The Sunday telegram. [volume] (Clarksburg, W. Va.) 1914-1927, 1916-05-21
OF AIR
RAIDERS STILL .
!. IS INCREASING
Little Raids on English Towns
Only Gave Practice to Them
( and Information.
BY G. G. Grcy.)
editor of the Acceptance


BY G. G. Grcy.)
editor of the Aeroplane.)
LONDON, May 20.-Those who do
not yet realize the future power Of
aeroplane as weapons of war will do
well to make mental note OF the
steadily increasing radius Of action
of housekeeping aeroplanes. Ever
since the war began the distance COW
cred in individual raids has been
steadily increasing, thanks to the in
creased efficiency Of aeroplanes and
their engines.
The first important raid of the war
was that on the Zeppelin sheds at
Friedrlchshafen from Belfort and
the distance covered in this case was
$50 miles. This was done on COM
paratively small aero biplanes with
eighty horsepower Gnome engines.
The next long raid after that was
on Stugart on September %. in
aviator attacked Ludwigshafen. COW
ering 230 miles altogether. On June
28 came another raid, again by the
French aviators. on Friedrichshafen.
These distances were, however, quite
put In the shade by the French raid
on Stuggart on September %, in
which the distance covered was 280
miles.
After that there was considerable
pause in long distance raids until the
fourteenth of April this year. when
two British aviators few from Sa-
lonica to Constaninople. covering on
the double journey distance of 800
miles. On the same day another Brit
ish aviator flew to Adrianploe, almost
as great a distance. Their record
has now again been beaten by the
French raid on the Bulgarian capital.
the distance from Salonica to Sonia
being q matter Of ITS miles. though,
according to one account the total
distance covered by the French avia-
tor Is over $40 miles.
These raids, already accomplished
are really we'll within the reach OF
number Of aeroplanes which al
ready exist. Certainly the majority
OF the big German aeroplanes are
quite capable Of such distances and
the known reliability or the German
engines is such that 1t is simply sur
prlsing that the Germans have done
SO little really long distance ralding.
The German scaplane raids on the
English coast have generally covered
distances which could not be called
really great. Assuming that they
started from Zeebrugge or there
abouts and only raided Kentish towns
such as Dover and Ramsgate, their
total distance is always something
under 200 miles, so that one may
safely assume that so far as the mere
distance is concerned, London itself
is comfortably within reach OF Ger
man aeroplanes, SO far is undoubtcd-
ly the respect the German aviators
have for the pilots Of the British
flying services. and for the improved
shooting OF the British anti-aircraft
guns. L,.---..-..-
A Fleet Of German Airships.
However, 1t is not we'll to presume
! too much on such immunity, for the
time might well come when the Ger
mans could put into the air a fleet
OF some hundred aeroplanes at once
for really big raid on the southe st
ern part of England. and II they
thought that good political effect
could be produced by such raid
they would undou btedly do so. reck-
oning their losses In such a raid as
men and machines well spent. 20
| 1t Is always doubtful whether the
little raids made by one OF two ae-
roplanes at a time on the eastern
coast of England are merely acts OF
bravado on the part of individual
aviators or whether they are de-
liberate attempt to find out the full
strength of the British anti-aircraft
defenses. both in guns and in defen-
sive aeroplanes.
| The amount Of explosives which
can be carried by an aeroplane is Of
course limited by the distance the
aeroplane has to cover because the
machine has to lift sufficient petrol
for the journey as well as the bombs.
Consequently every extra gallon OF
petrol In, the tanks means about sew
en- pounds lost weight Of bombs to
be carried. Consequently there ar
rives point at which only the ma
chine and the pilot can get tire
and back without any bombs at all.
Long before one gets to that point one
arrives at another point at which the
weight OF the bombs carried Is so
small that 1t Is not worth while risk
ing an aeroplane and It's pilot In car
rying them to their destination. That
Is topsay, one would scarcely bother
to send an aeroplane on q trip Of one
hundred miles or more for the sake
OF dropping about fifty pounds weight
of bombs. II istrue that nifty. pounds