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Aviation History
1917
1917 - 0139.PDF
• • ." • i'l ". FEBRUARY 8, 1917. Park Commander.—~2h$ Lieut. (Temp. Capt.) C. G. Smith,S.R., from an Equipment Officer, 1st Cl., and to be Temp. Major whilst so employed ; Dec. 26th. Equipment Officers, 1st Class.—From the 2nd Cl., and tobe Temp. Capts. whilst so employed : Temp. Lieut. A. S. Ellerton, Gen. List ; Dec. 19th. Lieut. W. H. Day, Hamps.R. ; Dec. 30th. Jan. 1st : 2nd Lieut. (Temp. Lieut.) G. I. N. Deane, Tyne Electrical Engrs., R.E. (T.F.), from the 2nd Cl.,and to be Temp. Capt. whilst so employed. From the 2nd Cl., and to be Temp. Capts. whilst so employed : 2ndLieut. (Temp. Lieut.) S. Davenport, S.R. ; Temp. Lieut. J. W. Burt, Gen. List; Temp. Lieut. J. R. Grant, Gen.List; 2nd Lieut. (Temp, Lieut.) J. L. Luntley, S.R. Temp. Lieut. T. F. G. Strubeli, Gen. List, from a Special Appt.(graded as an Equipment Officer, 2nd Cl.) and to be Temp. Capt. whilst so employed ; Jan. 9th. 2nd Lieut. C. R.Huggins, S.R., from the 3rd Cl., and to be Temp. Capt. whilst so employed ; Jan. 13th. 2nd Class.—Temp. Capt. L. Sadler, A.S.C., from a StaffCapt. ; Jan. 1st. From the 3?d Cl. : Temp. Lieut. H. B. Denton, Gen. List; Jan. 9th. Lieut. B. V. Grealy, S.R. ;jam. 10th. 3rd Class,—2nd Lieut. F. T. McElwee, Gen. List; Jan. 1st.Jan. 10th : Temp. 2nd Lieut, (on prob.) L. A. Owen, attd. Hamps. R. ; 2nd Lieut. A. R. Mitchell, S.R. ; 2nd Lieut.S. A. Mitchell, S.R. ; 2nd Lieut. W. G. Murray, S.R. ; 2nd Lieut. L. S. Pape, S.R. Jan. 17th : 2nd Lieut. C. Cadman,Yorks. Dns. Yeo. (T.F.) ; Temp. 2nd Lieut. S. T. Fradd, Gen. List. Experimental Officers, 2M<J Class [graded as an EquipmentOfficer, 2nd Class).—2nd Lieut. F. A. Harper, S.R., from the 3rd Cl., and to be Temp. Lieut, whilst so employed ; Jan. 1st.3rd Class graded as an Equipment Officer. 3rd Class).—and Lieut. H. H. Olivers, S.R. ; Dec. 4th. Special Appointment [graded as an Equipment Officer,2nd Class).—2nd Lieut. H. G. Gold, S.R., from an Equipment Officer, 3rd Cl., and to be Temp. Lieut, whilst so employed,vice Temp. Lieut. T. F. G. Strubell, Gen. List; Jan. 9th. Memorandum.—2nd Lieut, (on prob.) W. H. A. Heald,R. Fus. (S.R.), to be Temp. Lieut, whilst serving with R.F.C.; Jan. 1st. - \. ; .;„_•;' '••?.*>:••••> • •••-*• /••.... • • - • Schools of Instruction. London Gazette, January 30th. Instructor (graded as a Squadron Commander).—Capt. J. V.Steel, R.A., a Flight-Corn. ; Jan. nth. Aeronautical Inspection Department. '? London Gazette Supplement, February $th. 2nd Lieut, (on prob.) H. H. Leage, from R.F.C., S.R., to be Temp. Lieut, on Gen. List (without Army pay and allow- ances) whilst employed as an Asst. Inspr., Aeronautical Inspecn. Dept., Dec. 13th. .... , f ; '•• • • .. •-'-• :.„-'•--•••:.»,, 5, Royal Plying Corps (Territorial Force). London Gazette Supplement, February 1st. Major S. Heckstall-Smith to be Temp. Lieut.-Col. ; Sept. 1st. Sergt.-Major J. S. Irving to be Lieut. (Temp.) ; Feb. 2nd. AIR FIGHTING IN 1917. A GRAPHIC little pen-picture of air fighting at the present» time is contained in an article written by Lord Northcliffe, at the special request of the United Press Association ofAmerica. He says :— " Very rarely do the Germans venture over our lines, andone has to be very far forward nowadays to get a good view of a fight between the Allies and the enemy in the air. Ihave had that good fortune several times. Air fighting in 1914 bears as much resemblance to air fighting in 1917 as an old steam automobile to a six-cylinder of to-day. There is a' perpetual match in speeding up between the enemy and the / Allies. Four or five miles an hour extra pace means every-_ thing. It is not the increase of engine power to over/200 h.p. that has brought about the change so much as the Wonderfulprogress of the art of flying itself, and it is just here that the Anglo-Saxon and the Frenchman beat the slower-minded German. It is just this reason why the German soldiers'letters are now so full of complaint about the over-cautious » German airman." When Pegoud invented looping the loop people asked, ' Why ? What is the use of it ? ' Pegoud was a veryconsiderable inventor as well as a flyer, is the answer. Loop- ing the loop is a useful manoeuvre, and it has been succeededby that extraordinary development, the nose dive,.in which the airman seems to fall like a stone for thousands of feet,till the spectator's hair rises from his head in horror. Suddenly the machine flattens out, scoots away, and you find that it isonly a trick after all. I talked with one of our wounded boys —he was just 19—who had fallen 8,000 ft. owing to his rudderwire connection being shot through. By a miracle his machine ••;-'.• straightened itself out automatically within a hundred yards•; of the ground, and the boy is alive and will fly again. I asked him his sensations ; he is probably the only man in the worldalive who has fallen 8,000 ft.—more than 10 times the height ",'' of the Woolworth Building, New York City, 750 ft. He saidthat for a long time—what seemed like hours—he knew that '•: he was falling, and falling at a tremendous speed, and thenTie, lost consciousness, as in a dream, and found himself being picked up out of the wreck of his machine by people whothought that he was dead. " At the beginning of an air fight there is manoeuvring forposition and feinting as in boxing. There are, as a rule, two men in each machine—a pilot and an observer—except in thesmaller types, in which the wings are clipped down to nothing to get extra speed and climbing power. Knowledge of engine andplane power, quickness of decision, and accuracy <?f shooting with the Lewis gun are essential to the pilot. His observeris provided with some form of pistol and often with bombs. " The rival planes, like giant hawks, hover around, above,or below each other, till one more expert or more daring than the other manoeuvres his opponent into a position from whichhe has either got to fight or flee. The knock-out blow is usually a sudden descent on the enemy, accompanied byaccurate machine-gun fire. Sometimes it becomes a duel with Browning pistols, in which the men are so close that theycan each see other's eyes. The thing is over before you realise it. One machine is off and away, and the other whirlsand crashes down, down, down to earth. " The British Army does not permit the names of its flyingheroes to be published. In telling you, therefore, of the American flyers, I must deal with those Americans with theFrench Army. " Lieutenant Thaw, of Pittsburg, was one of a number ofAmericans who entered the famous Foreign Legion of the French Army on the outbreak of war, and is the seniorAmerican flying officer in France. His name and that of his colleagues are better known in Europe than in their owncountry. " In giving a list of those whose names are known (some,alas ! are lying beneath the wooden cross) I can say no more than that they are worthy representatives of a great nation. " Lieutenant Thaw was followed by Bert Hall, from Texas,James Bach, D. Masson, Givas Lufbery, James McConnell, of Chicago, Chouteau Johnson, of New York, Elliot Cowdin,Kiflin Rockwell, Clyde Balsley, of Texas, Dudley Hill, of Peekskill, New York, and Victor Chapman. " The policy of the American airmen serving with theFrench Army is that of the British and French—to attack. They have played a goodly part in the invention of theconstantly changing tactics of air fighting." Lectures at Cardiff.IN conjunction with the Aeronautical Society of Great Britain, the Cardiff Technical College has arranged for a seriesof ten lectures to be given at the College on Saturday evenings, •commencing, it is hoped, on February 24th. The lectureswill include the history and development of aviation, the modern aeroplane, materials, design, meteorology, naviga-tion, aero engines, airships, &c, and the lecturers will include some of the leading experts. The cost of the lectures is beingborne by a resident of Glamorgan. An Australian Biplane.SOME particulars of a biplane built in Australia by Mr. Basil G. Watson, an old pupil of the Hall Flying School, arejust to hand. The machine, which is on tractor scout lines, has a span of 26 ft. and is 18 ft. in length. Tasmanian bassand mountain ash are the timbers utilised in the construction, while the propeller is of Queensland walnut. The engine isa 50 h.p. Gnome. Mr. Watson made a flight of 45 mins. at Melbourne in November, and later gave some exhibitionflights at Bendigo. 139
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