Diary April 19, 1915

Anthony Fokker
Anthony Fokker, the brilliant Dutchman, who contributed so much to German aviation.
Diary for Monday, April 19, 1915:

Air War

Western Front: Morane ‘L’ fighter (Lt Roland Garros) , damaged by German rifleman Schlenst­edt in Courtrai rail station, makes forced landing behind German lines, near Ingelmunster. Attempts to burn plane fail to prevent SECRET MG BULLET DEFLECTOR DEVICE FALLING INTO GERMAN HANDS. Garros tells captors he has shot down 5 aircraft since April 1.
Germany: The captured armored airscrew from Garros fighter plane is sent post-haste to Döberitz, Berlin. Feldflugchef Thomsen orders it to be copied, but a first attempt (by Brunnhuber) fails. Anthony Fokker is sent for. Within 6 days, at his Schwerin works, Fokker’s engineers, Luebbe, Heber and Leimberger, devise a MECHANICAL INTERRUPTER GEAR to fire the MG only when propeller blades are clear of its line of sight. This Fokker device (for which Anthony Fokker claims sole credit) differs entirely from the captured device and is actually based on a system patented by German engineer Franz Schneider (from June 15, 1913).
At Döberitz, a Fokker M 5K (EI/15) monoplane is fitted with the Parabellum gun, Fokker interrupter gear and adjustable head-rest and successfully demonstrated. Fokker EI single-seat fighters, armed with 7.92 mm LMG 08 MGs are ordered from Fokker.
Occupied Belgium: Lt L G Hawker in a BE2, bombs Zeppelin sheds at Gontrode.
Dardanelles: Squadron Commander Mackworth of No 1 Kite-Balloon Section, RNAS, directs battleship shelling with remarkable success; Turk camp destroyed; battleship Turgud Reis forced to retire (April 25); ammo dump explodes (April 26); troopship and supply ferry Scutari sunk (April 27).

Western Front

Sir J French rebuffs German accusations that British have used poison gas.
Flanders­: Fighting at Hill 60 (until April 29).

Southern Fronts

Serbia: Austrians monitor shells Sep near Iron Gates (Rumanian frontier).

Sea War

Japan: Imperial Navy completes 2 battlecruis­ers, now has 4.

Home Fronts

Turkey: Djevdet Bey orders Armenian extermination in Van Province, 55,000 murdered from next day on.
Britain: Record day at London central recruiting office.

Oval@3x 2

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