Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-03-23


- chemical agents for thu
nurpose of disturbing the peace o
mind, health and physical pos
sessions of national enemies, de-
welcomed to a fairly high stage O
artistry during the World war
has been the subject Of quite CON
Siderable research since that time
The results of these studies arr
being demonstrated this montF
nv the Navy in the Caribbean ane
will be demonstrated next montE
by the Army in California. Inc
bonbardment business has un'
dergone much refinement during
the past 10 years.
This thing of letting go un-
pleasantneSSeS from alrplanes. az
a means of warfare is ASSUMING
variety. During the World wal
the chief missile employed IN the
snort was the egg" The egg
was essentially a can filled with
various explosive agents ana NJ
fed with VaneS to guide 1t IN ltS
descent upon the enemy and ms
works. It was. especially IN the
early stages of the war, a raCheI
crude form of bomb.
Today. however, the bomb is a
scientific weapon. Its shape Is
the result of study. 1t is designed
to fit circumstances. 1t Is bigger
noisier and messier. There are
armor-piercing bombs, fragmen-
tation bombs, delayed-fuse BOMBS
and other types for various pur,--
noses. There are bombs OF all
sizes and shapes from 10 to 4,O0O
hounds in weight. There are eX-
plosive bombs, gas bombs and
bomb flares. Flashlight-poWder
bombs. attached to parachutes,
are used for night photography.
The NAVY. in addition, drops tor
pedoes. Bombardment has oe-
come a diversified business.
Early Aerial Bombing.
Aerial bombardment, though
only recently claSSed among the
mechanical arts, so to speak, is
not without it's history. 1t long
has been the desire Of man to
rise above the objects of his dis
like. If, when above those objects,
he could pelt them with debris OF
various sorts, so much the better.
The ape in the coconut tree is
one example of the early history
of bombardment from the air.
The hurting of eggs and farmyard
produce by the gallery gods at Of
Tending actors, formerly recog-
nized form of dramatic criticism,
falls in the same category.
The airplane offered man a
splendid opportunity to shower
down brio -brac upon his foes.
He graspee ed the opportunity
quickly. When the World War
began in 1914 the airplane was a
new and untried weapon. Aerial
bombs had not been considered a
necessity.
The first planes used in the war
we're for observation purposes
only. In the beginning they were
not even armed. Enemy pilots
were in the habit of waving greet
ings when passing on the way into
hostile sectors. Then the war be-
came bitter and friendly greet
ings, even among pilots, became
out of place, to say the least.
Some of the pilots began carry
ing pistols, with which they
whanged away rather ineffectu-
ally at their aerial opponents.
This didn't do much real good,
but it did serve to ease the war
like conscience. It is related,
though I don't know how true the
story is, that at least one allied
pilot carried bricks, with which
he attempted to Shatter the pro-
pellers of enemy planes. Whether
true or not, the idea behind the
brick tossing has led to one OF the
latest aerial developments, the
bombing of aircraft from other
aircraft, one of the things which
will be tried out next month in
California.
Machine Guns in Air.
The arming of aircraft with
machine guns came quickly when
the pilots found that the firing OF
pistols at enemy airplaneS was
causing little more than mental
irritation, and that chiefly to
themselves.
Development of bombardment
also began early in the war. Hand
grenades were used by some OF
the pilots, pending the conStruc-
ton of real airplane bombs. The
French made use for short time
of metal darts, feathered for truer
flight and released in showers
above enemy troops. There is a
classical story of a war-embit-
tered British flyer who filled his
cockpit with empty beer bottles.
These he would heave out with
savage curses while flying over
enemy cities. Even when he car
ried bombs, he also carried the
bottles. After letting go the ex-
ploSives, he would lay a curse on
each bottle and let fly, trusting
that some thick enemy skull would
be there to stop its hurting ca
reer. He was living the war, that
lad.
Within very few months after
the war began airplane designers
recognized that separate types OF
planes would be required for bonn
bardment purposes, and lombard
ment became a distinctive part OF
military aviation. Construction
of aviation bombs became dis
tinct portion of the ordnance
mans Job. Though the size of the
bombs is controlled only by the
carrying capacity of the planes,
no great sizes were actually used
during the war, as measured in
the light of present developments.
Records of the Army Air Corps