The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1916-02-11
GERMANY IMPROVES
AVIATION SERVICE
French Admit That Advance and Also
Certain Superiority By Germans in
Field Where French For
merly Led.

hoie entiItly W tihhrioim w "Niatioi
service since the war began, making inn
proyements of most important charao-
ter, while il possessed certain adyan-
tages over the French flying corps AZ the
outset.
The reasons for the superiority OF the
Germans in what was considered before
the war a French speciality will perhaps
become public in the parliamentary de-
bate that is imminent. One aviator at
tributes the difference to the fact that
while the French followed aviation as "A
sport. the Germans took il 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 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 obtained by
the French flying corps are negligible.
w HNItNtI IldN Nv lllt lONiihdNAbAi tNA
criticism of this branch of the service,
he says, the results obtained in some
ways have been far more appre-
ciable than what the Germans have done.
He recalls that during the battle OF the
Marine. Sept. s, 1914, aviators destroyed
half of the artillery OF the 10th German
army corps in the region of Triaucourt.
This exploit was all the more remark
able since the French had never appeared |
to arrive at any results in experiments |
made with the combined manguvres of |
artillery and flying machines before the |
war. One of the last notable attempts |
made in 1912 during the mannuyres re-
suited in the theoretic capture by the
opposing army of an entire flying corps.
During the French maneuvres of 1913,
the flying corps, used under modified con-
ditions, acquitted itself more creditably,
but the experiments gave no hint of the
utility of the corps in actual warfare.
Consequently, as compared with Ger
many, where it seems the experiments
were more significant, aviation as serv-
ice in the army was apparently neglect
ed. The idea OF protecting flying corps
with steel armor, at one time considered,
was abandoned and was only taken mp
again after German armored flying ma
chimes had been captured.
The French also stuck to the mono
plane until they had captured enough OF
the German biplanes to give them de-
proof that they were supe-
,ior for most different kinds OF air work.
The French Also learned from the Ger
mans that security at great height is
'allaeious Fragments of shells reach
hem even at height of $500 yards
while at l,s00 yards it is often more diff
ieult for the gunners to get the range.
The fire at that point is generally too
Ugh.
Again, at the beginning the French
walton service used the same type OF
Machine for all kinds of missions. All
L once they discovered that the German I
Machine that made raid on metro :
'olitan center or military point was not {
he same as the machine that regulated ,
he fire of the artillery. The result OF :
his was the beginning of a classification !
t aircraft with reference to special !,
da ptability. !
There was also at the beginning
larked difference in the tactics employed :
v the German and French airmen The
primer appeared to avoid contact with I
he latter, either with a view OF concen I
rating their efforts upon other objects q
nan individual eombats or with the idea (
nat the encounter might not be equal. t
he explanation now given by compe {
mt authority is that the Germans lost n
leir best aviators at the very outset of r
- 1 l., = h.,
otebook of German aviator killed near 6
erdun Feb A this year. As early as
ppt. II. 1914, the Germans had lost
urstenair. Neumann, Dallurg, Beaulieu,
resch, Jahnow, Koch, BIutgen, Heyden
I'd Baudissin. This is further confirmed il
' a German aviator, made prisoner, who n
id that they had found the greatest p,
fficulty in replacing these men killed or =,
ptured.
This seems to explain the French claim
at with less efficient material French.
-iators accomplished more tangible re- =
Its, such as the destruction of artil 81
~, tho blowing up of ammunition de- 81
It's. destruction of Zeppelns, and Yep is
lin sheds, and damage to the enemy's If
Id works. The French army is said is
have ample proofs to this effect in m
ders of the day issued from the Ger sc
an general headquarters. impressng "
on the officers and men carefully stud NJ
ways of avoiding dangerous arms of 81
e French flying corps. -
There seems to be- more esprit de corps y
long the airmen than in any other
anch of the service and greater mu
Al courtesy between officers OF the dif-
ent armies. The most recent mani oh
tation of it was the dropping by Cor =
raj Kandulski OF the German flying str
ps. of a wreath upon the spot where NJ
had brought the celebrated Pegoud to /.
tn bearing this inscription: ITO Pc =.
I'd, our enemy, who died like a hero.
gnedl His Adyersaries." "H'
n September. f9l4. German pilot es
lished this precedent by dropping in
French lines a courteous notice to 4
effect that Lieutenant Fouret bad mil
n made prisoner at the camp Of Chal- -
Later on a German aviator dropped m
ind the French lines a letter from the ~
Il Senouque. who had been captured
the Germans. In May OF this year
m Thauron and Blsncpain were ~,
night down by the German artillery, :
ierman aviator few over the lines
dropped a paper giving the circum-
noes. and terminating with these