ns, one in our
lines in the environs of Avocourt and three in the enemy lines--one
near Suippes, one near Nouvion and one near Sainte-Marie-a-Py. This
total of thirty-five machines should be contrasted with the figures of
our own aerial losses, which amount to thirteen aeroplanes, as
follows: One French machine brought down in our lines and twelve
brought down in the German lines."

A pitched battle between Zeppelins, battle cruisers, and submarines on
the German side, and destroyers, land batteries, aeroplanes and sea
planes on the British side, took place in the morning of April 25,
1916, near Lowestoft. A number of aeroplanes and sea planes rose to
attack the Zeppelins which were flying high and bound westward. In the
course of the battle the airships turned toward the sea, bringing the
pursuing aeroplanes within range of the naval guns. Four submarines
also appeared on the surface and began firing their high-angle guns
against the British aeros. One of the latter was destroyed by fire
from a Zeppelin quick-firing gun, while two sea planes were severely
damaged by the fire from the battle cruisers and submarines.

May, 1916, began with three disasters for the German aerial forces. On
the 3d of the month, the naval airship _L-20_ (Schuette-Lanz type)
which had raided the coast of England and Scotland on the preceding
day, ran out of fuel on the return trip and was carried by a strong
wind eastward onto the Norwegian coast, where it stranded near
Stavanger. The Norwegian authorities interned the crew and blew up the
ship.

Two more Zeppelins were lost two days later; the _L-7_ (one of the
oldest airships in the service) was shot down by French warships off
Saloniki, while the other fell a victim to the guns of a British
squadron off the coast of Schleswig-Holstein.

An Italian airship, the _M-3_, attempted a reconnoitering trip over
the Austrian positions on the Gorizia front, but was heavily bombarded
with incendiary shells. Fire broke out on the airship and the
resulting explosion tore it apart, killing the crew of six men.

Sixteen Allies' aeroplanes undertook a bombing expedition upon the
German aerodromes at Mariakerke, dropping thirty-eight large and
seventeen small bombs. A sea plane dropped one 100-pound bomb and two
65-pound bombs on the Solvay Works at Zeebrugge. All the machines are
reported to have returned in safety, with one exception.

Aerial combats increased in number and violence during the sum