Archibald Montgomery Low 143 



have been audiometrically treated, and the process has 

 now spread to aviation, shipbuilding, and the design of 

 talkie theatres. Machinery also can be tested for noisy 

 and wasteful operation. 



The achievement with which Professor Low's name 

 will always be associated is the wireless-controlled tor- 

 pedo ; this and not the audiometer provided his greatest 

 thrill. 



We have mentioned that as Major Low he commanded 

 the Experimental Works of the Royal Flying Corps during 

 the war. His dream at that time was to perfect a pilot- 

 less aeroplane which would be in fact a flying bomb or 

 torpedo, directed by wireless from the ground. 



The general opinion, when he spoke of his idea, was 

 that it was fit only for the pages of a novel. But Pro- 

 fessor Low had been experimenting for years with 

 wireless and television. For the latter he demon- 

 strated an apparatus before the Institute of Automobile 

 Engineers in 19 14. He knew more than his critics about 

 the part which wireless was going to play in their lives 

 within a few years, and, something more difficult to pre- 

 dict at that time, the part which wireless would play in 

 another war if one came. 



For two years the Professor toiled to produce an 

 aeroplane that could be controlled entirely by wireless. 

 Like many another inventor, he faced disappointment 

 after disappointment. Often the pressure of other work 

 forced him to abandon the experiments. But always he 

 returned to them. The aeroplane was proving itself the 

 weapon of the future, and Professor Low felt certain that 

 if Britain did not develop an air machine controlled by 

 wireless some other nation would do so, perhaps before 

 the Great War had ended. 



At last the Professor produced a machine which he 

 believed would be a success. It was wheeled out of its 

 hangar into the middle of the flying ground. Then the 



