The Kansas City sun. (Kansas City, Mo.) 1908-1924, 1918-01-12

seen no more III the air. And In
stead of just airplanes, we have
bombing machines, reconnaissance machines and
battleplanes, each a specialized type designed for
a specific duty. Then, in a class by themselves,
there are the hydroplanes, writes Arthur Bening-
ton in the New York World.
Bombing machines are the heavy artillery. the
condors, the Percherons, the bulldogs of the air.
reconnaissance machines are the intelligence
service, the carrier pigeons, the hunters, the
pointers, of the air.
Battleplanes, which combine the duties of light
cavalry and machine-gun squads, are the swal-
lows, the thoroughbreda the terriers, the wasps,
Of the air.
You might as well ask me what kind of horse
1 consider the finest" replied an Italian aviator
when asked for his opinion on the finest airplane.
1T all depends upon what service you want your
plane Tor. For dropping bombs on cities there Is
nothing like our own Caproni the finest climbers
l personally have encountered were German ma
chimes; the swiftest flyer up to date is the Italian
s. v. A; and I think the Austrians have the most
reliable hydroplanes."
OF course this was merely the aviator's personal
opinion, and it is given here not at all because of
Its value as a judgment on the several makes of
machines, but merely to illustrate the diversity of
type and the wisdom of not confusing the differ
ent types in ones mind.
For a bombing machine the primary renuire-
ment is ability to carry a heavy load. Then. in
order of Importance, come: Medium speed $50 to
100 miles an hour) ; climbing power $4,000 feet) ;
defensive armament and a radius of action from
90 to 100 miles. Load-carrying power involves
strength of construction, great stability, and en-
gines that shall develop tremendous power and
yet be as light as possible. Types of the bomb
ing machine are the italian Capronf, the British
Handley-Palmer and the German Gotha G III
and Friederichshafen G. II.
The reconnaissance machine must have room
for at least two persons-the pilot and the oh.
server; installation for wireless apparatus and
cameras for taking both still and moving pictures:
fuel capacity sufficient for three or four hours of
flight; fairly high speed-say from 115 to 100
miles an hour-and ability to carry a machine
gun with which to defend itself if attacked. The
camera installation makes great stability neces-
'sary. Types of this machine are the Italian
Pomilio S. V. A, and Savoia-P omilio; the French
Voisin, and the German Brandenburg, Albotross
G III and Aviatiks G III.
Speed and climbing power are the essentials in
a battleplane. The latest types of this sort-tbe
italian S. V. A. and n new model of Pomilio: the
French Newport and Spad, and the German AL
batross D I and Albatross Bue-can carry only one
man, who acts as pilot, observer and gunner.
Most of them haye only one gun, which is not
mounted on a swivel, but is an integral part of
the engine itself, for, as it discharges its bullets
between the blades of a propeller revolving so
rapidly that it cannot be seen, 1t must be perfect
ly synchronized with the motor, otherwise a bullet
might strike a blade of the propeller. These
machines are nothing but flying cannon. They
carry no passenger, no cameras, no bombs, moth
Ing except a single operator and the ammunition
for the gun.
The difference between reconnaissance and bat
tleplanes appear slight when set down in figures,
but then every fraction of an inch affects the
speed and stability of an ~airplane.
Some idea of the differences may be obtained
from the dimensions, and these can be given only
approximately except in one or two cases. 1t is,
of course, impossible to describe our own Ameri-
can planes, so the comparisons that follow are
based on foreign machines.
One of the smallest of the battleplanes is a
new Pomilio which has not yet been tested in
America. American representatives of the Ansal-
do company of Genoa, which makes the S. V. A
another very small one-decline to make its di-
mansions public at present, but Capt. Alessandro
PomiliO, designer of the machines that bear his
name, has no objection to it being stated that the
POmilio which flew from Fortress Monroe to
Mineola and which scared over New York on Lib
erty Loan day, has a wing spread of approximate
ly SO feet. This, however, is a reconnaissance
machine. The one that is coming is a battleplane
and its wings have a spread of only a fraction
over 80 feet. Both these Pomilio machines have
exactly the same motor, a 200-horse-power Isetta-
Fraschini, but the greater size of the one already
here enables it to carry a passenger and cameras,
while the smaller one can carry only one man.
The reconnaissance Pomilio makes 120 miles an
hour; a scout is said to have made on tests In
Italy 100 miles an hour.
So ar as official tests are known, the S. ". A.
holds the record for speed. This is the machine
that made the sensational flight from. Turin to
Rome, 396 miles, in two hours and fifty minutes,
averaging 1903 miles an hour. The French Nleu-
Fort machines are unoficially reported to- have
made as high MS 175 miles an hour.
The dimensions Of the German Albatross d I
are known exactly, having been published by the
French military authorities after measurement of
captured machines. Its wings have a spread of
POT feet; its fuselage is 236 feet long; its speed
is 124 miles an hour and it can climb to Is, 100 feet.
II carries two rapld-fre guns, discharging through