeroplanes. The -Navy was not ready to use this force, only being converted to its value -in 1918, and it was sent to assist the Royal Flying Corps, when the -latter was in difficulties in France owing to the lack of pilots and -efficient machines. Unfortunately this effort turned a great deal of -the energy of the R.N.A.S. away from seaplanes and anti-submarine work. - -There would probably not have been any big British flying-boats but -for the vision, persistence, and energy, in the face of disbelief and -discouragement, of Colonel J. C. Porte, C.M.G., who designed and built -at Felixstowe Air Station the experimental machine of each type of -British flying-boat successfully used in the service. His boats were -very large, the types used in the war weighing from four and a half to -six and a half tons, and carried sufficient petrol for work far out -from land and big enough bombs to damage or destroy a submarine other -than by a direct hit. The pilots were out in the bow of the boat, with -the engines behind them, and so had a clear view downward and forward. -The boats were very seaworthy, and no lives were lost in operations -from England owing to unseaworthiness. - -[Illustration: Porte Baby with Bristol Bullet on top plane.] - -In designing and perfecting flying-boats there were more difficulties -than in producing float seaplanes, for the technical problems were -great, while engines of sufficient horse-power were not to be had -in the early part of the war, and indifference and scepticism had -to be overcome. It was not until the spring of 1917 that suitable -flying-boats were in being. But this was in time for them to meet the -big German submarine effort, when the great yards at Weser, Danzig, -Hamburg, Vagesack, Kiel, and Bremen, working day and night, with -production driven to its highest pitch by standardisation, were pouring -out into the North Sea an incredible number of U-boats. - -During this year--a year when it looked as though the Under-sea boats -would strangle our merchant shipping and the danger was greater to -England than her people realised--forty flying-boats were put into -commission, and sighted sixty-eight enemy submarines and bombed -forty-four of them. - -A submarine is a steel boat shaped something like a cigar. When on -the surface it is driven by two petrol engines. Under the surface it -is driven by two electric motors, the electricity being obtained from -storage batteries. At the bow and stern are horizontal rudders known as -hydroplanes. Under ordinary circumstances, when the submarine is about -to dive, water is let into tanks until the boat is just floating on the -surface with only the conning-tower showing. The petrol engines are -stopped and the electric motors are started. Then the hydroplanes are -turned down and they force the submarine under the water. The submarine -uses its power of travelling under the water to stalk its prey and to -hide from its enemies. - -When the intensive German submarine campaign began, the methods -of hunting U-boats from surface ships had not been perfected. The -hydrophone was crude, the technique of using depth charges was not -perfected, and the mines and nets were not adequate. Also, the Dover -barrage was not then in being. So Fritz, as the service called the Hun -submarine, went south--about from his bases to his hunting-grounds. - -Picture the sinister grey steel tubes dropping away from the dock in -the German harbour as the Commander in the conning-tower gave the order -to cast off, the swirl of water at the stern as the twin propellers -took up their job, and the gay flutter of signal flags hoisted to the -collapsible mast as they passed out of the harbour--a harbour which -they would not see, if all went well with them, for from fifteen to -twenty-five days, and which, if things went well for the Allies, they -would never see again. Once outside the harbour, the Commander would -order the engines whacked up to the economical cruising speed of eight -to nine knots, a speed at which he could do about two hundred miles a -day, and would then turn south, and so proceed on the surface through -the North Sea to the Straits of Dover. - -Passing through the Straits, either at night on the surface or in -the daytime under the water, the Commander would pass down the south -coast of England and cruise on the surface in the chops of the English -Channel or off the approaches to Ireland. Here he would meet our -merchant ships coming in with food, raw material, munitions, and -passengers, and either sink them by gun-fire or by torpedo. The attack -would be made without warning. Sometimes survivors, who had got away in -boats from the doomed vessel, would be shelled. And once the survivors -were taken on the deck of a submarine, their life-belts removed, and -then the submarine submerged, leaving the unfortunates to drown. - -On their run through the North Sea the submarines passed between the -Hook of Holland and Harwich Harbour, the distance between the two -places being one hundred miles. - -Harwich Harbour is a sheltered stretch of water on the East Coast made -by the rivers Stour and Orwell emptying into the southern portion of -the North Sea. It was the centre of intense anti-Hun activity. It was -here that Rear-Admiral Tyrwhitt had his "hot-stuff" destroyer flotilla, -that the hydrophone for detecting enemy submarines under the surface -of the sea was evolved, that our own submarines which operated in the -Bight of Heligoland had their base, and where the flying-boat station -of Felixstowe was situated. And it was at Felixstowe that the service -experimental flying-boats were designed and built, and a flying-boat -squadron operated. During 1917 this squadron, which used an average -of only eight boats a month, sighted forty-seven enemy submarines and -bombed twenty-five, besides destroying enemy seaplanes and bringing -down a Zeppelin in flames. - -[Illustration: Chart showing the Southern Portion of the North Sea and -the Bight of Heligoland.] - -It was my good fortune to be posted to Felixstowe Air Station in -March 1917 and to be put in charge of the flying-boat operations. So -this is a yarn about the beginnings and work of a single flying-boat -station, but it is characteristic of the work carried out at the -seaplane stations strung along the South and East Coasts of Great -Britain, from the Scilly Islands, off Land's End, to the Orkneys and -Shetlands, off the north of Scotland. If the names and deeds of the -pilots at Felixstowe are alone recorded, it is not that equally gallant -and skilful men were not harrying the Hun elsewhere, but that their -adventures would fill many volumes. - - -II. - -In the curious quirks of fortune and chance which moved people across -oceans and continents to play their part in the war, and finally -fetched them up, in some cases, in the jobs which they most desired to -fill, there are all the elements of romance. Just before the war broke -out I was occupying a room at the "Aviator's Home," a boarding-house -in the small American inland town of Hammondsport, N.Y. This town was -situated on a long narrow lake, with a forked end, a lake surrounded -by steeply rising vine-clad hills to which clung the white wooden -houses of the vine-growers, and in which were dug the huge cellars for -storing the excellent champagne of the district. - -It was here that Mr Glen Curtiss built his flying-boats before the -war, having recruited his labour at first from the ranks of the local -blacksmiths, carpenters, and young men with a mechanical turn of mind. -And it was here that I first tasted the smoke of a Fatima cigarette, a -particularly biting smoke affected by Yankee airmen, and went out in -a flying-boat for the first time in July 1914. This boat, to memory -quaint and medieval, had a single engine alleged to develop sixty -horse-power; it belonged to the dim dark ages when compared to the -latest boat I have flown, the eighteen hundred horse-power _Felixstowe -Fury_. - -Finishing the course of instruction a few days after the declaration -of war, and receiving no satisfaction by cabling to the Admiralty and -War Office offering my services as a pilot, which rather annoyed me at -the time, but which I now know was probably due to their being somewhat -preoccupied with other little matters, I returned to my home in -Toronto, Canada, and joined the first Canadian contingent as a private -in a machine-gun battery. - -Arriving in England in the steerage of a troopship in October 1914, I -satisfied at Lockyears in Plymouth a great hunger and thirst, bred of -army fare and a dry canteen, with a most delectable mixed grill, the -half of a blackberry and apple tart smothered in Devonshire cream, -and a bottle of the best. By the end of the dinner I had decided to -emigrate to England. Some few days later I found myself imbedded in -the mud of Salisbury Plain at Bustard Camp, a victim of inclement -weather (which penetrated without difficulty the moth-eaten five-ounce -canvas of the tent under which I sheltered) and the plaything of -loud-voiced and energetic sergeants, who seemed to think that I liked -nothing better on a rainy Sunday than to wheel, from the dump to the -incinerator a half mile away, the week's collections of garbage. After -two weeks of this I decided that I would not live in England. - -Believing firmly in the future of aeroplanes and seaplanes in warfare, -I made another attempt to transfer to one of the Air Services, the -Royal Naval Air Service by preference; for having knocked about a good -deal in small boats on the Great Lakes, I thought that the navigation -and seamanship I had picked up might prove useful in seaplane work. - -On a personal application to the Admiralty I was informed that -Colonials were not required, as they made indifferent officers, that -the service had all the fliers they would ever need, and, besides all -this, that I was too old. And then it was suggested that I should sign -on as a mechanic. I went to Farnborough, the headquarters of the Royal -Flying Corps, and saw Sir Hugh Trenchard, then I believe a major, and -was informed that I could be put on the waiting list, but found I would -have to wait six months before seeing an aeroplane, owing to the wicked -shortage of machines. - -Being full of enthusiasm and impatience, and thinking that the war -would be sharp and quick and soon decided one way or the other, I had -another try at the Admiralty. But this time, on the advice of a friend -who had lived some time in England, I attacked them in a different way. -At my first interview I had appeared with my flying credentials and -in the uniform of a private--a uniform, as being the King's, of which -I was tremendously proud, although the tunic was about two sizes too -small for me and the breeches four sizes too large. The second time I -wore a suit of civilians cut by a good tailor and carried letters of -introduction from sundry important people. I was this time offered a -commission as a machine-gun Sub-Lieutenant, R.N.V.R., in the armoured -cars attached to the Royal Naval Air Service, and believing that this -was a step in the right direction, and fully determined to fly at the -first opportunity, I was duly gazetted in December 1914. - -I was told to report to H.M.S. _Excellent_ for training. At the railway -station at Portsmouth I asked a taxi-cab driver if he knew where -H.M.S. _Excellent_ was lying, and he replied that he did, and that -he would drive me right on board. I thought that she must be a very -big ship, but said nothing. Finally I found myself being driven over -a bridge, and was informed a moment later that I was on board H.M.S. -_Excellent_, or, in other words, at Whale Island. This training centre -is the forcing-house of naval discipline, and everything is done at the -double--an exceedingly fast double when the eye of the First Lieutenant -falls upon an instructor. She is a curious ship. The Captain, when he -comes on board by launch from the mainland, is driven up from the -landing stage to his office in a little green railway carriage drawn by -a little green engine. - -For some time I trained in England, and finally sailed for the -Dardanelles in March 1915. After forty days in Gallipoli in command of -a travelling circus of machine-guns--and machine-guns were worth more -than gold and precious stones in the first days on the Peninsula, being -attached in turn to the Australians in Shrapnel Valley, sundry units at -Cape Helles, and finally to the 29th Division in Gully Ravine, where -I worked with the 13th Sikhs until they were practically wiped out on -June 4--I again found myself in England in July 1915, my arm in a sling -and feeling very thin as the result of sand colic, a horrid complaint -which seized me the moment I set foot on Turkish soil at Gaba Tepe. - -Following a holiday at Sunning-on-Thames, a two-week caravan trip -through the New Forrest behind an old horse named Ben--a horse with -whiskers on its ankles and a three-knot gait--and sundry visits to the -Admiralty, I was transferred from Lieutenant R.N.V.R. to Acting Flight -Lieutenant R.N.A.S. and posted to Hendon Air Station. Here I acted as -First Lieutenant to Flight Commander Busteed until July 1916, having a -good rest in order to get fit again, with only a few jobs to do, such -as digging drains, building roads, altering machines, lecturing to the -school on machine-guns and bombs, building huts for the men out of -packing-cases, doing acceptance and test flights when I had regained -some of my energy, and in my spare time learning what I could of the -theory and practice of flight from my commanding officer, who very -kindly took no end of trouble in assisting me. Then I was given the -command when he left for Eastchurch. - -Our Mess was livened up about this time by the frequent visits of a -senior officer who, arriving about dinner-time, would discuss flying -far into the night, turn out at daybreak to fly any machine available -no matter what the weather was like, and then, after breakfast, hasten -off to the Admiralty. It was a tremendous relief to meet a senior -officer who was keen to know everything about flying at first hand, -who could deal on paper with flying problems of which he had practical -experience, and took the trouble to understand the point of view of the -pilots. - -Once when a very senior officer, in a very bad temper, was inspecting -the station, he was taken into the first shed. "Quiet, very quiet," -he said. "You don't seem to be doing much work for the number of men -you have got." A trusty Sub. was despatched to the second shed with -instructions to have the party of tinsmiths in the annex hammer like -mad on a row of empty tanks. When the inspection party entered this -shed the senior officer said, shouting to make himself heard above the -noise--"Better; much better." - -During the fall of 1916 many rumours were about concerning the -developments of flying-boats at Felixstowe Air Station, along with a -few facts from Lieutenant Partridge, R.N.V.R., who had been ground -officer at Hendon, until after taking a course in a gunnery school -he went to Felixstowe as armament officer. Also the work at Hendon -was petering out, the soldiers of the R.F.C. had cast a monocled and -covetous eye on the aerodrome, the submarine situation was becoming -acute, and the doctor had forbidden me to fly at any altitude. I -therefore put in to be transferred to a seaplane station, and was -posted in March 1917 to Felixstowe. - -Felixstowe town in ordinary times is a summer resort, but owing to the -threat of air raids it was practically forsaken by its usual floating -population and was heavily garrisoned by the military, the water front -being protected by barbed wire and innumerable trenches. The people of -the town in times of peace lived on the summer visitors; during the war -they lived on the soldiers and airmen. - - -III. - -When I first rolled up to Felixstowe Air Station I was tremendously -impressed by its size. It was enclosed on the three land sides by a -high iron fence. As I passed the sentry-box and entered by the main -gate, the guardhouse occupied by the ancient marines was on my right, -flanked by the kennel of Joe, a ferocious watch-dog who had a strong -antipathy to anybody in civilian attire. Beside guarding the gate, Joe -provided a steady income to the marines, for his puppies fetched good -prices. On my left were the ship's office and garage. I entered the -former and reported my arrival to the First Lieutenant. - -The First Lieutenant of the station was Lieut.-Commander O. H. K. -Macguire, R.N., known as James the One or Number One, who understood -discipline, and reigned over an exceedingly fine mess. He ran the -station under naval routine, the time being tapped off on a bell, the -ship's company being divided into watches, anybody leaving the station -"going ashore," and the men for leave, when marching out of the gate, -were the "liberty boat." The Navy people, of course, said that the -R.N.A.S. was not run on Navy lines, but it was run as close to them as -everybody knew how, and as the exigencies of the new weapon permitted. -The naval routine and discipline fitted the work of a seaplane station -admirably, for the work approximated to that of a ship, where drill is -of secondary importance, and speed, skill, and accuracy in carrying out -a job of work is of the first importance. - -As James the One had a shrewd tongue he was rather feared by the junior -officers, especially the Canadians, who hated with a profound hatred -the ever-recurring twenty-four-hour job of Duty Officer, during which -they could get no sleep in the long watches of the night owing to the -continuous ringing of the telephone bell. But he instilled discipline -into their unruly hearts, which assisted them to carry out their work -when subsequently elevated in rank. - -[Illustration: Sheds and Slipways at Felixstowe.] - -He had taken over the station at a time when, owing to rapid growth, -the new men were not being digested, and discipline was rather ragged -at the edges; but by this time he had the men well in hand. And woe -betide the defaulter, standing to attention outside the ship's office -in full view of Number One as he sat in an easy-chair on the verandah -of the mess, if the unfortunate so much as moved a little finger. The -tiger roar which greeted such a disobedience to the order not to move, -made every man with a guilty conscience on the station tremble. - -On the other hand, he would brook no interference with the rights and -privileges of the men, and looked after their interests as regards -pay and promotion. Divisions, when the whole ship's company were -mustered on the quarter-deck in the morning and at noon, was a marvel -of smartness, especially when it is remembered that the men were -"tradesmen." The effect was heightened by the attendance of the pipe -band, of which Number One was rightly proud. - -Leaving the office of the First Lieutenant I stepped out on the -quarter-deck. On the mast, on the far side of this gravelled expanse, -rippling and snapping in the breeze, flew the white ensign. - -Crossing the quarter-deck and steering close to the bright and shining -ship's bell, which I passed on my left, I found a path leading to -the harbour. The left side of the path was the starting-point of an -interminable row of huts for the men. Carrying on, after stumbling over -a railway siding, and passing between two of the huge seaplane sheds, -of which there were three--sheds 300 feet long by 200 feet wide--I -eventually arrived at the concrete area on the water front. - -Before each of the big sheds was a slipway. These were wide wooden -gangways running out from the concrete into the harbour and sloping -down into the water, and were used for launching the flying-boats. - -Here I could look across the harbour and see Harwich and Shotley, -the tangle of light cruisers and destroyers lying at anchor in the -river, and the outlines of the floating dock in which destroyers, -battered by the seas or damaged in contact with the enemy, were lifted -out of the water and their hurts attended to. As I stood sniffing in -the harbour smells, one of our E-class submarines came slinking in -between the guardships at the boom, fresh from patrol in the Bight, and -wearing that sinister air of stealth and secrecy which marks even the -friendliest of submarines. - -Walking down the concrete to my left I finally came to the pre-war -buildings of the Old Station. These buildings were used by Commander -Porte for his experimental work. In the early part of 1914 Commander -Porte was in America, at the Curtiss Company works at Hammondsport, -where he supervised the designing and testing of the first American -type of flying-boat. This boat was constructed with the intention, if -it was satisfactory, of attempting to fly the Atlantic. It was a very -big machine for that time, although to a modern pilot, familiar with -the luxuriously fitted up six-ton boats with two Rolls-Royce engines -giving a total of 720 horse-power, she would seem a funny old, cranky, -under-engined tub. - -On the afternoon of the day war was declared Commander Porte sailed -for England, and a little later took over Felixstowe. Sundry copies of -the original boat arrived from the United States in 1915. These were -comic machines, weighing well under two tons; with two comic engines -giving, when they functioned, 180 horse-power; and comic control, being -nose heavy with engines on and tail heavy in a glide. And the stout -lads who tried impossible feats in them had usually to be towed back by -annoyed destroyers. - -As the Navy people could not understand anything being made which could -not be dropped with safety from a hundred feet, or seaworthy enough to -ride out a gale, or as reliable as the coming of the Day of Judgment -for the Hun, much criticism and chaff, some good-natured but some not, -were worked off by the sailors during this period on both boats and -pilots. But improvements went steadily on. - -In the fall of 1916 improved and very much bigger flying-boats, built -in the United States to specifications supplied by Commander Porte, -began to arrive. - -By this time Commander Porte had got out several experimental -flying-boats. He carried out his plans with a scratch collection -of draughtsmen, few with any real knowledge of engineering; with -boat-builders and carpenters he had trained himself; and he only -obtained the necessary materials by masterly wangling. He frequently -started a new boat and then asked the authorities for the grudged -permission. But in all things connected with the building of -flying-boats his insight amounted to genius, and the different types of -boats kept getting themselves born. His latest boat, known unofficially -as the _Porte Super Baby_, or officially as the _Felixstowe Fury_, a -huge triplane with a wing span of 127 feet, a total lifting surface -of 3100 square feet, a bottom of three layers of cedar and mahogany -half an inch thick, and five engines giving 1800 horse-power, I flew -successfully--it weighed a total of fifteen tons. On this test I -carried twenty-four passengers, seven hours' fuel, and five thousand -pounds of sand as a make-weight. Some idea of its huge size can be had -when it is realised that its tail unit alone is as large as a modern -single-seater scout. - -At Hendon I had assisted in dragging the first twin-engined -Handley-Page, at midnight and with the greatest secrecy, through the -streets leading from the works at Cricklewood to the aerodrome. The -procession was headed by an army of men removing obstructing lamp-posts -and cutting off overhanging branches, followed by a motor-lorry with -two acetylene flares, and then sixty men hauling the machine along by -ropes. At the time I thought she was a very big machine. But in the -sheds at Felixstowe I found boats of equal size and horse-power and -greater speed, and boats that were even larger. - -There was the boat called the _Porte Baby_, a bigger machine than any -built and flown in this country until 1918, and this boat was produced -in 1915 and flown in 1916. Although it did little useful active service -work, it set other designers to thinking, and was the father and mother -of all big British aeroplanes and seaplanes. When fully loaded it -weighed about eight and a half tons, but no scales big enough to weigh -it were obtainable in the service. - -It was so large that a Bristol Bullet land scout was fitted on the -top plane, which, while the boat was in the air, was successfully -launched and flown back to an aerodrome by Flight Lieutenant Day, of -the seaplane carrier _Vindex_. This gallant officer unfortunately was -killed later in France. - -Well on in 1917 sundry young pilots took the _Porte Baby_ out for a -joy-ride, and presently found themselves off the Belgian coast being -attacked by a Hun land-machine and two fighter seaplanes. Two out of -the three engines were shot about and the big boat had to come down on -the water. The Huns circled around firing at it until their ammunition -was exhausted, and then returned joyously to Zeebrugge to report the -total destruction of a giant flying-boat. - -But while the tracer bullets were playing about, the crew were lying -down in the bottom of the boat watching the splinters fly. When the -Huns departed the crew repaired the engines, started them up, and all -night long taxied on the water across the North Sea. The much-chastened -pilots beached the boat, in the small hours of the morning, on the -coast of England, near Orfordness. A sentry, believing, as he explained -later, that at last an invasion of England by Zeppelin was being -attempted, fired on them, but was eventually pacified. The crew arrived -at the station very tired, very black, one of their number with a -bullet hole in him, but cheerful. - -When the _Porte Baby_ was finally dismantled, her hull was placed in -the grounds of a woman's hostel, a door was cut in the side, electric -light laid on, and four Wren motor-drivers found sufficient room inside -to sling their hammocks, stow clothing, and room even for mirrors and -powder puffs. - -After sculling about in the sheds for some time, I finally climbed to -the look-out on top of Number One Shed. - -Here I surveyed for the first time the mottled, misty, treacherous -North Sea. In a southeasterly direction and some ninety miles away -was the Belgian coast, with the German submarine and seaplane bases -at Zeebrugge and Ostend. Some hundred and eighty miles away, in a -north-easterly direction, was Terschelling Island, and just around the -corner of this island was the Bight of Heligoland. On a shoal, half-way -on a line between Felixstowe and the Hook of Holland, fifty-two sea -miles from either place and the same distance from Zeebrugge, was the -red rusty North Hinder light-vessel belonging to the Dutch, with a -large lantern on its one stout steel mast, and its name painted in huge -white letters along its sides. This light-vessel was to play a large -part in the bombing of submarines. - - -IV. - -After some days at Felixstowe, feeling rather like a lost dog, as no -work had been given me to do, and always expecting some demonstration -to be made against the German submarines, I was much disappointed to -find that nothing seemed to be done. - -Indeed, I got exceedingly mouldy, so mouldy that I broke out in verses -for 'The Wing,' the station magazine. They were a lament for the old -land hack I had left behind at Hendon--a scandalous biplane, which had -been rebuilt so often that nobody could tell the breed. Her fabric was -so ancient that on the last time I had flown her the covering on the -top side of the centre section had blown off. The verses ran:-- - - TO MY OLD BUS. - - To Number One she's ullage and he's ordered her deletion, - For the grease and dirt are ingrained, and she isn't smart as paint, - And the flat-foot X-Y-Chaser helped by calling her a horror-- - Although she's sweet to handle, which some experts' buses ain't. - - I've tumbled split-all endwise in her from a bank of vapour, - And surprised a little rainbow lying sleeping in a cloud; - I did my first loop in her, and I've crashed her and rebuilt her, - And robbed her spares from other planes, which strictly ain't allowed. - - At evening, just at sunset, I have climbed into her cockpit, - And gone roaring up an air lane till I've caught the sun again, - And feeling most important at my private view of glory, - Have watched him set splendacious with his pink and golden train. - - Her crash form's all in order, and they'll strip, saw, break, and - burn her, - And I'm sorry more than I can say to know she has to go; - For blue, depressed, fed-up, or sore, I'd but to climb aboard her - To leave my pack of mouldy troubles far away below. - -The patrol work of the station was rather at a low ebb at this time -through various causes. With the machines available much good work -had been done in the previous years, but the first five big twin -engine-boats to be erected and tested, together with many good pilots -and engineers, had just boomed off for the Scilly Islands, leaving -a rather large hole in the station resources. Weather conditions -also were not very good. There was no organisation in existence for -carrying out intensive anti-submarine patrol, and there appeared to be -no signs of that passionate energy by which alone, in all branches of -anti-submarine work, the knavish tricks of the U-boat were frustrated. - -A great deal of the energy of the station was taken up in experimental -work and the erection of flying-boats, of which forty in all were -assembled, fitted out, and tested during the year. - -The engines of the only two boats available for patrol, Nos. 8661 and -8663, were run and tested every morning before daybreak, but after -volunteering many times to get up and run the engines, I found that -the boats never went out. There was a feeling among the majority of -the pilots at this time that there was little use in patrols from -Felixstowe, as from the beginning of the war only two enemy submarines -had been sighted by pilots on patrol from the station. This lack of -success was not due to patrols not having been done, although intensive -work had never been carried out owing to the lack of suitable machines, -but was due to the few submarines that had been navigating about. - -But now the enemy submarines were freely and copiously navigating the -narrow seas, and the Zeppelins were nonchalantly parading in daylight -outside the Bight of Heligoland. - -Commander Porte, owing to various causes, was absent from Felixstowe -for long periods throughout this year, although fortunately his advice -and experience were available for operations. Number One, who was in -charge in the absence of Commander Porte, was not a flying officer, but -he appreciated the situation, saw the Senior Naval Officer, Harwich, -under whose command the operations came, and obtained a tremendous -concession from him. This was, that Felixstowe was given permission to -carry out anti-submarine patrol on its own, providing that he approved -of the general scheme and was kept informed of the movements of -machines. - -Our S.N.O. was unlike some other Senior Naval Officers under whose -command for operations there were float seaplanes and boats. For -some of them did not know the technical and weather limitations, -and therefore frequently ordered impossibilities, and when failure -resulted, damned the machines and personnel of the Royal Naval Air -Service; on the other hand they would not allow possible operations to -be carried out which they had not originated themselves. - -In sketching out the campaign from Felixstowe against the U-boats, it -was decided that the only sure method of protecting shipping was to -damage or destroy submarines, and that all other methods were merely -palliative. It was considered that ships proceeding in the shipping -lane, which was close to the coast of England and protected by shallow -mine-fields and surface patrol craft, were well looked after, and that -enemy submarines, if operating in these busy waters, would be so on the -alert and keep such a good look-out that the flying-boats would not be -given a chance; for submarines cannot be seen from the air when once -below the surface of the North Sea. It was therefore decided to expend -all available flying time where submarines were to be found on the -surface, and that the efficiency of the patrols would not be decided -by the number of flying hours put in, but by the number of submarines -sighted and bombed. - -The Hun submarines streaming down through the southern portion of the -North Sea were of the U-B, U-C, and U types--the smallest 90 feet -in length and the largest 225 feet long. They were mine-layers and -commerce destroyers, and their commanders travelled on the surface -through the Felixstowe area, because the distance they could go under -water was only about seventy-five miles, and they could only run -submerged at eight knots for two hours before exhausting their electric -batteries. And low speeds--say of two knots, which the submarine could -keep up for forty-eight hours when submerged--were of no value to an -impatient Fritz anxious to get to his hunting-ground. And this was -important, as the hundred-mile stretch of water between England and -Holland is very shallow, and consequently muddy, and presents a brown -and dirty green mottled surface opaque to the eye of the observer in -the air. - -The exact position of the German submarines was obtained from time to -time; for when their commanders reported to Germany by wireless--which -they usually did when homeward bound after making up through the -Straits of Dover safely, although sometimes they reported when -south-bound--the signal betrayed their position. The wireless messages -were picked up by two direction-finding wireless stations in England, -each station obtaining a bearing of the U-boat that was sending. When -the two bearings obtained in this way were plotted out on the chart -they crossed, and where they crossed there the U-boat had been. This -was known as a wireless fix. - -[Illustration: Felixstowe Patrol Area with Spider Web Patrol, showing -submarines sighted and bombed, and the wireless fixes for four -months.] - -The wireless fixes of the submarines showed that they were passing in -the vicinity of the North Hinder light-vessel; so a method of carrying -out the search was devised, and this was called the Spider Web. - -This tremendous spider web was sixty miles in diameter. It allowed -for the searching of four thousand square miles of sea, and was right -across the path of the submarines. A submarine ten miles outside of it -was in danger of being spotted, so at cruising speed it took ten hours -for a U-boat to cross it. Under ordinary conditions a boat could search -two sectors--that is, a quarter of the whole web--in five hours or -less. The tables were turned on Fritz the hunter; for here he was the -hunted, the quarry, the fly that had to pass through some part of the -web. The flying-boat was the spider. - -The Spider Web Patrol was based on the North Hinder light-vessel, -which was used as a centre point, and allowed for a thorough searching -of the sea in a forty-mile radius. It was an octagonal figure with -eight radial arms thirty sea-miles in length, and with three sets of -circumferential lines joining the arms ten, twenty, and thirty miles -out from the centre. Eight sectors were thus provided for patrol, and -all kinds of combinations could be worked out. As the circumferential -lines were ten miles apart, each section of a sector was searched twice -on any patrol when there was good visibility. - -A chart was kept showing the positions, dates, and times of day that -submarines were fixed by wireless, and it was from this chart that the -sectors which would pay for searching were determined. - -The pilots were to boom out from Felixstowe to the North Hinder, a -distance of fifty-two sea-miles, fly out a radial arm as instructed, -and then proceed along the patrol lines in the sectors to be searched, -sweeping from the outside to the centre, returning to the North Hinder -and so to the base. - -Navigation over the sea, where one square mile of water looks exactly -like every other square mile, is more difficult than finding the way -over land. The only fixed objects by which a pilot can check his -calculated position are light-vessels and buoys, but in war-time these -are shifted about, and there are large areas without any such marks. - -The difficulty of navigation is due to the fact that unless there is -absolutely no wind, the compass, after the corrections for variation -and deviation are made, only shows the direction in which the head -of the flying-boat is pointing and not the direction in which it is -travelling, and the air-speed indicator only gives the speed of the -machine in relation to the air. - -For an aircraft is completely immersed in the air, so that besides its -movement in relation to the air caused by its own mechanism, it moves -with the air over the surface of the earth, the speed and path of the -machine being the result of the two movements. - -If the pilot of a flying-boat had to go to a light-ship sixty miles -due east from his station when a twenty-knot wind was blowing from the -north, and he flew at sixty knots due east by his compass, at the end -of an hour he would not fetch up at his object, but twenty miles to the -south of it. If, instead of flying on 90 degrees, which is east, he -flew on 71 degrees on his compass, he would fetch up at the light-ship -in sixty-three minutes, having travelled due east over the surface of -the sea. To a man in a ship he would appear to be flying sideways. - -Similarly, if a pilot flew into a sixty-knot wind with his air-speed -indicator showing sixty knots, he would not be moving over the surface -of the sea, and to the man in the ship he would appear to be standing -still. - -The Chaplain of the station, the Rev. W. G. Litchfield, produced for -us a simple table with which the pilot, knowing approximately the -force and direction of the wind, could quickly work out the compass -correction for drift and the time correction for the air-speed -indicator. - -The patrols were to be carried out at the height of a thousand feet, -because at this height silhouettes of the submarines and surface craft -could best be seen, the run of the wind on the water could be spotted -and its direction and force determined, and it was easy to drop down to -eight hundred or six hundred feet to bomb a Fritz. - -Being now ready to start, and being given the sounding title of -Commanding Officer War Flight, I had No. 2 shed, the two boats 8661 and -8663, and an insufficient number of men turned over to me. - -There was no intelligence hut, no flying office, no telephone in the -shed, no pigeons; and Billiken Hobbs, who was the only pilot at this -time turned over to the flight, had never seen an enemy submarine. And -I was in like case myself; besides which, I had never flown one of the -big twin-engined boats. - -On the afternoon of April 12 all arrangements had been made. - -[Illustration] - - - - -CHAPTER II. - -LIKE A FAIRY TALE. - - -I. - -The first eighteen days of the life of the War Flight was like a fairy -tale, for the pilots, booming out on the Spider Web in the wet triangle -formed by the Shipwash light-vessel, the Haaks light-ship, and the -Schouen Bank light-buoy, sighted eight enemy submarines and bombed -three, one of the patrols ran into four Hun destroyers and was heavily -shelled, and one boat was lost at sea, although all members of the crew -were saved. - -On the morning of April 13 we carried out the first patrol of the -series, patrols which were to make the southern portion of the North -Sea unhealthy for Fritz to travel through on his unlawful occasions. - -I had hot-stuffed a big brass ship's bell from the Old Station, put up -a neat white gibbet to carry it in No. 2 shed, polished it, hung it -up, and fitted to its clapper a neatly grafted bell lanyard finished -off with a Turk's-head knot. At ten o'clock on this day, a day with an -overcast sky and a twenty-knot westerly wind blowing, I sounded off -five sharp taps on the bell, the signal for patrol. The chiefs of the -engineer, carpenter, and working parties reported for instructions, and -the working party fell in ready to move machines. - -Trim, clean, grey, and rigged true, and just tipping the scales at four -and a half tons, No. 8661 stood on her wheeled land trolley just inside -the shed. She was a fine machine, measuring ninety-six feet from wing -tip to wing tip, and had such a long and honourable life, doing three -hundred hours of patrol work, and three hundred and sixty-eight hours -flying in all, that she was affectionately known to all the pilots -as _Old '61_. Her 42-foot wooden hull, covered with canvas above the -water-line, was flat-bottomed and had a hydroplane step, which lifted -her on top of the water when she was getting off, and so enabled her to -obtain a speed at which the wings had sufficient lift to pick her up -into the air. - -She carried six and a half hours' fuel at a cruising speed of sixty -knots, her top speed being eighty. A knot is a speed of one nautical -mile an hour, and a nautical mile is 800 feet longer than a statute or -land mile, so that full out she could do ninety-two land miles an hour. - -The working party of twenty men gathered around _Old '61_ and rolled -her out of the shed to the concrete area. Here they chocked her up -under the bow and tail with trestles in order to prevent her standing -on her nose when the engines were tested. Two engineers climbed up to -each engine and started them. After they had been run slowly for about -fifteen minutes in order to warm up the oil, they were opened out until -they were giving their full revolutions, the tremendous power shaking -the whole structure of the boat. - -In the meantime the armourers' party had fitted on the four Lewis -machine-guns and had tucked up into place under the wing roots, two on -each side of the hull, the four one hundred pound bombs. The bombs were -fitted with a delay action fuse which detonated them about two seconds -after they hit the water or a submarine. If they hit the water they -would detonate when from sixty to eighty feet below the surface. - -[Illustration: 5-ton Flying-boat.] - -Bombs detonated near a submarine might merely shake her, fuse cut-outs -and extinguish electric lights, which was very bad for the moral of the -Hun crew and lowered their efficiency. Or they might cause a leak, say -by buckling a hatch, which the pumps could not keep under; or puncture -the external oil-tanks, which would cause a large loss of oil fuel; -or the periscope bases might be shaken or damaged; or the hydroplanes -might be forced hard up or hard down, making them difficult to work -and causing the boat to get out of control. All of which things would -make the commander of the submarine return to port and so save merchant -shipping. Or such serious damage might be caused that the submarine -would immediately sink. Direct hits usually destroyed a submarine. In -the early part of the war a U-boat was sunk by the direct hit of a -sixteen-pound bomb. - -When the boat was ready we climbed on board. Billiken Hobbs was the -First Pilot, I was the Second Pilot, and there were the wireless -operator and the engineer. - -Master of seven hundred roaring horse-power, responsible for all things -connected with the operation of the boat, and having to make instant -and correct decisions as to the nationality of submarines seen at -strange angles and oddly foreshortened, the first pilot of a flying -boat had to be a very fine fellow indeed. He was the captain, and took -the boat off the harbour and brought her in again, flew her on the -hunting-ground and in an air fight, and saw that the remainder of the -crew knew and did their duty. - -From the repairing of the boats and the handling of them on shore, -to the dropping of a bomb on a submarine, it was not a sport but a -business, a business that had to be learned, and the making of a good -first pilot was a longer task than the making of a land machine pilot. -Good first pilots were few, and when found were usually worked until -they cracked under the strain. For the stress due to steering careful -compass courses for hours is considerable, the effort of keeping a -constant and efficient look-out is very tiring, and the early boats -were either tail heavy or nose heavy, which threw a strain on the heart -of the pilot. Canadians seemed to be best fitted for flying-boat work, -and probably as high a proportion as three-fourths of the good boat -pilots came from that dominion. - -Billiken took his seat in a little padded arm-chair on the right-hand -side of the control cockpit, a cockpit which ran across the full -width of the boat some distance back from the nose. He was covered in -by a transparent wheel-house so that he did not have to wear goggles, -an important point in submarine hunting, as goggles interfere with -efficient observation. - -Before him on the instrument board was the compass, the air-speed -indicator, the altimeter which showed the height above the sea, a -bubble cross level which indicated if the boat was correctly balanced -laterally, the inclinometer which gave the fore-and-aft angle at which -the boat was flying, the oil-pressure gauges, and the engine revolution -counters. Close to his hand were the engine switches and the throttle -control levers. Immediately in front of him was an eighteen-inch wheel, -like the wheel of a motor-car, but carried vertically upright on a -wooden yoke, with which he controlled the boat when in the air. He -worked the steering rudder with his feet. - -As Second Pilot I stood beside Billiken. If a submarine was sighted I -ducked forward into the cockpit in the very nose of the boat, where -I had my machine-gun, bomb sight, and the levers which released the -bombs. In a little handbook, got out by a very wily first pilot for the -benefit of second pilots, a few of the hints as to their duties are as -follows:-- - -"Commence your watch-keeping at once and report to your first pilot -buoys, lightships, wrecks, or other objects which may enable him to -establish his position. Don't take it for granted that he has seen -anything that you have seen until you have pointed it out. - -"Observe above, below, around, in front, and behind. - -"You must be prepared to give your position to your first pilot or -wireless operator without hesitation at any moment throughout the -patrol. Make a small pencil circle on your track on the chart every -fifteen miles or so and at every alteration in course, writing the time -against this mark. - -"When dropping bombs remember they will only function if fused. - -"If a crash is inevitable, and you can save anything, four things -should take precedence--pigeons, emergency rations, Very's lights, and -the Red Cross outfit. - -"Learn how to tie a bowline. This is the simplest, quickest, and most -reliable knot for making fast your machine to a towline. Learn other -knots too. - -"Study the methods of handling machines on the slipway, both going out -and coming in. You may be in charge of this operation some day, and the -responsibility will be yours. - -"In short, make this the MORAL: - -"Know the boat and all that therein and thereon is, thoroughly, and -its capabilities and efficiencies, if you wish to become not only a -good pilot, but capable of command. This information is acquired from -time spent in the sheds and not from time spent reclining on wardroom -settees." - -The wireless operator had climbed into his place and sat facing forward -on the right-hand side of the boat immediately behind Billiken. He -had his wireless cabinet, containing his instruments, before him, and -could send and receive for a distance of from eighty to a hundred -miles. He coded and de-coded all signals. The code-book had weighted -covers, so that if the boat were captured by the enemy it would sink -immediately when thrown overboard. He had an Aldis signalling-lamp for -communicating with ships and other flying-boats. He also looked after -the Red Cross box, which contained a tourniquet, first-aid kit, the -sandwiches for immediate needs, the emergency rations for five days, -and the carrier-pigeons. - -The engineer was in his cockpit in the middle of the boat, surrounded -by the petrol-tanks, a maze of piping, and innumerable gadgets. His -duties were to keep an eye on the engines, see that the water in the -radiators did not boil, and take care of the petrol system. - -Two wind-driven pumps forced the petrol up from the main tanks to a -small tank in the top plane. The engines were fed from the top tank by -gravity, and the surplus petrol pumped up ran back to the main tanks. -The engineer regulated the flow so that the petrol was drawn from and -overflowed back into the main tanks in such a way that the fore-and-aft -balance of the boat was maintained. If anything went wrong with an -engine he had to climb out on the wing and, if possible, make a repair. - -Once a flying-boat attacked a submarine from a low altitude and was -met by machine-gun fire. A bullet drilled a hole in a radiator, and -the water began to run out. Also the first two bombs dropped missed -the submarine. The engineer quickly climbed out on the wing and put -a plug in the hole, and held it there, while the pilot took the boat -over the submarine again, and destroyed it with the second two bombs. -The engineer held the plug in place until the boat landed in the home -harbour. - -All four members of the crew were now in their places. The working -party attached a stout line to the rear of the trolley, knocked away -the chocks, and rolled the boat out on the slipway to where it began -to slope down into the water. Here six waders, in waterproof breeches -coming up to their armpits, and weighted boots to give them a secure -foothold when the tide was running, took charge, and steered the boat -down into the water, the working party easing her down by tailing on -the line. - -A wader has not got a soft job. At some stations where there is a -strong tide running waders have been washed off the slipways and -drowned. - -As the flying-boat entered the water the trolley, being heavy, remained -on the slipway, and the boat floated off. The thrust of the engines -urged her forward, and she taxied clear. Hobbs taxied out into the -harbour, turned up into the wind, and opened the engines full out. - -Driven by seven hundred tearing horse-power, the boat ran along the -water with ever-increasing speed, a big white wave bursting into spray -beneath her bow. As the speed increased, the boat was lifted on top of -the water by her hydroplane step until she was skimming lightly over -the surface. The air speed-indicator was registering thirty-five knots. -Then Hobbs pulled back the control wheel, and the boat leaped into the -air, the air speed jumping to sixty knots. Climbing in a straight line -until he was at a thousand feet, he turned the bow of the boat out to -sea. - -As much doubt had been expressed about the practicability of flying the -Spider Web Patrol, owing to the great number of changes in course and -the absence of lightships and buoys, it was decided to do the patrol -without any windage allowance. We made the North Hinder light-vessel -dead on, and then started on the Web. Finally, as the wind was -westerly, we fetched up on the Dutch coast, the low white sandhills of -which I now saw for the first time. Coming back against a head-wind, it -took so long that I thought at first that somebody had moved England, -and being very tired, I lay down in the bottom of the boat and had a -sleep. - -I was awakened when we were in sight of the Shipwash light-vessel--a -vessel with a single black ball as a day mark carried at the mast head. -She was eighteen sea miles from Felixstowe, four miles off the route -from the North Hinder, and many a pilot, bathed in perspiration with -the stress of handling his boat in bad weather, or coming in out of the -North Sea against a head wind with nearly empty tanks, has been cheered -by the sight of the short dumpy boat champing at its anchor chains. - -We saw no submarines on this patrol, but it proved that there was no -difficulty in flying the Spider Web under ordinary conditions. - - -II. - -After the first patrol had been carried out four more pilots -volunteered for the War Flight, and two patrols were carried out on -April 15th. It was on the fourth patrol, on the 16th, that Billiken -Hobbs, booming along in the Web at the thousand foot level in _Old -'61_, sighted the first enemy submarine. - -The commander of this U-boat was gaily navigating along on the surface, -fully blown, at a position twenty miles north-east of the North Hinder. -He was feeling quite at ease, for the visibility was good and the -surface of the sea was clear; he was too far out to be molested by -trawlers, and if destroyers hove in sight he could dive to a depth of -45 feet in ninety seconds. The hull of his boat was painted grey and -the decks black, making it very difficult to see. - -Had he been expecting trouble he would have been running awash--that -is, with the conning-tower alone showing above water, and with one -electric motor and one Diesel-engine going. He could then have done a -"crash" dive in about thirty seconds, going under with hydroplanes hard -down, full weigh on, and taking in water ballast. - -But he did not know about the flying-boats or the Spider Web. - -He was standing in the conning-tower beside the look-out man. He may -have been thinking of his sweetheart at home, or the faces of the men -and women he had drowned, but he certainly was not keeping a good -look-out. For he suddenly saw a black shape like a great crow in the -distance, and immediately afterwards a long grey boat, fitted with -wings, passed immediately over him. - -When the crew of the flying-boat first sighted the submarine the second -pilot fired two recognition signals, and as no answer was made Billiken -decided it was a Fritz. He took the flying-boat across it at the height -of eight hundred feet, but the second pilot in the front cockpit, not -having been trained in bomb dropping, failed to release the bombs. -Swinging the boat round in a split-all bank he again passed over, but -again the second pilot failed to pull the release levers, pulling -instead at the bowden wires, which came away from their fastenings. - -Recovering from his astonishment, the Commander of the submarine -realised that the flying-boat was there with no very friendly -intentions, and tapped the look-out man beside him on the shoulder, -at which signal the latter dropped through the hatchway in the -conning-tower down into the boat. The Commander then pressed a button -which rang the alarm bells below, and the men at the hydroplane wheels -and ballast cocks caused the boat to dive. - -As she began to submerge he shut down the hatch of the conning-tower -and the submarine slowly vanished from the sight of the infuriated -Billiken. - -The second pilot, poor lad, was killed in a small float seaplane a -short time afterwards, by ramming a flying-boat with which he was -practising fighting, and so had no second chance at a submarine. - -When the submarine was sighted the wireless operator had got off a -quick signal to the station, so when the first faint intermittent roar -of the twin engines of _Old '61_ could be heard, and she was seen as a -small black speck over the wreck of the Dutch steamer _Juliana_, mined -early in the war, the whole ship's company seemed to have found work -to do on the slipways and concrete area. Ten men were preventing each -other from coiling down a hawser, twenty men were noisily rolling empty -petrol barrels about, and innumerable men were shifting trolleys or -merely standing still and trying to look busy. - -The sheds and the workshops were deserted. - -As Billiken boomed in over the harbour and shut off his engines to -glide down, somebody on the slipway cried: "He's dropped his bombs." -And everybody cheered. And then a man with binoculars shouted: "He -hasn't dropped them," and thrust the glasses into the hand of the man -next to him so that he could verify it. - -When the motor-boat had taken _Old '61_ in tow and tied her up to a -buoy, the crew were brought ashore. The two pilots were almost mobbed -by the officers, and the wireless operator and engineer were surrounded -by great groups of men to whom they told the tale. It was not very -long, however, before a flying-boat could come into the harbour after -bombing a submarine without anybody looking up from his work. - -There was considerable excitement in the mess that night. Great -enthusiasm had seized everybody. They realised that there were -submarines outside and that they could be seen and bombed, and there -was a tremendous surge of pilots asking to join the War Flight. In all, -another eight pilots were taken on. - -And then the gilt was put on the gingerbread, for on the eighth patrol -Monk Aplin presented a Fritz with four one hundred pound bombs. Fritz -saw the flying-boat coming and ducked, but the swirl where he had gone -down was still showing on the surface when the four heavy underwater -explosions occurred right across his probable path. - -The success of the War Flight was now assured. - -Eager young pilots waited on the padre to gather wisdom concerning -aerial navigation, and went about muttering strange things about -"variation, deviation, triangle of forces, and courses made good." -Uncle Partridge, the armament officer, was running a continuous -performance for their benefit entitled: "Bomb the Boche Boys, or -Frightfulness for Fritz." Spring-heel Jack Lyons, the wireless -merchant, whose shore aerial was a makeshift affair attached to a stick -on top of a shed, panicked for a proper wireless outfit. And C.C. -Carlisle, the Old Man of the Sea, approving of the activity, put some -ginger into the working party and the crews of the motor-boats. - -The Old Man of the Sea, or Jumbo, as he was called, because of his -appearance and methods on the football field, was an institution on -the station. He was in charge of the working party which did all the -pulley-hauley work, and of the piratical crews of the motor-boats -who looked after the flying-boats when they were on the water of the -harbour. He had all sorts of fascinating model sheerlegs and derricks -for training his men, and on occasion headed the salvage crew or the -wrecking gang. - -He was a merchant service officer who had spent thirteen years at sea, -part of the time fetching oil from Patagonia, and it was rumoured -that he had also fetched from that salubrious spot his picturesque -language. Some week-end trippers to Felixstowe, standing outside the -barbed wire enclosing the beach, after watching and hearing, with -eyes popping out and ears flapping, the unconscious Jumbo handling a -working party bringing in the _Porte Baby_, wrote an anonymous letter -to the Commanding Officer complaining of the earache, and adding, "it -was Sunday too." This effusion was signed "A Disgusted Visitor." It -was quite evident that the writer had never been with our armies in -Flanders. - -When the War Flight was first started Jumbo had palmed off on me, being -new in the mess, all the halt, lame, and blind for a working party, -for he had a habit of secreting away all the best men for nefarious -jobs of his own. But after the first submarine was bombed his heart was -completely softened, and with a great wrench, and protesting that his -own work would never get done, he turned over to me one man who knew -his job. - - -III. - -It was on the eleventh patrol carried out on the 23rd that I bombed my -first submarine. - -On a pleasant morning, with a clear sky, a slight haze, and a 15-knot -wind blowing from the north-east--ideal weather conditions for -submarine hunting--Holmes and myself were shoved down the slipway in -_Old '61_ and took to the air at six o'clock. Thrusting out into the -North Sea on a course for the North Hinder, I steadied at the thousand -foot level and throttled back until we were doing an easy sixty knots. - -Looking back inside the boat I saw the wireless operator doing a -pantomime of unwinding a reel, and I nodded to him, at which he began -to let down the aerial through the tube in the bottom of the boat. This -was a copper wire three hundred feet long with a weight attached to the -end. - -If the boat was on the water this trailing aerial could of course not -be used, so a telescopic wooden mast was carried. The top of this mast -when it was set up was about thirty feet above the surface of the -water, and the aerial was led from the bow, tail, and ends of the upper -plane to the tip. With this aerial the operator could send and receive -for a distance of about thirty miles. Before these masts were carried -a boat came down at sea through engine trouble near a light-ship. The -first pilot made the flying-boat fast to the stern of the light-vessel -and the wireless operator led the aerial to its mast. In this way the -shore station was called up and a ship was sent out to tow in the -disabled boat. - -[Illustration: Boat on Patrol. 230-lb. bomb showing on machine from -which photograph was taken.] - -After passing over the well-known buoys at the approaches to the -harbour, we crossed a fleet of trawlers in the emergency war channel -busily engaged in the pleasing task of sweeping up enemy mines laid -the evening before by an optimistic Fritz from Zeebrugge. Fifteen -minutes later we had the Shipwash four miles on our port beam, and were -over the shipping channel which ran parallel with the coast. Here, as -far as the eye could see in either direction, was a thick stream of -cargo boats, of all shapes and sizes, ploughing along on their various -occasions, a striking example of the might of the British Mercantile -Marine. - -My ears were now deadened to the noise of the engines, and I would not -hear them again unless something went wrong and the note changed. I -had got the feel of the controls and was flying automatically, and was -unconscious of being in the air. It was merely like rushing over a very -calm sea in a fast motor-boat, except for the absence of shocks and the -wide horizon. - -Leaving the shipping channel behind we pushed on into the open sea. -Presently Holmes slapped me on the shoulder and pointed over the -starboard bow. Some seven miles away were four white waves rushing -across the surface of the water, apparently without any means of -propagation. Taking my hands from the control-wheel I made the signal -"wash-out," on recognising the bow-waves of four destroyers in line -ahead pushing through the water at top speed, although the low, slim, -grey ships were invisible, and of course no Huns would be playing about -in such dangerous parts. - -The wireless operator came forward--for the crew of a flying-boat can -move about easily and change places if necessary--lifted the flap -in the side of my flying-cap, and shouted in my ear "Hun submarine -working. Heading towards her." All the four of us were now keeping a -keen look-out, my own method being to swing my head from side to side -with a slow steady motion, thoroughly searching the half-circle of the -horizon, keeping my eyes focussed for a distance of four miles, as this -was the average distance for sighting submarines, although they have -been sighted from a distance of fifteen miles. - -And then I saw a black speck on the water dead ahead. Involuntarily I -shoved down the nose of the boat and opened out the engines. And then I -saw that it was the North Hinder. As we passed over her the Dutch flag -at her stern was politely dipped in salute. Changing course here we -boomed off towards the Schouen Bank buoy on the first arm of the Spider -Web. - -Suddenly, with a nerve shock, a pleasant tingling which cannot be -described, I saw a submarine dead ahead, about five miles away, fully -blown, and running directly towards us. Slamming on the engines, and -pushing the controls forward so as to lose height and gain the maximum -speed quickly, I hurled the 4½-ton machine through the air towards the -submarine at a mile and a half a minute. - -As our own submarines operated in this area I did not know whether it -was a Fritz, but fervently hoped it was. - -I noticed that it was running at about six knots, in which case it was -probably a Hun travelling on one engine and charging the batteries -with the dynamo on the other. The submarine statement received from -the Naval authorities the evening before had not mentioned one of our -own submarines as working in this vicinity, but then submarines were a -law unto themselves as regards time and navigation, and had a habit of -appearing in the most unexpected places. - -With the opening of the engines, the signal for action stations, the -engineer thrust himself up in the rear cockpit and seized the stern -guns in case hostile seaplanes had been sighted, the wireless operator -quickly wound in his trailing aerial to prevent it being carried away -if the boat came down near the water, and Holmes, who had seen the -submarine, ducked into the front cockpit. He snapped back the lever -which removed the safety device from the bombs and set the bomb-sight -for height, speed, and wind. - -When a bomb is released it travels forward on the same line as the -machine, and, at first, at the same speed, but its speed forward -gradually diminishes owing to the resistance of the air. At the same -time it travels downwards owing to the force of gravity at an ever -increasing rate of speed. It thus reaches the surface of the sea just -after the machine has passed vertically over the spot. Therefore a bomb -is released some time before the machine is vertically over the target, -and this time is determined by the speed of the machine over the sea, -the height at which it is flying, and the size, shape, and weight of -the bomb. All these factors are worked out on the bomb-sight, and the -bomb-dropper has only to pull the release-lever when two projections on -the sight and the target are in line. - -Holmes, in the front cockpit, looking over the sight and with his hand -on the release-lever, waited. - -The broad white wake behind the submarine began to diminish in length -and width. The deck disappeared beneath a tumble of broken water. The -conning-tower alone showed. And then the submarine dived. - -It had all the air of performing a clever sleight-of-hand trick, and -vanished with such lazy insolence that, arriving over the place where -it had gone down one minute too late, our hearts were filled with -astonishment and anger. - -There was nothing to be done. "See you later," we said, and carried on, -for we knew that the Spider Web would bring us back again to the same -place, and we reasoned that the Commander of the submarine would say, -"Here she comes, and there she goes," and would come to the surface -shortly. There was no use waiting around the vicinity, for before Fritz -came up he would search the air with a "sky-scraping" periscope, a -periscope with the lenses so arranged that the whole arc of the heavens -could be viewed. - -Pushing on we sighted the Schouen Bank buoy in the distance through -binoculars, and turned north up the Dutch coast. On the next two -legs of the patrol, more or less parallel with the shore, we broke -out the package of sandwiches and broached the thermos flask, taking -this opportunity of having a drop of early lunch. Then after steering -various courses as requisite, we again approached the position where -the submarine had been first sighted. - -She was sighted again three miles on the port bow, fully blown, her -engines stopped, and the crew on deck enjoying a breath of fresh air. -But now we were near enough to recognise her as of the U-B class, from -the one gun mounted close before the conning-tower, the deck sloping -down aft to the stern where it was awash, and the net-cutter mounted -above the stem. - -As we burst on towards the U-boat full out at a height of six hundred -feet we could see puffs of smoke coming from the conning-tower. The -crew were firing at us with a pom-pom. - -And then I lost sight of the submarine. - -But Holmes in the front cockpit, with his view unobstructed by the hull -of the boat, could still see the submarine and guided me by hand signal. - -Keeping my eyes in the boat, watching the cross level to keep on an -even keel, the air-speed indicator to keep to a steady speed, and the -eloquent hand--for under these circumstances the hand almost seems to -talk--to make small adjustments in the course, I waited. For, to do -good bomb-dropping the boat must pass on a line vertically over the -submarine, on an even keel, and at a constant speed. - -As the sights came on Holmes pulled the release-lever, which dropped -all the bombs in quick succession, threw up his arm to show that he -had done so, and then, leaning far over the side, saw the four bombs -travelling forward and downward and burst on a line diagonally across -the submarine. - -When the dunt of the first explosion shook the flying-boat I heaved her -over on one wing-tip, so that I could look down and back, and saw a -line of foam completely across the submarine, so closely had the bombs -fallen together. And then, getting into a side slip, I had to attend to -my flying duties. The engineer saw the submarine heel over to port and -disappear with men still on the conning-tower. - -At ten o'clock I landed _Old '61_ on the harbour, and not knowing -whether the submarine had been sunk or only damaged, I immediately -sent out another boat. An hour later, piloted by Billiken, I again -pushed out on patrol, but returned without having seen any signs of the -U-boat, having put in during the day nine hours and fifteen minutes in -the air. - - -IV. - -The quality of the dental platinum, requisitioned from the dentists to -make points for the magnetos, brought the first boat down at sea on the -eleventh patrol. This platinum, specially prepared for dental work, was -not up to the job, and Jimmy Bath and Tiny Galpin had to come to the -water forty-five miles out from land. They were found by a destroyer -and towed in. - -John O. Galpin--known as Tiny, because of his comfortable -proportions--was, as he said himself, followed by a hoodoo. He held at -this time the record for the greatest number of engine failures out at -sea in float seaplanes, and was quite hardened to spending the night -adrift. - -At this time, if he got up early in the morning on a fine day to go out -on patrol, while he was having breakfast it would rain. If it did not -rain, the engines would refuse to start. If the engines started, he -would be delayed in getting away by finding there was no petrol in the -tanks. If he got away, he would get to the point in his patrol farthest -from shore and have engine failure. If he was picked up by a destroyer, -there would be a collision and his machine would be sunk. And if none -of these things happened to him, and he arrived home safely by air, all -the submarines had been navigating in other waters. - -He describes the state of affairs in 'The Wing' as follows:-- - - CHEERIOH! - - The Seaplane is my Hoodoo, - I shall not fly another, - It maketh me to come down on rough waters, - It spoileth my reputation. - Though I fly from the harbour - It returneth by towing. - Its Magneto discomforts me. - Its tank runneth over. - Its rods and its engines fail me. - Yea, even by mechanics is my name held in laughter. - Though I strive to overcome them - Its weaknesses prevail. - In the hour of my need its engines mock me - And bring me down with great bumpings, - And there is no health in it. - Verily, verily, if I continue to fly these things - I shall end by drowning; - For my friends they desert me - And call me a Jonah. - My luck smelleth to Heaven - And I am disheartened, - Therefore shall I turn my hand elsewhere - And become a Tram Driver. - For again I say unto you, that of all Pilots - I am the most unlucky, - Yea, d----d unlucky. - -So distressed was he over his bad luck, and so sad was it to see one -built for mirth so melancholy, that a small silk bag was made, a pebble -from the beach put in it, and he was presented with this mascot, which -he was told had come from Egypt. So great is the power of suggestion, -that from that moment the hoodoo vanished. So gay did he become that on -Guest Nights, after making one speech he would make another, and would -make half a dozen more unless forcibly restrained. - -Four Hun destroyers, after bursting out into the North Sea from -Zeebrugge on the 30th of April, were on their way back when they were -overhauled by Lofty Martin and Holmes in _Old '61_, about ten miles -south-east of the North Hinder. - -The North Sea was shrouded in mist, so at first the pilots saw only -two broad white wakes. Then they made out through the haze two large -destroyers steering on the same course as the flying-boat, and running -at a speed of about twenty knots. They did not know at this time that -they were Huns. Rapidly coming up with the destroyers from the stern, -they were half a mile away when they were challenged with a green -light, a single ball of fire shot up into the air, lighting up the mist -with a sickly glare. The wireless operator in the boat replied with the -proper recognition lights for the day. - -The lather of foam beneath the bows of the destroyers increased, and -the white tumbling wakes tailed out, as the engines of the destroyers -were whacked up and the slim long ships thundered along at thirty -knots. But the flying-boat was booming through the air at a good -eighty, travelling two and a half miles to their one, and overhauled -them as though they had been nailed to the water. - -Immediately spurts of fire, followed by little black balls which opened -out into nasty brown clouds, appeared in front of the flying-boat, and -the pilots found themselves in the centre of a barrage of bursting -shells. - -Banking sharply to the right, Martin saw two more destroyers about -a mile away, firing at him, ranged by the first two destroyers. He -drew out of range and tried to get into wireless communication with -Felixstowe, but failing, he returned to make an oral report. - -Billiken and myself started out immediately to look for the destroyers. -We saw no destroyers, but came upon a submarine of the U-C type -twenty-five miles south-east of the North Hinder. She was just going -under when we arrived. As she dived she made a sharp turn to port, and, -as the bombs had been dropped a little short, she turned right under -them. She could still be seen when the bombs detonated, apparently all -around her. - -So pleased were we with this little show that we steered a south-east -course instead of a north-east course, fetching up at Margate instead -of Felixstowe, and had to toddle up the coast to Harwich, where we -arrived just in nice time for luncheon. - -There was a great shortage of bombs about this time, for the number -of bombs that had been dropped had depleted our store. There were -only enough bombs left to arm one boat, so that each time a boat came -in from patrol the bombs were taken off and put on the next boat -going out. Uncle Pat, the armament officer, went about praying that a -submarine would not be sighted. - -It has been said that the Admiralty up to this time had rated bombs -supplied to seaplane stations as "non-expendable stores," and that -the officer in charge of the Main Bomb Stores, when notified of the -shortage, had replied: "Impossible! Felixstowe? Why, I supplied you -with sixteen bombs two years ago." - -When I first arrived on the station, Uncle Pat confided in me that he -had just ordered a 1½-horse-power electric motor to run his lathe, for -which his soul thirsted. From time to time, as the months went by, -he would draw me into a corner and tell me of his latest move--for -he was a past-master in the art of intrigue--whereby the motor was -to arrive from London by the very next train. And then one day there -was great excitement: he had word that the motor was actually on the -rail. Finally, some considerable time later, a square box arrived -at the Stores, and upon the lid being removed a beautiful new grey -1½-horse-power electric motor, with pulley-wheel complete, was revealed. - -But by this time Pat had left the station. - -And now we lost the first boat at sea. Poor _8659_, just handed over to -the War Flight, was destined never to grow up and follow in the slip -stream of _Old '61_. She was lost on her first patrol. - -Monk Aplin and Rees had pushed off at six o'clock in the morning to -look in the Spider Web, and should have been back in harbour at eleven -o'clock. But they did not return. Wireless signals sent out to them -were not answered. - -The strain of sending out long patrols and waiting for the pilots -to come back is almost greater than flying on them. I stood on the -slipway with an ear cocked to catch the first faint beat of the engines. - -I ran over in my mind all the possibilities. - -Petrol: yes, the tanks had been filled. Engines: perhaps it would -have been better to have changed the spark plugs in the port engine -as the revolutions had not been quite good enough. Controls: they -had just been overhauled, but the aileron control-wire, with the two -broken strands at the fairlead, had not been renewed owing to press of -work. Hull: leaking slightly, but nothing to worry about even if the -boat came down at sea. Wind: the patrol was not too long for the wind -blowing. And so on, and so on. - -I followed the boat round the Web in my mind and wondered where she had -come down and why, or whether she had run into a crowd of winged Huns. - -I telephoned to the pigeon loft and warned them. A speedy messenger -was standing-by in the wireless hut, for at this time there was no -telephone. The look-out man on top of No. 1 Shed had answered my -questions in the same way many times. The seaplane and wireless -stations up and down the coast had been warned. And then I took a -piece of paper and worked out a little calculation like this-- - - 32)215(6 - 192 - --- 6 hours 40 minutes. - 23 - -The engines used thirty-two gallons of petrol an hour and the boat -carried two hundred and fifteen gallons in her tanks. She could stay -in the air for six hours and forty minutes, and as she had left at six -o'clock she would have to come down at half-past twelve through lack of -fuel. - -At twelve o'clock a little knot of anxious pilots were gathered on the -slipway. I ordered two boats to be got ready and turned to the chart -to work out probabilities and possibilities for the coming search. At -half-past twelve, as the requests for information up and down the coast -had drawn blank, two boats were boomed out to the Spider Web, and the -Senior Naval Officer, Harwich, was asked to notify all destroyers. - -When The Monk was out on the Web eighty miles from Felixstowe one of -his engines began to give trouble. He turned for home, which he should -have reached in an hour and a half, but at the end of this time he -could see no land. As a matter of fact he was off his course and was -flying more or less parallel with the coast, but out of sight of it. He -shoved along, his failing engine gradually getting worse and worse, and -his petrol tanks becoming exhausted. - -His main petrol tanks finally gave out and he flew on his gravity tank, -which contained sufficient petrol for forty minutes. He had just made -up his mind that he would have to land through lack of fuel when he -sighted a group of trawlers near the Haisboro' light-ship, and, on his -last teaspoonful of petrol, reached them. They were working over a -shoal. A thirty-knot wind was blowing, and a heavy breaking sea, with -steep crests, was running. As the boat touched the water it was thrown -into the air and came down again on one wing. The seas tore off a -wing-tip and a wing-tip float, and as the boat yawed, burst across her -in a smother of white foam. - -A trawler came alongside, and the pilots shouted to the skipper and -asked for assistance. But the skipper, to their astonishment, bawled -through a megaphone-- - -"I won't rescue any d----d Huns." - -And then the pilots remembered that two trawlers had been sunk a few -days before by a submarine. They shouted to the skipper that they were -English, but he replied-- - -"If you're English, give us a sight of the Union Jack." - -Flying-boats do not carry a flag, but the skipper would not be -convinced. The fins of the boat had been damaged and the water was -pouring in. The bilge pump could not keep the leaks under. When the -boat was in a sinking condition The Monk thought of throwing across -his naval cap, and when the skipper had fished it out of the water and -examined it, he put a dingey out and took off the crew. An attempt was -made to salve the boat, but without success, and she was a total loss. - -Aplin, known as The Monk, because of the way his hair grew, or rather, -did not grow, received a severe blow, when landing, on the identical -spot from which he took his nickname, and never flew on patrol again, -turning over to school work, at which he made a great success. - -And so ended April and the first eighteen days of the War Flight. - -[Illustration] - - - - -CHAPTER III. - -THE PHANTOM FLIGHT. - - -I. - -To appreciate the work of the flying service, it must be remembered -that the pilot in the machine is only the spearhead of the weapon, and -behind the spearhead must be a stout and reliable haft, so that the -business end can be driven home with full effect. - -The helve of the haft consists of the carpenters who true-up, inspect, -and repair the machines; the engineers who clean, test, and keep the -engines in order; the armourers who adjust the bombs and machine-guns; -and the working party who push about the boats and fill the tanks with -petrol. - -These men constantly worked against time at night, for long periods -at a stretch, frequently rocking on their feet with fatigue, engaged -on work which had to be done honestly and without mistake, for on it -depended the lives of the crew, the safety of valuable material, and -the success of the operations. - -In the popular mind all work done by the flying service seems to -be credited to the pilot, and the work of the men behind him gets -overlooked--work which is hard and exacting, and with little honour -and reward. Owing to the shortage of machines, and the booming out of -patrols in the summer months from three in the morning till ten o'clock -at night, the men were driven at high pressure. - -On the afternoon of the last day of April the Engineer Chief reported -that the engines of one of the boats had to come out and be replaced. -It was a job that usually had taken four or five days. The bomb-gears -had to be stripped, the wings unshipped, the petrol piping and water -connections cast adrift, and the engines whipped out. And then the -whole process had to be reversed. But the tom-tom was beaten, a War -Council of the four Chiefs held, and in the grey misty twilight before -dawn next morning the boat was rolled out on the concrete to have her -new engines tested, the men who had shoved the work through in the -fierce stabbing of the blazing yard-arm groups, standing about her, -pallid, drooping, and haggard. - -Two hours later she took the air. - -'Twas May-day, and the happy pilots, Perham and Tiny, went off in her -to look in the Spider Web. They were out past the North Hinder intently -sweeping the horizon for signs of Fritz, when the engineer passed -forward to them a signal pad, on which was scrawled-- - -"Sir, a float seaplane on our tail." - -Perham popped up through the front cockpit like a Jack-in-the-box, and -looked back. He saw a large and nasty-looking twin-engined machine -right behind, and the smoke of tracer bullets lacing the air. On his -frantic signals, Tiny shoved forward the controls, and dived for the -water at a rate of knots. Just above the surface he made a sharp -right-hand turn. - -The Hun dived after them, all guns going, but failed to get a burst -home. He flashed past when the boat changed direction. Having lost the -advantage of surprise, the Hun pilot carried straight on, and quickly -disappeared at high speed towards Zeebrugge, both propellers rotating -briskly. - -This Boche, when he got back to his base, must have told tall tales of -the encounter; he was finally interned in Holland, where he was met -by Perham, who unfortunately also became a guest of the same neutral -country some time later. The flying-boats were painted a light grey, -and the enemy pilot was spreading the pleasing report that it was no -use attacking them, as they were made of armoured steel. He knew this, -he said, because he had attacked one at close quarters, and had seen -his bullets bouncing off. As a matter of fact, a careful examination of -the boat failed to bring to light any traces of bullet holes. - -Retribution fell upon us on this day for the loss of _8659_, for it -was found that she should have been sent to the seaplane station at -Killingholme, and sundry unjust people, accusing us of performing the -act of hot-stuffing, demanded one of the War Flight's precious boats in -lieu thereof. Two "alien" pilots arrived and picked out our newest and -best, a boat which had just been painted, provided with wireless, and -fitted with all possible conveniences and comforts, and in spite of our -shrieks of protest shoved her down into the water and flew her away. - -Seven enemy submarines were sighted and five bombed during the month -of May; the first attempts to convoy the Beef Trip were made, not very -successfully; and the first anti-Zeppelin patrols were carried out. - -The Beef Trip, as it was called by the pilots at Felixstowe, or the -Dutch Traffic, as it was known officially, was a convoy of merchant -ships which ran two or three times a month between England and the Hook -of Holland, and was alleged by the aforesaid pilots to carry Dutch beef -to England and English beer to the Dutch. - -In the dark hours of the chosen morning fifteen or sixteen cargo-boats -would gather in X.I. channel near the Shipwash, and would be picked -up there by destroyers and light cruisers from Harwich. The merchant -ships would get into formation and start across the North Sea. The -keen destroyers, sharp as needles, would zigzag and throw circles -around them, like a group of rat-terriers chasing a cat around a knot -of old ladies. They did this in order to intimidate any submarine -commander out pot-hunting. While the swift light cruisers, stately -and imperturbable, would boil along well out on the dangerous flank, -apparently ignoring the fuss and fury of the show going on near them, -but keeping a good look-out in case a striking force of Hun destroyers -made a snatch at the convoy. - -At the Hook of Holland another fleet of cargo-boats would be waiting in -neutral waters to be escorted back, and the whole circus would start -off again for England. - -The pilots of the flying-boats patrolled the ever-changing route the -night before, in case a hungry Fritz, bent on sinking the beef and -beer, was lying in wait, and the following day would provide an aerial -escort for the convoy, looking out for submarines, enemy seaplanes, -which might desire to lay explosive eggs on the ships, or Hun surface -craft. - -When attacking single ships Fritz endeavoured to close to a range of -from three hundred to six hundred yards before firing a torpedo. But -when attacking a convoy they fired at ranges between five hundred and a -thousand yards, and sometimes longer, in which case they did not pick -out an individual ship, but merely fired into the brown. They waited -in front of a convoy until the ships were sighted, and then submerged, -therefore the pilots in the flying-boats flew in great loops from from -five to ten miles in front of the surface craft. - -[Illustration: Destroyers on Beef Trip.] - -As the Beef Trip plodded along at eleven knots, taking eleven hours -to cross, the flying-boat pilots were sent out in relays, meeting -the surface craft at various places on the route as requisite, and -remaining with them until relieved. The relays were so arranged that -each set of flying-boats was out for five hours and a half. - -This work called for extreme nicety in navigation, in order that the -boats should make contact with the moving ships at the correct time -and position. At first the results were rather ragged, but eventually -it became an evolution. The pilots were later informed, in a letter of -appreciation, that before they took a hand in the game the crews of the -destroyers and light cruisers were kept at action stations throughout -the entire trip, but that, now the flying-boats accompanied them, half -of the men were allowed to stand off. - -Zeppelins from the sheds of Wittmundshaven, Nordholz, and Tondern -ran regular daylight patrols outside the Bight and as far south as -Terschelling Bank. They did their navigation by wireless, so their -positions and courses were fixed by the English direction-finding -wireless stations, in the same way as the German submarines were fixed. -The euphonism for this method in the service was to say: "We are told -by the Little Woman in Borkum that Anna is at so and so." Anna being -the first Zeppelin, Bertha the second, Clara the third, and so on. But -they were wily birds and hard to catch, their crews keeping a sharp -look-out around and all about. The boats had to cross the North Sea to -get at them, and they could outclimb a flying-boat heavily laden with -petrol for the return journey. They could only be attacked successfully -by surprise, and at first the boats had no success. - -These Zeppelins kept a suspicious eye on what our light naval forces -were doing, and occasionally dropped bombs on the Harwich submarines -doing surface patrol on the Dogger Bank. But fortunately gas-bags roll -too much for good dropping to be done from them, and their bombs had -little effect. Sometimes they would wireless for seaplanes to come -out and bomb our submarines, but as, almost up to the end of the war, -the Huns used bombs which touched off and burst on the surface of the -water, they had little success. - -I blew over to Parkeston one day to yarn with a submarine commander -about this. He put me into a big soft arm-chair in the wardroom of the -mother-ship, placed a potent cocktail in my fist, provided me with a -cigarette, and then we communed sweetly together. - -"Remember the Fritz your fellows sighted twice last month on the Brown -Ridge?" he asked. "Sent out an E-boat to stalk him. Caught him blown on -the surface. Put a tin fish into him. Thanks." - -He did not use many words but said a great deal. I asked him if -submarine often stalked submarine. - -"Talked to a fellow up from down south. On diving patrol. Saw Fritz -on surface. Torpedo blew Hun commander out of conning-tower. Sole -survivor. Seemed much worried. Finally opened heart. Warned our man to -clear out as four more U-boats were working in immediate area. Said he -could not bear to be sunk twice in one day." - -"Please go on," I asked. - -"Boat from here stalked Fritz. Fritz heard him--dived. Both went blind -under water dead slow. Our chap felt Fritz scrape past under him. -Opened everything. Made himself as heavy as possible. Drove Fritz down -to bottom. Soft mud. Sat on him for twelve hours. Tide silted them in. -Our boat nearly caught. Just managed to pull himself out." - -I asked about bombs. - -"Don't think much of bombs. Bombed by Zepps several times. Crockery -smashed. Great enthusiasm, small results. Boats are hard to kill dead." - -"Sometimes," I agreed. "But how about that U-C off Ireland?" - -"Which?" he asked. "U-C's are mine-layers. Double hull. Only one hatch -to conning-tower. Vulnerable point." - -"The one whose commander popped up right beside a trawler, found -himself looking into the skipper's whiskers, didn't like 'em, panicked, -and pressed the diving button. The trawler was armed only with a rifle -for sinking mines found on the surface." - -"Right," he cut in. "I remember. Skipper shot commander. Body jammed -hatch open. Boat dived. Fished up two weeks later in fifteen fathoms. -Valuable information." - -"And all done," I chuckled, "with an ounce of nickle-coated lead and a -pennyworth of cordite. We carry bombs weighing one hundred pounds, we -are shortly getting bombs weighing two hundred and thirty pounds, and -will soon carry bombs weighing five hundred." - -He was very polite but not impressed, until I added: "And we burst 'em -with a delay-action fuse eighty feet down. The bombs dropped on you by -the Huns burst on the surface." - -He asked me how we took aim. I told him about the bomb-sight, and that -at eight hundred feet the bomb-dropper should make one hit out of three -on a visible target. And I added that the flying-boats did eighty-two -knots to the Zeppelin's fifty-five, so that a submarine had less chance -to get down. - -"That's all different," he said. "Hope the Germans don't do the same. -Life's getting harder and harder." - -Later on he told me this yarn. - -"Life's hard. Nobody loves us. Ships fire first, inquire afterwards. -Off Terschelling at daybreak. Suddenly saw Harwich flotilla. Didn't -know they were out. Infuriated destroyers coming straight for me. -Dived. Hit sandbank. Conning-tower showing above surface. Broadside on -to flotilla leader. Right on top of me. Reversed one engine, went ahead -on other. Swung round. Destroyer shaved past. Wash lifted me off. Slid -into deep water. Depth charges dropped. Electric lamps and crockery -broken. Much annoyed. Said so when I returned." - -I had another yarn with him in 1918. He said: - -"On Dogger Bank. Saw Zeppelin. Later saw seaplane. Dived. Hundred and -fifty feet. Bomb exploded eighty feet above me. Shook boat badly. Moved -north eighty miles. Same thing happened. What's to be done?" - - -II. - -Down on the sea boats are not easy to handle with precision. But I once -did a little bit of seamanship of which I am rather proud. It is a -trick I would never try to repeat. - -Lofty Martin and myself were out together in two boats on the 5th, when -we sighted a Fritz twenty miles south-east of the North Hinder. Lofty -was nearer and went bald-headed at him. The commander of the submarine -saw him coming and dived, but Lofty let go his four bombs just as Fritz -went under. And then I saw that his boat was in difficulties. He got -into a dangerous bank and into a steep dive, but gradually righted and -landed on the water. - -Flopping around above him, my wireless operator, leaning far over the -side, tried to attract his attention with the Aldis signal-lamp, but -without success. The bow of the boat seemed to be down and the tail -up. There was a brisk east wind blowing with a fair sea running, and I -thought he might have damaged the bottom of his boat in getting down. -So I cut my engines and ducked in beside him. - -Taxi-ing across his bow, I asked what was the trouble. An aluminium -casting, holding the pulley-wheel through which an aileron control-wire -was led, bad broken. It could not be repaired. The crew had all -gathered in the bow to examine the break. And at that moment his port -engine failed. - -We were fifty miles from harbour. - -Early in the war two boat pilots down at sea had been captured by a -Fritz, so before we did anything further we taxied ten miles into a -mine-field in case the U-boat had not been damaged and came up to -investigate. Then Lofty shut down his one good engine, put out a -sea-anchor, and hove to. - -A sea-anchor is a large canvas bag shaped like a cone. Its mouth is -held open by a stout wooden ring. In the apex of the cone is a small -hole. When the sea-anchor is put overboard at the end of a line, it -offers resistance to the drag of the boat drifting in the wind and so -decreases the rate at which it moves. It also prevents the boat from -yawing--that is, it keeps the bow of the boat to the sea and wind. - -Lofty asked for tools; so I taxied behind him and came up alongside, -laying my port wing behind his starboard wing. The boats were rolling -and tossing, and it looked as though the wings would be torn off. With -a loud crackling of spruce my port propeller shattered his starboard -aileron. But a line was passed, and I quickly drifted astern of him and -hung on there. Along this line were sent tools, a spare sea-anchor, and -food. - -It was now five o'clock, and we had been down on the water two hours. -The wind had increased to thirty knots, and a considerable sea was -running. Advising Lofty to repair his engine and taxi straight -down-wind, I cast the line off and blew well clear of him. Then I -dropped my bombs safe to lighten the boat, had the engines started, -and got off the water after five tremendous bumps. My wireless aerial -had been carried away on landing. With a makeshift affair, rigged up -with a spool of copper wire from the engineer's tool-kit, the wireless -operator could get no answer. - -Once in the air I flew directly down-wind, and almost immediately -fetched up at the Edinburgh light-ship in the Thames estuary, doing -the twenty-five mile journey in fourteen minutes. Here a destroyer -was acting as traffic policeman, so I landed near her. In reply to -an Aldis lamp-signal the commander sent a boat and I went on board, -leaving the flying-boat riding to her sea-anchor. I gave the position -of the disabled boat and the information that Lofty would taxi straight -down-wind. - -Back on board the flying-boat again I had the engines started. The sea -over the shoal was high and steep. After a short run in the wake of a -passing paddle mine-sweeper I hit a big wave, before I had got flying -speed, and was thrown into the air. When about fifty feet up I started -to nose-dive towards the water. I felt that I was going to crash, and -crash badly. - -Keeping the engines full out and the control-wheel back in my stomach, -I shot down towards the water. The steep angle was increasing my speed -and the engines were pulling like mad. I just touched the crest of a -wave, there was a flicker of white water, and I shot off again into the -air. This time I had sufficient flying speed, and boomed away for home. -I landed at Felixstowe at seven o'clock. The engines stopped through -lack of petrol as I taxied in to the slipway. - -Lofty, out in the middle of the mine-field, repaired the engine and -taxied down-wind. He had frequently to stop his engines and fill up the -radiators with salt water, as they were leaking. But he kept on. At -half-past ten o'clock he was taken in tow at the edge of the mine-field -by a waiting patrol boat, and arrived at Felixstowe at one o'clock in -the morning. - -The remainder of the month was hectic. - -Hodgson and Bath bombed one submarine and sighted another on May 10th. -Ramsden and myself bombed another, and Hallinan and Magor met three -enemy seaplanes, on the 19th. And next day Morish and Boswell did in -a submarine from a height of 200 feet, but, arriving back in harbour -after dark, crashed their boat. Gordon and Hodgson bombed a submarine -on the 22nd, and next day Newton and Webster had a brush with three -enemy seaplanes, shots being exchanged but no damage done. - -A boat working up the Dutch coast had one engine fail at the Maas -light-ship, and flew homeward for an hour and a half on one engine, -finally having to land at sea twenty miles north-west of the North -Hinder. It was found and towed in by a destroyer. The Navy people, -meeting the boats at all hours off the Dutch coast, and realising that -we were doing a job of work outside, were now almost affable. - -School work was also in full swing, for a boat had been turned over to -the War Flight for this purpose, and the first pilots in their spare -time crashed around instructing the second pilots in the gentle art of -taking off and landing a big boat--an exercise which proved equally -hard on the nerves of the instructors and on the bottom of the machine, -as there was only a single control-wheel fitted and the first pilot had -to give up all control to the pupil. - -During this intensive work it was quickly found that the majority of -the pilots could only stand an average of one long patrol in three days -as a steady routine, and that if they went out oftener their work -suffered. It was also found essential that they should be given regular -leave at short intervals. - -I was beginning to feel the strain a bit myself. At this time I was my -own intelligence, engineer, carpenter, and slipway officer, looking -after all overhauls and repairs, deciding the suitability of the -weather, as we had no meteorological hut, and putting into the water -and taking out again all machines, excepting when I was myself going -out on patrol. I determined the force and direction of the wind by the -look of the waves in the harbour, the actions of a flag, or the way the -smoke blew off a chimney. There was no telephone in No. 2 shed, and I -had already worn out a pair of thick-soled boots galloping to and fro -between the slipway and the ship's office. - -May was brought to a close by a gallant rescue at sea, which is well -worth telling in detail. - - -III. - -Hissed on by the ruthless wind, sea waves possess a malevolent cunning -whereby they search out any weak spot in a structure made by man, and -so finger, suck, hammer, and tear at the members which are flawed in -design, material, or workmanship, that eventually the whole fabric is -shattered. - -The innocent wavelets dancing in the sun, pretty and sparkling, and the -huge black rollers, whose crests under the weight of a gale, before -they can curl over and break, explode into spindrift, are propagated by -the wind blowing obliquely on the surface of the water. - -When waves are first formed they are short and steep, but if the wind -continues to blow in the same direction across a considerable stretch -of sea, their length and height increases, and their crests, on which -the wind has the greatest effect, tend to drive faster than the main -body of the waves and so break forward in a smother of white foam. - -In deep water waves have no motion of translation--that is, the -particles, of water do not move horizontally, but merely up and down -vertically. It is only the waves of force, born of the energy of the -wind, that move across the sea. In shallow water the troughs of the -waves are retarded, with the result that they become steep, the crests -break, and the water rushes forward with great violence. - -Water in mass played upon by the wind is not the tractable element it -appears when running through our pipes, contained in shaving-mugs, -or filling baths. Thus, while a land-machine pilot, down safely with -engine failure, has all his worries behind him, the pilot of a seaplane -or flying-boat, down at sea, has all his troubles to come, unless the -weather be fine, help near at hand, or his craft very seaworthy. - -Everything seemed to be set fair for a fine day on the 24th of May when -Flight Sub-Lieutenant Morris and his wireless observer went down to -the slipway at Westgate, a seaplane station on the East Coast south of -Felixstowe. - -At the top of the slipway, on its wheeled beach trolley, stood their -machine, a float-seaplane with a single engine. It had wings which -folded back along the fuselage, when it was living on shore, in order -to economise shed space. A party of men were swinging the wings into -place and locking them in flying position. The two large flat-bottomed -floats were made of brightly varnished wood. The bombs were slung on -the fore-and-aft centre line beneath the fuselage, above and between -the floats. There was a third small float under the tip of the tail, -and behind this float was a water rudder, a rudder operated with the -air rudder, but which was used for steering the seaplane when it was -down on the water. It looked very ship-shape; a small stock anchor, -with line neatly coiled, which was shackled to one of the floats, -giving the right sea-going touch. - -When the machine was ready the wireless operator stepped up on the -port float, climbed up a little wire ladder, and settled himself -into his cockpit, where he had his wireless apparatus, bomb-sight, -and machine-gun on a ring. By standing up he could fire forward over -the top plane. Morris climbed up after him into the control cockpit. -He was in front of the wireless observer, for the crew of two in a -float-seaplane sit tandem. - -Morris, looking over the side, saw that everybody was clear. He -switched on the magnetos and opened a cock in an air-bottle. A stream -of compressed air hissed into the cylinders of the engine and turned -it over, the pistons sucked in the petrol mixture, a spark fired it, -and the high-speed engine began to run smoothly. He warmed up the oil, -tested the engine full out, and then gave the signal for the chocks -to be knocked away. The working party ran the seaplane down into the -water. It floated clear of the trolley. - -When the engine was opened out the tail of the seaplane came up to the -horizontal. It leaped forward, planing along the top of the water on -the two floats. As the pilot pulled back the controls it skipped along -with only the rear edges of the floats touching, taking little jumps -off the surface as it encountered the tiny waves. And then it was in -the air. - -After spending some hours over the North Sea, Morris started for home. -He was feeling very hungry, and began thinking about his dinner with -pleasure. In half an hour he would have his legs tucked under the table -in the mess. Suddenly he heard the noise of his engine and knew that -something was wrong, for a pilot is not conscious of the roar of his -engine when it is running properly. It began to miss. The revolutions -dropped. And within a minute it stopped and the machine had been landed -on the water. - -They were down thirty miles out to sea in one of our deep mine-fields. -It was a very big mine-field. It started from an east and west line -a short distance south of the North Hinder and continued to a line -running east just above the North Foreland. Of course there were no -ships in sight and no chance of any appearing. - -The sun was shining, and little waves playfully slapped the huge hollow -floats. But what wind there was, was off the shore, and blew the -seaplane farther into the mine-field. The two men examined the engine -and found it was impossible to make a repair. - -As the day wore on the wind increased, as the wind increased so did the -size of the waves. The seaplane lay head to wind, its long tail acting -as a vane. All through the afternoon it went squattering backwards -farther and farther from shore. - -When the waves grew big Morris dropped the bombs safe and opened a -cock in the tanks, which allowed the petrol to run into the sea. -This lightened the labouring seaplane. But about four o'clock in the -afternoon the sea was running so high and the wind was so strong that -the machine was overbalanced backwards and the waves reached up and -began to pound the tail-float. The necessity for a tail-float is the -weak spot in the design of a float-seaplane, and the sea was attacking -the flaw in the design. - -Morris climbed out on the nose of one float and the wireless observer -climbed out on the other, in the hope that their weight would balance -the machine and keep the tail clear of the water. But the waves -increasing in length and height, an hour later the tail-float was -crashed and wrenched away, the long tail sank down into the water, and -the machine gradually turned over backwards. - -The sea having succeeded by attacking the weak spot, and whipped on by -the wind, now leaped on the helpless machine and tore it to pieces. The -pilot found himself clinging to an undamaged float, and climbing across -it saw the wireless observer in the sea beside him. Seizing an outflung -arm, after a long struggle he pulled his companion across the float. - -The float was a long narrow wooden box. It was very strongly made of -three-ply wood. It was smooth on three sides, but on the fourth side, -which was the top, were two indentations to take the fittings by which -the struts that fastened the float to the machine were held. These -indentations, with the remnants of the fittings still attached, gave -the two men a handhold. - -The float fortunately was quite water-tight, not having been damaged -in the wreck. But it was very unstable on the water and rolled about a -great deal, threatening to turn over and throw the two men back into -the sea. For this reason they could not climb up on top of it, but lay -across, half in and half out of the water. - -Owing to the great buoyancy of the float it rode high, like a cork, -and so passed over the tops of the waves. But every few minutes a wave -steeper than the rest, or which broke at the wrong moment, would drive -over the two men and smother them under a weight of white water. - -All through the night they clung to the float, defeating the efforts of -the hungry seas, which came up and up in an interminable succession and -tried to sweep them from their place of refuge. Just before daybreak a -dark shape passed them, which they thought was a trawler, but the wind -carried away their voices and the ship passed on and vanished. - -With the break of day the force of the wind abated and the sea went -down. Morris, feeling in his pockets, found a small glass bottle -containing a few milk tablets. This was the only food they possessed, -and with great prudence he at once decided to dole out the precious -tablets in order to make them last as long as possible. - -The first day dragged slowly to its close. On the second day, the 26th, -the wind died away and a thick North Sea fog shut down, cold, clammy, -depressing. Its clinging folds wrapped them about, both body and mind, -for it destroyed their chances of being seen and rescued should any -ships pass. They had no idea where they were. The fog lightened to a -light mist on the 27th, the sun shone through, and they began to suffer -from thirst. - -They were now able to lie on top of the float owing to the calm sea. -To ease their thirst they took off their boots and went for a swim. -Getting back on the float, they found that their feet were so swollen -that they could not put on their boots again. - -Each minute seemed an hour, each hour a day, and the daylight seemed -worse than the dark. - -On the afternoon of the 28th the mist lifted and the sun licked up the -moisture in their bodies, increasing their thirst to torment. Their -swollen feet were painful. In the wreck they had sustained abrasions -and lacerations on their wrists and hands. The salt water had bitten -into these wounds and they were inflamed. - -Hope suddenly shot through the heart of the wireless observer. - -Low down on the horizon he saw a flight of float seaplanes approaching. - -They grew rapidly larger and larger, and nearer and nearer, until they -were right overhead. He pointed them out with great excitement to his -companion, but the latter could not see them. They were a phantom -flight. The observer told the pilot how the machines were circling -around, the pilots waving their hands and promising to send help. Then -they would fly away, but kept on returning at intervals throughout the -day. But no help came. It was heartbreaking. And then the night set in. - -Early on the morning of the 29th--that is, after the castaways had -spent five nights on the float--the sun burst through the mist, which -rolled away, letting them see a clear horizon all around them for the -first time. But there were no ships in sight. Also the heat added to -their raging thirst. They were very weak. At noon the fog began to -settle down again, destroying their last chance of being seen. - -The two unfortunates began to take sips of sea water. - -This was the beginning of the end. - - -IV. - -Felixstowe was shrouded in mist on this day until eleven o'clock, when -it began to lift. It did not look very promising, but I ordered two -flying-boats to be run out and the pilots were warned off to have an -early luncheon. - -Leslie Gordon and George Hodgson, the Heavenly Twins, both from -Montreal, Canada, were told off for one of the boats. They had been -boys together, had come to England together, had learned to fly -together, had been on the Nore Flight together, and when they came over -to the War Flight they asked to be allowed to fly in the same boat. -Either was willing to be second pilot to the other. - -They flew together for some time, but owing to the scarcity of good -boat pilots--and both men were extremely fine fliers of the first -rank--they were made to separate. At first they resented any attempt to -give them each a boat, but finally saw the necessity, although they had -their names bracketed as Duty Pilots and for leave, and usually managed -to fly their boats in company. Hodgson had been a champion swimmer. He -was a stout fellow, in more ways than one, and built for big boat work. -Gordon was a long-faced, serious lad, not over strong physically, but -with tremendous determination and force, and was a careful flying-boat -husband. Both men were great grumblers, but also great workers. - -The boats were put into the water at seventeen minutes after twelve -o'clock and went off to do the Spider Web. As they shoved out into the -North Sea the fog shut down, and one boat, when forty miles from land, -turned back. On receipt of the wireless signal announcing this, Gordon -and Hodgson held a consultation. At first they were going to turn back -too, and swept around in a large circle, but finally decided to push on. - -When twenty-three miles past the North Hinder the fog became so thick -that they could not see the water and they decided to return, climbing -to a height of twelve hundred feet, where they were above the fog. -After making the North Hinder again they started in for Felixstowe, and -were twelve miles on the homeward stretch when they sighted, through a -break in the fog, something on the water. - -Spiralling down to six hundred feet they saw two men on an upturned -float. - -Winding in the aerial they came down to fifty feet and flew directly -over the wreckage, and observed, from their attitudes, that the two -men on it were in urgent need of assistance. They also observed that -a strong wind had begun to blow and a heavy sea was running. Climbing -to a thousand feet they let out the aerial and sent in a signal to the -station giving their position, in case anything should happen to them. -Then, in spite of the heavy sea, Gordon landed close beside the float. - -With the waves bursting in spray over the bows of the boat she was -taxied up to the wreckage, but the first attempt to take the two men -off was a failure, as the engines being shut off at the very last -moment, the strong wind blew the boat away from the float rapidly. The -engines were started and a second attempt made. - -[Illustration: Porte Super Baby taxi-ing on the water.] - -This time Gordon taxied right up on top of the float. Two of the crew -stood on the fins, one on each side of the bow, the waves washing up to -their waists. But Morris and his wireless observer were seized, pulled -up on the drift wires which ran from the nose of the boat back to the -wings, and were drawn on board through the front cockpit in an utterly -exhausted condition. - -Gordon then attempted to take off. His 700-horse power thrust the boat -across the waves, hammering and pounding, but with the extra weight -on board the boat was too heavy. He tried again. This time the waves -smashed the tail-plane and tore off the wing-tip float on the starboard -side. Also, owing to the pounding, the hull of the boat was leaking -badly. The idea of flying back was abandoned. - -The wind was blowing from England. The shore was forty miles away. The -fog was thick. Two things could be done. Turn down-wind and run for -Holland, making sure of a comparatively easy passage, or fighting home -against the sea and wind to England--a hard and difficult task. - -Gordon shoved the nose of the boat into the sea and wind and began to -taxi in on the water. The seas swept over the bow. The water seeped -in through the leaks. The bilge pump, kept going constantly, one man's -job, could not keep the rising water under. As the wind-driven petrol -pumps would only work when the machine was in the air, one man had to -keep the petrol hand-pump going to feed the engines. - -Seas bursting over the lower planes were whirled up into the propellers -and thrown back over the engines. They were white with the salt; but -they kept running. - -The tail was nearly full of water from a big leak, but a bulkhead held -it out of the main body of the boat, although she was getting heavier -and heavier, and was crashing through the seas instead of riding over -the top of them. The sledge-hammer blows shook the whole structure. - -Without its float the starboard wing-tip buried itself deep in the -water each time the boat rolled, pulling itself out again with a -shuddering wrench, which each time threatened to pull off the wing. - -The two rescued men lay on the slatted deck of the boat and were given -sips of brandy from time to time, and finally a little cocoa from the -thermos flask. - -So, gamely, the boat won on towards England. - -Four hours after landing outside Gordon passed out of the fog belt and -saw the Shipwash light-vessel, rolling and pitching, three miles north -of him. It was a welcome sight. He was only a mile off his course. - -He had travelled on the surface a distance of twenty-two sea miles--a -not inconsiderable feat of seamanship and navigation in a fog, with the -wind that was blowing, the sea that was running, and the condition of -the boat. - -Here they were in the shipping channel. They saw vessels. Very's lights -were fired as distress signals, and a cargo-boat, the _Orient_ of -Leith, bound for Yarmouth, saw them, came alongside, passed a line and -took them in tow. Half an hour later they were under the shelter of the -land and two armed drifters came alongside. The tow was transferred to -_H.M.S. Maratina_, and Morris and the wireless observer were taken on -board _H.M.S. White Lilac_, in order to get them ashore quickly for -medical attention. - -Gordon stood by his boat, which was now standing up on her tail, and -she was brought safely into harbour, was repaired, and carried out -many more patrols, being used, after she had done thirty-nine patrols -in all, for school work. - -Within two months Morris and his wireless observer, unbroken by their -experiences, were again flying. - -[Illustration] - - - - -CHAPTER IV. - -STICKY ENDS OF L 43, U-C 1, AND U-B 20. - - -I. - -James the One was awakened before daybreak on June 14 by the ringing of -his telephone bell. - -The Duty Captain at the Admiralty informed him that the Little Woman at -Borkum said _Anna_ was at the Dogger Bank going south. - -Consider the ringing of the bell the pebble dropped in the sleeping -pool, and observe how the ripples widened, and ever widened, until they -broke on the coast of Germany. - -Number One rang up the Duty Officer, who slept, or rather did not -sleep, with a telephone for bedfellow, for James the One always -developed a thirst for information concerning station routine between -eleven o'clock at night and three o'clock in the morning. - -The Duty Officer came into my cabin and turned me out. I pulled on my -woolly flying-boots, slipped into my shaggy fur coat, and jammed my -naval cap on my head. This early patrol costume was a perpetual offence -in the nostrils of Number One, and it must have looked odd to the -stolid and sleepy ratings when I danced with impatience on the slipway, -but it had the advantage of being warm and quick to get into. - -I knocked at the door of Number One's cabin and entered, to find -him sitting up in bed examining a squared chart of the North Sea. A -squared chart is used when signalling secret information concerning our -own ships and aircraft or those of the enemy. I was informed of the -interesting peregrinations of _Anna_, and that twenty minutes before -she was at X.Y.B. centre. - -Passing out through the mess I took a look at the recording barometer, -which was high and steady, and went out on the quarter-deck to look -at the weather. The stars were shining, a light east wind was barely -perceptible, and a thin mist shrouded the buildings of the station and -the ships in the harbour. But it looked as though the mist would lift, -so I crossed the quarter-deck to the ship's office, where I turned -out the Quartermaster, whom I found asleep, wrapped up in a blanket, -balanced in a perilous position on the edges of three chairs. - -The Quartermaster, electric torch in hand, doubled over to the -officers' quarters, shook the Duty Steward, put a match to the -ready-laid galley fire, and called the Duty Pilots. He then turned out -the working party, the engineers, and the armourers, and warned the -wireless operator and the flying engineer. - -By this time I was down in the dark seaplane shed, in which only a -single police light was burning, stumbling about among the monstrous -shapes of the sleeping flying-boats. The marine sentry, recognising me -by my language, turned on the roof electrics and flooded the shed with -light. - -The working party filtered in stretching and yawning, and rolled back -the sixty-foot doors. They gathered round '77, which stood just inside -the doorway on her wheeled trolley. She was fitted with specially large -petrol tanks for the job in hand. At the word they pushed her out -sideways, jacked her up, removed the sideway wheels, turned her nose -towards the water, and handed her over to the engineers, who started -the engines. - -The armourers fitted on the machine-guns and provided them with special -ammunition. The man told off for the purpose put on board a packet of -sandwiches, a bottle of water, the five days' emergency ration in case -the boat came down at sea, the Red Cross Box and the pigeons. - -The oil in the engines being now warm, the engineers opened out one -engine at a time, the fierce slipstream from the propellers shaking -the whole tail of the boat and whirling up clouds of dust from the -concrete. A two-foot flame stood out from each exhaust pipe, and -particles of incandescent carbon, burning red, were blown backwards for -many yards. In daylight you cannot see the flame or carbon. - -It was now just beginning to get light. An eight-knot easterly wind was -blowing, but a thick mist lay in the harbour, a mist too thick to take -off in. So the engines were shut off and I went up to the mess. Here I -found Billiken and Dickey devouring eggs and bacon, and joined them. - -Billiken, a lad from Sault St Marie, Canada, was one of the best boat -pilots ever in the service. - -There are only two kinds of boat pilots--the good and the bad. In the -spring of 1917 the good boat pilots could be counted on the fingers and -thumbs of two hands, and throughout the year there were probably never -more than twenty first-class men operating at the same time. - -A good boat pilot is one who can handle his boat under any conditions, -a mist flier, a stout and determined fellow; one who can navigate and -trusts his own calculations; a tireless observer, who knows where and -what to look for; a possessor of sea sense and seamanship; a man of -physical stamina or nervous staying power; a man of quick and correct -thought and action, but, at the same time, one who could endure -monotony and wait for his opportunity. - -And Billiken, short, stocky, and with plenty of energy, possessed -most of these characteristics, and others equally as valuable. He was -modest, keen, and never given to swell-headedness or boasting, the -latter being unpleasant diseases which are apt to attack young boat -pilots, for there is an exhilaration in handling machines of great -horse power and in the flattery of, to use the term of an old naval -surgeon, the long-haired things. Or to quote a flying versifier-- - - "For I have known the freedom of the air, - Nor crawled on earth like some coarse, dull, fat slug." - -And again-- - - "Such subtle poisons as sweet women brew - Have stuffed my veins with fire and my brain - With fantasy, making this cooling earth - Seem paradise." - -Dickey was a little button of a chap, but what he lacked in size he -made up in bloodthirstiness. He was one of the best second pilots it is -possible for any first pilot to desire. He was a good shot, a capable -navigator, a fine observer, and always keen on going forward and loth -to turn back. He always gave his first pilot the comfortable feeling of -being absolutely trusted, and this is why I liked flying with him. - -When his boat came down through engine trouble during a fight against -heavy odds off Terschelling in 1918, he shot down a Hun machine that -was attacking him while he was on the water. He then beached the boat, -burned it, and was interned. While walking in a quiet street of a -Dutch town just at dusk a huge German elbowed him into the roadway. He -seized the coat-tails of the Hun and demanded an apology. The Hun swore -in German--not a pretty exhibition. - -Dickey was small, but he carried a big stick, and when the stick came -in contact with the skull of the German the latter fell senseless. -Informing the police that a man had been found unconscious in the -roadway, the little fire-eater obtained an ambulance and tenderly -removed his fallen foe to hospital. - -Such was Dickey. - -The quarry these two pilots were crossing the North Sea to hunt was a -Zeppelin, an airship over six hundred feet long. It carried a crew of -captain, second in command, a warrant officer who did the navigation, -a warrant officer engineer, two engineer ratings for each of the five -engines, a petrol man, and six other hands, of which two worked the -elevators, two steered, one attended to the wireless and signalling, -and one repaired the fabric. - -All these men had received a highly specialised training at Nordholz, -the course lasting not less than six months. Also the deck-ratings and -the engine-room mechanics were trained in aerial gunnery, and when at -action stations the men not on watch were employed as machine-gunners. - -Throughout this month there had been great Zeppelin activity over -the North Sea, for early in the year the German military craft had -been handed over to the German navy, and the best airships of the two -services had been concentrated near the German coast at Nordholz, -Wittmundshaven, Ahlhorn, and Tondern. Until May 1916 the Zeppelins -had carried out their patrols at a height of a thousand feet, looking -for our mine-fields and scouting for our naval forces, but in this -month L-7 was destroyed by gun-fire from a naval unit, and they were -now, excepting on rare occasions, carrying out their work at a great -altitude. - -At four o'clock the mist began to lift; we went down to the shed, the -engines were started, the crew climbed on board, and at five o'clock -Billiken took the flying-boat off the harbour. - -When he turned '77 out to sea and steadied on the course, Billiken saw -below him through the mist, within the encircling arm of the harbour, -the tall sheds of the station, the light cruisers and destroyers at -anchor, the submarines nestling close to their mother ships, and the -mine-sweepers disentangling themselves from their own particular -crowded dock preparatory to beginning the day's work. - -[Illustration: '77 in the mist.] - -He then glanced back down inside the hull of the boat, and saw Dickey -busy with note-book and wind-tables working out the allowances, the -wireless operator fingering his box of tricks as he tuned in with his -shore station, and the engineer going over his petrol-pumps. This was -the eighth time he had been out on a similar errand, but so far he had -not been successful. - -As he passed out of the approaches to Harwich the mist shut in; so he -brought the boat down to five hundred feet, and fifteen minutes later -he passed the Shipwash. This was the last thing he was to see until he -sighted the Dutch Islands, and from this time on navigation was done by -compass, dead-reckoning, and inspiration. - -To a land-machine pilot a compass is an instrument in which he has no -trust. It may show him the way over the lines and the way back, or it -may not. It may apparently go mad, and swing round and round, or the -north point may steady on anywhere but north. - -But the flying-boat pilot has to rely on his compass. He uses a big -one, and puts it in a place where it will not be affected by iron or -steel; or if it is, and he cannot correct the error, he marks the -errors on a card and sets it up where it can be seen. He understands -variation, which is the difference between the true and magnetic -bearing, and which varies all over the world, and at any one place, -from year to year. And he can steer a course within two degrees. - -When Billiken was over a big mine-field well out in the No Man's -Land of the North Sea, the mist thickened, and, just to make it more -difficult, the sun, large and red of face as if with the exertion of -climbing above the horizon, was on a level with his eyes, and made it -hard for him to see his instruments. - -After they had plugged along for two hours and fifteen minutes, -frequently coming down to two hundred feet to pass under a particularly -heavy bank of mist, Dickey, through a rift, saw the flat shores of the -island of Vlieland. - -Here course was altered, and at half-past seven they were off the -island of Ameland. Now, sweeping in a twenty-mile circle, they headed -back down the coast homeward bound. The mist was lifting in patches. At -half-past eight they were off Vlieland again. - -Dickey suddenly saw a Zeppelin. - -It was five miles on the starboard beam, at a height of only fifteen -hundred feet. - -Billiken swung the bow of '77 towards the airship. He opened out his -engines. He climbed straight for the Zeppelin. - -Dickey was at the bow gun, the wireless operator was at the midships -gun, and the engineer was at the stern guns. The Zeppelin was barely -moving. Her propellers were merely ticking over. - -They were now at two thousand feet, a thousand yards away from the -airship, and above her. Now the look-out on the Zeppelin saw the -flying-boat. The propellers vanished as the engines were speeded up. -She moved forward. She swung away on a new course. Two men raced to the -gun on the tail and the gun amidships on top. - -Billiken dived on the Zeppelin's tail at a screaming hundred and forty -miles an hour. He passed diagonally across her from starboard to port. -When one hundred feet above and two hundred feet away Dickey got in two -bursts from his machine-gun. - -He used only fifteen cartridges. - -As he cleared the Zeppelin, Billiken made a sharp right-hand turn, and -found himself slightly below and heading straight for the enemy. He -read her number, L 43. Her immense size staggered him. - -Then he saw that she was on fire. - -Little spurts of flame stabbed out where the explosive bullets had torn -the fabric, and the incendiary bullets had set alight the escaping -hydrogen. - -Pulling back his controls, he lifted the boat over the airship, and -just in time. With a tremendous burst of flame--a flame so hot that all -on board the flying-boat felt the heat--the millions of cubic feet of -hydrogen were set off. She broke in half. Each part, burning furiously, -fell towards the water. - -The top gunner rolled into the flames and vanished. - -Three men fell out of the gondolas. Turning over and over they struck -the water in advance of the wreckage. - -The remnants of the Zeppelin fell into the sea, and a heavy pillar of -black smoke reared itself to the sky. - -The crew of the flying-boat fell on each other's necks. Everybody -crowded into the control cockpit. During the demonstration Billiken -got the heavy boat into extraordinary positions. - -Just in nice time for luncheon, at fifteen minutes after eleven -o'clock, having completed a flight of nearly four hundred miles, -Billiken brought '77 into the harbour, Dickey firing Very's lights -and the handkerchiefs of the crew fluttering from the barrels of the -machine-guns. - - -II. - -That night the staff-room was full to overflowing when Dixie brought in -the brass tray covered with cocktails. - -The staff-room at this time was a small narrow place, so narrow that -when anybody sat down everybody else fell over his feet. It was just -big enough to hold, with a little packing, the heads of departments who -were permanently attached to the station, and it had become their room -by an unwritten law. But now all hands were crowded in. - -Everybody was standing, there was no room to do anything else, and a -fine of half a crown fell on anybody who sat on the arm of a chair, a -rule enforced to preserve the integrity of the furniture. - -The noise was prodigious. All were talking, nobody listening. A lad -from up North had just finished telling me a yarn. - -"The Orks are the limit," he said. "A Fritz ran ashore at half tide on -a small island just outside Kirkwall in the Orkneys. The crew got busy -and took all their ammunition and heavy gear ashore to lighten her and -got her off next tide. It's a desolate place, the butt-end of nowhere, -but an Ork saw them. He was sent for by the S.N.O. - -"'Did you know they were Germans?' he was asked. - -"'I thought they werena talking English,' the Ork replied cautiously. - -"'Why did you not warn the coastguard at the telephone?' - -"'They might ha' shot at me.' - -"'Did you know you would have got a big reward?' - -"'Reward! Hoo much?' - -"'A hundred pound.' - -"'A hunder poonds! If I'd knawn that I'd have rin like h----!' - -"I saw him the other day," concluded the pilot, "and he hasn't yet -recovered from his loss." - -Number One, who had just entered, was saying to Billiken: "Well, young -Hobbs, I suppose you are proud of yourself...." Dickey was over in the -corner telling Pat, Jumbo, and the Padre all the horrible details. Pat -was interjecting at intervals: "And the gun did not jam." The Padre was -saying under his breath: "Poor souls. Poor souls." - -Leslie, Tiny, Spring-heel Jack and the rest were talking at a rate of -knots, discussing whether Zepps would give us any further chances, or -if they would now fly high. As a matter of fact they did fly high from -that time on, airships which could not get above ten thousand feet -being withdrawn from the operations in the North Sea. - -Every few minutes a signalman would wedge himself into the room -bringing a signal of congratulation. - -Then the Chief Steward entered and announced to Number One: "Dinner is -served, sir." - -The mess was a long room running the full width of the building. The -rafters and roof were painted a light grey, and the walls green, a -shade of green which could only be conceived by a naval rating and -mixed in a ship's paint-room. A long table ran the full length of the -mess, crossed at each end by a short table, and the Chief Steward had -contrived a specially fine display of flowers and decorated the table -with large mats having navy-blue borders, the centres embroidered with -gold eagles, the noble bird which is the emblem of the flying service. - -Number One rapped on the table with a little mahogany mallet made from -the wood of a flying-boat. A sharp silence. And then the padre said -grace, "Thank God." - -The dinner was good, our cook had been a _chef_ at the Ritz before -getting into uniform. Out on the verandah the ship's band played airs, -ancient and modern. The members of the band were the only men in the -ship's company that Number One did not begrudge letting off attendance -at divisions. - -The port and sherry decanters circulated. Two sharp raps on the table, -and the King's health was drunk sitting, navy fashion. - -A telegram of congratulations from Admiral Jellicoe was read, followed -by a long list from friends of the station; and then somebody sang -out, "At 'em, Tiny," and the portly one in another second was on his -feet saying-- - -"Mr President, I beg to propose the health of Sub-Lieut. Hobbs and -Sub-Lieut. Dickey...." - - * * * * * - -Immediately after the King's health six sad officers left the table and -went to their cabins. They were the Duty Pilots who had to turn out an -hour before daybreak next morning to go on patrol. - - * * * * * - -Spring-heel Jack told me during dinner that throughout the entire day -the German wireless stations had been calling frantically to L 43. - - -III. - -We were very proud of our new flying office in No. 2 Shed. - -It was just inside the big sliding doors opening out on the slipway. It -had glass windows on three sides which kept out the dust and some of -the noise. It contained a sound-proof cabinet complete with telephone, -a desk at which writing could be done, and with drawers in which to -keep papers, and a blackboard on the wall for notices. The inside was -painted white to reflect all the light possible, and the outside grey -to prevent it looking dirty. It was exceedingly smart. - -Also a pigeoner's caboosh was put up. - -The pigeoner was a busy man--he seemed to do everything but look after -the pigeons. There were several of him, for he had to be on duty before -patrols went out in the morning and after they came back at night. - -If you mislaid your life-belt you asked the pigeoner. He kept them. -They were air-bags worn like a waistcoat, and were blown up by pressing -a handle which punctured a cap in a small compressed-air bottle. -Everybody out on patrol wore one. It was good joss. - -He kept the leather jackets and trousers for the ratings, for the War -Flight was short of kit and it had to be passed on from man to man. - -The engineers drew from him their flying-tool kits, small wooden boxes -fitted with all tools that could be used at sea, packed into the -smallest space and totalling the least possible weight. - -Besides all this he looked after the emergency rations, the ordinary -rations, the Red Cross boxes, the spare sea-anchors, the jerseys for -the ratings supplied by the R.N.A.S. Comforts Fund, the cameras; and -in his spare time he acted as messenger, being summoned to the Flight -Office by one tap of the ship's bell. A lazy Duty Officer had fitted up -a string, whereby, sitting at the desk inside the office, he could ring -the bell outside. - -He also looked after the pigeons. Large wicker baskets were brought -down each morning from the military loft in Felixstowe town. While on -the station the birds were watered but not fed. When a boat was going -out the pigeoner put two of them in a basket with two compartments and -two lids and placed them on board, well up from the bottom, as petrol -fumes made them stupid. Each pigeon had a tiny aluminium receptacle -clipped to its leg to hold the message, and a ring with its number, so -that it could be identified if it came back without a signal. The naval -Huns usually released the pigeons without messages when they captured -one of our seaplanes, sometimes turning the holder upside down. - -Pigeons cannot fly in mist or when it is dark, and have to be specially -trained to fly over the sea, two squeakers, as the young birds are -called, being taken out in each boat for training. And sometimes they -refused to fly in daytime, perching when released on some part of -the machine. When they did return punishment quickly followed. Birds -which refused to do their duty had their commissions cancelled and were -killed and eaten. - -But they did great service. - -An aeroplane and a flying-boat crossed from Yarmouth to Terschelling. -The aeroplane tried to attack a Zeppelin and received a bullet in -the radiator, whereupon it had to land in the sea. The flying-boat -rescued the crew, but was damaged in doing so and could not get into -the air again. Two pigeons were released. One perished. The other, a -great-hearted bird, battled home against a head wind and fell dead with -exhaustion on the slipway. The message it carried saved the lives of -the seven men who had been out in the disabled boat for four days. - -During May, beside bringing down the L 43, the War Flight sighted eight -enemy submarines and bombed three. - -Morrish and Young, driven off their course by heavy rain-squalls and -low clouds on the 9th, passed over an enemy submarine on the Schouen -Bank, but as they did not know where they were at the time and could -not identify it, they passed on, making the English coast near Dover. -Two days later Gordon and Thompson presented one of our new two hundred -and thirty pound bombs to a Fritz. - -On the same day Dickey and myself, when peacefully booming out to the -North Hinder, ran into six winged Huns. Much to the disgust of Dickey, -who wanted to eat 'em alive, I dodged the enemy in the mist and carried -out the patrol. - -But now our activities were curtailed and the War Flight came in for a -tremendous strafing. - -A Senior Naval Officer from another area on a visit to the station -asked to be taken out on patrol. He was boomed out on the Spider Web by -Tiny, surprised a submarine on the surface, and dumped on it four one -hundred pound bombs before it could submerge. - -The Naval Officer arrived back in the harbour safely and departed to -his own place, well pleased. - -But that night the telephone bell rang and we were informed that one of -the Harwich submarines, which was due, had not returned. Tiny's hoodoo -was apparently on the job again. He was sent for and carpeted, and -straffed for taking out a Naval Officer from another area, and while -doing so, bombing and sinking one of our own submarines. - -The War Flight was straffed and forbidden to search the Spider Web, and -was given instead the task of flying up and down the shipping channel -within smelling distance of the land. The pilots were tremendously -bored. - -And then five days later the E boat came limping in between the -guardships at the boom. She was damaged, but not damaged by bombs. She -had not been anywhere near where the bombs had been dropped, but had -found trouble while poking her inquisitive nose into some of Germany's -secret affairs. - -But for some days the flying-boats flopped up and down the shipping -channel, seeing nothing and accomplished nothing, until June the 28th. -Their release was celebrated by Mackenzie and Dickey bombing a Fritz -from four hundred feet ten miles west of the North Hinder. - -[Illustration: Bombs bursting over Submarine.] - - -IV. - -The U-C 1 pushed out from Zeebrugge harbour on July 23. - -She was dirty as to paint, rust streaks disfigured her sides, and she -was not a pretty object to look at in the bright sunshine. - -But she was not really a wicked submarine, as she did not sink -passenger liners or hospital ships with torpedoes or gun fire, but only -laid mines, which is a legitimate act of war. - -She was a hundred and eleven feet long, and was the sole survivor, -but one, of fifteen similar boats. She carried twelve mines in four -vertical tubes forward of her conning-tower. - -Her Commander passed the North Hinder and pushed on towards England, -running on the surface across our deep mine-field. When in sight of the -shipping channel he dived and worked his way right into the approaches -to Harwich. He was a bit early, for it was still daylight, and he liked -to lay his mines at high water, as this gave him a greater depth for -diving. - -He loafed along at two knots, thirty feet under the surface, with -his periscope twelve inches above water, keeping a sharp look-out for -trouble. Presently he saw a fleet of mine-sweepers working in the -distance, and creeping cautiously closer, observed that they were -sweeping in an area between four bright-green buoys, marking off the -corners of a large parallelogram. Consulting the chart supplied by his -intelligence department, he saw that the trawlers were sweeping in the -emergency war channel. - -The mine-sweepers were working in pairs, travelling abreast and some -distance apart. Each trawler towed a kite at the end of a wire cable. -The heavy wooden kite was V-shaped and sank under the surface to the -required depth when towed. Between the two kites was a wire rope. -It had chains attached to it, so that it dragged on the bottom, and -rollers, so that it would not foul. In the bight of the wire was a -serrated portion. The idea was to catch the mooring cable of any mine -on the wire and saw it in two on the serrations. The mine would then -rise to the surface and could be destroyed by rifle fire. - -The Commander of U-C 1 told his second in command that these -preparations clearly meant that the Harwich Light Forces were going to -take a burst out to sea, and that he intended to lay a line of mines -across their path. - -At dusk the trawlers packed up and boiled off for home at top speed. -The German Commander watching them said: "It is easy to see that they -are burning Government coal." - -Just before high tide the U-C 1 entered the parallelogram inside the -four green buoys, still under water. She was a third of the way across -when a sharp order was given, a lever was pulled, and a mine left one -of the tubes. - -The complete mine consisted of two parts, the war-head and the sinker. - -As it left the submarine it slowly sank to the bottom and rested on its -sinker, for in the war-head was an air chamber which kept it right end -up. - -A slow spring, automatically released when the mine left the tube, -began to move a lever, and at the end of five minutes it pulled back a -catch and released the war-head from the sinker. - -The air chamber in the war-head caused it to rise. As it rose it -unwound the mooring cable from a reel in the sinker. It rose to within -eight feet of the surface and then stopped. A hydrostatic valve had -operated a catch which stopped the reel unwinding. The valve could be -set to hold the war-head at any depth under the surface required. - -The pull of the war-head on the mooring cable closed an electric -switch, and the mine was ready for business. - -In accordance with The Hague Convention a switch was fitted to the -mine, which would open, rendering it harmless, if the war-head broke -away from the cable; but it had been carefully put out of action before -the mine had been put in its tube. - -The Commander of the U-C 1 crossed the parallelogram and laid all his -mines at close intervals. His work finished, he slipped off toward the -open sea, thinking with satisfaction of his row of mines with their -ugly warty heads swaying to the tide below the surface of the water. - -He pictured the Harwich flotilla coming out in line ahead, a light -cruiser leading, her four hundred and thirty-six feet of slim grey -length driven through the water by her forty-thousand horse power. -He thought of her 3-inch protective plating, but this he knew only -went two and a half feet below her water-line. He gloated over her -armament--two 6-inch guns, six 4-inch guns, and one 4-inch high angle -anti-aircraft gun--all useless when pitted against his mines. - -He saw her in his mind's eye touch a mine. It rolled along her side. -The soft metal protruding horns were bent. The glass tubes inside them -were broken. The liquid in the tubes fell into cups in which were two -solid elements of an electric battery. A current was generated. The -exploder was detonated, and the charge of high explosive went off with -a chattering crash. - -But all that would happen to-morrow. He was well pleased with himself -as he slipped along. - -How could he know that the emergency war-channel had been shifted, -that the four green buoys had been laid there for his special benefit, -that the mine-sweeping was a bluff, and that his successor to the job -of minelayer-in-extraordinary to the Harwich Light Forces would in his -turn discover the green buoys, blunder into the mines intended for the -light cruiser, and so depart this life. - -Next morning he brought his boat to the surface this side of the North -Hinder, and started for home. There was a light mist, no wind, and -everything appeared ormolu. - -But behind him at Felixstowe Commander Porte, who was back on the -station for a short time, had determined to lead out a patrol of -five flying-boats--a greater number than had ever been out together. -It strained the resources of the War Flight, but five machines were -finally shoved down the slipway into the water. Commander Porte was -leading in F 2 C, his latest experimental boat, piloted by Queenie -Cooper, the test pilot. - -The five boats fluttered around in the water, each getting into its -correct position in the formation, and then, at the signal from the -leading machine, all had their engines opened out at the same time. - -They boiled down the harbour, leaving five white streaks behind them, -got into the air and pushed off for the Spider Web. Many times later on -flights of an equal number of boats were got away easily, but this was -the first time, and a sigh of relief and admiration went up from all -hands on the slipway. It was a fine sight. - -The formation passed the Shipwash, passed the North Hinder, and then, -at ten minutes to eleven o'clock, the Commander of U-C 1 tried to dive. - -He was too late. - -Ginger Newton and Trumble dropped two two hundred and thirty-five bombs -on him from five hundred feet. Commander Porte and Queenie dropped two -similar bombs. Cuckney and Clayton dropped one bomb. And the other two -boats stood by ready. - -But the career of U-C 1 was ended. - -There was oil on the surface and a little white spot on the water, -where a long string of silver bubbles, coming up and up, were breaking -gently. - -The water was twenty-four fathoms deep. - -A fathom is six feet. - -One of the boat pilots, curious to see what the bubbles looked like at -close quarters, landed, but was unable to find the spot. Once in the -air again he could see the bubbles easily. - -But the whole of July was a good month. The pilots flew on eighty-nine -patrols, and did sixteen thousand four hundred and thirty sea miles. -Twenty-five patrols were carried out, drawing blank, and then Puff -Mackenzie and Dickey met up with a Zeppelin. - -It was just after sighting twelve German destroyers, navigating along -in close formation, that they saw the airship. Her crew saw the -flying-boat coming at the same time. She altered course and went up -through the clouds like an express elevator. - -Holding on the same course as the Zeppelin, and climbing through the -clouds for twenty minutes, Mackenzie burst up into the sunshine above -and found the enemy still ahead of and slightly above him. There -was great activity in the gondolas of the airship; and presently -sand-ballast began to pour out, and she got to a height of eleven -thousand feet when the flying-boat was at nine thousand. She had gained -a bit of distance while climbing. - -But now the coast had been crossed. - -All sorts of odds and ends were thrown out of the gondolas, and the -airship finally got to thirteen thousand five hundred feet. The -flying-boat was at eleven thousand, just behind her; but it could climb -no higher, being heavily laden with petrol for the return journey. - -They were now thirty miles inland, and over two hundred miles from -home, so the chase was broken off. As the boat turned round the -disappointed engineer fired a few bursts from his stern guns, but the -tracer bullets were seen to fall short. - -Passing out over the coast the hostile destroyers were sighted again, -and shortly afterwards Mackenzie had to land because of petrol pump -trouble. The package of sandwiches was found and the thermos flask -opened, and while the crew had a snack the petrol pumps were repaired. -Twenty minutes later the boat was in the air again. - -At half-past two Harwich harbour was reached, the crew having been in -the air for six hours and twenty minutes. - -Dickey, the small and bloodthirsty, would not be comforted for some -time for not getting the Zeppelin, although it was pointed out to him -that for one so small he had given the Germans a big fright. - -Beyond shoving out a Beef Trip and the ordinary patrols, things were -quiet until the 21st, when Perham and Cuckney in one boat, and Hodgson -and Ramsden in the second, met up with a Fritz on the surface five -miles south of the North Hinder. - -She was lying in wait to sink the beef and beer, for a Beef Trip was on -for next day. - -Two bombs were dropped by the first boat. The submarine dived. It came -to the surface seventeen minutes later. The second boat was getting -into position, when it again submerged and was no more seen. - -It is probable that this submarine was damaged, as she came to the -surface so quickly after being bombed. - -On the following day seven patrols were boomed into the air for the -Beef Trip, the greatest number up to this time put out in one day. -Owing to the number of machines being overhauled two of the boats had -to be sent out twice, each doing five hundred and forty miles. - -It was quick work. - -Between trips the boats were taken out of the water, cleaned and filled -with two hundred and forty gallons of petrol. The four machine-guns -were stripped, cleaned, and assembled. All control wires and the -structure were examined. And the engines were checked and tested. - -When coming in from the first patrol on one of these boats there was a -splintering crash. I thought we had been hit by a shell from a pom-pom. -But a tray of ammunition had blown off the front Lewis gun and gone -into the port propeller. The brass-tipped mahogany blades were turning -at twelve hundred revolutions a minute, for the propellers are geared -down, and do not turn as fast as the engines. The tray shattered one -blade, the splinters shooting through the top of the boat, but the crew -were uninjured, except for a few scratches. The engine had to be shut -off, and I flew the boat home thirty miles on one engine. - -Flying-boats can fly on one engine if the total weight is not too -great. It is a question of weight for horse-power available. To enable -the pilot to keep the boat flying in a straight line without undue -strain, a heavy rubber cord is fitted on the rudder wires, which can be -tightened as requisite. - -During the Beef Trip Hodgson and Ramsden sighted a U-boat, which dived. -It torpedoed a small Dutch steamer seven miles north of the North -Hinder, which was seen in trouble by Hallinan and Brown. They saw two -boats put out, the crew tumble into them, and the ship sink. - -Shoving off to the Beef Trip, for she was not part of the convoy, they -flashed the position by Aldis lamp, and the two boats were picked up by -a destroyer. - -Next day Bath and Keesey, and Tiny and Moody, made a presentation of -four bombs to a Fritz in the Spider Web, and two days later Perham and -Barker, on the way in from the North Hinder, surprised a U-boat near -the Outer Gabbard buoys, and followed the good example. - -The end of July coincided with the end of U-B 20. - -She was on her way south--about to the approaches to Ireland, where her -Commander intended to destroy merchant ships. - -For this purpose he carried a 4·1-inch gun and five torpedo tubes, four -in the bow and one in the stern. He had ten torpedoes. - -His boat had a double hull, and was a hundred and eighty feet long. -She could do thirteen knots on the surface. Therefore he was able to -overhaul ordinary merchantmen and sink them by gun-fire. He liked to do -this, because he could carry more shells than torpedoes. - -The U-B 20 was designed to dive very quickly. But this time she did not -dive quickly enough. - -Puff and Ball in one boat, and Young and Barker in another, met up with -her ten miles this side of the North Hinder. Apparently the Commander -never saw the flying-boats coming, as he made no attempt to change -course or submerge. - -Puff passed over him at eight hundred feet, and Ball dropped one bomb. - -It was a long slim bomb, with an armour-piercing nose, and weighed two -hundred and thirty pounds. - -Ball leaned out of the cockpit and watched it all the way down. -Unconsciously he held his breath, and time seemed to stop. And then he -saw it crash into the stern of the submarine. - -On the explosion the stern went down and the bow rose out of the water. -It smacked down a moment later with a wide-flung splash. - -Close behind the leading boat came Young. Barker dropped two one -hundred pound bombs. They detonated just in front of the submarine. He -saw that the bow hydroplanes were damaged. - -The U-B 20 was now out of control. - -She did figure eights. - -She dived and came up again. - -And then, after seven minutes of such evolutions, her twin propellers -stopped, and she began to sink by the stern. - -The pilots were now circling above their quarry at a height of four -hundred feet. Puff and Ball obtained a second direct hit just in front -of the conning-tower, and Young and Barker straddled her with two bombs. - -She was much down by the stern. - -Suddenly she stood on end, remained poised there for a perceptible -fraction of time, and then slid down backwards and disappeared in a -smother of white water. - -The pilots were back in harbour in time to dress for dinner. - -But U-B 20, her wicked hopes frustrated, lay at the bottom of the North -Sea in twenty-two fathoms. - -She had been killed dead. - -August was a cold miserable month. Mist and fog shrouded the southern -portion of the North Sea, and when there was no mist and fog, heavy -clouds hung like palls low over the surface, or there were heavy -rain-squalls and high winds. - -Only two submarines were sighted, neither being bombed. - -But it was a welcome stand-easy for the pilots and ratings who had been -working double tides for four months. - -[Illustration: Lifting 230-lb. bomb into place.] - -[Illustration] - - - - -CHAPTER V. - -THE FATAL FOUNTAIN AND END OF U-C 6. - - -I. - -I was sunk a thousand fathoms deep in sleep. - -Came a loud rap at my cabin door, the stab of electric light in my -eyes, and a voice saying, "Signal, sir." - -The messenger, seeing I was more or less awake, crossed the cabin and -passed me a signal pad. Propping one eye open, I read-- - -"0348 Trout, XUB top." - -"Thanks," I said, and the messenger vanished. - -The signal was a wireless fix of a Fritz. Sitting up in bed, I reached -for the squared chart, and examined it. The message, interpreted, meant -that at forty-eight minutes after three o'clock that morning, September -3, a German submarine had been on the surface off the Goodwins. - -The commander of the U-boat had reported to Germany by wireless. He -was probably taking no chances in that vicinity, and would not have up -his aerial masts, but would be using as aerials the two jumping wires -which ran from end to end of his boat, passing over his conning-tower -and forming a protection against nets, hawsers, and mines. He could -therefore dive immediately. - -However, it was not my pigeon; he was not in the Felixstowe area. So I -switched off the light, turned over, and was immediately asleep. - -An hour later I was sitting up in bed again reading a second signal-- - -"0403 Trout, ANV centre." - -"Wait," I said to the messenger. - -The repetition of the word "Trout" meant it was the same Fritz again -working wireless. I checked the positions and times of the two fixes -on the chart. The commander of the submarine had come north about ten -miles, and would soon enter the Spider Web. This was a different matter. - -"Quartermaster," I said to the waiting messenger. - -Jumping out of bed, I pulled on my uniform over my pyjamas, and met the -Quartermaster as he entered the door of the mess. We stood together -and looked across the quarter-deck. It was going to be a misty day. We -walked down to the concrete, and looked across the harbour. Harwich, -on the far side, a mile away, was invisible, but the big light-buoy, -half-way across, could be seen. - -"Can do," I said. "We'll take a chance. Turn out the hands; I'll call -the pilots." - -The weather had been so unpromising the night before that no early -morning Duty Pilots had been warned off, so I hammered up Dickey for -myself and Cuckney and Clayton for the second boat. - -Cuckney was a stout fellow, who had been doing the two-trip-a-night -stunt in carrying bombs from Dunkirk to Zeebrugge. - -He was over the Mole one night at a low height in a Snider, a small -float-seaplane, when his engine stopped. He pushed and pulled -everything he could think of, but the engine would not start again, and -he landed in Zeebrugge harbour. Searchlights blinded him, and the Huns -let off everything that would bear. The enemy then saw that his engine -had stopped. Fire ceased, and two launches raced out from the dock to -capture him. - -They were right on top of him when he found the trouble: he had opened -the magneto-switch with his elbow. He started his engine, and ran along -the water in front of the launches. And then he zoomed into the air, -followed by howls of disappointment and a hurricane of high explosives. - -After working some time at Dunkirk, he felt a bit weary, and somebody, -who mistakenly thought that flying-boat patrols were a rest-cure, sent -him down to Felixstowe. - -Quickly despatching breakfast, we got into our two boats, and pushed -off for the Spider Web, Cuckney taking up station on my port-beam, -a quarter of a mile away. The water was invisible, and as he was -travelling at the same speed and in the same direction, he looked to me -as though he were standing still, suspended in the air by an invisible -wire. It was an odd optical illusion. - -The farther out we got the thicker got the mist. We could only see any -distance by looking up the molten pathway made by the reflected image -of the sun on the little waves. - -After sculling about for two hours, I balanced the boat on the -controls, and quickly climbed out of the first pilot's seat. Dickey was -ready, and popped in. I now devoted my whole energies to observing. -Turning my back on the sun, I tried to pierce the blank wall of fleecy -white. - -I saw something sparkle. - -It looked like a tiny fountain glittering in the sunlight. - -Through the binoculars it showed up as a thin thread of water standing -up all by itself in the middle of the grey, calm, misty sea. - -Taking a quick bearing on the compass, I bumped Dickey out of the -control-seat, and swung the head of the boat towards the fountain. I -opened out the engines and shoved the nose down. Looking back, I saw -that Cuckney had turned in behind me. - -One minute passed, two minutes, four minutes. We had roared over six -miles of sea, and still I could see the little fountain ahead. - -Then I saw the submarine. She was a mile away--a big grey Fritz of the -U-class, long flush deck rising toward the bows, conning-tower between -bow and stern, two guns, one before and one aft of the conning-tower, -and a straight stem. She was shoving through the water at top speed, -about thirteen knots, and above her bow was the little fountain. - -It was caused by a thread of water running up her straight stem and -leaping into the air about five feet. - -It glittered in the sun. - -Two men were on the conning-tower, but they did not see or hear us -coming. We were attacking up wind and down sun. We read part of her -number, U 4?, but the second numeral was blurred. - -Forty seconds after seeing the U-boat Dickey pulled the release lever -and dropped one bomb. He threw up his arm. I banked over and looked -down. The bomb had detonated on the starboard side half-way between the -conning-tower and the stern. - -The submarine heeled slowly over to port. She stopped in her own length -and began to sink. - -Cuckney close behind me passed over. I saw a bomb burst on the -starboard side right in front of the conning-tower. Her decks were now -awash. An explosion occurred in her bow and several smaller explosions -between the stem and the conning-tower. - -By this time I was again in position, and Dickey dropped a second bomb. -The bomb detonated about thirty feet away from her. Only the very top -of her conning-tower was showing. And then she vanished. - -The little fountain had been fatal. - -Later on in the same day, in the vicinity where the submarine had been -met, Gordon and Faux in one boat, and Hallinan and Hodson in another, -were surprised from the rear by four enemy seaplanes. The Huns failed -to get home with the first attack and sheered off, and as they proved -faster than the boats they could not be brought to action. - -About this time, on an absolutely clear day, with no wind, and in a -boat with a well-tested compass, conditions under which navigation -should be certain and easy, I was extremely surprised and annoyed to -arrive over the position where I thought the North Hinder should be and -not see her. - -I buzzed round in a circle, saw that my compass card was apparently all -right, took a look at my notes of navigation, compared my watch with -the watches of the crew, and then felt quite helpless. - -On straightening up the machine, and deciding to carry on the patrol, I -saw a black speck on the water about fourteen miles away. Through the -binoculars I thought it looked like the North Hinder, but it appeared -more bulky than usual and smoke seemed to be coming from it. - -Deciding that I had made some silly error in time or course I started -off for the light-ship, and found when I got near it that two tugs were -lugging it along at about six knots towards the Dutch coast. It was -being taken in to be repainted and overhauled. The following day a new -North Hinder, with the paint of the name very white and the red sides -unstained by rust, was lying at the moorings on the shoal. The new -vessel could be told from the old one by a small black ball on the mast -above the lantern, a decoration which the original light-vessel did not -possess. - -On the morning of September 13th the Commander of a Harwich submarine -was coming in from a four days' surface patrol outside the mine-fields -in the Bight of Heligoland. He was one of the little lot of submarines -who kept the continuous watch, day and night, for the coming out of -the German High Sea Fleet. But he had been relieved, and had come down -homeward bound past Terschelling, across the Brown Ridge, and when near -the North Hinder, finding he was a bit early, he went to the bottom to -rest. - -He had been down but a short time when he heard through the E-boat's -ears, which are hydrophones, the propeller noises of another submarine. -It was on the surface and passed directly over him. - -He was just about to give the order to blow the tanks and come up and -stalk the Fritz, when two heavy underwater explosions shook his boat. -He remained on the bottom. He listened for a long time. But with the -explosions the propeller noises had ceased abruptly and did not start -again. Finally he came up to periscope depth, took a good look around, -saw nothing, and broke water. - -He said: "I started in for Harwich on the surface. I hung out all -my signal flags, let some of the crew stand on deck, and looked as -friendly as possible." - -While the E-boat was down at the bottom of the sea and the Fritz was up -above churning up the muddy water with her twin propellers, a Beef Trip -was threshing along on the surface, and up in the air, in the sunlight, -were the flying-boats. - -The pilots of the two flying-boats, on their way out to the Beef Trip, -saw the Fritz on the surface and whooped over to investigate. - -But the pilots of the first boat to pass over him, knowing our own -submarine was expected to be in the vicinity at this time, and not -identifying the submarine as a German, passed over without bombing him. -They did not know that the Commander of the E-boat was lying snug on -the bottom. - -The Commander of the U-boat, who was out after the Beef Trip, when he -saw the first boat pass over, gave orders to dive and waited for the -bombs which did not come. - -Billiken and Dickey, in the second boat, got into position when only -the light-grey conning-tower, with a tumble of white water behind it, -was showing. But they recognised him as a Fritz and let him have two -bombs. They circled over the spot for some time, and finally saw oil -coming up, which spread, and spread, and spread. - -Things now moved rather fast. On September 15 Young and Barker bombed a -submarine. Poor Young, almost at the very end of the war, was shot at -the controls of his boat in a fight against heavy odds off Borkum. He -landed the boat safely in spite of the terrible wound, and died before -the boat had stopped running on the water. The rest of the crew were -made prisoners, setting the boat on fire before being taken off. - -On the same day Perham and Gooch had a brush with three enemy -seaplanes, and Hallinan and Hodson in one boat, and Gordon and Faux in -another, dropped four bombs on a Fritz on the 25th. - -While on a Beef Trip with Watson on F 2 C, an experimental boat, I -sighted an enemy submarine about eight miles away and hastened towards -it at eighty knots. - -The boat was fitted with a marvellous arrangement of brass taps, pipes, -a compressed air bottle, and a long release lever. This was a gadget -for dropping bombs by compressed air, which, according to its proud -inventor, was to supersede the good old way of dropping them by pulling -a bowden wire. - -When over the submarine the lever was pulled, but the compressed air -escaped with a derisive hiss and the bombs refused to leave the racks. -The submarine submerged and a destroyer summoned to the place dropped -depth charges, but there is a feeling that Fritz went off safely about -his business. - -The area was now being made so hot for Fritz that the Germans began to -be convoyed up through it by destroyers. - - -II. - -U-C 6 pushed out from Zeebrugge before daybreak. - -It was on September 28, a thick day, a very thick day. - -With her were three other U-boats, three destroyers, and two float -seaplanes. - -The Commander of U-C 6 kept station in advance of the other three -submarines as they passed through the swept channels into the North -Sea. He was fully blown. The whole flotilla rippled along at eight -knots. - -The U-C 6 was an old boat, the last survivor of fifteen similar -mine-layers. But it was his first command, and he was very proud -of her. She had just been overhauled. Her paintwork was bright and -the brass inside shone. True, she only had one periscope, but they -had mounted a 22-pounder for him in front of the conning-tower, an -ornament which no other of her class had carried. It was an old gun and -not very accurate, and the recoil, when he tested it, had threatened to -sheer the holding-down bolts or pull up the deck. But, as he said, it -was better than nothing. - -He led the flotilla up the coast of Belgium until he came to the -Schouen Bank buoy, with its red lattice-work top hamper surmounted by -a ball. Here he turned west towards England, along the northern edge -of one of our mine-fields. At half-past eight o'clock he touched the -southern arm of the Spider Web. - -Suddenly, in the mist, only a mile away, he saw, six hundred feet in -the air, a black body with wings. - -At the sharp word of command his gun crew raced along the narrow deck -to the 22-pounder. The breach was snapped open, a shell shoved home, -the gun elevated, and then its discharge shook the whole structure of -the submarine, which had not been designed to take the recoil. - -The shell burst just in front of the flying-boat. - -As the gun flashed the Hun Commander saw a long narrow object detach -itself from beneath a wing of the boat. - -It began to fall. - -It wabbled slightly at first, but steadied. - -It was coming straight towards him on a slanting path. Its black nose -was pointing downwards and it looked to be travelling sideways. - -In a shattering roar his universe disintegrated. - -Partially stunned, shaking, and bleeding from a long gash across his -scalp, he stumbled to his feet. - -Passing his hand through his hair he felt that it was wet. He looked at -it stupidly and saw that it was red. He could not understand. - -He looked at the stern of his boat. The superstructure was torn away, -and the steel deck, rent open like a sardine tin, gaped like a great -lacerated mouth, the twisted metal turning up at the edges. His gun -crew had vanished, where he knew not, but a pallid hand appeared -above the surface of the water beside him, flapped feebly, made a few -ripples, and disappeared. - -Pulling himself together, and acting by instinct, he dropped down -into the wrecked boat. At the foot of the conning-tower ladder he -splashed into water. All electric lights were out. The interior was -in darkness, except for the light from the conning-tower hatchway and -the tear in the deck. He swayed unsteadily on his feet on the slippery -deck, which sloped sharply down aft. - -His crew below had been killed or stunned by the force of the explosion -within the cramped and confined steel walls. A sodden mass, shapeless -and horrible, washing against his feet, had been his second in command. -The once orderly interior, a maze of intricate machinery, cunningly and -carefully arranged by the sane intellect of an engineer, was distorted -and twisted into an insane jumble. The bottom of the boat had been -blown out at the stern, and he realised dimly that it was only the air -in the tanks that was keeping her afloat. The chlorine gas, generated -by the sea water mixing with the sulphuric acid in the storage -batteries, bit into his lungs. The stern was sinking. - -He felt sick. He had a great desire to get out of it all. He seized the -lower rungs of the iron ladder. - -A second heavy explosion shook the boat. Her stern went down suddenly. -There was no light. He was thrown into the water. - -The submarine sank. - -Between the bow of the boat and the water was an air space. He flopped -feebly on the surface in the inky blackness. - -It was the end. - -He let himself sink. - -Only two minutes had elapsed from the time the flying-boat had been -first sighted. - -Up above in the mist were Billiken and Dickey in the flying-boat. They -had pushed off that morning from Felixstowe in company with another -boat, but the pilots in the second boat had found the mist too thick -and had returned. - -Suddenly, dead ahead, they had seen the U-C 6. As they roared towards -her they saw her gun crew gather round the 22-pounder, and as Dickey -pulled the release lever a shell burst just in front of their bow. The -bomb hit the stern of the submarine. - -Shells were now bursting all around them. This, to the pilots, was a -mystery, for the gunners on U-C 6 were no longer at the 22-pounder. -Then through the mist, and about a mile away, gun flashes were seen, -and the crew of the flying-boat made out three submarines in line -abreast firing at them. Behind the submarines were three destroyers, -and behind the destroyers were two float seaplanes. - -The pilots saw that U-C 6 was in serious trouble. She was down by the -stern, the water was up to her conning-tower, and her bow was sticking -up in the air. But they knew that submarines are hard to kill dead, -often getting back to port after damage which makes the feat appear -miraculous, and they were taking no chances. - -Disregarding the shell fire, the flying-boat was taken again across -the submarine, and the second bomb was dropped from a low height. It -detonated immediately in front of the bow. With the explosion the whole -structure of the submarine vibrated, she slid down backward under the -water, and left on the surface, to show where she had gone down, a -large quantity of blackish oil, foreign matter, and a silver cluster of -breaking air bubbles, a cluster ever renewed from below. - -Immediately on receipt at Felixstowe of the signal about the enemy -destroyers and the sinking of U-C 6, flying-boats were shoved down the -slipways and boomed out over the North Sea. Cuckney and Clayton sighted -a hostile seaplane close to the water, but it sheered off and was lost -in the mist. Young and Keesey found another enemy seaplane and chased -it until it led them to two enemy destroyers. It was now very thick -indeed, the mist changing rapidly into a fog, and while climbing to get -well above the enemy in order to bomb them, the pilots lost their way -and failed to find the surface ships again. - -The following day, which was still misty, Gordon and Faux, while ten -miles south-east of the North Hinder, saw a ripple on the surface, a -streak of white water, and then the conning-tower of a U-boat breaking -surface. It navigated along awash at about five knots. The pilots were -at thirteen hundred feet. - -Gordon dived, to eight hundred feet, but Fritz had seen him coming and -submerged twenty seconds before the two bombs exploded about the place -he should have been. - -It was thought that this submarine was at least damaged, for when the -black circles left by the explosion of the bombs had cleared away, oil -came to the surface, and by the time the pilots left the vicinity it -was covering a fair-sized area. - - -III. - -October was almost the last good month of submarine hunting to be had. -Four enemy submarines were sighted, but their commanders were keeping -a good look-out while in the Spider Web, and only one was bombed, by -Hodgson and Wilson. - -The 23rd of October was rather a dirty day, with a falling barometer, -and that unpleasant taste to the north-west wind which usually means -trouble of some sort for somebody. - -The Harwich Light Forces were off the Dutch coast looking for the -elusive Hun, and sundry patrols had therefore been shoved out from -Felixstowe. Two of these boats, Tiny in charge of one and Perham and -Gooch in the other, boomed off at ten o'clock to look in the Spider Web. - -On starting out Tiny's wireless operator let the aerial wire run off -the reel unchecked, so that when it fetched up with a round turn at the -end, the weight snapped off the copper wire just inside the boat. This -made it impossible for him to send or receive wireless signals. - -About twelve o'clock, at a position about ten miles south of the -North Hinder, Tiny missed Perham's boat. Turning back on his course he -searched for the missing boat, but failing to see it, concluded that -the pilots had pushed off for harbour with engine trouble. But not -being certain, he released a pigeon with a message, giving details, and -continued the search. - -After the boats went out the wind kept steadily rising. Wireless -signals sent out warning the two boats were not answered. Messages were -sent up and down the coast asking for news. Then a pigeon dropped down -on the ledge outside its loft, walked through the swinging wires which -rang a bell, and so into a little cage. The pigeoner, warned by the -bell, went into the loft, removed the crumpled slip of flimsy paper -from the carrier, and sent it down to the station. - -Two boats were shoved out on the slipway and their engines warmed. Then -Tiny came into the harbour and reported that he had been unable to find -the missing boat. - -In spite of the rapidly rising wind, which had now got to thirty knots, -the quickly decreasing daylight, and the barometer that was falling -with ominous persistence, Gordon and Faux, and Hodgson and Wilson, -volunteered to go out and look for Perham. They pushed off in two -boats from the slipway. The harbour was a froth of whitecaps, and the -boats took off in a smother of spray. - -Half an hour later a great-hearted pigeon came battling in against the -quartering breeze carrying a message from Perham. Smoothing out the -crumpled paper on the desk in the flying office we read the signal. - -"Port engine crank-shaft fractured. Good landing. Approximate position -ten miles south of North Hinder." - -I rang up the naval authorities at Harwich, informed them of the state -of affairs, and asked for assistance. I was told that the Harwich -flotilla had run into a mine-field off the Dutch coast. The flagship -of Rear-Admiral Tyrwhitt had struck a mine with her stern and the -explosion had detonated a depth charge carried on her counter. She was -returning to port at about two knots, with the sea that was running -outside, and all available destroyers were required to guard the -disabled light cruiser. However, help would be sent. - -At dusk the two flying-boats returned. The pilots had made the North -Hinder, had gone ten miles south and had searched a large area, but -had failed to locate Perham. - -And then a signal came in that the two destroyers sent to the position -had been unable to find the flying-boat. - -With the shutting down of night the wind increased in violence. In the -open, when you stood up to it, it was like a solid wall. - -The disabled cruiser outside was in a precarious condition, and many of -her attendant destroyers had to leave her and return to Harwich, making -heavy weather of it. - -The wind got up to forty knots, fifty knots, and finally to sixty knots -in gusts. The wooden mess groaned and protested beneath the heavy hand -of the storm. - -To a chorus of chattering windows, fierce spurts of smoke from the -stove due to violent back drafts down the chimney, a chart was spread -out on the Staff-room table and the probable course of the drifting -flying-boat was laid out. All this, with the reservation in our own -minds, if the boat would live through the gale. But it was at least -something to do, and three boats stood ready to push off next morning, -if required. - -A chart is a representation of a portion of the surface of the earth -intended to be useful to a seaman, and it therefore deals in detail -with the portions of the earth covered with water. It gives the -positions of lights and buoys, details of the sea bottom, and heights, -magnetic variations, and soundings. - -We drew a line on the chart from the positions, ten miles south of the -North Hinder, where Perham had come down, towards the Dutch coast. This -represented the direction the boat would drift owing to the wind. - -The flying-boat, with two sea-anchors out, checking the drift, and -also with weigh knocked off owing to the tossing of the waves, would -probably not drift faster than three knots. Therefore the wind line was -dotted off at three mile intervals. - -Beside the movement due to the wind the flying-boat would move with -the tide, so the set due to the tide was dotted on the chart at right -angles to each three-mile mark. - -When these dots were joined a wavy line was the result, a line first -setting away from the main line of drift, then coming back to it, -crossing it, and then setting away in the other direction. When the -line got near the Dutch coast it could not be calculated owing to the -curious currents, rips and eddies, set up by the low-lying nature of -the land. - -It was seen at once that the three boats would not be required next -day. For Perham would drift past the Schouen Bank light-buoy about two -o'clock in the morning and would be off the Dutch coast at Schouen by -daybreak. - -If the boat lived. - -An extra heavy gust shook the building, and a great fall of soot down -the chimney almost beat out the fire. - -There was a general feeling of thankfulness and relief when the Duty -Steward entered and asked if any one wished to give an order before the -bar closed. - -When, with a grinding crash, the crank-shaft of his port engine -fractured, Perham snapped off the switches and glided down to the water. - -It was just twelve o'clock noon. - -He saw Tiny in the air in front of him, roaring along with his -well-found engines turning off a steady sixty knots. The clouds were -rather low and the air at a thousand feet was hazy. Gooch fired Very's -lights, but the crew of Tiny's boat did not see them, and boomed on. - -The wind was blowing about twenty knots from England, and a bigger sea -was running than the wind seemed to warrant--always a bad sign. - -The crew got out two sea-anchors to check the drift and keep the bow -of the flying-boat from yawing off the wind. They fitted the covering -over the forward cockpit to keep out water thrown over the bows. The -bombs were dropped safe in order to lighten the boat. The engine was -carefully examined. - -The wicker pigeon basket was passed forward and the message-book taken -from the pocket at the side. Two messages were written and rolled up. -The wireless operator opened one of the two lids, took out a pigeon, -inserted a message in the holder, shoved home the cap, and threw the -pigeon into the air, head to wind. The crew watched the bird rise, -circle twice, and start off for home. When it was out of sight the -second pigeon, with the duplicate message, was released. - -As the daylight hours passed the weight of the wind increased. The -waves got higher, and finally their crests began to break. Riding to -her sea-anchors the boat sat high and free. But as darkness set in the -waves began to throw the water over the bow into the pilot's cockpit. - -The petrol in the tanks, splashing about, gave off a heavy vapour -which filled the boat, and this, with the pitching, added sea-sickness -to the discomforts of the crew; for petrol vapour will make the -stoutest-hearted seaman wish he had never sold his little farm. - -Later on, blowing backwards through the darkness, as the force of -the gale increased and the waves got higher, the flying-boat began -to roll from side to side. The wing-tip floats on the lower planes -buried themselves in the sea--first on one side and then on the other. -When they did this a great weight of water poured over the planes, -wrenching, twisting, and tearing with all the leverage afforded by the -length of the wing. - -Perham thought of making an attempt to cut off the fabric on the lower -planes in order to prevent the water from getting a grip. - -Instead of this the crew took turns at standing, two at a time, on the -lower wings, one outboard from each engine, and as a float went under -the man on the opposite wing would scramble out on the plane as fast -as possible, his weight tending to right the flying-boat. It was a -hazardous expedient. - -About two o'clock in the morning the crew saw the Schouen Bank -light-buoy. - -Here in the very shoal water, and with the clear sweep of ninety miles -behind them, the waves were perilously steep, and the trough being -retarded by the bottom the crests were breaking forward in a thunder of -foam. - -The sea-anchors carried away. - -The boat, rolling and pitching, yawed first one way and then the other. -Each time she got off the wind white water was driven across her -from bow to stern. The crew were blinded and drenched. The wracking -strained the boat, and she began to leak. The wood on the bottom of the -flying-boat was not over a quarter of an inch thick. One man had to -work the bilge-pump continuously, and the three other men in the crew -bailed. - -Finally they were over the shoal. The seas here, though big, were not -so bad, as their force was somewhat expended in the shallow water. - -With the coming of the dawn the worn-out crew saw that they were -off the coast of Holland. There were long white sandhills and green -hummocks, and a lighthouse with a circular stone tower and a black -gallery, and Perham knew that they had made a landfall at the Hook -of Schouen. They were now being carried parallel with the coast by a -strong current, so they made an attempt to start up the one good engine -so as to taxi in to shore. After great difficulty they succeeded. Then -they saw a Dutch gunboat, rolling heavily in the sea, approaching them. -They shut down the engine. - -The code-book, with its weighted covers, was thrown overboard. - -The chart, weighted with machine-gun cartridges, was sent after it. - -The wireless installation was pulled out and tossed over the side, and -the machine-guns and ammunition followed. - -Perham retained one machine-gun. - -The gunboat hove to to windward and gave the flying-boat a lee. It -dropped a boat, which pulled down to them. The engineer and wireless -man scrambled on board, followed by Gooch. They shouted to Perham to -follow. - -Perham was busy with the machine-gun breaking a hole in the bottom of -his flying-boat. So far no neutral or enemy Power had had a boat to -examine at leisure. When finished, he joined the rest of the crew. - -But once aboard the cutter, not satisfied with the way his boat was -sinking, he seized a boat-hook and broke a hole in the tail, for the -tail contained a water-tight compartment. - -The gunboat's crew made an attempt to salve the flying-boat, but were -unsuccessful, as she sank. An attempt to grapple for her five days -later also failed--only the engines being recovered. - -The cable announcing the safety of Perham and his crew was received at -Felixstowe before seven o'clock, on the same morning. - - -IV. - -November had sixteen flying days, and one submarine was bombed by Tiny -and Moody on the 3rd. - -And now there comes a little yarn which might be entitled: The Pirates, -the Birdman, and the Grateful Fisherman, and could be told thus:-- - -A poor but honest Dutch fisherman had cast his nets and made a great -haul of fish. His smack was filled to overflowing. He was exceedingly -joyful, for he had a wife and three at home, and was expecting another. -But, as he was thinking with pleasure of the pieces of silver which the -finny spoil of the sea would put in his pocket, the sun was obscured, -the wind blew, and the sea rose in mountainous waves. - -When the wind abated and the waves subsided the smack was far from -land, and neither the fisherman nor any of his men knew in what part of -the sea they were. - -While consulting with each as to what had best be done, the water near -them boiled, a mysterious white wave broke along the surface, and a -loathly grey monster of the deep heaved itself out of the sea and lay -beside them. On its back were pirates--bloodthirsty men, outlaws, a -cut-throat crew--the deeds which they and their fellows had committed -having made the whole world shudder. - -The poor fisherman and his men shook with terror. - -The Chief of the Pirates, in a terrible voice, demanded that the -fisherman come to him, so with great reluctance and many misgivings he -put a small boat over the side, rowed slowly across, and was taken up -on the back of the horrible sea-monster. - -To him the Chief of the Pirates said in great anger, "We had a secret -channel, of which none knew, through the dangers beneath the waters -set for us by our enemies. Across the entrance to the channel I have -found strong nets and cunning machines placed to destroy me. And you, -miserable man, are floating over the very spot. Prepare yourself for -destruction." - -The poor fisherman protested his innocence of all knowledge of the -trap, pleaded his wife and three, and the other that was expected, but -it availed nothing. With a sorrowful heart he got into his little boat, -and rowed towards his smack, thinking best how to tell his men of the -fate in store for them. - -But before he had completed the short journey he heard a roar in the -air, and looking up he saw a huge grey bird approaching with two great -eggs under its wings. - -Fear now fell upon the pirates, and they incontinently caused their -monster to dive, disappearing instantly beneath the waves. The great -bird circled over the fisherman twice, the men on its back signalling -to him, and then flew away. - -While yet the fisherman and his men were congratulating each other on -their narrow escape, swift ships, driven by fire, appeared. A strong -rope was thrown to the fisherman, which he made fast to the bow of his -smack, and he was pulled along the water at an incredible speed to the -Island of England. Here he was brought before a man in authority, who -had laid the trap for the pirates--a man clad in rich blue and gold, -and with a gold hat on his head. After answering questions for many -hours, the fisherman was allowed to send his fish to the market, in the -fabulously rich city of London, and received more pieces of silver than -he had hoped for. - -Indeed, if the one expected proved to be two, he could now easily -afford it. - -The grateful fisherman asked to be allowed to thank the Birdman who had -rescued him, and one, Billiken, was sent for. The fisherman hailed him -as his saviour, enveloped him in a long, odorous, fish-scaly embrace, -and attempted to reward him by pouring out at his feet all the silver -he had obtained for his fish. - -But the Birdman in a noble voice replied, "For what little I did I want -no reward, but please do not embrace me again; the emotion I experience -is more than I can bear." - -That afternoon the fisherman and his men set out for home, all the -sails of their smack set and drawing in a fair wind, and English silver -jingling in their pockets. - -Two days before Christmas, Tiny and Moody barged into two Fritzes, -apparently in a great hurry to get home before the 25th. One of them -was presented with two big bombs as a Christmas-box. - -About this time, while tearing through the sea at full speed in the -dark, the Harwich Light Forces bumped into a newly-laid mine-field off -the Dutch coast. Four destroyers were damaged and a cargo-boat sunk. -As it was not known if the destruction was due to mines or a nest of -submarines, an urgent request was made to the War Flight to send a -flying-boat across to photograph the wreck of the cargo-boat, which -showed above water at low tide. - -The weather was impossible. - -But every little while a request would come through by telephone -asking for an explanation as to why the desired photographs were not -forthcoming. With each repetition of the request the telephone became -more and more impatient. - -On December 27 Clayton and Purdy pushed off to try and get the -photographs. It was a bad day. A twenty-five knot wind was blowing. -They returned very shortly and reported-- - -"Wind very strong, and visibility six miles from coast, nil. Had to -turn back before even reaching Shipwash, as heavy clouds reaching to -the water barred progress in every direction." - -But this did not satisfy the telephone. - -Clayton and myself pushed out at noon. It was a wretched flying day. -The clouds were low, snow-squalls swept down before the north-east -wind, and the air was bumpy. The heavy boat wallowed in the rough -air. With the exertion of handling her I broke out in a perspiration. -Although it was bitterly cold, I pulled off my short flying-coat and -gauntlets. - -We drove at seventy knots through low clouds and snow-flurries for an -hour. But against the head wind we had only won forty-two sea miles -from Felixstowe. Here, barring our path, was a nasty-looking bank of -snow-clouds reaching to the water. We turned north to skirt them and -look for an opening. Heavy gusts shook the boat: she rolled from side -to side, answering her controls slowly; it was impossible to steer a -decent compass course. - -[Illustration: Dutch Sailing-vessel photographed from a Flying-boat.] - -Within five minutes of changing course the engineer came forward and -shouted in my ear that the inboard petrol pipe on the port engine was -leaking badly. Then he climbed out on the wing and attempted to bind it -with tape. The attempt was not successful. - -I turned the nose of the boat for home. She started down wind at a -rate of knots. In ten minutes we were eighteen miles on the homeward -stretch. And the petrol pipe split from end to end. It was too bumpy to -fly on one engine, so I shut both off and made a landing. The boat had -a new design hull, and got into the heavy sea with ease. She rode light -and free. - -Three destroyers were slipping along at slow speed, about a mile away, -rolling heavily in the beam sea. One of them turned out of line and -headed for us. Her Commander flashed a signal asking if we wanted a -tow. We did. The wind was blowing about thirty knots, and increasing. - -The Commander crossed our bows, and a heaving-line snaked out. But with -the wind and tide we were drifting very fast, and the line fell short. -As the destroyer came around I put over a sea-anchor. This time the -destroyer stopped across our bows. The heaving-line reached us. But we -were in the lee, and our drift was checked. The destroyer, broadside on -to the wind, came down on us before the sea-anchor could be cast adrift. - -A wave threw us against the steel side. Once, twice, and with a -crackling of mahogany the bow of the flying-boat was crushed in down -to the water-line. One of the wings went on board the destroyer, -and threatened to dump overboard the mines she was carrying on her -stern. The crew of the destroyer, now all activity, fended us off -with boat-hooks, hands, feet, and anything available. I cast off the -sea-anchor. The destroyer went ahead. We drifted clear. The three other -members of the crew were out on the tail keeping the bow out of the -water. - -I pulled in the heaving-line. To it was attached a grass line which I -made fast to the towing pennant. We fitted a leather flying-coat over -the hole in the bow. The destroyer went slowly ahead, and we followed -after. The tow parted in an hour. Again the destroyer came alongside, -again the bow was damaged, and again, after a time, the grass line -parted. - -It was now dark. A wire hawser was sent across, and we made it fast. -The wire sank down in the water, and when the destroyer went ahead -the bow of the flying-boat was pulled down. The flying-coat held for -an instant, burst inwards, the sea rushed in, cascaded over the front -bulkhead, and flooded the hull from bow to stern. The top of the boat -was just above the surface of the water. - -Luckily I was standing with the Very's pistol in my hand. I discharged -it, and the destroyer stopped. - -I reached down in the boat for the pigeons. Poor birds, they were -drowned. The boat pitched forward suddenly, and the wireless operator -and myself were thrown into the water. We climbed up again. But before -I could do so I had to kick off a fine new pair of thigh-length -flying-boots, woolly inside, which sank, and were lost. - -A cutter was dropped from the destroyer to take us all off, and the -Commander made a determined effort to salve the boat or the engines, -but it ended in failure, the boat finally sinking. - -This was the last patrol to be carried out in 1917. - -In the eight and a half months of the life of the War Flight it had -received fourteen flying-boats in all, five of which were still in -good condition. With this small amount of material the pilots had -carried out five hundred and fifty-four patrols, flown a distance of -seventy-seven thousand and five hundred sea miles, brought a Zeppelin -down in flames, sighted forty-four enemy submarines, and bombed -twenty-five of them. - -[Illustration] - - - - -CHAPTER VI. - -WINGED HUNS AND THE TALE OF THE I.O. - - -I. - -Down in the Straits of Dover there was now in being a barrage which put -the fear into the hearts of the crews of the German submarines. - -All night long, across the narrow channel between the white chalk -cliffs of Dover and Calais, a line of armed trawlers lit up the waves -with brilliant flares, and prevented the U-boats from slipping through -on the surface. - -Beneath the water were nasty devices which, when encountered by an -Undersea-boat trying to creep through submerged, brought its crew to a -sticky end, and reduced the cunning mechanism of the submarine to scrap. - -Between the coasts of England and France two cables were laid on the -bottom, parallel to each other, and some distance apart. These cables -had hydrophones on them at frequent intervals. A hydrophone is a water -telephone. If a noise is made in the water, say by the twin propellers -of a submarine revolving, the sound is picked up by the diaphragm in -the hydrophone, which is similar to the diaphragm in a telephone, only, -of course, bigger. - -An enemy submarine going up or down through the Straits under water -would cross one and then the other of these cables. His propeller -noises would be picked up by the nearest hydrophones, and the listeners -in the silent cabinets on the English coast could tell in which -direction he was travelling, and his approximate position. - -The skippers of the trawlers, those born hunters of Fritz, would be -warned by wireless, and would hasten to the place and shoot a row -of nets--that is, lay them while under weigh across the path of the -submarine. On these nets were hung mines, and the mines were connected -to the trawlers by electric cables. The nets were made of wire, and had -a large mesh, were very light, and each had a buoy which floated on the -surface. - -The Commander of a submarine running blind would barge into a net, drag -it along, and the mines would be pulled in against the sides of his -boat. The surface buoy would bob all the same as a fisherman's float. -The skipper of the trawler, watchfully waiting, would press a heavy -finger on the correct button. - -The mother-ship in the German harbour would wait in vain for the return -of her criminal son. - -This was only one of the many methods of counter-frightfulness adopted, -and so efficient were these Naval devilments that Fritz began to go -north-about through the Fair Island Channel between the Orkneys and -Shetlands, navigating south down the west coast of Scotland by sounding -on the hundred fathom line, and the occupation of Felixstowe, so far as -the intensive hunting of submarines was concerned, was gone. - -But there were still a few Fritzes about, the Beef Trip had to be -protected, and a demand arose for reconnaissance patrols in the Bight. -Also the Hun had developed a fast monoplane fighter seaplane, with -all its guns on the top line, and specially designed for fighting the -flying-boats near the water. - -These monoplanes, which were nasty fellows, carrying little fuel and -fighting on their own front doorstep, were based on Zeebrugge in -Belgium and the Island of Borkum in the Bight of Heligoland. In the -fighting which now ensued the flying-boats, although designed for -weight carrying and distance and not for fighting, held their own. A -complete record of all encounters show honours even; besides which the -flying-boats carried out their job o' work. - -With the new year American pilots began to arrive for the War Flight. -The first was Ensign Vorys, U.S.N., and Ensigns Fallen, Potter, -Sturtevant, Hawkins, and Scheffelin quickly followed. They were -splendid chaps, keen on flying, and could not be kept out of the air. -They had all the fresh enthusiasm for the war which everybody that came -in in 1914 and 1915 had possessed, and regarded patrolling, which the -old hands looked on as a hard and exacting business, as a novel and -entertaining sport. One of their number, who arrived a little later, -looped the loop in a six-ton flying-boat; a feat which had not been -performed before, and has not been tried since. - -There was the deepest sorrow in the mess when Ensign Sturtevant and -Ensign Potter were shot down. They were charming messmates, splendid -pilots, and very gallant gentlemen. - -[Illustration: Hun Monoplane diving in to shove home an attack.] - -The new year opened badly. - -On the 2nd, in a thirty-knot wind, Gordon took off the harbour in a -new type boat. As he rose from the water a petrol pipe failed, and not -having height to turn he landed her outside down wind. She touched -the water at a rate of knots, her bottom split open, and she sank in -shallow water. Before she sank Gordon and his crew were taken off by a -motor-boat. - -The Old Man of the Sea organised a salvage party. - -Jumbo boiled about in the sheds setting alight his trusty henchmen, and -collected an amazing assortment of wire cables, ropes, balks of timber, -flares, anchors, and what else I know not. The station tug _Grampus_, -the steam hissing from her safety-valve through the zeal of her fireman -(for the usual unexciting job of the crew was to bring bread and beef -from Shotley, and this was an adventure), took the O.M.O.T.S.'s pet, -the flat-bottomed salvage barge, in tow. They took it out and anchored -it to windward of the wreck, but nothing further could be done until -low water, which was at nine o'clock. - -In the darkness of the night, in the shadow of the sheds, Jumbo -collected his piratical crew and packed them into the _Grampus_. I -asked to be taken along, and we all shoved out through the guardships -into the open sea. We could not get near the barge owing to the shallow -water, and Jumbo forsook us, climbing with five of his satellites into -a small dingey, which, perilously overloaded, bobbed away over the -heavy sea into the darkness. - -A long wait. The tug was rolling and tossing in the steep waves. A -drizzling rain was falling. There were no shore lights, and the night -was pitch-black. And then there was a glare of light in the distance, -Jumbo had lit one of the acetylene flares on the stern of the salvage -barge. The glare increased, and presently a light came bobbing over the -water towards the tug,--it was a lantern in the bow of the dingey. I -climbed across and was ferried to the scene of activity. - -It was a weird sight. - -Five hissing acetylene flares surrounded the wreck with a fierce glow. -Intense darkness all around, and in the brilliant pool of light a -section of tossing waves, the flying-boat with her lower wings showing -on the surface of the water, and the oilskin-clad men working on her. - -The wind was dying down, and as the tide fell the force of the waves -was broken by the shoals over which they had already passed and by the -barge. - -Jumbo took a short wire rope, with a wire hawser attached midway -between the two ends, and had it worked down from the bow beneath the -flying-boat. The ends were made fast to the engine bearer-struts, the -men tying the knots under water, as the tide was now rising. Other men -had made and fitted a wire sling for each engine, and to these two -lines were made fast and taken to the barge. The slack in the wire -hawser and the two lines was hauled in, and as the incoming tide raised -the barge the flying-boat was lifted clear of the bottom. - -As soon as the water was deep enough Jumbo had the anchor heaved up -and two motor-boats took the barge in tow. The flying-boat, supported -on the surface by its lower wings moving through the water, followed -after. It was towed by the two lines attached to the engines, the wire -bridle under the bow preventing it nose-diving. - -The Old Man of the Sea processioned into the harbour in triumph. First -the _Grampus_, then the two motor-boats, then the barge, and finally -the flying-boat. He beached her at the Old Station at nearly high -tide. A line was taken ashore and attached to a motor lorry. As the -tide came in the boat was pulled farther and farther up the beach by -the motor lorry, until it could be brought in no farther. - -A gang of carpenters were turned out of their hammocks and placed -shores under the wings to keep the boat on an even keel, and when the -tide fell they patched the holes in the hull with three-ply wood and -canvas. - -At the next high tide the boat was floated off, towed to a slipway, put -on a trolley and rolled up to a shed for repair. She was ready again in -March, and carried out many more patrols. - -During January 1918 there were only nine flying days, and although -there were sixteen patrols carried out, no submarines were sighted. - -About this time many disquieting rumours were circulating concerning -the joining of the Royal Naval Air Service and the Royal Flying Corps -into a new service--disquieting because the sea-going men of the -R.N.A.S. felt that they were nearer in spirit and work to the sailors -than to the soldiers. Also the R.N.A.S. was a small show, the total -personnel being about forty thousand, and it was felt that under new -and unsympathetic management the work would suffer, work the value of -which was just being recognised by a stern parent, the Navy. - - -II. - -Fighting now commenced to be more or less common, the interference from -the German fliers getting more intense as time went on. - -The prime mover of the Huns seemed to be Commander Christianson, a -full-out merchant and apparently a sportsman, who was credited by the -Felixstowe pilots with developing the fast little monoplane seaplane. -He was stationed first at Zeebrugge, and when the harbour was wrecked -by the Navy and mopped-up by the Army, after being thoroughly bombed by -the Royal Naval Air Service, he went to Borkum. - -He had been in the merchant service, but his wife had objected to his -occupation as being too dangerous, and he had taken up seaplane flying -before the war. He now led the pilots of the Marine Krestenflegen -Abteilung Flandern, and he and his pilots were as hard as their name is -to pronounce correctly. - -The Germans did not develop flying-boats, because the work their pilots -had to do was different from the work of the British pilots. One big -four-engined boat was built, a horrid-looking monoplane, with fuselage -sticking out behind, but it was crashed at Warnemünde on its trial -flight, killing eight men. - -The British wanted to bomb the submarines and carry out reconnaissance -off the German coast--the Germans wanted to stop them. Therefore the -British built big machines for long distance and weight carrying, and -the Huns built small handy machines for fighting. The boat type is most -convenient for bomb-carrying and long reconnaissance; the float type -for a light two-seated fighter. - -The flying-boats, owing to their weight and two engines, were slow to -manœuvre. They were fitted with four gun positions, one in the bow and -three in the tail. The gun mounting in the bow commanded almost all the -forward hemisphere and a fair part of the rear over the top plane. But -the three gun mountings in the boat behind the planes did not together -have sufficient field of fire to protect the boat from an attack from -the rear. In fact a boat did not have the fighting value of a machine -with a single gunner who could fire in all directions--that is, the -value of a single-seated scout. - -There are a good many yarns about the fighting. - -There is the yarn of the three flying-boats looking for submarines out -near the North Hinder. - -The pilots were surprised by seven Huns who dived out of the clouds and -sat upon their tails. - -The leading boat was set on fire. - -The pilot dived for the water. But before he got there his crew, -seizing the fire-extinguishers which the boats always carried, put out -the fire, and he climbed up again. - -But the formation was broken and a dog-fight commenced. - -One boat was brought down, but on the way to the water the engineer -shot down a monoplane in flames. - -A second boat was brought down, but at the same time the combined fire -of its guns crashed an enemy two-seater. - -And then, as the enemy having had enough drew off, the third boat, its -tanks and engines riddled with bullets, had to land. - -So all three boats were down forty miles from shore. - -The pilots of the first boat, the engines of which were completely -disabled, were taken off by a destroyer and their boat taken in -tow. The pilots of the other two boats plugged the bullet-holes in -the bottoms and repaired their engines sufficiently well to taxi to -England, where they arrived next morning. - -There is also the story of the pilots who went out early one morning -for an airing in an obsolete boat. - -Five Huns met them off the Galloper Shoal and interrupted their -promenade. They were shot down, crashed in the water, and turned bottom -side up. - -But all the crew got out safely and sat on the bottom of the boat. It -was floating in a pool of pure petrol spilt out of its huge tanks, and -the air was scarcely fit to breathe owing to petrol fumes. Said the -wireless operator to the first pilot-- - -"Sir, may I smoke?" - -The crew were later rescued by two flying boats sent out to look for -them. - -But only the beginnings of the fighting are recorded, as most of the -fighting took place after the 12th of April--the date on which this -yarn ends. - -The first success in the fighting fell to Clayton and Adamson in _Old -'61_ on February 5. - -They were out in the Spider Web with another boat looking for -submarines when they found trouble. Five enemy seaplanes dived out of a -cloud in formation and settled on their tail. The accompanying boat was -some distance ahead, and the surprise was complete. - -The engineer and wireless operator dived into the stern and got the -rear guns in action. Clayton waggled the tail from side to side in -order to give each man a clear field of fire alternately. - -One of the enemy dived in to shove home an attack, and Robinson, the -engineer, put a long burst from his machine-gun into his engine. The -Hun side-slipped, struck the water at speed, the floats collapsed, and -the seaplane disintegrated into a twisted mass of wreckage. - -The remaining four enemy seaplanes drew off, and the boats carried on. - -But on February 15 the Huns got their own back. - -Faux and Bailey in one boat, and Purdy and Sturtevant in another, were -twenty-five miles past the old position of the North Hinder--for this -light-vessel, so familiar to the pilots at Felixstowe, had been removed -by the Dutch authorities. - -The pilots were some distance apart booming along looking for -submarines, when seven winged Huns fell upon them. Purdy made a -right-hand turn and steered in a south-westerly direction. Faux opened -out his engines and started to turn after him; but his port engine -failed, and he swung away to the left, thus opening the distance -between himself and Purdy. - -Faux found the air mixture control lever had moved forward with the -throttle and had shut down one engine; but in the few seconds he took -to put this right, three of the enemy were on top of him and four were -on Purdy's tail. - -Purdy was crashed in flames. - -Faux now had five enemy seaplanes attacking him. He turned for England -and roared over the sea, followed by the enemy. Each time they dived -in they were met by a burst from the rear guns. Finally they kept -well astern and sniped from long range. A bullet wrecked the two -wind-driven petrol pumps, and the wireless operator had to leave one -of the rear guns and pump up petrol by hand. - -For thirty minutes the chase continued, and then Faux ran in to a bank -of mist. When well in this he turned sharply to the right, the Huns -overran him, lost him, and he returned safely to harbour. - -This was the first boat shot down by the enemy, and there was sorrow in -the Mess over the loss of the crew, both pilots being exceedingly fine -fellows, and the ratings held in high esteem by their messmates. - -Outside of the fighting February was a quiet month, there being only -eleven flying days in all. - - -III. - -First the skirmish and then the fight. - -March the 12th was a fine day, and three boats in formation were thirty -miles off the Dutch coast. There was nothing in sight; the sea, the -horizon, the sky, were clear. And then there were five Huns. It is as -sudden as all that. - -The enemy pilots, owing to the greater hand-ability of their -light-float seaplanes, could attack how and when they pleased. -The pilots of the boats kept close formation in order to protect -each other. The Huns attacked from the rear. The air was full of -tracer-smoke. Such a heavy crossfire was developed from the stern guns -that the enemy did not shove home an attack. - -Twice the pilots of the flying-boats altered course, and twice the -Huns tried to break the formation as they did so, for with the two -alterations of course the boats were headed for England. The pilots of -the boats had dropped their bombs in order to lighten themselves for -manœuvring in case they were separated. - -As the eight machines roared over the sea the pilots of the boats saw a -small enemy submarine directly ahead. It was a dirty brownish colour, -with net-cutters at the bow and jumping cables from bow to stern. Four -men were on the conning-tower. - -When the boats passed over the U-boat the bow-gunners fired at it, the -stern-gunners were shooting at the Huns, and the Huns were shooting at -the flying-boats. Near the Outer Gabbard buoy the enemy turned to the -left and buzzed off. - -Three more boats were run down the slipway. - -One failed to get off, but the other two boomed out to look for the Hun. - -Tiny and Fallon were in the leading boat, and Webster and Rhys Davis -were in the second. It was a misty day. - -Sixty miles out from land the pilots saw in front of them five little -specks upon the water. As they came up with them they saw they were -five Hun seaplanes waiting to attack our patrols, sitting on the water -in order to conserve petrol. - -Tiny and Webster drew close together until they were wing-tip to -wing-tip. They dived at the hostile formation at a roaring hundred -knots. The pilots of the five seaplanes started their engines, -scuttered along the water, leaving five white streaks behind them, and -took to the air in a good V formation. - -But Tiny and Webster had the superior position: they were above and -behind the enemy, and height to a flying-man is what the weather-gauge -is to a seaman in a sailing-ship. They saw a ball of green fire shot -out by the pilot of the leading Hun machine. At the signal each of the -Huns turned sharply to the left and were in line ahead, flying at right -angles to their previous course. - -Sacrificing some of their height to increase their speed, the -boat-pilots fell on the enemy line, their bow guns going. But now the -Huns flew in a big circle, in order to protect each other's tails, with -the two boat pilots in the centre. - -But this formation was a mistake. For only the gunners in the two enemy -two-seaters could each bring one gun to bear on the boats, while the -gunners in each boat could bring a broadside of three guns to bear on -the Huns. - -Nicol, the wireless operator of _Old '61_, put a burst from his -machine-gun into one of the two-seaters. It remained on its course -for a moment, the bow rose, and it zoomed into the air until it was -vertically upright. At the top of its climb it seemed to hang for a -moment stationary, the propeller futilely revolving. Then its tail slid -into the water four hundred feet below. As it drove into the water -tail first the wings were torn off and floated on the surface, but the -fuselage containing the engine, and with the pilot and observer, kept -right on and vanished. - -Now the remaining four Huns dived for the water, got into line ahead, -and started for the Belgian coast. - -But this manœuvre again left the flying-boats with the advantage of -height, and they crashed down on the enemy, broke his line, the four -Huns scattering in all directions. Tiny and Webster now picked out -individual machines, separated, and went after them. - -Webster was in _Old '61_. She was full of bullet-holes, and the front -main spar on the lower port wing was shattered. But he drove down on -top of a single-seater, his gunners got several bursts home, and the -Hun side-slipped down into the water on one wing, making a reasonably -good landing. The fight swept on leaving him behind. - -Tiny attacked the second two-seater. A bullet from the gun of the Hun -observer found a billet in the neck of the wireless operator, Grey. -He collapsed in a welter of blood. The engineer, leaving his gun for -a moment, seized the Red Cross outfit, broke the water-tight box open -with a kick, and administered first aid. - -In the meantime Tiny passed immediately over the two-seater. The -machines were so close that the bow gunner found himself face to face -with the Hun observer. He saw him working furiously to clear a jam in -his gun. He fired a burst, and the Hun collapsed over the side of the -fuselage. The two-seater side-slipped and nose-dived towards the water, -but the pilot regained control before he touched, and made off at right -angles close to the water and one wing very much down. - -Webster was on top of the two remaining Huns, who had now closed in to -each other, and Tiny joined him. But the boat pilots could not close -with the enemy to decisive range. All the remaining ammunition was -passed forward to the front gunners, who sniped at long range, the Huns -gradually opening out their lead. - -When all their ammunition was expended, Tiny and Webster turned for -home. The fight had lasted for thirty-eight minutes. Over a hundred -bullet-holes were counted in _Old '61_. - -Chief Steward Blaygrove announced dinner. - -It had been a busy day, everybody was weary, and we began to file into -the mess with a feeling of pleasure. - - -IV. - -The telephone bell rang. - -Our new Intelligence Officer, a man of infinite energy, answered the -call. - -He had arrived the previous day, and as he had never been on a -flying-boat station before, he examined everything with microscopic -care. He installed a new system of operation orders, put in a new -method for keeping records and signals, and arranged for the building -of a new and spacious intelligence hut. He had gone to bed about -midnight after confiding in me that after France he was going to have -an easy time. - -But on this morning he had been up at two o'clock and had been working -furiously all day, without a chance of luncheon or tea. He now followed -me into the mess and said-- - -"There are four Hun destroyers off the North Hinder position; the -S.N.O. wants three boats sent out." - -Giving one hungry glance at the table, he hastened away to the -intelligence hut to prepare the operation orders. - -As the three flying-boats were rolled out on the slipway and their -crews climbed on board, four lean destroyers glided down the harbour -in line ahead and passed out between the guardships, bound on the same -errand. - -The three boats were shoved down the slipway, the pilots took to the -air at eight o'clock and rapidly disappeared from our sight seaward in -the gathering dusk. The boom of the engines tailed out and ceased. All -was silence. - -With the little group of pilots on the slipway I returned to the mess -to finish my interrupted dinner. - -But the I.O., who had not even had a plate of soup but was very -conscientious, was now encamped in the Flying Office, where he seemed -to be sending a tremendous number of signals. He also had a long yarn -with the Fire Commander in charge of the harbour searchlights and -batteries, warning him to look out for the returning flying-boats. - -Shortly after nine o'clock he received a telephone message from a -coastguard stationed some ten miles up the coast, that one boat was -returning. He joined me on the slipway and we stood together in the -velvety darkness listening. But all we could hear was the tide gurgling -around the piers beneath us. Presently we heard a faint zoom-zoom far -in the distance, and then the unmistakable full-throated roar of the -twin engines. - -The pilot passed over us at six hundred feet, shedding red signal -lights, but all that we could see of him were the four pointed flames -standing back from the exhaust-pipes. There was to be a full moon, -but it did not rise until later. The song of the engines ceased as the -pilot shut them off and glided down. And then he was on the water and -being towed into the slipway by a motor-boat. - -Her crew came ashore and reported that they had been out to the -position required and had seen nothing. The I.O. retired to the silence -cabinet and got busy. He was carefully writing down and numbering each -signal he sent or received in order to enter them in a big book he had -started to keep. - -A thick mist began to creep in from the sea. It swallowed up Harwich, -the guardships, the destroyers at anchor, the trawlers lying on our -landing water, the buoys, and the slipways. - -At ten o'clock we heard the second boat returning. The Fire Commander -switched on his searchlights to show up the water to the pilot, but -the beams were diffused in the mist and the harbour was filled with a -yellow luminous haze. - -Through this haze we saw the flying-boat travelling at a tremendous -pace. And we heard a loud smack. The pilot had hit the invisible water -at speed. Up and up through the shining mist we saw thrown the black -silhouette of the boat. It seemed to pause for an instant. We held our -breath. Then the bow fell, and she nose-dived into the water with a -sickening crash of breaking wood. She weighed six tons. - -Immediately all the ships in the harbour added their searchlights to -the glare. We saw the boat standing in an amazing fashion on her nose, -her tail vertically upright, and resting on the leading edges of the -wings. - -Two motor-boats detached themselves from the slipway and raced to -the wreck. Their crews found that the bow of the boat had broken off -complete at the wings. The crew had been spilled out of her like -peas out of a pod. The wireless operator and engineer were picked up -uninjured, and then Faux, who had a slight scratch on his forehead. -Finally they found Bill Bailey, the second pilot, paddling around -in the water, his chart-board under one arm, unhurt, but very much -distressed because he had dropped the weighted code-book, for the loss -of which he would have to fill in innumerable forms. - -Going out in a motor-boat I attached a rope to the tail of the wreck, -pulled her over backwards, towed her in, and beached her at the Old -Station. The harbour was again in darkness, all the searchlights had -been switched off. - -[Illustration: The boat that stood on its nose.] - -As this excitement died down a wireless signal was picked up from the -third boat. It was incomplete, and said something about "gun flashes" -and "Belgian coast." It was of course picked up by other wireless -stations. It lit up the whole east and south coast. Signals poured in -from the Harwich flotilla, the Dover patrol, Group Headquarters, the -Admiralty, and the Air Ministry. Everybody in England seemed spoiling -to get in on the fight. The I.O. stood at the telephone taking down -signals, until the silence cabinet looked as though it had contained a -snowstorm. - -I panicked over to the wireless hut. Here, in the sound-proof cabinet, -behind the double glass door, sat two operators, receivers clipped on -their ears, listening intently. One of them closed a switch, a motor -behind me buzzed, there was a series of sharp cracks, and the room was -lit up by a steely electric glare. It was the spark jumping across the -rotary gap, one of the operators had crashed a wireless signal out into -the night. The buzz of the motor ceased. I looked through the glass -doors--the two operators, with intent faces, were again listening. - -Spring-heeled Jack opened the door, said a word to the operators, and -then went to the telephone. He was put through to the harassed I.O., -and said-- - -"I am sending out the call sign of the boat every five minutes, but so -far she has not answered, and I cannot make anything more out of her -first signal than I gave you. It was very faint, and there was a good -deal of interference." - -I went back to the flying office. - -At eleven o'clock the I.O. received a hostile aircraft warning. All -lights on the station were extinguished, and the hands turned out to -stand by their dug-outs, which had been constructed after the Gothas -had raided the station twice in daylight. The I.O. seemed glued to the -telephone taking in signals. The first one ran-- - -"Hostile aircraft attacking light-ship in Thames estuary." - -And then they came in fast. The I.O. was working by the light of an -electric torch. These signals said that ships all over the estuary were -reporting enemy aircraft, that some of the coast batteries were in -action, that more batteries were in action, that the first warning was -out in the Metropolitan police area, that night-flying machines were -up from a dozen aerodromes, and finally, that the "take cover" warning -was out in London. - -I went out into the mist on the slipway. I heard the thudding of guns, -and saw star-shells bursting high in the air in the direction of the -mouth of the Thames. Nothing had been heard of the third boat, and -I was very much worried. The I.O. back at the telephone was still -fighting with a blizzard of signals. - -About one o'clock things quieted down, and the all-clear signal came -in. The I.O. told me he was going up to the mess for a much-needed -cup of cocoa. But as he was about to put his hand on the knob of the -flying office door the telephone bell rang, and his work began again. -Another air-raid warning came in, battery after battery was reported in -action, and London again took to the cellars. The fuss continued until -nearly two o'clock, when another all-clear signal came in. The I.O. was -looking a bit pinched about the face, and white under the gills. - -I again went out on the slipway and listened for the missing boat, and -was joined by the I.O. Presently, in the distance, we heard the faint -note of a twin-engined machine. It developed into the roar of a pair -of Rolls, which passed over us in the mist. We fired Very's lights -from the end of the slipway, and the Fire Commander switched on two -searchlights to light up the guardship at the boom. Suddenly the roar -of the engines ceased, and all was silent. We heard nothing more. - -Shoving off one motor-boat to search the harbour, I sent a second -outside, and followed it in a third, with a good stock of Very's -lights. After barging around in the mist for half an hour, shedding a -copious display of red, white, and green fire-balls, I fell in with the -missing boat, passed the pilots a line, and towed them in. The pilots, -MacLauren and Dickey, reported to the I.O., and we went up to the mess -for sandwiches and cocoa. - -We left a weary I.O. at the telephone trying to straighten out the -tangled skein of events. - -MacLauren, as soon as he left the harbour, lost sight of the other two -boats in the gathering dusk. Just outside the harbour, and before they -had got out through the mine-fields, he overhauled our four destroyers -which had got away before him. Looking down, he saw them all in a -lather over doing thirty knots. He left them behind as though they were -nailed to the water. - -When he made the North Hinder position he flew around in great circles -but came across no Hun destroyers. It was a fine night for flying, not -a bump in the air, so he turned south-west. In half an hour he saw a -light winking ahead on the water and picked up the Schouen Bank buoy. - -Here he turned south down the Belgian coast and soon saw gun-flashes in -the distance. It was the never-ceasing artillery duel on the Flanders -front. But his optimistic wireless operator thought it was a naval -action in full swing, and got off part of a wireless signal before he -could be stopped. When a wash-out signal was being sent the transmitter -broke down. - -But during the discussion MacLauren had got over Zeebrugge, and the -boat was surrounded by flaming onions. The whole misty atmosphere was -filled with a green glare. Dickey dived into the front cockpit to drop -the bombs, but before doing so looked back at the pilot. - -MacLauren saw the smile wiped off Dickey's face, his jaw drop, and his -frantic signal to turn out to sea. - -Not knowing what horror had shattered the composure of the usually -imperturbable Dickey, MacLauren banked the heavy boat round in a -split-all turn and drove out over the water. As he did so he looked -back over his shoulder to see the terror behind, but all he saw was the -placid face of the full moon, just risen, and looking very red through -the mist. - -Dickey in the front cockpit, intent on dropping the bombs, had turned -suddenly and got a partial glimpse of its red face through the engine -bearer-struts. He thought it was some new and awful devilment of the -Hun, and automatically made the signal to turn out to sea. - -MacLauren now headed for home. The mist was thick and the farther he -flew the thicker it got. While skimming close over the surface of -the water he found a light-ship and circled around it. The wireless -operator took his Aldis lamp and flashed to the crew, asking for the -position. But he received no answer. - -So MacLauren barged around in the Thames estuary, happening upon a good -deal of shipping, and finally found himself over the coast. Here big -guns began to go off. Star-shells and high explosives were bursting -at about fourteen thousand feet. He was only up about six hundred, -kiting along in the mist, the concussions from the discharge of the -guns shaking the boat. He fled up along the coast over battery after -battery. Then he turned out to sea. - -Dickey wrote on a pad: "There must be the devil of a big air-raid on." -And MacLauren nodded. - -When things got more or less quiet MacLauren ventured in again, saw a -place which looked like Harwich harbour, and landed. But it wasn't. -However, he shut off the engines. Then he heard night-flying machines -passing overhead, and knowing that if he met up with any of the eager -young pilots bent on bloodshed they would shoot first and inquire -afterwards, he lay snug on the water. The sandwiches and the thermos -flask were got out and the chart was carefully examined. - -As soon as the hick-boo was over MacLauren had the engines started and -took off. Once in the air he saw that the batteries had started up -again. But he now knew where he was and flew straight up the coast to -Felixstowe, landing outside, as he did not want to knock over a ship or -two in the mist. - -It was now four o'clock. - -As we were rising from the table to go to our cabins the door of the -mess opened. There stood the I.O. drooping with fatigue, but with a -neatly filed and indexed bundle of signals six inches thick in his -hand. He went up to MacLauren and said-- - -"There were no Gothas. Do you realise, young man, that this night you -have put everybody in London into their cellars twice?" - -At early breakfast next morning the I.O. received an urgent order -from the Powers That Be to report elsewhere immediately for important -duties, and an hour later as he was departing he said to me-- - -"I am sorry to go. I had no idea that a flying-boat station was such a -busy place." - -[Illustration] - - - - -CHAPTER VII. - -INTO THE BIGHT AND END OF L 53. - - -I. - -With lustful pride the Huns called the North Sea the German Ocean, and -if there was any part of this dirty sheet of water which justified the -name, it was that portion known as the Bight of Heligoland. - -Here before the war were the growing harbours and shipyards with which -she was challenging the British supremacy of the sea; and during the -war her yards which turned out submarines, her seaplane and Zeppelin -bases, and the refuges of her High Seas Fleet. - -Climbing into a flying-boat and crossing a hundred miles of sea, brings -you to the Hook of Holland. Turning north you pass Scheveningen, -which is near The Hague, where peace conferences met to mitigate the -horrors of war, or do away with it entirely, and supplied the Hun -with a ready-made list of forbidden atrocities--atrocities which he -immediately made haste to perpetrate. - -Passing up the coast you come to the Dutch islands of Texel, Vlieland, -Terschelling, and Ameland. Once around the corner of Terschelling -Island, and you are in the Bight. - -If you draw a line true north-east from this island it will touch -Denmark just below the Horn Reefs, near the boundary-line between -Schlesvig and Jutland, and all the water to the east of this line is -the Bight, the particular property, more or less, during the war, of -the Hun seaplanes, the Zeppelins, and the German Navy. - -Going along the coast from Terschelling into the Bight you find the -island of Borkum, in the mouth of the Ems river. The Hun seaplane -pilots stationed here carried out reconnaissance and bombing patrols -out to the Dogger Banks and down to the Dutch coast. A short distance -up the Ems is Emden, one of the bases from which the pirate Fritz -sallied forth to do his dirty work. - -Continuing, you pass the island of Norderney with its seaplane station, -and reach the Jade river, with Wilhelmshaven, an important seaplane -and submarine base. In the angle of the coast are the Zeppelin sheds -of Wittmundshaven. Farther on is the Weser river, with Vagesack and -Bremen, which spawned out the Undersea-boats, and the Zeppelin base of -Ahlhorn. - -Turning north you find the Zeppelin sheds of Nordholz, and reach -Cuxhaven, the place made famous by the celebrated raid of the R.N.A.S. -early in the war. Here in the Elbe is Brunsbuttel, a submarine base, -on the North Sea end of the Kiel Canal, and farther up the river is -Hamburg, where once upon a time German shipowners dreamed dreams of -possessing the maritime supremacy of the world. - -Some thirty miles outside the coast, and protecting the mouth of the -Elbe, you come across the fortified island of Heligoland, with its -fine artificial harbour for war vessels, its submarine base, and its -seaplane station. The guns of Heligoland were of great range, and threw -a tremendous weight of metal, and could prevent our surface ships from -approaching within a radius of twenty miles. - -I was informed by a Royal Naval Air Service officer, who had a good -deal to do with the successful attack on Zeebrugge and Ostend, that he -had a plan to destroy the garrison of Heligoland by means of poison -gas and an attack under smoke-screens, but that those in authority -considered the scheme too barbarous, as everybody on the island would -have perished. - -Going north from Heligoland you come to Sylt Island, with its seaplane -base, and inside on the mainland the Zeppelin sheds of Tondern, -destroyed by naval aeroplanes flown from the deck of H.M.S. _Furious_. -Just north of Sylt you pass out of the Bight near the Horn Reefs. - -So the Bight was the hotbed of all German naval schemes, and they -ploughed it with the keels of their ships, and sowed it with mines, and -the British Navy could not follow the Hun fleet inside or prevent their -submarines coming out. The British Navy, as soon as they could collect -sufficient mines, and there was a great shortage of mines in the first -years of the war, mined the Germans in their turn, until the Hun -surface ships and submarines had finally to make their way out behind a -row of mine-sweepers. - -Flying-boat pilots from England could get into the Bight, but it was a -long way away, and they could not get in far enough or stay long enough -to do very useful work. So Colonel Porte, at Felixstowe, devised the -towing-lighters. These lighters were little flat-bottomed steel barges, -with hydroplane bottoms, on which the flying-boats could crawl up. They -could be towed, with the boats in place, by a destroyer at thirty knots. - -The idea was to put flying-boats on the lighters, tow them across to -the Bight behind destroyers, and slip them into the water. The boats, -not having first to cross the North Sea, would have enough petrol to -carry out long reconnaissance and return to England. - -Early in 1918 the Navy was preparing the pleasant little surprise for -the Huns at Zeebrugge and Ostend. While the assault was in progress it -was essential that the ships engaged in the attack should not be fallen -upon by the enemy from the rear. Therefore their north flank was to be -protected by the Harwich Light Forces cruising off Holland. - -But besides this, the Navy people wanted to know what chance there was -of the German Fleet coming out. Under ordinary circumstances the Huns -would have to go a long way round, because of our mine-fields; but they -might have got wind of the show, and be sweeping a short-cut passage -through them, to be used by a strong striking force. - -Our surface ships could not of course go in for the information, the -submarines had done all that they could, airships were out of the -question because of Hun seaplanes, so the flying-boats were told to do -the job. - -Thus it came about that the first two lighter trips were carried out in -the Bight. - - -II. - -At noon on March 2 we were ordered to prepare to go into the Bight. - -I chose the three best machines out of the War Flight string of nine -boats, and the men groomed them to a finish. - -Everything that was put on board was carefully weighed and the total -weight checked to a nicety, so as to make certain that the pilots could -get off in the open sea. - -Norman A. Magor, a Canadian from Montreal, was chosen to lead the -flight. He was a fine pilot. He had taken a boat from Felixstowe to -Dunkirk, when the float seaplane pilots there had packed up because of -the deadliness of the Hun fliers. While there he destroyed the German -submarine U-C 72 just off Zeebrugge. Later on while on patrol from -Felixstowe, in a fight against overwhelming odds, his boat was shot -down in flames. He was a gallant gentleman. - -[Illustration: Lighter with Flying-boat being towed in heavy sea.] - -In the evening, as the light was fading, the three boats were rolled -out on the concrete, an electric heater, to keep the oil warm, was -clipped on beneath each engine, and thick padded covers fitted, to keep -the heat in, so that the engines would start easily. They were shoved -down the slipway and turned over to the Old Man of the Sea. - -Jumbo was in his element. His motor-boats seized the flying-boats as -they touched the water and towed them to the sterns of their appointed -lighters, which were lying at buoys at the ends of the slipways. The -five men in the crew of each lighter had flooded the water-tanks in the -sterns, and the boats were quickly floated into their cradles, hauled -up by a winch into position and secured. With a hiss the compressed air -was turned into the tanks, the water was blown out, and the lighters -rose into towing trim. - -Now the pilots carrying their flying gear assembled on the slipway. -I checked the crews over and asked if everybody was ready. On this -a great cry arose from Jumbo--he had forgotten his provisions, and -in answer to the cry we saw men staggering down the concrete under -the weight of huge boxes. The Old Man of the Sea never went on an -expedition without a good supply of food. - -We were ready. - -The night was still, not a breath of air was stirring, and a light haze -hung over the oily-smooth surface of the harbour. - -Heralded by the mournful wail of a syren three destroyers loomed up -beside the lighters. They had slipped across the harbour without their -sharp sheerwaters raising a ripple. Jumbo leaped into activity. The -noisy exhausts of three motor-boats shattered the silence, we all found -ourselves bumped on board, and in two minutes the lighters were off -their buoys and at the sterns of their respective destroyers. - -I was going out in the leading destroyer to watch the evolution, and -Jumbo was going out on the leading lighter. - -As we fetched up at our destroyer she switched on a yard-arm group, -lighting up the flying-boat and her own stern with the waiting men. -Jumbo sprang on board the lighter and received the wire hawser, making -it fast to the towing bollards. A waterproof electric cable was passed -to carry the current for the electric heaters. - -The lighter, swinging with the tide, tried to put one of the wings of -the flying-boat on board the destroyer, but the wing was successfully -fended off by an active bluejacket, with a pudding-bag on the end of a -boat-hook, a weapon which had been prepared for just such an emergency. -The pudding-bag was a piece of cloth stuffed with soft odds and ends, -fastened to the business end of the boat-hook to prevent any injury to -the planes. - -In the meantime the motor-boat ran alongside the destroyer with the -flying crew, and we climbed on board. As we landed on the deck her -syren gave a short blast, the yard-arm group was extinguished, and she -went ahead. I looked astern and could just see the other two destroyers -with their lighters following. From the time of leaving the slipway -five minutes had not elapsed. - -As we passed out between the guardships into the expectant darkness of -the North Sea the tow was lengthened, and I went up on the bridge. - -Behind us on the lighter were Jumbo and his four men, settling down -for the night in the cramped forecastle, in which were two bunks, an -electric heater tapped off the main cable, and a big box of provisions. - -Once outside our mine-fields we were picked up by the covering force of -light cruisers and destroyers, and we started across for the Texel at -eighteen knots. Fascinated by the brooding mystery of the darkness and -the rush through the black water at a pace which seemed greater than -the speed of a flying-boat, I spent most of the night on the bridge, -being comforted at intervals with cocoa, excellent cocoa which can only -be had on board ship. But before daybreak I snatched two hours' sleep -in Number One's bunk. - -I had apparently just closed my eyes when I was turned out by a message -that I was wanted on the bridge. As I climbed the iron ladder the -unearthly light of the false dawn was filtering through the darkness. -Far away on the port bow I saw the light cruisers, grey ships barely -discernible on a grey sea. - -A signal had come through to stand by. - -There was a round wind of ten knots blowing, ruffling the surface of -the water. It promised to be a fine morning for flying. - -We came upon some fishing smacks and then the Haaks light-ship, black -and gaunt against the light in the east, and strange and unfamiliar -when seen for the first time from the level of the water. Here the -whole flotilla turned south for ten miles, and at six o'clock the -signal for zero time was received. - -Jumbo, on the lighter, had the covers stripped from the engines and the -heaters removed. At the same time the tow was shortened and Magor and -Potter and the two ratings were transferred. They started the engines -of the flying-boat, tested them full out, and then throttled them down -until they were just ticking over. Webster and Fallon in the second -boat, and Clayton and Barker in the third boat, had also tested their -engines. - -When the correct time had elapsed the engines of the flying-boats were -stopped, the destroyers slowed down to three knots, and the boats were -slid off the lighters backwards into the water. The destroyers made a -right-hand turn and drew away from them. - -The warships formed a four-mile circle, travelling at speed in case an -Undersea-boat was lurking about. In the centre, bobbing up and down on -the water, were the three boats, looking incredibly small. Presently I -saw white water breaking beneath their bows, they ran along the water, -bucketing a bit in the swells created by the ships, and took to the air. - -Getting into formation they headed in a north-easterly direction and -gradually diminished in size until they were no more than specks in the -sky. - -Then I lost sight of them. - -When he had got off Terschelling, Magor swung his formation east and -went into the Bight. They photographed all mine-sweepers and surface -craft they met and jotted their position on the chart. At Borkum they -ran into two two-seater Hun seaplanes. - -Magor crashed down on the tail of the first seaplane and Potter filled -it with lead from his machine-gun. It burst into flames, nose-dived -into the water, and a pennant of black smoke, ever increasing in -volume, tailed off down wind. - -Clayton fell upon the second seaplane, his gunner failed to get a burst -home, and the fleeing Hun was chased to Borkum, where he landed behind -the island close to a gunboat. - -But the Hun observer in the seaplane Magor brought down had riddled the -flying-boat with bullets. Great gashes were torn in the petrol tanks, -fortunately above the level of the liquid, and a water-pipe on the -port engine was pierced. - -Magor shut down that engine and flew on the other. - -The other two boats joined him and the formation proceeded on the -appointed courses, taking photographs and making notes. - -In the meantime Anderson, Magor's engineer, stripped off his leather -flying-coat and climbed out on the wing to the damaged engine. He -was passing through the air at sixty knots. It whipped his clothing -against his arms and legs, making them difficult to move; it tried to -wrench his tools and materials from his hands, and would have blown -him overboard had he relaxed his vigilance. For one hour, an hour -completely filled with sixty long minutes, he fought with the air and -completed the repair. - -Magor, when he could start up his second engine, was two hundred miles -from Felixstowe, and had completed his reconnaissance, so he turned the -formation for home, crossed the North Sea, and landed in the harbour at -half-past twelve o'clock. - -Nineteen days later the second lighter trip was sent into the Bight. - -Tiny Galpin and Rhys Davis were leading, Webster and Tees were in the -second boat, and Barker and Galvayne were in the third. The latter -pilot was killed later when the pilots of four boats attacked fifteen -Huns off Terschelling, and put them to flight. - -Tiny led his flight into the Bight, and also encountered two enemy -seaplanes. But these pilots were not having any. They dropped their -bombs and made off inland at high speed. - -He met a flotilla of mine-sweepers who fired shells at him. So he and -the other two pilots swooped down and swept the decks with machine-gun -fire. When the mine-sweeper first opened fire the wireless operator -seized his Aldis lamp and began signalling furiously to one of the -ships. Tiny, reaching out, pulled him away from the side and demanded -an explanation. The operator wrote on his pad-- - -"Sir, he was making e's to me." - -He had not realised they were enemy craft, and thought that the quick -flash of the gun was the light of a signal-lamp with which somebody was -making a series of e's to him, the calling-up signal. - -After sweeping around in the Bight as requisite, Tiny headed his -formation for home. But now Webster's engines developed trouble, and he -had to land three times to make repairs before the coast of England was -sighted. - -As a result of these two reconnaissances it was decided that the Huns -were not making any serious effort to sweep a short-cut channel through -our mine-fields, so they were not aware of the show to be staged at -Zeebrugge and Ostend. The pilots engaged in the operation received a -letter of appreciation from the Lords of the Admiralty. - - -III. - -Illustrating the work of the lighters, although the incident did not -take place until late in 1918, there is the yarn about Zeppelin L 53. - -Many subsequent lighter trips were attended by this Zeppelin. Its -crew watched the evolution from a great height. The pilots of the -flying-boats when slipped from their lighters were unable to get at -the airship, as they were heavily laden with petrol. Her skipper, -Commander Proells, kept well out of range of the anti-aircraft guns of -the cruisers, and he thought himself safe enough. - -But the L 53 annoyed Colonel Samson, D.S.O., who at this time was -Officer Commanding No. 4 Group, R.A.F., and he had a thirty-foot deck -made to fit on one of the towing lighters, and on this, held in place -with a quick release gear, he put a Camel aeroplane, a single-seated -fighter land-machine with great speed and climb. - -On the first experiment, and while being towed by a destroyer at thirty -knots, Colonel Samson tried to take the Camel off the lighter. But the -deck was not at the right angle and the machine stalled off, nose-dived -into the water, the lighter passing over the pilot and aeroplane. Both -were fished out. Undeterred by this mishap he had the deck altered, and -on the second trial it proved satisfactory, the aeroplane getting away -in good style. - -It was decided to have a go at the Zeppelin on the next lighter trip, -and Cully, a Canadian, one of the old R.N.A.S. pilots, was chosen for -the job and was told to stand by. - -On August 11 a little show was to be staged in the Bight. - -The Harwich light cruisers were to carry six coastal motor-boats -to a position off Terschelling Island. Here they would be dropped -into the water and sent well into the Bight over the mine-fields to -torpedo any mine-sweepers and other surface craft, and collect if -possible information which would make glad the heart of the Admiralty -Intelligence Department. - -About this department an American who had occasion to deal with them -said-- - -"That gang is one that delivers the goods every time. I don't believe -the boys in the U.S.A. can teach them anything. They look outside -like an out-of-date, low-pressure, single-cylinder show, but inside, -believe me, customer, they're a nickel-plated, triple-expansion, -consume-their-own-smoke outfit, working above the licensed pressure and -with a nigger on the safety-valve." - -The show was to be all the same as putting in ferrets. The coastal -motor-boats were small hydroplanes filled full of big engines and -could do forty knots full out. They carried a torpedo on their stern -and a machine-gun mounted in the cockpit. Three flying-boats on -lighters were to accompany the cruisers. They were to get off and -keep in touch with the C.M.B.'s to direct them to enemy craft and -lead them safely back to the ships, as owing to their liveliness on a -rough sea their compasses were not of much value. The Camel was to go -along on the lighter as a surprise packet for Old Man Zeppelin. Three -more flying-boats were to leave Yarmouth and pick up the cruisers at -Terschelling. - -At daybreak on the morning appointed the whole circus was on the job. - -At six o'clock the towing hawsers of the lighters were shortened -and the crews of the flying-boats and Cully were put on board their -respective machines. The three flying-boats were slipped, but their -pilots could not get them off the water owing to a long swell, the -absence of wind, and a heavy overload of petrol and armament. They were -taken up on the lighters again. - -But the light cruisers dropped the C.M.B.'s. They immediately dug out -towards the Bight at top speed, flinging the tops of the rollers into -spray far on each side of them, so that it looked as though they were -supported on white and gleaming wings. - -The three flying-boats from Yarmouth boomed up, and on receiving the -order started on after the C.M.B.'s. - -[Illustration: Cully's Camel on way to Terschelling.] - -The flotilla then cruised off Terschelling until fifteen minutes after -eight o'clock, when the flagship signalled to the destroyer towing the -Camel lighter that the L 53 had been sighted. - -Immediately Cully saw the Zeppelin glistening in the sunlight. - -It was about thirty miles away, at a height of ten thousand feet. - -It looked about as big as his little finger. - -He climbed into the cockpit of his machine. The propeller was swung. He -tested the rotary engine. - -When the towing destroyer had got up to thirty knots, he ran his engine -full out, slipped the quick release, ran along the lighter deck only -five feet, and took to the air. - -At forty-one minutes after eight o'clock he started to climb towards -Commander Proells' airship at a speed of fifty-two miles an hour. - -In the meantime the crews of the Yarmouth flying-boats had sighted the -Zeppelin. Owing to some misunderstanding they returned to the light -cruisers to report, and received an order to return to their base. - -When the flying-boats were just out of sight on the homeward journey, -fifteen Hun monoplanes appeared in the sky. They had been summoned -from Borkum by the Zeppelin with wireless. They swept over the -flotilla, dropping bombs on the ships, which replied by filling the -surrounding atmosphere with bursting shells. It was a lively five -minutes. With all the bombs that were dropped no hit was registered on -a ship, but a shell found a monoplane and brought it down. At this, and -having unloaded all their bombs, the fourteen Huns withdrew. - -On their way back to Borkum the monoplanes met the C.M.B.'s. The -motor-boats separated and ran along at forty knots, twisting, turning, -doubling. But the Huns were all over them, firing into the thin shells -of the structures streams of machine-gun bullets. The crews of the -boats replied with their machine-guns. But it was a fight against heavy -odds. - -The engine of one boat was knocked out by a bullet. It stopped. The Hun -monoplanes swooped down like gulls on a fish. The pilots tore the boat -to pieces with bullets and it began to sink. But another C.M.B. hurled -itself alongside and took off all the crew, wounded and unwounded. - -Three C.M.B.'s in all were sunk, their crews being taken off under the -greatest difficulties and dangers by the crews of the three surviving -boats, and after a long contest the crews of these boats won their way -to Holland, where they were interned. - -During this time Cully in the Camel had been climbing steadily, all -unaware of the fighting going on below him. He climbed the first -thirteen thousand feet in twenty minutes. He had edged in towards the -Dutch coast and was now between the coast and the Zeppelin and hidden -from her crew by the sun. - -Commander Proells had also been climbing, and he was still above Cully. -His airship was of the type known as the height-climbing 50's, the -last word in construction, six hundred and forty feet long, with five -engines, and containing two million cubic feet of inflammable gas. - -The L 53 had all this time been broadside on to Cully. He now saw her -turn end on. He thought that he had been sighted by her crew, and that -her Commander had turned out to sea away from him. He swung the nose of -the Camel directly towards her and continued to climb. But he saw that -the great airship was growing bigger and bigger. He realised at last -that she was heading straight for him. - -The two aircraft were closing with tremendous rapidity. - -Cully was at eighteen thousand feet. - -Commander Proells was at nineteen thousand feet. - -He felt the controls of the Camel get sloppy and knew he could get it -to climb no higher. - -If Commander Proells could get up another couple of hundred feet he -could not attack him with any chance of success. - -But the crew of the great Zeppelin apparently did not see the tiny -midge in the sun, for they held on their course at the same height. - -At forty-one minutes after nine o'clock, one hour after Cully had left -the lighter in the Camel, the two machines met head on, the airship -only two hundred feet above the aeroplane. - -Cully pulled back his controls and stalled his machine until the Camel -was almost standing on its tail. - -As the bow of the Zeppelin came into his sight he started both Lewis -guns. The port gun jammed after fifteen rounds. But the other gun ran -through its tray of ninety-seven rounds. - -Cully looking through his telescopic sight, saw the flaming incendiary -bullets darting into the dark belly of the airship. - -He also saw a side of one of the four gondolas, a propeller flapping -slowly around, and was three-quarters of the way down the body of the -airship when his second gun stopped owing to the lack of ammunition. - -So intent was he on the job that he did not know whether he was being -fired at or not, but rather thought he was not. - -With the stopping of his second gun he dived away to the right, looking -back over his shoulder. The Zeppelin was going strong. It appeared to -be undamaged. He had failed. - -And then he saw three little bursts of flames. - -They were on the envelope about sixty feet apart, and as he watched the -flames increased in size with terrible rapidity. - -Satisfied, he turned back to his instruments and got the Camel, which -had been panicking all over the shop, in hand. - -When he looked again L 53 was slowly falling, burning furiously at the -bow. - -The nose bent down and broke off. - -A black bundle in flames shot past him. It was one of the crew who had -jumped out of a gondola. He had a parachute and was the only survivor, -being picked up by a Dutch vessel. - -The aluminium skeleton of the bow of the Zeppelin was now fully -exposed. But the fabric of the tail was still smoking and burning. She -was standing vertically upright, nose down, and was falling rapidly -below him with ever-increasing momentum. - -Then he could see her no more because of the smoke. - -As L 53 fell she left behind her a column of light blue smoke. He -noticed that it was blown into the shape of a huge question mark. - -Having finished the Zeppelin, Cully suddenly awoke to the need -of looking out for himself. He flew straight to the Dutch coast, -went south until he arrived at the Texel, and then went out to the -rendezvous at Terschelling Bank. Here, at six thousand feet, there were -patchy clouds between him and the water, and he could see no destroyers. - -His pressure petrol tank ran out. - -He switched over to the emergency gravity tank. It contained only -enough petrol for twenty minutes, not nearly enough for him to get back -safely to the Dutch coast. - -Looking down, he saw a providential Dutch fishing boat, and decided to -land beside it. As he dived down he saw two destroyers come out from -under the edge of a cloud. And then he saw the whole flotilla. - -Looping and rolling over the fleet to relieve his pent-up feelings, he -picked up his destroyer with the lighter, fired a light as a signal, -and landed in front of her. He was picked up, the Camel was hoisted on -the lighter, and the flotilla started back for Harwich. - - -IV. - -Here end the yarns about the beginnings and first year of the War -Flight. On the 12th of April I began to turn over the little show to my -successor, and took up work under the Technical Department, a shore job. - -The high lights in the picture alone have been painted in, the grilling -hours of monotonous and apparently unproductive patrol put in by the -pilots over that grim and unfriendly graveyard of ships, the North -Sea, have been left out. Results only have been more or less fully -presented, the loyal and often heartbreaking work of the ratings in the -sheds has not even been sketched. But the hard and the soft, the comedy -and the tragedy, are now in the past, and it is out of such stuff, -seemingly raw and grey at the time, that Romance is made. - - * * * * * - -The German submarines, defeated and surrendered, have come streaming in -through the guardships, up past the slipways, their crews on deck, and -the white ensign flying above them, and are lying rusting and rotting, -huddled together, in "Submarine Trot" off Parkeston, in Harwich harbour. - -New and better flying-boats than we used have been built. And _Old -'61_, her day done, has been dismantled and broken up. But glance down -the bare bones of her career. - - 1917. March. Launched. - April. First patrol on Spider Web. - First enemy submarine sighted. - Bombed submarine. - Sighted submarine. - April. Sighted submarine. - Bombed submarine. - Encountered four enemy destroyers. - May. Submarine bombed by consort. - June. Met six winged Huns. - October. Carried out first lighter trials. - December. Exchanged shots with four Huns. - 1918. January. Hull worn out, new one fitted. - February. Met eight Huns off Zeebrugge. - Engaged five Huns, one shot down. - March. Engaged five Huns, two shot down. - First lighter trip into Bight. - April. Handed over for experimental work. - October. Dismantled. - - Hours of patrol work 300 - Total flying time 368 - -Also the men of the War Flight are mostly back in civilian life. - -They were nearly all 1914 and 1915 men, competent "tradesmen," -cheerfully working overtime at their trades for a small wage, while men -outside, absolutely free from discipline, were making big money for -similar work. Not that the men were working for the money in it. They -worked to down the Hun. But the point is mentioned because the high -cost of living hit many of these service men very hard. - -The officers are now scattered to the four corners of the earth, such -as are still alive, in South Africa, Ceylon, Canada, South America, and -the United States. There are few of them remaining in the new service. -As required by the nature of the work, they were nearly all a bit older -than the usual run of aeroplane pilots, and a peace time service made -no appeal. - -For "them as likes figures" the work they did in twelve months may be -boiled down to-- - - _April 13, 1917, to April 12, 1918_: - - 8 average number of boats a month: - 190 flying days. - 605 patrols carried out. - 105,397 nautical miles flown. - 47 enemy submarines sighted. - 25 enemy submarines bombed. - 1 Zeppelin destroyed. - -Also, at this time, the Service we belonged to and loved came to -an untimely end, and although the War Flight carried on until the -Armistice, and did great work under the Royal Air Force, the rose by -another name did not smell as sweet. - - * * * * * - -On the last day of March there was a dinner given by the Mess to -Rear-Admiral Cayley, C.B. He was a staunch friend of the Station, and -had been in charge of operations from Harwich. But even he was leaving -to take up new duties. - -At this dinner many admirable speeches were made, both in style and -substance, encouraging the Royal Naval Air Service pilots to play the -game, and whole-heartedly turn over their allegiance to the new service -that was being born at midnight--a service which many of the active -service men felt might open the door for intrigue and unrest, and quick -and unfortunate changes in command and policy, at a time when all hands -should be busy mopping up the Hun. - -But the Royal Naval Air Service was passing away. - -It was the older of the two British flying services, having its -beginnings in 1910. It had never been noted for its red-tape methods, -its ingenuity in creating forms to be filled in, or the number of -ground personnel required to administer it. But the debt which the -nation owes to it for the development of engines and efficient -aircraft, no less than for its operations on land and sea over the -whole world, has hardly been appreciated. For at one time, without the -pilots developed under its traditions and the machines and engines -developed by its foresight, things would have gone hard with our arms -in France. - -It was a small service that had done great things. But its work was not -appreciated, as it followed the traditions of its parent, and adopted, -not without a struggle it is true, the virtue of silence. And now -its people were asked to give up the legends about the mighty pilots -who had created the service, the traditions which had accumulated so -rapidly in war time, the uniform and routine which so well fitted their -work, the comradeship which had permeated the personnel owing to its -limited number, and the name which numberless brave men had laid down -their lives to make honourable. - -And bitterest pill of all, the Navy, our natural parent, was willing we -should be put under the guardianship of an unknown and alien stepmother. - - * * * * * - -At this dinner the toast to the King was drunk in the mess sitting for -the last time. - - * * * * * - -Blow this khaki! I feel hardly human. - -[Illustration] - - - - -CHAPTER VIII. - -THE FUTURE: RUNNING THE U.S. MAIL. - - -Lotus-eating down among the South Sea Islands, knocking about in a -little old topsail schooner, trading a bit for occupation and not for -profit, yet getting out with a pleasant balance on the right side, I -had drowsily drifted down the river of life ten years nearer to the -Great Uncharted Sea. - -When I sloughed off my uniform at the end of the Great War, worn out in -body, weary in mind, and sick with the so-called civilisation which had -produced such a Frankenstein monster, I had promised myself a two-year -holiday far from cities, telephones, and newspapers, and the two years -had quietly and unobtrusively grown into ten. - -Now, having travelled nearly around the world by devious and dawdling -routes, and that morning having sauntered down the gang-plank of a -rusty and battered old tramp steamer, I was standing in a street in -Plymouth, rather dazed and bewildered by the noise and crowd of the -busy seaport town. - -Without a moment's warning, with an appalling suddenness, I staggered -beneath a tremendous blow between my shoulder-blades, and a voice -roared in my ear--"Pix, by all that's holy!" - -Half turning, I saw a short stocky man, in a blue uniform, who was -now trying to dislocate the bones in my right hand, and more or less -succeeding. - -"You don't know me," he shouted, laughing. "But you're the same old, -thin, dried-up specimen you always were. I'd have known you anywhere. -I'm Pank." - -And it was Pank. Much broader, and therefore, by an optical illusion, -much shorter; older and filled out; wearing a beard instead of being -clean shaven; but Pank all the same. Pank, the active microbe, who in -his lurid career at Felixstowe had bent many a Hun, and could always be -relied upon to shake into activity even the most lethargic jelly-fish. - -In an amazingly short space of time my empty glass was on the table -before me, he had sucked out an outline sketch of my last ten years as -though he were a large-bore semi-rotary bilge pump, found that I was -thinking of returning to Canada, and had departed after saying-- - -"You're coming with me in the _Swift_. New boat. Open your eyes. I'm -running the U.S. Mail. It's two o'clock now; be at the White Line -landing-stage at four o'clock. Hand-baggage only. One berth returned; -lucky, wasn't it. Expect to be properly gouged for it. See you later." - -Galvanised into activity by his breezy energy, I made more haste than -I had for years, and was at the landing-stage at four o'clock. Here -I found a motor-boat waiting, her sides covered with soft fenders, -and when my scant hand-luggage was put on board we pushed off. As we -rounded the dock I saw her in all her splendour, lying at a buoy in the -harbour, the _Swift_, a great triplane flying-boat. - -But such a boat. She was pure white--hull, struts, and wings. Her six -propellers seemed to be of some bright metal, for their curved surfaces -caught the sun and winked points of fire at me. She loomed very large -as we approached her, the top plane towering above us as we passed -under her lower wing, but until the motor-boat came alongside her -light steel hull I did not realise how big she was, so well was she -proportioned. She was clean as a whistle, without a single excrescence, -beautifully stream-lined. The simplicity of the whole design was a -revelation. - -The man in the motor-boat told me that the soft fenders of his craft -were to prevent his scratching the "anti-skin friction paint." I asked -him what it was for. He was very vague, but thought it made her slip -easily through the air,--everything was covered with it, "wings and -everything." - -Climbing up a short companion-ladder and passing through a gangway, -I was met by a steward who was apparently expecting me, as on giving -my name he collected my hand-luggage without a word. He led me down -a short alleyway. It opened into a long narrow dining-saloon, about -twelve feet wide and forty feet long, set out with small tables and -easy-chairs. There were a number of passengers fussing about and -blocking the narrow space. As he led me aft I noticed that on each side -of the saloon were five cabin doors. - -At the end of the saloon we passed through a door in the middle into -a rather narrow passage, which dipped down quickly to give head room -under the main spar and three fat steel cylinders, which came through -the wall on one side and passed out on the other. The floor of the -passage rose again to the level of the smoking-room deck. On each side -of the smoking-room were five cabins. The steward opened one of the -doors. - -"'Ere you are, sir," he said. - -It was a small place, not larger than eight feet long by six feet wide, -and containing two fixed bunks, one above the other. All the fittings -were of spartan simplicity and extremely light. It was lit from the -ceiling. The steward showed me how to work the ventilators, because the -glass ports were fixed and did not open. - -"When in the hair we're 'ermetically sealed, so to speak," he explained. - -On coming out of my cabin I was met by the Purser. "The Skipper -telephoned and told me to look out for you," he said. I asked him what -time we started. "We'll take the air about six o'clock," he replied, -"unless the mails are delayed by the train wreck, a bad pile up on the -main line." And he offered the observation that he considered railway -travelling dangerous, now that all the mail trains had been speeded up -because of the competition of aeroplanes. "The road beds and rails are -too light to stand the racket," he explained. - -In reply to questions, he continued-- - -"Our scheduled time is seventeen hours, but we usually do the three -thousand miles in fifteen, and will land in New York at three in the -morning. No, it's not nine hours; you see we go west with the sun. - -"We always make the run at night. You can post a letter as late as four -o'clock in London and have it on a desk in an office in New York at -eight o'clock next morning. Coming back? We leave at eleven o'clock in -the morning, and the mails are delivered in London by ten o'clock. - -"Then there's little room on board, and nothing to do, and while -passengers are sleeping they don't take up much space or move about. -We have forty on board; you were lucky to get a passage. All men this -time. We occasionally have ladies, but not often; they prefer the -surface liner, because they can dance and have a good time." - -And then he told me what my passage would cost. The amount rather -shook me. I asked if many people travelled by air when they had to pay -such rates. - -"List always full up," he replied. "Speed of transport means longer -life, and they don't mind paying for life. Most of the passengers are -men in big business, famous surgeons, or international lawyers, and -they actually make money by it. They like to finish a day's work in -London, have a day and a half in New York, and be back to carry on the -following day. They have got to sleep wherever they are, and might as -well sleep on board. They tell me they sleep like the dead. I suppose -the idea of doing anything at such speed lets down their nerves. -There's one stock speculator crosses with us every two weeks; he says -it's the only decent night's rest he gets. - -"By the way, your passage-money includes dinner; the line sets out to -do you tremendously well. There's only room for half the passengers in -the dining-saloon at one time; but dinner is on for three hours, and -you can dine early or late. You will only get a cup of tea and a piece -of toast in the morning, and have breakfast on shore." - -He explained he would have to leave me. - -"The Skipper told me you are an old flying-boat man," he said, "and, if -he was not on board, to introduce you to the Chief Engineer." - -I followed the Purser forward through the smoking-room, and, by means -of a side door, to the engine-room. I was introduced to the Chief. As -was to be expected, he was a Scotchman--Angus Munroe. - -To him I opened my heart. I explained I was a poor Rip Van Winkle who -had not seen a flying-boat or chewed on a figure for ten years, that I -was bursting with curiosity, and in the sacred name of Pity to tell me -the horse-power, weight, dimensions, and speed of his wonderful boat. - -His long face cracked in a smile. - -"Ay," he said. "The Skipper told me you learned him to fly in a bit -boat weighing six tons." - -He waved his hand at three long fat tubes running athwart ship -overhead, from side to side of the boat, on a level with the lower -wings. - -"Turbines," he explained. "Thirty thousand horse. Steam. But vara -likely ten years ago you peddled aboot with internal combustion -fakements--chattering, clattering, and onreliable. But yon's power for -you--silent, reliable, sweet, and done oop in a penny packet. Vara -likely in your heathen islands ye never heard tell of Janes Fluid. We -make steam wi' it instead of water. I could do wi' holding the patent. -Condensing? That was the deeficulty. Great volumes of steam coming -off at great velocity. But Janes Fluid and Toogoods condenser do the -beesiness." - -"One moment," I broke in. "Back in 1919 the destroyers of the 'flotilla -leader' class had thirty-thousand horse turbines." - -"Ay," said Munroe, "I've rattled roond in them." - -"If I remember rightly, they were three hundred and fifty feet long -and did thirty-five knots," I continued. "They carried two hundred -and eighty tons of oil fuel. That was enough for eleven hours at full -speed, or three hundred and eighty-five miles. That is, they used -twenty-three tons of fuel an hour." - -"Mon, your memory's fine," assented the Chief. "Ye'll well remember -they could dae fifteen knots for aboot a hunder and sixty hours on the -same fuel, using maybe less than twa tons an hour. - -"But yon's better engines. The laddie that designed them did a -wairkmanlike job. For an Englishman they're no sae dusty. But we're -getting out a set on the Clyde that'll make him sit up. - -"Fifteen tons of oil fuel an hour they eat developing full power. -She steps along at three hunder knots. Forby we tank seventy tons, -it's enough for four hours and a bit, and that'll be fourteen hundred -miles. But the Skipper dinna drive her at that, thank the Lord, for the -bed-plates are a bit light for my immediate liking. Twa hunder's our -cruising speed. That takes only three tons an hour and gies us maybe -four thousand six hunder miles." - -He opened a door in a bulkhead and showed me a small room. It was -very bare. There was a small bucket-seat, a row of levers and a board -covered with indicators. - -"Yon's whaur the fireman sits," explained the Chief. "He holds the -steam at six hunder poonds preesure and superheated to four hunder and -seventy degrees. That's aw there is tae it." - -He poured into my entranced ears the way the steam was made. The fuel -tanks were below the second deck. The oil was pumped up to hot pipes -and vaporised, and was then blown under pressure from a row of nozzles -upon the generator tubes. The Janes Fluid flashed into steam somewhere -in the tube, nobody knew just where. It boiled at 20 degrees below -water and the super-heating gave it a tremendous expansion. - -"Boilers?" continued Munroe, in answer to a question. "We dinna have -boilers to blow up and smash things to smithereens. The steam is made -just as fast as we need it. It's as flexible as an auld glove. If a -tube blaws out there's only a bit hiss and the body at the levers cuts -it out. It shows on an indicator. Twa-three years ago they put in a -thermostat to automatically control the pressure and temperature, but -the elements in the gadgets were always warping and ganging wrang, and -hand control is certain. - -"But it's no' like the auld times, when a trained engineer was an -engineer. There's nae wairk tae be done. It's a drawing-room life. If -anything gaes wrang, it's--'Mister Munroe, the shore engineers are -coming aboord.'" - -He unscrewed an engine-room hatch. It was beautifully fitted, so -that not a crack would show on the hull when it was closed. We stood -together, with our heads out, and could look fore and aft along the -hull and out on the snowy expanse of the lower plane. Immediately -behind the trailing edge of the lower wing were two stream-lined -funnels, protruding above the hull about a foot. - -"She's twa hunder and forty feet from nose to tip of tail," Munroe -told me. "She's licensed to weigh twa hunder tons when fully loaded. -That's eleven and a half poonds a horse-power. Wing surface? Fifty-one -thousand square feet. That's maybe loaded to eight pounds a square foot. - -"Four hunder and fifty feet she measures from wing-tip to wing-tip. -You'll notice there's no wires exposed. And you'll notice maybe that -each wing-spar gets smaller as it goes out. That's the advantage of -being big. Your small machine has a wing-spar big enough to take the -greatest load all the way out. Vara wasteful. But we're deesigned with -tapering wing-spars, steel girders they are, and so save weight and -head resistance. Cost more? Yara likely, but consider the speed. - -"Weight? Ye'll have played aboot with hunder-ton steel ten years -ago, but we wairk with five-hunder-ton steel. Five times as light as -aluminium for the same strength, it is. - -[Illustration: - - _WHITE LINE_ - _F·B "SWIFT" AND F·B "SWALLOW"_ - _200 TONS._ - _SIX PROPELLERS - 30.000 H.P. LENGTH 240 FEET._ - _PLAN OF ACCOMMODATION._] - -"You're looking at the props. There's six of them, driven by shaft and -gears, a smart job--the laddie that cut them was nae fule. No engines -out in the draught to make head reesistance. Murad steel they're made -of, wood never stood up to the rain. Low speed, high efficiency, -variable pitch, they are; absorbing five thousand horse-power each. I -remember reading in an old report where a big expert said one propeller -could only absorb twa thousand horse, but he was wrang. - -"Getting off? I whack up the turbines with the blades of the propellers -neutral, and then shift them to the correct pitch, and she accelerates -on the water from nothing to seventy knots in less than forty seconds. -She takes to the air inside of three-quarters of a mile." - -Here we were interrupted by the tinkle of a bell, and the Chief told me -the Skipper was on board in his cabin. If I went forward through the -saloon I would find the door on the right-hand side, below the control -cockpit. - -I found Pank in his cabin, a roomy and comfortable place. - -"Mail will be on board in ten minutes," he said, "and we'll push off at -six sharp. Come up to the control cockpit with me and see us take off. -We'll yarn about everything at dinner." - -I followed Pank up a few shallow steps into the control cockpit. I -was all agog for marvels, and was rather disappointed. It was a small -place completely covered in with glass, following the stream-line -shape of the hull. There was a padded basket-seat for the pilot and a -control-wheel and yoke, very similar to what I remembered in the old -boats. The whole affair looked inadequate to handle the huge machine. - -"Remember Queenie's servo-motor?" Pank asked, noting the direction of -my looks. "All the actual work of moving the control surfaces is done -by an adaptation of his patent. The pilot has no strain on him at all, -and yet has the feel of the machine." - -Looking over the side, I saw a fast motor-launch racing towards us -across the harbour, piled high with mail-bags, and in another moment -the mail was being hoisted on board. A Quartermaster entered and -settled himself down in the padded seat. - -"When we start," Pank warned me, "lean up against the back bulkhead. -We accelerate twice as quickly as a tube-train, and you may lose your -balance." And then to the Quartermaster: "Switch on all control -telephones." The Quartermaster shut down a switch, and Pank said in his -ordinary voice: "Purser, are all the passengers seated?" - -"All correct, sir," said the voice of the Purser at my elbow, and -looking round I saw that it came from a large disk in the bulkhead. - -"Engines?" - -"Engines started, sir," said the voice of Angus Munroe. - -Looking back at the planes I saw that the propellers had vanished. -There was a soft whirr, a soughing like a wind in trees, and a very -slight tremor through the structure of the boat. - -Pank looked at the row of indicators on the wall. All had a white disk -down except in the spaces numbered two and three. "Seal doors two and -three," he ordered. The two white disks dropped in the indicators. - -"Bow-man, stand by to let go." - -"Aye, aye, sir." - -"Engines. Stand by for four seconds half blade on port propellers." - -"Standing by, sir." - -"Bow-man, let go." - -"All gone, sir." - -The tide carried us clear of the buoy. - -"Engines." - -The bow of the _Swift_ swung round to starboard. She was heading for an -open stretch of water. - -"Quartermaster, ready. Engines, full." - -I was pushed back against the bulkhead as though by a heavy hand as the -boat leaped forward. The air speed indicator jumped to sixty knots, a -hundred, a hundred and fifty, two hundred. There was no noise such as I -had been accustomed to in a flying-boat. For an instant there had been -the crash of a breaking bow wave, but now there was only a rubbing, -rustling noise along the hull, and an increased soughing of the wind in -the tree-tops. I learned afterwards that this noise was made by the oil -vapour being forced through the nozzles in the generators. - -"Level at six hundred," ordered Pank. - -"Level, sir." - -"Engines, two hundred knots." - -"Twa hunder, sir." - -On a square ground-glass sheet in front of the Quartermaster appeared -figures picked out in light. - -"That's the wireless navigator," explained Pank. "He's on shore, but he -keeps in touch with us all the way across. He gives us our latitude -and longitude, the course to steer and the air speed to fly at. Simple, -isn't it?" - -All this time I had a dissolving view, a wild impressionistic sketch, -of a sea snatched up in front of us and hurled behind. In six minutes, -having travelled south, we were off Start Point, and the numbers on the -wireless navigator, giving the course to steer, changed. - -With a magnificent sweep of several miles and banking over slightly, -the Quartermaster brought the _Swift_ round on the new course and -steadied. I noticed that he steered by a large gyro compass. - -"No spill-all turns for us," laughed Pank. "No spins, or loops, or -rolls." - -At the height of six hundred feet our tremendous speed was apparent. -The sea appeared to be working on a roller, pulled up over the horizon -and passed back under us. Surface ships were in front, and then behind. -In nine minutes we had the Eddystone abeam and in another ten minutes -we passed the Lizard. - -Every eighteen seconds, as steady as clockwork, a minute was added to -the longitude on the wireless navigator, showing we had gone westward -one mile. Every ninety seconds a minute was taken off the latitude, -showing we had made a mile of southing. - -Pank glanced at the figures. - -"There's a beam wind of about twenty knots from the north," he said. -"We are headed a bit north of our course to allow for the drift. It -doesn't alter our speed though. The wireless navigator ashore has all -the weather reports and adjusts our speed accordingly. With a following -wind he usually slows us down to save oil, and speeds us up when we run -into a head wind later on. Sometimes he shoves us through a region of -high head wind at top speed. What we lose on the swings we pick up on -the roundabout, and manage to get in on time." - -"She's a bit nose heavy, sir," said the Quartermaster. - -"Fireman, shift oil in forward tanks one and two," ordered Pank. - -"When in the air," he explained, "we hold our fore-and-aft balance by -an auxiliary elevator worked by a gyro through a servo-motor. But if -the control surface has too much work to do it uses up power, so we -shift oil fuel until we are in good trim." - -I expressed amazement at the small amount of noise. - -"Remember that small station that was working on silencing aeroplanes -in 1918. It was washed out when the armistice was declared, but it had -already laid the foundations for getting results." - -Mr Wemp, the First Mate, came into the control cockpit, and Pank -suggested I should look over the boat with him. He took me through her -from bow to stern. - -She had two decks. - -The first deck ran from the bow to the leading edge of the wings, and -from the trailing edge forty-five feet back. In the very bow, covered -in with glass shaped to the stream-line of the hull, was an observation -cabin for passengers, containing six easy-chairs. Passing aft, there -was the wireless room and captain's cabin on the starboard side, and -the officers' cabin on the port side. - -In the wireless cabin were two lads, one on duty and the other taking -a busman's holiday. The latter showed me round. It all looked simple -enough; the valves, amplifiers, coils, and gear were boxed in, and -only the switches and plugs showed. The aerials were carried inside -the wings. I had expected a great display of all the mysterious -paraphernalia of the wireless wizard, but was disappointed. - -I was shown the machine which sent out five dots every thirty seconds, -so that the wireless navigator on shore could plot out the position -of the boat. "The old Morse system of signals has been washed out," -the lad explained, "and if you wish to speak to anybody in England or -America, we can plug you through on the wireless telephone." - -Passing aft through the dining-saloon, with the ten double cabins, I -found the galley. Here a _chef_ was already active at an electric range -with aluminium utensils. The most delectable odours were floating about. - -Then came the engine-room, and aft of this the smoke-room, and ten -double cabins, with an alleyway running athwartship. We passed down -a companion-ladder to the lower deck. This was a short deck, part -in front of the engine-room and part behind. It had just sufficient -accommodation for the crew. - -"How many hands does this bus carry?" I asked. - -[Illustration: 15-ton Porte Super Baby, 1800 horse-power.] - -"Eighteen in all, counting the five officers," the First Mate replied. - -Then he took me down below and showed me the great oil-tanks, which -were crowded as near to the centre of gravity as possible, under the -engine-room. I took a look at the lattice-work steel keel which ran -from the bow to the stern. It looked very light for the job it had to -do. - -From here I went forward to Pank's cabin, and when the First Mate had -taken over in the control cockpit, Pank came down and asked, "Will you -dine outside with the millionaires and suchlike, or shall we dine here?" - -"Here," I replied, for I wanted him to talk. - -After dinner, at his ease in an arm-chair, and prompted now and then by -questions, he held forth. - -"Remember in 1919," he began, "talking about a thirty thousand -horse-power flying-boat. She could have been built then, even with the -material and small engines available, but of course she would not have -had the speed and carrying capacity the _Swift_ has. - -"In 1913, the Curtiss boat of sixty horse-power; in 1918, the -Felixstowe _Fury_ of eighteen hundred horse-power; in 1919, the first -crossing of the Atlantic by a Curtiss-built American flying-boat; in -1923, the first ten thousand horse-power steam turbine-boat; and now -the thirty thousand horse-power boat. - -"Remember the land-machine ramp at the end of the Great War; how -they pranced on their hind legs and frothed about breaking the rails -and shipping companies; and the blokes that put their good cash into -companies that promised to carry mails and passengers by air over land -and sea. What happened to 'em? Got into flat spins and crashed, mostly. - -"Went into an optimistic company as a joystick merchant; saw the whole -show from the inside. Tried to run mails in England. Weather conditions -and the competitions of the railways did us down. - -"Speed and reliability are the essence of mail-carrying. It's the time -taken from the office boy licking the stamp until the presentation -paper-knife slits open the envelope at the other end that counts, and -the letter has always got to get there. The only letter-writers in a -tremendous hurry, excepting the mad people who are frantically in love, -are in the main centres of population, and they are connected by fast -train services. Also, the wireless telephone rather put a bend in the -show--talk to anybody anywhere at any time. - -[Illustration: Erecting the 15-ton Felixstowe Fury.] - -"We had to have our aerodromes well out from the centre of the -cities--land too hard to get inside. Had to whiz the mail out from -the post office to the bus, and tranship again at the other end. Took -a lot of time. But the jolly old mail-trains started from a point -near the post office, and the letters were sorted while the train was -travelling. Mist or fog, gales and snow, blew our time-tables sky-high. -You should have seen us tearing our hair in bad weather. Of course bad -weather sometimes interfered with the train service a bit, but not to -the same extent. There was nothing in it so far as time was concerned, -and they had us beaten four ways on reliability. - -"We speeded up the faithful old sky-waggons. But that meant bigger -grounds to flop down into, so we had to go farther out from the -cities. That made the time taken to get mails out to us a bit longer. -We saved something at the receiving end by dropping the mails bang on -top of the post office building. But the trains were speeded up too; -they delivered special mails by motor-cycle straight from the railway -station. We had nothing on them. - -"But with the increase of speed we had more crashes in fog and mist. -Rain was troublesome too. Summer wasn't so bad, but winter put us -down and out. Mails have got to be carried every day in the year. -Important mails were delayed and sometimes destroyed. That fed up the -men who wrote 'em. We tried putting up a kite-balloon above the mist, -and gliding down from that. Not good enough. The aerodromes were too -small, and the dashing aviators fetched up into houses, ditches, and -trees. And, of course, a forced landing on the way under bad weather -conditions was nearly always fatal. Insurance went higher than the -machines. - -"We weren't reliable enough. No commercial firm could stand the -expense. The Government gave no assistance. The Treasury was squeezing -every penny until Britannia squealed. We tried for two years, and then -my little lot went phut. - -"Yes, the mail-carriers had more success in less well-developed -countries. Better weather conditions, longer runs, slower trains. But -the money in it was nothing to write home about. - -"Then passenger carrying. - -"You remember the rather slow and clumsy four-engine aeroplanes they -made such a fuss about? Well, they proved to be about the limit in -size for a land-machine. Bigger ones were tried, but they were no go. -Landing wheel loads, landing speeds, surfaces of aerodromes, big sheds, -cost of crashes. The big slow aeroplanes could get into an aerodrome -that the ordinary fast scout merchant could get down into, but when -they speeded them up, so that they could get from one place to another -in a thirty-knot wind in a reasonable time, they took the most of a -county to land in. - -"Then there was the weather. They had the same troubles as the -mail-carriers and a few more. Pilots were paid to take risks, but -passengers objected to being strewn over the countryside in a mixed lot -of metal and matchwood. Fly on half-power plant? Not when fully loaded. -Passengers didn't like to go above three thousand feet, it made some of -them ill. Couldn't sleep after being up high. With heavy low clouds the -aeroplanes had to go under them or over them. Below them, often at five -hundred feet, it was too dangerous over land, chimneys, and houses on -hills; and they couldn't get down any place like we can at sea. - -"The only run that would have paid was from London to Paris, -joy-riders mostly, where you had to change from rail to boat and back -to rail again. But the Channel Tunnel and the cut-throat competition -between aeroplane companies left nothing in the bag. - -"Yes, like the mail-carriers, they did a bit better in places with -decent climates, but the shareholders could never afford to travel by -air on the dividends paid. - -"Everybody all at once got wise to the fact that it was the long -hauls over the water routes that were going to pay. Competitors, -comparatively slow steamers, fifteen to twenty-five knots. One or two -flying-boat companies had been working on the job and were not making -such a bad fist at it. But the land-machine people had a cut at it. -Couldn't get it into their heads that big flying-boats were just as -efficient as big land-machines, and a bit faster, as they hadn't to -carry landing wheels and under-carriage. - -"What happened? They drowned a good many people, lost a lot of -mails and machines, and gave it up after about two years of bitter -experience. You see they were handicapped by having to land on -aerodromes in mist and fog, and couldn't get up to the same speed as -flying-boats. - -"The airship people? - -"They are not doing badly, but they're essentially fair-weather craft. -I don't mean mist and fog, for they can hover with engines shut down, -but wind. - -"The two million cubic foot gas-bags produced in 1919--by the way, the -Germans had 'em that size at the end of 1917--had only a top speed of -sixty-seven knots when new. Head resistance and skin friction. Their -cruising speed was something like forty-five knots. They found there -was only about eighty days in the year they could cross the Atlantic -with safety, and they had to go south--about through the anti-cyclonic -weather. Their average time was three days, not much better than a -five-day surface boat. But they did carry on. - -"They stuck to the job and built ten million cubic foot gas-bags--top -speed eighty-three knots. They were really too slow for Transatlantic -work. They were very very costly, and as they carried big loads the -companies had a hard time getting enough mails and passengers to pay -for operating them. Safe enough, much safer than travelling by surface -ships, but too dependent on the wind. Speed is what counts. - -"In the meantime the big armament firms and steamship companies were -sitting on the fence, watching the other fellows spending money and -buying experience. They experimented a bit and gathered a lot of -valuable data. One of the steamship companies had flying decks put on -their liners, and when within three hundred miles of harbour launched -mail-carrying aeroplanes. It cut down the time tremendously. - -"Flying-boats? - -"Not much was done with them. The Air Ministry was starved for money, -and big boats were too costly for small firms to play with. Fortunately -some bright blokes in the Navy had experiments carried out in their own -yards. Somehow, even in the hardest of hard times after the Great War, -the Navy managed to get money. I suppose they knew that trouble was -coming. - -"Remember the drawings of the fifty-ton flying-boat we looked at in -1919? Well, that was built, and proved more or less of a success. -It was found that a boat of that size could be built of steel, so -the steel merchants were got busy and finally succeeded in making -two-hundred-ton steel, and eventually got to five-hundred. It was a -costly business. - -"There was really nothing screamingly successful until the ten thousand -horse-power turbine came along. Janes Fluid made them possible for -aircraft. Ordinary steam made from water is full of air, and that makes -condensing difficult: air-pumps and so on. Ammonia was tried a long -time ago and other true fluids, but the mechanical difficulties were -too great. Then Janes struck on a true fluid that answered the purpose. - -"And then came war. - -"You don't want to hear about it? Well, we had a Labour Government, -and the Army and the Air Force became less than nothing, and the -Navy was rather down at the heel, and the Empire was on the verge of -breaking up. So a pushing Island People made a snatch at Australia and -the islands in the Pacific. The League of Nations? That for practical -purposes was the British Empire and America, and the enemy tackled -both. Fortunately our Navy had about twenty ten-thousand horse-power -flying-boats. I joined up at once and saw the only fleet action. - -"Remember the comic Russian with the aerial torpedo they were -experimenting with in 1917? Right idea, but wrong principle. Wouldn't -work. The gunnery sharks took the idea, pulled it about, worried it, -and produced the flying bomb. I believe Sperry tried it in 1915. They -produced ton bombs with wings. Each boat carried two. - -"We ran into the enemy in force. While the warships were piling on the -heavy stuff we unloaded from ten thousand feet. The bombs glided a mile -and a half for every thousand feet we were up. They were balanced by a -gyroscope and steered by wireless. We nose-dived them into the lightly -protected decks and made rather a wreck of the enemy. What was left of -him was bottled up in his ports. - -"Then we went after them. We'd let go from twenty miles out and the -bombs would sail over boom and harbour defences. The surface ships had -no chance. When we were finished you could have bought the Navies of -the world for a song. - -"The enemy was a stiff-necked and brave people, so we had to smash up a -few of his coast towns before he surrendered. Aeroplanes? They hadn't -got our speed, and if they had got at us we could have settled them -with our one-inch quick-firers before they could have got close enough -to get home. Antiaircraft guns? We always unloaded too far away for -them to touch us. You see, we didn't have to pass over the target. - -"And that was what put flying-boats on their feet. The whole of the -British Navy is now in the air. It's a fine sight to see a destroyer -flotilla. - -"The bigger the boats got, the faster they were. Scale effect. -Stream-line 'em better and save weight in the hull. No trouble getting -off or on, there's lots of water. Fog? No more dangerous to us than it -is to surface ships. The Wireless Navigator tells us where we are to -within a mile. And if the fog is very thick in a harbour, or the clouds -are right down to the water, we land outside and taxi in, just as we -used to do. - -"Remember Queenie's night-landing gadget? It put a boat down on the -water automatically. You let a lever hang down over the side, shut off -your engines, glided down, and when the tip of the lever touched the -water it pulled back the controls and the boat landed smoothly. We use -an adaptation of the gadget to-day. - -"Cost? You may be surprised to know that our two boats running the U.S. -Mail just pay their way and no more--even with the Government subsidy. -Our company runs smaller boats, ten thousand horse-power, down through -the Mediterranean, to Australia, and in various places all over the -world. They pay, but the big ones don't make money yet. They will in -time. - -"And now let us yarn about the old days." - -So we yarned about Felixstowe, and the six-ton boats, and the pilots, -until he had to go to the control cockpit to relieve the First Mate. - -"Like to come up before you turn in?" he asked. - -We went up together. It was pitch dark outside. The control cockpit was -lit only by the light in the binnacle and the Wireless Navigator. - -"What happens about looking out from your glass-house when it rains or -snows?" I asked. - -"At our speed rain and snow won't stick to the stream-lined glass," he -replied. And then to the Quartermaster, a new man, for the first one -had been relieved: "Put me through to the Swallow." - -When the Quartermaster shut down a switch, he said, "Hullo, Morrison. -Going strong. What's your position?" - -A rich jovial voice at my elbow answered: "Good evening, Pank. Have -you come for the ashes?" This was evidently some obscure joke, for the -two Skippers laughed heartily together. And Pank asked: "How's the -Missis and kids?" Then Morrison gave his position. - -"That's our sister ship, east-bound," Pank said to me. "Keep a sharp -look-out over our port bow and you'll see her lights. She'll pass in a -moment." - -I looked out into the darkness and caught a momentary glimpse of a -bright white light and a red one. They were gone in a flash. - -"That's her," said Pank. - -I went below to my cabin and turned in. The next thing I remembered was -a steward standing at my elbow with a cup of tea. - -"Where are we now?" I asked. - -"We'll land in twenty minutes," he replied. - -I scrambled into my clothes and went up into the control cockpit, where -I found Pank. The daylight was just beginning to creep over the water. - -"On time to the minute," said the Skipper. - -"There's the Statue of Liberty," I cried. - -And then Pank: "Quartermaster, stand by. Engines, stand by. Engines, -cut off." - -We glided down towards the grey water silently and flattened out. I -felt the great wings cushioning as we ran along above the surface. We -touched. The sharp keel began to drag the speed down. There was the -roar of a breaking bow wave. And then she settled in and stopped. - -"Bow-man, smart with the line," ordered Pank, as a motor-launch ran -across our bows. We were in tow. "Unseal doors two, four, five, and -six," he continued. The disks in the indicator were lifted. - -Looking across the harbour I saw a mail-boat boiling towards us and -an oiler standing by to pass us a filling hose when we were made fast -to the buoy. Another motor-boat was on its way out to collect the -passengers. - -"I thought that crossing the Atlantic in a flying-boat was going to be -an adventure," I said. - -"Not at all," replied Pank. "It's a business." - - PRINTED BY WILLIAM BLACKWOOD AND SONS. - - - - - * * * * * * - - - - -Transcriber's note: - - -Simple spelling, grammar, and typographical errors were silently corrected. - -Anachronistic and non-standard spellings were retained as printed. - - - -***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE SPIDER WEB*** - - -******* This file should be named 50339-0.txt or 50339-0.zip ******* - - -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: -http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/5/0/3/3/50339 - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part -of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm -concept and trademark. Project Gutenberg is a registered trademark, -and may not be used if you charge for the eBooks, unless you receive -specific permission. If you do not charge anything for copies of this -eBook, complying with the rules is very easy. You may use this eBook -for nearly any purpose such as creation of derivative works, reports, -performances and research. They may be modified and printed and given -away--you may do practically ANYTHING in the United States with eBooks -not protected by U.S. copyright law. Redistribution is subject to the -trademark license, especially commercial redistribution. - -START: FULL LICENSE - -THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE -PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK - -To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free -distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work -(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project -Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full -Project Gutenberg-tm License available with this file or online at -www.gutenberg.org/license. - -Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works - -1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to -and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property -(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all -the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or -destroy all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your -possession. If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a -Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound -by the terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the -person or entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph -1.E.8. - -1.B. "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark. It may only be -used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who -agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few -things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works -even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See -paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this -agreement and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic works. See paragraph 1.E below. - -1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the -Foundation" or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection -of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works. Nearly all the individual -works in the collection are in the public domain in the United -States. If an individual work is unprotected by copyright law in the -United States and you are located in the United States, we do not -claim a right to prevent you from copying, distributing, performing, -displaying or creating derivative works based on the work as long as -all references to Project Gutenberg are removed. Of course, we hope -that you will support the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting -free access to electronic works by freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm -works in compliance with the terms of this agreement for keeping the -Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with the work. You can easily -comply with the terms of this agreement by keeping this work in the -same format with its attached full Project Gutenberg-tm License when -you share it without charge with others. - -1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern -what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are -in a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, -check the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this -agreement before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, -distributing or creating derivative works based on this work or any -other Project Gutenberg-tm work. The Foundation makes no -representations concerning the copyright status of any work in any -country outside the United States. - -1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg: - -1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other -immediate access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear -prominently whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work -on which the phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the -phrase "Project Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, -performed, viewed, copied or distributed: - - This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and - most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no - restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it - under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this - eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the - United States, you'll have to check the laws of the country where you - are located before using this ebook. - -1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is -derived from texts not protected by U.S. copyright law (does not -contain a notice indicating that it is posted with permission of the -copyright holder), the work can be copied and distributed to anyone in -the United States without paying any fees or charges. If you are -redistributing or providing access to a work with the phrase "Project -Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the work, you must comply -either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 or -obtain permission for the use of the work and the Project Gutenberg-tm -trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. - -1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted -with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution -must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any -additional terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms -will be linked to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works -posted with the permission of the copyright holder found at the -beginning of this work. - -1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm -License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this -work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm. - -1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this -electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without -prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with -active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project -Gutenberg-tm License. - -1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, -compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including -any word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access -to or distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format -other than "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official -version posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site -(www.gutenberg.org), you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense -to the user, provide a copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means -of obtaining a copy upon request, of the work in its original "Plain -Vanilla ASCII" or other form. Any alternate format must include the -full Project Gutenberg-tm License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1. - -1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, -performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works -unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. - -1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing -access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works -provided that - -* You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from - the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method - you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is owed - to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he has - agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the Project - Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments must be paid - within 60 days following each date on which you prepare (or are - legally required to prepare) your periodic tax returns. Royalty - payments should be clearly marked as such and sent to the Project - Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the address specified in - Section 4, "Information about donations to the Project Gutenberg - Literary Archive Foundation." - -* You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies - you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he - does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm - License. You must require such a user to return or destroy all - copies of the works possessed in a physical medium and discontinue - all use of and all access to other copies of Project Gutenberg-tm - works. - -* You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of - any money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the - electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days of - receipt of the work. - -* You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free - distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works. - -1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic work or group of works on different terms than -are set forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing -from both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and The -Project Gutenberg Trademark LLC, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm -trademark. Contact the Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below. - -1.F. - -1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable -effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread -works not protected by U.S. copyright law in creating the Project -Gutenberg-tm collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may -contain "Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate -or corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other -intellectual property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or -other medium, a computer virus, or computer codes that damage or -cannot be read by your equipment. - -1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right -of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project -Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project -Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all -liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal -fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT -LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE -PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE -TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE -LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR -INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH -DAMAGE. - -1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a -defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can -receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a -written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you -received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium -with your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you -with the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in -lieu of a refund. If you received the work electronically, the person -or entity providing it to you may choose to give you a second -opportunity to receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If -the second copy is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing -without further opportunities to fix the problem. - -1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth -in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS', WITH NO -OTHER WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT -LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE. - -1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied -warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of -damages. If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement -violates the law of the state applicable to this agreement, the -agreement shall be interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or -limitation permitted by the applicable state law. The invalidity or -unenforceability of any provision of this agreement shall not void the -remaining provisions. - -1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the -trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone -providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in -accordance with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the -production, promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic works, harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, -including legal fees, that arise directly or indirectly from any of -the following which you do or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this -or any Project Gutenberg-tm work, (b) alteration, modification, or -additions or deletions to any Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any -Defect you cause. - -Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm - -Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of -electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of -computers including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It -exists because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations -from people in all walks of life. - -Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the -assistance they need are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's -goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will -remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project -Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure -and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future -generations. To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation and how your efforts and donations can help, see -Sections 3 and 4 and the Foundation information page at -www.gutenberg.org - -Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation - -The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit -501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the -state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal -Revenue Service. The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification -number is 64-6221541. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent permitted by -U.S. federal laws and your state's laws. - -The Foundation's principal office is in Fairbanks, Alaska, with the -mailing address: PO Box 750175, Fairbanks, AK 99775, but its -volunteers and employees are scattered throughout numerous -locations. Its business office is located at 809 North 1500 West, Salt -Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887. Email contact links and up to -date contact information can be found at the Foundation's web site and -official page at www.gutenberg.org/contact - -For additional contact information: - - Dr. Gregory B. Newby - Chief Executive and Director - gbnewby@pglaf.org - -Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg -Literary Archive Foundation - -Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide -spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of -increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be -freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest -array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations -($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt -status with the IRS. - -The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating -charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United -States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a -considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up -with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations -where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To SEND -DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any particular -state visit www.gutenberg.org/donate - -While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we -have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition -against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who -approach us with offers to donate. - -International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make -any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from -outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff. - -Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation -methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other -ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations. To -donate, please visit: www.gutenberg.org/donate - -Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works. - -Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project -Gutenberg-tm concept of a library of electronic works that could be -freely shared with anyone. For forty years, he produced and -distributed Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of -volunteer support. - -Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed -editions, all of which are confirmed as not protected by copyright in -the U.S. unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not -necessarily keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper -edition. - -Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search -facility: www.gutenberg.org - -This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, -including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to -subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. - |