Among Army officers the keenest competition is developed, and it is only by a spirit of rivalry and a desire to excel that the best qualities in officers and men are brought out in times of peace. Of course in time of war there is a need which calls for the best there is in a man.
The needs of the Army and Navy aviators have developed some special features in machines built for their purposes. They want to be as far out in front of the machine as possible so they can have an unobstructed view, and so that if they should be so unfortunate as to be pitched out, they will be quite clear of everything. This is especially true of naval machines built to fly over the water. Military aeroplanes also should have a standard method of control, so that any Army or Navy aviator can operate any Army or Navy machine.
[CHAPTER V THE AEROPLANE AS APPLIED TO THE ARMY (By Captain Paul W. Beck, U. S. A.)]
Whenever science discovers anything new or startling, such discovery is immediately tested by practical men of commercial or professional life to ascertain whether or not it can be applied to their business or profession. In civil life these tests are to determine whether or not this new discovery can be applied to cheapen production or benefit mankind in any other way. In the Army two tests are always applied: first, to determine whether or not the discovery can be used to kill the other fellow and, second, to determine whether or not it can be used to prevent the other fellow from killing us. These are the tests which have been applied to the aeroplane by the military. Let us see how these heavier-than-air machines have responded to these tests.
| [8] | In July, 1912, Captain Beck was granted by the War Department the title of "Military Aviator"; the first time that any American has been given this title, which implies finished skill in both aviation and military tactics, and for which all the army aviators are to qualify.–AUGUSTUS POST. |
Can aeroplanes be used to kill the other fellow? Our problem here is not ethical but practical; it is not based on the determinations of the Hague peace convention, but upon the actual capabilities of the machine from a physical standpoint, considered apart from humanitarian principles. In other words we do not discuss whether or not it is ethically right to use aeroplanes aggressively, but whether or not aeroplanes are mechanically capable of such use. The Army does not disturb itself with ethical questions until they become rules of International Law, and then it only considers them as being binding in their actual observance under the conditions imposed by such law. Meanwhile the Army, by preparation in time of peace, seeks to gain the fullest possible measure of information along the lines of investigation necessitated by the mechanical side of the question.
Considered from this standpoint, the question is repeated: can aeroplanes be used to kill the other fellow? Well, where may we expect to meet this other fellow? He will be armed, of course. He will be on the ground, on the water, or in the air. Wherever he may be we must get close enough to see him, while we must remain far enough away to keep him from having a decidedly better chance of hitting us than we have of hitting him. If he is on the ground or on the water we must fly over him. If he is in the air we must manoeuvre our air craft so as to gain an advantageous position over him; one where we can shoot our machine guns or rifles while he is unable to use his similar weapons against us. That is where skill as an aviator and superiority of speed, climbing powers, and control of the machine will play a prominent part in deciding the supremacy of the air.
From the standpoint of the location of the enemy the problem can be reduced to two cases: one, when the enemy is on the ground or on the water, and the other when he is in the air. Against him in the first case we must use projectiles dropped from on high. These may be shrapnel, explosive shells or simply large, thinly encased masses of high explosive, depending on whether we are attacking individuals or animals in groups; gun emplacements, bridges, etc., or important strategical or tactical points such as arsenals, barracks, or parts of a defensive line.
Against the enemy in the skies we must use some small machine gun or rifle, in an endeavour to brush him aside and allow our own information-gathering aeroplanes to perform their functions unmolested.