News arrived from
Arras,
Relayed by correspondent.
Of a French airship raid,
Over into occupied land.
Relayed by correspondent.
Of a French airship raid,
Over into occupied land.
The mission:
Destruction of an enemy
Railway junction, in vicinity
Of a village – the position,
Being well guarded, is known
To be a centre for German
Troop movements -
The flight would involve moving,
Over a distance of enemy ground.
Starting at dusk, the airship lifted,
Destruction of an enemy
Railway junction, in vicinity
Of a village – the position,
Being well guarded, is known
To be a centre for German
Troop movements -
The flight would involve moving,
Over a distance of enemy ground.
Starting at dusk, the airship lifted,
To 6000 feet -
lights extinguished.
Despite a play of
searchlights,
Cutting up the
sky, the airship
Crossed enemy
lines, undetected.
Reaching the designated village,
The French maneuvered their craft,
Descending to a striking height -
At the chosen moment, they dropped,
Reaching the designated village,
The French maneuvered their craft,
Descending to a striking height -
At the chosen moment, they dropped,
Three detonated
charges of dynamite.
The junction was
successfully hit,
Causing desired effect
of damage.
At that point the
Airship’s presence
Was detected, its
shape picked
Out by
searchlights – this awoke
All mortars and
nearby field guns,
Attracting their
field sights.
The night sky
started to light up,
Glowing wildly,
with bursting shells -
Coming closer as
the gunners,
Worked out the
range.
Obeying the urgent
order,
To lose all available
Ballast,
The air ship
rapidly made height -
As a token of
farewell,
They decided to drop,
A fourth dynamite charge.
They decided to drop,
A fourth dynamite charge.
Yet the dynamite
stuck,
In the dropping
tube,
With the
detonator
Ticking in motion -
Seconds to detonation –
The Captain took action.
He seized a hatchet,
Ticking in motion -
Seconds to detonation –
The Captain took action.
He seized a hatchet,
And scrambled
onto rigging
To strike the
tube -
The charge was
released,
To explode in a
ball of flame,
At just a hundred
feet.
The fact of bad
fortune,
At the closeness
of disaster,
Turned to become
fortunate -
The enemy believed
the craft
Had been
destroyed –
So their firing
stopped.
The airship
lifted to safety.
Once back at base,
they told
Of this close escapade.
by Jamie Mann.
Of this close escapade.
by Jamie Mann.
Hare, J., 1914. Airship Raid on a railway Junction – A Narrow Escape. The
Daily Telegraph, [online] 18 Nov. p.7. Col.5. Available online at:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ww1-archive/11232251/Daily-Telegraph-November-18-1914.html
[Accessed: 18 November 2014].
Mann, J., 2014. 100 years Ago - Poems by Jamie Mann. [letter] (Personal
communication, 18 November 2014).
#WW1 #WW1centenary #GreatWar #WW1poem #GreatWar #ww1centenary
#worldwarone #worldwaroneremembered
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