The Logan Republican. [volume] (Logan, Utah) 1902-1924, 1917-08-21
AVIATION MAKES
GREAT PROGRESS
Keen Competition In War Is Re-
sponsibIe for Remark
able Advance.
HOPE TUNRs TO america
This Country Expected TO Help Win
the War With Germany by Con-
struetion Of Great Fleet
Of Alrpianes.

New York.-Avlation has made vast
progress In the third year Of the war.
The keen competition in the great
struggle has been responsible for this
remarkable advance. Various types Of
airplanes have supplanted each other
in quick succession. No sooner has
a new type been designed than fast.
er plane has been built.
The progress Of aviation has empha-
sized more sharply the absolute need
Of planes and dlrigibles for the army
and navy. Time after time battles
have been won and lost. concerted
drives held back or pushed ahead, be-
cause Of the airplanes.
Battles have been fought In alt-
tudes ever rising to the present rec
ord Of some 10000 feet above the level
Of the sea, and there has developed a
dexterity in manipulating the ma
chimes in the air such as but few men
dreamed Of few years back.
Early In the fall of 1919 the race
between the allies and Germany In
the air fight became keener than ever.
Experts speeded up their efforts to
improve existing types Of planes, with
the result that old machines were
either sent back to the training camps
or to the junk-pile; more and more
men were garnered in for training. as
aviators, and factories were told to
hustle as they never did before.
So fast has been the race between
the contesting powers that neither
can get commanding position In the
air. Superiority In numbers has but
little connection with actuel su-
premacy, because quality counts for
so much and the standard is raised
so rapidly.
Look to United States.
This boom in aviation was further
augmented by the entry of the United
States In the war. Factories capable
of producing airplanes, but keeping
aloof because the United States was
not involved, changed their position.
as might have been expected, and pre-
pared to turn out planes by the hun
.
1t was the virtually unanimous opin-
ion among military authorities that
an influx of thousands of American
airplanes with trained aviators along
the western front would beat Ger
many without question. 1t was ex-
planned that they could raid the Ger
man depots and munition centers and
cause such damage as to force Ger
many to sue for peace.
Hope was entertained when Amer
lea first entered the war that aerial
aid from this country would suffice
to place such q large number of
planes on the front as to enable the
long thought of raids on interior Ger
many to take place.
Steps were taken to rush an appro-
priation through congress for more
than 5000, 100000. Factories were sur
veyed for their ability to turn out fly
ing machines and other somewhat hur-
ried preparations were made. But the
work seemed dlstressingly slow.
The situation now appears gradu-
ally changing, and with aeronautical
experts assisting the government and
with all the money necessary to de-
velop our air resources for year at
least, most observers believe the
United States will In few months
or year be big factor In air war
fare.
Zeppelin raids on England con-
tinued for part of the last year |;
then the Germans seem to have sud
denly given them up on account of
the heavy losses involved.
Instead Of dirigibles, the Germans
began to use against London and other
English centers large squadrons Of
their newest airplanes.
Superior to the Germans.
On May 20 German bombers killed
70 persons In Dover and Folkstone.
On June IS the greatest DIR raid Lon
don had experienced took place. A
squadron of Teuton fliers killed 1853
persons and wounded 430, largely
women and children.
Germany sent over new type air
plane of giant size called the Gotha
to raid London July 7. Each of these
enormous mechanical birds mounted
four guns. They were so large that
flying over the metropolis at 1900
feet altitude, the populace thought
them unusually low and daring. The
result Of the raid was 43 killed, 1877.
injured.
The principal object Of these latter
raids seems to have been to draw Brit
lsh air forces from the west front,
where they are superior to the Ger
mans, for the defense Of the capital.
The Germans figured rightly that
there would be storm Of demand on
the part Of Londoners for better air
defenses.
Every great battle on land now sees
a second battle In the air above. The