Evening star., 1914-08-09


opponents. There Is one thing which
must always be remembered in con-
sidering an aerial fight. II will be
short and II will be bittcr-a fight to
the death. One shell. one bullet. can
bring down an aircraft where a bat
tleship riddled with shells might con-
tnue to fight on. torn piece of
and the entire machine lunges toward
the earth. There Is no hope. nothing
but death at the end of the fall
One official added a thought to the
ing that in his belief these combats
above earth would result I'm the crea-
tion OF new type of fighter
Just as the artillery is different
infantry is different from the cavalry.
so the squadrons of the air are differ
ent from all other forms of the mill
tary. No one knows what possibilities
the air fighter has before him. One
man. prepared to sacrifice himself
might sail over the powder magazines
Of some great camp. destroy them and
Kill thousand men. One man sent
on scouting duty might save an army
from annfhilation by warning Il in
time OF simultaneous movements
which We're being made against 1t by
two or three other armies. Instead OF
the story Of Marathon ~ future will
give us the story of the airman who
rose from a beleaguered. starving city
and guided the army Of relief to the
only vulnerable point in the enemy's
lines. One thing is certain, no greater :
opportunity for bravery. no more limit :
less field of activity exists in the
armies of civilization today than in
the aeroplane." :
There is feeling among officers
that this war will result in the aerial
battleship. the, aeroplane designed
along the lines OF the scout cruiser, a
craft that can carry guns and sail
through the air and water. The reason
Tor this is the apparent success which
has attended the trials OF the trans
atlantic hydro-aeroplane America at
Hammondsport.
One aviation officer said: =
IF an airship can be built that can
travel across the Atlantic ocean, why
isn't IT entirely probable that by an
extension of the wing planes and an
increase in the horsepower of the en-
gfne the extra weight of armor plate
can be borne? The one great weakness
OF the aeroplane, as we have seen IL.
Is the fact that its engine is exposed
A bullet passing through the planes
may not infict vital wound but a
bullet in the machinery means only
one thing-the end. The hydro aero
plane has in way solved this prob
lem. for it has shown us that a hull
w.
II this hull could carry even quarter
inch armor. with two small guns ad-'
justed at an angle. which would enable
the artilleryman to know just when to
fire at given height, the so-called
scouting forces would become a dan
gerous offensive body. They could
make a concerted attack. which. to my
mind. would be as effective in it's
way as a cavalry charge"
This thought brings to mind wonder
full picture-the 100 aeroplanes of France
swarming over a German camp like SO
many gadnies circling over artillery and
infantry firing and wheeling away again.
Will it be that the heavy rigid" dirigi-
bles Of Germany, motionless high above
them. deal out death before the aero
planes shall have come into range? y,
Some War Department officials concede
that 1taly's operations in the air when
she fought Turkey were of no remarkable. I.
value, for Italy merely dropped bombs
over the tented encampment of semi
civilized Moorish tribes.
Both sides are confident the German
and the French, but there is one signifi-
cant fact forgotten now in the midst of.
universal war, which seems to throw the
scale In favor of the French. Some
months ago German dirigible landed
on French soil, making the unfortunate
mistake of settling right in the midst of
a French parade ground. The French
soldiers at once took possession Of the
machine and made a thorough lnvestiga-
tion Of every detail of its construction.
The German officers and soldiers were
poweriess to prevent this. though they:
protested. d,
There were experts in the French army
who received reports of the details of the
Zeppelin construction and had they found
the dfrigible to be especially desirable
would have commenced construction on
large scale. Instead of this, even,
when they began their war preparations
during recent months they ignored the
dirigible and confined themselves to the
monoplane and biplane.
Which indicates" as an army officer
said recently, that France isn't afraid
BILE in the worlds first and most impor-
tant battle of the air."