lucky bullet
from the Allies' aeroplane had lodged in the brain of the German pilot,
killing him instantly. At the moment when Death over took him the
aviator had set his plane for the descent to the ground, and the machine
came to earth in the manner of a glider.

But in other instances the descent has been far more tragic. The
aeroplane, deprived of its motive power, has taken the deadly headlong
dive to earth. It has struck the ground with terrific violence, burying
its nose in the soil, showing incidentally that a flying machine is an
indifferent plough, and has shattered itself, the debris soaked with
the escaping fuel becoming ignited. In any event, after such a fall the
machine is certain to be a wreck. The motor may escape damage, in
which event it is salvaged, the machine subsequently being purposely
sacrificed to the flames, thereby rendering it no longer available
to the enemy even if captured. In many instances the hostile fire has
smashed some of the stays and wires, causing the aeroplane to lose its
equilibrium, and sending it to earth in the manner of the proverbial
stone, the aviators either being dashed to pieces or burned to death.

What are the vulnerable parts of the aeroplane? While the deliberate
intention of either combatant is to put his antagonist hors de combat,
the disablement of the machine may be achieved without necessarily
killing or even seriously wounding the hostile airman. The prevailing
type of aeroplane is highly susceptible to derangement: it is like a
ship without armour plate protection. The objective of the antagonist is
the motor or the fuel-tank, the vital parts of the machine, as much as
the aviator seated within.

A well-planted shot, which upsets the mechanism of the engine, or a
missile which perforates the fuel tank, thereby depriving the motor of
its sustenance, will ensure victory as conclusively as the death of the
aviator himself. Rifle fire can achieve either of these ends with little
difficulty. Apart from these two nerve-centres, bombardment is not
likely to effect the desired disablement, inasmuch as it cannot be
rendered completely effective. The wings may be riddled like a sieve,
but the equilibrium of the machine is not seriously imperilled thereby.
Even many of the stays may be shot away, but bearing in mind the slender
objective they offer, their destruction is likely to be due more to
luck than judgment. On the other hand, the motor and fuel tank of the
c