Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1915-11-11

of concentrating their efforts upon the de-
struction of merchant and passenger
ships. The reports indicate that the great
number of French and English destroy
ers and swift cruisers which patrol these
ways, assisted by aeroplaneS, drive the
submarines away The latter is not very
potential at night, and in the daylight, il
the water is clear, its shadow betrays
it's presence to the keen observer in the
aeroplane. His signal by wireless or
otherwise calls the deStroyers, who hover
about the undersea boat, which must then
completely submerge for safety. The
swift boats follow her course, If possible,
and either drive her away or keep her
harmless. Apparently bombs from the
aeroplane have not been very dangerous
to the submarine, which can usually, with
her deck guns put the aeroplane to flight
The Zeppelins have done some good
scouting, but very little damage by bomb
dropping. except to non-combatants. AS
a menace they have been a success.
~
Congress last year appropriated $1,000.
COO for the development of the hydro
aeroplane for our navy. The Office of
aeronautics has been very busy. although
the number of our airships so far is very
insignificant, but an enormous amount of
experimental work has been successfully
accomplished, and in consequence the navy
row has on hand sixteen machines of
various types, and has contracted for the
early delivery of eight new machines
representing three new types. ABOUT
thirteen officers now are in training for
piIots and the service has thirteen es-
pecially trained for naval work
Eventually one or more of these ma
chimes for scouting should be on every
large ship in the navy One machine
does not cost much. But they must be
of light construction, and hence are
very fragile, so that 1t is expensive to
maintain a large fleet of them. The
economic value in actual war is meal
culable.
The army has very few aeroplanes
and only sixty men in training to become
pilots. The English and the trench
armies had, it is said. several hundred
aeroplanes when the war broke out. NO
one knows how many they now have, but
some Inference may be drawn both as to
their value and as to the number re-
quired from the fact that England aiohe
is ordering them at the rate of 5000 a
year. Much good is hoped for from the
action of the joint aeronautic board OF
the army and navy. -.
Speed in ships of all classes Is OF ttle
utmost value For example, IL the
Rlucher had possessed the speed of her
consorts, abe would have escaped from
the Lion and the Tiger i'll the North sea
fight, and If those ships mad not pos
sesesed speed greater than that of the
consorts the Blucher would not nave
been overtaken. Speed on the part OF the
destroyers and light cruisers has made
them the one source of dread to the sub
marine, and the speed of the large sub
marines has made them the great COM
merce destroyers of the times Speed has
been the slogan of the naval war and the
decisive factor in almost every engage
ment.
But a German heet-the greatest
with one exception the world has ever
known: one which could cover any
landing that a Teutonic army might
make on the English coast-lies be-
hind mined and fortified harbors in
Kfel and He1goland, because some
where outside, but within call. lies the
one mightier fleet of British dread
naughts and superdreadnaughts ships
without unusual speed but encased in
strong armor and filled with powerful
guns, able to receive as well as to
give blows.
X X
The policy of the United States navy
has been to maintain the ship which
can defeat it's enemy when it comes to
grips. The supreme object of the navy
is to maintain an absolute line of de-
fense against invasion. and it may be
81 Nv .F