WARFARE IN THE AIR.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XLIII, Issue 13899, 24 January 1916, Page 3

WARFARE IN THE AIR.

GERMANY'S RECENT SUCCESSES. MACHINE INVENTED BY YOUN,G DUTCHMAN. LONDON, Jan. 21. Germany's recent air successes continue to excite interest. Tlie Manchester Guardian, m a detailed, well-informed article by an aviation expert, states that the Germans hitherto only mentioned army commanders, such .as Generals Hindenburg and Mackensen, m their communiques, but they are now billing humble lieutenants as "star" turns. Thus "Lieutenant Immelmrynn shot down a British aeroplane, and Lieut. Blocke shot down another." Evidently Germany believes she can inspire the Royal Flying Corps with terror. Fokker is a young Dutchman, who built a weird, uncapsizable monoplone m 1911. The new "Fokkenl" do not attempt to secure or inherit stability, but they are designed to be absolutely under the control of the pilot m every position. The pilot is thus able to manoeuvre with lightning speed. They closely resemble the Mortne monoplanes, which M. CJustav Hamel used. Lieuts. Immelmann's and Bloke's aero, planes have guns on top of the engine, which fire through the propellers, which are fitted with deflector plates. Only five per cent, of the bullets hit tho ■plates. M. Garros first tried the deflector dodge. The Fokker"s favorite method of attack i.s to rise 1500 feet, and han^j round until an Allies' machine appears below. Tlie Fokker then stands on its head and dives straight for its victim, the pilot aiming the gun by steering tho whole aeroplane, like Judson's flatiron gunboat m Kipling's story. By making- the descent slightly spiral, a straight stream of bullets becomes a cone of fire, from which the victim cannot escape, whichever way he turns. Tf he fails to hit. the pilot" of the Fokker comes behind the enemy, firing along the body, so that the pilot, passenger, tanks and ongine are m one line of fire. Unless pursued, when the pilot is able to dodge like a rabbit, some vital part of the enemy plane is bound to be hit. Tt is quite possible that the British manufacturers can produce a faster monoplane, equally quick and easy to monocuvre. but they must be given a free hand, unhampered by obsolete official types. It has been the general impression that the British aviators commanded the nid m the West, "due to Sir John French's despatch m October, 1914. Tho impression was largely due to the fact that the bittgost German aeroplanes had been withdrawn to partako m the big drive againpt Raissi,**. Then tho German battle aeroplanes' did consider damage until the Frnnrh introduced fast (-rout., and socalled aviatneonons. caa-rying three inch nuick-firers., instead of machine guns. The German aeronlanes were aeain scareo m the West during October, when bi«r. lone-distance- lncoTiines were sent to Serbia. Buloraria, arid Bukowina, towatoh the Rumamian army and Hungarian frontier. '