GERMANY'S AIR PROGRAM 



w 



HILE America and her Allies 

 have been organizing their 

 wealth, natural resources, and 

 industrial forces to place a fleet of flying 

 machines above the battle lines of Europe 

 this spring, the fact should not be over- 

 looked that Germany and her vassal na- 

 tions are equally alive to the importance 

 of mastery in the air. Her highly cen- 

 tralized war industries are exerting every 

 effort to match the gigantic program of 

 the Entente Allies. 



While no official figures have been al- 

 lowed to leak from Germany as to just 

 what is being done in preparation for the 

 supreme battle of the sky, the trend of 

 public opinion in the Teuton nations is 

 reflected in such reports as the following 

 news item (translated by a correspondent 

 of London Flight) which appeared re- 

 cently in Der Motorwagen, a Berlin jour- 

 nal : 



"At a recent meeting of the. Deutscher 

 Fliegerbund (German Aerial League) 

 the treasurer, Lieutenant Bothe, of Ber- 

 lin, gave some interesting details regard- 

 ing the objects and activities of the 

 League. 



"He first gave a very clear and com- 

 prehensive survey of the present position 

 of aeronautics in Germany, claiming that 

 the Germans had now really obtained the 

 supremacy of the air on the western 

 front as on other fronts, though he had 

 to acknowledge that at the time of the 

 great Somme offensive the mastery in the 

 air belonged to the British and French. 



"This led to a reawakening in German 

 military circles and to a redoubling of 

 their efforts to regain that supremacy, and 

 no stones were left unturned until that 

 object had been successfully attained. 



"The Germans had now left their ad- 

 versaries far behind, both in number and 



quality of the aircraft being turned out, 

 as the English were learning to their cost. 



"Lieutenant Bothe then dealt at some 

 length with the position of military aero- 

 nautics after the present war. He fore- 

 told that on the cessation of the present 

 hostilities all the nations would at once 

 proceed to build up an impenetrable se- 

 ries of modern defensive works, extend- 

 ing several miles behind their frontiers, 

 and* which it would be beyond the power 

 of human beings to break through, ex- 

 cept by the aerial arm. 



"In future wars it would be necessary 

 to invade the enemy's territories by means 

 of tens of thousands of aeroplanes, which 

 by dropping hundreds of tons of explo- 

 sives would destroy all industrial works, 

 transport routes, etc., and thus delay the 

 advance of the troops and impede prepa- 

 rations for offense or defense. 



"The war would be won within the first 

 few days of the declaration of hostilities 

 by the Power, or Powers, which were 

 thus able to throw in the largest weight of 

 aerial 'f rightfulness,' and thereby para- 

 lyze the fighting efficiency of their op- 

 ponents, before even a battle had been 

 fought or a campaign opened. 



"Where, it may be asked, are to be 

 found the pilots to man these tens of 

 thousands of aeroplanes ? This would 

 be one of the chief duties of the German 

 Aerial League, an institution which was 

 daily growing in importance and influ- 

 ence. 



"By suitable courses of training at aero- 

 dromes and in the workshops, the youth 

 of the country would be prepared for 

 later service in the Flying Corps. 



"The speaker urged every one interested 

 in this subject to give the League all the 

 support possible by joining a local branch 

 and by making its objects more widely 

 known." 



INDEX FOR JULY-DECEMBER, 1917, VOLUME READY. 

 Index for Volume XXXII — July-December, 1917 — will be mailed to members upon request. 



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