CO129-490 - Public Offices - 1925 — Page 621

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bomb racks adjustable for different calibres, and are fitted with Lewis guns, and with machine gun mountings, Major

Lu Yung Hunter has seen 15 pound French bombs in the racks. Hsiang has large stocks of bombs of different sizes up to 65 pounds. All except the 15 pounders are of local manu- facture and larger than 65 pounds can be manufactured locally

if wanted.

A few Russian pilots were brought down from Mukden but did not work, and were sent back to Mukden,

and at present the only pilots at Lunghue are Lieutenant Chu and three Cantonese pilots, trained at Saigon on French

machines.

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8. On the Kiangsu side, there is one Vickers Vimy in good order and one suffering from engine trouble. There were at the opening of hostilities six open fuselage Vickers machines of which four have crashed, so only two

like the are left. Major Hunter states that the Chinese Japanese whom he has also seen flying, seem to have no flying sense, If a machine develops any trouble in the air the pilot loses his head, and machines are wrecked tire and again under circumstances where a British pilot would have

The Chinese aviators are exceed- brought them safely down. ingly timid in the air and the least firing directed towards the plane will scare it off immediately.

9. As to the rumours that Russians were being employed in the fighting forces, Major Hunter states that

There are certainly none on they are absolutely unfounded.

the Chekiang side and he has neither seen nor heard of any

on the other side.

There are, however, a fair number

employed in driving cars behind the front.

10.

Generally speaking Major Hunter's conclusions

are/