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Aviation History
1916
1916 - 0148.PDF
[/LIGHT] Edward Busk Memorial Lecture. IT is announced by the Aeronautical Society that the first Edward Busk Memorial lecture will be read by Mr. F. W. Lanchester, but the date is not yet fixed. A Prophecy. WRITING in the Daily Express on "To New York by Air in Fifteen Hours," Mr. Claude Grahame-White gives the following pen-picture of the future of aviation :— " Twenty years hence the air will be peopled by craft large and small, flying high and low ; swift passenger machines and slower goods-carrying craft ; grim grey war machines, and aero-mails ; with thousands of privately-owned craft that will be driven either for business or pleasure. " Both by day and night along the air-ways will sound the drone of high-speed craft. During the daytime, glancing below, pilots will be guided on their course by gigantic land signs; and in the evening, as soon as darkness falls, there will be flashes of light from signal towers—each route and each alighting ground being distin guished by a difference in the frequency and colour of the beams thrown skyward. "The constructor of aeroplanes, in the meantime, labours to remove their limitations. Yesterday he was spoken of as a ' crank ' —an amiable but futile enthusiast. But to-day, remembering the vital part that has been played by aircraft in the war, he is regarded with respect. And to-morrow, when he has perfected a metal-built craft that will vary its speed by an alteration of wing-surface, and is fitted with duplicate engines developing thousands of horse power, he will proceed to revolutionise the traffic of the world." A Brave French Patriot. THE demonstration which is being organised in France in honour of Camille Eugene Jacquet should arouse considerable interest in Great Britain, as it was this French patriot who was the means of assisting Capt. Mapplebeck to escape after he had been forced to land in the neighbourhood of Lille. According to a proclamation published by the German Governor at Lille, Jacquet, with three others, was shot on September 22nd " for having hidden the English aviator who came down at Wattignies on March nth last; for having lodged him, and for having made his passage through France easy, so that he was able to rejoin the enemy's lines ; for having kepi and helped members of the enemy's armies, and who after their stay in Lille or suburbs, got them away into France." His name has already been honoured in France by the following Order of the Day published by General Joffre on January 15th last :— " Camille Jacquet, tradesman at Lille, was sentenced to death by the Germans, and executed at Lille fortress, September 22nd, 1915, for having concealed, kept, and cared for French soldiers, and helped them to escape. He died like a hero, refused to be bound or blindfolded, and fell with cries of ' Vive la France ! ' ' Vive la Republique ! ' on his lips." It may be recalled that on March nth last year, Capt- Mapple beck, Capt. Barton and Lieut. Warrand, each on a separate machine, set out to bomb the German wireless stations at Lille. They were heavily fired upon and while Capt. Barton, though severely wounded, was able to regain the British lines, Captain Mapplebeck and Lieut. Warrand were forced down in the enemy's country. Lieut. Warrand was so severely wounded that he died a few days later. The Ger mans found Capt. Mapplebeck's machine but no sign of the pilot; they thereupon posted a notice stating that two English aviators were in hiding and offered a reward for any information, stating at the same time that anyone sheltering them or assisting them to escape would be sentenced to death. As a matter of fact Capt. Mapplebeck was hidden by Jacquet and after a fortnight escaped to England. M. Ble"riot and Zeppelin Fighters. INTERVIEWED by the Paris correspondent of the Times the other day M. Bl^riot gave some interesting ideas as to the types of aeroplanes which would probably be most useful for fighting Zeppelins. He favours a light and fast single-seater capable of rising with great speed and "he is not prejudiced in favour of his own style of machine, but believes that the biplane may, perhaps, offer superi ority, particularly for landing. They should be armed with machine- guns, or bombs, which could be released when above an airship, and should carry searchlights. This equipment would not weigh as much as a passenger. To secure lightness and lifting power, he suggests that the pilot should be unaccompanied. He considers that not enough is done to make good pilots, who must be superior to German pilots. Both England and France are possessed of the necessary material. What was required was to accentuate the training so as to produce more men ol the type of Pegoud and Garros. Young men are to be preferred for this work, as at 25 a man had a stouter heart than at 40. " M. Bleriot finds no particular fault with the scheme for darkening towns, but he says it is easy for an airman to find his FEBRUARY 17, 1916. position by the rivers, which are clearly visible at a height. He does not believe in building Zeppelins, which, he says, are cumber some and vulnerable, and, on this latter account, are capable of operating only at night. Nor does he approve of the double- motored aeroplanes, holding them to be dangerous." The Latest Zeppeltns. IF all the details regarding the latest Zeppelins, as told by the Swiss paper Bund, are true, a lively time in the air can be looked forward to. According to Mr. A. Beaumont, writing in the Daily Telegraph, some of these items are as follows :— " The Germans now claim to finish one Zeppelin every week, which is given its trial on the lake opposite Friedrichshafen. The number of operatives, which was 3,000, has been considerably increased. Trial flights are accomplished every day, and sometime? two new airships may be seen cruising together. The great motor factory at Maibach, adjoining the Zeppelin works, is producing new motors, which are tested for twenty-four hours and forty-eight hours without interruption, and which make a noise heard far out on the lake. The forms and dimensions of the Zeppelins have been further modified from the primitive shape. They are now much more elongated, and resemble the outlines of fishes. The two gondolas, which seem to be hanging lower, no longer communicate with each other, unless invisibly by a corridor inside the balloon. Each gondola is covered with armour, and carries six machine-guns and one or two quick-firing guns, with a special device also for throwing aerial torpedoes. The platform for the machine-guns, which used to be visible in the earlier models, is no longer seen. "The point of the new Zeppelin has a metallic polish or brilliancy for one-fifth of the entire length of the airship, Count Zeppelin having acquired the Schoop patent for metallisation, and employing it for the envelope. The rudder gear is smaller and more compact, and the motors have been reinforced, but make a louder noise. The trial flights on the lake are interesting, and it is noticeable that the Zeppelins have improved their speed and power of manoeuvring rapidly in all directions, but the latest invention is the creation of artificial clouds round the airship in flight, by means of gases. At a given moment great volumes of vapour and fumes issue from the airship, enveloping it entirely, and if there is any mist or cloud in the sky the airship becomes idenified with it, and is absolutely invisible from the ground." If you require anything; pertaining to' aviation, study "FLIGHT'S" Index to Advertisers and "FLIGHT'S" \ Buyers' Guide and Trade Directory, which appear I alternately in these pages—one each week. ® ® ® <*• Aeronautical Patents Published. Applied for In IBIS. Published February T?tA, 1916 1,488- VICKERS, LTD., AND H. B. PRATT. Swivelling gear for propellers of airships. 5,863. H. O. SHORT. Valves for aerostats. 6,148. G. A. LOWE. Speed indicator for use on aeroplanes, &c. 11,135. FRIED. KRUPP AKT.-GHS. Sighting devices for aircraft repelling guns. ® ® © ® Index and Title Page for Vol. VII. The 8-page Index for Vol. VII of " FLIGHT" (January to December, 1915) is now ready, and can be had from the Publishers, 44, St. Martin's Lane, London, W.C., price 6d. per copy, post free. FLIGHT. 44, ST. MARTIN'S LANE, LONDON, W.C. Telegraphic address: Truditur, London. Telephone: i828Gerrard. SUBSCRIPTION RATES. " FLIGHT " will be forwarded, post free, at the following rates:— UNITED KINGDOM. ABROAD. s. d. s. d. 3 Months, Post Free... I 8 3 Months, Post Free... 2 9 6 „ ,, •3 3 6 >> >> ••• S 6 12 „ 6 6 12 „ „ ... 11 o Cheques and Post Office Orders should be made payable to the Proprietors of "FLIGHT," 44, St. Martin's Lane, W.C., and crossed London County and Westminster Bank, otherwise no responsibility will be accepted. Should any difficulty be experienced in procuring " FLIGHT "from local newsvendors, intending readers can obtain each issue direct from the Publishing Office, by forwarding remittance as above.
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