CHAPTER XXIV
NOVEL ATTACK OF AMERICAN AIRSHIP UPON GERMAN SUPER-DREADNOUGHT
I come now to the period of my great adventures beginning on New Year'sDay, 1922, when I sailed from Buffalo aboard the airship _America_ on herexpedition against the German fleet. For the first time in my modestcareer I found myself a figure of nation-wide interest, not through anyparticular merit or bravery of my own, but by reason of a series offortunate accidents. I may say that I became a hero in spite of myself.
In recognition of the service I had rendered in helping to save the greatairship from German spies, I had been granted permission, at GeneralWood's recommendation, to sail as a passenger aboard this dreadnought ofthe skies and to personally witness her novel attack with torpedoeslowered from the airship and steered from the height of a mile or two byradio control. Never before had a newspaper correspondent received such aprivilege and I was greatly elated, not realising what extraordinaryperils I was to face in this discharge of my duty.
I was furthermore privileged to be present at a meeting of the Committeeof Twenty-one held on the morning of January 1st, 1922, at the HotelLenox in Buffalo. Various details of our airship expedition werediscussed and there was revealed to me an important change in the_America's_ strategy which I will come to presently.
Surveying the general military situation, John Wanamaker read reportsshowing extraordinary progress in military preparedness all over thecountry, especially in states like Ohio and Pennsylvania, where thewomen, recently victorious in their suffrage fight, were able to maketheir patriotic zeal felt in aggressive legislation. Strange to say,American wives and mothers were the leaders in urging compulsory physicaland military training, a year of it, on the Swiss plan, for all Americanyoung men of twenty and a month of it every five years afterwards for allmen up to fifty.
The Committee were in the midst of a discussion of Charles M. Schwab'splan providing that American soldiers carry armour, a helmet, breastplateand abdominal covering of light but highly tempered steel, when therecame a dramatic interruption. A guard at the door of the Council Roomentered to say that Mr. Henry A. Wise Wood, President of the Aero Club ofAmerica, was outside with an urgent communication for the Committee. Mr.Wise Wood was at once received and informed us that he had journeyed fromPittsburg bearing news that might have an important bearing upon theairship expedition.
"As you know, gentlemen," he said, "we have a wireless station in thetower of our new Aero Club building in Pittsburg. Yesterday afternoon atthree o'clock the operator received a message addressed to me. It wasvery faint, almost a whisper through the air, but he filially got it downand he is positive it is correct. This message, gentlemen, is from ThomasA. Edison."
"Edison!" exclaimed Andrew Carnegie, "but he is a prisoner of theGermans."
"Undoubtedly," agreed Mr. Wise Wood, "but it has occurred to me that theGermans may have allowed Mr. Edison to fit up a laboratory for hisexperiments. They would treat such a man with every consideration."
"They would not allow him to communicate with his friends," objectedCornelius Vanderbilt.
"He may not have asked permission," laughed George W. Perkins. "He mayhave rigged up some secret contrivance for sending wireless messages."
"Why don't you read what he says?" put in J.P. Morgan.
Mr. Wise Wood drew a folded yellow paper from his pocket and continued:"This message is unquestionably from Mr. Edison, in spite of the factthat it is signed _Thaled_. You will agree with me, gentlemen, thatThaled is a code word formed by putting together the first two letters ofthe three names, Thomas Alva Edison."
"Very clever!" nodded Asa G. Candler.
"I don't see that," frowned John D. Rockefeller. "If Mr. Edison wished tosend Mr. Wise Wood a message why should he use a misleading signature?"
"It's perfectly clear," explained James J. Hill. "Mr. Edison hasdisguised his signature sufficiently to throw off the track any Germanwireless operator who might catch the message, while leaving itunderstandable to us."
"Read the message," repeated J.P. Morgan. Whereupon Mr. Wise Wood openedthe yellow sheet and read:
"Strongly disapprove attack against German fleet by airship _America_.Satisfied method radio control not sufficiently perfected and effortdoomed to failure. Have worked out sure and simple way to destroy fleet.Details shortly or deliver personally. THALED".
This message provoked fresh discussion and there were some, includingElihu Root, who thought that Mr. Edison had never sent this message. Itwas a shrewd trick of the Germans to prevent the _America_ from sailing.If Mr. Edison could tell us so much why did he not tell us more? Why didhe not say where he was a prisoner? And explain on what he rested hishopes of communicating with us in person.
"Gentlemen," concluded Mr. Root, "we know that Germany is actuallyembarking a new army of half a million men to continue her invasion ofAmerica. Already she holds our Atlantic seaboard, our proudest cities,and within a fortnight she will strike again. I say we must strike first.We have a chance in Boston Harbour and we must take it. This single coupmay decide the war by showing the invader that at last we are ready.Gentlemen, I move that the airship _America_ sail to-night for BostonHarbour, as arranged."
I longed to step forward to tell what I knew about Edison, how he was aprisoner in Richmond, Virginia, and how an effort was actually on foot torescue him, but I had promised Miss Ryerson not to betray her brother'sshame and was forced to hold my tongue. Besides, I could not be surewhether this wireless message did or did not come from Edison.
The Committee finally decided that the _America_ should sail thatevening, but should change her point of attack so as to take the enemyunprepared, if possible; in other words, we were to strike not at theGerman warships in Boston Harbour, but at the great super-dreadnought_Bismarck_, flagship of the hostile fleet, which was lying in the upperbay off New York City.
I pass over the incidents of our flight to Manhattan and come to thehistoric aerial struggle over New York harbour in which I nearly lost mylife. The _America_ was convoyed by a fleet of a hundred swift andpowerful battle aeroplanes and we felt sure that these would be more thanable to cope with any aeroplane force that the Germans could send againstus. And to avoid danger from anti-aircraft guns we made a wide detour tothe south, crossing New Jersey on about the line of Asbury Park and thensailing to the north above the open sea, so that we approached New Yorkharbour from the Atlantic side. At this time (it was a little aftermidnight) we were sailing at a height of two miles with our aeroplanesten miles behind us so that their roaring propellers might not betray usand, for a time, as we drifted silently off Rockaway Beach it seemed thatwe would be successful in our purpose to strike without warning.
There, just outside the Narrows, lay the _Bismarck_, blazing with thelights of some New Year's festivity and resounding with music. I remembera shrinking of unprofessional regret at the thought of suddenlydestroying so fair and happy a thing.
I was presently drawn from these meditations by quick movements of theairship crew and a shrill voice of command.
"Ready to lower! Let her go!" shouted Captain Nicola Tesla, who hadvolunteered for this service.
"Bzzz!" sang the deck winches as they swiftly unrolled twin lengths ofpiano wire that supported a pendant torpedo with its radio appliances andits red, white and green control lights shining far below us in the void.
"Easy! Throw on your winch brakes," ordered Tesla, studying his dials fordepth.
A strong southeast wind set the wires twisting dangerously, but, byskillful manoeuvring, we launched the first torpedo safely from theheight of half a mile and, with a thrill of joy, I followed her lights(masked from the enemy) as they moved swiftly over the bay straighttowards the flagship. The torpedo was running under perfect wirelesscontrol. Tesla smiled at his keyboard.
Alas! Our joy was soon changed to disappointment. Our first torpedomissed the Bismarck by a few yards, went astern of her because at thelast moment she got her engines going and moved ahead. Somehow theGe
rmans had received warning of their danger.
Our second torpedo wandered vainly over the ocean because we could notfollow her guide lights, the enemy blinding us with the concentratedglare of about twenty of their million-candle power searchlights.
And our third torpedo was cut off from radio control because we suddenlyfound ourselves surrounded y the two fleets of battling aeroplanes,caught between two fires, ours and the enemy's, and were obliged to runfor our lives with an electric generator shattered by shrapnel. I was sobusy caring for two of our crew who were wounded that I had no time toobserve this thrilling battle in the air.
It was over quickly, I remember, and our American aeroplanes, vastlysuperior to the opposing fleet, had gained a decisive victory, so that wewere just beginning to breathe freely when an extraordinary thinghappened, a rare act of heroism, though I say it for the Germans.
There came a signal, the dropping of a fire bomb with many colours, andinstantly the remnant of the enemy's air strength, four biplanes and alittle yellow-striped monoplane, started at us, in a last desperateeffort, with all the speed of their engines. Our aerial fleet saw themanouver and swept towards the biplanes, intercepting them, one by one,and tearing them to pieces with sweeping volleys of our machine guns, butthe little monoplane, swifter than the rest, dodged and circled andfinally found an opening towards the airship and came through it at twomiles a minute, straight for us and for death, throwing fire bombs andyelling for the Kaiser.
"Save yourselves!" shouted Tesla as the enemy craft ripped into our greatyellow gas bag.
Bombs were exploding all about us and in an instant the _America_ was inflames. We knew that our effort had failed.
As the stricken airship, burning fiercely, sank rapidly through thenight, I realised that I must fight for my life in the ice cold waters ofthe bay. I hate cold water and, being but an indifferent swimmer, Ihesitated whether to throw off my coat and shoes, and, having finallydecided, I had only time to rid myself of one shoe and my coat when I sawthe surging swells directly beneath me and leapt overside just in time toescape the crash of blazing wreckage.
Dazed by the blow of a heavy spar and the shock of immersion, I remembernothing more until I found myself on dry land, hours later, with kindfriends ministering to me. It seems that a party of motor boat rescuersfrom Brooklyn worked over me for hours before I returned to consciousnessand I lay for days afterward in a state of languid-weakness, indifferentto everything.
Conquest of America: A Romance of Disaster and Victory, U.S.A., 1921 A.D. Page 27