The herald. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1905-1953, 1917-10-18

| lOng-diStance hOmb-carrying machine.
| for its boat body could be dropped and
its weight-carrying ability increased
| thereby.
The new three-motored Gallaudet
| Seaplane also enters the category Of
| long distance raiding machines and is
suitable for either bomb dropping or
| torpedo launching. Other American
manufacturers are at work on giant
models, but as yet details Of these have
not been announced.
LOng-distance bombing raids are by
no means a novelty. but they have al
ways been conducted with only q few
airplanes Of limited carrying capacity.
which carried only few hundred
pounds Of bombs besides the fuel need
| ed for the journey.
Among the historic bombing raids
for several reasons is the raid on
Carslruhe on June Is, 1915. 1t was
conducted by % twin-mOtored Caudron
machines. in charge OF Captain de KCr-
ILLS, and dropped close TO 30 large
bombs on Carlsruhe. Three Of the ma
chimes did not return-they had TO
land and were captured, but the dam
age to Carlsruhe was serious.
In the very first bOmbardment OF
Sofia on April 81, 1916, a single avia-
tor started from SalOniki, flew 10 Sofia,
dropped four bombs and procIamations
announcing the capture Of Trebizond,
was repeated by single aviatOrs from
time TO time; then on September 10,
1916, 1t WAS repeated by four aviators
who left Saloniki at so and arrived
over Sofia AT s 40. They dropped their
bombs, many Of which were effective,
and returned. They had crossed the
Balkan mountains at 6,0O0 feet with
out trouble, and had accomplished
what an army could not have done.
The only limitation was that the air.
planes were too few in number 10 win
decisive victory. In every raid in the
Balkans only four or five airplanes
participated.
Among the most remarkable long
distance bombing expeditions were the
raids on Essen and Munich by Captain
de Beauchamp and Lieutenant Dan
court on September "a and November
Is, 1916, which have been repeated
since by other aviators. The raid on
Ludwigshafen, accomplished on May
%. 1915, in which IS airplanes took
part, also involved a flight of about
400 miles. 1t was conducted success
fully, and only one airplane was forced
TO land and submit 10 capture. An
other classic was the bombing raid on
the Mauser works at Oberndorf on Oc-
tOber II, 1916, in which French bomb
ing squadron and a British bombing
squadron participated, escorted by La
fayette Flying corps fighters. These
are only few of scores of such raids.
In all these raids the aviatOrS had to
fly from five TO seven hours continuous
ly under most trying conditions, having
to protect themselves with insufficient
arms. A night raid in large, we'll
armed warplanes would be easy In
cOmparisOn-and much safer.
at close range because the aviator can
fly closer to his target with little In
creased danger of counter-attacks but
with largely augmented effectiveness.
Surprise is made more possible and
half Of the attack may be accom-
plished before enemy searchlights can
locate the raiders as targets for the
antiaircraft guns. In raid Of 1000
or more giant airplanes the task of the
defenders would be rendered increas-
ingly difficult beyond all proportion to
the difficulty now experienced in re-
polling raids Of few flyers. The
searchlights and antiaircraft guns
themselves would be made the object
Of attack and largely incapacitated.
The risk Of discovery in night ct
tacks could be reduced further. &C.