With the French Flying CorpsBeretning om tjenesten og luftoperationer ved Det franske Flyvekorps under 1. verdenskrig. |
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accident aerial altimetre altitude artillery attack avia aviation-field aviators Bar-le-Duc batteries become beginner biplane Boches bombarding bombarding-machine bombs Bourget brevet camp captain captive balloons carburetor Caudron caught Chartres Châteauroux chine climbed Clyde Balsley combat comrades course crowd danger dive duty enemy enemy's escadrille felt field fighting-machine fire flight Flying Corps France French army front Gare de l'Est German aeroplane German lines German trenches ground hangars headquarters height hundred feet knew landing Le Bourget leave lee shore little Nieuports looked machine gun matter mechanics military mist mitrailleuse morning motor move never night observer officer Paris pass passenger perte de vitesse photographic Piste planes poilus position propeller pupil raid received reconnoissance réglage roar rudder search-lights seemed shells shrapnel soldiers SOUCHEZ speed spiral Suddenly thought tion Toul train troupes turn Verdun sector Victor Chapman volplane vrille whirlpools wind wing wireless wound Zeppelin
Popular passages
Page 122 - Another motor roared far down the field, and a tiny "appareil de chasse" shot upward like a swallow. "A Nieuport," shouted the crowd with one voice. Eager to atone for his "copain's" failure, and impatient at his delay in getting out of the way, the tiny biplane tossed and tumbled about in the air like a clown in the circus-ring. "Look! He's looping! He falls! He slips! No, he rights again!
Page 146 - ... was so soft and muddy that it was difficult to get the machines to leave the earth. The pilots all seemed nervous, yet all rose in good form except one, who was a little late in getting off. He did not know the way, and was afraid of losing his companions in the mist. In his haste he took too short a run, so that when he came to the end of the field he was not high enough to clear the line of hangars in his path. To make matters worse the unlucky man lost his head. He tried to make a sharp turn,...
Page 19 - ... call them, who have come from distant Asia to help France in her struggle for liberty. As French citizens they are mobilized and wear the military uniform, but their tasks are usually of the monotonous, routine variety. The repair-shops are continually working under pressure, as accidents occur daily. It is estimated that the average cost to France of training each pilot is five thousand dollars. Most of the accidents, however, are caused by carelessness, stupidity, or overconfidence. The day...
Page 58 - ... Then I made a turn. When I found that I was flying smoothly and easily I felt a little more confident. As I turned back toward the field I could see my masters and comrades below looking up at me. Another machine was about to leave the field. It seemed no larger than a huge insect as it glided across the ground. I made up my mind that I was going to make good. If others could do it, I could. I volplaned down, and made my landing safely but somewhat bumpily. The captain told me that I would do,...
Page 121 - ... down one balloon," remarked the man at my elbow. The hum of a motor caused me to look up. A wide-winged doublemotor Caudron had left the ground and was mounting gracefully above us. Up and up it went, describing a great circle, until it faced the balloon. Every one caught his breath. The Caudron was rushing straight at the balloon, diving for the attack. "Now!
Page 141 - ... Cave Voutee" signs, troops were in motion on all sides, sentries were posted at every street-corner, every one seemed to be in a hurry to get somewhere. Our escadrille was camped in a field adjoining that occupied by the American Escadrille. Our "train" consisted of a dozen light, covered trucks with their tentlike trailers, and three automobiles for the use of the officers and pilots. Our camp was pitched by the time I had made the trip from Toul by rail, and the array of tents and the park...
Page 81 - ... active service. From the first I felt conscious of unusual attention. People seemed to treat me with deference and with more respect than I had ever before experienced. I could not account for it. Then, of a sudden, I chuckled to myself. The envied stars and wings on my collar were the cause. I was a "pilote aviateur," a fullfledged member of the aerial light cavalry of France.
Page 55 - It was a very bumpy landing, but the aeroplane was undamaged. The officers rushed to the spot to find out what was the matter. They found the pilot unconscious but otherwise unhurt. Later, in the hospital, he explained that the altitude had affected his heart and that he had fainted. As he felt himself going he remembered his instructions and relinquished the controls, at the same moment stopping his motor.
Page 180 - ... in action. You are bound to get in close proximity to the trajectory of the shells, and the constant sensation and sound of the passing projectiles is none too pleasant. You get them both coming and going, and, no matter which you are trying to avoid, you are always taking a chance with the other. It is a question of choosing between the devil and the deep sea, with the devil constantly stepping into your path. When you are observing for the artillery .44 Reduced facsimile of the photographic...
Page 153 - TNFAVORABLE weather conditions *— ' kept us inactive for several days, but as soon as the skies cleared our escadrille immediately went to work again. For some reason my own machine was delayed "en route," and did not arrive for a week.