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Aviation History
1914
1914 - 0891.PDF
Flight, August 28, 1914. /LIGHT ^^^^ First Aerr» Wooklv in fh« Wrxrlrl First Aero Weekly the World. Founder and Editor : STANLEY SPOONER. A Journal devo'ed to the Interests, Practice, and Progress of Aerial Locomotion and Transport. OFFICIAL ORGAN OF THE ROYAL AERO CLUB OF THE UNITED KINGDOM. No. 290. (No. 35, Vol VI.)] AUGUST 28, 1914. CRegistered at the G.P.O.I as a Newspaper. J rWeekly, Prloe 3d. L Poet Free, 8*d. Flight. Editorial Office: 44. ST. MARTIN'S LANE, LONDON, W.C. Telegrams: Truditur, Westrand, London. Telephone : Gerrard 1828. Annual Subscription Rates, Post Free. United Kingdom ... 15*. ad. Abroad 201. ad. CONTENTS. • Editorial Comment: PACK The Progress of the War and the Role of Aircraft,, 891 Loit in the Clouds. By W, Rowland Ding 894 Aircraft " Made in Germany " 896 Royal Aero Club. Official Notices 9-.0 From the British Flying Grounds 90 The " Round Britain " Machines 1 Eddies. By " JEOIUS " 903 Aircraft and the War 5 Models. Edited by V. E. Johnson, M.A 908 Correspondence 910 EDJITC IAI* O The Progress of the War and the Role of Aircraft. At the time of writing the news from the western theatre of war is not good. Indeed, it is frankly bad, but there is still more than a material hope that the position may yet be retrieved and a decisive victory crown the Allied arms. From the east the news is much better and goes far to balance the temporary check to our armies in Belgium. We can only wait in the sure and confident hope that the gallantry of our own and the French armies will yet succeed in stemming the tide of the German invasion. Of the details of the fighting we know really little. The rigid censorship, which has rightly imposed upon all news from the theatre of leaves us entirely in the dark as to what happened and how, and in consequence of ban on the presence of war correspondents with the Allied forces in the field, it is quite possible that we may never obtain a really clear story of how the operations of this great war have been conducted. We may, in all probability, have to depend upon the official histories of the war, which are exhaustive but take years to compile and, moreover, largely ignore the more minor issues with which we, as being more particularly interested in the aeronautical side of things, are very greatly concerned. We know next to nothing of what has been happening in the air, and are thus driven back upon calculation and surmise, which do not carry us very far. As we have very been war, has the pointed out on previous occasions, the air forces of the opposing nations have gone into this war untried, un knowing what was before them. That whatever they have been required to do has been done to the best of their endeavours we may be quite certain, and it is quite certain that this will apply equally to the Germans as to ourselves and our Allies. We may have our opinions of the morality of this war which Germany has thrust on the world, and we may condemn as barbarous and brutal their methods of carrying it on, but it would be as idle as it would be foolish to assume, or pretend that the German airmen are not likely to dis-play the same energy as our own and the French, The one point at which the latter should be found superior is that the German may be found more lacking in the essential qualities of imagination which count for a good deal in war. On the other hand, we must not forget that although it is probable the outbreak of war found Germany numerically weaker than France in the matter of aeroplanes, and that even of.these a certain number must have been detached for the use of the armies defending the eastern frontier, the quality of the machines, if record figures count for anything at all, is rather in front of those possessed by the French army. They thus start with a slight initial advantage to help in counterbalancing their numerical weakness. Nor must it be forgotten that Germany is in at least as favourable a position as France to build machines to fill up the gaps caused by the wastage of war, and to increase her fighting strength in the air. Of course, it would be utterly useless for Germany, or any of the other belligerent Powers, to build machines, unless she already possessed, or could turn out rapidly, the men to efficiently fly them. We know very little which will assist in guiding us to an accurate estimate of the number of trained pilots available for service in the German army on the opening of hostilities, but from what we know of the masterly organisation of German military power, we may be sure that the numbers reached a figure equal to the estimates formed by the General Staff of the require ments of the Field Armies at least. We may be equally certain that the training of pilots to replace those thrown out by casualties is proceeding rapidly, so that it is to be assumed that the German armies now operating on both frontiers are being, and will continue to be, well served by the aerial branch. And what of the Zeppelins, of which so much was hoped by the Germans ? Here again we know very little.
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