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Aviation History
1915
1915 - 0274.PDF
(/JJGHT) That Count Zeppelin and his staff have every intention of promoting a massed visit to London in the near future may be accepted as certain. Irrespective of what may thereby be accomplished, they have no choice in the matter, if their reputations and boasts are in any way to be upheld. The peoples of Germany have been so saturated by anticipation, with the paralysing effects which are to be brought about by the carrying out of a murderous programme, by means of their destruction- dealing dirigibles, that it has now become imperative that a showing of some sort shall be made to justify the large expenditure incurred, and to fulfil the great promises which have, up to now, been held forth as leading up to the climax of England's downfall. There is little question that Germany is deeply disappointed at the practical failure, so far, of her airfleet. It is so utterly at variance with the expectations which have been engendered by those who have held that mammoth dirigibles carrying tons of explosives were to be the deciding factor in this war of nations. They are to be nothing of the sort, but they may nevertheless be a source of unpleasant happen ings which, however, in the light of the awfulness of the slaughter at the front, day in and day out, will be but as a grain of sand when regarded in correct focus with the war as a whole. One very important point should not be missed. In the recent visits, all the known facts point strongly to the probability that the pilots had lost their bear- • tigs both up north and during the Essex raid. In throwing their bombs upon Maldon there can be little doubt, in spite of German explanations to the con trary, they thought they were aiming at a totally different objective. In the final result, they have no means of knowing how far they were out in their reckoning and where they went astray, except from information supplied through reports and satetments from this side. And the pity of it all. We are not too enamoured of some of the procedure of the Censor's department, although fully acknowledging the importance of such a corrective to irresponsible publication of " news," but if there be any justification for this depart ment's existence, it should surely take steps to see that all details of places affected and localities visited by these aircraft should be most carefully suppressed. It is only by this means that the "experience" which is sought by the dirigible pilots can be countered, and be their excursions never so many, they will probably still remainas ill-informed of howto recognise their whereabouts from above, and thus, when at last "the day" (or night) .arrives for the epoch-making attack upon England's metropolis, the whole adventure must be necessarily largely guesswork, and as likely as not, with all lights out, they may expend their fury harmlessly upon unfortified fields and spaces before they are checked by our own ground anti-aircraft organisation and our fleet of aero planes. This sort of air piracy, however, is not war; it is but a shadow of the real thing. It must, nevertheless, be per sisted in by the German Staff for the delectation of their own people, but it has no military significance and ad vances its perpetrator not one iota nearer to victory. To Encourage Aviation in America. IN view of the increased interest which is now being taken in aviation in the United States, the Aero Club of America is organising a National Aeroplane competition, to begin on Independence Day, July 4th, and end on Columbus Day, October 12th. There will be a daily APRIL 23, 191$. At the risk of appearing too persistent, we The again venture to draw attention to the Flying Flying Services Fund which is under the FundCS administration of the Royal Aero Club. At the time it was launched there were a few who were somewhat sceptical as to the need for such a fund, but having regard to the daily increasing activity of our aircraft services, we should imagine that the few who were of this mind have now been converted. One feature in the remarkable work that is being done by our flying officers is the widespread area over which it is being conducted. As a fact, it will be remembered that the operations that are taking place in France and Flanders form but one section—a vastly important one, truly—of the activities, as witness the reports regarding the all-important aid given by the Flying Services in the Dardanelles, in Egypt, and other parts of the world that are affected by the war. Furthermore, although our flying officers, whether attached to the Navy or the Army, have so far been wonderfully immune from disaster, it cannot be expected that amidst all the dangers that are being faced such a fortunate state of things can continue with them and the other ranks of the Air Service to the end. Happily, the list of casualties in connection with our aircraft services has so far been relatively small. The war is, however, in the opinion of many, far from being over, and therefore it is to be expected that further additions will be made to the list ere the final victory is secured. Hence it is incumbent to see that every effort is forthcoming to ensure every possible impetus being given to swell the Fund, the object of which is to benefit those men who are incapaci tated while on active service, and to help the wives and dependants of those who give their lives in the service of their country. To be quite frank, although a sum of over £8,000 has been collected, the rate of progress in anything but a credit to the nation. It has taken approximately four months to collect this amount, the bulk of which has, moreover, been contributed by those directly concerned with, or interested in, aviation. What we should like to see is some active interest taken outside the comparatively limited circle of aeronautics to bring the Fund to a level worthy of its objects, and more in keeping with the almost unappreciable value of the services which the Fifth Arm has given to the nation in this war. It is full time that the public should loosen their purse-strings in the direction of the Flying Sei vices Fund, and swell the total available for the helpful work which it will assuredly be called upon to perform, to a figure more in keeping with the prodigious value which aircraft have attached to themselves as a huge national asset. It is difficult to know how best to bring this patent fact home to the public, where so many funds are crying aloud for sup port, but it is essential that some drastic steps should be taken to induce a more general recognition of the Flying Services Fund amongst one and all, even if such recogni tion may, in a degree, reflect detrimentally upon the many funds which, in spite of their seeming claims, have a strongly suspicious atmosphere of self-advertisement, if nothing worse. ® ® prize of $100 for the aviator covering the longest distance in ten hours, that being considered a normal flying day, and in addition there will be other prizes for the greatest aggregate distance flown, the best demonstration of mail carrying, the best aeroplane in the competition from the point of view of construction, &c. 274
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