The Butler County press. [volume] (Hamilton, Ohio) 1900-1946, 1917-06-01
AIRCRAFT SCOUTS.
Their Value In Naval Warfare In
Locating Submarines.
NOT GOOD AT SINKING THEM.
While They Are Clever at "Spotting"
the Submerged Boats, 1t Is Only by
Great Skill and Good Luck That a
Bomb Can Be Dropped 70 It's Mark.

the Submerged Boats, II Is Only by
Great Skill and Good Luck That
Bomb Can Be Dropped 70 It's Mark.
In some ways an aeroplane Is more
effective in locating a submarine than
destroyer or patrol boat, and it
may even be able in exceptional cir
cunstances to destroy the undersea
vessel, says G. G. Grey, editor of the
London Aeroplane.
There is a popular illusion. which is
server in an aeroplane can see as far
down into the water as submarine
is likely to dive Up to point this is
true, for If the water is clear it is pos
sible to see some twenty or thirty feet
into 1t from a point vertically above,
and If such water is only forty or fifty
feet deep a submarine is not likely TO
dive beyond the visibility point
1t is quite another matter however,
where the water is a kind Of leaden
gray In color and where ten feet OF
water over the periscope is enough to
hide submarine as enectually as If
she were twenty fathoms down.
Therefore it is fairly obvious that the
scouting air craft have 50 depend on
surface vision quite as much as the
patrol boats. Where the difference
does come in is in the angle or vision
from which that surface view is OBJ
tanned.
For instance. a patrol boat might
well miss seeing q periscope half a
mile away, especially ff the porfscope
were between the boat ana the sun,
so that the reflection of the sun off
the water was dazzling the lookout
men. The aircraft observer, ON the
other hand, perched up aloft would
have a far better chance. Tic peri
scope, cutting through the water
makes very distinct wake which
spreads out on each side SO that It
makes q light but quite distinct broad
arrow" of foam
When the periscope is above water
the top Of the coming tower is not
far below, SO that this also Is visible
unless there Is a heavy breaking sea.
And probably the bubbles from the ez-
haugting air can also be seen.
Thus an escort Of seaplanes should
have far better chan g Of spotung
the presence OF submarines than could
any escort of surface ships At the
same time it is wen to rame mber that
an escort of desUoyers Ga some similar
type Of armed Ship Is necessary be-
cause the aegopIane OF airshlp of today
Is not capable Of carrying guns big
enough to sink submarines with cer-
teinty, and the art Of bomb dropping
from aircraft has not become sula-
ciently q science to make the certainty
Of the bombs reaching their mark as
great as is the certainty of shell
from a four inch gun doing sol
Therefore the aircraft bv them
selves can only hope to keep subma-
Tines submerged bY dropping bombs ut
them, though they may sink ONE here
and there By combination 81 personal
skill and good luck whereas BIZ acting
as spoilers for the highly ,rained
gunners OF destroyer doullas they can
cooperate very me erially in the ac-
tual destruction Of enemy submarines.
Where the naval al craft really die
come in is IN the immense surface OF
sea which they can cover ia a very
short time and tbeIr ability to take
enemy submarines by surprise while
I lying on the surface airing them
selves and charging up their batteries
A s4g
anything between eighty and d hun
dred miles an hour, and at a height Of
7,0o0 or 5000 feet it is fairly hard t.
see On land one is generally warned
of an aeroplane arrival by the sound
of its Engines, but at sea the tapping
OF the water and the whistling of the
wind through rigging or around super
structure browns the sound Of the aero
engine tIl it is tairly close Couse.
! quently "a seap,ane has more than a
! sporth z chance Of getting within a
mile or 50 Of submarine before it Is
seen, and if It gets within that dis.
tance it should BE able to make things
very unpleasant for the submarines
even il it has not the luck to sink it
outright
| Even at night in moderately fair
weather. which Is naturally the best
/ for submarine operations. big seapIanez
! with searchlights could dc much 10
! keep submarines under water 8ad So
add to their troubles by preventing
them from stopping on the surface
/ long enough to air their interiors and