Aeroplanes and Dirigibles of War
F >>
Frederick A. Talbot >> Aeroplanes and Dirigibles of War
Pages:
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 | 10 |
11 |
12 |
13 |
14 |
15
What are the vulnerable parts of the aeroplane? While the
deliberate intention of either combatant is to put his antagonist
hors de combat, the disablement of the machine may be achieved
without necessarily killing or even seriously wounding the
hostile airman. The prevailing type of aeroplane is highly
susceptible to derangement: it is like a ship without armour
plate protection. The objective of the antagonist is the motor
or the fuel-tank, the vital parts of the machine, as much as the
aviator seated within.
A well-planted shot, which upsets the mechanism of the engine, or
a missile which perforates the fuel tank, thereby depriving the
motor of its sustenance, will ensure victory as conclusively as
the death of the aviator himself. Rifle fire can achieve either
of these ends with little difficulty. Apart from these two
nerve-centres, bombardment is not likely to effect the desired
disablement, inasmuch as it cannot be rendered completely
effective. The wings may be riddled like a sieve, but the
equilibrium of the machine is not seriously imperilled thereby.
Even many of the stays may be shot away, but bearing in mind the
slender objective they offer, their destruction is likely to be
due more to luck than judgment. On the other hand, the motor and
fuel tank of the conventional machine offer attractive targets:
both may be put out of action readily, and the disablement of the
motive power of an enemy's craft, be it torpedo-boat, battleship,
or aeroplane, immediately places the same at the assailant's
mercy.
Nevertheless, of course, the disablement of the airman brings
about the desired end very effectively. It deprives the driving
force of its controlling hand; The aeroplane becomes like a ship
without a rudder: a vessel whose helmsman has been shot down. It
is unmanageable, and likely to become the sport of the element in
which it moves. It is for this reason that aviators have been
urged to direct their fire upon the men and mechanism of a
dirigible in the effort to put it out of action. An uncontrolled
airship is more likely to meet with its doom than an aeroplane.
The latter will inevitably glide to earth, possibly damaging
itself seriously in the process, as events in the war have
demonstrated, but a helpless airship at once becomes the sport of
the wind, and anyone who has assisted, like myself, in the
descent of a vessel charged with gas and floating in the air, can
appreciate the difficulties experienced in landing. An
uncontrolled Zeppelin, for instance, would inevitably pile up in
a tangled twisted ruin if forced to descend in the manner of an
ordinary balloon. Consequently the pilot of a dirigible realises
to the full the imperative urgency of keeping beyond the
point-blank fire of aerial mosquito craft.
The assiduity with which British aviators are prepared to swarm
to the attack has been responsible for a display of commendable
ingenuity on the part of the German airman. Nature has provided
some of its creatures, such as the octopus, for instance, with
the ways and means of baffling its pursuers. It emits dense
clouds of inky fluid when disturbed, and is able to effect its
escape under cover of this screen.
The German aviator has emulated the octopus. He carries not only
explosive bombs but smoke balls as well. When he is pursued and
he finds himself in danger of being overtaken, the Teuton aviator
ignites these missiles and throws them overboard. The aeroplane
becomes enveloped in a cloud of thick impenetrable smoke. It is
useless to fire haphazard at the cloud, inasmuch as it does not
necessarily cover the aviator. He probably has dashed out of the
cloud in such a way as to put the screen between himself and his
pursuer.
In such tactics he has merely profited by a method which is
practised freely upon the water. The torpedo boat flotilla when
in danger of being overwhelmed by superior forces will throw off
copious clouds of smoke. Under this cover it is able to steal
away, trusting to the speed of the craft to carry them well
beyond gunshot. The "smoke screen," as it is called, is an
accepted and extensively practised ruse in naval strategy, and is
now adopted by its mosquito colleagues of the air.
CHAPTER XIII
TRICKS AND RUSES TO BAFFLE THE AIRMAN
The airman has not been allowed to hold his undisputed sway in
military operations for long. Desperate situations demand
drastic remedies and already considerable and illuminating
ingenuity is being displayed to baffle and mislead the scout of
the skies.
It is a somewhat curious and noteworthy fact, that the Germans
were among the first to realise the scope of the airman's
activities, and the significance of their relation to the
conveyance of intimate information and the direction of artillery
fire. Consequently, they now spare no effort to convey illusory
information, in the hope that the hostile force may ultimately
make a false move which may culminate in disaster.
Thus, for instance, as much endeavour is bestowed upon the
fashioning of dummy trenches as upon the preparation of the
actual lines of defence. And every care will be taken to
indicate that the former are strongly held. The dug-outs are
complete and at places are apparently cunningly masked. If the
airman is flying swiftly, he is likely to fail to distinguish the
dummy from the real trenches. To him the defences appear to be
far more elaborate and more strongly held than is the actual
case.
The advantage of this delusion is obvious when a retreat is being
made. It enables the enemy to withdraw his forces deliberately
and in perfect order, and to assume another and stronger position
comparatively at leisure. The difficulty of detecting the
dummies is emphasised, inasmuch as now, whenever the sound of an
aeroplane is heard, or a glimpse thereof is obtained, the men
keep well down and out of sight. Not a sign of movement is
observable. For all the airman may know to the contrary, the
trenches may be completely empty, whereas, as a matter of fact,
they are throbbing with alert infantry, anxious for a struggle
with the enemy.
This is one instance where the dirigible is superior to the
aeroplane. The latter can only keep circling round and round
over the suspicious position; the movement through the air
interferes with close continuous observation. On the other hand,
the dirigible can maintain a stationary position aloft for hours
on end. Then the issue is resolved into a contest of patience,
with the advantage to the airman. The soldiers in the trenches
fret and fume under cover; confined concealment is irksome and is
a supreme test of the nerves. Unless the soldiers are made of
very stern stuff, physical endurance succumbs. Some rash act--
apparently very trivial--may be committed; it suffices for the
vigilant sentinel overhead. He detects the slender sign of life,
forms his own conclusions, and returns to his headquarters with
the intelligence that the enemy is playing "Brer Rabbit."
It has also become increasingly difficult for the airman to
gather absolutely trustworthy data concerning the disposition and
movement of troops. Small columns are now strung out along the
highways to convey the impression that the moving troops are in
far greater force than is actually the case, while the main body
is under the cover offered by a friendly wood and is safe from
detection. The rapidity with which thousands of men are able
to disappear when the word "Airman" is passed round is
astonishing. They vanish as completely and suddenly as if
swallowed by the earth or dissolved into thin air. They conceal
themselves under bushes,in ditches, lie prone under hedgerows,
dart into houses and outbuildings--in short, take every cover
which is available, no matter how slender it may seem, with
baffling alacrity. The attenuated column, however, is kept
moving along the highway for the express purpose of deceiving the
airman.
Advancing troops also are now urged to move forward under the
shelter of trees, even if the task entails marching in single or
double file, to escape the prying eyes of the man above. By
keeping close to the line of trunks, thus taking full advantage
of the overhanging branches, and marching in such a manner as to
create little dust, it is possible to escape the aerial scout.
The concealment of cavalry, however, is somewhat difficult. An
animal, especially if he be unaccustomed to the noise of the
aeroplane, is likely to become startled, and to give vent to a
frightened and vociferous neighing which invariably provokes a
hearty response from his equine comrades. The sharp ear of the
airman does not fail to distinguish this sound above the music of
his motor. Again, he has come to regard all copses and stretches
of undergrowth with suspicion. Such may or may not harbour the
enemy, but there is no risk in making an investigation. He
swoops down, and when a short distance above the apparently
innocent copse, circles round it two or three times. Still
undecided, he finally hurls a bomb. Its detonation invariably
proves effective. The horses stampede and the secret is out.
Even foot soldiers must be severely trained and experienced to
resist the natural inclination to break cover when such a missile
is hurled into their midst.
Frequently a force, which has laboured under the impression that
it is safe from detection, has revealed its presence unwittingly
and upon the spur of the moment. If the men be steeled against
the bomb attack, it is almost impossible to resist the
inclination to take a shot when the airman, swooping down,
ventures so temptingly near as to render him an enticing target
almost impossible to miss. As a rule, however, the observer is
on the alert for such a betrayal of a force's existence. When
the bomb fails to scatter the enemy, or the men are proof against
the temptation to fire a volley, a few rounds from the
aeroplane's machine gun often proves effective. If the copse
indeed be empty no harm is done, beyond the abortive expenditure
of a few rounds of ammunition: if it be occupied, the fruits of
the manoeuvre are attractive. Cunning is matched against
cunning, and the struggle for supremacy in the art of craftiness
is keen.
The French Flying Corps have had recourse to an ingenious ruse
for accomplishing two ends--the one to draw concealed artillery
fire, and the other to pre-occupy the airmen. Two German aerial
scouts observed a French machine flying at a somewhat venturesome
height over their masked artillery. Divining the reason for the
hostile intrepidity they gave chase. Circling round the French
machine they assailed it with machine-gun fire. The enemy
appeared to take no notice but continued his gradual descent in a
steady line.
Presently the German airmen, having drawn sufficiently near,
observed that the French aviator was inert. Had he been killed?
Everything pointed to such a conclusion, especially as they had
raked the aeroplane fore and aft with bullets. But still
suspicious they continued their circling movements, their
attention so concentrated upon their quarry that they had not
observed another move. It was the crash of guns from their
masked artillery which broke in upon their absorption. Looking
round, they observed three French aeroplanes soaring around and
above them at high speed. Scarcely had they realised the
situation before a spirited mitraireuse fire was rained upon
them. One of the German aeroplanes was speedily disabled. Its
fuel tank was riddled and it sank rapidly, finally crashing to
earth in the deadly dive head foremost, and killing both its
occupants in the fall. The second aeroplane hurried away with
its pilot wounded. In the excitement of the aerial melee the
first French aeroplane had been forgotten. It was now scarcely
100 feet above the German artillery. A capture appeared to be
imminent, but the Germans received a rude surprise. Suddenly the
aeroplane exploded and a hail of shrapnel burst over the heads of
the artillerymen.
The circumstance was decidedly uncanny, but after two or three
such experiences of exploding aeroplanes the matter was
explained. The apparently helpless aeroplane was merely a
glider, which, instead of carrying a man, had a booby-trap
aboard.
It appears that the French airmen have found a use for the
aeroplanes which are considered unsafe for further use. The
motor and propeller are removed and the dummy of explosives is
strapped into position. The laden glider is then taken aloft by
means of an airship, and in the concealment of the clouds is
released, the rudder being so set as to ensure a gradual
vol-plane towards the suspicious position below. The explosive
cargo is set with a time fuse, the arrangement being that the
contents will be detonated while the machine is near the ground,
unless this end is accelerated by a well-planted shell from an
anti-aircraft gun. The decoy glider is generally accompanied by
one or two aeroplanes under control, which keep under the cover
of the clouds until the hostile aviators have been drawn into the
air, when they swoop down to the attack. The raiders are fully
aware that they are not likely to become the target of fire from
the ground, owing to the fact that the enemy's artillery might
hit its friends. Consequently the antagonistic airmen are left
to settle their own account. In the meantime the dummy machine
draws nearer to the ground to explode and to scatter its
death-dealing fragments of steel, iron, and bullets in all
directions.
Possibly in no other phase of warfare is subterfuge practised so
extensively as in the concealment of guns. The branches of trees
constitute the most complete protection and guns are placed in
position beneath a liberal cover of this character. The branches
also offer a screen for the artillerymen, who can lurk beneath
this shelter until the aeroplane has passed. To complete the
illusion dummy guns fashioned from tree trunks and the wheels of
useless limbers are rigged up, and partially hidden under
branches, the idea being to convey the impression to the man
aloft that they are the actual artillery.
The aerial scout observes the dummies beneath the sparse covering
of branches. Congratulating himself upon his sharp eyesight, he
returns to his base with the intelligence that he has found the
enemy's guns he indicates their position upon the map, and in
some cases returns to notify the position of the weapons by
smoke-ball or tinsel, when they are immediately subjected to a
severe bombardment. He follows the shell-fire and sees the arms
put out of action. He returns to camp satisfied with his
exploit, oblivious of the smiles and laughter of the hostile
artillerymen, who have their guns safely in position and well
masked some distance away. The dummies are imperfectly concealed
purposely, so that they may be discovered by the aerial scout,
while the real guns are completely masked and ready to belch
forth from another point. In one or two cases the dummies have
been rigged up in such a manner as to convey the impression, when
seen from aloft, that a whole battery has been put out of action,
barrels and wheels as well as broken limbers strewing the ground
in all directions.
Moving masses of soldiers are also resorting to cunning in order
to mislead the airman or to escape his observation. At the
battle of Haelen, during which engagement the German warplanes
were exceptionally active, the Belgian soldiers covered their
heads with bundles of wheat snatched from the standing stooks,
and under this cover lurked in a field where the corn was still
standing. From aloft their forms defied detection: the
improvised headgear completely covered them and blended
effectively with the surrounding wheat. In another instance the
French misled a German airman somewhat effectively. What
appeared to be cavalry was seen to be retreating along the
country road, and the airman returned hurriedly to report. A
German squadron was dispatched in hasty pursuit. But as it
rounded a copse skirting the road it received a murderous fire at
close quarters, which decimated the ranks and sent the survivors
flying for their lives along the road up which they had ridden so
confidently. Had the aviator been in a position to observe the
horses more closely, he would have found that what appeared to be
riders on their backs were in reality sacks stuffed with straw,
dressed in old uniforms, and that a mere handful of men were
driving the animals forward. The cavalrymen had purposely
dismounted and secreted themselves in the wood in anticipation of
such a pursuit as was made.
While the Germans do not appear to be so enterprising in this
form of ingenuity they have not been idle. A French airman
flying over the Teuton lines observed the outermost trenches to
be alive with men whose helmets were distinctly visible. The
airman reported his observations and the trench was subjected to
terrific shell fire. Subsequently the French made a spirited
charge, but to their dismay found that the outermost German
trench was occupied by dummies fashioned from all sorts of
materials and crowned with helmets! This ruse had enabled the
German lines to be withdrawn to another position in safety and
comparatively at leisure.
Before war was declared the German military experts were
emphasising the importance of trees for masking troops and guns
against aerial observation. One of the foremost authorities upon
military aviation only a few months ago urged the German Military
Staff to encourage the planting of orchards, not for the purpose
of benefiting agriculture or in the interests of the farmers, but
merely for military exigencies.
He pointed to the extensive orchards which exist in
Alsace-Lorraine and Baden, the military covering value of which
he had determined from personal experience, having conducted
aerial operations while military were moving to and fro under the
cover of the trees. He declared that the cover was efficient and
that under the circumstances the laying out of extensive orchards
in strategical places should be carried out without any delay.
This, he urged, was a national and not a private obligation. He
advocated the bestowal of subsidies on the farmers to encourage
the planting of fruit trees. He suggested that the trees should
be provided by the State, and given to all who were prepared to
plant them; that substantial prizes should be awarded to
encourage the rapid growth thereof, and that annual prizes should
be awarded to the man who would undertake their cultivation and
pruning, not from the fruit-yielding point of view, but for
facilitating the movement of troops beneath their dense branches.
He even urged the military acquisition of suitable land and its
determined, skilful, and discreet exploitation by those who loved
the Fatherland. He emphasised the necessity for keeping such
orchards under military control, only vouchsafing sufficient
powers to the local authorities to ensure the desired
consummation. He maintained that, if the work were prosecuted
upon the right lines and sufficient financial assistance were
given, the purpose in view could be achieved without saddling the
war department with any unremunerative or excessive burden. He
admitted that the process of raising fruit trees to the stage
when they would afford adequate cover would be tedious and
somewhat prolonged, but argued that the military advantages, such
as enabling troops to move below the welcome shelter with
absolute freedom and without physical fatigue, would be an ample
compensation.
The utility of such cover to artillery was another factor he did
not fail to emphasise. He dwelt seriously upon the difficulty of
rendering permanent gun emplacements and heavy artillery
invisible to the airman by resort to the usual type of gun
shields. The latter may be located with ease by alert airmen,
whereas if the guns were under cover of fruit trees they would be
able to accomplish their deadly mission without betraying their
presence to the aerial scout. Moreover, by pruning the trees in
such a manner as to ensure free movement beneath, the artillery
would be able to advance without betraying the fact to the enemy.
This authority vigorously insisted that the work should be
carried out without a moment's delay as it was vital to the
Fatherland. In the light of recent events, and the excellent
cover which is offered by the orchards of the territory he cited
as an illustration of his contention, such a disclosure is
pregnant with meaning. It throws a new light upon the thorough
methods with which the Germans carried out their military
preparations, and incidentally shows that they were fully alive
to every possible development. Fruit-raising as a complement to
military operations may be a new line of discussion, but it
serves to reveal the German in his true light, ready for every
contingency, and shows how thoroughly he appreciates the danger
from the man in the clouds.
CHAPTER XIV
ANTI-AIRCRAFT GUNS. MOBILE WEAPONS.
When the airship and the aeroplane became accepted units of
warfare it was only natural that efforts should be concentrated
upon the evolution of ways and means to compass their destruction
or, at least, to restrict their field of activity. But aircraft
appeared to have an immense advantage in combat. They possess
virtually unlimited space in which to manoeuvre, and are able to
select the elevation from which to hurl their missiles of
destruction.
There is another and even more important factor in their favour.
A projectile fired, or even dropped, from a height, say of 5,000
feet, is favourably affected by the force of gravity, with the
result that it travels towards the earth with accumulating energy
and strikes the ground with decisive force.
On the other hand, a missile discharged into space from a weapon
on the earth has to combat this action of gravity, which
exercises a powerful nullifying influence upon its flight and
velocity, far in excess of the mere resistance offered by the
air. In other words, whereas the projectile launched from
aloft has the downward pull of the earth or gravitational force
in its favour, the shell fired from the ground in the reverse
direction has to contend against this downward pull and its
decelerating effect.
At the time when aircraft entered the realms of warfare very
little was known concerning the altitudes to which projectiles
could be hurled deliberately. Certain conclusive information
upon this point was available in connection with heavy howitzer
fire, based on calculations of the respective angles at which the
projectile rose into the air and fell to the ground, and of the
time the missile took to complete its flight from the gun to the
objective. But howitzer fire against aircraft was a sheer
impossibility: it was like using a six-inch gun to kill a fly on
a window pane at a thousand yards' range. Some years ago certain
experiments in aerial firing with a rifle were undertaken in
Switzerland. The weapon was set vertically muzzle upwards and
discharged. From the time which elapsed between the issue of the
bullet from the muzzle until it struck the earth it was possible
to make certain deductions, from which it was estimated that the
bullet reached an altitude of 600 feet or so. But this was
merely conjecture.
Consequently when artillerists entered upon the study of fighting
air-craft with small arms and light guns, they were compelled to
struggle in the dark to a very pronounced extent, and this
darkness was never satisfactorily dispelled until the present
war, for the simple reason that there were no means of getting
conclusive information. The German armament manufacturers
endeavoured to solve the problem by using smoking shells or
missiles fitted with what are known as tracers. By following the
ascensional path of the projectiles as revealed by the smoke it
was possible to draw certain conclusions. But these were by no
means convincing or illuminating, as so many factors affected the
issue.
Despite the peculiar and complex difficulties associated with the
problem it was attacked some what boldly. In this trying field
of artillery research the prominent German armament
manufacturers, Krupp of Essen and Ehrhardt of Dusseldorf, played
a leading part, the result being that before the airship or the
aeroplane was received within the military fold, the
anti-aircraft gun had been brought into the field of applied
science. The sudden levelling-up serves to illustrate the
enterprise of the Germans in this respect as well as their
perspicacity in connection with the military value of aircraft.
Any gun we can hope to employ against aircraft with some degree
of success must fulfil special conditions, for it has to deal
with a difficult and elusive foe. Both the lighter-than-air and
the heavier than-air craft possess distinctive features and
varying degrees of mobility. Taking the first-named, the
facility with which it can vary its altitude is a disconcerting
factor, and is perplexing to the most skilful gunner, inasmuch as
he is called upon to judge and change the range suddenly.
Pages:
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 | 10 |
11 |
12 |
13 |
14 |
15