THE NEW ARM IN ARMAGEDDON
The question has been often asked why we were so long in this country
in grasping the necessity of keeping pace with other countries by
having a national flying corps? In an introductory chapter I have
stated that a want of public interest was the cause of British
dilatoriness in aëronautical matters; but there was also another very
potent reason--a meteorological one. From the weather point of view,
the conditions for practising flight in this country cannot be compared
with those obtaining on the Continent. Our insular position affords an
uncertainty of wind force that in the earlier days of the aëroplane
would have been fatal to progress had the pioneers chosen this isle for
their experiments. Even while the aëroplanes were only calm-weather
machines, and even when they first essayed flight in moderate winds,
there was an undoubted instinct in the minds of an eminently practical
nation that the loss of life consequent upon a systematic military use
would be hardly justifiable. So the nation waited for a certain stage
of progress in flying machines before launching them into the winds
and gusts for serious military work. When they were first used in this
country, the nature of our climate proved exceedingly disastrous and
swelled the casualty lists of peace. Those who have survived have had
a hard and exceptionally strenuous training in the ways of the air,
ever having had to be on the alert against the ever-present threatening
blasts which tend to upset the stability of flying machines. But is
it not the exceptionally hard training that the military aviators in
this country have had to undergo that has produced the exceedingly able
and successful Flying Corps that is struggling for King and country in
the present campaign? It has been seen how they have been commended
in the first report of Sir John French. Their efforts have also met
with the greatest appreciation of the French. General Joffre in his
report specially dwelt on the regular and valuable reconnaissance of
the British Royal Flying Corps. In Sir John French’s report, dated
September 11th, the following passage appears:--
Quite one of the features of the campaign, on our side, has been
the success attained by the Royal Flying Corps. In regard to the
collection of information it is impossible either to award too much
praise to our aviators for the way they have carried out their
duties or to overestimate the value of the intelligence collected,
more especially during the recent advance.
In due course certain examples of what has been effected may
be specified, and the far-reaching nature of the results fully
explained, but that time has not yet arrived. That the services
of our Flying Corps, which has really been on trial, are fully
appreciated by our Allies is shown by the following message from
the Commander-in-Chief of the French armies, received on the night
of September 9th by Field-Marshal Sir John French:--
“Please express most particularly to Marshal French my thanks for
services rendered on every day by the English Flying Corps. The
precision, exactitude, and regularity of the news brought in by
its members are evidence of their perfect organisation, and also
of the perfect training of pilots and observers.”
To give a rough idea of the amount of work carried out, it is
sufficient to mention that, during a period of twenty days up to
September 10th, a daily average of more than nine reconnaissance
flights of over 100 miles each has been maintained.
The constant object of our aviators has been to effect the accurate
location of the enemy’s forces, and incidentally--since the
operations cover so large an area--of our own units. Nevertheless,
the tactics adopted for dealing with hostile aircraft are to attack
them instantly with one or more British machines. This has been so
far successful that in five cases German pilots or observers have
been shot in the air and their machines brought to the ground.
As a consequence, the British Flying Corps has succeeded in
establishing an individual ascendancy which is as serviceable to us
as it is damaging to the enemy. How far it is due to this cause it
is not possible at present to ascertain definitely, but the fact
remains that the enemy have recently become much less enterprising
in their flights. Something in the direction of the mastery of the
air has already been gained.
The Royal Flying Corps has already won the distinction of the Legion
d’Honneur.
The principal uses of the new arm in war may be said to be:--
1. Reconnaissance.
2. Directing and correcting artillery fire.
3. Offensive operations.
4. Rapid despatch carrying to a distance.
5. Distributing handbills to cities.
6. Photography.
7. Locating submarines, mines, etc.
1. _Reconnaissance._
As a particular example of the value of reconnaissance in the present
war one may well refer to that mentioned in Sir John French’s first
report. He says, “When the news of the retirement of the French and
the heavy German threatening on my front reached me, I endeavoured
to confirm it by aëroplane reconnaissance, and as a result of this I
determined to effect a retirement to the Maubeuge position at daybreak
on the 24th.”
It is undoubtedly expedient to train aërial observers to make
reconnaissance at high altitudes. This has been the method employed
by Great Britain and France. During the present war we hear of the
British and French machines flying at 6,000 feet, where they are fairly
safe from gun-fire. The Germans often appear to fly considerably
lower. This probably accounts for the loss of so many German machines
from gun-fire. It has been stated that at the time of writing British
aviators have already brought down seventeen machines. But there
have been instances of the aëroplanes of the Allies also making
reconnaissance at lower levels. One very remarkable case of an aviator
persisting in his reconnoitring task in spite of the fire of the enemy
has been reported in the daily papers. The French aviator, M. Poiret,
who is in the Russian service, said that
during the recent Russian-German fighting he reconnoitered over the
enemy’s positions, with a captain of the General Staff as observer,
at a height of 1,200 metres. He was for twenty minutes under rifle
and shell fire. Ten bullets and two fragments of shell hit his
aëroplane. Nevertheless, he retained his control of the machine.
The captain was shot through the heel, the bullet coming out of
his calf, notwithstanding which he continued taking notes. The
aëroplane returned safely.
In making reconnaissance over the enemy’s lines it is well for the
aviator to be practised in the art of making vol-planés. On more than
one occasion in the present war the engine has failed while the aviator
has been flying over the enemy. A well-directed vol-plané has brought
him down within friendly soil. This gliding by means of gravity without
the motor working in times of peace may have been thought to be a
foolhardy practice, merely done for the sake of sensation. But the
sensation of a few years back is the necessity of to-day! The vol-plané
has become one of the most useful features of aëroplaning. A machine
that is fitted with wireless telegraphy equipment undoubtedly possesses
a great advantage for reconnoitring. It is especially useful when a
heavy attack on an enemy is in progress. By its means a continuous
stream of intelligence can be supplied to headquarters. The French have
been particularly active in the development of wireless messages from
aëroplanes, and have devised extremely portable forms of apparatus. It
will be of great interest to hear accurate information in regard to
their practical use in the present war.
Aëroplane reconnaissance in naval operations is almost equally as
important as its use on land. This will be one of the principal uses of
the hydroplane, which can either travel on the surface of water or rise
in the air. In the present war two seaplanes were recorded as scouting
near Antivari on September 8th, 1914. It is also said that the Germans
gave information to the Heligoland forts by biplanes concerning the
fight in Heligoland Bight.
2. _Directing and correcting artillery fire._
Very many reports of the use of the aëroplane in this respect have come
to hand during the present war. The Germans appear to be very keen
on this particular use. Stories told by wounded soldiers graphically
describe how with the appearance of the enemy’s aëroplane there comes
accurate and deadly fire. The Germans appear to have several simple and
ingenious means of indicating the instructions of the aërial observer
in this respect. An interesting contribution to our knowledge has been
supplied by Bombardier Smith, who was wounded by a bomb dropped from a
German aëroplane. Writing to the _Times_ he describes how the Germans
have special bombs for range-finding.
Those bombs have proved a great success in the war, as they find
the enemy’s ranges very accurately. The bomb when dropped leaves a
thick, black, smoky line to enable their gunners to take the exact
range. We were in a good position but suffered loss. The enemy
could not find us until the aëroplane came on the scene. Then we
had it rather hot. The gunners had to leave the guns, but later
saved them all after being reinforced by other guns.
Another method the Germans adopt is to drop a silver ball. Almost as
the ball drops from the range-finding aëroplane, the shrapnel shell
bursts over the lines of the opponent.
They also sometimes pull up and down a little disc suspended beneath
the aëroplane. A still further variety of signalling is accomplished
by the use of lamps that are visible in daylight. Almost every method
of signalling can be used for the purpose, such as flag signalling;
wireless signals are no doubt especially effective.
I will quote from a recent article by Mr. F. W. Lanchester in
“Engineering” as to the German use of the aëroplane in this respect:--
The value of aëroplane work will be relatively greater the longer
the range; in fact, it may in future be found possible to employ
heavy artillery of long range under conditions in which without
the help of the aëroplane it would be comparatively useless. As
an illustration, there is nothing to-day to prevent a long-range
battery, well served by its aëroplanes, from effectively shelling
an enemy without knowing in the least the character of its
objective--_i.e._, whether an infantry force or position, a body
of cavalry, or the enemy’s guns. In the present war the aëroplane
appears to have been utilised by the German army, as a matter of
regular routine, as an auxiliary to the artillery in the manner
indicated. It has been reported again and again that the appearance
of an aëroplane overhead has been the immediate prelude to the
bursting of shrapnel, frequently the very first shell being so
accurately placed as to indicate that the method of signalling,
and, in fact, the whole performance, must have been well thought
out and equally well rehearsed.
3. _Offensive operations._
This use might be well subdivided into legitimate and illegitimate
offensive operations. There has been, unfortunately, ample example
of the use of both airships and aëroplanes for purposes that are
illegitimate and barbaric in the present war. To use the advantage
of travelling in the air at altitudes for the purpose of the wanton
destruction of harmless citizens, and, further, to destroy in cities
the amassed wealth of art that only centuries, not years, produce,
is an unrighteous use of the science of aërial navigation. Before
the war it was condemned by the Hague Convention. Since, it has met
with the denouncement of all civilised nations--save the one that has
perpetrated the outrages. In the case of the aëroplane raid made into
Germany by our own British naval airmen, one party of aviators went
to Cologne to try to attack the airship halls there. The city was
enveloped with an opaque fog, and it was hopeless to try to locate the
position of the airship sheds. Though the British aviators circled
over the town for an hour and a half they refrained from discharging
any bombs, rather than run the risk of destroying civilian life or
property. An example, indeed, of the legitimate offensive use of the
aëroplane was the attempt to destroy or put out of action the very
kind of aircraft which had been so wantonly used over Paris, Antwerp,
Ostend, and other cities.
Perhaps the most important offensive use of the aëroplane is for
fighting airship and aëroplane. Mention has already been made about the
deadly character of the aëroplane when it encounters an airship. When
it meets an aëroplane the chances are more evenly balanced. Success
will depend chiefly upon the speed of the respective aëroplanes, their
climbing power, their armouring, and the guns with which they are
armed. Speed and climbing power are perhaps the greatest protective
factors. Several stories have already been told of the pursuit of
German aëroplanes by those of the Allies. The climbing power of the
machines of the latter has often been the cause of victory. It is the
well-directed shot from above to which the airman is exposed that has
ended the career of airman and machine.
At the beginning of the present chapter it was pointed out that the
British and French aëroplanes generally fly at about 6,000 feet, which
is a height fairly safe from gun-fire. While speaking of the offensive
work of aëroplanes, a few more words about the attack on them by
gun-fire may not be out of place. As Mr. Lanchester has pointed out, an
aëroplane is liable to attack by rifle, machine-gun, and shell fire.
Ordinary field artillery fire can be put out of the question in the
use of so rapidly moving a target as an aëroplane in flight. He has
estimated that an aëroplane is absolutely safe from rifle or small-bore
machine-gun fire at 7,000 feet, and it would be difficult to hit it a
thousand feet lower.
Not only would the velocity become so reduced as to render a “hit”
capable of but little mischief, but the time of flight of the
bullet, rising vertically to this altitude, would be about eight or
nine seconds, and the distance moved by the aëroplane 1,000 feet,
more or less. Therefore, it would be necessary to fire into quite a
different part of the heavens from that in which the aëroplane was
seen.
The vertical range of aircraft artillery is much higher. In the case
of a one-pounder having the same velocity the range would be over
12,000 feet; but it is a question of luck whether the aëroplane would
be hit. The great difficulty is the angle of “lead” which must be given
to allow for the velocity of flight.
This angle is only constant so long as the velocity of the
projectile is constant, assuming (as fairly represents the
conditions) the flight speed not to vary; at extreme heights the
velocity of the projectile has fallen so low that a very slight
error in range-finding will be fatal to accuracy.
In regard to aëroplane artillery, Mr. W. F. Reid has collected some
interesting details of the guns that Krupp has devised for the purpose
of hitting aëroplanes.
The 7.5 cm. gun of this firm has seats for five men and storage for
sixty-two shells. It is mounted on a car which weighs 4,300 kilos.,
the weight of the gun alone being 1,065 kilos. Each projectile
weighs 5.5 kilos. (12 lb. 2 oz.), and the horizontal range is given
as 9 km. The vertical range is 6,300 metres.
A lighter gun of 6.5 cm. gauge weighs, with car, 875 kilos., the
gun weighing 352 kilos. Each projectile weighs 4 kilos. (8 lb. 13
oz.), and the extreme horizontal range is stated to be 8,650 metres
(9,450 yards). The height of fire obtainable is 5,700 metres
(18,700 feet). The initial velocity of the projectile is 620 metres
(2,034 feet) per second. A coiled spring balances the weight of the
gun when pointed above the horizontal.
For naval purposes Krupp has constructed a 10.5 cm. gun weighing
3,000 kilos, with carriage. The projectile weighs 18 kilos. (40
lb.). The muzzle velocity is 2,100 feet per second, and the shells
discharge a train of smoke to facilitate aiming.
Ehrhardt, in Düsseldorf, has also built a special gun for use
against aërial craft. Its bore is 5 cm., and its barrel is 30
calibres long, while the length of the Krupp barrels is 35
calibres. The weight of the Ehrhardt gun alone is 400 kilos.; with
car, ammunition, and five men the weight is 3,200 kilos.
With regard to the difficult subject of armouring aëroplanes, I should
like again to quote from Mr. Lanchester:--
It is manifestly not possible for an aëroplane to perform all
the duties required of it in connection with tactical operations
at high altitude[B], and whenever it descends below 5,000 feet
or thereabouts, it is liable to attack from beneath; in fact, at
such moderate altitudes it must be considered as being under
fire--mainly from machine-gun and rifle--the whole time it is
over or within range of the enemy’s lines. Protection from the
rifle bullet may be obtained in either of two ways: the most vital
portions of the machine, including the motor, the pilot, and
gunner, can only be effectively protected by armour-plate; the
remainder of the machine, including the wing members, the tail
members, and portions of the fuselage not protected by armour, also
the controls, struts, and the propeller, can be so constructed
as to be _transparent_ to rifle fire--that is to say, all these
parts should be so designed that bullets will pass through without
doing more than local injury and without serious effect on the
strength or flying power of the machine as a whole; in certain
cases components will require to be duplicated in order to realise
this intention. It is important to understand clearly that any
intermediate course is fatal. Either the bullet must be definitely
resisted and stopped, or it must be let through with the least
possible resistance; it is for the designer to decide in respect
of each component which policy he will adopt. The thickness of the
armour required will depend very much upon the minimum altitude at
which, in the presence of the enemy, it is desired to fly; also
upon the particular type of rifle and ammunition brought to bear.
There is a great deal of difference in penetrative power, for
example, between the round-nosed and pointed bullets used in an
otherwise identical cartridge.
[B] For military purposes we may take the term “high
altitude” as defined by the effective vertical range of
small-arm fire, in other words, as denoting an altitude
of 5,000 feet or 6,000 feet or more.
If it were not for the consideration of the weight of armour, there
is no doubt that an altitude of about 1,000 feet would be found
very well suited for most of the ordinary tactical duties of the
aëroplane. At such an altitude, however, the thickness of steel
plate necessary becomes too serious an item for the present-day
machine, even allowing for the very excellent and highly efficient
bullet-proof-treated steel that is now available; at the altitude
in question, the minimum thickness that will stop a 0.303 Mark
VI. round-nosed bullet is 3 mm. (⅛ in.), but, if attacked by the
modern pointed-nose Mauser, nothing short of 5 mm. or 6 mm. is of
avail. If we compromise somewhat in the matter of altitude and
prescribe 2,000 feet as the minimum height for which protection
is to be given, the figures become 2 mm. (about 145 W. gauge) for
the 0.303 round-nosed bullet, and for the pointed Mauser 3 mm. or
slightly over; at present it is not expected that it will pay to
armour a machine for the duties in question more heavily; thus we
may take 2,000 feet as representing the lower altitude limit of
ordinary military flying.... On this question of armour it cannot
be too strongly insisted upon that anything less than the necessary
thickness definitely to stop the projectile is worse than useless;
a “mushroomed” bullet, possibly accompanied by a few detached
fragments of steel, is infinitely more disagreeable and dangerous
than a bullet that has not been upset.
An aëroplane armoured in all its vitals with 3 mm. steel, and
otherwise designed on the lines indicated, flying at not less than
2,000 feet altitude, will be extremely difficult to bring down; so
much so, that unless its exposed structural members be literally
riddled and shattered by rifle and machine-gun, or unless a gun of
larger calibre be brought to bear, it will be virtually impossible
to effect its capture by gun-fire alone.
4. _Rapid despatch carrying to a distance._
Considering the advantages of the swift monoplane for carrying
despatches from one commander to another, it would seem that in time it
must oust the despatch rider.
There is no obstacle to the despatch rider. The difficulties and delays
of hills, woods, and rivers melt away before his ever onward course.
The despatch rider on horseback may have to face the sudden appearance
of the enemy, but if the aëroplane despatch carrier does, he has only
to rise up out of his range of fire, and, still undisturbed, he can
make his way towards his destination. There must surely already be
many instances of the use of the new arm in this way in the present
war. It has been reported that the Germans used aëroplanes to send
messages to recall German troops stationed in the village of Coutrai to
reinforce those at Charleroi.
5. _Distributing handbills to cities._
This is a use which has not been much taken into account until the
present war. It appears, however, one that is destined to become very
general in war. It has been already used either to excite terror or
encouragement amongst the population of a city either already besieged
or threatened with speedy investment. It has been stated that when
Liége was besieged the French aviators distributed circulars over the
city to the effect that the citizens should keep up their courage, as
help would soon be forthcoming. When the Germans were approaching Paris
the German aviators distributed pamphlets urging the surrender of the
Parisian capital. Reports also came to hand that French aviators flew
over Alsace and Lorraine with pamphlets to describe the violation by
Germany of the neutrality of Belgium and Luxemburg!
6. _Photography._
The value of aëroplanes for this work in war is self-evident, and
various means for securing good photographs from flying machines
have been devised. Some years ago the public was made familiar with
photographs at great altitudes in the air by the beautiful specimens
taken by the late Rev. J. Bacon and the late Mr. Percival Spencer
from the cars of their balloons. Since then Mr. G. Brewer has become
an adept in the art of aërial photography. The clearness of detail in
these photographs gives sufficient evidence as to the value of aërial
photography in war.
Satisfactory photographs from balloons have been taken from as great
a height as 10,000 feet. The success of aërial photography, however,
depends upon the amount of haze upon the earth, which veils the plate
from the actinic power of the reflected light. In taking aërial
photographs from aëroplanes, owing to meteorological conditions it may
often be necessary in war to take the photographs from lower and more
perilous positions. The value of the photographs will, however, often
be worth the risk, as very complete aërial surveys of war regions can
be made from a series of photographs.
For taking photographs from aëroplanes special and in some cases
automatic cameras have been designed.
The Germans use a camera fitted with a special Telephoto lens.
In an apparatus of British make, designed by Mr. Baker, the camera is
suspended beneath the aëroplane. The airman presses one button to make
an exposure, another when he wishes to change the plate.
7. _Locating submarines, mines, etc._
In the present war ample evidence has been given of the deadly work
that submarines, torpedoes, and mines can perform. Some years ago the
late Rev. J. Bacon carried out experiments from balloons to show that
when the surface of the sea is viewed from an altitude the observer
has a vision which penetrates to some depth below the surface. At the
time the great advantage of such surveys in naval war-time was pointed
out.
Such aërial surveys form an important use for both the smaller types
of airships, aëroplanes, and hydroplanes. When more records come to
hand than it is now possible to obtain in regard to naval doings in the
present war it will be interesting to observe the amount of actual work
that has been done in detecting submarines and the other hidden dangers
in the sea.