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Aviation History
1918
1918 - 1508.PDF
DECEMBER 26, 1918 viving son of Major and Mrs. Williams, of Southport and NORAH CHRISTABEL, "BIDDY" (W.R.A.F.), elder daughterof Dr. and Mrs. L. P. GIBSON of Cowes, I.W. The wedding will take place at St. Mary's Church, Cowes, on January 15th. An engagement is announced between Capt. FREDERICK CLIVE A VERY WRIGHT, R.A.F., eldest son of the late JohnFrederic Wright, and of Mrs. Wright, of Frimlcy Hall, Cam- berley, Surrey, and DOROTHY, second daughter of Mr. and Mrs.T. MlELL, of Red Thorn, Hill Lane, Southampton. MarriedLieut. H. W. DURTNELL, R.A.F., elder son of Mr. and Mrs.Harry Durtnell, of Sevenoaks, was married on December 16th at St. Stephen's, Kensington, to EVALINE ADELA EAST,youngest daughter of the late George East and of Mrs. East, of 1, Southwell Gardens, Kensington. On the 10th December, at St. Thomas's Church, Fulham,Lieut. ARTHUR JOSPEH FRANKLIN, Royal Dublin Fusiliersand R.A.F., youngest son of Mr. and Mrs. R. T. Franklin, of Ewelme, Wallingford, was married to EILEEN URSULA,daughter of Dr. and Mrs. P. R. DENNEHY, of Lismore, Co. Meath, Ireland. Col. REDFORD H. MULOCK, D.S.O., R.A.F., son of Mr. andMrs. W. R. Mulock, of Winnipeg, Canada, was married on December 17th to EDYTHE GOODMAN^ daughter of Mr. andMrs. B. Goodman, of Edgbaston, Birmingham. Lieut. RAPHAEL CHEVALLIER PRESTON, R.A.F., only sonof the late Capt. John Preston, Resident Magistrate of Athlone, Co. Westmeath, Ireland, and Mrs. Preston, of Aspall,Suffolk, and Kew Gardens, was married on November 16th at the Citadel Church, Cairo, to MARGARET, elder daughterof Sidney H. WELLS, of Gezira, Cairo, and Conford, Liphook, Hants, Director-General of Department of Technical Educa-tion, Egypt. Capt. C. PERRONET SELLS, M.C., R.A.M.C.fT.), attachedR.A.F., was married on December 18th at St. Anselm's, Davies Street, W., to MARY ANNIE, third daughter of D. S. JONES, Esq., of Penalltgeri, Newcastle Emlyn, South Wales. Capt. GRAHAM LAUDER WATSON, West Yorks Regt. andR.A.F., son of Mr. and Mrs. J. Falshaw Watson, late of Headingly, Leeds, was married on December 18th, atSt. Mary Abbott's, Kensington, to DOROTHY, eldest daughterof the late WILLAIM SORBY and Mrs. SORBY, of Lahore. Items Sec. Lieut. DONALD C. TUCKER, R.A.F., who was reportedmissing March 24th, 1918, was last seen far over the German lines flying in formation. Can any officer who was with himon that day, or in the 41st Squadron, also returned prisoners, give any information as to his fate ? Information gratefullyreceived by his parents, Durley Park House, Keynsham, Somerset. The will of Maj. REGINALD LIDDON ALDERSON, R.A.F., of Gloucester Place, Portman Square, W., who died in hospital, has been proved at £2,730. The will of Colonel BERTRAM HOPKINSON, C.M.G., F.R.S.,R.A.F., of Cambridge, Professor of Mechanics and Applied Mechanics at Cambridge since 1903, killed in a flying accident,has been proved at ^16,457. AEROPLANE PARACHUTES BY "E.FORGERON WHEN the intrepid Pegoud with his,triple tandem parachutefirst proved the feasibility of safely leaving an aeroplane with such a device, his performance met with the samecriticism of " useless circus trick " as was forthcoming when the same daring pilot first " looped the loop." Loopingis now a recognised aerial manoeuvre, and for a considerable time there has been a growing consensus of opinion that alarge proportion of aeroplane fatalities might be prevented by the use of suitable parachutes to provide means of escapefor the pilot and passengers from machines that it may be essential to abandon owing to fire, failure of controls, struc-tural breakage, etc., and this opinion has been considerably strengthened by the successful escape of German pilots fromburning machines by the use of quite a crude apparatus. Considerable ingenuity has already been expended inthe production of various types of parachutes, wherein, by some means or other, the entrance of air in large quantitiesinto the silk body is ensured from the first moment it emerges from the container wherein it is carried. By the adoptionof this precaution, descents may be safely made from heights of only 200 or 300 feet, especially as the opening of a parachutelaunched fr«m an aeroplane is considerably more rapid than when dropped from a balloon, owing to the high initialvelocity of the load through the air imparted by the speed of the aeroplane. But whilst certain and rapid opening is a very importantfeature of parachutes intended for life-saving purposes from aeroplanes, it is even more essential that the apparatusshould clear the machine without any risk of entanglement, for should it fail to do so, the chances of escape for the un-fortunate passenger would be even less than had he remained in the cockpit. The total length of a parachute, including silk body, cords,and the necessary sling, is about 50 feet, so that in a drop from a balloon, the time required for complete extractionfrom the container is if seconds. When a drop is made from an aeroplane flying a level course, this time is reduced torather less than i£ seconds, owing to the body and con- nections being blown back into an arc, but this advantage is more than nullified by the increased risk of fouling thetail of the machine, caused by the sudden straightening of this arc when the apex of the silk body is released.In experiments from aeroplanes with parachutes that require to be extended to their full length before they becomefully detached from the machine, numerous instances have occurred of the silk body being more or less seriously rippedby the tail skid, and this in spite of the container being de- pendent some distance below the fuselage, and the favourablecondition of a controlled machine flying a practically level course. Were the machine in a steep dive, the relative accelerationbetween the parachute passenger and the aeroplane would be much less, and longer time would be required for detach-ment with a more accentuated sudden straightening of the arc when the apex is released, so that the risk of fouling isgreatly increased ; in the case of a spinnig machine, complete entanglement with the tail is almost certain. In order to provide a safety deviec for use from aeroplanesthat may be relied upon under all conditions, instead of only the most favourable, a parachute should be instantly andcompletely detached directly its passenger leaves the machine, The writer would suggest that the essential characteristicsfor such a device might be classified as follows :— 1. Instant complete detachment, so as to prevent entangle-ment with, Or damage from, the tail of the aeroplane. 2. Certainty of opening by provision of means to ensurean adequate initial inflation of the silk body. 3. Method of assembly that will facilitate opening, andavoid any entanglement of the cords. In addition to the above essentials, other desirable featuresare that the weight should be as small as possible, the con- tainer should be suitable for fitting within the aeroplane, orstreamlined beneath, or on top, as may be most suitable for-the type of machine to which it is to be fitted, there shouldbe no/ heavy shock during detachment, assembly into con- tainer should be quick and readily performed in the field,without the use of any special apparatus, and the design should be such as to permit of rapid and cheap manufacture. The Bombardments of ParisSTATISTICS relating to the aerial bombardments of Paris, were released by the Government on December 18th.From these it appears that in 1914 45 bombs were dropped on Paris, 17 being dropped on October 1st; in 1915 70, ofwhich 62 were on March 20th ; in 1916, 61 ; in 1917, 14 ; in 1918, during the last six months of the war, 396—on January30th 89 bombs were dropped, causing death to 36 persons and injuries to 192. These bombs were responsible for 1,211victims, including 402 killed and 809 injured. The shells thrown on the city by " Big Bertha " numbered168, which killed 196 people and injured 417 ; while Zeppelins dropped 228 bombs, killing 206 people and injuring -392.One of these bombs, which failed to explode, is preserved at the municipal laboratory."* It measures 9 ft. long and weighs660 lb. This contained 200 small incendiary grenades, and was apparently the first of the kind used. It is now knownthat the enemy were manufacturing this type of bomb in large numbers, and it is believed that if the Armistice had notbeen signed that it was the intention to carry out frequent bombardments of the capital this winter. Each grenade wascapable of causing a fire against which water was useless. Sand alone apparently would prove effective to extinguishthe flames. 1*77
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