Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1916-03-05

practically perfect stability. these huge
new planes have already raided the Brit
ish coast cities and have acted as escorts
to giant Zeppelins. dropping deadly
bombs on Paris.
young British aviator, in letter to
friends in England, published in part
in a recent issue of Manchester news
paper, said
This Herr Immelmann "a German
airman) flies a Fokker machine, shoots
through his propeller and flies beauti-
fully. 1 have met him twice and, got off
drums of ammunition at him, but with
no result on either side. barring few
holes in the wings"
The feature of shooting through the
propellers of the Fokkers. repeatedly re-
ferred to by airmen Of the allies, is an
example of German adaptation of devices
of the enemy to their own uses Last
fall the French aviator Garros was shot
down and fell with his machine behind
the German lines. The propeller blades
on Garros' machine were fitted with a
device Of his own invention, which he
called defector blades, which permitted
shooting directly through the revolving
blades of the propeller. Only about or
s per cent of the bullets strike the blades
and these are DETECTED by Garros' de-
vice without injury to the blades The
Germans promptly adapted the idea and
are utilizing it on the Fokker machines.
~
The new German warplane was the
invention of a Hollander named Fox
inally tried out in 1911. being then
a crude effort of the inventor to pro-
duce an absolutely yuncapsizable ma
chine. The original machine was a
weird looking affair, though it flew
very well and was practically stable
long before scientists of other coun
tries had put their theories into ef-
feet and produced the inherently sta
BILE biplane-the Fokker being mono
plane. Germany has seemed to favor
the monoplane to the exclusion OF
machine.
AS with the other monoplanes, the
Fokker, properly speaking, has no pro-
peller to drive it through the air. II
is, rather drawn along by means OF
a tractor screw working in the front
of the machine: and it is through the
blades of this tractor screw that the
aviator or the gunner who accom-
panieS him shoots.
The Fokker machine was brought to
the attention of authorities in the
British war Office soon after it was
invented, and there was serious ques-
ton of bringing one of the machines
r1ntr a
struction of the original machines
however, was SO bad that the officials
Of the British flying service did not
dare to ask pilots to risk their lives
eXperlmenting with the new machines
The Fokkers now being operated
however. are the very opposite of the
original machine, according to de-
scriptlons printed in English papers
All efforts al inherent stability in the
machines have been abandoned and
they are designed to be absolutely I'M
der control of the pilot in every posi-
ton. This. according to descriptions
is what makes them SO dangerous as
opponents, as they can maneuver with
lightning rapidity.
The larger machines carry a passen.
ger in front. who works a machine
gun. Others have the gun fixed or
top Of the engine. and firing through
the Garros deflector blades. In the lat
ter case the gun is aimed by steering
the plane to suit, like Judson's fatiron
gunboat in Kipling's story.
Fokker is to get up to a height of at
least 1900 feet, and stick around
until one Of the allies planes appears
below. Then, If the Fokker is of the
the machine on it's head and dives
straight for the allies plane. loosing a
stream of bullets as it gets within
range. BY guiding the Fokker in ever
so slightly spiral a course the stream
of bullets becomes a cone of lead, of
which the gun is the apex. The op-
ponent plane is within this cone. so
that in whatever direction he tries to
escape the aviator must pass through
close to the enemy. if he be not already
hit and disabled. 1t approaches directly
from behind. firing straight along the
body or fusilage, so as to have pilot,
passenger. tanks and engine directly in
one line of fire. Unless the opponent
machine is very quick on its controls
and able to dodge like a rabbit, some
vital part Is bound to be hit in short
order, If the Fokker is not put out of
commission.
Fokkers that do not fire through
their tractor screws with the fixed gun
almost always attack from behind, div
ing under the tails of the opposing
machines and coming up in such a
position that while they can shoot up
into the body of the pursued machine,
the pilot of that machine, or the pas
senger sitting behind the pilot. cannot
shoot at the Fokker for fear of shoot
ing off the tail, or rudder plane, of his
own machine.
The bodies of the new Fokkers are
armored strongly enough to Withstand
or defect bullets from rifles or ma
chine guns. The engines especially
are inclosed in extremely strong but
light steel armor. while similar
armor protects the pilot, the gunner
passenger and the petrol tanks. The
controls Of the Fokkers are such that
the pilot, II not hit or otherwise dis
abled can maneuver the planes with a