Aircraft in War

AIRCRAFT IN WAR. Airships and aeroplanes, as distinct from captive balloons, were first used in warfare by the Italian army during the campaign against the Turkish forces in Tripoli in 1911 and 1912. With the exception of aerial combat, there being no enemy aircraft to encounter, most of the features of modern air warfare were introduced by the Italian airmen. Both aeroplanes and airships were used extensively for reconnaissance work; the Turkish positions were frequently bombed by both types of aircraft, which in some cases received damage from rifle fire and from guns trained vertically by the simple expedient of placing them on the slopes of hillsides; and enemy troops were subjected to fire from aeroplanes armed with rifles and revolvers. Extensive photographic reconnaissance flights were made by air ships and the photographs obtained formed into a mosaic from which a revised general staff map of the Tripolitan area was prepared.

The World War.

Inthe World War the first squadrons of the British Royal Flying Corps flew from Dover to France on Aug. 13, 1914. Squadrons 2 and 4 were homogeneously equipped with B.E.2 type aeroplanes, but Squadron 3 had both Bleriot monoplanes and Henri Farman biplanes, while 5 used Farman and Avro biplanes. Though the Lewis gun had been tested in an aeroplane in 1913, the adoption of machine-guns had not been general, and indeed no provision was made for the arming of these early machines, bomb sights and bomb racks being also lacking. This was partly because their primary duty was held to be visual reconnaissance, and partly because of the narrow margin of lift available, which prohibited any addition to the load beyond the weight of the pilot and of petrol. The same consideration pre vented the carrying of cameras, but valuable work was done by the early reconnaissance flights, the first of which was made on Aug. 19. On Aug. 23 the reports of the massing of German troops led directly to General French's order for the retirement which saved the British army, and timely warning was given on Sept. 4 of the commencement of von Kluck's attempted enveloping movement against the French left, which led to the battle of the Marne.

The first approach to a fight in the air occurred on Aug. 22, 1914, when a German Albatross machine appeared over the aerodrome at Maubeuge and was chased by several British ma chines. Two days later the first German machine to be brought down was forced to land by machines of Squadron 2. It was con sidered at that time that the most suitable type for aerial com bats was the slow two-seater Henri Farman with propeller in the rear giving a free field of fire for the observer armed with a rifle. Before the end of 1914 it was, however, beginning to be recognized that the greater speed and manoeuvrability of the single-seater gave it advantages over the slower type. (See AIR COMBAT.) The cessation of movement and settling down into trenches and a war of positions led to the development of aerial photog raphy, in order that changes in the positions or sizes of enemy railheads, ammunition dumps and camps might be recorded. Early attempts at co-operation with the artillery also began, generally with the aid of coloured signal lights fired by the aero plane to indicate the fall of shell; but as early as Sept. 15,1914, an experiment in the use of wireless telegraphy on active service was made, and on Sept. 27 the R.F.C. headquarters wireless section was formed.

Air Fighting Develops.

Airfighting and organized bomb ing raids developed in 1915. Early in January the Germans made several raids on Dunkirk with a number of machines flying together, in place of the isolated attacks by individual machines which had hitherto been the practice. On Jan. 22, for instance, 13 machines appeared and dropped bombs on the docks. During the battle of Neuve Chapelle in March 1915, in addition to the routine work of reconnaissance and artillery co-operation, the Royal Flying Corps interfered with the enemy's movements by attacking such important points on his lines of communication as Menin, Courtrai and Douai. During the battle of Loos, on Sept. 25, co-operation with the artillery was considerably im proved and a system of "zone" calls introduced, by which the guns could be rapidly put on to "fleeting" targets.

The co-ordination of aeroplane bombing attacks with army operations was also further developed during this battle and attacks were made on railway lines, trains and important junc tions. Early in March the R.F.C. had received the first batch of a newly designed aerial camera, from which greatly improved photographs resulted. In May the Germans produced the Fokker monoplane equipped with an interrupter gear which enabled the machine-gun to be fired through the revolving tractor screw blades, a device which took by surprise the Allied air services, which for some time to come were to continue to rely mainly upon "pusher" machines for fighting. At the beginning of 1916 the uses to which British aeroplanes were being put were reconnaissance, artillery observation and bombing with B.E.2 machines; and aerial fighting with Vickers and F.E. two-seaters, and with D.H.2 single-seater "pusher" machines and the new Bristol Scout single seater tractor biplane with a machine-gun firing over the airscrew. The universal adoption of the tractor type for fighting was still awaiting the synchronized gear operated by the engine for firing through the airscrew, which appeared on the curiously named Sopwith "Pup," a high performance scout, in the summer of 1916. Squadrons for the definite purpose of fighting in the air were organized and a regular patrol was kept up by each squadron over its own sector of the trenches to engage and drive back the enemy's long-range reconnaissance and bombing machines.

Verdun and the Somme.

Duringthe battle of Verdun, which opened on Feb. 21, 1916, the French introduced a new and success ful form of air fighting in sending their own machines into Ger man territory to seek out the enemy machines before they reached the lines. This to a large extent enabled their own recon naissance and artillery machines to do their work undisturbed. The Germans replied to this by developing the "circus" system, never copied by the Allies, of giving a recognized star pilot, or "ace" as the French called him, command of a special fighting squadron for which he chose his own pilots. The originator of this system was the German pilot Boelcke ; another famous leader being von Richthofen, whose "circus" would move to different parts of the line, where the needs of the moment called for it, in an effort to obtain local air supremacy. The opening of the battle of the Somme on July 1,1916, was signalized by intensive British reconnaissance and bombing flights, as well as by attacks with small 2o-lb. bombs and machine-guns on the front line troops, in the trenches and billets and on transport immediately behind the lines. The same battle was also the occasion of the introduc tion of "contact patrol" work in an organized manner and on a large scale. This consisted in locating units of Allied forces, and keeping headquarters informed of the progress from hour to hour; reporting on the positions of the enemy, and in particular on movements of his reserves; transmitting messages signalled by the infantry from the ground to headquarters; and dropping ammunition and supplies to isolated bodies of troops.

The year 1917, and indeed the remainder of the war period, was chiefly occupied in developing and bringing to perfection the different operations in which aeroplanes had already been engaged. Fighting in formation was developed until it became a highly scientific operation in which whole squadrons and even larger for mations were frequently engaged. Bombing raids were also carried out in formation on a large scale, both by "day bombers" operat ing from behind the lines upon reserve ammunition dumps, rail heads, concentration carhps and similar objectives, and by twin engined "night bombers" working from bases on the coast and far in the rear of the front line upon munition works and indus trial centres in the heart of the enemy country itself. Raids of this nature had been carried out by the Germans from 1915 onwards, but it was not until 1917 that the appearance of the large Handley Page machine made retaliation possible ; a develop ment which led to the formation of the Independent Air Force on June 6, 1918, for the definite purpose of bombing German munition centres. (See AIR RAIDS.) In dealing with the use of aircraft with the military forces dur ing the War attention has been confined to operations on the Western Front because the work in other scenes of war was mainly on the same lines, except for such spectacular performances as the wiping out of a part of the Turkish VII. army on Sept. 16,1918, when it was caught in a ravine and bombed to extinction by relays of British aeroplanes. Nothing has, however, been said of the growth of the kite balloon service, which developed from two naval sections that arrived in France in May 1915, until at the end of the War there was a row of them along the whole line of trenches co-operating with the artillery, for which work they possessed the advantage of rendering possible direct communication by telephone between the observer and the battery.

Operations by Naval Airmen.

Thefirst naval flying oper ation of the War was a patrol by Parseval Airship IV. during the night Aug. 5-6 of the approaches to the mouth of the Thames. Airships and aeroplaies patrolled the English channel during the crossing of the expeditionary force to France. For the remainder of 1914 the naval air service was chiefly engaged upon bombing operations with land machines from aerodromes on the coast, of France upon the Zeppelin sheds at Cologne, Dusseldorf, Fried richshafen and other points. The navy introduced the kite balloon to the British services and in March 1915 the first kite balloon section left for the Dardanelles in the "Manica," from which ship the balloon was used to good effect in spotting for the battleships engaging the Turkish batteries and ships.

About the same time a programme of "S.S." (submarine scout) airships, for use in patrolling the channel and approaches to the Irish sea, was laid down. By the end of 1914 three seaplane carriers were in commission in home waters, and shortly after the New Year the "Ark Royal," soon followed by the "Ben-My Chree," left for the Dardanelles. From the "Ben-My-Chree" were launched the seaplanes which made history in attacking and sinking surface vessels by torpedoes dropped from the air. All these vessels carried the seaplanes in their holds and hoisted them out over the side by derricks to start from the water. In July 1915 seaplanes were used on the east coast of Africa in spotting for the monitors engaged upon destroying the German light cruiser "Konigsberg." On Nov. 3, 1915, a Bristol scout aeroplane rose from the foredeck of the "Vindex" and thus became the forerunner of the ship aeroplanes subsequently developed.

The autumn of 1915 saw the production of the first "coastal" two-engined type airship, for anti-submarine operations from stations on the east coast. During 1916 aeroplanes of the naval air service were still employed in bombing aerodromes, coastal batteries, docks and also points of military importance, while in the Mediterranean regular anti-submarine and reconnaissance patrols by seaplanes and airships were instituted. In 1917 the navy introduced the Handley Page bombing machine, which made it possible to extend the range of bombing attacks. In home waters a more powerful airship, in the "North Sea" class, was produced and still further increased the length of anti-submarine patrols, while airships and, to a less extent, seaplanes began to accompany for prolonged periods the convoys of merchantmen which were organized by the Admiralty. Progress was made in the development of large flying boats operating from Yarmouth and Felixstowe, which patrolled the southern part of the North sea for submarines and Zeppelins. The principle of carrying aero planes in ordinary ships of the navy and flying them from plat forms revolving with the gun turrets was introduced, while the torpedo-carrying seaplane was also very considerably developed during this period.

Aircraft versus Submarine.

In1918 the German submarine campaign reached its height and anti-submarine operations were intensified. Airships accompanied the Scandinavian convoy on the greater part of its journey, while a practically constant supervision was exercised by seaplanes, aeroplanes and airships over the "east coast lane," a narrow belt of water close to the shore to which merchant ships were required to keep for their own protection in their passage up the coast. The covering of approach to port by the use of aircraft undoubtedly contributed materially to the safety of American troop convoys. Aircraft were a potent factor in combating the submarine menace in convoy work as in recon naissance, in co-operation with surface vessels and direct attack. Kite balloons were also installed on monitors, patrol boats and even battleships as an aid to the location of submarines.

Towards the end of the War the "Furious" appeared in its converted form as a seaplane carrier with a long flying deck on which aeroplanes could land as well as take off. An instance of the production of a special device for a specific purpose may be mentioned in the mounting of a Sopwith "camel" aeroplane on a lighter, towed behind a destroyer, for the purpose of making a sur prise attack on a patrolling Zeppelin airship. At the date of the Armistice the British airship service was on the point of producing rigid airships capable of accompanying the Grand Fleet to sea as advance scouts, but the German navy employed Zeppelins for this purpose on many occasions and throughout the War main tained a patrol of the North sea which helped them to receive early warning of the movements of the British fleet. (See CONVOY.) An Airman's Outings (1917) ; A. Mas mejean, Avions Allemands (1917) ; W. A. Bishop, Winged Warfare (1918) ; J. T. B. McCudden, Five Years in the Royal Flying Corps (1918) ; M. F. von Richthofen, The Red Air Fighter (translated 1918) ; P. Bewsher, Green Balls (1919) ; E. C. Vivian and W. Lock wood Marsh, A History of Aeronautics (1919) ; "P.I.X.," The Spider Web (1919) ; M. Baring, R.F.C. H.Q., 1914-1918 (192o) ; J. E. Ten nant, In the Clouds above Baghdad (192o) ; L. Wolmsley, Flying and Sport in East Africa (192o) ; Walter Raleigh, The War in the Air (Offi cial History 1922 ; continued by H. A. Jones) ; J. Morris, The German Air Raids in the Great War, 1914-1918 (1925)• (W. L. M.) United States.—InApril, 1917 there was almost an entire absence of aviation interest and of aviation industry in the United States. The total number of military aeroplanes possessed by the Government at this time amounted to about 6o and none of these was equal to those commonly employed in European service. The entire personnel of the air services of the Army, Navy and marine corps then amounted to about Imo officers and 1,30o men. But Immediately upon entering the World War avia tion became an active party to the extravagance in funds and the confusion of effort incidental to America's complete lack of mili tary preparation. A chief difficulty was found in the quantity production of aviation materials. Models were obtained and attempts made to copy the latest war aeroplanes but, due to a lack of understanding of the aviation problem, an optimistic scale of production which unhappily could not be met was mapped out.

Due to a great abundance of man-power, the personnel problem was better handled. Training of pilots was begun and carried out on an extensive scale in accordance with advice supplied by officers of the Allied forces. Nineteen months after entrance into hostili ties, the membership of the army air service totalled nearly 200,000, of which over 78,00o were in France, England and Italy. A large number of American pilots were received into the air services of England and France, where they served with distinc tion. On four fronts the United States was represented by over 1,40o pilots, 75o observers and z5o balloon observers.

Naval and marine aviation, like that of the air service of the army, grew to a strength of some 7,000 officers and 33,00o men at the time of the Armistice. Of these, over 17,50o were sent abroad, manning 15 coastal aviation stations in France, two sta tions in England, five in Ireland and three in Italy. In addition, a strong bombing group was formed and conducted operations in northern France. The work of constructing air stations on the shores of foreign countries was successfully accomplished and constituted a definite deterrent to the activities of the U-boat. In addition, they supplied protection to the American troop-ships.

Immediately following the Armistice, most of the naval bar racks and air station equipment were moved into the devastated regions of northern France, and were placed at the disposal of the commission for the relief of Belgium. From salvaged materials shelters were erected for the repatriated and destitute population by American sailors, who constituted the first organized unit to be employed after the war in humanitarian work in this region.

(T. T. C.)