As regards the work of the flying man the danger curve seems to be changing.On the one hand the training is much more severe and exacting than formerly was the case, and so carries a greater element of danger.On the other hand on the battle-front fighting information has in great measure taken the place of the system of men going up "on their own".They are perhaps not so liable to meet with a numerical superiority on the part of enemy machines, which spelt for them almost certain destruction.
For a long time the policy of silence and secrecy which screened "the front" from popular gaze kept us in ignorance of the achievements of our airmen.But finally the voice of the people prevailed in their demand for more enlightenment.Names of regiments began to be mentioned in connection with particular successes.And in the same way the heroes ofthe R.F.C.and R.N.A.S.were allowed to reap some of the laurels they deserved.
It began to be recognized that publication of the name of an airman who had destroyed a Zeppelin, for instance, did not constitute any vital information to the enemy.In a recent raid upon London the names of the two airmen, Captain G.H.Hackwill, R.F.C., and Lieutenant C.C.Banks, R.F.C., who destroyed a Gotha, were given out in the House of Commons and saluted with cheers.In the old days the secretist party would have regarded this publication as a policy which led the nation in the direct line of "losing the war".
In the annals of the Flying Service, where dare-devilry is taken as a matter of course and hairbreadth escapes from death are part of the daily routine, it is difficult to select adventures for special mention; but the following episodes will give a general idea of the work of the airman in war.
The great feat of Sub-Lieutenant R.A.J.Warneford, R.N.A.S., who single-handed attacked and destroyed a Zeppelin, has already been referred to in Chapter XIII.Lieutenant Warneford was the second on the list of airmen who won the coveted Cross, the first recipient being Second- Lieutenant Barnard Rhodes-Moorhouse, for a daring and successful bomb- dropping raid upon Courtrai in April, 1915.As has happened in so many cases, the award to Lieutenant Rhodes-Moorhouse was a posthumous one, the gallant airman having been mortally wounded during the raid, in spite of which he managed by flying low to reach his destination and make his report.
