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Aviation History
1915
1915 - 0837.PDF
OCTOIM 29, I9IS. and which was small in comparison with the daily and niehtlv risks run by our heroes on the field of battle. nignuy risks Replying to Sir H. Dalziel and others on Tuesday, Mr. Balfour said the Admiralty are responsible for the defence against aircraft of both London and most parts of the country. There are how ever, certain places—for example, fortified ports—for the defence of which responsibility rests with the Army. He need hardly say that this division of responsibility did not imply that the Navy and Army do not endeavour by wholehearted co-operation each to assist the other in their respective tasks. The Army co-operates so far as its means permit, but the primary responsibility for London, under an arrangement made last year rests with the Admiralty. ' ' (7ilH3 No attempt has been made to increase the number of aeroplanes in consequence of the last raid, but there has been a steady and rapid increase in the number of aeroplanes, and that increase is going on quite irrespective of the defence of l^ondon or of any othet part of the United Kingdom. It is part of the general policy of the Government. The Admiralty are quite ready to state, so far as the public interest permits, what had occurred on the day of the raidi but all subsequent statements, he thought, should be made by some other office directly connected with facts. 1 or instance, the public weir naturally anxious to know the number of casualties. Tne Admiralty have no information as to that except what tbey gel from the Home Office. It would be better for the Home Office to supply that information direct. ® ® ® ft AIRCRAFT AND THE WAR. INFORMATION received by the Tekgraaf from Brussels on the 18th showed :— " On Sunday afternoon two aeroplanes of the Allies flew over Berchem at a considerable height. They were unsuccessfully fired at, and they dropped some bombs. On Monday morning another aviator appeared above Berchem and dropped bombs on some military buildings." The Rome correspondent of the Echo de Paris in a message on the 18th said :— " Recently King Victor Emmanuel was watching the firing of a battery on the Carso when an enemy aeroplane flew over the Italian troops, passing just over the spot where the Sovereign was standing. The officers accompanying the King begged him to leave, but the King reassured them with a smile and remained calmly where he was, witnessing with great interest an engagement which took place between Italian aeroplanes and the enemy aviator. The latter threw a number of bombs, some of which fell two hundred yards from the King." According to the Nish correspondent of the Temps a hostile aeroplane squadron has succeeded in blowing up a bridge near Vranje. The Daily Mail correspondent in Milan, writing on the 19th regarding the fighting in Serbia, said :— " German aeroplanes are flying over Serbia throwing bombs on towns and villages and killing innocent women and children in the hope of terrorising the people." The Morning Post correspondent at Petrograd, writing on October 20th, said :— "The German hydroplane captured between Lake Babit and Riga a week ago has proved perhaps the rarest prize yet captured in this war. According to the Novoe Vremya this plane, which is now at Riga, is one of very few of the newest pattern possessed by Germany. The hydroplane came down in a pine wood, and reached the ground practically uninjured. Russian outposts who marked it down betimes arrived on the scene before the aviators had an opportunity to destroy even their papers. They attempted to hack the propeller to pieces, knowing that it is a matter of extreme difficulty to fit a new propeller to a machine all of whose coefficients are an unknown quantity to strangers. Happily the propeller was shod with brass, and was not ruined. " The aviators next tried to fire the whole machine by revolver shots into the enormous tanks, but evidently their nerves were too shaken by the fall, and this also failed. The Russians took both the aviator-lieutenants prisoners unharmed. Their splendid hydro plane, which was perfectly new, had only left the Libau aviation base a few hours before. It is of the Albatros type, but it is replete with improvements and novelties. The most important is a gas escapement arrangement which renders the movement noiseless. The engine is a Zeppelin motor of 160 horse-power, bearing the mark ' Flugmotor Mailmen.' The benzine tanks are of unusual capacity, giving a full ten hours' range at a speed of So miles an hour. .. ,„ " All the necessary manipulating parts of the machinery are made luminous at night with a radium composition. There is a special newly invented level to facilitate handling the plane in darkness and a special compass, and seats are provided for three. ine hydroplane carries a searchlight, a Maxim, and a rifle ^with an adequate supply of ammunition, and ten bombs, five on each side, of ten pounds weight apiece. The whole ^W' ™ ^J" uninjured, and Russian aviators gleefully declared they wovd he flying over Geimany within a month. Aviation «£*»»«» Petrograd have, however, petitioned to have:th,s exce^onal modern flying machine turned over to them as a subject for profitable study before it is put to further use." A despatch from General Headquarters to the Daily Telegraph, under date of October 22nd, said, regarding the fighting round Loos :— " So difficult was it for the enemy to bring up the necessary reserves at the moment that we broke their line that, so runs the story, empty railway trains were passed backwards and forwards behind the lines in order to deceive our aerial scouts into the belief that a great reinforcement was taking place." From its Brussels correspondent the TelegraaJ has received the following:— " A proclamation has l«en issued by Governor von Bissing accusing the inhabitants of communicating to enemy airmen the location of buildings in which German troops are housed, and which have recently been the object of frequent attacks by airmen. "The proclamation says that if attacks continue, Governor von Bissing will find himself compelled to quarter German troops in the houses of citizens, and the ' promise made that officers and men would not be lodged in citizens' houses hereby lapses.' "This promise also lapses if, after October 25th, arms or ammu nition arc found in the possession of inhabitants of Greater Brussels." The Gazette de Hollande on October 22nd Stated :— " A squadron of Allied aviators have bombarded the big bridge across the Scheldt called the Count Wurttembcrg Bridge at Termonde, completely destroying it." The Echo Beige reported on the 24th:— " Allied aviators have made another daring raid over the Belgian province of Luxemburg. At Marche bomln were dropped, which killed thirteen Germans, whilst eight were injured. On October 10th Allied aviatois dropped bombs on Hermixem, where a bridge across the Scheldt was hit. Bombs were also dropped at Lokeren and Termonde, doing considerable damage and killing or injuring several Germans." Writing from Milan to the Daily Telegraph on Monday, Mr. A. Beaumont said :— " Austrian aeroplanes appeared over Venice yesterday morning shortly after ten o'clock, and made two attacks, dropping explosive and incendiary bombs, most of which, however, fell into the lagoons. Curiously enough, the evening More a banquet had been given to more than 200 guests at the ex-Restaurant I'ilsen, in honour of the French and Italian aviators who had been specially assigned as an aerial guard over the old city of the Doges. The Mayor of the town made a speech, in which he highly lauded the undaunted courage of the aviators who risked their lives daily in defending the town, with all its historic treasures, against the enemy's aerial incursions. " It was no reflection, indeed, on the gallant aviation corps of Venice that the enemy's flight squadrons were able to approach the town yesterday, as the sky was slightly covered by mists, and the enemy's machines took advantage of the situation. One of the first bombs fell on the roof of the Church of the Scalzi (barefooted friars), famous for its MSS. and paintings by Tiepolo. The roof was partly demolished, and one of Tiepolo's frescoes was destroyed. Several bombs were evidently aimed at the Piazza San Marco and the church, but failed to hit anything. One bomb only exploded on the Piazza, without doing any damage. Five bombs were aimed at other parts of the town, but fell mostly into the water, causing little or no damage. " About an hour after these two attacks a third attack was made by another aeroplane, which dropped three bombs, two of which produced no effect at all, whilst the third set fire to a heap of wood in the courtyard of the Ricovero (Poor Asylum) without injuring any of its inmates. In fact none of the bomlw caused any personal injuries. This attack shows that the precautions to protect the leading monuments and art treasures at Venice were wisely taken." 837
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