The Sunday telegram. [volume] (Clarksburg, W. Va.) 1914-1927, 1916-05-21

Y
Of trinitrotoluol would make quite
nasty mess OF any ordinary house 1t
struck, but considering the odds
against its hitting any house at all.
and the still longer odds against It's
hitting any house that mattered, 1t
would be very much more useful TO
keep the aeroplane and pilot at
home for ordinary reconnaissance
work.
When one considers the enormous
quantity of high explosives shells nee
essary to knock even small French
village to pieces one secs how foolish
II would be for either belllgerent to
send out small forces OF aeroplanes.
each carrying only small weight OF
bombs to make raid on town.
Raids Give Information.
Small raids merely give the enc
my Information. Also they afford a
chance for practice with his antl-air-
craft guns and for his defensive aero
planes, and so induce him to take
proper steps for his own defense.
mean. for example, that II dozen
aeroplanes try to reach vast place
like Essen. even II they carried 500
pounds of bombs apiece. making n
total of 5000 pounds, and assuming
that they I'LL got to Essen without
being brought down on the way. they
would still be practically useless as
real military offensive, because
5000 pounds of the highest Of high
explosives would not even begin to
lay waste a place of such size. All
they would do would be to indicate
that portions of the place the Allies
intended to attack. and such an indi-
cation would merely result In the set
ting up of anti-aircraft artillery to
meet further attacks on the same dis-
trict. Perhaps 100 machines, all
launched at once on Essen with 500
pounds of bombs apiece might be
worth considering seriously, but any
thing else would merely be helping
the Germans to prepare for bigger
things.
1t is quite another matter, OF
course to send one particularly fast
aeroplane with one particularly skill
full pilot and few comparatively
small bombs. or with one very large
bomb, or a lone-hand raid on one
particular objective, such as an i'm
portant bridge or particular Yep.
pelin shed, as in the case Of the sue
cessful raid on Dusseldorf very early
in the war, and as In the case OF the
latest raid on Sofia. but even then tho
risks Of the solitary raider being shot
down by fire concentrated on his ma
chine by many guns, or by the COM
bined attacks Of many defensive aero
planes, even II his mount Is an ex-
ceptionally fast machine, are very
great.
Long Raids of Allied Aviators.
So far 1t is certainly peculiar that
all the long distance raiding has been
dono by the Allies ayiators, despite
the fact that the Germans are known
to have more reliable engines and
have been admitted, In the House OF
Commons by Mr.. Tenant, to have on
the average faster aeroplanes, One
may add, in addition, that 1t is quite
evident from the fact that the Ger
mans use big aeroplanes, carrying
three men and two or three machine
guns at time. that the German aero.
planes are capable on the whole OF
lifting greater weights. One is thus
tempted to speculate whether the abb
sence of German long distance ma
chimes for ues over the Russian front,
where reconnaissance have to be
carried out over enormous tracts OF
forest land and swamp, or whether
they are saving their very long dis
lance machines so rs to get big
force together for really important
raid either on British or French
towns long way behind the firing
line.
One hears in published reports
from Russia of German scouting aero
planes being sent hundred miles or
more behind the Russian front, ow-
ing to the endeavors OF the Germans
to find out where Russia Is massfng
It's big forces for the expected at
tack on the Germanic armies.
1t is at least possible that tho Ger
mans are preparing for serious aero
plane raiding during the summer
when the nights are too short to per-
nit the use Of Zeppelins. for the Ger
mans have quite sufficient common
sense to recognize that no Zeppelin
will dare to show Its nose anywhere
over French or British territory while
there is any light in the sky, but the
aeroplane can-and very probably
will-make the major portion OF It's
journey. II not the whole Of 1t. in
broad daylight, at such attitudes that
they cannot be seen from the ground
except someone picking them up by
chance with a telescope. or they will
deliberately chose a cloudy day SO as
to be able to travel above the clouds
till somewhere in the neighborhood Of
their objective.