White Bluffs spokesman. [volume] (White Bluffs, Wash.) 1907-1938, 1931-08-13

- N MAY Of last year the announce
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h ment was made that the United
EHl Ia States army had added another bril-
kHl ia liant achievement to the record
I'm ia which makes valid the boast that
pN an "the army does other things besides
E6SsD fight" record in long dis
lance aerial photography had been
set by the air corps of the army when Capt. A.
w. Stevens, Photographic expert, succeeded in
taking a picture covering a distance of 270
miles in single exposure. In 1929 Captain
Stevens had set long distance Photographic
record when his camera registered objects 227
miles away from the camera eye but his 1880
flight in a plane poted by Lieut.. John D.
Corkille over Crater lake in Oregon added more
than so miles to that record.
Upon his return from this flight, Captain
Stevens declared "While very we'll salts
fed with the results obtained on this particular
mission, l inclined to believe that it will
only be a matter of time before we will de-
velop camera that will record greater
distances. Before we can use 1t, however, we
must have Photographic plane that will take
considerably higher than 10000 feet because
from that altitude object as tall as
Mount Rainier will sink below the horizon at
300 miles.
Shooting at Mount Rainier from distance
greater than that between New York city and
Washington is much like shooting at the moon,
with the difference that you see the moon.
The principal task is to aim the camera in the
general direction you believe your objective to
be, snap the trigger and hope for luck" What
"luck the army captain had this expedition
was revealed by the remarkable photograph
which is shown above.
Another achievement in this new scientific
marvel of aerial photography, which was not
so much matter Of luck, was demonstrated
during the army air maneuvers over New York
city during May Of this year. the results of
which are shown in the photographs num-
bered three and four above. AS explained in
the captions, these pictures were taken by ex-
ploding bomb containing enough magnesium
powder to make a 3,0000O0OO0 candlepower
flash and swapping the shutter at the height of
illumination.
1t would seem to be an easy matter to drop
a fashlight bomb and at the moment Of the ex-
ploson to take the photograph Since however
there is definite relationship between the alti-
tude of the airplane and the height at which
the bomb explodes, it is not simple. Night
photographs can be taken only ut comparatively
low attitudes Measurements Of the photographs
taken over New York showed the arplane to
have been flying at only 1,5OO feet, although
night photographs could be taken effectively up
to around 5000 feet. The lens cannot be left
open until the bomb expodes because lights
from the ground would blur the plates or film.
The only thing the air camera man has to do
at night is to release the bomb the rest Of the
details are taken care Of automatically The
bomb. containing twenty-five pounds of magne-
stun powder. is checked in its fall by small
parachute and a time fuse sets the interval
from the release to the explosion AS the bomb
bursts the cameras shutter is automatically
tripped by an ingenious mechanical device
Before the World war the science of aerial
photography, except for few cases, most of
which were unsuccessful, virtually I'M
known It took on added Importance early in
the war and developed rapidly as the arplane
became such an important factor in wagng
successful battles. But 1t has been since the
war that it's most rapid development has taken
place and that development in this country has