An extract from Chapter 16 of 'Harry Lampeter and the War with Scotland'
Next day Harry rode as close as he could to the fighting. He parked south of the city and watched an airship with Scottish markings as it motored towards one of the English camps at Knavesmire Park. Explosions blossomed below it as it dropped its bombs. Probably hoping to hit one of the ammo dumps, he thought. An RAF biplane appeared from above and peppered the airship along its full length with tracer fire from its machine guns. The plane came around for another pass. There were crew stationed on the airship’s superstructure, firing rifles, but they had little effect. Harry saw fires starting in the gondola and smoke billowed from one engine. Another fighter arrived and the two pilots had a field day as they took turns to strafe the leviathan from different angles. The airship began to lose altitude as bullets ruptured its flotation bladders and the helium leaked away. Two of the engines were ablaze now, and it looked as if the attackers had hit the fuel tanks in the main envelope because a waterfall of flames splashed down over the rear of the gondola from above. The zeppelin lost stability, tipped to one side and began to lose height. Slowly, but inexorably, it crashed into a field, breaking into several pieces and leaving a chaos of flaming debris in its wake as it gradually came to a halt. Figures were leaping from the gondola, some in flames. Harry decided to take a closer look. He gunned the Norton’s engine, and roared along the highway then more slowly across country.
An extract from 'Harry Lampeter and the War with Scotland'
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