The Seattle Star

ZEPPELIN OFFICER DESCRIBES RAID ON LONDON

"Hellish but Beautiful,"
Description Written
of
Air Attack
on
Civilians

BERNE, Switzerland, June 1.-
Senior Lieutenant Gruner of the
German naval reserve, tells in an ar-
ticle in a German newspaper his own
graphic story of a Zeppelin raid on
London, in which he took part. He
says:

"We crossed
the channel on a
freezing cold
night
and sailed in
complete darkness toward the Eng-
lish coast. Slowly we approached it.
sharply outlined ahead of us. Once
while a cloud intervened. Then
coast lay
perpendicularly be.
neath us,

"So far all was quiet. We were
nearing our goal. The English were
waiting for us, but we refused to be
disturbed, for we did not intend to
be frustrated.

"A searchlight picked us up. Now
and then a shot flared up at us from
the coast forts. But we sailed on.
notwithstanding, and soon London,
city of my dreams, witching cause of
my sleepless nights, lay quite plain-
ly
before us.

"A brilliant wreath of searchlights
from afar indicated the prize. The
captain consulted his map and com-
pass, and commanded:

"'Cross
London from north to
south, and then veer to the east.'

We could now begin to see and
hear that our presence was detected.
Masked lights burst forth and went
out. They were the muzzle-flashes
of the anti-aircraft guns.

"Searchlights stabbed the sky, first
slowly, carefully, then wildly, from
side to side. Mostly
they located nothing but drifted
clouds. But suddenly they found us.

bright as day in the car of our hunted airship

"Shrapnel began to burst
around us. Shells from the Lon-
don defenses tore at us like birds
of prey. Fore and aft, below
and above us, they screamed and
roared. It was hellish, but beau-
tiful.

"Loud above the crashing of the
shells we heard the thunder of our
faithful bombs.
Our whirring pro-
pellers supplied
the orchestral ac-
companiment to the concert.

Series of Explosions

"We began to do things in the city
below us. On our starboard came a
mighty cave-in. To port came anoth-
er. A third bomb created a whole
series of explosions.

"Heavens!
How
we let them
have it!

"Comrade Von L-
was busy
at work with the bombs.
He had
peppered
London before, and this
night he was less excited.

"But things began to get hot for
us. The shells increased in quantity.
The captain gave the word to quit
this inhospitable neighborhood, and
with a caressing west wind at our
back, we started on our return jour-
ey, protected by the clouds.

"At the coast another and heavier
bombardment awaited us, but it was
equally futile."