aeroplanes and dirigibles of war-第22节
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target; but eight of the remaining missiles fell within the area。
In the German competition which was held at Gotha in September of
the same year the results were somewhat disappointing。 Two
targets were provided。 The one represented a military bivouac
occupying a superficies of 330 square feet; and the other a
captive balloon resembling a Zeppelin。 The prizes offered were
L500; L200; and L802;500; 1;000 and 400respectively; and
were awarded to those who made the greatest number of hits。 The
conditions were by no means so onerous as those imposed in the
Michelin contest; inasmuch as the altitude limit was set at 660
feet; while no machine was to descend within 165 feet。 The first
competitor completely failed to hit the balloon。 The second
competitor flying at 800 feet landed seven bombs within the
square; but only one other competitor succeeded in placing one
bomb within the space。
Bomb…dropping under the above conditions; however; is vastly
dissimilar from such work under the grim realities of war。 The
airman has to act quickly; take his enemy by surprise; avail
himself of any protective covering which may exist; and incur
great risks。 The opposing forces are overwhelmingly against him。
The modern rifle; if fired vertically into the air; will hurl the
bullet to a height of about 5;000 feet; while the weapons which
have been designed to combat aircraft have a range of 10;000 feet
or more。
At the latter altitude aggressive tactics are useless。 The
airman is unable to obtain a clear sharp view of the country
beneath owing to the interference offered to vision by
atmospheric haze; even in the dearest of weather。 In order to
obtain reasonable accuracy of aim the corsair of the sky must fly
at about 400 feet。 In this respect; however; the aeroplane is at
a decided advantage; as compared with the dirigible。 The machine
offers a considerably smaller target and moves with much greater
speed。 Experience of the war has shown that to attempt to hurl
bombs from an extreme height is merely a waste of ammunition。
True; they do a certain amount of damage; but this is due to
luck; not judgment。
For success in aerial bomb operations the human element is mainly
responsible。 The daring airman is likely to achieve the greatest
results; as events have proved; especially when his raid is
sudden and takes the enemy by surprise。 The raids carried out by
Marix; Collet; Briggs; Babington; Sippe and many others have
established this fact incontrovertibly。 In all these operations
the airmen succeeded because of their intrepidity and their
decision to take advantage of cover; otherwise a prevailing mist
or low…lying clouds。 Flight…Lieutenant Collet approached the
Zeppelin shed at Dusseldorf at an altitude of 6;000 feet。 There
was a bank of mist below; which he encountered at 1;500 feet。 He
traversed the depth of this layer and emerged therefrom at a
height of only 400 feet above the ground。 His objective was
barely a quarter of a mile ahead。 Travelling at high speed he
launched his bombs with what proved to be deadly precision; and
disappeared into cover almost before the enemy had grasped his
intentions。 Lieutenant…Commander; now Flight…Commander; Marix
was even more daring。 Apparently he had no mist in which to
conceal himself but trusted almost entirely to the speed of his
machine; which probably at times notched 90 miles per hour。
Although his advent was detected and he was greeted with a
spirited fusillade he clung to his determined idea。 He headed
straight for the Zeppelin shed; launched two bombs and swung into
the higher reaches of the air without a moment's hesitation。 His
aim was deadly; since both bombs found their mark; and the
Zeppelin docked within was blown up。 The intrepid airman
experienced several narrow escapes; for his aeroplane was struck
twenty times; and one or two of the control wires were cut by
passing bullets。
The raid carried out by Commanders Briggs and Babington in
company with Lieutenant Sippe upon the Zeppelin workshops at
Friedrichshafen was even more daring。 Leaving the Allies' lines
they ascended to an altitude of 4;500 feet; and at this height
held to the pre…arranged course until they encountered a mist;
which while protecting them from the alert eyes of the enemy
below; was responsible for the separation of the raiders; so that
each was forced to act independently and to trust to the compass
to bring him out of the ordeal successfully。 Lieutenant Sippe
sighted Lake Constance; and taking advantage of the mist lying
low upon the water; descended to such an extent that he found
himself only a few feet above the roofs of the houses。 Swinging
roundto the Lake he descended still lower until at last he was
practically skimming the surface of the Lake; since he flew at
the amazingly low height of barely seven feet off the water。
There is no doubt that the noise of his motor was heard plainly
by the enemy; but the mist completely enveloped him; and owing to
the strange pranks that fog plays with sound deceived his
antagonists。
At last; climbing above the bank of vapour; he found that he had
overshot the mark; so he turned quickly and sped backwards。 At
the same time he discovered that he had been preceded by
Commander Briggs; who was bombarding the shed furiously; and who
himself was the object of a concentrated fire。 Swooping down
once more; Lieutenant Sippe turned; rained his bombs upon the
objective beneath; drawing fire upon himself; but co…operating
with Commander Babington; who had now reached the scene; he
manoeuvred above the works and continued the bombardment until
their ammunition was expended; when they sped home…wards under
the cover of the mist。 Considering the intensity of the hostile
fire; it is surprising that the aeroplanes were not smashed to
fragments。 Undoubtedly the high speed of the machines and the
zigzagging courses which were followed nonplussed the enemy。
Commander Briggs was not so fortunate as his colleagues; a bullet
pierced his petrol tank; compelling a hurried descent。
The most amazing feature of these aerial raids has been the
remarkably low height at which the airmen have ventured to fly。
While such a procedure facilitates marksmanship it increases the
hazards。 The airmen have to trust implicitly to the fleetness of
their craft and to their own nerve。 Bearing in mind the
vulnerability of the average aeroplane; and the general absence
of protective armouring against rifle fire at almost point…blank
range; it shows the important part which the human element is
compelled to play in bomb…dropping operations。
Another missile which has been introduced by the French airmen;
and which is extremely deadly when hurled against dense masses of
men; is the steel arrow; or 〃flechette〃 as it is called。 It is a
fiendish projectile consisting in reality of a pencil of solid
polished steel; 4 3/4 inches in length。 The lower end has a
sharp tapering point; 5/8ths of an inch in length。 For a
distance of 1 1/8th of an inch above this point the cylindrical
form of the pencil is preserved; but for the succeeding three
inches to the upper end; the pencil is provided with four equally
spaced angle flanges or vanes。 This flanging of the upper end or
tail ensures the arrow spinning rapidly as it falls through the
air; and at the same times preserves its vertical position during
its descent。 The weight of the arrow is two…thirds of an ounce。
The method of launching this fearsome projectile is ingenious。 A
hundred or even more are packed in a vertical position in a
special receptacle; placed upon the floor of the aeroplane;
preferably near the foot of the pilot or observer。 This
receptacle is fitted with a bottom moving in the manner of a
trap…door; and is opened by pressing a lever。 The aviator has
merely to depress this pedal with his foot; when the box is
opened and the whole of the contents are released。 The fall at
first is somewhat erratic; but this is an advantage; as it
enables the darts to scatter and to cover a wide area。 As the
rotary motion of the arrows increases during the fall; the direct
line of flight becomes more pronounced until at last they assume
a vertical direction free from all wobbling; so that when they
alight upon the target they are quite plumb。
When launched from a height they strike the objective with
terrific force; and will readily penetrate a soldier's helmet and
skull。 Indeed; when released at a height of 4;000 feet they have
been known to pierce a mounted soldier's head; and pass
vertically through his body and that of his horse also。 Time
after time German soldiers have found themselves pinned to the
ground through the arrow striking and penetrating their feet。
Owing to the extremely light weight of the darts they can be
launched in batches of hundreds at a time; and in a prom