Evening star., 1925-08-02


chine gun flights are able to silence
or materially reduce the enemy fire
until the low.f1ying bombing flights
are able to reach the target unmolest
ed. All of these flights fly at attitudes
of 400 feet or less. and it Is believed
that they are able to defend them
selves from all types Of enemy planes.
Second Plan Deadly.
THE second method is used when
each flight makes a return attack.
In this case each airplane carries both
machine guns and bombs, but 1t is not
as heavily loaded with either ammuni-
tion or bombs as in the flights used in
the first method of attack. The first
time over the target the procedure is
the same as outlined above. AS soon as
each wave has passed over the target
the bombing flight, having dropped it's
bombs but being still armed with ma
chine guns and a full load of ammuni-
ton, takes the lead as the machine
gun fight. The first machine gun
flight, still having its load of bombs,
falls in as the bombing fight and the
attacks proceed as before.s
Maj. Burwell accompanied his re-
port with charts showing the detailed
effect of attack aviation" on various
types Of ground targets. One illus
tration shows the results obtained
upon a target representing a company
of infantry in column of squads. The
attack was made parallel to the long
axis of the company and the targets
were made Of type "E" silhouette tar
gets "Of course" says Maj. Bur
well. "it Is realized that seldom would
a pilot be able to attack a company of
troops in TsNs formation, so the target
rn1 10 hot hn nntf
pany has heard the airplanes ap-
preaching, and scattered for cover.
The attack was made by one wave of
two flights of three airplanes each.
The company, as shown by the ac
curately checked results. would have
suffered 81 per cent casualties, as
many of the targets were totally de-
stroyed.'
Truck Train Demolished.
OF 1,279 rounds of machine gun fire
against a truck train" 822 hits were
made in another operation. On this
same train" 255 hits were made on
personnel and only So silhouette
targets were missed out of a total of
120. Every target within the trucks
was hit from one to twelve times, the
report said.
Results of an attack against bat
terry of artillery likewise were very ef-
fective, the report said. explaining
that although the machine gun fire
did no great amount of damage to the
guns, the bomb attack put the bat
terry completely out of action. Every
man, save two, was either hit or COM
pletely destroyed" The attack was
by one wave of three planes.
In such operations as have been de-
scribed by Maj. Burwell. there un-
doubtedly will be some loss of per
sonnel and planes, he says. THE
flight leaders, however, are trained to
take advantage of every hill and for
est in approaching their targets. BY
flying just off the ground and follow
ing valleys and, where possible. COM
ing at the detectives over a hill. 1t is
proven that, due to the suddenness of
the attack and the immediate get
away of the plane, fewer airplanes
will be shot down than would be
theoretically supposed on first thought.
BY carefully studying the contour
maps of the areas to be attacked, ii
is possible to choose a route even in
comparatively level country, whereby
a pilot can approach unseen to within
a very short distance of the target
The sound of a low-f1yinT airplane is
also reflected upward, thus making it
difficult to locate. Only with the
greatest difficulty can enemy pilots
attitudes.
Sixty Attacks Hourly.
"As an illustration of the potential
force of a single group equipped with
from rs to 100 of these airplanes and
having base of operations within so
miles of the front lines" concludes
the report, lit would be possible to
have single planes make attacks
every minute continuously day and
night or waves of six planes could be
sent over continuously every five or
six minutes. On the other hand
combined attack of 80 flights of three
airplanes each could easily be made
The effective radius of action of the
small personnel bombs is so yards or
an effective front for each flight of
$50 yards. Allowing for so per cent
overlap of front for each airplane,
the total effective front for the 80
flights is a little more than three
miles.
IF the bombs were dropped two at
a time and 180 yards apart, the ef-
fective depth of this bomb attack
would be a little more than 1 mile.
Added to this, each airplane would be
able to fire 5000 rounds of 80 caliber
mately one-half million rounds. This
attack could be delivered in less than
one minute. and with proper war
strength organizations located within
25 miles of the front, Ii is believed
that these attacks could be repeated
at intervals of one hour. It is posi-
BILE that an attack group could carry
out a heavy attack over an area
miles long by 1 mile in depth, and all
in less than one minute