The Brighton Boys with the Flying Corps

ir mess. Will was not much older than his brother Harry, so far as years went, but he looked ten years older. The co

o get a chance to visit Harry for weeks. Will was particularly interested to hear what had bee

on a hunter machine. His experiences were uneventful, however. His job had been to watch, with anothe

the slightest difficulty, deposited a load of high explosives upon it in quick time, and soared away back home without a single en

d the experience quite sufficiently exciting, though he had not been

ment of a reserve line of dugouts well in the rear of the German front line. As a matter of fact, the pilot of the observati

firer was fixed between the two supporting planes, the barrel next to the motor and parallel with it. This front gun was fired by Richardson, the pilot of the triplane, who controlled

pleased Richardson mightily, and

rk behind the observer's station. It was mounted on a re

s thought he had us sure, and comes creeping up behind, only to get a dose right in the nose. That gun of the major's carries fur

carting observation planes around I was pretty green. I had but very shortly before done my first solo in England. The British were f

old me he wanted to see me take it around for a try-out, and then it was off and away for the front. He said c

d came down in mighty nasty fashion on the other side, just out of sight. That is, he was out of sight. The tail of his plane stuck up to show what a real header he had taken. I found out later that

g to get into his seat when the boss-man said to him: 'I su

his, but the boss evidently thou

a ditch that had been dug on the left side of the field, and, of course, I had to find it. When I saw it, no time was left to avoid it, so in I went. Over toppled the poor pl

his little fun," he chuckled. "now we

t. He went right on up with me in another machine ten minutes later just as though

he was then, had never been more apprehensive of trouble. He did not like to trust himself to green fliers, any more than another man would have done. But he knew that quick, sure show of confidence was the

Archies were everyday things to Richardson and his major. They did not by any means scorn them, the anti-aircraft guns, as continual improvement was noticeable, not onl

squadron of hunters, who gave up the chase as soon as they drew near to the Allied territory. But Jimmy Hill's exploit, and the fact that he had not only been the hero of a fight against big odds, b

ic work of trench photography, and spent his spare hours in the photographic workshop, which was a storehouse of wonders to him. He was fast getting sound ideas

d with a Lewis gun, too. They had on board at that time, however, a set of negatives that were of considerable value, which they had been sen

ctical flying work. Archie Fox had been as busy as any of the rest, tuning up a n

work that required great care. He had been absorbed day and night, and had cut down his slee

g as flying, the comm

job, "but of equal, if n

as at it, heart and so

appearance was the fi

is messmates for a

eutons in the air, Will?" asked Harry. "Do you think th

ed realization, and I don't guess that will come for some little time yet. It's up

ful speed of the Germa

Li

him. He was in an Albatros of a late type, too. As you can imagine, we gave him a very hearty greeting. He took it pretty well, considering everything. I had him into my shack for lunch, and we got quite friendly before they took him back to the base. I remember at that time that the usua

enty miles at that elevation it was thought to be a hummer. They were fast climbers for their speed, and usually did most of their fighting, if they had a choice, at thirteen to fourteen thousand feet up. Only the Albatros could be depended upon to beat one hundred and twenty miles an hour regularly. He said he would rather not tell me the speed of the Albatros, I did not press h

"Can you think of anything we ought to specially learn that we won'

thing. Some of it comes natural and some of it has to be learned by experience. I think fliers are born, not made, anyway. There is one thing you might get some tips upon. That

the sky is covered by large gray clouds, are, as you all probably know, very favorable for surprise attacks. The clouds act as

the scheme works, as a sort of bait. Sometimes they pick a slow machine of an old model for the part, and it looks easy meat. They tell me that the French fliers never could withstand the temptation of seeing such a plane hovering round. The French flier would give chase, even f

until the decoy plane had drawn the French flier ten or fifteen miles from his base. It pays to be mighty wary of anything

d Dicky Mann. "I have been stuck on office work, and don't get a chance to have the fun the res

re you on?"

ap

to you one day, too. A good knowledge of the country, the rivers, the canals, the railroads--the

nd the amount of time he spends over his blessed maps shows well enough that

admit that. And there are things worth picking up in that department, too. A man would be a f

not an easy matter to choose, but the thing I had the hardest time to forget, and about the most spectacular thing a man could see

plane itself, I think. I understand the plane did not do so well as the engine, and they are getting out a new thruster to take that engine. When it comes along it will be a daisy. We had been doing what my observer

ur looks but little, and started to climb for safety. But we could climb, too. He had never met one of that pusher type, I guess. We kept

gine them di

?" one may

t twenty thousand feet before lo

near enough for him to let fly. I was too busy watching the fellow in front to think about much else. I have always thought that he must have miscalculated the distance that I had gained. Maybe something went a bit wrong with

b, climb, with an eye on the two men in the plane ahead. Then I got him in range, and before I realized it." "Brrr

rdinary happened. The Boche pilot, at the very first burst

a few yards. I could see that he fell feet first, head up, and arms stretched up above his head, holding his body rigidly straight. Neither I nor my o

that made us both remark afterwards that he looked as though he was doing i

hot, probably for the reason that his gun was fixed and we were never in range of it. Suddenly we saw him climb out of his seat on to the tail of the plane. My observer had a good target, but his gun was silent. Perhaps that Boche observ

pawing and clutching into the void below like a lost soul, in horrible contrast to the rigid figure of the pilot. Then the av

but that rigid figure got me. The struggling chap I forgot long before I did the other. We more than once discussed what might have happ

d. The night was anything but warm, and the room in which they sat was quite cool; but the memory of tha

ners. One of them, a slight youth named Mason, who haile

ht the pilot in the back. It did not kill him instantly, but he was not long in succumbing to his wound. He had just energy enough left, after he realized that he was very badly hurt, to tell his observer that he was going off. Before he actually re

cent landing not very far from our front lines. Fortunately he was on the right side of them, though from w

shock when he found that his pilot was stone dead, and had been for some time. He must have died when the observer took over the control of the plan

e was. I can't imagine anything more tough than to get yourself down when something has gone utterly wrong, thanking your lucky stars that you are down with a whole skin, and then discover you are booked for a

cordial in their invitation to Will Corwin to come and pay them another call. Wi

a gallant fight against three machines that ha

ed his machine in his home airdrome he settled back quietly in the driving seat

ingly painful and made him fight hard to retain consciousness until he got home with his plane, he made a fine nose-dive that gave him a cle

decoration, and was packed off to a hospital to recover from his wound, which fortu