The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1917-08-21
AIRCRAFT SCOUTS.
Their Value In Naval Warfare In
Locating Submarines.
NOT GOOD AT SINKING THEM.
While They Are Clever at Sporting"
the Submerged Boats, II Is Only by
Great Skill and Good Luck That q
Bomb Can Be Dropped 70 It's Marx.

the Submerged Boats, 1t Is Only by
Bomb Can Be Dropped to Its Mark.
In some ways an aeroplane is more
effective In locating a submarine than
a destroyer or a patrol boat, and it
may even be able in exceptional cir
cumstances to destroy the undersea
vessel. says c. G. Grey, editor of the
London Aeroplane.
There is a popular Illusion, which is
not exactly a delusion, that the OBJ
server in an aeroplane can see as far
down into the water as a 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 it 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 a submarine as effectualy as if
SAO N"C4LS AoIAOh4S w" IL
Therefore it is fairly obvious that the
scouting air craft have to depend on
surface vision quite as much as the
patrol boats. Where the difference
does come In is In the angle of vision
from which that surface view is OBJ
tanned.
For instance a patrol boat might
well miss seeing a pertscope half a
mile away, especially if the periscope
| were between the boat and 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. The peri
scope, cutting through the water.
makes a very distinct wake which
spreads out on each side so that 1t
makes a 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 ex-
| hausting air can also be seen.
Thus an escort of seaplanes should
have a far better chance Of spotting
| the presence of submarines than could
any escort of surface ships. At the
same time II is well to remember that
an escort of destroyers or some similar
type of armed ship is necessary, be-
cause the aeroplane or airship Of today
/ Is not capable of carrying guns big
enough to sink submarines with GER
F, tainty, and the art of bomb dropping
| from aircraft has not become sufh-
GENTLY science to make the certainty
Of the bombs reaching their mark as
| great as is the certainty Of a shell
from q four inch gun doing so.
Therefore the aircraft by them
selves can only hope to keep subma.
rhes submerged by dropping bombs at
and there by a combination Of personal
skill and good luck, whereas by acting
as spoilers for the highly trained
gunners of destroyer fiotillas they can
cooperate very materially in the &C,
tual destruction Of enemy submarines
Where the naval air craft really dc
come In is in the immense surface OF
sea which they can cover In a very
short time and their ability to take
enemy submarines by surprise while
lying on the surface airing them
selves and charging up their batteries
A small fast scouting aeroplane does
anything between eighty and a hun
dred miles an hour, and at a height Of
1900 or 5000 feet it is fairly hard tt
see. On land one is generally warned
of an aerOplane's 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 aert
engine till 1t is fairly close. Conse
quently a seaplane has more than &
sporting chance of getting within &
mile or so of submarine before it 1!
seen, and if 1t gets within that dis
tance it should be able to make thingI
very unpleasant for the submarine
even if it has not the luck to sink i
outright
Even at night in moderately fai
weather which is naturally the bes
for submarine operations, big seaplanet
with searchlights could do much II
! keep submarines under water and 81
add to their troubles by preventing
them from stopping on the surface
long enough to air their interiors ant
TO charge their storage batteries.-NeV
York World.