The Way of the Air 18

The Way of the Air 18

We, in Great Britain, have lost for ever the natural advantage we once

possessed of being an island. Thanks to the vigilance and strength

of our Navy, we have held the narrow seas with a firm hold, that so

far no other nation has been able to overcome. Now we are always open

to invasion from the air; and the sea, which formerly afforded us

protection, is a serious disadvantage, in that invading aircraft can

creep over those broad lonely spaces, and come down upon us before we

are even aware of their proximity.

 

How can airships’ raids be encountered? There are three methods.

The first is, by anti-aircraft artillery; secondly, by airship; and

lastly, by aeroplane. The first method--that of gun-fire--is extremely

unreliable. This is not the fault of the men so much, nor of the guns

with which they fire, but rather of the conditions under which they

work. Practice with anti-aircraft guns is rare and insufficient; and

the best part of the firing takes place at night at a rapidly moving

object, many thousands of feet up in the air. Aeroplanes are greatly

handicapped by want of “lift”--a quality which goes far to render

aircraft either useful or useless. To obtain “lift” the latter craft

relies solely on the high power of its engine, whereas, with the

Zeppelin, “lift” is obtained by two means: one by the envelope, which

contains gas several times lighter than air; and the other, as with the

aeroplane, by engine power. Thus we have double the lifting power with

a dirigible than with an aeroplane, and hence double, and in actual

fact treble, the war lift; and treble the amount of bombs, ammunition,

and machine-guns can be carried.

 

The effect the enemy hopes to gain by his constant Zeppelin raids, is

partly moral, partly military. To achieve the latter it is necessary

that the enemy airman destroy some position or place of military

importance, as a powder-factory, an arsenal, a large camp, an important

railway junction, a munitions factory, a naval dockyard, an ordnance

factory, or a similar area. But in very few instances have the raiding

Zeppelins touched either of these places. Thus they have achieved

but little military result. The moral result attempted has been to

frighten and harass the inhabitants of this country until--Germany had

a mental vision--they would be groveling on their knees in the dust,

begging the Government to sue for peace. We have already dealt with

the moral effect these raids have on their own people. By aid of lying

and bombastic reports the enemy do not fail to impress--and greatly

impress--neutral countries. Some readers will perhaps remember it was

after a big Zeppelin raid on this country that Bulgaria joined the

Central Powers. The Germans know only too well that we do not possess

large airships of our own. Suppose we did; what would be the panic and

consternation caused in Berlin by the appearance over that city of a

squadron of British bomb-dropping Zeppelins, and how far would it go to

shorten the war?

 

During the last few months we have seen the Zeppelin in a more useful

and more dangerous aspect, namely in the capacity of Naval Scout. Let

us consider what are the main duties of a light-cruiser fleet at sea;

they are of a very similar nature to those of the cavalry, namely to

form a protective screen to the main body, and to advance as nearly as

possible to the enemy to discover the exact disposition of his forces.

In one word, their main duty is scouting. In this respect the enemy

went one better than ourselves. He built Zeppelins, and succeeded in

accomplishing with a single Zeppelin that which in former days had

required a fleet of light cruisers. Without necessarily running any

risk, the giant airship at a height of 10,000 feet has a view extending

on a clear day to as much as thirty miles, and some three-hundred

square miles of sea surface. What cruiser look-out can claim a

perspective equal to that? At thirty miles, or twenty-five or even

twenty, the Zeppelin pilot is well out of range of the enemy shells,

and with his wireless instrument, which has another range of thirty

miles, can signal to the admiral of the fleet when the enemy is yet

sixty miles off. This view explains the fact why the two fleets have so

seldom been at grips in the two years of war. The enemy, by means of

his aerial scouts, must oft and again have been warned of the proximity

of the British Fleet. The official account of the Jutland battle stated

that the weather was dull and misty; hence the Zeppelins would have

been unable successfully to perform their usual duties.

 

The extreme radius of Zeppelin activity is usually considered to be 600

miles out, 600 miles home, and judged from the three principal Zeppelin

centers--Heligoland, Brussels and Friedrichshaven--embraces, with the

possible exception of a small and unimportant portion of the west

coast of Ireland and north coast of Scotland, every city, military

camp, munition factory, dockyard and industrial center in Great

Britain.

 

 

 

 

CHAPTER XXIV

 

LAWS OF THE AIR

 

 

At a recent coroner’s inquest on the death of a young Service pilot

in England, an instructor of the flying school at which he was being

trained, stated in the course of his evidence that if the pilots--there

had been a horrifying collision in mid-air--had only been familiar with

aerial rules and regulations, the accident would never have occurred.

 

In this particular instance one machine had been coming down, while

another was just leaving the ground. Both of the pilots were aware of

the danger they were in, but neither knew the right course to pursue.

Result--collision and death. Had both of them carried out the Royal

Aero Club’s regulation: that an aeroplane passing another aeroplane

in mid-air must leave at least ten meters’ space between the extreme

wing-tips and always pass to the right of the approaching craft, both

of them would have been alive to-day.

 

So very few of the public outside the flying world are aware that, as

navigation of the sea is ordered by the Navigation Act, so is the

navigation of the air by the Aerial Navigation Acts of 1911 and 1913,

and by the rules and regulations of the Royal Aero Club, which latter

organization previous to the war controlled all matters aeronautical

and still controls the granting of pilot’s certificates.

 

Even in the ballooning days a charter was drawn up at a conference at

Brussels, which ordained that every private balloon--that is to say,

one not in the hands of the naval or military authorities--must be

registered and have a name and number, which should be printed in large

letters on the body of the balloon. The place of residence of the owner

must also be stated, and the number and the place of origin be printed

in red. Every ascent by a private person must be under the control

of a state official. Government balloons, on the other hand, are not

expected to carry papers, but private balloons must have a copy of the

official particulars and a list of the passengers. A balloon must be

identified in the same way as a ship, and must carry a flag, fastened

to the net half-way down the balloon, and this must be recognizable

both by its shape and coloring, and be properly mounted in position. A

journal must be kept and the man in charge must produce his certificate

on demand.

 

These latter rules also apply to airships, but not to aeroplanes.

These types of aircraft are too numerous to be able to identify

singly, but there are many other rules to which they must submit. For

instance--flying over London and similar crowded areas is prohibited;

or, in the words of the R. A. C.: “Flying to the danger of the public

is prohibited, particularly unnecessary flights over towns, or thickly

populated areas, or over places where crouds are temporarily assembled,

or over public enclosures at aerodromes at such a height as to involve

danger to the public. Flying is also prohibited over River Regattas,

Race meetings, meetings for public games and sports, except flights

specifically arranged for in writing with the promoters of such

Regattas, Meetings, etc.”

 

If he disregard any of these regulations, the airman is liable to a

fine not exceeding £20 and suspension of his flying certificate.

 

The first Aerial Navigation Act of 1911 was not in reality a Navigation

Act at all, but although that was its title, it was described as “An

Act to provide for the protection of the public against dangers arising

from the Navigation of Aircraft.” The penalties attached thereto were

exceedingly heavy and provided that any airman disregarding the Act

would be liable after conviction on indictment or on summary conviction

to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months, or to a fine not

exceeding £200, or to both such imprisonment and fine.

 

The Act included various prohibited flying areas, mostly in the

neighborhood of arsenals, munition factories, and naval dockyards, or

similar military areas.

 

Certain conditions were imposed on aircraft landing in this country

from abroad, as that the person in charge of the aircraft, before

commencing a voyage to the United Kingdom, must apply for a clearance

to a duly authorized British Consular Officer. He must make a written

application, which states clearly the name and registered number of the

craft; the type, the name, nationality, and the place of residence of

the owner or person in charge, and of every member of the crew; and the

name, profession, nationality and place of residence of every passenger

(if any), the nature of the cargo (if any), the approximate time of

departure, place of departure, the intended landing-place in the United

Kingdom, the proposed destination, and the object of the voyage.

 

Having settled the matters of procedure, it was further added that

“no person in any aircraft entering the United Kingdom should carry,

or allow to be carried, in the aircraft, any goods, the importation

of which is prohibited by the laws relating to customs; any goods

chargeable upon importation into the United Kingdom with any duty or

customs, except such small quantities as have been placed on board

at the place of departure, as being necessary for the use during the

voyage of the persons conveyed therein, any photographic apparatus,

carrier or homing pigeons, explosives or firearms, or any mails.”

 

On the return journey the aircraft is not permitted to leave unless

there be at least one British representative, approved by the

authorized officer, on board. No photographic or wireless apparatus,

etc., shall be carried, and no mails.

 

Foreign, naval, or military aircraft must not pass over, nor land

within any port of the United Kingdom, nor the territorial waters

thereof, except on the express invitation, or with the express

permission, previously obtained, of His Majesty’s Government.

 

None of the foregoing orders applies to naval or military aircraft,

belonging to, or employed in the service of His Majesty.