The French War Department had in 1910 laid down rules and regulations for a competition to develop aeronautics. They specified that the aeroplane and engine should be made in France, and that the distance of flight must at least be 186 miles, carrying 660 pounds of useful load, or three passengers, and to attain an altitude of 1,640 feet. The sum of 100,000 francs was to be paid for the machine which accomplished this feat, and 20 other machines of the same type were to be bought for 40,000 francs each. In the lists of that year 34 aeroplanes of as many designs were built, but only 8 passed the tests. Weyman’s Nieuport with a Gnome engine attained an average speed of 116 miles an hour.
As a result of this contest England, Germany, and Austria established aeroplane meets for 1912. England offered 10,000 pounds in prizes. Prince Henry of Prussia urged the German Government to appropriate $7,000,000 for military aeronautics. On January 27, 1912, the Kaiser offered 50,000 marks in prizes to develop aeromotors. The Aerial League of Germany started a public subscription which brought in 7,234,506 marks. The purpose of the league was to train a large number of pilots for a reserve and to encourage general development of aeronautics in Germany.
This proved to be a great success, for by the end of 1913, 370 additional German pilots had been trained, making a total of over 600. Meanwhile, German constructors increased from 20 to 50 in the same period of time.
The development of aeronautics under the auspices of the Aerial League induced the Reichstag to appropriate $35,000,000 to be expended during the next five years for military aeronautics. This was by far the most liberal appropriation made for war aeronautics by any government in Europe.
Under this encouragement, by the middle of July, 1914, the German aviators broke all the world’s records, making a total of over 100 new records of all kinds. The non-stop endurance record of 24 hours, 12 minutes was made by Reinhold Boehm, and Heinrich Oelrich attained a new ceiling at 26,246 feet. Herr Landsman covered 1,335 miles in one day, making the world’s record for distance covered by one man in one day. Roland Garros held the world’s record of 19,200 feet before Otto Linnekogel made 21,654.
The stream-lining of aircraft and the development of the Mercedes and Benz gasoline motors under the incentive to win the Kaiser’s prize was the big factor in this aeronautic progress. Not only did the Germans make new aviation records, but they also won the Grand Prix race in Paris, 1913, with engines the details of which were most jealously guarded, defeating the best English and French machines. Indeed, the Mercedes motor used on Zeppelin, aeroplane, and automobile was the same in fundamentals.
To Americans who are familiar with the difficulties we experienced in the early days of our entrance into the World War in getting quantity production with the Liberty motor, it is evident from the fact that the Germans had three large factories filled with tools, dies, gigs, etc., for quantity production of the Benz, Mercedes, and Maybach engines, that Germany believed that she had control of the air in June, 1914. She had already broken all the world’s records in road-racing, as well as in the air, and she had more than a score of Zeppelins and over 500 standardized planes.
Naturally, the preparations of the Germans did not fail to attract attention in France. Races and aeronautic contests at military manœuvres, besides aero expositions, were held by the French, and the success of the Paris-Madrid and Paris-Rome race in 1911 influenced the French Chamber of Deputies to appropriate 11,000,000 francs for military aviation. The Kaiser’s prize and Prince Henry of Prussia’s recommendation of $7,500,000 appropriation for German aviation caused the Paris Matin to start a national subscription by donating 50,000 francs for an aeronautic fund similar to that subscribed by Germany.
In 1911 Mr. Robert J. Collier loaned his aeroplane to the United States Government to be used for scout duty on the Mexican frontier.
In February, 1912, during the Italian-Turkish War, the Italians used one aeroplane for locating the position of the Arabs, and several bombs were dropped without any attempt to do any more than guess at the place where they would land. As a matter of fact, they fell far from their objectives, and served no military purpose further than to frighten the horses. In locating the distribution of troops, however, this aeroplane was most valuable.