Aeroplanes Part 19

The German aviators, flying over Paris, discovered the hidden army, and it is well they did so, for it is certain if they had surrounded the outlying forts, it would have been an easy matter for the concealed forces to destroy their communications, and probably have forced the surrender of a large part of the besiegers.

The aeroplane in warfare, therefore, has constantly noted every disposition of troops, located the positions and judged the destination of convoys; the battery emplacements; and the direction in which large forces have been moved from one part of the line to the other, thus keeping the commanders so well informed that few surprises were possible.

THE EFFECTIVE HEIGHT FOR SCOUTING.--It has been shown that aeroplane scouting is not effective at high alt.i.tudes. It is not difficult for aviators to reach and maintain alt.i.tudes of five thousand feet and over, but at that elevation it is impossible to distinguish anything but the movement of large forces.

SIZES OF OBJECTS AT GREAT DISTANCES.--At a distance of one mile an automobile, twenty feet in length, is about as large as a piece of pencil one inch long, viewed at a distance of thirty-five feet. A company of one hundred men, which in marching order, say four abreast, occupies a s.p.a.ce of eight by one hundred feet, looks to the aviator about as large as an object one inch in length, four and a half feet from the eye.

The march of such a body of men, viewed at that distance, is so small as almost to be imperceptible to the eye of an observer at rest. How much more difficult it is to distinguish a movement if the observer is in a rapidly-moving machine.

For these reasons observations must be made at alt.i.tudes of less than a mile, and the hazard of these enterprises is, therefore, very great, since the successful scout must bring himself within range of specially designed guns, which are effective at a range of 3000 yards or more, knowing that his only hope of safety lies in the chance that the rapidly-moving machine will avoid the rain of bullets that try to seek him out.

SOME DARING FEATS IN WAR.--It would be impossible to recount the many remarkable aerial fights which have taken place in the great war.

Some of them seem to be unreal, so startling are the tales that have been told. We may well imagine the bravery that will nerve men to fight thousands of feet above the earth.

One of the most thrilling combats took place between a Russian aeroplane and a Zeppelin, over Russian Poland, at the time of the first German invasion. The Zeppelin was soaring over the Russian position, at an alt.i.tude of about a mile.

A Russian aviator ascended and after circling about, so as to gain a position higher than the airs.h.i.+p, darted down, and crashed into the great gas field.

The aviator knew that it meant death to him, but his devotion led him to make the sacrifice.

The Zeppelin, broken in two, and robbed of its gas, slowly moved toward the earth, then gradually increased the speed of its descent, as the aeroplane clung to its shattered hulk, and by the time it neared the earth its velocity was great enough to a.s.sure the destruction of all on board, while the s.h.i.+p itself was crushed to atoms.

One of the most spectacular fights of the war occurred outside Paris, when one of the German Taubes attempted to make its periodical tour of observation. One of the French aeroplanes, which had the advantage of greater speed, mounted to a greater alt.i.tude, and circled about the Taube.

The latter with its machine gun made a furious attack, during these maneuvers, but the French s.h.i.+p did not reply until it was at such an elevation that it could deliver the attack from above.

Then its machine gun was brought into play. As was afterwards discovered, the wings and body of the Taube were completely riddled, and it was a marvel how it was possible for the German aviator to remain afloat as long as he did.

Soon the Taube was noticed to lurch from side to side, and then dart downwardly. The monoplane, in the pursuit, gradually descended, but it was not able to follow the destroyed Taube to the earth, as the latter finally turned over, and went swirling to destruction.

The observer, as well as the aviator, had both been killed by the fire from the monoplane.

In the trenches on the Marne, to the northeast of Paris, where the most stubborn conflict raged for over a week, the air was never clear of aeroplanes.

They could be seen in all directions, and almost all types of machines were represented.

The princ.i.p.al ones, however, were monoplanes.

THE GERMAN TAUBE.--The German Taube is a monoplane, its main supporting surfaces, as well as the tail planes, are so constructed that they represent a bird. Taube means dove. It would have been more appropriate to call it a hawk.

On the other hand, the French monoplane, of which the Bleriot is the best known example, has wings with well rounded extremities, and flaring tail, so that the two can be readily distinguished.

On one occasion, during the lull in the battle, two of the Taubes approached the area above the French lines, and after ascending to a great height, began the volplane toward their own lines.

Such a maneuver was found to be the most advantageous, as it gave the scouting aeroplane the advantage of being able to discover the positions and movements with greater ease, and at the same time, in case of accident to the machine, the impetus of the flight would be to their own lines.

Three of the French aeroplanes at once began their circling flight, mounting higher and higher, but without attempting to go near the Taubes.

When the French s.h.i.+ps had gained the proper alt.i.tude, they closed in toward the German s.h.i.+ps, before the latter could reach their own lines in their volplaning act.

This meant that they must retreat or fight, and the crack of the guns showed that it meant a struggle. The monoplanes circled about with incredible skill, pouring forth shot after shot.

Soon one of the Taubes was seen to flutter.

This was the signal for a more concentrated attack on her.

The army in the trenches, and on the fields below, witnessed the novel combat. The flying s.h.i.+ps were now approaching the earth, but the gunners below dared not use their guns, because in the maneuvers they would be as likely to strike friend as foe.

The wounded Taube was now shooting to the earth, and the two monoplanes began to give their attention to the other s.h.i.+p, which was attempting to escape to the north. The flash of the guns of all the fliers could be plainly seen, but the sounds were drowned by the roar of the great conflict all about them.

The Taube could not escape the net around her.

She, too, was doomed. A shot seemed to strike the gasoline tank, and the framework was soon enveloped in flames. Then she turned sidewise, as the material on one side burned away, and skidding to the left she darted to the earth, a shapeless ma.s.s.

It was found that the aviator was not hurt by the shot, but was, undoubtedly, killed by the impact with the earth. The observer was riddled with bullets, and was likely dead before the s.h.i.+p reached the earth.

In the western confines of Belgium, near Ypres, the British employed numerous aircraft, many of them biplanes, and at all times they were in the air, reporting observations. Many of the flying fights have been recorded, and the reports when published will be most thrilling reading.

HOW AEROPLANES REPORT OBSERVATIONS.--It may be of some interest to know how aeroplanes are able to report observations to the commanders in the field, from the airs.h.i.+p itself. Many ingenious devices have been devised for this purpose.

SIGNAL FLAGS.--The best known and most universally used method is by the use of signaling flags. Suppose the commander of a force is desirous of getting the range of a hidden battery, or a ma.s.sed force in his front. The observer in the aeroplane will sail over the area at an understood alt.i.tude, say one mile in height.

The officer in charge of the battery, knowing the height of the airs.h.i.+p, is able, by means of the angle thus given him, to get the distance between his battery and the concealed point beneath the airs.h.i.+p. The observer in the airs.h.i.+p, of course, signals the engineer officer, the exact point or time when the airs.h.i.+p is directly above, and this gives him the correct angle.

The guns of the battery are then directed and fired so as to reach the concealed point. It is now important to be able to send intelligible signals to the officer in charge of the battery. If the shot goes beyond the mark, the observer in the airs.h.i.+p raises the flag above his head, which indicates that it was too high.

HOW USED.--If the shot fell short he would lower the flag. If the shot landed too far to the right, this would be indicated by the flag, and if too far to the left, the signal would, in like manner, be sufficient to enable the gunners to correct the guns.

When the exact range is obtained the observer in the s.h.i.+p waves the flag about his head, in token of approval. All this work of noting the effect of the shots must be taken while the airs.h.i.+p is under fire, and while circling about within visual range of the concealed object below.

The officer in charge of the battery, as well as the observer on the flying craft, must be equipped with powerful gla.s.ses, so the effect of the shots may be noted on the one hand, and the signals properly read by the officer on the other hand.

It may be said, however, that air battles have not been frequent and that they have been merely incidents of the conditions under which they were operated. The mission of the aeroplane is now conceded to be purely one of observation, such as we have described.

Both French and German reports are full of incidents showing the value of observations, and also concerning the effects of bombs. Extracts from the diaries of prisoners gave many interesting features of the results of aeroplane work.

CASUALTIES DUE TO AEROPLANES.--In the diary of one was found the remark: "I was lucky to escape the bomb thrown by a French aviator at Conrobet, which killed eight of my companions."

Another says: "The Seventh Company of the Third Regiment of the Guard had eight killed and twenty-two wounded by bomb from a French aeroplane."

Another: "An officer showed us a torn coat taken from one of sixty soldiers wounded by a bomb from an aeroplane."

A prisoner says: "Near Neuville an aeroplane bomb dropped on a supply train, killed four men, wounded six, and killed a considerable number of horses."

The Belgians, after their defeat and the capture of Antwerp, were forced to the west along the coast. In some way they learned that the Kaiser was about to occupy a chateau near Dixmunde.

Several aviators flew above the position and dropped a number of bombs on the building, completely wrecking it, and it was fortunate that the Emperor left the building only twenty minutes before, as several of his aides and soldiers on duty were killed.

On numerous occasions the headquarters of the different commanders have been discovered and had to be moved to safer places.

During all these wonderful exploits which will live in history because men had the opportunity during the war to use them for the first time in actual conflict, the official reports have not mentioned the aviators by name. The deaths of the brave men have brought forth the acknowledgments of their services. During the first three months of the war it is estimated that over sixty aviators and aides had lost their lives in the conflict on the two great battle lines. This does not take into account those who met death on the Zeppelins, of which five had been destroyed during that time.

THE END