344 AERONAUTICS 



Britain which was won by A. Beaumont, who beat J. Vedrines by one hour in 22! hours' 

 net flying time. In the same year the International Gordon-Bennett Aviation Cup was 

 won by C. Weymann on a loo-h.p. Nieuport monoplane at a speed of 78 m.p.h. In 

 1912 the same race was won by J. Vedrines on a i4o-h.p. Deperdussin monoplane at 

 1055 m.p.h., which formed the world's speed record at the end of 1912. 



In other respects performances have been no less remarkable. On December n, 

 1912, at Tunis, R. Garros created a world's altitude record by ascending to 19,000 feet. 

 On September nth of the same year, G. Fourny established the latest record for a con- 

 tinuous flight, by covering 627 miles in 13 h. 17 min. The longest flight across-country 

 on a single day was made by P. Daucourt, who flew from Valenciennes to Biarritz, a 

 distance of 530 miles, on October 27, 1912. A new British duration record was estab- 

 lished on October 24, 1912 by H. G. Hawker, who, piloting a Sop with biplane, remained 

 in the air for 8 h. 23 min. 



But the significance of these achievements fades before the truly wonderful develop- 

 ment in the aeroplane from a military point of view. In 1912 aviation was definitely 

 , introduced, as a new arm, into the establishment of all the great armies. 

 The first impetus to this movement was given by France, where aeroplanes 

 have been employed in the army manoeuvres for several years past. Under the aerial 

 law passed in March 1912, the aviation establishment of the French army numbered, 

 at the end of 1912, a total of 344 effective aeroplanes divided into 43 sections, distributed 

 on a territorial basis, 234 efficient pilots, an equivalent number of trained observers and 

 2,200 men. Since then, the number of army aeroplanes has been considerably increased 

 as a result of a popular subscription which realised over 100,000 in twelve months. 

 The French budget for the same year included a vote of 880,000 for military aviation. 

 In Great Britain an effective forward step, on similar lines, was made in 1912 by the 

 creation of the Royal Flying Corps. This body forms a separate entity from either of 

 the two services, from both of which its members are recruited. It comprises a Military 

 Wing and a Naval Wing, each divided into sections of 8 aeroplanes. The chief training 

 centre is situated at the Central Flying School at Upavon, and its main depot at the 

 Royal Aircraft Factory at Farnborough. At the end of 1912, the establishment of the 

 Military Wing consisted of one airship and kite section, and three aeroplane sections, 

 the personnel and material of which, however, were not complete. Greater progress 

 had then already been achieved by the Naval Wing, which had at the end of the year 

 established flying stations on the Isle of Sheppey, at Rosyth and in the Humber. In 

 1912 the aeroplane was first employed in actual warfare, by the Italians in Tripoli and 

 by the Balkan states and the Turkish army in the Balkan war. In both cases, however, 

 though valuable services were rendered, the results were somewhat inconclusive, 

 owing to the absence of serious* opposition in the first case and lack of organisation 

 in the second. 



That the aeroplane will be called upon to play a part of ever-increasing importance 

 in warfare of the future is no longer open to doubt; but for the present its function ap- 

 pears to be confined to scouting and reconnaissance, both tactical and strategical, experi- 

 ments with bomb-dropping having proved ineffectual hitherto. 



The active and industrial development of aviation is clearly shown in the following 

 list of aeroplane pilots at the end of the years 1910, 1911 and 1912, the figures for the 

 latter year being approximate only: 



1910. 1911. 1912. 



France 272 561 1200 



Germany 49 144 350 



Great Britain 55 169 400 



Italy 32 92 200 



United States 22 82 180 



Military pilots are not, however, in all cases included in the above list. 



(J. H. LEDEBOER). 



