One Japanese machine dived down avoid a Chinese attacker, but the latter, which was much faster, followed at a tremendous space' and caught the Japanese as he was turn ing" upward "again. The Japanese plane immediately burst into lames, but continued its upward direction, leaving a trail of black smoke behind:
fe shot up like a Roman candle," said the watcher, "and after traveling a long way' he nose-dived and disappeared."
Meanwhile, five other Japanese planes, seeing that they were vastly outnumbered, attempted to Kot away, but the Chinese followed and spray= ed_them with machine-gun. bullets.
The watcher is certain that four of the five raiders came down, and although Reuter only witnessed two, reliable foreign sources claim that three were destroyed: One Japanese machine crashed in the midst of 0 small islet in a Jake about 20 milex kip the Peiping-Hankow Railway, The torso of one of the pilots way flung a few yards from the machine, the fuselage of which was completely destroyed by. flames, 'The wings, however, although bashed, wore not burned. "The head of the pilot, which had been blown off, was found in the machine, Villagers stated that they observed the other pilot bale out in his parachute, which was subsequently' found by Chinese soldiers. The pilot, how= ever, is still at large, Souvenir hunters had had a Kood hack at the machine when Reuter's correspondent arrived, but the sigh of the Rising Sun was stil clearly: visible on one of the damaged wings Another Japanese machine crashed est of the Peiping-Hankow Railway, but felt on soft earth and nothing bul burned debris was visible, The Chinese machines took the raiders completely by surprise. yes terday, as previously they had seldom engaged Japanese planes in aerial combat,—Reuter.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.