BIRDS ATTACK AIRPLANE
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And Then Bring It Down
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AN AVIATOR
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Tells of His Battle In the Air With Birds
London, Sept. 17—Probably the most unusual story in the history of aviation, of how he was attacked, brought down and narrowly escaped death as the result of an attack by a flock of small birds while flying in a scout machine near Al baKir, Egypt, is told by Lieutenant
John Sharpe Griffith, of Los Angeles, who has just returned from that place. Griffith is the only American to hold a permanent commission in the British Royal Air Force.
"I was flying along as peaceably as you please to the airdrome of 70 squadron, of which I was member, about 11 o'clock in the morning, when I first noticed a flock of birds, which resembled our black birds, flying over me. At first I paid scarcely any attention to them, and when they flew in front of me, I merely banked, turned to the left.
"However, they followed me. I then turned again, this time I had a little more difficulty in avoiding hitting them with the propeller of my machine. After several turns I came to the conclusion that they were trying to damage the machine, as each time they got within striking distance of the wings they would dive and peck at them. Of course, it was very difficult for me to believe this, for although I have heard of eagles attacking aviators before I never heard of any smaller birds, or flocks of smaller birds attempting to fight an airplane, but as their activities to tear holes in the fabric of my plane's wings continued, I came to the conclusion that such was the case.
"I then put the machine through all the tricks I knew, rolling, looping, diving, doing Immelmann turns, and diving in turn but the birds followed me and it seemed that their numbers increased.
"Coming out of a dive the inevitable happened. They flew straight into the propeller of my machine, breaking its blades. The next thing I knew the machine was doing a spinning nose dive earthward with numerous dead birds killed by the propeller of my machine falling beside me, while the others continued to follow me down.
"Eventually I righted the machine and started to glide down, but the birds still followed and as the speed of the plane had greatly diminished they were able to light on it. When about 150 feet from the earth they jammed my rudder control wires and the machine went down out of control and crashed. I escaped with a bad shaking up and a few scratches. When the machine landed the birds flew away."
Griffith served with distinction during the war, winning the Distinguished Flying Cross twice. The first time in France for attacking and bringing down seven Huns single-handed, and the second time for carrying out forty low and dangerous patrols in North Russia and bringing down the only Red balloon on that front. He also won the Russian orders of St. Vladimir and St. Anne.
Hamilton Evening Journal - Friday, September 17, 1920
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