CHAPTER XIII
A DARING BOMB RAID TO THE RHINE
The exploits of the lieutenant and the boys soon became the talk of thecamp. From enemy sources more was learned later about the results of thedestruction of the oil station, which fully confirmed the earlierreports of the great damage which had been done. Although up to thistime there had been some objection raised against the flights of theboys it must be said that after that event there was no one to criticisethem.
During the winter months not much was done excepting scout work, as theweather was too severe for the men in the trenches to attempt anyadvances, but as the spring months came on everything became moreactive, thus imposing greater duty on the air fleet.
Not much of personal interest to the boys took place until May, when thegreat raid was planned to attack the munition factories and chemicalworks at and near Ludwigshafen, on the Rhine.
"Ralph, did you hear that there is going to be a big expedition thisweek right into Germany?" said Alfred, who had been with the lieutenantat headquarters early one morning.
"No, although the boys are always talking about something of that kind,"replied Ralph.
"But this is a sure go; the lieutenant told me so a few minutes ago,"responded Alfred.
"Is the lieutenant going, do you know?" asked Ralph.
"Yes, I suppose that is why he told me about it," answered Alfred.
"I wonder whether they will let us go with him?" asked Ralph.
"Well, I didn't ask him, but I looked at him pretty hard, and I guess heknows how we feel about it," answered Alfred.
The rumor turned out to be true, for the following day orders wereformally received to prepare eighteen machines for a raid to the Rhine.The lieutenant announced the news to the boys, and added: "I suppose, ofcourse, you wouldn't like to go on such a venturesome mission?"
"Go!" exclaimed both boys in unison.
The lieutenant laughed. "Well, if you insist on it I shall have to takeyou with me. The Seraph (which was the name of their airplane, althoughit was officially known as No. 47) will be fixed to carry a dozen bombsfor the occasion."
"But how about the quick firer?" asked Ralph.
"We must dispense with that on this trip. Bombs are more valuable,"answered the lieutenant.
"Well, aren't we going to take any guard ships along?" inquired Alfred.
"Oh yes; six of the machines will be armed, but we must use every ouncewe can carry on the Seraph. Before starting we must go over the route,as similar instructions will have to be issued to all of the flyers,"remarked the lieutenant.
"Do you know where we are to go?" asked Ralph.
"The objective point is Mannheim on the Rhine. The river is eighty milesdue east, and Mannheim is about fifty miles farther down the river. Thatcity is on the eastern bank of the river, and Ludwigshafen is a smalltown, on the opposite shore where the great laboratory of BadischeAnalin and Soda Fabrik is located," remarked the lieutenant.
"So we are going to destroy a soda factory?" said Ralph with a grin.
"Not exactly," replied the lieutenant, amused at the intimation. "Theprincipal thing turned out at the plant before the war was nitrate, achemical most essential in the manufacture of explosives, and theimportance of the place may be understood when I tell you that fullytwo-thirds of this product used by the Germans comes from that place."
"When will the start be made?" asked Ralph excitedly.
"Tomorrow," was the reply.
"Then I want to see the map," said Ralph.
"By all means," answered the lieutenant. "Now, you will notice that hereis a canal shown on the map which runs due east. That is theRhine-Marne, which parallels this river, the Zorn. The Zorn flows intothe Rhine at Strassburg. You know, of course, that rivers, or canals,are the best guides for our purposes, so we must get these firmly fixedin our minds."
"Yes, that and the towns are sure to carry us along without mistake,"remarked Alfred. "What is that place, Saarburg? It is on the river."
"That is an ancient town, and you can hardly fail to recognize theplace, for it is surrounded by a great stone wall. It also contains astrong garrison. Now note the next important place, twenty miles fartheron; that is Zabern. From that place we can see the Rhine at variousplaces, as we intend to fly at an altitude of two thousand meters, or,as you would say, 6500 feet."
"Why is it necessary to go to such a high altitude?" asked Alfred.
"Because at Saarburg, Zabern and Brumath they have long rangeanti-airship guns, and we cannot take any chances," replied thelieutenant.
The camp was a seething place of excitement the following morning.Twelve of the machines carried bombs exclusively; some of the airplaneshad six bombs, each weighing 180 pounds; one had three bombs of 300pounds each, and the Seraph carried ten 120-lb. high-explosivecylinders.
These were placed in a suitable case having compartments, the lower endsof the compartments being provided with outwardly opening doors, capableof being released by the pressure of the foot operating against alever.
"I am going to rig up the cameras so we can take pictures of theexplosions," said Alfred, as they made their way to the hangar.
"That is a splendid idea," remarked the lieutenant. "Such an enterprisewould be commended by the Intelligence Department of the War Office. Byall means make the arrangements, for we expect to start in an hour."
Alfred rushed over to the supply depot, and soon had the cameras in hispossession, together with extra rolls of films. Ralph accompanied thelieutenant to the hangar to note the placing of the bombs.
"Why are the bombs placed with the pointed ends up?" asked Ralph, as themen were placing them in position.
"So the fulminate cap can be placed on, preparatory to launching,"remarked the foreman.
"Why, won't they go off without the cap on? Wouldn't a concussionexplode them?" he asked.
"Well, it would require a pretty tough jar to make them go off," repliedthe man.
At the appointed time the eighteen machines arose, and started for theeast. The sun was full in their faces, but the misty weather made itlook like a great red ball, symbolic of the day's work. It was hard toget away from the glare of the sun as they arose to the height which theorders compelled them to take, and at Saarburg some of the machines wereactually hit by missiles from the anti-airship guns.
The first city of importance to greet their eyes, after leavingBrumath, was Lauterbach, and then Karlsruhe, a city of over 100,000 wassighted.
"We are now thirty-five miles from Ludwigshafen," shouted thelieutenant, through the tube. "Keep well to the west of the river, andmaintain the same height, until the city is reached."
Two miles before Mannheim was reached eight of the machines swerved tothe right, and crossed the river, their destination being the town ofOppau, several miles beyond the town, where large manufacturingestablishments were turning out ammunition.
"We are bound for the chemical factories," said the lieutenant. "See theworkmen running about. They have, no doubt, heard of our mission by thistime."
"Which way shall I point the camera?" asked Alfred.
"Straight down," replied the lieutenant. "I am going to signal No. 62 totake the lead, so we will be the fifth in line. That will give you asplendid opportunity to notice the effect of the explosions and to snapthem."
The lieutenant set the signal, "echelon formation," which means stepformation, one machine being ahead and a little to the right or to theleft of the succeeding one. In that manner the ten machines flew along,the distance between them being about eight hundred feet, and by thisarrangement each succeeding machine was able to observe the effect ofthe bomb dropped by the machine ahead.
Mannheim was avoided, and the machines steered straight for the chemicalheadquarters on the left side of the stream where No. 62 released thefirst bomb. Alfred strained his eyes, and saw a flash below. It missed abuilding, and he shouted the information to Ralph through the tube.
"If that had gone a hundred feet to the right it w
ould have taken adandy building,--there, the second shot did it; that came from oldSpic's machine; whew-w-w, but look at it! That smoke is as black ascoal,--must be lots of chemicals there. Another,--and the secondbuilding smashed to flinders. The lieutenant is going to drop the firstone,--down she goes! I took two fine ones just now. I'll bet the lastpicture will show it up just as it happened. Two more snaps. We aregoing to turn and go back. 62 is making the circle." Thus Alfredgraphically described the first trip over the doomed town.
A dense cloud was now coming up, or, rather, bunches of them in variousplaces where the missiles struck, and just as the Seraph was making theturn a tremendous explosion was heard, which actually seemed to jar themachine. Alfred arose from his seat, and the lieutenant's tense faceshowed that something unusual had happened, as he gazed below. All thebuildings were emptied and scores of operatives were lining up along theriver bank, and moving toward the great bridge south of the works.
"Did you notice that big explosion?" asked Alfred through the tube.
Ralph nodded his head affirmatively.
"That hit the largest building in the place, and there isn't much leftof it. Did you see that tall chimney at the left side of the town? Well,that looks just like a big cannon with the smoke and fire coming out ofit," commented Alfred.
The ten ships crossed the town twice, discharging all their bombs, butthey waited in the air for twenty-five minutes until the first of thedetached airplanes from the north appeared. During this time there wasplenty of opportunity to see the extent of the damage which had beendone to the great factories.
At a signal the airplanes, constituting the squadron, were lined up intwo columns, and before they had proceeded far the signals told thesuccess of that part of the squadron which had gone to Oppau. The signalwas now set for "Home," and the machines, by this time lightened oftheir missiles, made a tremendous speed, until after they left theRhine, and were making the last lap of the journey, when the machinecarrying Captain De Goye and his Adjutant Buanau-Varilla, was forced todescend, owing to an accident.
The different machines circled around, hoping to be able to renderassistance, but shortly after the airplane landed it was discovered tobe in flames, and it was conjectured that seeing relief was out of thequestion the aviators had destroyed the machine to prevent its being ofany use to the enemy.