El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1916-02-05
New ''Fokker'' MOnoplune
Destroys 10 of Allies
Anpldnes.
ARMADAS OF THE
AIR ARE FORMED
American Manufacturers
Build Great Planes For
Use OF the Allies.

II ONDON, Eng, Feb. 5.-The recent
run Of luck OF the swift German
Cor rather Dutch) Fokker mono
plane, which brought down 16 allied
flyers in a month. has concentrated
attention on the remarkable contest
for the supremacy Of the air now being
waged- It is a conflict Of athletes. or
inventors and OF factories. Nothing like
it was ever seen before in the history
of the world 1t resembles somewhat
the advent Of armOred ships. which
eliminated in the memorable Monitor
Merrimac battle OF the American civil
war. Under the lash Of necessity hu-
man ingenuity is racing forward in
the conquest Of the sky at a speed per
haps 100 times greater than before the
war, and the United States leads in
accomplishment
Armadas OF the AR Formed.
Already air fleets, instead Of consist
ing of Isolated units, are organized like
a sea armada. by divisions and squad
rons- various types OF aeropianes
serve various purposes and the air raid
ing column Of 40 craft must be well
balanced, just as the ocean fleet must
consist not alone of battleships, or Of
submarines, but OF both these, to-
gether with swift scouts, destroyers,
supply ships and tenders
While the Fokkers did great execu-
ton for a time, air officers of the al
lies say the fear they instilled in GER
tam quarters mere was absolutely IN
warranted. A great deal of i'll founded
sensationalism is being written about
the Germans's achievements.
The Germans mention the names Of
their "super-airmen," the leading fliefs
of their army The allies heroes -usu-i
ally remain anonymous. Again. the
Germans, according to statements here.
generally keep to their own side of the
battle line. They fight over their own
anti-craft guns. They are less prone to
long raids inside their enemies terri
tory. This gives them an advantage
in the air duels which necessarily
occur.
The two most prominent new types
which the airmen have recently pro-
duced are % the FOkker mOnOplane, a
very swift and unstable machine OF
small radiOus Of action which can usu-
ally OutmaneuYer a heavier plane;
~ an immense three-engined biplane,
carrying either a large crew, an enor-
nous fuel supply or a great weight OF
explosives and capable OF a long radi-
Gus of action. The latter has not been
used much. It is a dreadnOught of the
air and viii figure more and more
largely in the conflict as time goes on
For both of these types the allies
have equivalents. Many of their ma
chimes are swifter than the FOkker.
Perhaps, for a time. the Germans had
a superior number of the small, fast
machines on the western front, but this
is said now to have been changed
again.
Many Air DreadnOughfs.
As to air dreadnoughts. it is certain
the Germans are not dominant. The
French are building many Of these
enormous filters, and the British have
developed the twO-engined Caudron, of
great power and gun carrying ability
A principal reliance OF the allies,
however. is the American airplane
manufacturers. The latter are said to
be excelling every other nation in the
new air types. Tt is not going too far
to say that the allies rely on the Amer
leans to beat the Teutons.
While all details of flying plans are
carefully guarded, an idea Of what may
be expected is given by the description
OF a new American fiier, recently con-
structed by Glenn II. Curtiss in Buzz
falo, n Y. as made public here.
New American "BattleplRne."
The new "battleplane," as il is
termed. has cost about 100000 and is
six times as large as the famous
"America,' which was building TO fly
across the Atlantic ocean when the war
started.
Its weight loaded is eight tons This
includes a ton of ammunition and a
crew of eight men. 1t can cruise
nearly 200 miles and so could strike
at almost any point in Germany. west
Continued on Page 1917