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Aviation History
1917
1917 - 0147.PDF
Flight, February 15, 1917. Him v First Aero Weekly in the World. * Founder and Editor : STANLEY SPOONER. A Journal devoted to the Interests, Practice and Progress of Aerial Locomotion and Transport. OFFICIAL ORGAN OF THE ROYAL AERO CLUB OF THE UNITED KINGDOM. No. 425. (No. 7, Vol. IX.)] FEBRUARY 15, 1917. rWaekly, Prim 14.L POM Fraa, lfd. Editorial Office; 44, St. MARTIN'S LANE, LONDON, W.C. Telegrams : Truditur, Westrand, London. Telephone : Gerrard 1828. Annual Subscription Rates, Post Free. United Kingdom .. 6r. dd. Abroad us. ad. CONTENTS. Editorial Comment: • .. J; PAGE Reprisals and Yet More Reprisals . .. .. 147 The Case for the Large Aeroplane 148 Mr. Pemberton Billing .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 148 National Service .. .. .. 148 The Roll of Honour . .. 150 Honours .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 150 The Aviatik Biplane—1916 Type (with scale drawings) 151 The Royal Aero Club. Official Notices .. .. .. .. ., .. 156 Exhibition of Zeppelin Relics in Temple Gardens 156 Armchair Reflections. By the " Dreamer" 157 Airisms from the Four Winds .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 158 Answers to Correspondents 160 The Case for the Large Aeroplane. By F. Handley Page, A.F.Ae.S. .. 161 The British Air Services .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..165 Personals .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ,, 166 Aircraft Work at the Front. Official Information .. .... .. 168 Side-Winds .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..169 A New Propeller Boring Machine .. 170 Imports and Exports. 1916-1917 .. .. .. .. ., .. .. 170 HERE is only one possible answer to the new German campaign of sub- marine frightfulness, and that is in the shape of more and yet more re- prisals from the air. There is no other way in which the Hun can be dosed with his own medicine, as it were. Thanks to the British Navy the German Flag cannot show itself on any of the Seven Seas, so we cannot visit like with like in the matter of his shipping. That is all locked up in the safety of neutral ports, or as safely reposing in his own harbours behind a chain of mine- fields. If it were not so, and his ships were free to sail the ocean under the provisions of the Declaration of London of unhappy memory, can it be supposed for a single moment that Germany would have embarked upon a policy that was inevitably bound to result in reprisals ? The answer is perfectly obvious. There is only one thing that is dreaded by the coward and the bully—retaliation. Germany,has shown by her acts in this war that she is both. By the destruction of peaceful merchant ships and the murder of their defenceless crews, she has more definitely than ever put herself outside the pale of civilisation and must be fought with her own weapons. It is not as though the Geiman people were not of the Reprisals and yet More Reprisals. same mind as their rulers. If they were not," and there were even the smallest redson to suppose that as a mass they deprecated the policy of indiscriminate murder to which they have been committed, it would be different. We could rest content until the end of the war and victory had placed in our hands the prime authors of the outrages. But we know that the German Government has behind it the united public opinion of its people—unless their public prints are more shamelessly under the thumb of the Govern- ment than we have reason to suppose. All the way through the German populace has been insistent in its cry for blood and more blood, until things have arrived at a pass when we simply cannot afford to allow the dictates of mere humanity to stand in the way of the accomplishment of our aims. It is very distasteful to have to make use of such a phrase as this, but, after all, we are dealing with facts—and tragic facts at that. Therefore we have used the term advisedly and on consideration, having de- liberately arrived at the conclusion that " humanity " has no longer any place in this war. The Germans are crying out for the murder of our people, without dis- tinction of age, sex or calling, and there is only one method of answering the call. As we have said, we cannot lut the Hun at sea, for there he dare not show himself. But we can hit him where he lives—in his cities and towns. We have the air power, and it can be done if we seriously set out to do it. As a matter of fact, the official com-' muniques of the past week have shown that air raids on German towns are not only possible, but are actually being carried out on a suggestive scale. Moreover, they do not always appear to have taken place over " defended areas," so that these raids appear to be more in the nature of reprisials than as operations designed for military effect pure and simple. We do not know whether they have, in fact, been carried out by way of reprisal for Hun frightful- ness in the Allies' countries or at sea, but whatever the intention we are unfeignedly glad that at last the war is being brought home to the German populace in their own proper persons and bodies. It is the only way in which German public opinion can be brought to see that " frightfulness " is only profitable and amusing when it cannot be returned. It cannot be helped if innocent civilians are killed in the course of these reprisals, for we no longer can afford to regard any German as less blood-guilty than another. The individual German cares nothing at all for the murder of our own and our Allies' civilians, and it is time we took off the gloves in real earnest. D
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