FlightGlobal.com
Home
Premium
Archive
Video
Images
Forum
Atlas
Blogs
Jobs
Shop
RSS
Email Newsletters
You are in:
Home
Aviation History
1918
1918 - 0347.PDF
MARCH 28, 1918. of 1917 the company has devoted itself to a ntw field of work, which promises reasonable profits." Anyway, even ^6,795 profits doesn't sound as if the company had built all the Hun gas-bags. A WEEK or so ago " Paul " in the Mail put up a query as to the why and wherefore of the strings of green balls with which the Germans were so persistently filling the skies with- out, apparently, any set purpose whatever. In a recent issue of our contemporary, in another article upon " How the Airman finds his Way in Night Flying," " Paul " apparently supplies, in part, an answer to his own enquiry. He suggests that the Hun raider, when returning to his aerodrome, is assisted by, in addition to aerial lighthouses, these green mysteries. They use, he says, their " green-ball " machines for navigation and fire a fixed number of " balls " on a chain, every five minutes at certain fixed places. As these mount to 10,000 ft., it is highly probable that those fired from the Belgian coast can actually be seen by German machines high over London, who then have only to steer in the direction of these recurrent signals to " hit " their coast at a known spot. THE influence of our new Air Force must by degrees per- meate in many directions. It crops up in connection with deputy lieutenants, in a bill to amend the law with regard to the qualifications of deputy lieutenants, introduced by Lord Derby in the Lords. This bill, provides that so much of the Militia Act, 1882, as prescribes the qualifications to be possessed by persons appointed to be deputy lieutenants in Great Britain shall cease to have effect, and after the passing of this Act a person may be appointed to be a deputy lieutenant of a county in Great Britain if he possesses the following qualifications :— (a) He must have a place of residence in the county or within seven miles thereof ; (b) He must be shown to the satisfaction of a Secretary of State to have rendered worthy service as a member of, or in a civil capacity in connection with, his Majesty's naval, military, or air forces. AT the Guildhall the magistrate asked " What is a dud ? " to the great diversion of the court. It is unquestionably slang, and is perhaps the singular of "duds," which originally meant rags. Like many other slang words, however, it is very probably of ancient origin and honourable descent, for it may have been connected with the Old English word " dodden," to lop, a doddyd tree being one lopped of its branches, and, therefore, presenting a very ragged appearance. —D.C. " Office Window." this article and an occasional picture of a Fokker biplane, he was prompted to ask us and " old readers to hark back to the military trials of some years ago, before the war. There was a small biplane entered, called the Piggott biplane, and this machine was a small one with a very small gap and the top of the fuselage was on a level with the top plane, and the pilot was situated in exactly the same way as the present-day machine I mentioned. This Piggott biplane was somewhat ridiculed by many, but you see it has proved to be the fore-runner of the ' Post-War Machine.' " THE reference of Pte. Banks was, we thought, sufficiently suggestive to justify our turning up to our old photographs, and from these we reproduce on this page a couple of views of the little Piggott, which corroborate our observant correspondent's views. FROM the D.C. " Office Window " :— " It takes but a few short minutes for a Gotha to approach London from the mists of the North Sea," says a contemporary. " Now, the Germans have not yet sent us a Gotha which can do more than 70 miles an hour, and great increase of power is necessary to heighten the pace and increase their altitude. The distance between London and the sea is over 50 miles. That allows ample time for the firing of the maroons, and after the maroons their is abundant leisure for us to take shelter. Big bombers will fly faster and higher, but the fastest and highest will not be German." SEVERAL times the German Leagues have told the truth regarding the Huns' very gentle and innocent war-aims, in much plainer language than is indulged in by the Junker and other comouflagers. This time the German Navy League have, in a circular they have just issued, denned the guileless intentions of the Central Powers. After clearly claiming that the coast of Flanders is the road to London, the heart of England, &c, the League circular explains that possession of the Flanders coast is particularly essential for future air- raids on England. " It is obvious," it says, " that our air- craft cannot do without the coast of Flanders for their attacks upon England and also for their reconnaissances. Possession of the coast means an extension of the effective range of both our military and our air forces ; our naval air forces simply cannot do without it." Maybe they'll have to, just the same. FOLLOWING an article a few weeks ago in FLIGHT upon " The Post War Aeroplane " Pte. N. Banks wrote us from an auxiliary military hospital near Manchester, that from THAT story by Mr. Macpherson, Under-Secretary for War, last week in the Commons, of our bombing exploits on the German hives was intensely exhilarating. As a beginning, just to get our hand in and as an earnest of favours to come, it was quite a healthy recital, especially considering the number of other directions which are not being neglected by our Air Services. By the time we really get going the Huns, indeed, will have reason to apply the words of that great German poet Shakespeare (the Kaiser claimed him, so it must be so), " Hold, enough." By that time also we may find our American • •% JH IIIIINUIU, PI •1 •• mtmm"'--^" •ii ; ":•;;••H *|B m 1p 1 wmmm oooopooo • - ' • ".. 'o -• .' . . • o . :_. _ ;;..:/; o .;.- ," V— 0 The pre-war ® Piggott small- O gap biplane re- O ferred to by o Pte. N. Banks. o O o oo o o oooooooo "543
Sign up to
Flight Digital Magazine
Flight Print Magazine
Airline Business Magazine
E-newsletters
RSS
Events
