Part 10
It often happens to flying men who do reconnoitering that they get involved in a fight. However, their task is more important than fighting. Frequently a photographic plate is more valuable than the shooting down of a squadron. Hence the flying photographer should, as a rule, not take a hand in fighting.
Nowadays it is a difficult task to reconnoiter efficiently in the West.[46]
_The German Flying Machines_
IN the course of the War the German flying machines have experienced great changes. That is probably generally known. There is a colossal difference between a giant plane and a chaser plane.
The chaser plane is small, fast, quick at turning. It carries nothing apart from the pilot except machine guns and cartridges.
The giant plane is a colossus. Its only duty is to carry as much weight as possible and it is able to do this owing to the huge surface of its planes. It is worth while to look at the gigantic English plane which landed smoothly on the German side of the front.[47] The giant plane can carry an unbelievable weight. It will easily fly away dragging from three to five tons. Its benzine tanks look as large as railroad cars. In going about in such a colossus one has no longer the sensation that one is flying. One is driving. In going about in a giant plane the direction depends no longer on one's instinct but on the technical instruments which one carries.
A giant plane has a huge number of horse powers. I do not know exactly how many, but they are many thousand. The greater the horse power is, the better. It seems not impossible that the day may come when a whole division will be transported in such a thing. In its body one can go for a walk. In one of its corners there is an indescribable something. It contains an apparatus for wireless telephony by means of which one can converse with the people down below. In another corner are hanging the most attractive liver sausages which one can imagine. They are the famous bombs which cause such a fright to the good people down below. At every corner is a gun. The whole thing is a flying fortress, and the planes with their stays and supports look like arcades. I have never been able to feel enthusiasm for these giant barges. I find them horrible, unsportsmanlike, boring and clumsy. I rather like a machine of the type of "le petit rouge."
If one is in a small chaser-plane it is quite immaterial whether one flies on one's back, whether one flies up or down, stands on one's head, etc. One can play any tricks one likes, for in such a machine one can fly like a bird. The only difference is that one does not fly with wings, as does the bird albatros. The thing is, after all, merely a flying engine. I think things will come to this, that we shall be able to buy a flying suit for half-a-crown. One gets into it. On the one end there is a little engine, and a little propeller. You stick your arms into planes and your legs into the tail. Then you will do a few leaps in order to start and away you will go up into the air like a bird.
My dear reader, I hear you laughing at my story. But we do not know yet whether our children will laugh at it. Everyone would have laughed fifty years ago if somebody had spoken about flying above Berlin. I remember the sensation which was caused, when, in 1910, Zeppelin came for the first time to Berlin. Now no Berlin street man looks up into the air when an airship is coming along.
Besides giant planes and little chaser-planes, there are innumerable other types of flying machines and they are of all sizes. Inventiveness has not yet come to an end. Who can tell what machine we shall employ a year hence in order to perforate the atmosphere?
THE END
FOOTNOTES:
[40] Probably the fighting to the east of Amiens in March and April, 1918, has demonstrated to the German Army at large that quite a great deal is achieved by this "crawling along the ground." The use of aeroplanes against infantry and cavalry has been developed very greatly since von Richthofen wrote his notes in 1917.
[41] Curiously enough there is a very similar legend concerning an aged school machine at one of the British flying schools.
[42] On two or three occasions pilots have gallantly stuck to their controls and have managed to land safely in blazing machines from fully 1,000 feet. There is a general opinion that it is possible to fit a parachute so that in the event of an aeroplane catching fire the pilot and passenger can quit it at once and descend safely.
[43] This may be the propagandist editor at work, or it may be a deliberate attempt to mislead, because, as a matter of fact, a man cannot survive long as a fighting pilot unless he is a perfect master of his machine.
[44] There is some curious error here, for Captain Ball was not flying a triplane at the time of his death. It seems probable that someone else shot Captain Ball on the same day, and that, as the younger von Richthofen was disabled, and so could not go and identify the wreckage of Captain Ball's machine, the credit was given to von Richthofen in default of anyone else making a claim.
[45] This was evidently written some time after von Richthofen's previous disparaging note on Infantry Contact fliers.
[46] This is really a high testimony to the effective work of the R. F. C.
[47] A Handley Page which landed near Laon early in 1917.
* * * * *
Transcriber's Notes:
Text uses both giant plane and giant-plane. This was retained. Frequently, the commas in the original text were moved up half-way to land at the middle of the line instead of the bottom of the line. These were all moved down.
Page v, "SHAFER" changed to "SCHÄFER". Word "the" also added to match actual title of chapter. (SCHÄFER LANDS BETWEEN THE LINES)
Page vii, "SHAFER" changed to "SCHÄFER" (LIEUT. SCHÄFER SPEAKING WITH)
Page 5, "Feldfliegartruppen" changed to "Feldfliegertruppen" (the German Feldfliegertruppen)
Page 8, extra single quotation mark removed from the front of ("Wong-wong,")
Page 12, "Richtofen" changed to "Richthofen" (fighting, von Richthofen should)
Page 19, comma added (first Richthofen, his cousin)
Page 20, "Shickfuss" changed to "Schickfuss" (great-grandfather Schickfuss fell)
Page 28, period changed to a comma (the breakage, I rode)
Page 37, "communique" changed to "communiqué" (first official communiqué.)
Page 38, "prisoner. He told" changed to "prisoner, he told".
Page 42, the text for the sub-chapter has 1915 in the date. As two chapters away he is in June 1915, this "21-22nd August, 1915" has been changed to "21-22nd August, 1914".
Page 58, repeated word "a" removed from text. Original read (like a a little toy)
Page 63, "particulary" changed to "particularity" (talent and particularity)
Page 68, repeated line "gradually to a stop and suddenly I was" was deleted. The original read:
THE German enterprise in Russia came gradually to a stop and suddenly I was gradually to a stop and suddenly I was transferred to a large battle-plane at Ostend
Page 68, footnote, "Grossfleugzeug" changed to "Grossflugzeug" (The Grossflugzeug, or "G" class)
Page 69, "siezed" changed to "seized" (seized a hotel on the)
Page 70-71, a line from page 45 "imagine the confusion which followed. The" was placed at the bottom of page 70. It was removed. The original read:
only a single motor working.[A] When we imagine the confusion which followed. The were fairly far out I saw beneath us, not
Page 72, "we" changed to "they" (waited until they found it)
Page 73, footnote, "analagous" changed to "analogous" (German slang, analogous more)
Page 79, footnote, "Grossfleugzeug" changed to "Grossflugzeug" (the Grossflugzeug in the air)
Page 84, footnote, "Riesenfleugzeug" changed to "Riesenflugzeug" (example of the Riesenflugzeug)
Page 84, footnote, "Grossfleugzeug" changed to "Grossflugzeug" (to the Grossflugzeug type)
Page 85, "Doberitz" changed to "Döberitz" (my examinations in Döberitz)
Page 87, "communique" changed to "communiqué" (official communiqué of)
Page 100, footnote, "reconnaisance" changed to "reconnaissance" (the two-seater reconnaissance)
Page 101, "communique" changed to "communiqué" (communiqué. Of course)
Page 113, "everyone" changed to "every one" (and every one of the)
Page 114, footnote, "reconnaisance" changed to "reconnaissance" (on long reconnaissance)
Page 127, chapter title, "Merite" changed to "Mérite" (Pour le Mérite)
Page 128, "Immelman" changed to "Immelmann" (Boelcke and Immelmann were given)
Page 135, "wont" changed to "won't" (You won't hit me)
Page 140, "Henin-Lietard" changed to "Hénin-Liétard" (road near Hénin-Liétard)
Page 140, "Henin-Lietard" changed to "Hénin-Liétard" (motor car to Hénin-Liétard)
Page 146, footnote, "cut" changed to "but" (was hit, but none was)
Page 147, footote, "Schafer" changed to "Schäfer" (Schäfer was also shot by)
Page 154, word "air" added to text after comparison to a different edition of the same book (a fight in the air)
Page 156, "communique" changed to "communiqué" (official communiqué. On)
Page 156, footnote, "Havilands" changed to "Havillands" (fighters and de Havillands)
Page 156, footnote, "Communique" changed to "Communiqué" (the G. H. Q. Communiqué)
Page 159, four lines of repeated text were removed. Original read:
which had been started. The aeroplane caught him up and a beautiful propeller was smashed to bits. Moritz howled terribly and a measure which I had hitherto omitted was taken. I had always The aeroplane caught him up and a beautiful propeller was smashed to bits. Moritz howled terribly and a measure which I had hitherto omitted was taken. I had always refused to have his ears cut. One of his
Page 164, "Everyone" changed to "Every one" (Every one of my officers)
Page 167, "Schafer" changed to "Schäfer" (After all, Schäfer was)
Page 168, chapter title, "Schafer" changed to "Schäfer" (Schäfer Lands Between the Lines)
Page 195, illustration caption, "SCHAFER" changed to "SCHÄFER" (LIEUT. SCHÄFER SPEAKING WITH)
Page 209, "latter" changed to "former" (The former shoots for)
Page 213, "Englihman" changed to "Englishman" (notice an Englishman).
Page 216, "Reconnoitring" changed to "Reconnoitering" (and Reconnoitering Machines)