Engine Restored as Craft Enters "Suicide Dive"
Tokyo, Feb, 11.
Crippled by five" machine-gun bullets fired from the ground, a Japanesa naval aeroplane crossed' the South China Sea to its base late in January to complete @ most-unusual chapter in the annals of the service the Navy Ministry revealed to-day, The exploit was compared to that} a Japanese monoplane Aghter that) flew. back from Nanchang to its base near Shanghai with two-thirds of] Jone wing shot off, The machine, donated by the Women's Section of the Hyogo branch the Navy League on November 19 last year, is officially known as Patriotic Plane No. 152, With Flight Warrant Oticor, First [Class, Yutaka Wada at the controls, ud Flight Warrant Omer, Third Class, Shigoo Kato in the observer's cockpit, the machine took off with other machines on January 24 to bomb the Canton-Hankow Railway, Troop Train Encountered Spotting a Chinese military train, the machine swooped down directing, stroam of machine-gun fire at the soldiers who Mlled the cars, Brisk fre was returned, Circling over tie speeding train several times, the plane continued strafing until its bullets riddled the locomotive's boiler which spurted steam, Bullets hit the plane's motor jand the craft rapidly lost altitude. Rather than make a forced landing, the airmen decided 10 hurl their machine against the train, Therefore, they directed the craft towards the train, As the altimeter read "50," the engine suddenly resumed its familiar roar) Tuxging forcely at the controls, Flight Officer Tada managed fo pull the machine out of its ive."
'Through a fierce _anti-aircraft barrage, the plane began a hard ascent as the crippled motor haltingly responded and finally at a safe altitude, No, 152 turned' homeward Jand managed to reach the base with-four further mishap—Domei,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.