The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1917-08-15
AVIATION MAKES
GREAT PROGRESS
Keen Competition in War Is Re.
sponsibIe for Remark.
:. able Advance. .,rI-
HOPE 1uNRs TO AMERICA
This Country Expected to Help Win
the War With Germany by Con.
struetIon Of Great Fleet
Of AirpIanes.

New York.-Aviation 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 supplantcd each other
in quick succession. No sooner has
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 dirigibles 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 alti.
tudes ever rising to the present rec
ord Of some 10000 feet above the level
Of the sea, and there has developed a
oexterity in manipulating the ma.
chimes In the air such as but few men
dreamed Of few years back.
Early In the fall Of 1915 the race
between the allies and Germany In
the air fight become 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 actual 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
saugmentedsby 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
dred to aid in the defeat Of Germany.
It was the virtually unanimous opin.
lon among military authorities that
an. influx Of. thousands. Of American
airplanes with trained a7iatOrs nlong
the western front would beat Ger
many without question. 1t was 5ex-
planned that they could raid the Ger
man depots and munltiol 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 large number Of
planes on the front as to enable the
long thought Of raids or interior Ger.
many to take place. -
Steps were taken to rush On appr0'
priation through congress for more
than $6OO,OOO,OOO. Factories were sur.
veyed for~their ability TO turn out n.y.
Ing machines and other somewhat hur-
ried preparations were made. But the
work seemed distressingly slow.
The situation now appears gradu.i
ally changing, and with aer0nautical!
experts assisting the government and
with all the money necessary to de-
velop our air resources for a year at
least, most observers believe the
United States will Il a few months
or a year be a big factor in air war
fare. q.
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 ct
the heavy losses involved. gB>'
2 Instead Of dirigibles, the Germans
began to use against London and other
English centers large sQuadrons eof
their newest airplanes. ,..y No.. .,.S
49,.