The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1907-11-10
EUROPE'S AERIAL WARSHIPS
TUE NtTIONS ar LEAST HIUE
DTRIGIBLE BALLOONS.
Ia FatFIc. Frances Pride. Hesds the list
Germany. England. Austria ami ltRlS
Wave ~SGDadrOns 0G the AIr-lSrobIenNs
"r Future Internal lOnaI CONFLICT Is.

"f Future Internal lOnRI Gentle Is.
A. least FIVE Of the great Powers Of Europe
now possess more or less efficient dirigible
war balloons, and these m~achines may play
an important part in the next great conflict.
France has La Patrie. the first and perhaps
he most practical If all. Germany has
he Parseval, not called after the hero Of the
Waguerian opera, but after an army Major:
he unnamed Gross balloOpsnd the Zeppelin
airship. England has the Multi Secundus.
and both Austria and Italy have war dirigi-
lies which really sail the air. though very
httls h known about them.
France was the first country 10 develop an
aerial engine ~ wer which was n distinct
advance over the old time balloon, such "a
did good service vs. far back as the siege Of
Paris in 1901 and was used for observation
n the Russo-Japanese war. On July ~ Of
This year. NJ the review Of the garrison Of
Paris At LOngchamps. la PatTie made her
FIRST appearance.
The note Of a siren in the air drew the eyes
~ the great crowd aloft and there was a
Nure enough dirigibIe, looking like a great
whale. sailing over their heads. now with.
now against and again athwart the wind,
ascending and descending and changing
her course Of the will Of her crew.
The later doings ~ La Patrie how she
sailed around the Eifel Tower on July ~.
with Premier Clemenceau as a passenger.
called on President FsIihres at the EIysee
Palace on August y. and made various other
flights under test c~onditions-are we'll
known. The French consider her one Of
he moet important features Of the national
defence. Their confidence in the present
1irship is sufficient at any rate TO cause
NhNRp, ~ aV,,eYRV.rfata afno nnO r.. tk. 800.
strIctiOn Of three more.
lhe main body of La Patrie resembles a
huge bologna sausage. except that At one
end it is pointed like a cigar. II il nearly
2NO feet long and about rs feet in diameter.
II has two screw propellers. each Of about
a feet diameter. which give IL an average
speed 81 about "a miles an hour.
The car is suspended from the body OF the
balloon and besides fuel for a ten hour
fight it will carry a weight Of more than
$500 pounds. All the framework K ia made OF
steel tubing and the under side has a sheath
ing Of light. tough armor plate calculated
to resist rifle bullets.
Equally like a sausage but shorter and
thicker is the latest German balloon. which
seems 10 have put both the Parseval and the
Zeppelin inventions in the shade. at least
for the present. 1t a its first appear
anoe on July %. sailing TO Berlin from the
artillery school at Jungfernheide and back
again. remaining in the air three hours and
twenty-five minutes
IL il the invention Of Major Gross Of the
TegeI a~sronautic battalion Of the German
army and IL 10 understood that a whole
hotilla is to be constructed on the same gen.
oral pattern. The Germans continue 10
hack Count Zeppelin also in his expert
ments with airships.
He has actually constructed an airship
NJ aluminium 500 fest long. which rose TO a
height Of $500 feet and made a journey OF
thirty miles. flying over Lake Constance in
1900. The enormous weight and size Of
this machine render it hopeless as an adj
junct TO IN army in the field and the Count
is now busy trying TO build a more easily
portable military airship.
The Austrian ~dirigibles were first heard
~ on August 1 last. Three OF then made
Fight that day over the Notifications OF
Cracoria. They remained in the air a con-
siderable time and the other Governments
believe that they are serviceable.
The secret OF their construction has been
carefully guarded. an has hat OF the Italian
var balloon. Little or nothing is known
~ the latter except that in the autumn
field nnanpuvres Of the Italian army this
year IL was in constant operation and stan
officers, 40 far a. they would talk about il at
all. expressed satisfaction.
England is the latest Power to give a
demonstration OF military a~eronautics.
The voyage Of the Multi Secundas TO London
and It's failure to get back in the teeth OF a
stiff gale were recently told by cable.
So certain are the war experts that the
balloon is TO be a prominent factor in the
strategy Of the future that they are all
forming large ~aerOnautic establishments.
France has no actual school for balloonists,
but there are several balloon clubs, whose
employees acquire a certain amount OF
skill in aerial navigation.
These when they perform their military
duty are drafted into the Battalion d'Ae-
rosters. which has its headquarters at
NIoissons. and they spend their entire
term OF service learning To navigate and
fight and do scout duty in the air. The
post in under a commandant and IL occu-
bios the old geological garden OF st. CyT.
There is another station at Chalais-MendOn.
also near Paris. where there is a large
balloon factory.
Germany has a private school for aero
nau;s A. Chemnit1. h military school
and experiment station is at Jungfern-
hcide. The head OF the service is Major
Gross Of the Aerostiers Of Tegel.
England has experimental stations both
= the camp OF Aldershot and at Farms
borough in Hampshire. hen the Null
So midas started on It's memorable flight.
Probably every country in Europe has a
busy corps OF experimenters at work.
Activity even in little Belgium was shown
recently by the report Of experiments
in firing at balloons with artillery. This
illustrates the new problems hat the d-
rgible balloon is bound to introduce into
the art u war.
The question is Of dual bearing; What
will The balloons accomplish, and what can
he done against themI
In the primary stage. OF course. their
utility for scouting is most obvious. With
rho present range Of fire the prime requisite
0f every commander in the field Is some
means superior to cavalry scouts OF locating
the enemy and gaining some idea OF the
strength Of his defences.
The diTigible balloon keeping the air for
ten hours and travelling at the rate Of "a
miles an hour plainly solves this problem.
Nany hundreds of feet in the air. the en-