"THE TERROR THAT FLIES BY DAY” "WHAT ARE THE AERIAL NAVIES OF THE POWERS?"

Deutsche Stacheldraht-Post, Issue 57, 17 April 1943, Page 3

"THE TERROR THAT FLIES BY DAY” "WHAT ARE THE AERIAL NAVIES OF THE PO WERS?"

”... !o in hex military preparations France has pinned her faith to the light* swift* scouting and raiding aeroplane, which seems to suit the national teraperamen January* 1911» no fewer than 1000 machines have been constructed for the aeronautical branch of the French arny — 200 of them be* ing presented as the result of a w?ve of pa* triotic enthusiasm that swept over the coun* try two years ago. ,?I he main flying depot is at Chalais- eudon* and the number of "'ranch* men holding pilot-certificates now runs into the thousands. The most notable addition to the French air-fleet was the completlon.quite recently* of six armoured biplanes* intended for offensive work rather than mere scouting. These have an armoured (steel-plated? body of three millimetres thickness* with a space for one or two passenger?. The motor is an eightyfive h.p. Gnome, and the speed about sixty miles an hour. Provosion is made for shooting either forward above the tractor*or backward over We tail-plane. IB addlttoni •■rknne has A few'- Abfcortec ... Tn , by far the

most important advance has been the develop* merit of the sea-plane* of which the navy de* partment now possesses quite a number (offidaily stated at sixty-two* but not all in commission) with capable pilots to fly them. The an<y has been quite as earnest* and at the beginning of the war had approximately fifty machinesj but as practically every non-milita* ry flying-man at once enlisted* this number has been considerably increased. The efficien* cy which has been achieved by the army flyingmen is evidenced by the ungrudging praise be* stowed upon them by General Joffre, who made special mention of their scouting-work at the battle of the : arne. Colonel and rr.Kinston Churchill have both been keenly enthusiastic; so much so that the advisability of preventing the latter from taking further flights wae seriously debated in the House. The support they received may be gauged by the fact that close on a million was placed on the estimates for 1915-14 for construction and equipment of air-craft.

... Luring the past twelvemonth the Genuan ar*qy aeroplane branch has made big strides, and, according to the latest figures, she had control of J5O aeroplanes with a reserve (of private planes that might be commandeered) of 400. hot only during manoeuvres, but between times, the military aviators have been kept at practice, and, so far as we can judge by the reports, this training has amply repaid the Germans, whose air-scouts have apparently rendered good service in locating the positions of the eneny’s forces and so directing the ar- ——-| tillexy fire. The machine favoured by the military authorities it the rr M ’ a fast-flyiiw machine with sereicurved planes that give it special stabilising qualities. whilst their flying-men have been in training, German mechanics have been experimenting, and a remarkable number of patentr have been taken out in German names, he show, for example, snapshots of the latent device for signal® ling — from aeroplane to battery, for example —,and a new type of aeroplane transport has been intro duced, which not only dispenses with a special tractor, but carries a complete repair outfit and spare parts. No official figures are nvailable of the aerial re- *

sources, but the;e are by no means i; iconside® rable, whilst Austria Is credited with nine army air-ships and 90 aeroplanes, about half of which are actually in commission. The spe» cial type developed in Huasla is the huge ST® Kc : KY biplane which in a recent night flight carried six passengers for over six ano a half hours, and net day reached 6560 feet with ten people aboard. Australia 1 s Promising Air-Navy. Australian military authorities were,long ago, seized with the importance of establishiig a flying corps, but for a long *& time matters hung fire. Recently, however, excellent progress has been wade, and the Commonwealth now possesses several machines, including those used for tuition purposes, and a hydroplane. These are housed at the Commonwealth militaiy flying school. ...”