Aeronautics; Aeronautics, Military; World War, 1914-1918 -- Aerial operations
The Allies discovered a far better and more economical way of winning
the war than this, and in the last year of the War they strained every
nerve to put it into actual operation. It was this: to search out every
military base of the enemy, every munition dump, nest of guns, supply
train or troop train and drop bombs upon it. Two men in a bombing
machine can attack and perhaps destroy a force which, if allowed to
reach the front lines, would have to be met by several thousand
infantrymen. Two men in a bombing machine can destroy at a single blow
the ammunition which, if it had reached the front, might have swept out
a regiment.
That is why so much thought and genius has been expended upon the
bombing plane. The day bomber becomes the right arm of the infantry,
flying low over the lines, attacking troops and striking terror to the
heart of the enemy as the huge Allied tanks did when they first started
on their irresistible slow walk across trenches, troops, buildings and
every manner of obstruction. The big bomber--particularly if the
fighting machines have cleared the way ahead of it--is something like
that: it is an invincible weapon of destruction, wiping out whole bodies
of the foe at every stroke, like a giant sweeping the pigmies of earth
ahead of him with his strong right arm.
The big dreadnaughts of the air like the _Moineau_, the
_Voisin-Peugeot_, the _Breguet_, and the _Farman_, become, when a
bombing apparatus is substituted for their camera and radio, very
efficient day bombers. There is a long list of others: as for instance,
the British _Avro_, _Handley-Page_ and _Sopwith_ machines and the French
_Caudron_, _Dorand_ and _Letord_.
Many of these big bombing planes were designed for long distance work
either by day or by night, and so they have been made enormous
weight-lifters, with large supporting surfaces, two or more engines, and
equipped with a fuel supply sufficient for long runs. In order to carry
their engines conveniently they very often have more than one fuselage.
Sometimes the pilot sits in a large fuselage in the center, while the
motors are carried in two smaller cars or bodies called "nacelles" at
either side. The British _Avro_, for instance, is a huge biplane with
three fuselages and two rotary engines. Its upper and lower wings are
equal in span, and it can readily be distinguished from the British
_Handley-Page_, whose upper wing has a large overhang. The
_Handley-Page_ is one of the largest machines built. It carries its two
12-cylinder Rolls-Royce engines in small nacelles between the main
planes, and it can be recognized by these and its biplane tail.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account