Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1894-01-06

A9A1 aeronautics, which
?ENEE are unquestionably
:iNTJU%- destined to play an
.:SM important part in
the warfare Of the
Eot distant future.
England. Germany and especially France
have been giving much attention to the
subject, though their experiments have
beer yelled in secrecy as far as possible.
Within a year the French have produced a
balloon that can be steered and maneuv-
cred in the teeth Of a wind blowing twenty
miles an hour
In truth. the most important problem in
aerostation has been solved, and the di
r1glple balloon Is now an accomplished
fact. Cfgar-shaped air ships recently have
been run by propellers in France on calm
days at fourteen miles an hour and there
Is no doubt that double this speed will be
attained before long. The Germans are
said to have produced a balloon that can
be steered. and which carries great
weight, but little is known about It, The
supposition that atmospheric air is too
tenuous medium for propeller fans to act
upon Is an exploded absurdity, while 1t is
certain that rudder will operate to direct
the aerial machine II the latter can be
driven fast enough to give 1t steerage way.
Obviously, balloon that is floating help
lessly with the air-currents cannot be steer
ed any more than a vessel adrift on the
water. But give 1t even a small power of
propulsion, and 1t will obey the helm. Such,
at all events is the conclusion arrived at
by recent trials. The notion that an air
ship. sustained by gas, is not to be relied
on is another failacy. Within the last few
hall
abroad and reduced to a science. Experts
now understand how to make balloons
tight, SO that leakage is reduced to nothing
almost When one has a gas-bag Of gold
beater's skin that will stay afioat thirty
days he has something to start business
with.
Aerial Batteries for Coast Defense.
II half-a-dozen aerial batteries Of four
balloons each We're stationed at different
points along the Atlantic coast no hostile
meet could come near our seaboard cities.
The hostile vessels could be sunk within
few minutes by dropping nitro-glycerine
cartridges upon their decks. This could be
accomplished with the utmost accuracy and
precision. DR.. Myers. the aeronautical en-
gineer. speaks Of experiments made by him
IN killing ducks by dropping shot from an
elevation Of 1850 feet upon the water be-
low Each splash showed where the last
shot FELL until the fifth or sixth shot hit
the bird and killed 1t. Falling from so
great height the velocity of the leaden
pellet was as great as IL fired from a gun.
Inc air-currents at high elevation are
always moving from west to east. Accord
ingiy IT would be particularly easy for
such war balloons to ascend on the coast
and float seaward over an enemy's feet
IKE SO many birds carrying in their claws
engines OF destruction against which the
hn1
wiped out the ships, IL would be necessary
for the flying battery to return I'm the face
OF the wind. but this could be accomplished
very easily by using the properiers. AT the
same time, for the reason above mention
Ell, 1t would be comparatively difficult for
balloons sent up from the hostile vessels
to advance toward the shore, inasmuch as
they would have to encounter an unfavor-
able breeze.
Cheap and Effective.
Uncle Sam has been thinking Of putting
more than $20OOO,OO0 into coast and harbcr
defenses for the Atlantic shore line. To
keep these in order after they were con-
structed would require an expenditure of
millions of dollars annually, without con-
sidering the fact that the entire system
would have to altered over and remodeied
every few years. Such aerial batteries as
are here described would cost comparatively
little at the beginning, and could probably
be maintained for $1,000 per annum each at
| the utmost. OF course, they could not be
made thoroughly serviceable off-hand. A
long course of preliminary experiments
woul be required-in fact, just such work
as European nations have been quietly en-
gagged in for some years past. Meanwhile
IL England should take a notion to come
down upon our cities with a flock of bal
looms from Montreal. we would be Obliged
to sue for peace on any terms.
Safe From Attack.
Against balloons no armed force on land
or water can have any means of defense or
| retaliation. No fort on land or afioat can
| Withstand high explosives dropped from
aloft. The warriors who man an air ship
are absolutely safe from harm at an ele-
walton Of a little more than a mile. Owing
to the force of gravity pulling it down, no
shot that can he fired from any sort of gun
| will do damage beyond 6Oo0 feet above
| the surface of the earth. The gas bag is
practically secure from serious hurt at an
| elevation of only l.500 feet. At that height
| 1t Is easily hit. though not while passing
| overhead. because its transit across the
field Of vision is then 30 rapid. Besides.
bullets discharged straight up in the air
might do harm in falling back, inasEuch
as, according to q well-known law of
| physics. they would have the same velocity
on reaching the earth again as when dis
charged from the rifle or cannon. How
ever, as the balloon is passing away, the
| line of sight Is changed SO slowly that
| sharpshooters could easily pepper it with
accuracy.
Even so the balloon would not suffer i'm
| portantly. Though pierced by a score or
even 100 bullet holes, its buoyancy would
not be seriously affected. A rifle bullet
puncturing a great gas bag containing
| 10000 or 10000 cubic feet OF hydrogen
makes only a little hole, which is partly
| closed again by the broken edges of the
| fabric. Some gas escapes, but not enough
to be of any consequence. But there is
| no reason for passing over a hostile army
| or fleet at so low elevation, inasmuch
| as bombs can be dropped just as well and
| as accurately from a point high enough
| to be out of reach. Besides the instant
| that bomb is thrown the balloon rises
| rapidly. being relieved of that much weight.
| "A nIsnt, or in fog, II would be entirely
| safe from observation. Or it is easy enough
| for the airship to come down into the lower
part of a cloud, whence the crew can see
| the enemy below, while invisible to them.
| Thus the latter are entirely helpless.
| Guns Not Needed.
These are the most important conclusions
obtained from experiments recently made
| by foreign powers for the purpose of find
| ing out what elements of danger are in
| volved in balloon warfare A missile dis
| charged from a firearm in an airship ex-
| hibits the remarkable phenomenon of a