Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1914-09-17

HiSt bdltIc WOULD nave Deen in the air,
the rival flying fleets c~ontending for that
supremacy which would have been all
important and would have enabled n sub
sequent blow, by land or sea, to be de-
livered with a crushing force. unhamp-
cred either by attacks or spying from
above.
FIGHTING AIRCRAFT EXPERT
MENTAL.
But at present fighting aircraft are ex-
pertmental. Armed machines that are in
existence carry only the l!ghtest Of guns.
Numerically the air fleets are by no
means strong-not strong, that Is to say.
for the ravages of n great campaign.
Germany, who has been building war
craft with the utmost speed, is reckoned
to have about 1000 machines for active
service.
The French air corps cannot compare
with this, either in numbers or in the
condition OF It's machines. Russia Is esti-
mated to have $40 wal crnrt: Austria
roughly 100; and Brltain-for military
purposes-about a similar number. In
stead OF being launched against each
other in any preliminary combat, these
air corps will be husbanded and used
with care-their prime value lying in
their work rs scouts.
Nothing is more contradictory, moth
ing more hewildoring than the reports Of
spies or of those who are sent out to
r~econnoitre. Some locate army corps
where they have seen only d~etachments;
others see only detachments where they
ought to have seen army CORPS"
But that phase is ended; the FOG Of
war has gone. The use of the air-scout
must make a vital difference In the plans
of the contending armies. Although
by n comparatively small num-
Der of machines, both France and Ger
many should know, in this campaign. ex-
actly what positions the enemy Is taking
And this should spell a qu,cken,ng
of all movements, should tend to the I
dealing of decisive. crushing blows.
There will be less room for strategy
and fnesse. seeing that any shifting or
.~earrangemcnt of men will be observed
and noted within a few hours Of It's maxi
Ing. Fog or mist may trouble the air
scouts' hut no wind, save a tearing gale.
VII chain them to the ground. !
OF course they will not be infalliblc.
There may he movements Of troops that
will miss. But all main bodies. all
vital positions, should be detected in
BOMBS NOW 1NEFFECTUAL.
Bombs certainly will be dropped from
and aeroplanes; already there
been unimportant raids. Mechan-
for releasing a bomb from n ma
chine in fight has now been well tested
and the missiles themselves are carried
In a convenient releasing gear. But the
effects, gen rally speaking, will be more
moral than material. Those missiles
fall from the sky will resemble a
drop in the ocean compared with the
streams Of projectiles hat will roar /om
the artillery.
First in regard to the acroplancs to
De used IN this great struggle, there
the sinsle-seated scout-either
monoplane or blplane, This is a craft
for speed and speed alone. Manned by
me pilot, who Is also a skilled observer.
this machine will be employed for a
rapid and general reconnaissance. The
ligh-speed scout will need. on occasion,
20 rush above the danger zone of the
enemy's fire. rather like a torpedo boat
II naval war.
1t will be used when information IS re-
as to the position OF some large
md easily detected body of troops.
AS two armies approach each other on
he eve of action there will be one
lefinite order that n commander-in-chief
viii give the officer who is in charge
II the aeroplanes. He will show him
he map and say: Verify for me, as
"a q N thea. -A.i,t~-. 49,.
he enemy is understood to hold"
To obtain this news. without a mo-
waste Of time, the officer in
'harge of aeroplanes will send out his
ligh-speed scouts-expert officers being
mounted in each machine just as, In the
lays before flying, the Duke of Yelling
on would choose special men, mount
hem upon picked horses, ana send them \,
o obtain news at any cost.
These high-speed scouts, Aging at more J
han 100 miles an hour, will sweep In
oward the enemy's lines, seeking the
heller of clouds or of banks OF mist. .
making long detours when neces- a.,
airy. so as to avoid any aerial patrols
he enemy may have sent out. ,
such hostile patrols-and biplanes ,
rmed with a light gun-will bear down ,
pom the scout, should they sight him, $
nd sArive to destroy his craft. His {
will be his speed. He will q
heel, dodge and finally turn tail: and c
II the time he will strain his eyes to
ee what lies below him. watching the
of the troops that look so
ny and remote, and forming an opinion :
l his mind as to what the battle line
i'll be,
These single scouts will near a great I
asponsib1lity and a great risk also. /