The Aeroplane in War
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The Aeroplane in War
Transcriber's Note This book was transcribed from scans of the original found at the Internet Archive. I have rotated some images. The name Blériot in the original book has the accented e only in captions to illustrations. I have used the accented version in the rest of the text as well. There are several variant spellings in the text which I have left alone.
PREFACE
FIRST SECTION REVIEW OF PROGRESS PRIOR TO THE FIRST MILITARY TESTS OF AEROPLANES
I. Dawn of flight—Encouragement in Europe and America—England's lost opportunities—The pioneers.
II. First practical flights—The Wright brothers; the Voisins; Farman—The cross-Channel flight.
III. Aeroplanes at Rheims, 1909—Wright, Voisin, Farman, Blériot, Antoinette—The Gnome engine—First military orders.
IV. The human factor—Growing skill of airmen—Feats of 1910, as compared with those of 1909—Cross-country flying.
SECOND SECTION FIRST EXPERIMENTS WITH AEROPLANES IN THE FRENCH AUTUMN MANOEUVRES, 1910.
I. The historic Picardy tests—First official report upon movements of troops, as gleaned by aeroplane.
II. Second conclusive test—Detecting an army in retreat—France's determination to possess an air-fleet.
THIRD SECTION THE GROWING AIR-FLEETS OF FOREIGN NATIONS
I. Activity in France—Two hundred machines at the end of 1911; a thousand promised by the year 1914.
II. The great French tests of military aeroplanes—Striking results obtained—Era of fast, "air-worthy," weight-carrying machines.
III. Germany's aerial policy—Secret energies in creating a fleet of war aeroplanes—Rivalry with France.
IV. Progress in Russia, America, and other countries-England's position in the autumn of 1911.
FOURTH SECTION IMPORTANCE OF ORGANISATION IN THE USE OF WAR AEROPLANES
I. French plans for the concerted use of squadrons of machines in time of war.
II. Value of air-stations—Selection of landing-grounds—Preparing air-maps.
FIFTH SECTION ENGLAND'S POSITION IN REGARDS TO MILITARY FLYING
I. Lessons which were ignored—Work of the Parliamentary Aerial Defence Committee.
II. Policy of "moving cautiously"—Peril of lagging behind in aerial armament.
III. The financial aspect—Money England is spending—The airship policy—Insufficient provision for aeroplanes.
IV. Dangers of a policy of "drift"—Experience which money cannot buy—Trained men, not so much as machines, the criterion of strength.
V. England's official awakening—The training of 100 airmen—The forthcoming trials of military machines.
SIXTH SECTION WAR AEROPLANES AT THE PARIS AERONAUTICAL EXHIBITION, DECEMBER, 1911
I. Latest-type military monoplanes—Two-seated, reconnoitring machines—Single-seated, high-speed aircraft.
II. Latest developments in biplane construction—The engine-in-front, weight-carrying machine.
III. Healthy position of the French industry—What England has lacked—Danger of neglecting home builders.
SEVENTH SECTION WHAT EXISTING WAR AEROPLANES CAN ACTUALLY ACCOMPLISH
I. Plight of a Commander-in-Chief without an aeroplane corps—The work of cavalry reconnaissance.
II. Work of a squadron of air-scouts described—Tasks of the pilot and observer—Combined reconnaissance by many machines—Effect of aeroplanes upon tactics.
III. Other uses of the war aeroplane—Surveying—Dispatch-carrying—Directing gun-fire—Transport of staff officers.
EIGHTH SECTION WIRELESS TELEGRAPHY AND PHOTOGRAPHY AS AIDS TO AERIAL RECONNAISSANCE
I. First tests and successes with wireless telegraphy—Difficulty of equipping an aeroplane with transmitting plant.
II. French triumphs with wireless telegraphy—Messages sent over a distance of thirty-five miles.
III. Practical uses of wireless upon aeroplanes—England's lack of effort.
IV. Photography from a war aeroplane—The use of special automatic cameras.
NINTH SECTION DEVELOPMENT OF ALL-WEATHER WAR AEROPLANES
I. Flights in thirty-five-mile-an-hour winds—Arguments of sceptics—What the great contests of 1911 proved.
II. Value of high speed, when combating a wind—Constructional difficulties of a hundred-mile-an-hour machine.
III. Variable-speed aeroplane—Plans for constructing aircraft of this type—Advantages of such a machine.
IV. Power-plant of aeroplanes—Fitting two engines to obviate involuntary descents.
TENTH SECTION THE TRAINING OF ARMY AIRMEN
I. French thoroughness—An expert's tribute—Sound training all-important.
II. How the military airman is "schooled"—His course of instruction described.
III. Rules for training—Dummy aeroplanes—A pupil's first "hops."
IV. Cross-country flights—The vol plané—Difficulty of first observation tests from an aeroplane.
V. Finishing work at French schools—Practical tests—German thoroughness—Energy of English officers.
ELEVENTH SECTION THE COST OF WAR AEROPLANES
I. Why manufacturers charge high prices—Cost of experimental work—Building of trial machines.
II. Economy of a large military order for machines—The incidental expenses.
III. Question of renewals—General cheapness of an air-corps, as compared with other forms of armament.
OUR AERIAL PROGRAMME FOR 1912-13
TWELFTH SECTION PROBLEM OF ARTILLERY FIRE AND THE AEROPLANE
I. Conflicting opinions as to an aeroplane's vulnerability—Experiments which have been carried out.
II. Shrapnel shell—Question of hitting a vital part of the aeroplane—Difficulty of identifying friend or foe.
THIRTEENTH SECTION DESTRUCTIVE POTENTIALITIES OF WEIGHT-CARRYING AEROPLANES
I. What a modern-type machine can raise—Load of two men, and explosives.
II. Effect of aerial bombardment upon cities and troops—German tests.
FOURTEENTH SECTION WAR IN THE AIR BETWEEN HOSTILE AEROPLANES
I. Certainty of a combat between aeroplanes in actual warfare—Air-scouts protected by aerial "cruisers."
II. An encounter in the air—Importance to an army of an aerial victory.
FIFTEENTH SECTION VALUE OF THE AEROPLANE IN NAVAL WARFARE
I. Machines for coastal and high-seas work—Question of flying in winds.
II. Interesting tests—Machines for rising from water, and landing on a ship's deck.
SIXTEENTH SECTION AERIAL WORK IN THE FRENCH AND GERMAN AUTUMN MANOEUVRES, 1911
I. French successes—Proof of the value of organisation—Flights in high winds.
II. Work in the German manœuvres—An instance of the utility of air-scouts—Reconnoitring from high altitudes.
III. Aeroplanes in actual warfare—What Italian airmen accomplished in Tripoli—Scouting and bomb-dropping under service conditions.
IV. A final word—Conclusions to be arrived at—Problems outstanding.
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