New Ulm review. (New Ulm, Brown County, Minn.) 1892-1961, 1907-11-20
WARFARE IN THE SKY,
Captain LoyeIace Describes the
Value of Airships.
CAN DROP LIGHTED BOMBS


to Practice Destroying Abandoned
Forts-Has Taken Pictures Of Forth
fcations While Traversing the Air.
There will not be standing army
In any nation Of the world in ten
years, and from two to five years ev-
cry big nation will have war airships
and airship destroyers just as they
now have torpedo boats and torpedo
boat destroyers''
This prediction was made the other
night to New York Times reporter
by Captain Thomas 7. Loyelace. aero
naut, who recently took photographs
Of the Notifications within the walls
of Fort Wadsworth from the German
balloon POmmern, which won the re-
cent international race.
Captain Lovelace has shown the pho
tographs to army and navy officers
In fact, Lieutenant Robert Henderson
of the battleship Missouri was in the
basket of the airship when the pictures
were made. A birdseye view of an i'm
portant coast defense in the hands Of
a person not commissioned in the army
or navy made the Washington authori-
ties s'sit up and take notice" and also
realize the value Of an air fleet in time
Of war. Captain Lovelace destroyed
the plate from which the pictures were
made and gave the pictures to the
government. He has obtained author
ity to proceed with his experiments in
the air, he says, a strong intimation
that he would receive commission in
the United States army balloon corps.
The aeronaut is now making reports
Of his experiments to Major George O..
Squires, chief signal officer of the de-
partment of the east. He is preparing
to utilize abandoned forts and old
sites Of forts to show just what he can
do with destructive material dropped
from the air. He has the full approval
Of the government and of the war de-
partment, and from now until appro-
priations are asked Of congress for a
feet Of airships for war use he will
work in the air with the United States
defenses as an objective.
France and England already realize
what part the airship is going to play
in future wars" said Captain Lovelace.
with war between this country and
any other nation within two years this
would be the procedure in the event Of
an attack on the coast defenses of this
country:
''The enemy's ships would send up
fleet Of airships from their decks. At
1000 feet in the air we can get visual
range Of sixty-five miles with the max
ed eye. Their appearance in the sky
would mean the rising Of the air feet
of the United States. Our airships,
arising from land, would be larger and
with greater carrying capacity than
those the enemy would send up.
"From the shore our airships would
make their way to the airships of the
enemy. Having greater gas capacity,
the airships from the land could get
above the ships of the war vessels out
at sea. have already perfected an
arrangement by which lighted bombs
can be dropped from the baskets of
airships without danger to those drop
ping them. Destroying the airships of
the enemy, the pursuit of the sea YES
sells Of war would begin
cit has been admitted by experts at
washington that in the event of air.
ships of war being sent across our
Notifications the Notifications could
be readily destroyed There are al
ready several secret formulas in the
possession of the government which
would suffocate every man within 500
feet Of the spot where acid bombs
were dropped
can airship of the type of La Patrie,
the great French war balloon, could
drop fifty tons of dynamite day in a
battle and from height that would
make it safe against anything except
an airship destroyer. This class of
airship can now carry from eight to
ten tons of dynamite on trip, and I
have report from a military attache,
which, of course. is secret. to the effect
that practice has already perfected the
airship handlers SO that these bombs
may be dropped without disturbing the
ballast of the ship or sending it aloft to
meet adverse air currents. have my.
self tried target practice from airships.
and better hits can be made from a
balloon basket than can be made from