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An Airplane Machine Gun

SYNCHRONIZED WITH THE PROPELLER when the armistice was signed they had an overwhelming superiority in men and machines.

Far overshadowing this phase of aerial warfare, however, was the bombing machine. These were first developed and used on a large scale by the Germans.

The dropping of bombs on fortified places came well within the spirit of the articles of war. But Germany went further and dropped them upon the helpless civilian population of Paris, London, and other cities. The claim that these were fortified towns in the accepted meaning of the word was merely a pretext. Not even hospitals were spared in the savage warfare she adopted. The design was not merely to inflict a certain number of casualties, which after all could not be considerable, compared with the whole population, but shake the nerves and weaken the morale of the people back of the firing line. How greatly they failed of this effect is now a matter of history. At first, Germany relied for this work chiefly on her Zeppelins, of which more than a hundred were constructed during the war. But these giant dirigibles proved unsatisfactory. They were too unwieldy, were ually their use was abandoned as their vulnerability was demonstrated. Thirty at least are known to have been destroyed, and the great majority became unserviceable before the end of the war.

The same fate overtook the majority of the Gross, the Parseval, and the Schuette- Lanz types of dirigibles.

The bombing planes which replaced them had manifest advantages over their predecessors. They were speedy, less liable to be sighted by the enemy, and large enough to carry a heavy complement of bombs. Their military value was enormous in breaking up enemy bases and depots and preventing the concentration of troops. During eight days of the German drive in 1918, French airmen dropped 317 tons of bombs in the German lines, and produced a demoralization that greatly increased the effectiveness of Foch's counteroffensive.

Airplane bombs are constructed with great care, and so shaped that they offer the least possible resistance to the air.

They have fins on their tails to assure a perpendicular fall. They are carried on the planes either suspended under the wings or fuselage of the planes or car- AERONAUTICS ried in the fuselage itself. A special timing mechanism has to have an ac- a second. mechanism is employed to release them at the will of the aviator. He can release one or many at a time, according to whether he wants a salvo or just a SANDBAG PROTECTION AGAINST AIR RAIDS "trail fire." A small lever in the fuselage effects the release. Care must be exercised to release them alternately when they are carried beneath the wings so as not to disturb too much the equilibrium of the machine. He can drop them so as to explode or not, for sometimes an occasion arises when he must unload over his own lines.

There are three distinct types of bombs - demolition, incendiary, and occasion arises when he must unload have a light steel shell, and are filled with T. N. T. or some other explosive of great destructive power. They are used against heavy structures like have a light steel shell, and are filled with T. N. T. or some other explosive separated from the contents of the bomb of great destructive power. They are used against heavy structures like the pin is pulled out automatically, and depots, railways, and ammunition dumps. The charge is set off by a detonator, explode the bomb the instant it strikes. separated from the contents of the bomb by a pin. When the bomb is released, thousand pounds and carry five hundred and seventy pounds of explosive. ments.

Fragmentation bombs are designed on explode the bomb the instant it strikes. Some of the demolition bombs weigh a They carry smaller charges, thousand pounds and carry five hundred are designed to be used against troops The and are timed to explode when but a few inches above the ground. because their walls are thicker. They AERONAUTICS timing mechanism has to have an acfire to inflammable structures. They Incendiary bombs are intended to set fire to inflammable structures. They weigh about 40 pounds and contain a combination of chemicals that develops an intense heat. A sodium element makes it difficult to extinguish the fire, because sodium explodes when water is poured on it.

The task of dropping a bomb so that difficult one, especially when the aviator relies exclusively on his own judgment and eyesight. Many things influence the fall of the bomb-the height above the ground, the rate of speed at which the plane is traveling, the air currents, and the shape of the bomb. It moves in a parabolic curve. When it is first released it moves almost horizontally, as it shares the motion of the plane. Then gravity asserts itself, the bomb gradually curves, and as the velocity increases assumes a perpendicular position. All this requires expert calculation, as the bomb has to be dropped some time before the aviator is directly above the object he desires to hit. To remedy miscalculations, sights were adjusted to the height, speed, and other conditions.

When the two sighting points came in release his bomb with the probability line with the target, the aviator could When by these improvements the that an accurate hit would be registered. perfected, it proved a most formidable bombing plane had been practically weapon of offense. More and more the effective and almost indispensable adweapon of offense. More and more the when the enemy was in retreat, were the armies came to rely upon them as an effective and almost indispensable adbombing planes useful in harassing his when the enemy was in retreat, were the bombing planes useful in harassing his The work of the Allied aviators during the retreat of the Crown Prince's army August of 1918, and later in the driving of the Germans from France and Belgium just prior to the armistice, can scarcely be overestimated.

Air raids over cities during the war were initiated by the Germans. Paris and London were the principal objectives.

In the raids on England by planes and injured, of whom 4,750 were civilians.

Zeppelins, 5,511 persons were killed and The raids by Zeppelins numbered 51 and those by bombing planes 59. Paris suffered to a lesser degree, but still The raids by Zeppelins numbered 51 of about three-score people who had of the Paris raids was the suffocation taken refuge in a subway tube.

AERONAUTICS The destructive power of the air raids was steadily lessened, however, as defensive measures were adopted and perfected. Airplane squadrons were kept in reserve at London and Paris, ready to ascend aloft at an instant's AERONAUTICS passages were constructed at various points, to which the people flocked when the alarm was given. By these measures of precaution the casualties were sensibly lessened. The Allies for a long time were un- A ZEPPELIN DIRIGIBLE AIRSHIP notice to repel the invaders. Antiaircraft guns of great range and accuracy brought down both Zeppelins and planes. Searchlights of enormous candle power swept the skies at night in every direction. Sirens were stationed on the tops of buildings so that their shrill