Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Oh hell, I've GOT to pass this along

One of these attacks is probably unique in aviation history. On August 17th, 1915, Flight-Lieutenant G. B. Dacre was forced to land on the sea following engine trouble with his Type 184. A nearby Turkish tugboat approached, presumably intending to capture the plane and its pilot. Determined to avoid so ignominious a fate, Fl-Lt. Dacre taxied his aircraft towards the tug, aimed carefully, and fired his torpedo from the surface, rather than air-dropping it in the normal way. His weapon, launched at point-blank range, could hardly miss, and sank the tug. He was then able to make hurried adjustments to his engine and take off again, returning safely to HMS Ben-my-Chree. I've no doubt that the tug's survivors, floundering in the water, hurled some horrible language after him as he cheekily flew off into the distance!

2 comments:

homebru said...

Is it hunting over bait if you're the bait?

Firehand said...

An interesting philosophical question, that.