Part 16

The results gleaned would be more trustworthy than those obtained from the look-out of a warship; and the field of vision would, also, be infinitely wider. What would be of great importance, of course, in connection with such aerial observations, would be for the pilot of the machine to report what he saw by means of wireless telegraphy. There is no reason why this should not be done. A well-organised service of naval aeroplanes, fitted with long-distance wireless, should, indeed, prove of vital importance.

The point has been made, by critics of the aeroplane for naval use, that the high winds often encountered at sea would limit the uses of aircraft. But, in reply to that, experienced airmen point out that, although winds at sea are high, they are also steady—far steadier, in fact, than those which blow over the land, and are broken up into eddies by passing over uneven ground.

A thirty-mile-an-hour wind, over the land, represents to-day quite as much as any airman would care to contend against, in the ordinary way; but it should be possible, with a high-speed monoplane of existing type, to carry out reconnoitring work, over the sea, in a wind blowing at the rate of forty miles an hour. The even force of the sea wind would make all the difference.

It may be anticipated, also, that this wind-flying capacity of the aeroplane, for work at sea, will rise from, say, forty to fifty miles an hour, as the speed of machines is increased. There is, indeed, every chance that a naval aeroplane will be able to give a good account of itself—even under adverse weather conditions.

II. Interesting tests—Machines for rising from water, and landing on a ship’s deck.

In America a number of interesting tests have been made with aeroplanes for naval use. It was in this country that Mr Eugene Ely, a skilled airman—who has since, unfortunately, met with his death—first demonstrated the practicability of alighting upon, and rising from, the deck of a battleship.

At the time the test was made, the American cruiser _Pennsylvania_ was lying about twelve miles off San Francisco. For the purpose of the experiment, a wooden platform was erected at the cruiser’s stern, upon which the airman expressed his intention of descending.

Ely, flying a Curtiss biplane, left the shore in a slight mist, being guided as he approached his destination by the syren blasts of the _Pennsylvania_. When sighted by those on the cruiser, he was flying low, quite close to the surface of the water.

The airman steered past the _Pennsylvania’s_ bow. Then he rose a little, and made a half-circle in the air. Smoothly approaching the vessel’s stern, he stopped his engine, and settled with absolute precision upon the platform.

After a short rest, Ely added to the practical interest of his performance by rising from the cruiser’s deck, and flying back to his starting-point, a field on the outskirts of San Francisco.

American naval men were naturally impressed by this performance, and also by a series of experiments which were carried out by Mr Glen H. Curtiss, the builder of the biplane which bears his name.

Mr Curtiss designed a biplane which would float upon the water on pontoons, and also rise from the surface of the water when it moved forward at a certain speed.

Considerable ingenuity was exercised in the construction of this machine. The pontoons upon which it was mounted, and which took the place of ordinary land wheels, were hollow boxes with pointed ends, made out of wood, and sheathed with thin steel.

A large pontoon, under the centre of the biplane, bore the greater part of the weight, and a smaller pontoon was set under the front of the machine; while a third pontoon, smaller still, was placed at the extreme forward end of the aeroplane, to tilt it upward when it began to move across the water.

First tests with this machine were entirely successful. When forced forward by its propeller, at a speed of thirty miles an hour, the hydro-aeroplane skimmed along with only its main pontoon on the water. Then, at a slight acceleration, it rose easily into the air, and flew off. Descents upon the surface of the water were made with equal facility.

After satisfying himself that his machine answered expectations, Curtiss carried out an instructive test in conjunction with an American battleship. Flying from a point on shore, he made a successful descent upon the water close beside the vessel. Then his machine was hoisted on board, by means of special tackle.

To complete the test, the biplane was subsequently lowered into the water again; and Curtiss rose without difficulty, flying back to the shore.

The objection to such a scheme as this, of course, would lie in the probable roughness of the sea under many conditions of work. Were a high sea running, it is generally admitted that an aeroplane could not possibly rise from, or land upon, the surface of the water. Therefore, the sound plan, at any rate on the high seas, would seem to be for an air-scout to be launched from the deck of a ship.

An aeroplane on pontoons should, however, find many uses for coastal work. It could, for example, be housed in a shed on the water. It could then leave harbour on a reconnoitring flight, and return again, when alighting, to the smooth water inside the harbour. An involuntary descent, when over the water, would not cause it injury.

Apart from the work which it could perform as a scout, using wireless telegraphy to flash back its news to a parent ship, there are also the destructive possibilities of a naval aeroplane to be considered. In this regard, however, many experts do not consider that the potentialities of a naval aircraft would be so important as those of a machine operating with land forces.

An attack upon a warship by aeroplane would not, it is held, do much damage to the sea-craft, the contention being that the aeroplane would not be able to carry bombs sufficiently powerful to effect any appreciable damage. Another point made is that it would be exceedingly difficult for an aeroplanist to make good practice with his bombs, from the height at which he would have to fly in order to be comparatively safe from gun-fire, and also in view of the fact that both he, and his target, would be moving.

In this connection, however, there is much to be learned. It is not known, as yet, how powerful a bomb may be devised for the use of a destructive aeroplane; and, from the point of view of marksmanship with such missiles, types of releasing apparatus are now being devised which may ensure greater accuracy of aim than is at present considered possible.

A use for the naval aeroplane would be to cooperate with warships in attack upon land defences. A number of machines could be launched from the deck of the parent ship, and fly over docks and harbours, dropping incendiary and explosive bombs, and effecting considerable damage.

Another effective field for the use of naval aeroplanes should be in detecting the approach of submarines; but, in this regard, more data is certainly required.

Primarily for scouting, both from the land, and from a ship at sea, and also as a weapon of offence—if used in sufficient numbers—the aeroplane merits the careful attention of all naval authorities. In England, at the time of writing, very little has been done. A few naval officers have had an opportunity of learning to fly, owing to private generosity, and unimportant experiments have been made.

A very large sum of money has, however, been expended by the Admiralty upon a huge dirigible balloon, 500 feet long, which, after undergoing a tedious period of construction and alteration at Barrow, met with the untimely end of being wrecked by wind-gusts before it had ever taken the air.

In January, however, it was stated, more or less officially, that the Admiralty intended to devote serious attention, during 1912, to the question of naval airmanship; but, beyond arranging for another party of officers to learn to fly at Eastchurch, Isle of Sheppey, nothing definite has, at the time of writing, been done—save that it is understood that the Admiralty has committed itself to the construction of a smaller, rigid-type airship.

For naval work, beyond doubt, the powerful, high-speed aeroplane, capable of making progress against very strong winds, and sufficiently portable to be carried in appreciable numbers upon a specially-designed parent ship, is the ideal—with another type of aircraft, larger, and with a greater radius of action, to act as a scout from land defences.

_NOTE_

_Since the above was written, our Naval authorities have decided to train forty airmen and to purchase a dozen experimental machines, including hydro-aeroplanes of various makes._

SIXTEENTH SECTION AERIAL WORK IN THE FRENCH AND GERMAN AUTUMN MANOEUVRES, 1911

I. French successes—Proof of the value of organisation—Flights in high winds.

Previously we have dealt with the remarkable results obtained, from the first use of aeroplanes, in the autumn manœuvres in France, in 1910. Now we have an opportunity of describing the fruits of a year’s progress, as shown in the triumphs achieved during the autumn operations in 1911. Nothing could, indeed, be more encouraging to the French authorities than this one year’s work.

By the time the autumn manœuvres of 1911 came along, there were eighteen military air-stations in various parts of France, and a preliminary organisation of much interest had been created. It was decided, therefore, to make a far more thorough and drastic test of the value of the aeroplanes in war than had been attempted in 1910. Thirty machines, comprising biplanes and monoplanes, and representing aircraft of the principal makes, were detailed to co-operate with the manoeuvring forces. They were divided into equal corps, and were instructed to operate with the Commanders-in-Chief of the two forces.

The importance of the results obtained lay, very largely, in the successful use of the adjuncts to the air service, which had been organised during the flying season of 1911. The military aeroplanists established their camps near the Headquarters of the troops they were serving, and collapsible sheds, for their machines, were brought up on special motor-lorries.

A striking feature of the organisation, also, was the travelling "atelier," or workshop. These vehicles, huge motor-vans, with a skilled staff in attendance, were here, there, and everywhere. Their equipment included tools capable of dealing with any break-down, large or small.

All the practice work carried out during the summer, at the various military schools, bore fruit. The airmen knew their work and their machines; the observers had made themselves thoroughly proficient in their duties; and the mechanics were quick and competent. And it is such details as these, as has been said, that spell success in aerial work.

Naturally the question arises, "What did the air-men do?" The answer may, truthfully, be made comprehensive. They did everything—everything, that is, that was asked of them. The officers of both manoeuvring forces were amazed at the accuracy of the reconnoitring reports brought in.

Another feature of the military airmen’s work was represented by the adverse weather conditions in which they flew. Here was a distinct and unmistakable evidence of progress. In 1910, at the autumn manœuvres, a wind of from twenty to twenty-five miles an hour had been the limit in which pilots had cared to ascend. But, in the 1911 manœuvres, reconnoitring machines were boldly taken up in winds of as great a velocity as thirty and thirty-five miles an hour; and, in one or two cases, machines were reported to have weathered winds blowing at the rate of forty miles an hour.

From the military point of view, the actual demonstration of this wind-flying capacity of the modern aeroplane was of the utmost value. It meant that there was practically no delay in carrying out instructions. Instead of waiting, as he would have been obliged to do, occasionally, the previous year, before carrying out a reconnoitring flight, the airman was promptly in his machine, and away—despite the fact that a strong and gusty wind might be blowing.

Another point demonstrated, beyond question, was the reliability of aeroplane engines. Pilot after pilot returned from aerial journeys without any mechanical trouble whatever; engine failure, at first so common a fault, was proved to have been almost eliminated.

It was not merely a case of engine improvement; the careful work of the mechanics, in "tuning up" the motors, had a great deal to do with this immunity from breakdown. Such a proof of reliability was, as may be imagined, of great significance to those who were gauging the work of the aeroplane purely from, the military point of view.

Practice, as has been said, permitted the observers in the reconnoitring aeroplanes to obtain significant results. A test which was carried out, purely to determine the accuracy of aerial observation, is worth describing. In this case, a fortified position, some little distance away from one of the aeroplane camps, had been largely redesigned. The officer in charge of the aeroplanes decided to call upon three observers, who knew nothing of the alterations to the position which had been carried out, to make a reconnoitring flight over the spot, and prepare rough maps showing the location of the defences. This, he thought, would provide a severe test of the accuracy of each officer’s observation.

Previous to sending away the three machines upon their errand, the officer had obtained, from the Commander of the fortifications, an exact plan of the new defences; he was, therefore, in a position to check, even in details, the maps furnished by the air-scouts.

The three airmen who set out upon this special reconnoitring mission, each carrying an observer with him, approached their destination by different routes. Each, as he came near the fortified position he was to reconnoitre, flew at an altitude of more than 3000 feet—the height specified as being fairly safe from artillery-fire.

All three observers did their work, making brief notes, and rough maps, as they flew over the fortifications. One of them, using a special camera with a telephoto lens, secured a series of photographs from a height of 4000 feet.

But the point of the test was this: when the three observers had returned safely to their starting-point, their reports and maps were compared with the exact details of the fortifications, which were in the hands of the Commander of the air-corps.

The result was instructive. Without any previous knowledge of the changes which had been made in the fortifications reconnoitred, the three observers had been able to indicate, with clearness, the position of all the defences. From their material, indeed, it was found possible to prepare a map which corresponded with that previously provided by the officer in charge of the fortifications.

The test was considered a very effective one. It showed that an aerial observer could—even when at a considerable altitude—carry out a reconnaissance with accuracy, and prepare maps which could compare favourably with those drawn up at leisure, and as a result of detailed survey work carried out on the spot.

As regards the reconnoitring flights carried out by the officer-airmen during the manœuvres, there is not a great deal to be said, for the reason that they were uniformly successful. The Commanders-in-Chief stated what they required, and the airmen carried out their orders.

With the information thus provided for them, both Commanders-in-Chief found it necessary, more than once, to alter their plans.

Not one day, but practically every day, the airmen were able to carry out their appointed tasks, and their work of reconnaissance became an adjunct which could be definitely relied upon.

II. Work in the German manœuvres—An instance of the utility of air-scouts—Reconnoitring from high altitudes.

In the German autumn manœuvres, 1911, the aeroplane may be said to have made its first practical appearance in connection with military operations in this country; and, here again, complete success marked the tests. One instance, regarding these German manœuvres, is forthcoming of the manner in which vitally-important information may be obtained by reconnoitring airmen.

The Commander of the Red forces, suspecting some definite move on the part of his enemy on a certain morning, sent out several aerial observers. They performed a successful flight, and returned quickly with the information that a large body of the Blue troops was beginning to advance against the Red right.

Taking instant action, upon the receipt of this intelligence, the Red Commander pushed forward a very large body of men to a point of strategic importance, and so was able to checkmate, very neatly, the advance of the Blue troops.

The German military authorities, although led to expect much from scouting aeroplanes, were surprised by the results which were, in actual practice, obtained. One after another, in fact, the military experts who were following the manœuvres were forced to declare that it would be almost hopeless, in future operations, to hide the movements of troops from the air-scouts of an enemy.

It was, of course, recognised that this only applied to fairly clear weather, in which the observers could obtain their bird’s-eye view of the land below them. In thick mist, or fog, it would admittedly be useless to send out air-scouts. But such weather conditions, although encountered with some frequency, do not, as a rule, last for long. After a few hours’ delay, while waiting for a fog or mist to clear, the airmen should be able to carry out their work.

What actually happened, in the German manœuvres, was this: by 8 a.m. on the morning of the first day of the operations, each side had sent up its observing aeroplanes, and had obtained a concise report as to the position of the enemy’s forces. This result was, naturally, claimed to be a complete triumph for the aeroplane, particularly seeing that such traps as sham entrenchments had been prepared to deceive the airmen—but without succeeding in their object.

Here, indeed, lay another illustration of the growing skill of aerial observers. In the manœuvres of 1910, when observation officers were new to their work, they had been deceived, on several occasions, by dummy entrenchments; but in 1911—a year later—they made no mistakes of this kind. Their observation powers had been perfected by innumerable practice flights—proof of the value of constant work at the flying schools.

Another feature of the work achieved in these autumn manœuvres of 1911 was particularly worthy of note, also. This was the altitudes at which the reconnoitring aeroplanes carried out their observations. In 1910, the criticism had been freely passed that the machines would have been blown to pieces, in actual war, had they passed over troops while flying so near the ground.

As a matter of fact, being so new to their work, and not having great experience in the difficult duties of aerial reconnaissance, some of the airmen in the 1910 manœuvres were, undoubtedly, flying too near the ground. A height of a little over 1000 feet, which they maintained, would, almost surely, be perilous in times of war.

But, in the 1911 operations, this was changed. The minimum height at which any of the scouting aircraft flew, when near the enemy, either in the French or German manœuvres, was 2000 feet. Generally speaking, the altitudes maintained were from 2500 to 3000 feet; and, in some cases, the airmen flew even higher than this.

This increase in altitude, so necessary in escaping an enemy’s gun-fire, did not in any way affect the accuracy of the news obtained by the air-scouts. It was, indeed, proved beyond question that reports of complete reliability might be obtained from the altitudes mentioned.

Opinion was naturally divided as to the question of the vulnerability of the aeroplanes to gun-fire. But unbiased observers, noting the height at which the aeroplanes flew, and the speed at which they came into range and disappeared again, were found to declare that special artillery, however cleverly handled, would have its work cut out to make anything like effective practice.

The destructive possibilities of the aeroplane were not demonstrated in these manœuvres of 1911. That, perhaps, will be left to the operations to be held in the autumn of 1912. And, still remaining unsolved, of course, is the question of war in the air between rival air-fleets.

In the case of the 1911 German manœuvres, for instance, this problem of offensive work has particular interest. Both manoeuvring forces sent out their scouts, and each side obtained detailed reports concerning the doings of the other side. The two Commanders-in-Chief were, therefore, upon an equality, so far as their aerial observations were concerned.

In actual warfare, probably, this would not have been the case. The two air-fleets would have come into contact; and it is probable that one of them would have suffered more severely than the other, with the result that its subsequent reconnoitring work would have become inferior to that of the squadron which had triumphed in the fighting.

III. Aeroplanes in actual warfare—What Italian airmen accomplished in Tripoli—Scouting and bomb-dropping under service conditions.

While referring to the operations carried out during the autumn of 1911, it is certainly necessary to refer to the first war test—made by the Italians in their Tripoli campaign—of the aeroplane as a reconnoitring instrument.

What was done in Tripoli, although not on a large scale, was, none the less, instructive; and there is little doubt but that the success achieved by the Italian military airmen, under arduous service conditions, had much to do with the decision of the authorities in England to make a definite move with regard to airmanship.

The circumstances in Tripoli were these: the Italians held the town, with their troops in a sort of half-moon formation, and with unknown forces of Turks and Arabs moving about on the desert, inland, and threatening unexpected attacks at all points.

Obviously, the business of the air-scouts was to reconnoitre as wide a tract of desert as possible, and endeavour to obtain news as to the movements, and particularly the numbers, of the enemy which menaced the Italian position.

Several Blériot monoplanes, and an Etrich monoplane, were, at first, at the disposal of the Italian Commander-in-Chief. Later on, quite a large number of machines, many of them handled by civilian volunteers, were on the scene. The scouting machines were employed to the best possible advantage. Trouble, it is interesting to note, was at first experienced in connection with the engines. Sand from the desert worked into valves and bearings. This was one of those little practical difficulties which are only encountered under actual service conditions.

The courage of the officer-airmen, in carrying out scouting flights, was marked. They flew over the Turkish and Arab lines. Had their engines failed them at a critical moment, and they had descended among a horde of wild Arabs, there is little doubt but that their plight would have been uncommonly awkward.