Newark evening star and Newark advertiser., 1914-12-12
ZOO AEROPLANES
AS ADDITION To
u. S. NAVY URGED
Captain Bristol, in Report, De-
cIares They Are Needed for
National Defense.

WASHINGTON, Dec. II. - Two
hundred naval aircraft-1oO for ac-
tive service and 100 to be held in
reserve-are urgently needed by the
United States navy in its plans for
nation defense, as outlined in rec
concentrations of Captain Mark L.
| Bristol, chief of the areonautical bu-
reau of the navy department, to the
House naval committee, made public
today.
Captain Bristors recommendations
are contained in a supplemental
statement laid before the committee.
Other testimony of Captain Bristol
already has been made public.
u would require an appropriation
of 50 100000 to bring the aeronauttcaI
branch of the navy up to a proper
standard of efficiency, Captain Bris-
tol iold the committee. Its purposes
he described as follows:
THE alr navy of the United States
must consist of aeroplanes, semi
rigid or non-rigid airships-the de-
stroyer, cruiser and battleship of the
air respectively. The aeror ne will
be used for scouting to discover the
enemy's fleet, especially submarines
ana Il1llbS, anu W dlldCh tii6 uil
ibles and aeroplanes of the enemy. 1t
is the torpedo boat of the air against
the airship cruisers and battleships.
Having discovered the submarines
and mines, it directs the air cruisers
to attack these craft and to counter
mine, and at the same time protects
the cruisers from the enemy's air
craft. The air cruisers also will lay
mines. The air battleships will meet
the aircraft of the enemy in battle
probably will be used to drop aerial
torpedoes on the surface ships of the
enemy and be utilized over land for
reconnaissance and dropping bombs.
THE uses to which aircraft can be-
put in war will be better known after
the European war. 1t seems that the
air navy will be just as essential a
part of the country's fighting force
as the battleships and submarines.
The front of our fleet in action has
now become a vertical plane, with
submarines and mines beneath the
surface, battleships, cruisers and de-
stroyers on the surface and aircraft
in the air. To be successful against
the enemy the country must have
command of the air the same as com
mand of the sea-
ANY nation that has suitable air.
craft could detect submarines" he
added. THE aeroplane can see SUBJ
marines and mines very plainly,
guide the dirigible to them, which can
descend close to the water and drop
high explosives to countermine the
mines or destroy the submarines. We
can pick up the mines at the usual
depth, even follow the anchor line of
the mine down to a considerable
depth below the mine. The subma-
rine, if it comes to the surface, would
be attacked by the surface craft. The
could dive deep only for
limited time, but must come up and |
show the periscope to get its bear
ings. A bomb dropped upon it should
not be arranged to explode until be-
meath the water. If, say 200 pounds
of high explosive, it would disturb
the submarine not submerged more
than thirty or forty feet, even to the
extent of disabling 1t, or it might
destroy the periscope. The periscope
is often discovered by the wash it
makes. One could see a submarine
fifty to one hundred feet in clear
watef''