Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1917-07-12

| In the recent British advance In
France. airplanes few low over tho
German lines and raked them with
machine-sun fire. Aylators attacked
troop trains and fred through tho win
dows. In the Egyptian campaign oc-
CURED one Of tho most striking In
stances of this. Four allied machines
discovered Turkish force of 5000
infantry and 1900 cavalry executing a
ran rask ,n m0vemen. on tho British forces
lacked tho $500. They dropped forty
eight bombs. OF these bombs, forty
seVen exploded In tho thick OF the
turks. The thanking force was com
paetey aemoralized and routed. That
was on the 26th day Of March. 1917.
With the big machine. which ar.
nov being built, weights of bombs
and weights OF armament hithfr to
deemed impossible nrc easily carried.
An American machine with an American
plot mas risen to 1000 feet with twenty
passengers. single French -souadron
early in May dropped $500 pounds ef
bombs In single night. The zam.
squadron dropped 1880 pounds Of eY
plosives In four days. Airplane. can
now mount three.inoh guns, which is
quite respectable CALDER OF artillery
for sea-goinC ship. and one we'll
directed shot from which can sink a
submarine. Our own experts say that
one man in modern airplane is equal
to from 100 to 500 Infantrymen.
These are few OF tho things that
to stress this point, because there 4,
SO much being said OF what aero.
planes can do and what they may do
To such predictions the skeptio NAV
shake his head, but what has ACTUALLY
been accomplished Is earnest OF what
the future will bring, II tho probes.
OF airplans construction is attacked
vi
capacity for seeing big things in q big
way.
AllurinE to Contemplate.
The things that are soborly prae.
tcable with an adequate airplane fleet
arc ailuring to contemplate. The COM
plete defeat OF the submarine Is ono OF
them. The allies say they could shut
up tho submarine in tho North Sea
IL they could throw out Gordon of
small vessels to pen them in. But they
cannot do this on account Of the Ger
man Dreadnoughts. and they cannot
use their own Droadnoughts to cover
their lighter craft. because OF tho dan
ger from mines and submarines. In
other words. the existence of the Ger
continuance of large-acale submarine
warfare. Now. 1t is suggested by ex-
pcrts. notably Admiral Fiske that an
attack on the German fleet could be-
made In Its own fortified harborB by
the use OF torpedoplanea. A single
torpedo from a seaplans will sink a
German battleship. just az effectively
as a single torpedo from a submarine
VIII sink an English battleship.
Other things that could be. done
with sufficiently strong aviation SER
vice include the complete Grinding" of
the German artillery. the dropping OF
bombs on all fortified German towns
and naval bases. raids extending all
over the central empires that would
necesstate the maintenance by the
Germans OF large defensive forcs of
aircraft. and finally persistent. cease
less. ubiquitous campaign of aerial at
tack on the German armies in the front
line. the second line and the reserves
that Would go far toward weakening
their morale. These are among tho
things that have not actually been
done. necessarily. but that seem not at
all crtravagant and eminently practi-
cable. AS for tho things that arc
among the possibilities. they are too
numerous even to mention.
Takes Time to Accomplish.
1t should be remembered that these
things take time. We cannot build an
airplane fleet overnight. 1t Will be
many months. perhaps a year. before
we are turning out 5000 engines a
month. The task is a tremendous one.
and the United States to-day is the
only nation in the world that has
the resources and the capacity for
Wholesale standardized production that
1t calls for. But in view OF the hard
facts Of the case. aside from all rosy
hopes and prophecies, with all due dis
count for disappointmcnts. 1t seems the
thing best worth doing. tho most prom
Using solution OF the world deadlock
The greatest project the specialists put
ho
and the funds that they ask.