WAR-TIME PHOTOGRAPHY 91 



Of the many applications of photography to military instruc- 

 tion one of the most striking and novel is the '* camera gun." 

 devised to train aviators in machine gun marksmanship. As at 

 first worked out this consisted merely of a camera mounted 

 on the machine gun support and capable of one exposure at a 

 time. As finally improved and produced by an American 

 manufacturer, this consists of a camera attachment to the 

 Lewis gun which copies in every respect the behavior of the 

 gun itself. Not only may single exposures be made but even 

 " bursts," if the trigger is held back. On the pictures is 

 impressed a target, to show how nearly the aim was correct, 

 while in the latest form a clock dial is incorporated, so that 

 when two aviators return from practice, they have a complete 

 record not only of the number of hits, but also of who made 

 the first ''kill." 



The chief photographic novelty of the war, aerial photog- 

 raphy, owes its existence and rapid development both to the 

 extensive use of the airplane, and at the same time to the very 

 limitations of the plane. The chief function of the airplane 

 is reconnaissance, the gathering of information on enemy mili- 

 tary dispositions and movements ; and it is this new all-em- 

 bracing point of view which the air gives that has enabled the 

 airplane to well-nigh revolutionise warfare. But it was early 

 found that the human eye was quite unequal to the opportuni- 

 ties presented by the plane. More could be seen in a single 

 glance downward than could possibly be remembered. Then 

 later, as the flying was driven higher, the magnification given 

 by the unaided eye was insufficient ; the use of camouflage made 

 necessary minute study of the view ; and last but not least, the 

 attention of the observer had to be given more and more to the 

 military duty of defending the plane against " the Hun in 

 the sun." All of these problems were met in a truly ideal 

 manner by the use of photography. A single exposure with a 

 long-focus camera produces a record faithfully depicting in an 

 instant every detail of a large area in a form eminently suitable 

 for study and general dissemination. From being a happy 



