Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1913-04-25

I oHk
fense and communication Italy is also
expending over quarter Of a million
| on establishing a chain Of hydro-aero-
plane stations round her coast. There
are to be twelve Of these stations from
80 to 1875 miles apart. In July, 1912. II
| was announced from Milan that her
dirigible M. was equipped with two
machine guns, several bomb -discharg-
| ing appliances and a wireless installa-
tion. The range Of aerial wireless tele-
graphy Is at present only from $50 to
| 430 miles. o..
In the Balkan war two aviators
were killed by rifle fire. DR.. Jules
Constantin was the second to meet his
death in this manner. He was struck
by bullet while endeavoring to drop
bombs on the Turks at Tchatalja, but
] had sufficient strength left to steer his
machine toward the Bulgarian camp
near which he was found dead. The
/ wings Of his biplane were riddled with
bullets. The Bulgarian aviators made
daily flights over the besieged Adrian
ople, and were able to report the result
| Of the fire Of their artillery and to OBJ
serve every movement In that city.
During the French army n1anoeuyers
Of 1912 forty thousand miles were COW
cred by her fleet Of aeroplanes and
there were no accidents.
For purposes OF war on sea and on
land, each form Of craft has its own
special duties, but the dirigible Is at
present the form best suited for Often
sive action. AS compared with the
heavier -than-air machine, the dirigi-
Bile has q larger radius Of action, a
greater carrying capacity and 1t can re-
main motionless In the air by Its en-
gines being stopped-a risky proceed
ing in the case Of the aeroplane. The
heavier than air machine has the ad-
vantage over its larger and more ex-
pensive rival in speed, hardness. COM
parative invulnerability, the height to
which it can rise and in its power Of
flying under bad weather conditions.
At Tunis last December M. Garros, In
his Gnome-Ble monoplane, few to
a height Of $4,000 feet. At Issy In
June, 1912, the Astra dirigible Eclair-
eur Conte rose to 10000 feet, q record
for lighter than air vessels. The dirt-
gibIe has never reached a speed great
er than go miles per hour; M. Vedrines
has accomplished speed of 118 miles
per hour on an aeroplane fitted with
the integral propeller"
The aeroplane, by overtaking the
dirigible, flying above It, and dropping
hand grenades, explosive rockets, or
bombs upon its envelope, can in this
way bring about its destruction. But
so far as ships and fortresses are con-
cerned, the dirigible, on account OF Its
greater carrying capacity, and owing
to the fact that 1t can remain steady
in the air, is able to direct on the OBJ
ject Of its attack far more formida-
BILE and better-aimed fire than can the
heavier than-air vessel. The larger df-
rigibles can carry a supply Of ammu-
milton weighing from 1000 to 1000
pounds.
The dirigible, as the larger and the
slower moving of the two machines,
affords the gunner an easier target.
Its envelopes, too, are filled with an in
flammable gas; but, doubtless, In q
few years such a gas will not be used.
Experiments recently conducted on
the Continent show us that on a mod
erately calm day there is no reason
why q large and steadily moving air.
ship, with good sights, should not be
able to drop so per cent Of its projec-
tiles into q circle of 1000 feet.
The effect Of explosives dropped
from an airship Is generally greatly
exaggerated. A dirigible which dis
charges its cargo of, say, 20 shells, each
Weighing so, to zen 100 pounds would
do little damage In the most crowded
cities. Bomb dropping at night will be
q frequent occurrence In war time.
Every war of the future, whether 1t
be waged on land or on sea, will be
preluded by series Of fierce air-bat-
ties In view Of this fact, witness the
great strength Of foreign air battal-
lions.
According to Aeronautics, Germany
will in a few months possess q dirigi-
bles Of high power, carrying capacity,
and speed. OF these at least Is are
military or naval craft. The dirigible
Zeppelin L. /, recently delivered to
the German navy, has volume OF
10000 cubic feet, q speed Of 81 miles
per hour, and a useful load Of $4,000
pounds. Its length is 525 feet, and d.
ameter Of 49 feet 1t is equipped with
wireless apparatus, and carries one
gun at least. The crew OF this vessel
consists of two naval officers, one en-
gineer officer, one pilot and ten men.
The Schutte-Lanz s. L. dirigible Is fit
ted with an armored platform on each
side, on which gun can be mounted.
Germany also possesses a fleet Of ESQ
aeroplanes, 120 Of which are Of the
latest design and make.
BY next June, France will have 26
dirigibles, Of which number 20 are for
naval or military purposes. Her larg-
est Is the Speiss, whose volume Is 406,-
900 cubic feet, length 341 feet, diame-
ter 4S feet, and speed 80 miles per
hour. In 1912 France purchased 400
aeroplanes Of war, and it Is authorita-
lively stated that this number will be
greatly exceeded in 1913. The French
biplane Of war Is capable Of accom-.
modating three persons, though ordi-
narily only two will be carried-name-
ly, the aviator and the observer. The
latter is armed with a repeating rife
for use against hostile aircraft.
Russia's new dirigible, the Alba
tross, which is driven by two 100
horsepower motors, carries a wireless
installation and one machine gun. A
Henri Farman biplane which lately
passed its tests for the Russian army
is fitted with a mitrailleuse. This aero
plane Is almost the only one in exis-
tence in which there Is a clear field OF
| fire. 1t Is difficult, however, to see how
even moderate accuracy Of aim can be
obtained with such a weapon, owing
| to the great vibration the engine causes
throughout the whole framework.
All the powers, great and small, are
purchasing aircraft, and we are en-
deavoring to retrieve our past policy
That policy seems to have been this:
Can we, a maratime power, afford to
develop or aid the advancement Of a
project likely to affect very material
| ly our predominance at sea? What
ever the answer may be, 1t was OBJ
viously our duty to retaliate directly
other countries commenced to build
aircraft and to study the art Of aerial
locomotion. Command Of the sea Is i'm
possible unless we also rule the air
We live in the hope that some great
British firm will soon build g. huge
giant Of the air, armored and heavily
armed-the Dreadnought of the Skies
l-Chambers's Journal.
Sef. .Condennati Sometimes Ii