The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1915-12-07
AEROSGONP[ETE i !
SUCCESSFUL TEST
First Squadron Wings Way Over
Long Stretch In True Mill
tary Style ''

The First Aero Squadron, Signal
Corps, U. s. A. has just completed n
fight with its six machines aeeompa.
MED by its entire personnel on auto
mobile. motor trucks and motor cycles
from Fort Sill, Oklahoma where II has
spent the past eve months in recon.
Nuisance work with Geld artillery TO
its permanent station at Fort Sam
Houston, San Antonio, Texas, where
hangars, work sheds and quarters have
Just been completed for occupancy.
The flight which was the first of the
kina ever, ,execnted,pin .AmeriPa was
made under conditions as nearly like
those to be encountered in
war was possible. II was
intended to give line on just
what the army aviators might expect
in war time and TO test TO the utmost
the ability Of Ayers to follow a pre-.
.viOusly designated route over unknown
country as well rs to give the trans.
port section in tryout under severe
conditions with the trucks required to
make eighty miles a day to keep up
with the flying section. - u.
The test is reported to have been en-
.tirely successful and the motors both
of the machines and the transport
stood up well under the service cOndi.
ltions and the resOurcefulness and
of the army hying organ
ization were satisfactorily demonstrate
ed under every test. The fight was
four hundred and ffty miles In all ana
six days were spent en- route. The
squadron was divided, into six flying
sections, a transport section, a supply
section, an engineer section charged
with motor repairs and headquarters
section using passenger automobiles.
The summers training at Fort Sill
has been most satisfactory to the War
Department according to reports and
the personnel had much profitable work
in reconnaissance, observation Of artil
lery FIRE and the many other duties de.
manded of the military fier today.
Fort Sin was chosen as a temporary
station for the squadron because of the
opportunity for work in cooperation
with the field artillery arm. The
School of Fire for training field artii-
lery officers and oncommissioned off
GERS in the conduct Of Gre and the diff
cult art of supervising battery or
group of batteries under war conditions
is held during the summer and fall
months at Fort Sill because its terrain
and the great extent Of reservation
afford perhaps the best opportunities
! for operations in the country. The
aviators of the squadron were employ
ed in aereal map reading and making,
in locating targets and communicating
with the artillery by wireless and
smoke signals, in watching the, fall at
shots, and spotting hits on. maps be-
sides picking up guns and hntteries m
I,cOncealment or on the march.
The invention of an automatic sur
vey camera has occupied much of the
THIS new apparatus, when set in opera
tiOn by the pilot of the aeroplane IN
which it is installed, takes q cOntinu-
Gus series of photographs. of the
ground under the line of fight. The
photograph can be made ready instant.
ny on landing and gives connected
group of overlapping pictures TO which
n scale can be applied and from which
the range to any point shown on them
can be obtained at once. In addition
to this survey camera a telephOtO lens
ran he put in operation which will
>earch out with vision impossible to the
fast travelling aviator, the ground he
low for evidence of concealed troops,
! batteries or trains.
The development of the camera will
he he important work to be done this
winter at San Antonio.