Evening star., 1897-06-15
IN THE NEXT BIG WAR
Armed Balloons May Play a. Promi-
nent Part.
COULD DROP DYNAMITE FROM ABOVE
ASubiect Which Puzzles the Brains
OF inventors.

ASdpIect VVniCn fuZZieS tne 6SdlnS
OF inventors.
MANY RIOUS SCHEMES
Tho government is being worried by In
ventors ambitious to build all sorts of
queer airships for the defense of our do
main in case of war. Efforts are being
made by some Of thess to obtain money
from Congress-. 1t may be stated almost as
a sure thing that the first airship to be
| launched In this country for prac-
| tical purposes will be o vehicle OF
war. Advocates Of the army airship
project are divided In their opinions
as to whether the first vessel Of the
| future aerial feet should be built on the
principle OF the dirigible cigar-shaped bal
| loon. or after the fashion OF Langley'a
purely mechanical aerodrome. Some be-
| lieve that the practicability OF the former
| has now been definitely demonstrated by
the successful experiment lately made in
the west.
The government has been watching pro-
gress in aerial locomotion with increased
interest Of late. 1t is the purpose of the
War Department to get into the flying
business as soon as a safe machine can be
| devised. In time of peace such contriv-
anee would be employed in connection with
| the signal service. There has been talk Of
/ soaring apparatus a man-carrying kite,
ana lately the Office of military intellt-
gence obtained from abroad an elaborately
Illustrated description and plans of a new
military balloon kite. The War Depart
ment. however. Is ambitious to dy rather
| than hoat-to enable our sailors of the fu-
lure aerial navy to advance upon or re-
treat from hostile position in the sky,
rather than be hitched to a rope dangling
in reach of the enemy, or be waited about
among the clouds as the prey Of a tickle
wind.
An inventor who lately submitted to the
War Department plans for an aerial war
ship on the elongated balloon principle re-
cetved In reply a note. which the writer
has seen. expressing the purpose of the de-
partment to wait upon the progress of
Prof Lansleys experiments Tor the time
being.
An Aerial Battery.
A specialist in the employ Of the govern
ment, who has for some years devoted his
attention to these problems. and who has
made several ascents. said the other day
to the writer: III we had a well-eQulpped
aerial battery. capable of planting tor
pedo upon any warship we might be sure
no nation on the face Of the earth would
attack as. except by such battery. In
such case the advantage would all be on
the side of this country, for nearly all up
per air currents are from west to east, and
any war vessel approaching our coast from
the Atlantic side would be put to sleep
long before 1t could get its aerial outfit in
working ORDER
Speaking of the practicability of a flying
war battery on the balloon body principle,
this specialist further said: THE size Of
balloons needed for such batteries would
range from 10000 to 1900 cubic feet, lift
ing 1000 and 5000 pounds, respectively,
when fully charged. Such vessel would
not be injured by almost any number of
rifle bullets. as it is known that the bal
loon material closes down and prevents
serious loss by such openings. The aero
naut might need a bullet proof jacket, but
that is all. Such balloon could carry dy-
Mantle enough to blow the best navy out
of the water. If it should be found that
there be a little uncertainty in striking a
ship square, from 10000 feet. the dynamite
might be carried by cord 5000 feet long,
and then dropped with absolute certainty.
All the prominent nations except our
own have already begun, and in the case
of France carried to a successful issue a
means of attack from the air. One thing
Is certain, We can never hope to hold our
| own as a first-class power, either on sea
or land. without an adequate aerial bat
terry. We must fight aerial battery by ae-
rial battery. We are not alarmists, but we
hind some of the weaker powers in these
aerial experiments"
The Greater Wonder.
OF course the flying battery on the Lang
ley principle and that on the cigar-shaped
or balloon principle would represent dis
tinct and separate genera of aerial vehi-
cles. The Langley craft is Of course the
greater wonder by far-indeed the greate
est wonder of the world
Its weight over all is many times heavier
than the air which it replaces. The balloon
body contrivance Is only a wonder in re-
spect to its ability to drive itself against
the normal current of the air, which the
Langley machine can accomplish in addi-
tion to its other phenomena Theorists
claim for the purely mechanical airship
that 1t will have the greater immunity
against destruction from projectiles, since
projectlle will be able to pass through its
skeleton-like aeroplanes and wings without
disabling 1t. This immunity may to some
extent be enjoyed by the compartment bal
loon which consists of plurality of
smaller balloons fitted together like the Sec
tons of an orange. But the balloon no
matter how made, will be more liable TO
destruction from below than the mechani-
cal aerodrome, all other things being equal.
Experin ents made abroad. however. indi-
cate that Ii painted a pale sky blue it will
hardly be visible at a great height
1t is amusing to examine the number of
inventions which have been submitted re-
Gently u u.S government Dy WOut0-D6
solvers Of the military flying machine prob
lem There are now in the country hum
dreds of brains boiling at terrific rate by
heat Of the midnight oil and distiIling SEN
sational aerial torpedo boats" "aerial
gunboats." aerial warships," and the like,
each of which. IN the projectors opinion,
will be sufficient to insure our safety
against q foreign power.
Many Models Submitted.
The history of these Sensational inven-
tons is very short. In all cases. They are
submitted to an official, pigeon-holed and
only taken out as q source Of amusement
to some friend or visitor. In almost all
cases the patent office is sent a specifica-
ton of the invention, and patent Is aak-
ed. Uncle Sam makes a little In this stage
Of the game. and 50 do the patent attor-
Eeys. The patent Office examiners have
had to deal with many such cases of late
Only a small per cent Of the schemes sub
mttted are found deserving even Of q pat
ent right and the majority awarded the
coveted protection are regarded as sense
less and impracticable schemeA The al