AMERICA IN THE AIR 



345 



by all the nations. While we all hope 

 that they will never be used, still precau- 

 tions must be taken against their use ; 

 and the best precaution against any such 

 danger is an adequate force of aviation 

 to shoot the enemy out of the air. 



In the defense of an area such as New 

 York, all elements for its protection, such 

 as search-lights for use at night, anti-air- 

 craft artillery, machine-guns, and bar- 

 rage balloons, must be used as auxiliaries 

 under the command of the air force. 

 Barrage balloons act as aerial barbed- 

 wire fences, and at present can be raised 

 to a height of about 20.000 feet. They 

 are attached to the ground by thin cables, 

 which will cut an airplane wing, break its 

 propeller, and otherwise damage a ship. 



The barrages, however, have to be pro- 

 tected by airplanes ; otherwise the enemy 

 will shoot them down. The anti-aircraft 

 defenses of London were particularly 

 efficient during the last Avar and were 

 arranged as indicated above. Until their 

 completion, London was subject to in- 

 numerable raids from both German air- 

 planes and airships. Once the necessity 

 for co-ordinated action in the air was 

 realized, the effect was immediate. 



The third great branch of offensive 

 aviation, which was being developed just 

 as the war ceased and which has received 

 a great deal of development since that 

 time, is what Ave call attack aviation — 

 that is, the branch Avhich utilizes machine- 

 guns and cannon for shooting at objects 

 on the earth or the water. 



RADIO PROA'IDES CONSTANT COMMUNICA- 

 TION WITH THK AIR SQUADRON 



The airplanes are armored over all of 

 their Aailnerable parts, so as to resist lire 

 from rifles or machine-guns — in fact. 

 they are really flying tanks — and one of 

 their first objectives of attack will be 

 actual tanks on the ground. These air- 

 planes carry small cannon, which cavi 

 fire at the rate of over 100 shots a minute. 

 and from six to ten machine-guns, each 

 of which can fire from 500 to a 1,000 

 rounds of ammunition per minute. 



When one of these airplanes attacks its 

 object, it looks almost as if the ground 

 were being ploAA r ed up, from the intensity 

 of the fire. They fly at very low alti- 

 tudes and surprise the troops, motor 



trains, railroad trains, or Avhatever they 

 desire to attack. 



NoAvadays air forces can be handled 

 by radio telegraph and to some extent 

 by radio telephone ; so that a means of 

 communication exists betAveen airplanes 

 Avhile in the air, Avhich gives very much 

 added power of combination to all aerial 

 operations. 



PHOTOGRAPHS MADE FROM 28,000-FEET 

 ALTITUDES 



In addition to the three principal 

 branches of aviation that I haA-e men- 

 tioned above, Avhich are just as different 

 in their methods, armament, and the 

 training required for their personnel as 

 are the infantry, caA r alry, and field artil- 

 lery, there is a fourth branch of aviation, 

 called "observation," Avhich is necessary 

 for reconnoitering and scouting and pho- 

 tographing the country. 



The photograph forms the most accu- 

 rate representation of anything that is 

 possible, and Avith the equipment that Ave 

 110AV haA-e, photographs can be taken from 

 altitudes as high as 28,000 feet. 



Military maps of Avhole areas are made 

 by aerial photography, far into the 

 enemy's country. His railroad lines, his 

 roads, his depots for ammunition and 

 stores of all sorts, and all of his canton- 

 ments or concentration points for troops 

 can be photographed and an estimate 

 made of the size of the body of troops 

 which is occupying it. 



Observation aviation also adjusts or 

 regulates the fire of artillery. In fact, 

 the artillery is virtually handled from the 

 air. The target is reported by the air- 

 plane and the direction and range given 

 to the gunners. 



In the World War the observation 

 airplanes had to keep in touch with the 

 troops themselves when all other means 

 of communication failed. Although the 

 telephone could be kept with the troops 

 almost always, yet in the heat of a great 

 battle the wires were severed and the 

 troops lost complete touch with those be- 

 hind them, even by runners and by ail 

 the devices known ; so the airplane had 

 to fly right through the barrages of 

 artillery fire, and even infantry and ma- 

 chine-gun fire, to get to their troops and 

 find out where thev were ; also to see 



