y-four British and French were lost in March. In this
compilation the German statement differentiated between "destroyed"
and "brought down," claiming to have listed only those which were
actually shot down under conditions which precluded the safety of
pilot and observer, or which were captured in the German lines.

April 7, 1916, saw a heavy bombardment of Saloniki by Bulgarian and
Austrian aeroplanes; the camp of the Australian section and that of
the French contingent were severely damaged, and fire broke out in
them.

A week later, three naval British aeroplanes dropped bombs on
Constantinople and also farther north on Adrianople, in an attempt to
destroy the large powder factories and hangars there. The damage
reported was very slight, and of no military value. The machines made
a trip of 300 miles length, in order to carry out this attack, an
achievement worthy of special notice.

A strong French squadron shelled the stations at Nantillons and
Brieulles on April 10 and 11, 1916, doing considerable material damage
to buildings.

On April 12, 1916, the Czar of Russia had a narrow escape from death
when an Austrian aeroplane, of the Rumpler-Taube type, appeared over
the parade grounds at Czernowitz, throwing several bombs on the
officers present. The aviator did not know of the presence of the
czar, and the incident did not become public for several days after.

On April 15, 1916, a large French battle plane, fitted with a
37-millimeter gun, attacked a German steamer in the North Sea, but the
ship escaped without damage, as all the shells went wide of the mark.

The French resume of the operations on the west front during March
challenges the statement of the German authorities concerning the
number of machines lost. "During the month of March," says the
official communique, "our military aircraft displayed great activity
along the entire front, notably in the region of Verdun. In the course
of the many aerial engagements thirty-one German machines were
'brought down' by our pilots, nine of which descended or crashed to
the ground within our lines, while twenty-two were brought down in
the German lines. There is no doubt concerning the fate of those
twenty-two machines which our pilots attacked over the enemy's lines.
Twelve of these aeroplanes were seen coming down in flames, and ten
descended in headlong spirals under the fire of our airmen. Moreover,
four German machines were brought down by our special gu