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The Daily Telegraph
WAR BOOKS
AIRCRAFT IN WAR
[Illustration:
[_Topical Press._
A FARMAN ARMED SCOUTING BIPLANE,
showing gun mounted in position, Gnome motor, ailerons on upper plane,
rudders at rear (see Chapter VII.).]
AIRCRAFT _in_ WAR
_By_
ERIC STUART BRUCE, M.A. Oxon.
_Fellow of the Royal Meteorological Society; late Honorary Secretary
and Member of Council Aëronautical Society of Great Britain;
Vice-President of the Aërial League of the British Empire;
Membre d’Honneur of the Aëro Club of France_
ILLUSTRATED
HODDER AND STOUGHTON
LONDON NEW YORK TORONTO
MCMXIV
TO MY WIFE,
_who during the eight years of my Honorary Secretaryship of the
Aëronautical Society of Great Britain incessantly and most materially
aided me in my efforts to secure the united interest of the British
nation in the mastery of the air, I dedicate this little volume_.
CONTENTS
CHAPTER PAGE
INTRODUCTION ix
I. THE EARLIER AËRIAL SCOUTS 1
II. THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE AIRSHIP 11
III. TYPES OF MODERN AIRSHIPS: BRITISH, FRENCH, GERMAN, ITALIAN,
RUSSIAN, AUSTRIAN, AND BELGIAN 18
IV. THE GERMAN AIRSHIP FLEET 37
V. ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF AIRSHIPS 50
VI. THE ADVENT OF THE AËROPLANE 78
VII. TYPES OF AËROPLANES: BRITISH, FRENCH, ITALIAN, RUSSIAN,
AUSTRIAN, BELGIAN, AND BULGARIAN 91
VIII. GERMANY’S AËROPLANE EQUIPMENT 123
IX. THE FIRST USE OF THE AËROPLANE IN WAR--TRIPOLI--THE
BALKANS 137
X. THE NEW ARM IN ARMAGEDDON 144
XI. PRESENT DEFICIENCIES AND FUTURE POSSIBILITIES OF THE
MILITARY AËROPLANE 166
INTRODUCTION
When years ago we read in Tennyson’s “Locksley Hall” the following
lines:--
Heard the heavens fill with shouting, and there rained a ghastly dew
From the nations’ airy navies grappling in the central blue--
we little dreamt that not very far from the beginning of the twentieth
century the fancy of the poet would become the fact of reality; that in
the great European war in which the nation is so strenuously engaged,
“the wonder that would be” would come to pass.
Though happily, at present, in these isles the din of war is unheard,
yet a semi-darkened London and bright searchlights playing on the
skies tell the tale of prudent foresight against the advent of the
enemy’s airfleet. From the battlefields there daily come the reports of
actual battles in the air, sometimes betwixt aëroplane and aëroplane,
sometimes between the lighter and heavier than air craft. Often such
encounters are death-grip duels. Such conflicts of the air are the
direct consequence of the great and important use of both airship and
aëroplane as aërial scouts. These are the eyes of encountering armies.
To destroy as far as possible this penetrating vision of the enemy and
restore to him the fog of war is the untiring aim of either side.
During those first anxious days of the present war the public anxiously
awaited news of the doings of the Royal Flying Corps, as well as those
of the aviators of our Allies. Expectation was satisfied in the reading
of Sir John French’s report to Lord Kitchener, dated September 7th,
1914. Speaking of the use of the aëroplane in the war he says:--
I wish particularly to bring to your Lordship’s notice the
admirable work done by the Royal Flying Corps under Sir David
Henderson. Their skill, energy, and perseverance have been beyond
all praise. They have furnished me with the most complete and
accurate information, which has been of inestimable value in the
conduct of the operations. Fired at constantly both by friend and
foe, and not hesitating to fly in every kind of weather, they have
remained undaunted throughout.
Further, by actually fighting in the air, they have succeeded in
destroying five of the enemy’s machines.
For those brave heroes of the air our hearts beat with fervid
admiration. In accomplishing their all-important tasks they have not
only to fear disaster from shot and shell of the enemy, but from
the mistaken fire of their comrades and the very forces of nature.
These latter, owing to the imperfections of the flying machines, do
not entirely spare them; the Royal Flying Corps, in order to become
competent to perform the work it is now doing for King and country,
has had in manœuvres at home to pay a high price in the sacrifice of
human life.
It may, indeed, be reasonably thought that the knowledge of the vast
utility of aircraft in the present conflict will dispel the last
remnant of prejudice in this country against the development of aërial
navigation, and the grudging of a liberal national expenditure on
the service of the air. It was, perhaps, this ignoring of practical
utility, so vigorously combated by the pioneers in this country, that
caused Great Britain to be the last of the Great Powers to seriously
take up aircraft for military and naval use. Our delay had been a
wonder to many, since theoretically in the past this nation had been to
the fore. Nearly half a century ago it led the way of the air by being
the first country in the world to found a society for the encouragement
of aërial navigation--the Aëronautical Society of Great Britain. It
is no exaggeration to say that many of the great principles of human
flight were formulated and discussed at the earlier meetings of that
society. The late Mr. Wilbur Wright, when he came to this country to
receive the gold medal of the society, in his speech testified to the
substantial help he had received from the study of the transactions of
the oldest aëronautical society in the world. As the pioneer in laying
the foundations of aërial science, this country is not without honour
amongst the nations.
CHAPTER I
THE EARLIER AËRIAL SCOUTS
Patriotism has been the most powerful factor in developing aërial
navigation. Montgolfier experimented with his paper balloons filled
with heated air in the desire that his invention might be of use to
France in her wars, and throughout the history of both balloons and
flying machines we find that it has been the desire to employ them as
instruments of war that has most fostered their progress.
Very soon after Charles invented the gas balloon the latter was pressed
into military service for the very same purpose of reconnaissance for
which airships and aëroplanes are now being used. At the time of the
French revolutionary war an aëronautical school was founded at Meudon
under the control of Guyton de Morveau, Coutelle, and Conté, and a
company was formed called Aërostiers.
Captive balloons were used by the armies of the Sambre and Meuse, of
the Rhine and Moselle. Just before the battle of Fleurus, 1794, two
ascents were made, and the victory of the French was attributed to
observations made by Coutelle. At that time several ascents were made
from Liége with a spherical balloon and one of cylindrical shape. This
latter appears to have anticipated the well-known German kite-balloon.
There is a tradition that in those early days of the balloon the French
were possessed of a varnish which satisfactorily held the hydrogen gas,
but that the secret was lost--a grave loss indeed, if the tradition has
truth in it. The secret was never refound. A really gas-proof varnish
is unknown.
In the course of the American Civil War of 1861 captive balloons were
again employed with important results.
During the Franco-Prussian War of 1870 three captive balloons were
installed in Paris, the “Nadar” on the Place St. Pierre; the
“Neptune,” manned by Wilfred de Fonvielle, at the gasworks at
Vaugirard; and the “Celeste” on the Boulevard des Italiens.
Thus long before the advent of airships and flying machines the use of
altitude for military reconnaissance was realised. A great disadvantage
of the captive balloon was its stationary nature. It was not prudent to
ascend in it very close to the enemy, as there was not the same chance
of escape as when the aërial observer is in mobile aircraft.
Though rifle fire has over and over again failed to bring down a
captive balloon owing to the upward pressure of the hydrogen gas,
still, artillery fire has been known to have very destructive effect.
Undoubtedly, the best use that has been made of the captive balloon
was in the Boer War. The British observation balloon equipment, which
under the unceasing labours of Colonel Templer had reached a state of
considerable perfection, then proved to be highly efficient. But in
the light of modern aëronautical progress its doings were merely the
foreshadowings of the achievements the aviators in the present war are
daily carrying out.
Perhaps the most important feature of the balloons in the South African
War was the material of which they were made--gold-beaters’ skin. We
are all more or less familiar with this substance, for we use it as
a plaster when we cut our fingers. We should scarcely think that so
apparently fragile a substance was strong enough to form the envelope
of a balloon. It is, however, an admirable substance for the purpose
on account of its lightness and capacity of holding the gas, and the
desideratum of strength can be obtained by combining layer and layer
of the substance to any desired thickness. By the use of gold-beaters’
skin it became possible to have much smaller balloons for a given
lifting power than when varnished cambric or silk was employed. If
made of the latter materials a captive observation balloon had to be
at least 18,000 cubic feet to be of any service. Gold-beaters’ skin
reduced the volume to 10,000 cubic feet, or even less.
The only disadvantage of gold-beaters’ skin for the envelope of
balloons and airships appears to be its very great expense. This, in
the case of a large airship, is formidable. It should be mentioned,
however, that it has sometimes been used for the separate gas
compartments which, as will be seen, are a feature of the Zeppelin
airship.
As regards the actual achievements of the balloon in South Africa,
one section did excellent work at Ladysmith. In the words of Colonel
Templer, “it not only located all the Boer guns and their positions,
but it also withdrew all the Boer fire on to the balloon. Several
balloons were absolutely destroyed by shell fire.”
One of the balloons was burst at a height of 1,600 feet, and came down
with a very quick run, but the staff officer in the car was unhurt. At
Ladysmith, by means of the balloon, the British artillery fire was made
decisive and accurate.
With General Buller at Colenso, and up the Tugela River, Captain
Philips’ balloon section was very useful. Splendid work was done at
Spion Kop. There the whole position was located and made out to be
impregnable. It has been said that the British Army was then saved from
falling into a death trap by the aërial reconnaissance. Captain Jones’
section went up with Lord Methuen on Modder River. His observations
continued every day. It was considered there was not a single day that
they were not of the utmost importance.
Again, Lord Kitchener and Lord Roberts used balloons. From the
information they obtained from them they were enabled to march on to
Paardeburg. At the latter place itself they were able to locate the
whole position. Another section went to Kimberley and on to Mafeking.
A very important observation was made at Fourteen Streams. There a
balloon was used continuously for thirteen days without the gas being
replenished. By its means the Boers were prevented from relieving
Fourteen Streams.
It has been pointed out by Colonel Templer that one of the great
difficulties connected with the use of the comparatively small balloons
in the South African War was the heights the armies went over.
On the march to Pretoria there were hills 6,000 feet above the
sea, and to make an observation from these hills it was necessary
to go up 1,500 or 2,000 feet, so that the barometrical height was
hard work on the buoyancy of the balloon, because the barometrical
height then became 8,000 feet--the 6,000 feet altitude above the
sea-level, and the 2,000 feet it was necessary to go over the
hills--that was about all our balloons would do.
That was a disadvantage of the captive balloons which would not have
been felt if the observers had been on aëroplanes!
Certainly, the excellent gas retaining power of gold-beaters’ skin
was well put to the test in the South African War. The thirteen days’
work with one charge of gas mentioned above was a fair trial for a
balloon of such comparatively small size; but Captain H. B. Jones gave
a still more striking experience of the value of gold-beaters’ skin as
a gas-holder. Speaking of the Bristol war balloon of 11,500 cubic feet
capacity, he says:--
It was used at the engagements at Vet River and Land River,
and arrived at Kroonstad on May 12th. The balloon was kept in a
sheltered place near the river till we marched again, on May 22nd,
and was not emptied till after we had crossed into the Transvaal
at Vereeniging on May 27th. To keep a balloon going for thirteen
days at one station is a good test; but in our case the Bristol was
filled for twenty-two days, and did a march of 165 miles with the
division.
The system of filling the balloons from steel cylinders in which the
hydrogen gas had been compressed, so well exemplified in the Boer War,
was a great improvement on the older methods of manufacturing the gas
on the spot. Speed in filling balloons is a desideratum for their use
in war. By the cylinder method, owing to the great pressure under which
the gas escapes from the cylinder, the inflation of the observation
balloons became a question of minutes instead of hours. The necessity
of speed applies to the inflation of airships also.
Although the present volume is designed rather to speak of the
aëronautical appliances of the present than those of the past, the
above-mentioned facts concerning aërial reconnaissance in the Boer War
have been included, as the value of the air scouts at the time was
hardly known and appreciated by the general public, whose mind in those
days was not constantly being directed to aërial matters as it is at
the present time. The knowledge of what just a few well-contrived and
well-utilised balloons could then do in the way of aërial scouting
must lead to the thought how the Boer War might have been shortened
had we then possessed the squadrons of fast-flying aëroplanes that are
taking part in the present war. To know, indeed, what a very few aërial
observers could do may enhance our estimation of the possibilities of
the squadrons of the flying machines of the British and allied armies
in the present war as they dart in search of information over the lines
of the enemy.
In the course of some articles on the subject of the new arm of war,
which contain many apt statements, Mr. F. W. Lanchester gives the
opinion that the number of aërial machines engaged in the war is a
negligible quantity. We might, indeed, well say the more the better,
provided they are on the Allies’ side; but no aëronaut or aviator
will allow the number is negligible. The writer compares the supposed
number of aëroplanes the Germans possess with the cost equivalent of
scouting cavalry. The comparison is not a happy one, on account of
the tremendous advantage of altitude and, consequently, long range of
vision possessed by the aërial scout. We have seen that in the Boer War
one observer at Spion Kop from his height and super-sight saved the
situation, and rescued our army from possible crushing disaster.
What might not even one shrewd British observer in a swift-moving
modern aërial craft accomplish at a critical moment in the present
conflict?