New-York tribune., 1918-08-15
The Changing War Machine

Few more interesting details have
come from the recent fighting in Picardy
than the Associated Press account yes-
terday of the work Of the big bombing
planes, taking the place of the heavy
guns The Allies were not able to bring
up their heavy artillery fast enough to
keep pace with their impetuous ad-
vance, and the guns were virtually re-
placed by the bombing squadrons These
are kept ready for instant service at the
airdromes, so that they may take the
air Immediately that a call is received
from the signal or scout planes or from
troops or conveys on the ground.
There was thrilling example at
Lassigny the other day, when an observ-
ing plane reported the town encumbered
with troops and supply trains. In
stantly the whole squadron was off in
hot attack, and a total of 121 planes
flew to the spot and dropped some
twenty-one tons of bombs. They caused
large fire, destroyed motor lorries and
blocked the enemy movement for hours.
All the crossroads as we'll as railway
functions are under continual attack
from these bombing planes.
This is the clearest evidence that the
Allies have recently had what they never
possessed before, namely, high advan~
tage in the air. This is demonstrated bv
the fact that the bombing planes cannot
operate effectively, except at night, un-
less they can be protected from the swift
darting scout planes, which move at a
much higher rate of speed, are rapid
climbers and can, of course, utterly out
maneuvre the slower moving bombers
(although it is worthy Of note that these
"slow" moving planes make from rs to
80 miles an hour).
Slowly, very slowly, the war is rising
into the air. But far more swiftly it is
becoming war of machines. The great
new thing in the present struggle. be-
sides the aeroplane, is the wonderful
achievements of the armored tank. AS
we have recorded, all the dispatches have
been filled with vivid accounts of their
amazing exploits. Their great available
lty has now been demonstrated beyond
peradventure, and from this time on
great part of the struggle will be as to
which side can build the more tanks.
Just as the machine gun multiples the
effectiveness Of single man-power by
dozens or scores of times, so the tank
magnifies enormously the effectiveness
of the machine gun
There were few to question the effec-
tlveness of the great bombing planes.
if they could be built in sufficient num-
bers, but the clumsy, numbering tank is
a newcomer. 1t does not dazzle the
eye like the man-directed birds of the
SKY, but as a war machine it may, when
produced in great numbers, far outstrip
the aeroplane in tactical and offensive
value.
All of which clinches hard the fact
that Americas entry into the war was
the great decisive fact, for not onlv can
we and will we build more ships and more
aeroplanes than all the rest of the fight
ing powers have been able to build thus
Tar, but we can now, if the need is clear,
build more tanks than all the rest of the
nations put together. A country that
could produce in single year 1000 900
automobiles would not shrink long from
the task Of producing 100000 or 0.OOO
tanks in an equal period. And whereas
the conversion of our motor car factories
to the making of aeroplanes is a long.
difficult and singularly trying task, equip
ping them to produce tanks wou]d bo
little more than the equivalent of speed
ing up for huge production of trucks.
The general characteristics of the two
latter arc the same.
n1. H. xxyIlN NJ