New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1916-01-01
British Aero Expert Holds
England Up as Warning
\. 5. Must Build Naval Air Service but Should Avoid
Britains Comic Opera in Mishandng of
Personnel and Material He SAYS

unuer tho complete command OF the
senior naval officer of the district.
IL VIII he necessary, OF course. 10
start IN and educate a lot OF the senior
officers into the uses Of aeroplanes, ana
10 this end tho service should be
stated by Young and energetic naval
officers, and no civilians should be
taken in until they have served year
At sen and az regular naval training
establishments.
Tho dav will come when every snip
Of war shove the sac Of small cruiser
will carry n couple OF aeroplnnes on
board, Cor small scouts Tor short DIS
lance reconnaissance can he made 10
take up very little more room than
torpe6o. and thoy can be launched from
q kind of catapult gear. method when
has actually been used on united
States ship. IL is, of course. only 1,
variant Of the original Wright launch
ing rail.
A,rbost Big rs Destroyer.
In time. as the machines become
larger and larger. we shall no DOUBT
produce a Aying boat as big as mod
crn DESTROYER, which will cruise on Us
own bottom In company with the meet
folding ia wings when on the water
and only extending them when 1t wants
TO hurry
Part o. the United States Nays
Job, presumably, will be the running
, ~ coast defence air stations, whence
The coast lire will he patrolled on the
lookout for hostile shipping arriving
hy air or sea. These stations should
be under the command of the local
admiral commanding the sea defence OF
that stretch Of coast and should not
be separate commands.
Also they should be arranged in
groups, each station holding flight
or q Squadron" according 10 its size
the consecutive stations along the
coast, which constitute q group, being
under wing commander.
America is In the happy position of
being able to start with fairly we'll
developed science of naval aviation.
so her politicians will have no excuse
If her coast defence grows up In the
state Of muddle prevalent In Europe.
Study German Airships.
I venture 10 suggest further that
land-going aeroplanes belonging to the
United States Navy should be made
entirely the affair of the marines.
There might come time when coast
defence air stations would have 20 CO.
operate with the army defending the
coast against an enemy landing, and IN
that event officers and men VINO are
more than half soldiers by training
would do better work than sailors, who
could not understand the mau9uvres.
methods or even the orders issued by
soldiers.
As TO a!rships America can learn
moro from Germany than from Eng
land II one believes the English press
which 7 DO not the only use of Ger
man airships Is 20 come over The North
Sea in the dark ard slaughter women
and children. As matter OF fact,
.hey have proved themselves of high
military and naval value.
Ever since the beginning Of the war
zeppelins have patrolled the German
coast from Russia 20 Denmark and
from Denmark to Holland They have
been most valuable scouts with the
German fleet. or rather with such por-
tons OF 10 as have ever come out into
the HeIgoiaud Bi-ht. The crew Of
ore Zeppelin got the Iron Cross for CO.
yTc which resulted IN the torpedoing
Of his maJesty's ships Greasy, AbouGir
and Hocue.
Although British naval airships do
not amount 10 much, they have done
quite good work in patrolling the Chan
mel, looking for mines and submarines
and even at times making little raids
IN The dark over the German lines in
Flanders. Taking it all round, they
have paid for themselves quite well.