OLOGY.) (W. H. D.) Military Use.—A kite forms so extremely simple a method of lifting anything to a height in the air that it has naturally been suggested as being suitable for various military purposes, such as signalling to a long distance, carrying up flags, or lamps, or sema phores. Kites have been used both in the army and in the navy for floating torpedoes on hostile postions. As much as two miles of line have been paid out. For purposes of photography a small kite carrying a camera to a considerable height may be caused to float over a fort or other place of which a bird's-eye view is re quired, the shutter being operated by electric wire, or slow match, or clockwork. Many successful photographs have been thus ob tained in England and America.
The problem of lifting a man by means of kites instead of by a captive balloon is a still more important one. The chief military advantages to be gained are : (I) less transport is required; (2) they can be used in a strong wind; (3) they are not so liable to damage, either from the enemy's fire or from trees, etc., and are easier to mend; (4) they can be brought into use more quickly; (5) they are very much cheaper, both in construction and in main tenance, not requiring any costly gas.
Captain B. F. S. Baden-Powell, of the Scots Guards, in June 1894, constructed, at Pirbright Camp, a huge kite 36ft. high, with which he successfully lifted a man on different occasions. He afterwards improved the contrivance, using five or six smaller kites attached together in preference to one large one. With this arrangement he frequently ascended as high as iooft. The kites were hexagonal, being i2ft. high and i2ft. across. The apparatus, which could be packed in a few minutes into a simple roll, weighed in all about I cwt. This appliance was proved to be capable of raising a man even during a dead calm, the retaining line being fixed to a wagon and towed along. Lieut. H. D. Wise made some trials in America in 1897 with some large kites of the Hargrave pattern (Hargrave having previously himself ascended in Aus tralia ), and succeeded in lifting a man 4of t. above the ground. In the Russian army a military kite apparatus has also been tried, and was in evidence at the manoeuvres in 1898. Experiments have also been carried out by most of the European powers. The German kite balloon invented by Parseval being very efficient.