The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1914-08-28
AT THE MERCY OF
IT'S AGILE ENEMY
why the Zeppelin Cannot Cope with
the AeropIane- in AeraI War

London, Aug. 27.-The story Of
he ramming of a German Zeppelin
airship by the famous French ayia-
tor Roland Garros, a story which yet
Hacks for confirmation and is disbe-
lieved by those who know Garros
best. probably arose from the idea
that a Zeppelin cannot be attacked
i'm any other way, owing to its being
defended against assault from above
10y rapid-fring gun mounted atop
the gas bag.
In order TO make sure of his aim
la bomb thrower in an aeroplaae
would have to approach within 100
feet above the Zeppelin, where he is
within easy range of the gun sup
Bposed to be mounted on the balloon.
AS a matter of fact. however, only
three Of four of the very latest Yep
pelins are equipped with these mod
FERN gun platforms and furthermore.
AZ is learned on cool authority that
none of them is mounted with guns.
for 1T is now known that if there
were leak in any OF the chambers
of the gas bag near the middle por-
tion of the dirigfble, the escaping
hydrogen would find its way out near
the gun platform and would be most
certain to explode when 1.-THE gun
was discharged.
lit is now believed that the explos-
4 ion several months ago Of the new
Zeppelin at Johannisthai, near Ber-
Y IN when the entire crew were killed,
Awas caused by the gun on top firing
i Sdank cartridges as an experiment.
1T is therefore comparatively
simple matter, in the absence of a
gun, for an aviator to approach
quite close enough to a Zeppelin
from above for the crew in the cars
below the gas bag, cannot hit the
aeroplane, so long as the pilots keep
the envelope between himself and
the cars of the ZeppeIins. The
knowledge of this fact probably ac-
counts for the absence of reports
of German airships flying over
France, while the German balloons
have been seen much over Belgium
France has a huge corps of expert
aviators and aeroplanes of the high
est efficiency while the Belgian avi-
alton corps is so small that 1t hardly
counts.
While Germany has been the es-
peoial sponsor of the dirigible for
military purposes, that country has
not overlooked the aeroplane. While
France has popularity been supposed
to lead in war aeroplanes, Germany
has as many as thirteen hundred of
these machines, and perhaps the
largest trained corps of military
aviators in the world.
These thirteen hundred machines
are all comparatively new and with
all the latest Improvements. With
one motor firm putting out over 40
aero-engines month for the last six
months, one may safely put the en-
tire German output at $50 month.
With an aeroplane for each of these
engines, German military aviation
activity breaks all records.
The number of pilots to fly these
machines is greater than the aviation
corps of any other nation because
Germany's policy of encouraging
civilian flying schools. Under this
system. each aeroplane firm of any
Importance had a certain number of
soldiers mostly officers, but some
privates and non-commissioned Of
fgers. allotted to its school to be
Il trained by the firms own pilots
The training of these military fly
eFs was paid for at the rate that en-