WAR BALLOONS.

Otago Witness, Issue 2812, 5 February 1908, Page 81

WAR BALLOONS.

AERIAL NAVIES SURE TO COME. Speaking before the Royal Military Institute of Great. Britain recently on. the subject of Britain's position as a military nower, Major Baden-Powell said:— This is no time for England to remain in a state of satisfaction- with what she has. There are new elements in the realm of war of which we must soon take serious account. France and Germany have advanced so far in the development of aeronautics that we must now consider the air ship a new instrument- of war. In a very few years we shall see these powerful machines in the air under perfect control and in practical and effective operation. Then every government will obtain them, and the navies will be virtually useless as a first line of defence."

While this is a most striking prophecy, coming from a representative of the country with the strongest navy afloat,- it is nevertheless a truth that most of the great Powers haye already taken important steps towards the construction of a new navy in the- air. m France and Germany both have ieronautio corps attached to their armies, and! as much attention is now being" given to the - equipment of a strong squadron, of dirigibles as to tha cavalry infantry branch. Great Britain, Italy/' and Spain, while not so far advanced, faave all appropriated large sums for w.ar balloons; the work of experiment and con"yiction is going on rapidlyi

,"— Busy Building Fleet's.—

France has two of the largest war balloons yet made, the Lebaudy machine and La Patrie (since lost), and a still larger one, the Republrque, is now being built. The first-named air ships have been thoroughly tested by the army, and- fol-io-wing the completion of the BepuDlique it is planned to put into commission a fleet of air ships each probably larger than any yet constructed. In Germany the big war dirigible built by Count Zeppelin has attracted the most attention. His experiments with it at Lake Constance have been watched by the whole world, and in the opinion of disinterested experts his machine is possibly as near perfection as anything yet constructed in the shape of a military balloon. It weighs nearly ten tons, is able to carry a crew of 10 or 12 men comfortably, besides a large quantity of explosives, guns, and other military equipment. It is almost as laTge as the illfated airship built by Walter Wellman for his proposed flight to the North Pole. During recent trials Count Zeppelin has made .several flights, lasting from one to four Eours, rising to an altitude of 2500 ft, and making 18 miles aa hour- againsl a 12mile wind. In order to enable Count Zeppelin to continue his experiments on a larger scale the German Government recently authorised a lottery, the proceeds of which were to be devoted exclusively to the perfection of military air snips. Besides the large amount raised in this way the Government made a grant of £30,000, which is being used along the same lines. Aside from the Government many wealthy individuals in Germany are building and perfecting steerable balloons, one of the foremost in this" class being Henri Deutson, who has practically abandoned motor cars, and spends much of his time travelling about in his dirigible balloons. Italy and Spain are thoroughly aroused over 'the question of aerial navigation, and hundreds of important experiments are going on there, both with dirigible balloons and aeroplanes. Italy has several war balloons now in use, and more in course of construction.

— Japan on the Alert.—

So far as military men of other countries have been able to discover, Japan has not yet commenced to build her aerial navy, but is said to be waiting to get .the' advantage of all other experiments. In some quartersj however, that statement is not taken seriously, and it .is asserted that instead of lagging behind the European countries Japan- is joearsr perfection in the air ship than auy- other country in the world, and that if occasion should require she would appear in the field, or, more properly, in the heavens, with a squadron of dirigibles that would make- the air fleets of other countries look like flocks of toy kites. It was not unitil six months ago, when ! the achievements of German and French aeronauts began to attract universal attention, that the United States Government regarded the war balloon as a thing worth inquiring about. _ To-day every officer in the American army and navy is deeply interested, and it is expected that Congress at its next session wiH make a large appropriation for the -establish— ment of an aeronautic corps on a large scale.

— Practising Shooting at Balloons. —

Captain T. A. Hildabrandtj in charge of the aeronautic branch of the German army, in conversation with several aeronauts, said some very interesting things about military ballooning. For many years in Germany, said he, xre have been getting ready for the air squadron, and have devoted a great deal of time and experiment in shooting at captive and free balloons, because as the airship is developed we must also develop a way of destroying it. But our experience has shown that the large type of dirigible is going to be a very elusive enemy. We find it hard enough to bring down a captive balloon from, an elevation of about 600 yds, and from this we know how very difficult it is going to be to hit a big dirigible, constantly changing altitude and course, at a much, greater altitude. In our practice with captive balloons we find that is is necessary to observe the work from both sides in, order to discover if we are getting the range. We use shells with time fuses, and find that shrapnel is the best. First a captive balloon is ele-

vaied to about 500 metres, and then . all the guns in a six-gun battery are trained on it and filed in a volley, all at the same time. Generally we bring- down the captive in about six or 6even yqlleys, and this requires ordinarily 10" to 12 minutes' firing. The shrapnel, of course, tears large holes in the gas bag and deflates it. With a dirigible balloon that could be made to circle about or rise quickly to a great elevation, it would be quite a different story. While shooting at a captive balloon anchored at an altitude of 600 yds is hard enough, it would be far more difficult to hit a steerable balloon darting about at an altitude of 1000 or 1500 yards. Of course, it is not possible to- experiment with a dirigible containing pilots, so the best we have been able to do is to have, these large balloons towed by a steamship at sea., and we shoot at them while moving in that way. The balloon is towed past the batteries on shore, and while we generally ■ hit them after "considerable firing, some of them Tiave escaped.

■ — Dropping Deadly Rain. —

In actual warfare it would be much more difficult, because, of- course, the • aeronauts w.ould . understand . about what our guns were able to do, and would keep pretty well out of range, and still- be able to perform their wort of reconnoitring or dropping explosives. In practice work during times of peace the gunners have time to make all preparation and get the proper elevation, while in war the balloons would be sweeping down from the clouds without any warning. Then it would be necessary to decide which batteries were best located and equipped for the attack, and to get the guns ready. By the time that^ was done the balloon might have accomplished its work, or might have reached a, point so directly over the guns' that they could not shoot at them at all. Infantry fire would jiot bother the balloons to any extent, so all that would be necessary tor complete sa-fcty on iii& part of the aeronaut would be for him to rise about 1500 yds and keep directly over the troops of the enemy. There he would examine the enemy's position, drop explosives upon him, and substantially have his own way without great danger of being hit.

— Special Gun\ Needed. —

I am now speaking oi conditions as they are to-day, but it is altogether likely that with the development of the' .war balloon will come a corresponding- development of guns to reach it,, within a certain, altitude, but from, anything I can conceive now the balloon in future warfare is bound to have the better of the , argument, because it will be very difficult with any gun possible io be- made to get accurate range and do effective work on a Walloon beyond a certain altitude.

Count Zeppelin's new war dirigible is equipped to do- service as a wireless telegraph station, and the operator in it can receive and send despatches from a great height above the earths It can drift out over the enemy, see what he is doing, and report the matter to 'headquarters, from its position in the clouds. This is very important, and if such a balloon as that should be hit and destroyed: it would have done its service, and the loss would not amount to much in comparison, with the work it had performed. It is my belief that in the future the large type of dirigibles will be very valuable as scouts, and many will, no doubt, be built and equipped expressly for that service.