In January, however, it was stated, more or less officially, that the Admiralty intended to devote serious attention, during 1912, to the question of naval airmanship; but, beyond arranging for another party of officers to learn to fly at Eastchurch, Isle of Sheppey, nothing definite has, at the time of writing, been done—save that it is understood that the Admiralty has committed itself to the construction of a smaller, rigid-type airship.
For naval work, beyond doubt, the powerful, high-speed aeroplane, capable of making progress against very strong winds, and sufficiently portable to be carried in appreciable numbers upon a specially-designed parent ship, is the ideal—with another type of aircraft, larger, and with a greater radius of action, to act as a scout from land defences.
NOTE
Since the above was written, our Naval authorities have decided to train forty airmen and to purchase a dozen experimental machines, including hydro-aeroplanes of various makes.
SIXTEENTH SECTION AERIAL WORK IN THE FRENCH AND GERMAN AUTUMN MANOEUVRES, 1911
I. French successes—Proof of the value of organisation—Flights in high winds.
Previously we have dealt with the remarkable results obtained, from the first use of aeroplanes, in the autumn manœuvres in France, in 1910. Now we have an opportunity of describing the fruits of a year’s progress, as shown in the triumphs achieved during the autumn operations in 1911. Nothing could, indeed, be more encouraging to the French authorities than this one year’s work.
By the time the autumn manœuvres of 1911 came along, there were eighteen military air-stations in various parts of France, and a preliminary organisation of much interest had been created. It was decided, therefore, to make a far more thorough and drastic test of the value of the aeroplanes in war than had been attempted in 1910. Thirty machines, comprising biplanes and monoplanes, and representing aircraft of the principal makes, were detailed to co-operate with the manoeuvring forces. They were divided into equal corps, and were instructed to operate with the Commanders-in-Chief of the two forces.
The importance of the results obtained lay, very largely, in the successful use of the adjuncts to the air service, which had been organised during the flying season of 1911. The military aeroplanists established their camps near the Headquarters of the troops they were serving, and collapsible sheds, for their machines, were brought up on special motor-lorries.
A striking feature of the organisation, also, was the travelling "atelier," or workshop. These vehicles, huge motor-vans, with a skilled staff in attendance, were here, there, and everywhere. Their equipment included tools capable of dealing with any break-down, large or small.