Of two-seated, military monoplanes at the Paris exhibition, it is probable that the Nieuport, Blériot, and Deperdussin attracted most serious attention; and genuine interest was also aroused by the lonely prominence of one British exhibit—that of the Bristol passenger monoplane. As definite evidence of the capabilities of this machine, Mr James Valentine had, a day or so prior to the exhibition, piloted, in a flight over Paris, a sister monoplane to that which was shown.
Military authorities, who visited the Paris salon, directed very serious attention to the single-seated, high-speed war monoplanes which were on view. Here is to be found the emergence of a machine of a very definite and important type.
It was with great interest, and some surprise, during the progress of the French military trials, in October, 1911, that those interested in airmanship read of the ordering, by the French authorities, of a large number of single-seated monoplanes. The surprise, it should be mentioned, was occasioned by the fact that single-seated machines should have been purchased just at a time when passenger monoplanes were arousing most interest.
But the French military experts knew their own needs. They had mapped out, for the single-seated, almost racing-type machine, an important field of activity in war-time. They saw that, under actual service conditions, there would be definite demand for a scouting aeroplane which would make a very rapid, general survey of the position of the enemy’s troops.
[Illustration: MILITARY BIPLANE WITH TWO ENGINES. This exceedingly interesting machine, which possesses especial significance from the military point of view, is equipped with two Gnome motors. One drives two propellers placed in front of the main-planes, and the other actuates a single rear propeller. Normally, both engines run at easy speed; but, should one fail in flight, the other, by being accelerated, will maintain the machine in the air. Its designers and builders are Messrs. Short Brothers.]
In such a machine, they decided, speed would be the all-important requirement; and, seeing that the survey to be made would be comprehensive, and not detailed, it was reckoned that the pilot would be able to do all that was required, thereby saving the carrying of a passenger, and enabling greater pace to be obtained.
In several of the single-seated, high-speed monoplanes, as seen at the Paris show, it is possible to attain a flying rate of approximately eighty miles an hour. In such a machine, it is intended that the officer-pilot should, in war-time, effect a swift dash over the enemy’s lines, and fly back, without an instant’s delay, with whatever observations he has been able to make. Apart from being able to return very rapidly to Headquarters, the airman’s high speed would, of course, be an appreciable factor in his favour, when subjected to artillery fire.
Such quick reconnoitring, carried out by the pilot of a fast-flying monoplane, will only be efficacious in detecting the movements of considerable bodies of troops. For detailed reconnaissance, without doubt, the two-seated monoplane, carrying its highly-skilled observer, will be relied upon—as, also, will the weight-carrying biplane, to which reference will be made in our next section.
It may now, perhaps, be permissible to summarise some of the advantages of the latest-type military monoplanes. Primarily, of course, their value lies in their speed. In war-time, some reconnoitring flights will be more urgent than others; but it may be taken for granted that, in practically all circumstances, the speedy completion of a reconnaissance will be greatly to be desired. Thus, in the eyes of a Commander-in-Chief, the fast-flying monoplane will find the highest possible favour.
A definite advantage of the monoplane’s speed will lie in its ability to fly in high, gusty winds. It will, indeed, require very adverse conditions to prevent the flight of a bold and expert airman, piloting an eighty-mile-an-hour machine. This point, naturally, will have especial significance during the progress of an actual campaign.