Such a Commander of Aeroplanes should be constantly in touch with the
officer in charge of the whole Army Corps. When military operations
reach a stage that demands a rapid aerial reconnaissance, this officer
in charge of aeroplanes will be called into conference, and told exactly
what is required. He, in his turn, will indicate how his airmen can go
to work; and he will then transmit orders to the pilots and observers,
and also summarise their reports, for the benefit of Headquarters, after
a reconnaissance has been carried out.
The value of such an officer, possessing complete practical experience,
would be very great. The question might arise, for example, as to
whether the wind was too high to allow a scouting expedition to be made.
The Commanding Officer would, in such circumstances, promptly consult
the Commander of Aeroplanes, who would come to an expert decision
without any misunderstanding or delay.
Operating with the Commander of Aeroplanes should be other officers, all
experienced men, and each specialising in one branch of aerial work.
There should be an officer immediately in charge of the airmen. To this
officer would fall the task of seeing that each scout thoroughly
understood the work that he had in hand, that he was adequately
equipped, and that his reports were presented in proper form.
Then should come an officer in command of the engineers. His would be
important work. The engineers in charge of aeroplanes represent
highly-skilled men, whose work is vital to the success of aerial
operations. Several of them are usually detailed to each machine.
When aeroplanes are on active service, replacements and repairs will
need constantly to be made; and the officer in charge of engineers will
be called upon to superintend this work, and to see that all machines in
the corps are in first-class condition. An aeroplane, at any rate as at
present constructed, is a machine that needs unremitting attention in a
variety of small ways. The use of a fleet of machines in time of war
will mean that a very highly-organised staff of mechanics, under the
supervision of a thoroughly-competent officer, will be required.
Then there may be a third officer, whose duty will be to take charge of
all the baggage, supplies, and transport of the air service. His task
will, it is clear, be no light one. There should be a number of motor
repair-cars in connection with each aeroplane squadron, ready to move
out, at a moment’s notice, and succour an airman who may have come down
through mechanical defects. These break-down gangs will form a very
important adjunct to the work of the aeroplane in war-time.
The question of transport is very important. As an army marches from
point to point, so the aeroplanes attached to it will have to move also.
Airmen will, in many cases no doubt, fly their machines from point to
point; but there will probably be occasions when machines will need to
be dismantled, and transported by road or rail.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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