AEROPLANES AND DIRIGIBLES OF WAR
By Frederick A. Talbot
PREFACE
Ever since the earliest days of the great conquest of the air, first by
the dirigible balloon and then by the aeroplane, their use in time of
war has been a fruitful theme for discussion. But their arrival was
of too recent a date, their many utilities too unexplored to provide
anything other than theories, many obviously untenable, others avowedly
problematical.
Yet the part airships have played in the Greatest War has come as a
surprise even to their most convinced advocates. For every expectation
shattered, they have shown a more than compensating possibility of
usefulness.
In this volume an endeavour has been made to record their achievements,
under the stern test of trial, as an axiom of war, and to explain, in
untechnical language, the many services to which they have been and may
be applied.
In the preparation of the work I have received assistance from many
sources--British, French, Russian and German--from official reports and
from men who have played a part in the War in the Air. The information
concerning German military aircraft has been obtained from Government
documents, most of which were placed at my disposal before the outbreak
of war.
The use of aircraft has changed the whole art and science of warfare.
With its disabilities well in hand, with its strength but half revealed,
the aerial service has revolutionised strategy and shorn the unexpected
attack of half its terrors. The Fourth Arm is now an invaluable part of
the complex military machine.
F. A. TALBOT.
CONTENTS
CHAPTER
I. The introduction of aircraft into military operations
II. The military uses of the captive balloon
III. Germany's rise to military airship supremacy
IV. Airships of war
V. Germany's aerial dreadnought fleet
VI. The military value of Germany's aerial fleet
VII. Aeroplanes of war
VIII. Scouting from the skies
IX. The airman and artillery
X. Bomb-throwing from air-craft
XI. Armoured aeroplanes
XII. Battles in the air
XIII. Tricks and ruses to baffle the airman
XIV. Anti-aircraft guns. Mobile weapons
XV. Anti-aircraft guns. Immobile weapons
XVI. Mining the air
XVII. Wireless in aviation
XVIII. Aircraft and naval operations
XIX. The navies of the air
CHAPTER I. THE INTRODUCTION OF AIRCRAFT INTO MILITARY OPERATIONS
It is a curious circumstance that an invention, which is hailed as
being one of the greatest achievements ever recorded in the march of
civilisation, should be devoted essentially to the maiming of humanity
and the destruction of property. In no other trend of human endeavour
is this factor so potently demonstrated as in connection with Man's
Conquest of the Air.
The dogged struggle against the blind forces of Nature was waged
tenaciously and perseveringly for centuries. But the measure of success
recorded from time to time was so disappointing as to convey the
impression, except in a limited circle, that the problem was impossible
of solution. In the meantime wondrous changes had taken place in the
methods of transportation by land and sea. The steam and electric
railway, steam propulsion of vessels, and mechanical movement along
the highroads had been evolved and advanced to a high standard of
perfection, to the untold advantage of the community. Consequently it
was argued, if only a system of travel along the aerial highways could
be established, then all other methods of mechanical transportation
would be rendered, if not entirely obsolete, at least antiquated.
At last man triumphed over Nature--at least to such a degree as to
inspire the confidence of the world at large, and to bring aerial travel
and transportation within range of realisation. But what has been the
result? The discovery is not devoted to the interests of peace and
economic development, but to extermination and destruction.
At the same time this development may be explained. The airship and
aeroplane in the present stage of evolution possess no economic value.
True, cross-country cruises by airship have been inaugurated, and, up to
a point, have proved popularly, if not commercially, successful,
while tentative efforts have been made to utilise the aeroplane as
a mail-carrier. Still, from the view-point of the community at large
aerial travel is as remote as it was centuries ago.
It is somewhat interesting to observe how history is repeating itself.
When the Montgolfiers succeeded in lifting themselves into the air by
means of a vessel inflated with hot air, the new vehicle was hailed not
so much as one possessed of commercial possibilities, but as an engine
of war! When the indomitable courage and perseverance of Count von
Zeppelin in the face of discouraging disasters and flagrant failures, at
last commanded the attention of the German Emperor, the latter regarded
the Zeppelin craft, not from the interests of peace, but as a military
weapon, and the whole of the subsequent efforts of the Imperial admirer
were devoted to the perfection of the airship in this one direction.
Other nations, when they embarked on an identical line of development,
considered the airship from a similar point of view. In fact, outside
Germany, there was very little private initiative in this field.
Experiments and developments were undertaken by the military or naval,
and in some instances by both branches, of the respective Powers.
Consequently the aerial craft, whether it be a dirigible airship, or an
aeroplane, can only be regarded from the military point of view.
Despite the achievements which have been recorded by human endeavour
in the field of aerial travel, the balloon per se has by no means been
superseded. It still remains an invaluable adjunct to the fighting
machine. In Great Britain its value in this direction has never been
ignored: of late, indeed, it has rather been developed. The captive
balloon is regarded as an indispensable unit to both field and sea
operations. This fact was emphasised very strongly in connection with
the British naval attacks upon the German forces in Flanders, and it
contributed to the discomfiture of the German hordes in a very emphatic
manner.
The captive balloon may be operated from any spot where facilities exist
for anchoring the paying out cable together with winding facilities for
the latter. Consequently, if exigencies demand, it maybe operated from
the deck of a warship so long as the latter is stationary, or even from
an automobile. It is of small cubic capacity, inasmuch as it is only
necessary for the bag to contain sufficient gas to lift one or two men
to a height of about 500 or 600 feet.
When used in the field the balloon is generally inflated at the base, to
be towed or carried forward by a squad of men while floating in the air,
perhaps at a height of 10 feet. A dozen men will suffice for this duty
as a rule, and in calm weather little difficulty is encountered in
moving from point to point. This method possesses many advantages.
The balloon can be inflated with greater ease at the base, where it is
immune from interference by hostile fire. Moreover, the facilities for
obtaining the requisite inflating agent--hydrogen or coal gas--are more
convenient at such a point. If the base be far removed from the spot at
which it is desired to operate the balloon, the latter is inflated at a
convenient point nearer the requisite position, advantage being taken of
the protective covering offered by a copse or other natural obstacle.
As is well known, balloons played an important part during the siege
of Paris in 1870-1, not only in connection with daring attempts to
communicate with the outer world, but in reconnoitring the German
positions around the beleaguered city. But this was not the first
military application of the aerial vessel; it was used by the French
against the Austrians in the battle of Fleurus, and also during the
American Civil War. These operations, however, were of a sporadic
character; they were not part and parcel of an organised military
section.
It is not generally known that the British War office virtually
pioneered the military use of balloons, and subsequently the methods
perfected in Britain became recognised as a kind of "standard" and
were adopted generally by the Powers with such modifications as local
exigencies seemed to demand.
The British military balloon department was inaugurated at Chatham under
Captain Templer in 1879. It was devoted essentially to the employment
of captive balloons in war, and in 1880 a company of the Royal Engineers
was detailed to the care of this work in the field. Six years previously
the French military department had adopted the captive balloon under
Colonel Laussedat, who was assisted among others by the well-known
Captain Renard. Germany was somewhat later in the field; the military
value of captive balloons was not appreciated and taken into serious
consideration here until 1884. But although British efforts were
preceded by the French the latter did not develop the idea upon accepted
military lines.
The British authorities were confronted with many searching problems.
One of the earliest and greatest difficulties encountered was in
connection with the gas for inflation. Coal gas was not always readily
available, so that hydrogen had to be depended upon for the most part.
But then another difficulty arose. This was the manufacture of the
requisite gas. Various methods were tested, such as the electrolytic
decomposition of water, the decomposition of sulphuric acid by means of
iron, the reaction between slaked lime and zinc, and so forth.
But the drawbacks to every process, especially upon the field of battle,
when operations have to be conducted under extreme difficulties and
at high pressure, were speedily recognised. While other
nations concentrated their energies upon the simplification of
hydrogen-manufacturing apparatus for use upon the battle-field, Great
Britain abandoned all such processes in toto. Our military organisation
preferred to carry out the production of the necessary gas at a
convenient manufacturing centre and to transport it, stored in steel
cylinders under pressure, to the actual scene of operations. The method
proved a great success, and in this way it was found possible to inflate
a military balloon in the short space of 20 minutes, whereas, under the
conditions of making gas upon the spot, a period of four hours or more
was necessary, owing to the fact that the manufacturing process is
relatively slow and intricate. The practicability of the British idea
and its perfection served to establish the captive balloon as a military
unit.
The British military ballooning department has always ranked as the
foremost of its type among the Powers, although its work has been
carried out so unostentatiously that the outside world has gleaned very
little information concerning its operations. Captain Templer was an
indefatigable worker and he brought the ballooning section to a high
degree of efficiency from the military point of view.
But the British Government was peculiarly favoured, if such a term
may be used. Our little wars in various parts of the world contributed
valuable information and experience which was fully turned to account.
Captive balloons for reconnoitring purposes were used by the British
army for the first time at Suakim in 1885, and the section established
its value very convincingly. The French military balloon department
gained its first experience in this field in the previous year, a
balloon detachment having been dispatched to Tonkin in 1884. In both
the Tonkin and Soudan campaigns, invaluable work was accomplished by the
balloon sections, with the result that this aerial vehicle has come to
be regarded as an indispensable military adjunct. Indeed the activity of
the German military ballooning section was directly attributable to the
Anglo-French achievements therewith.
In this work, however, the British force speedily displayed its
superiority and initiative. The use of compressed hydrogen was adopted,
and within the course of a few years the other Powers, realising the
advantages which the British department had thus obtained, decided to
follow its example. The gas is stored in cylinders under a pressure
varying from six to ten or more atmospheres; in other words from about
80 to 140 or more pounds per square inch. Special military wagons
have been designed for the transport of these cylinders, and they are
attached to the balloon train.
The balloon itself is light, and made of such materials as to reduce
the weight thereof to the minimum. The British balloons are probably the
smallest used by any of the Powers, but at the same time they are
the most expensive. They are made of goldbeater's skin, and range in
capacity from 7,000 to 10,000 cubic feet, the majority being of the
former capacity. The French balloon on the other hand has a capacity
exceeding 18,000 cubic feet, although a smaller vessel of 9,000 cubic
feet capacity, known as an auxiliary, and carrying a single observer, is
used.
The Germans, on the other hand, with their Teutonic love of the immense,
favour far larger vessels. At the same time the military balloon section
of the German Army eclipses that of any other nations is attached to the
Intelligence Department, and is under the direct control of the General
Staff. Balloon stations are dotted all over the country, including
Heligoland and Kiel, while regular sections are attached to the Navy
for operating captive balloons from warships. Although the Zeppelin and
aeroplane forces have come to the front in Germany, and have relegated
the captive balloon somewhat to the limbo of things that were, the
latter section has never been disbanded; in fact, during the present
campaign it has undergone a somewhat spirited revival.
The South African campaign emphasised the value of the British balloon
section of the Army, and revealed services to which it was specially
adapted, but which had previously more or less been ignored. The
British Army possessed indifferent maps of the Orange Free State and the
Transvaal. This lamentable deficiency was remedied in great measure by
recourse to topographical photographs taken from the captive balloons.
The guides thus obtained were found to be of extreme value.
During the early stages of the war the hydrogen was shipped in cylinders
from the homeland, but subsequently a manufacturing plant of such
capacity as to meet all requirements was established in South Africa.
The cylinders were charged at this point and dispatched to the scene of
action, so that it became unnecessary to transport the commodity from
Britain. The captive balloon revealed the impregnability of Spion Kop,
enabled Lord Roberts to ascertain the position of the Boer guns at the
Battle of Paardeburg, and proved of invaluable assistance to the forces
of General White during the siege of Ladysmith.