The Wallace miner. [volume] (Wallace, Idaho) 1907-current, 1917-09-13
THE FIGHTING A|RPLANEs
HAVE CREW OF IS men
GIANTS OF AIR WILL BE BUILT
IN UNITED sTATEs-PARA-
Lyle THE PRUssIANs.

will soon be lowering over the German
lines:
American airplane manufacturers
are in possession of working models
and blue prints Of aero motors devel-
oped by England and France during
three years Of warfare. The United
States airplane factories have receiv-
ed gratis the secrets Of new alloys and
improvements in construction which
previous to Americas entry into the
war could not be bought at any price
secrets that were guarded with
mems lives and were never mentioned
beyond the doors of certain offices.
Personal messengers have left Eng
land by every departing steamship;
mail bags have been filled with price
less blueprints and cable lines have
been jammed with messages, all bear
ing on the development Of the Amerl-
can air squadron.
The governments Of France and of
Great Britain know that upon the eff
forts made on the other side Of the
/, Atlantic within the next six months
depends the fate of the armies afleld.
Important above everything else in the
struggle for victory is the airplane,
which must be produced in myriads
and the task now falls squarely to
Uncle Sam.
Doubters Are in Minority.
There are doubling Thomases on
this side of the water who sheer at
the grandiose statements coming from
New York and Washington and who
assert that even If the United States
organizes for the aerial construction
program the product will be so infer
ior that it will be useless for actual
fighting. Fortunately, these doubters
are in the minority. Officials and
men in a position to know what al
ready has been done are highly optim-
istic. They believe that American
methods applied to the manufacture of
air craft will result in just as good a
product as Is now coming from fac
tories organized here shortly after the
war started.
Despite all the lurid prophecies re-
garding the great fleet of aeroplanes
that eventually will lay waste the
principal German cities, the experience
ed airmen on this side only hope for
thousands of machines with which to
fight the German armies in the field.
The success which Americas eff
forts are to insure will come only
when the allied armies in France have
OF the air and to patrol every mile Of
the territory. Immediately behind the
German lines. When the day finally
arrives, Germany will not be able to
move a train back of the lines and to
move reserves will be impossible. She
will be unable to feed the men who
are in the first lines. Her heavy ar
tiilery will be sileneed and in the end
her entire fighting forces made use
less The war WIN then become one
OF movement with the chances for
victory altogether on the side On the
allies.
Engines Of Great Power.
There are various types of aero
planes which will be manufactured in
America that are already being used
In France. Engines of unbelievable
power are being put into the newest
type of plane. The average American
is more or less familiar with automo-
bile engines and has some idea Of
what weight of engine will develop
100 horsepower If this average Am
erican We're to look at some of the
newest air motors he probably would
Judge them to be of 10 or Is horse
power. IN fact, he could lift some of
the engines unaided and would prob
ably be astounded to learn that such
machine was capable of developing
not 100. but $50 horsepower
Every newspaper reader in the
United States has been well informed
of the plans for building airplanes, but
1t Is doubtful IL one in thousand can
picture the size of some of the planes
that eventually will be loaded on the
transports at the New York piers. The
Sun correspondent has had an oppor-
tunity In the last few weeks of in
specting the newest type of aircraft;
the type that will be turned out in
vast numbers by America and it is
bigger in every way and more power
full than laymen imagine.
To begin with, the body of the new
machine resembles In many ways a
big motor launch. Its under part is
rounded and beautifully constructed OF
finely grained wood. II is so big that
to enter one must Chamber up lad
der and go down through hatchway
as big as the cabin door of a motor
yacht. 1t is of the biplane type and
from tip to tip of each wing there is
room enough for a dozen men to lie
out full length Its two motors will
develop 600 horsepower and their
combined weight is so little cmopared
to the power that the actual figures
would look untruthful in print. Where
the old types could carry hundred
weights, this machine carries tons
Can Carry 10 Men.
This new plane is manned by a
pilot two or three observers, a for
ward gunner, bomb dropper, a me-
pbanio and 10 naoaccary N Jnyo,. ,~o..