WHAT IS A BATTLEPLANE?

Greymouth Evening Star, 23 July 1918, Page 8

WHAT IS A BATTLEPLANE?

fighting machines smaller And fasteu. disadvantages of aelual dreadnought., For the past two or three months one lias noticed a. remarkable increase in the use of the strange word "battle-plane" by those who write about aircraft without particularly intimate knowledge, says Mr. C. G. Grey, the editor of The Aeroplane."* It would be interesting if one could discover precisely what users of the word intend that it should convey. Let it be admitted freely that the word "plane" is used incorrectly by all of ug who are concerned with aviation. Geometrically speaking, a, plane is a fiat surface, whereas the wing- of an aeroplane—which is known to aeronautical scientists as an "aerofoil"—is very distinctly curved. Therefore the word aeroplane isi wrong in itself; and that word "plane," when used to indicate any one member of a flying machine, is equally wrong. However as to the "battle-plane." One gathers in a. somewhat vague way from such phrases as "one of our great battle-planes," and so forth, that there is in some minds a sort of analogy between a battle-ship and a battle-plane. Now, as a matter of fact, there'is no parallel at all between the two. A battle-ship is definitely a big fighting ship. Tfoe battleship squa'dron is composed of the biggest ships of the fleet—bigger even than the battle-cruisers, more heavily armed, more heavil v armoured, and distinctly slower. It fights its way into the enemy's force, by sheer weight and. strength. Among aeroplanes, however, the facts are almost precisely opposite. The machines which do nearly all the> fighting are the smallest, lightest, and fastest in the service. In air fighting, results depend chiefly on speed and ability to manoeuvre quickly. Speed is needed to catch tlie enemy; and quickness in handling is needed to attack him when, caught, to make sure of being able to attack from, the best possible position, and to enable the attacker to dedge about and avoid being hit in return. The big' aeroplane is. up to the present, invariably slower than the small one, and it must obviously be slower in manoeuvring. Therefore it offers- an easier target to the fighting machine thar> would a small machine which, could move quickly in any direction. In attacking a big aeroplane the pilot of a small fighter, throws his. machine into the most extraordinary attitudes. He may dive straight at the enemy from, and then, just when the machine-gunner defending the big one thinks lie has got his sights on him, he may spin his, machine round, slip suddenly sideways, and probably, before the gunner can shift his aim, he may find the little machine-underneath, firing up into the petrol-tank or the engines. The Germans, who were the first to produce big aeroplanes in quantities —although the Pn'tish aircraft industry actually produced the first satisfactory examples of the multipleengine type —soon discovered that the big aeroplane is not a satisfactory fighting machine. The first squadron of twin-engined Goth as was sent to Kouihania, and Avas used for bombing Bucharest — : hence its nick-name, "tlu Bucharest Squadron." The capital of Koumania was undefended, and so the squadron did considerable execution. Soon afterwards the same squadron tried to bomb Salonika. In' reaching that city it had to fly over the Allies' fighting line in,,Serbia, and at its first attempt it lost two machines, both brought down by one gallant young officer of the ILF.C—one on the outward journey, and one on the way home. Then the squadron was shifted to Be'gium, and turned on to raid London. At that time there were no London defences and no fighting squadrons organised for defence purposes. The Germans went straight out to sea from the Belgian opast, and had not to cross anv fighting \[ ne — w ith its accompaniment of aerodromes at close inteiTals behind it. Their job was' therefore quite easy at first. But, as soon as the very first squadron of small fighting machine!* was organised for the defence of London, the big German aeroplanes were defeated, and they have never ( attempted a daylight raid since. , Even at night their business is un- , pleasant. Being slow to manoeuvre, they cannot easily escape from the rays of a searchlight if once caught in it, and when so sighted they are easier for a gunner to hit than are small fast machines. Also, when the searchlight, .finds them and holds them, they are. an easy illuminated . mark' for" the "small fighters, and they themselves fight at a. disadvantage. The big, multiple-engined aeroplane is undoubtedly the right weapon for big bombing raids at night,