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Aviation History
1917
1917 - 0454.PDF
the list may in the future be indefinitely extended. Wecannot afford to lose good pilots from so unnecessary a cause. QUITE a kultured idea of the German Government, theplacing of British officer prisoners at points which may receive the attention of our reprisal air-bombers. That threeflying officers, probably including Flight Commander Leefe Robinson, should have been selected for this doubtful honourof " protecting " Karlsruhe, adds a further touch of Hunnish- ness to the violation of the ethics of honourable warfare. TEN YEARS AGO. Excerpts from the " Auto." (" FLIGHT'S " precursor andsister Journal) of April, 1907. " FLIGHT " was foundedin 1908, BLARIOT AEROPLANE BROKEN. At 7 o'clock on Friday morning, April 19th, M. Bleriotmade another trial with his aeroplane at Bagatelle, after having had a new propeller'fitted measuring 1-3 metres indiameter. Unfortunately his machine came to grief at its MAY 10, first attempt to fly, for after making a satisfactory spurtacross the ground at a sufficient speed to lift the machine to a height of perhaps 2 metres, the apparatus suddenlycrashed down on to the ground apparently as a result of some faulty manipulation of the horizontal rudder. The aeroplanewas badly damaged, but M. Bleriot, with the good fortune which is almost becoming proverbial among aeronauts, wasuninjured. SANTOS DUMONX ADOPTS ALUMINIUM.M. Santos Dumont is having a new aeroplane built to replace his ''No. 15," which, as we recorded in the AulomotorJournal of April 6th, was wrecked during one of its trials at St. Cyr. The old machine was constructed of mahogany,which material, it seems, the inventor no longer approves, for we understand that his new aeroplane—which is to be of thesame size as No. 15, and will be fitted with the same motor— will be mainly built of aluminium and steel tubing. It isestimated that the increased weight will not exceed about 27 lbs., and that the finished construction will offer lessresistance to motion. " AIRCRAFT RAIDS. IN view of the decision of the Government not to allowdetails of places visited by enemy aircraft to be published, we are, as before, giving to each one an index number.Eventually, when details are available, we shall give the respective information under these index numbers, which willfacilitate easy reference to each particular raid. " X 59 " Raid (May 7th). The following communique was issued by Field-Marshal Lord French, Commanding-in-Chief, Home Forces, on May7th :— " In the early hours of this morning [about 12.30 a.m.,ED.] a hostile aeroplane appeared over the outskirts of North- East London and dropped four bombs. One man waskilled and a man and a woman injured. Slight damage was done to buildings." AIRCRAFT AND THE ADVANCE. WRITING to the Daily Mail on April 28th, Mr. W. BeachThomas says :— , " I went up to-day to an aerodrome to watch our newfighting aeroplanes shoot out to battle and return home again alter their duels. The waiting hours were spent inseeing all the apparatus of fighting in the air and in hearing tales of this man's triumph and that man's fate. " We have never before hit the, German so hard or soharassed him by day and night. A night or two ago our men broke up three trains near Douai, one after the other,with bombs dro*pped from a couple of hundred feet, and so terrified soldiers and other officials with the rattle of machineguns that the attackers escaped with scarcely an attempt at resistance. A day later two of our fighting planes whichhad sought the Germans in vain for several previous days suddenly came upon a fleet of 14. Our pair hesitated aslittle as the destroyers ' Broke ' and ' Swift,' though they were struck with amazement at the spectacle, for the Germanshad painted their machines every sort of colour. Apparently to add terror to the spectacle, some were scarlet and some pickedout in fantastic patterns. Our pair charged this motley group, broke up the formation, and sent two crashing to the ground. " It is only men who return victorious who can tell the taleof their fights. What of the men who do not return ? I can at least say this : that though our machines are" all daybusy in the air above the enemy's country they seek many more opponents than will face them, and the enemy's lossesin purely fighting machines are enormously greater than ours. £fys plan when he attacks is to mass his planes againsta single observer, knowing that most observing planes are no match for the fighter. "It is inevitable that such attack should be the battleschiefly seen by infantry in our trenches. They do not see the 60 tons of bombs dropped at night miles over the enemy'slines ; they seldom see our fighting men's pursuit of the German fighters or watch our triplanes towering and stoopingand chasing. ' As soon as I saw one of these after me I thought it best to come down,' said a very dashing Germanpilot who dodged our air patrols and got through miles behind our line, and down he came. " We hold again the mastery of the air. Whether wekeep it depends, first and foremost, on the activity of the factories at home. As I was listening at the aerodrome toa stirring tale of a duel that lasted for half an hour, a speck was seen in the air and the first home-comer of a patrol ofthree was recognised. He landed and ' taxied ' up to us. The clouds had been too low for good flying. He had hadno adventures, he said, and was home first because the engine was giving a little trouble. Then he looked over the machineand saw what we had already seen—a huge rent and a broken wire in the body of the plane. Clearly a great lump ofshrapnel had struck a yard or two behind his back. We had the explanation presently when another two returned. Theneighbour pilot had seen an extra double-sized shrapnel shell from an anti-aircraft gun burst just between the twoof them—an alarming fact, of which the younger pilot had been wholly unaware. " Evidence accumulates of the depression caused amongthe enemy's infantry by the activity of our airmen. A 'German document describes the moral effect on infantry of balloons ' hanging like grapes in clusters ' and watching every movement below." AVIATION IN PARLIAMENT. Prince Frederick Carl's Body. CAPTAIN D. HALL on April 26th asked the Prime Minister whether anyapplication has been received from the Kaiser or the German Government through any neutral Power that the body of Prince Frederick Carl of Prussia,who died from his wounds while a prisoner in the hands of the British, should be handed over for interment in Germany ; and whether, if such applicationhas been made, or is made, the British Government will insist, as a condition for granting the same, that the bodies of Nurse Cavell and Captain Fryatt behanded over for fitting burial in this country ? Mr. Bonar Law: No official application has been received, but a verbaland private inquiry was recently made by the Sovereign of a neutral country, through the diplomatic representatives in this country, as to whether the bodyof the late Prince Frederick Carl of Prussia could be sent to Germany. The reply was given to the effect that it was impossible at present, but that, so faras we are concerned, there would be no objection to this being done on the conclusion of hostilities. Leave for Anti-Alrcraft Men. SIR J. AGG-GARDSER in the House of Commons on May 2nd, asked theUndersecretary of State for War whether the War Office will increase the opportunity of leave for anti-aircraft service men enlisted under the Derbyscheme, for the most part married men, who have sacrificed remunerative positions from patriotic motives and who, under present circumstances, arerarely allowed t6 revisit their homes more than once in ten months ? Mr. Macpherson: Leave is granted to these men whenever possible, but itdepends on the availability of spare men. It is easier to grant leave during the summer than the winter without impairing the efficiency of the Service,and I hope that during the coming summer more opportunities may occur. Details of Air Fighting. MR.G. TERRELL on May 3rd asked the Under-Secretary of State for Warwhether, in view of the heroism displayed by the members of the Royal Flying Corps, he will arrange for reports of aerial engagements to be published in greaterdetail, together with the names of the officers and men distinguishing them- selves therein ?Major Baird : The reports of combats in the air are supplied by the officers and men who have been engaged in them, and are remarkable for their brevity.When such actions are considered by the Commander-in-Chief to be worthy of reward, short accounts are published, and it would be difficult to amplifythose. With regard to the second part of the question, I may remind my hon. friend that, as pointed out in a reply given by the Financial Secretary to theWar Office on July 13th, 1916, those actions which appeal to the public are not necessarily the most commendable, and only the Commander-in-Chief isin a position to judge in what cases the names of those participating should be made public. 454
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