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Aviation History
1911
1911 - 1052.PDF
lfi«"T The Aeroplane in War. [1443] I have read with great interest the correspondence and editorials on the above subject, and while agreeing with you that the precise rdle of the aeroplane and dirigible cannot at this date be defined, we should nevertheless have sufficient knowledge of war or the conditions of war to be certain of the following points :— (i) That if aeroplanes are used as scouts, every possible means will be taken by the enemy to frustrate their object. (ii) That as a means to this end they will be armed for the destruction, where necessary, of the enemy's areoplanes. (iii) That they will, where possible, be used in numbers, or fleets, for the furtherance of this object. (iv) Because, before any information worth having can be obtained, they will have to fight and win. (v) That dirigibles will only be used when their greater wireless range would give an advantage, i.e., when the dis tance between the aeroplanes and their base is such that a dirigible from a position in rear of the aeroplane scouts could collect information from them and transmit it in a shorter space of time than it would take the aeroplane to carry it. (vi) Or dirigibles may be used for full scout duties against uncivilised or backward nations, such as England is at present. (vii) That with the extended fronts of to-day an army would require some thousands of special guns to prevent an aeroplane gaining the information it requires, if no other means were used. Taking into consideration these seven points and the duty of every scout—gain information, without fighting if possible, but gain information—I think it is fairly clear what we expect of our aerial fleet, when we get it. To elaborate these seven points may be- necessary. No one will doubt the accuracy of the first. The second, taking into consideration the cost of sufficient special guns, and the fact that aeroplanes are not forced to be within range of those we have in use, while the cheaper and more certain method of using aeroplanes for the destruction of aeroplanes gives us the third, for. without cover, unity is strength in scouts as in all other branches, and the scout ends or begins with the fourth. The fifth is a natural conclusion, for they will never be exposed to aeroplane attack if it can be avoided ; the sixth may under certain conditions be used with every advantage, in place of the five already mentioned, and the seventh makes the second clear and removes to a certain extent that bogey of special aerial guns, which the English man, in view of his backwardness in matters aeronautical, is now looking to for comfort. There are two or three points which require emphasis. One is although the aeroplane may be a scout, it is a scout without cover of any description and cannot hope to be over looked. They must, therefore, become scouts in force or they may be destroyed in detail. They would, therefore, be employed in fleets of a sufficiently open order to permit of unity of action without making too large a target; unity Of action at high speed requires both organisation and constant practice. Another point is that if an army or navy be without aero plane scouts its flanks and rear require equal protection to its front, and if that front be only six miles in extent the number and cost of special guns, or other means employed, would far outweigh the cost of an aeroplane fleet, without giving the same chance of return in the way of information gained. The main point is that the aeroplane should be armed and the next is to give it the arm best suited to its require ments. The chief of these requirements is undoubtedly the ability to destroy the enemies' aeroplanes, for without the means of doing so it is useless. Even low-speed, well- armed aeroplanes in sufficient numbers would prevent the enemy gaining any useful information and could in turn gain any information they required, where the enemy's aeroplanes are unarmed, or even inefficiently armed. Taking this for granted, and keeping in view the special nature of the target—canvas stretched over a framework of wood and held together by a number of wires—which we must «xpect to find in the same horizontal plane, or perhaps a higher one than ourselves, the uselessness of any bomb- dropping device should be apparent, even to " R. A.," and the sacrifice of weight, therefore, efficiency of our gun, or quantity of ammunition, to enable us to install a bomb tube and bombs, would not be wis«. I would here point out DECEMBER 2, 1911. that where it is possible to install a compass, a gun can be relied upon to give a good account of itself in competent hands. It is not denied that a more steady platform would add to the accuracy of the aim, but quite good practice has been made from a torpedo boat destroyer at over 30 miles per hour. What caused our gallant gunner to come to the conclusion that better practice could be made by a bomb- dropping tube than from a gun, on the same unstable plat form, for there is nothing to prevent that gun being used as a tube, should occasion necessitate, providing it were capable of sufficient depression. A rifle or Maxim bullet would have to strike a vital part, which after all is a small target com pared with the whole of the aeroplane. Therefore I seriously suggested that curiosity, a chain shot, or linked shell. " R. A." will, I think, admit by using such the target is increased in size, from the vital parts to the whole of the aeroplane, and as a gunner he will appreciate its significance, perhaps more so if he considers the natural sequence of arming the aeroplane—its vital parts will be protected against rifle fire. The small margin of spare lift in any aeroplane will limit the size of the gun and the quantity of ammunition carried. It will, therefore, be of the most efficient type, the type of shell or bullet that can cut away, or cling, and thereby burn the sustainers, is the one most to be feared, for it would have to be a very powerful explosive, seeing we must have so small a shell, to upset the balance or damage the machine otherwise. I am sure " R. A." will not suggest a bomb- dropping device in this connection, for the fight will neces sarily be in the same horizontal plane, when the smallest possible target is presented to the enemy. As I endeavoured to point out before, the aeroplane is primarily a scout and a destroyer of scouts, and that " any goods the gods provide " that will not materially assist our scouts to perform these duties are goods of no value to us. Hassocks. FRANK W. B. HAMBLING. ® ® ® ® Aeronautical Patents Published Appl <• fa !> 10-0. Published November 30th, 1911. 25,820. H. J. REICHE. Flying machines. 26,140. J. BOWIE. Aerial propellers. 26,411. VISCOUNT J. DE MJNGE. \utomatic steadiness of flying machines. 29,082. A. B. LENNOX. Flying machines. Applied l-r • > 1911 Published November 30th, 1911. 1,551. E. ROTH. Balloons for airships 16,708. R. ESNAULT-PHLTKRIE. Parachute and belt for aviators. PRINCIPAL CONTENTS. PAGE I034 Editorial Comment The Government's Great Opportunity. Do it Now ! The Paterson Biplane (with scale drawings) .. .. 1035 Forthcoming Discussion on the Military Aeroplane at the Aeronauti al Society .. .. .. . .. .. .. .. .. .. 1037 A Study of Bird Flight. By Dr. E H. Hankin, M.A., D.Sc 1038 From the British Flying Grounds .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 1041 French Ltw of the Air 1043 Royal Aero Club Notes .. .. .. .. .. .• .. 1044 Progress of Flight About the Country .. .. .. 1045 School Aero Club Notes .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 1047 Science and Gravity .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 1048 Air Eddies. B v " O seau Bleu " . 1049 British Notes of the Week 1050 Foreign Aviation News .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 1050 French Military Competitions .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 1051 Models. Conducted by V. E. Johnson .. .. .. .. .. .. 1052 Coir spsndance.. .. . 1053 FLIGHT. 44. ST. MARTIN'S LANE, LONDON, W.C. Telegraphic address : Truditur, London. Telephone : 1828 Gerrard. SUBSCRIPTION RATES. FLIGH r will be forwarded, post free, to any part of the world at the following rates:— UNITED KINGDOM. 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