With the Serbs in Macedonia

BOMBS 167
aerodromes if the machines were out of harm's
way in the air. Unfortunately, most of the
machines were Farmans, and for that country
Farmans, as then built, were unsuitable. As a
family bus in a flat country the Farman is no
doubt quite good, but among mountains, in a
district of gorges and rivers, bristling with airpockets
and unexpected currents, the Farman
is best in its shed. Dozens of valuable lives had
already been sacrificed, but the Farmans were
still en service.
Then came one more raid. All the machines
went up at the telephoned warning. As the
Farman can fire only from the front and is slow
and cumbersome to manoeuvre, fighting was
out of the question. A lively little Nieuport,
with its genius for falling on its head and
hurting only its propeller, had a try for a Boche,
and returned safe, but disappointed. Fritz
dropped bombs in passing on an Italian hospital,
fortunately empty, and in a road by Saculevo
Supply Dump, killing seven horses and three
Bulgarian prisoners. Then, seeing the Farmans
fleeing before him, he went home again.
But, alas, one of the Farmans got trapped in
a pocket while returning, lost flying-way and
The pilot
fell on the outskirts of our camp !
escaped with a broken thigh, a broken wrist,
and two smashed ribs. But the poor observer,