The Washington herald., 1912-09-29
WHAT THE ARMY
BIRDMEN ARE DOING


launching purposes, constitute the be-
ginning OF a feet OF hydroareoplanes
for the United States army. This new
branch of the army aviation school is
located on the bank of NE Potomac at
the War College. Washington. D. C.
There, on September IL. a Curtiss
dual-control bipIane. which had been
converted into hydro" two days be-
fore, was carefully launched. with
Lieut.. Harold Geiger and a passenger
In the seats. Just as II was entering
the water. the machine tipped, and the
aviators Just escaped being entangied
In the wires and dragged down by a
quick jump into the Potomac.
Nothing daunted. the soldiers launched
their strange craft again. and this time
she rode finely. shooting over the water
at a speed that made motor-boats look
helpless. After rising and dipping sew
eral times like gull she left the water
with rush and climbed several hundred
feet into the air, while the little group
Of spectators gave a ringing cheer. 1t
was first step toward the development
of air-and-water craft by the United
States Government
For the hydroaeroplane is expected to
become an important factor in naval
warfare. A fleet of air craft could sweep
the decks OF. a battIeship with bombs
and rapid Ore guns from an altitude that
would make them practically safe. The
fire-control masts of warships, where
range finders. telescopes, and terminals
Of lines OF communication are located.
would be at the mercy OF armed aero
planes, unless heavily protected.
The great need is for a hydroaeroplane
t.k, d.. f.z- ..N- - a
ship. As now constructed. Il would
be necessary to first lower them into the
water. With the hope of discovering
such a craft, the War Department has
requested a number of manufacturers 20
submit designs of hydroaeroplanes. II
has also authorized the construction OF
floating hangar for launching the ma
chimes. The structure will be lis feet
long and 80 feet broad. and will be
moved about by a tugboat to points
where experiments are to be conducted.
Flying over water Is a safe and easy
sport as compared with land aviation.
Although just taken up by the govern
ment. the hydroaeroplane has been in
use by amateurs and professionals for
about eighteen months, and during that
time no fatalities have occurred.
A patent jacket which will keep a man
ahoat Indefinitely eliminates the risk of
drowning. There are two varieties
made-one filled with a kind OF moss
which expands when wet, and the other
with pneumatic air chambers. The lives
of Lieuts Arnold and Kirkland were
saved by these jackets when they were
ordered to fly from Marblehead. Mass.
to the scene OF the recent maneuvers
around New York. a distance OF $50
miles. A sudden gust of wind tipped
their aeroplane. which was carrying 2,l50
pounds, and they fell heavily into the
water. They were badly bruised, but the
jackets kept them afoat until a life
saving crew reached them.
How to provide an adequate armament
for aeroplanes so that they Will be able
to carry war into the afr is another
question which the army aviators are
called upon to consider. Two devices for
fighting in the air have been tested by
the government. but neither has been
adopted as yet. They are the Lewis
aeroplane gun and the r. Z. Scott pro-
jectile-dropping device
A rapid-fire gun, weighing but twenty
FIVE pounds and capable OF discharging
at the rate OF from 800 to 100 shots per
minute, Is the weapon invented by Lieu
tenant Colonel Lewis and tested at the
Army Aviation school. College Park.
Md, last June. At the first ATTEMPT
Captain Charles de F. Chandler sue
ceeded in striking a target six by seven
feet in size. FIVE times. while passing
over il at a speed of forty-two miles an
hour. The destructive powers Of such
weapon in actual warfare may be
easily imagined. for infantry would be
almost at the mercy OF a feet Of aero
planes. which could sweep their ranks
with a well directed volley while flying
over them at high speed.
There is no fame or smoke from the
gun-s long. ripping report. heard above
the roar OF the propeller, is all that tells
the armed aeroplane has gone into
action. The cartridges are fed from
revolving drum. The barrel is encased
in aluminium and air-cooled by long
grooves. so that the rapid firing does not
heat the weapon. The recoil is so slight
as not to interfere with the aim at all.
The Scott notwithstanding device is
a much slower weapon, requiring a pre-
flight to find the range OF the
target. by an ingenious system OF TRAN
gulation. The altitude OF the aeroplane
and its forward speed with a stop-watch
and a telescope. From this data and
the weight Of the projecule, the aviator
knows Just when to release the bomb
from the circular encasement which con-
tains il. The device weighs about 81
pounds and is relatively slow of opera
ton. but an explosive bomb may be
dropped from 1t with great accuracy.
Although the latent possibilities OF
army aviation are tremendous, II Is only
as scouts that the fiers have actually
their usefulness. During
the New York .maneuvers, aeroplane
scouts flying over the enemy's position
at an elevation beyond the reach OF his
small arm fire, gathered in less than an
hour. information which cavalry scouts
could not have discovered in half day,
Lieut.. B. d. Foulois carried aioft a
wireless apparatus strapped to the pas
senger seat of his Wright biplane and
sent signals back to headquarters while
observing the enemy. 1t is evident that
when this system of gathering and COM
information has been per-
fected scouting will have been reduced
to something like an exact science.
At an elevation of $500 feet the aviator
is practically safe from the fire Of rifles
and field artillery. The winding columns
OF the enemy, the white dots Of his
camp, and all the details Of his strength
and position are spread before. the scout
as a living map, which he has but TO
sketch or photograph. Should chance
shot reach him. 1t must strike either the
motor. the propeller, or the aviator him.
self in order to bring him down, for
half the planes might be shot away be-
fore the machine would fall.
In the English army trials have re-
Gently been made of a perfectly silent
aeroplane of the Brique type. Although
fitted with a sixty-horsepoyer engine, the
is said to be inaudible at fifty
Yards. With such a craft the air scout