Destroyers of the Air 



By Eustace L. Adams 



{Continued from the March Isstie) 



The first real aeroplane squadron of the United States Army, consisting of eight one hundred- 

 horsepower Curtiss tractor biplanes. These machines are good American designs, showing 

 European influence in the streamline fusilages, disk wheels and other details 



EVEN before the advent of Fritz, 

 the great German biplane, which 

 for a brief time drove its ad^ersa- 

 ries from the skies, the Allies were work- 

 ing upon the plans for aerial battleships. 

 One of the results is a French biplane 

 with a wing spread of about seventy feet. 

 Her wings tower thirty feet from the 

 ground; her crew numbers twelve; her 

 guns are two, and they throw three-inch 

 high-explosive shells. By reducing the 

 crew a great number of heavy bombs 

 may be carried. The new machine is a 

 welcome addition to a bombing foray 

 over German territory. This battle-plane 

 has held its own with Fritz, and is ac- 

 credited with having done much damage 

 during the recent French raids on Frei- 

 burg and German towns of military im- 

 portance. 



Twin-engined machines are now com- 

 mon on both battle lines. Machines with 

 two guns no longer arouse interest. 

 Aeroplanes mounting a single gun and 

 one motor are scouts, for the most part, 

 which need great speed and slight 

 armament. A speed of well over one 

 hundred miles an hour is not at all unus- 

 ual for these machines, which correspond 

 with the swift "destroyers" of the navy. 



To fight off these heavy scouts, battle- 

 planes are required, the best known of 

 which is the German Fokkcr monoplane, 

 which at first created consternation 

 among the British axiators. This ma- 

 chine is a very high-powered monoplane, 

 resembling the French Morane. The 



wing spread is very small and the planes 

 are flattened, yet a two hundred horse- 

 power motor is mounted on the fusilage. 

 Speeds of one hundred and thirty miles 

 an hour are said to be attained by this 

 wasp-like machine. A single machine- 

 gun is mounted in the bow, and is 

 operated by the pilot. Owing to the 

 need for lightness of weight, small fuel 

 tanks are carried and the machine does 

 not stray far from its hangar. When an 

 enemy flyer is sighted, a Fokker rises, and 

 because of its superior speed, can 

 maneuver to any position it likes. It 

 usualh- climbs far above its foe, and 

 then, with engine at full speed, dives 

 straight at its opponent, with its ma- 

 chine-gun blazing fire. The only hope 

 of the Allied aeroplane, taken at a dis- 

 advantage from above, lies in a quick, 

 twisting dive, followed by rapid flight 

 for the protection of friendly anti- 

 aircraft guns. The Fokker is essentially 

 a machine for fast, decisixe fighting, and 

 because of its almost total lack of 

 inherent stability, requires an expert 

 aviator to operate it. The British, since 

 the disastrous debut of the Fokker as a 

 fighting machine, are said to have 

 evolved a monoplane which will success- 

 fully compete with it. 



One of the most important of all these 

 new machines has been built in this 

 (M)untry, at Boston, Mass. The Sturte- 

 vant battle-plane is entirely of steel, and 

 is a biplane of tractor type built with a 

 remarkable simplicity. The steel con- 



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