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Aviation History
1918
1918 - 0118.PDF
most obvious advantages. From the point of view of construction it would permit of a much greater degree of standardisation of types than is attainable now, because it would at once do away with the principle of multiplicity of types which is common to the Allies, but is avoided by the enemy because of his centralisa- tion of control. It might even be possible to bring about a single administration for the whole of the Allied Services, though that is not a matter which can be profitably discussed here and now. There is, as a matter of fact, no occasion now to go any deeper into the question than we have done. To do so might give offence—if, indeed, we have managed to keep clear of that in what we have already written. However, in case any of our French friends should be inclined to take umbrage at anything we have said, we can only assure them that we have not written with any desire to be critical of their efforts or with the slightest intention of interfering with matters that do not concern us. Our only wish is their wish—to win the war as soon as possible. Only by securing the very maximum of efficiency all round can that be done, and it is only because of our realisa- tion of this vital fact that we have mentioned the matter at all. • • • The main—in fact the only—ground The upon which we have given our support First-Fruits tQ the p0^cy of reprisals is that it Reprisals, would be likely to exercise a deterrent, and therefore a defensive, effect on the Hun. It was long before we could bring our- JANUARY 31, 1918. selves to advocacy of a form of war which is abhorrent to every sense of decency and civilisation, but when even one's favourite dog has gone mad there is only one thing to be done. Reprisals have been embarked upon both by ourselves and our French Allies, and so far as the information available leads us, there seems to be every reason for thinking that the results will be exactly as anticipated. According to the Geneva correspondent of the Daily Express, who is usually well-informed, last week's raid on Mannheim by British aeroplanes was highly successful morally as well as having achieved substantial material re- sults. In a telegram to his paper, the correspondent says that numbers of German refugeees from Mann- heim are arriving in Switzerland, bringing moving stories of the horror of a night bombardment from the air. From these stories it can be gathered that when the British squadrons appeared over the town practically the whole of the civilian population, ignoring official warnings to keep within doors, rushed into the streets in all stages of undress, and during the continuance of the raid a veritable state of pande- monium seems to have reigned. After it was all over, crowds of people paraded the streets, shouting : " Down with the war ! Give us peace ! " Further, it is stated that the municipality of Mannheim has sent a communication to the German Government demanding that raids on Allied open towns be dis- continued. Needless to say, no answer has been made to this communication—always assuming the story to be true. It would be dangerously misleading to accept the whole of these statements as literally true. We to £0 "British Official." ON THE BRITISH WESTERN FRONT.—A British scouting squadron. Aeroplanes lined up ready to fly over the enemy lines. 114
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