The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1912-09-27
AERQRH1E cScOUzH7VGI

~vNN~T
maintain and the heights to which they ascend
give them a tremendous advantage.
1.-THE army a~eroplane which the United States
expects to depend upon In case OF hostile Dem
onstratlons will carry $500 rounds of ammuni'
ton, which 1t may discharge at the rnte OF 300
a minute. 1t can travel l04 miles an hour
carry enough fuel to so AGO miles, stay up IA
hours and climb to an altitude of 12,S2S Feet
That is what has been done, and what aero
planes have done they can do again,
Then the army, like the navy, expects to
make good use OF the hydro-aeroplane, which
may alight upon, skim through and fly from the
water as readily az 1t does from land, ana rom
plowed land MS well as from level ground. US
use would be mostly for observation OF the en-
envy at long distances, r.
What models are wo now usIng?"
Well, We have only Wright, Curtiss and Bur
CESS Wright machines at present, but when the
money is forthcoming It Is likely that we VIII
purchase some Of the best OF the foreign ma
chimes. Should the necessity arise the United
States would certainly acquire the best products
OF modern invention to the complement OF her
own supply.
"Our present trouble is we already have more
machines than we have officers competent 10
handle them. We must have moro men who
are qualified to MI the requirements exacted for
this work.
Successful aviation Is a scientific problem
which, like every other wonderful achievement
is only a success after each detail Is perfectly
worked out. The first great ESSENTIAL in the
practical use Of aviation in military tactics lies
in the necessity for safety In flying.
"Wbat would be the use of the government
amending money to train officers and soldiers
TO the fine point necessary for successful airmen
only to have them meet mlBhap and death, to
say nothing OF the losses through the destruc-
ton of valuable machines representing the out.
Law of thousands Of dollars. Flying may be, will
be, as safe as any other mode OF travel.
This Is one Of the problems which our gov
eminent experts are working upon now, They
have already settled upon automatic arrange
ments which should materially lessen the num-
her of mishaps and fatalities. It Is the unex.
pected which happens, taking n man off his
guard for an instant, which experience and study
will avert"
General Allen believes that the requirements
for an army aviator include physical perfection.
Only commissioned officers of the army and mi
litia need apply and before they can be admit
ted to any Of the aviation schools they must
pass n rigorous physical examination.
To forecast what the war Of the future may
mean 1t is only necessary to look over the field
of modern invention In the production Of death
dealing weapons.
Battles will be fought In the clouds with ma.
chine rifles which throw out streams of bullets.
aerial t~orpedoes which may be released by
levers strapped to the feet Of the aviator. bombs
Of powerful explosive which can tear men and
horses to bits and the German aero guns which
send down brittle bombs containing $50 pounds
OF chemicals that upon exploding fiji the atmos-
phere with poisonous gases calculated to kill
every living thing within 800 yards.
To overcome the Disadvantages Of the dark.
ness there is an electrically controlled search
light which may be suspended hundreds Of feet
below the alrship and thus Illuminate for a brief
time the area of attack. Thus the flying artiE
leryman may see just whore he wants his fire
to strike, while he remains safe in his iron or
steel sbeathed ship high above the danger Of
being seen or hit. Then there Is A bomb which
leaves a trail of smoke by day and a line Of
fire at night to mark its course.
For disabling aerOg from the ground there is
the American automobile gun, said to be able
to discharge 100000 bullets an hour, requiring
but two men to handle It and performing the
work Of thirty regiments, besides many others
for vertical firing, The Japanese have a poi.
sonous gas filled bomb which will explode and
fill the air with fumes guaranteed to overcome
any airmen within 100 yards Of its explosion.
According to some strategists the next war
will be thrashed out largely by airships and most
probably In semidarkness, In the late twilight
Of evenings and In the gray dawn the airships
VIII come forth from their sheds and hangers to
pursue their stealthy flights Of observation and
destruction.
with the ~twinkling lights OF the c~anphres
Of the enemy, the solitary signals Of approach.
ing ships or the vague black shapes Of the scat.
tered houses in some sleeping village all open
to their observation they can swiftly and silently
steal along overhead and fire their missiles OF
distraction upon the unsuspecting enemy and
soar away out Of reach before there is any pos
sibility Of their being seen or damaged
with the accuracy which constant target
practice gives even a small feet of these instru.
ments Of war can accomplish great destruction
with their dropping shells and bombs. when
these winged foes meet in contest It will be to
the feet that is the swiftest and more daring
that the victory will belong.