The Washington herald., 1914-01-11
USE OF AIRShIPS
in time Of war
Their Development Exertins
Influence on Military
Science.
COMBATS OF THE FUTURE
satties Practically May Be Decided By
the Preliminary Engagements
Of Aerial Scouts.

The advent OF the airship and the
aeroplsne. their development and the de-
gree Of practical use to which they have
been brought have given the writer's OF
startling fiction a fresh lease on life and
the bookstands are loaded with countless
stories of future wars in the air. One
reads Of German invasion OF Great
Britain by a fleet of Zeppelins and OF the
ease with which the yellow peril might
be brought 10 American shores on wings
Of canvas after the annihilation OF the
United States navy.
As a matter of fact, these stories great
ly exaggerated as they are, contain at
least some germs of truth. and military
science is actually investigating and
formulating principles of aerial strategy
In relation to the attack and defense OF
fortified positions. both by land and sea.
md 10 military movements in general.
The dav seems to be far distant, how
Uer when the Dreadnought navies of the
great powers will be relegated TO the
scrap heap and our armies take unto
themselves wings on a wholesale scale
But, SAYS a writer in the Philadelphia
Press, II is true that aircraft and sub
marines are exerting a decided influence,
II not a radical one. in military science,
Ior while the dirigible and the aeroplane
have vet to demonstrate their efficiency
as engines of attack and defense, there
is no doubt whatever as to their value
as scouts, and the nation which is able
to obtain sufficient command of the air
to locate the force~ of the enemy and
direct the attack of its own military and
naval forces many thousand feet below
will have an advantage not TO be de-
spised.
II is likely, therefore. that manN a
battle of the future will be practically
decided by the preliminary engagements
of aerial scouts.
Coast Defense in the Future.
Coast defenses of the future will not
be reduced by attacks from the sea, Tor
the modern feet, with its high-power and
short-lived guns, is too costly an equip
ment to risk in close-range attack on
concentrated intrenchments and equally
powerful disappearing guns, and the In
vading force will have to content itself
with investment from the land side in
conjunction with a blockade from a safe
distance at sea- The submarine also be-
Ing a bette noir to an attacking fleet, for,
operating from a fixed base in thoroughly
familiar and charted waters, 1t becomes
a far more deadly weapon than it would
be in attempting to navigate blindly the
unknown channels and shoals of harbor
entrance well sown with mines, with no
aid but periscope.
The success or failure, then. of aerial
scouts in directing the long-distance fire
Of the fleet and the movement Of the
investing army would become a deciding
factor of the attack. Many guns have
been built with special apparatus for
training on aircraft, but to date no au-
tomato sights or range finders have been
produced which approach the require
ments with any degree of success, and
until one is invented the only defense
against the airship will be a superior
force of similar craft. -..
4hree Classes of Dirisibles. a.
Dirigibles are divided into three classes
by military men, each with their adyan-
tages and disadvantages. The most nota-
Bile type is the rigid, of which the Zeppe-
lin is an example. 1t consists of an i'm
mense aluminium framework, long. and
blunt at the ends, covered with weather.
proofed canvas. Inside of this float
dozen or more pear-shaped balloonets,
attached. to a lower part Of the frame
or keel, to which also are attached the
various cabins and compartments of the
crew, the engines and all gearing. Their
construction is permanent, and the outer
skin of weather-proof material serves to
protect the balloonets from the rays of
the sun, and to a large extent does away
with the serious disadvantages of expan-
sion and contraction and consequent va
riations in lifting power, due to changes
Ia tempera ture. They are the most sta
BILE of the aircraft and are capable of
rrotracted journeys from their base of
supplies.
The German government has in its