Connecticut western news., 1917-07-12
1t Lives Up to All Our Traditions
of Doing Things on a Splen-
did Scale, Says Secre-
tary Baker
THERE will be at least $4,000 air
4 soldiers of America within year


from all walks of life, but by the time
They have mastered their business and
been admitted into full service they
will have become an army learned III
half q dozen sciences. They will have
become competent men of the world
Their number will be increased by
thousands of young Canadians, Eng
Hshmen and Frenchmen who will be
trained hereafter upon the flying fields
OF the United States. 1t will be gfo-
Nrious school of battle, this Academy of
the Air; a school in which the United
States will lead the world, one which
will make it a leader among the ma
kionS of earth.
have been permitted to tell two I'M
p0rtant details Of the United States air
program, says the Washington CORE
Epondent of the Philadelphia Press.
One is the tentative plan of battle for
khe great drive into Germany by the
new battle planes, air scouts and bomb
droppers. Straight into the heart of
Industrial Germany they will fly, and
Nseir path will be one of black ruin.
nc is Americas answer to the subma-
xine terror. The second detail is the
Eaan for training the new air army.
Even the war department, commit
ted as. it is to fighting on the earth's
surface, welded as it has been to use
Of soldiers. cavalry, artillery and all
ather manner of earth crawling SOL
afery, has caught this vision of victory
Through the air.
e@The war department Is behind the
afrcraft plans with every ounce of en-
orgy and enthusiasm at it's command,
Secretary of War Baker said in dis
wussing the plans of the aircraft pro-
dnction board and the signal corps to
sfrike at Germany in the air. "The air
craft program seems brutal; means the
most effective way in which to exert
America's force at once in telling fash
bon.
every consideration points to the,
effectiveness of a highly developed
Air service in it's relation to the part
putting an end to the war. 1t lives
mp to all Americas traditions of do
ing things on a splendid scale. 1t will
nut us on our mettle from the point Of
view both Of mechanical ingenuity and
of individual daring and initiative"
The development of the aerOplane in
the war has been marvellous, and al
most anything of startling nature
could be expected Of it. The uses to
which the seaplanes have been put in
the present war is most cOmprehensi-
bly, told in "Tbe Textbook of Naval
Aeronautics," arranged by Henry
Woodhouse, naval and aerial expert
and published by the Century COM
pany.
Aerial Photography.
Aircraft have made photography Of
tremendous value in warfare, says Mr..
WoodhOuse. Whereas at the beginning
of the present war commanders thought
that it was wonderful to be able to get
clearly written or sketched reports of
conditions from air scouts who had
flown over the enemy lines, today they
expect Photographic evidence.
It is not sufficient for an aviator to
return from raid and report that he
dropped bombs on a given place and did
certain damage. He must bring back
Photographic proofs, and he usually
does Likewise, the observer sent out
an All aerial reconnaissance brings back
series of photographs, which are
promptly put together and enlarged by
experts, and Photographic maps are con-
Etrncted therefrom, showing the exact
topography of the country, existing con-
6jt1ons, location, composition and dis
position Of fleets or steamers and trans
ports and of land defenses protecting
the approaches to harbors of places of
strategic Importance. The accuracy OBJ
sained by aerial photography is so rev.
stationary from a military standpoint
that it would have been uncomfortable
before the present war to be able to
realize it. AS a matter of fact, the
commander can have moving picture
taken In few hours which will show
the exact conditions between any two
given points and enable him to plan his
operations accordingly.
Proof Of Damage Done.
OF course the commander of the op-
posing forces has the same privilege
unless one side has the mastery of the
air and is in a position to prevent the
ayiatops of the other side from flying
over their own lines and taking photo
graphs.
In a report of bombing raid on the
Turkish lines by seaplane squadron,
which started from a seaplane carrier
at Saloniki, Lieutenant Francois Ber-
nou, who was on the seaplane carrier
Ben Ma Chree, relates how, after the
aviators had returned from the raid
they were ordered back to get photo
graphic evidence of the damage done.
Returning to the spot to get photo
graphic evidence, instead of waiting to
cake it after the smoke of the bombs
has cleared away, is often wise, as the