The West Virginian. [volume] (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1914-1974, 1916-02-11
.GERNAN. AvIAT0RS
ARE BEST EQUIPPED
But French Observers Claim
Their Men Have Accom-.
plished Most.

PARIS. Jan. 2S.-( Correspondence
of The Associated Press)-Frencn
aviation authorities agree that Ger
many has been able to entirely trans
form its aviation service since the
war began, making improvements Of e
most important character, while It
possessed certain advantages over the
French flying corps at the outset.
The reason for the superiority Of
the Germans in what was considered
before the war French specially
will perhaps become public in the
parliamentary debate that is immin-
emit. One aviator attributes the DIFF
ference to the fact that while the
French followed aviation as a sport,
the Germans took it up seriously for
practical application to the require
ments OF the army. He points OUT
that the Germans were flying at night
long before the the war began, while
the French began their nocturnal
trips only after the war was several
months old.
The same authority warns against
the assumption that the results OBJ
tanned by the French flying corps are
negligible. Whatever may be the
foundation for criticism of this branch
Of the service, he says, the results OBJ
tanned In some ways have been done
far more appreciable than what the
Germans have done. He recalls that
during the battle Of the Marine; Sep
TENDER 8. 1914, aviators DESTROYED half
OF the artillery OF the 18th German
army corpse in the regions OF Triau-
court.
This exploit was all the more re-
markab1e since the French had never
appeared to arrive at any results IN
experiments made with the combined
manoeuveres OF artillery and flying
machines before the war. One OF the
last notable attempts made in 1879
during the manoeuvres in the theore.
tic capture by the opposing army OF
an entire flying corpse. During the
French manoeuvres OF 1918, the flying
corps used under modified cond it1ons.
acquitted itself more cred1tablcs but
the experiment gave no hint OF the
utility Of the corps in actual warfare.
Consequently, as compared with Ger
many where 1t seems the experiments
were more significant; aviation as e
service in the army was apparently
neglected. The idea Of protecting fly
ing corps with steel armor, at Hone
time considered, was abandoned and
was only taken up again after German
armored flying machines had been
| captured. ~ =, Z scf!
= The French also stuck to the mono
plane until they had captured enough
Of the Germanibiplanest to give them,
demonstrative proof that they were
superior for most different kinds OF
air work, The French also learned,
from the Germans that security at
great height is ,fallacious. Fragne nts
Of: shells reach them even at a height
OF 8, 500 yards, while at ], 500 .yardsgtt
lis often more difficult for the gunners
to get the range. The fire at that point
Is generally too high.
Again at the beginning, the French
aviation service used the same type
Of machine for all kinds OF missions.
| All at once they discovered that the
German machine that made a raid
on a metropolitan center or military
point was not the same as the machine
that regulated the fire of the artillery
The result of this was the beginning
Of classification of aircraft with ref
erence to special adaptibilIty.
There was also at the beginning q
marked difference in the tactics en-
ployed by the German and French air.
men. The former appeared to avoid
contact with the latter, either with .
view OF concentrating their efforts
upon other objects than individual
combats or with the idea that the en-.
counter might not be equal. The ex:.
PLANTATION now given bysa competent
authority is that the Germans lost
their best aviators at the very out.
set OF the war. This fact was disclos;
ed by the notebook OF a German avla;
tor killed near Verdun, February I,
this year. AS early as September u,