Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1914-07-31

| man airship fleet Nobody knows
what it can do for it has never been
tried. Indeed, there may be two
1okers, for aeroplanes have never had
real war trial. and France is as SUI
perior in this branch of aviation as
Germany is in dirigibles
Owing to the relatively small size
of the aerial establishments of the
great powers, it is easier to conceal
facts about them, SO accurate figures
are hard to get The following COM
pilation, however, has been made by
Henry Woodhouse, managing editor
of Flying, and represents probably
the best statistics available to any
one outside of the general staffs:
Including dirigibles owned by pri-
vate firms or individuals. but avail
able for government use in time of
war, Germany now has "a airships
available, Austria 9 and Italy 7. OF
the German fiiers about half are the
large and very fast Zeppelin or Schu-
ette-Lanz armored vessels, which
form the most powerful air fleet in
the world. France has "a airships,
Russia II and England 4, but these
are all unarnored. very much smaller
and slower than the zeppelins.
Power to Drop Explosives.
1t has been proved that several
hundred pounds of explosives can be
dropped from one of the large dirigi-
bles without endangering its equilib-
rium; guns of fairly heavy calibre
are now mounted on almost all of
them, and they have at times at
tanned great speed. Their large size
makes them easy targets, and 1t is
a question how far the minute di-
vision of the gas chambers into com
partments would neutralize the effect
of high explosive shells; but their
arrnor is proof against rifle fire. 1t is
asserted that they are unable TO make
much speed against the wind, and
thus would be easy marks for the
light guns of a scattered fleet. But
here again there is nothing certain
to go by. Enthusiastic Germans hope
that their air fleet could wreck the
British navy or the French frontier
fortresses, in spite of the numerous
vertical firing guns which are now
mounted on all warships and fortifi-
cations, but only the test could prove
this.
There is, however, one other fea-
ture of the situation that might
neutralize the Zeppelins, and that is
the French aeroplane squadrons.
Here the figures give the Triple En-
tente a great advantage. France, ac-
cording to the latest estimates, has
1,200 aeroplanes, Russia 800, and Eng
land $50, total of 2,150. Against this
the Triple Alliance can oppose only
$50, of which Germany has 600, Italy
$780, and Austria so. Servia has per-
haps twenty competent pilots and
perhaps as many planes which might
do some service, but they are all out
of commission at present.
The French aeroplane fleet, then,
might be the decisive factor rather
than the German Zeppelins. Here
again, however, no one knows what
would actually happen under war
conditions; for in spite of sporadic
bomb dropping by the Italians in
Tripoli, the Bulgarians in Thrace. the
French in Tunis, the Spaniards in
Morocco. and the Constitutionalists
in Mexico, there has been as yet no
real evidence as to the actual mill
tary effect of such operations. More
over, since in these cases the aero
planes were all on one side, there has
been as yet no fighting in the air.
Light Gune on AeropIanes.
A number of light guns have been
invented which can be fired from
aeroplanes, the gunners and pilots
being protected from rifle fire by the
armor of the machine. or these guns
the least known and perhaps the most
deadly is the recent invention of
Lieutenant Mailfert, of the French
army, which is said to be capable of
remarkable craftsmanship against
small targets on the ground from a
height of 1000 feet. The heaviest gun
for aeroplane use is that invented by
J. Scott Sims, which weighs 10
pounds and is not a machine gun, but
a shell-firing weapon. The term fir
ing" is incorrect, since it operates by
compressed air. discharging shells
weighing seven pounds, The explo-
sive, it is said. has a destructive shock
area of 1 ZOO feet, and a feet of aero
planes equipped with these guns
might very well give the Zeppelin
squadron a great deal of trouble.
Bombs intended to be dropped have
now been standardized and provided
with rotary tails, which makes pos
sihle much more accurate throwing.
A bomb now in use by the French
Aviation Corps contains a small gaso-
line tank with mechanism which ex-
plodes il on contact. and has been
found extremely valuable for the
starting of CONGREGATIONS.
Captain Thomas S. Baldwin, the