The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1911-08-27
SAYS A|RSH|PS ARE
OVERRATED FOR WAR
French Naval Officer Declares
They Can Only Be Valuable
as Alxiliaries.
"AEROPLAGE" IS SUCCESS
Bleriot and His Family Skim Over
Hard Sands at Great
Rate.
"AERoPLAGE" IS SUCCESS
BY PAUL VILLIERS,
pecial Cable TO The Tribune

Special Cable to The Tribune
PARIS. Aug. 2s.-Lieutenant Tonnean.
naval officer, who is famous as an avIa-
tor. thinks airships are greatly ovcrrated
as implements OF warfare. The men who
talk most on the subject. he says. know
very little about war or airships. He
has has characterized them as cafe scien-
tIsts. In recent interview on the sub
tect he said. Much nonsense has been
talked about this question we must
ilrst get rid Of the idea Of the aeroplane
as a weapon OF oftense. From the height
at which an aeroplane must keep In or
der to he out OF range It is Impossible
e2sd 10 drop ,,9s bomb on the target aimed at,
largest size. One might perhaps. at
tempt night attacks, but then the great
difficulty for the. aeroplane. as for the
submarine, is to discover the enemy.
The only possible. use for the zero
plane is that OF scout. The monoplane OF
today can fly. into the wind much better
over the sea where eddies are rare. even
in very fresh winds. It Is objected that
y Il. cannot ,nTSt take up a passenger. but for
which a scouting vessel has to collect,
the position and number Of the enemy's
SHIPS. Is II really necessary to have an
observer as we'll as a pilot2 In my opin-
Ion II Is quite unnecessary.
The yaeroplene Will naturally have TO
be carried on board ship specially ar
ranged for IT. There is nothing conpli-
Gated about that, and a platform can
easily be flxed on tho deck OF a cruiser.
or better still on liner, sufficiently
large to allow the aIrman to start and
alight-
"As for Its employment. I conceive that
the aeroplano should be sort Of captive
balloon. or. more precisely. periscope.
case OF emergency, Of sending the air
man hundred mile sahead. II anything
goes wrong, that is the end Of the air
sides ussess 4sR WSsm i Is sna desed ss
10 explore the horizon. the aIrman will
simply have to rise az high as possible
out going more than four or five miles
from his ship. IL he perceives smoke or q
YES vessel M which II Is desirable to reeonnoiter,
back on board. will resume her course in
the indicated direction. When a suitable
distance has been traversed fresh ascent
| he transmitted by. wireless telesraphy.
| II by. chance something goes wrong IL
the airman falls into the water. one has
merely TO so and pick him up. with bis
| machine, as one picks UP n target. There
| fectly simple"
Skim Over Sands.
Visitors TO Hardelot new watering
tained by NJ. BIerlot. the famous air
man. who has a chalet there. and who
sails along the level sands aboard his
new asroplege" nv which can carry his
i
machine made up OF a framework mount
ed on three pneumatic wheels. two of
which are in front, but instead OF hav-
| ing an engine II carries q sail similar
| to the mansail Of yacht, 1t is guided
by the rear wheel by means Of similar
steering gear to that OF q motor
Nine Bleriot and her children fire.
quently voyage over the sands which
stretch for twenty miles without any
obstacles, not even a nvulet: The sands
are one-tf1ird Of mile wide and form
a wonderful natural flying ground. where
NJ Bleriot tries all his new machines
For the 'aeroplage" they are ideal
When the tide recedes they become SO
solid that the wheels OF the strange
craft make scarcely any mark upon
them. NJ. Bleriot made the machine
and children. NJ Cain. a friend. as.
s!sting him. In a high wind NJ. Blefiot
has attained sixty miles on hour with IT,
Official Red Tape.
An Incident bordering on the comic in
lconnection with the recent international
firemans meeting A detachment OF
| men from Jersey were 10 attend. and
when about to embark 1t seemed "a oc-
allowed to land here with their accouter-
lments-picKs. axes. etc, The JerSey cap
tain telegraphed TO Cherbourg and the
fete committee there put Itself IN COM
munlcation with the French minister or
the interior. who expressed the view that
ne could see no reason why the visitors
should not land. but for forms sake he
suggested that the minister OF war
should be consulted. This YVES done. and
the. reply came back promptly: You
eign affairs" Finally this was done,
with the result desired,