The Curtiss Aviation Book

by Glenn Hammond Curtiss; Augustus Post

This problem of information is then divided into two parts: the getting, and the transmitting. In getting information we must at once settle just how far the aeroplane will be available. There is a certain class of information, i. e., that concerning the road beds over which an army must move, the fords it must cross, the bridges it must travel over, the hills and valleys that might afford shelter for an offensive force or may be used defensively, the location, extent, thickness and amount of underbrush in woods, and much other, intimate, local knowledge that is of great and indispensable value to a commanding officer in the field. Such information can be gathered only from the ground. An aeroplane could be of use in such gathering only as a means for transporting the topographical sketchers quickly from point to point, allowing them sufficient time to do their work before again taking the air. Also an aeroplane would be of but little use in locating small bodies of the enemy.

Where the aeroplane would begin to be of use, however, is in the locating of the main body of the enemy, his defences, his artillery positions, in determining the outline of his position, the natural or artificial boundaries which cover and protect his flanks, his main arteries of supply, the strong and weak points of his line of defence, etc.

To accomplish these results the aeroplane must fly at a sufficient elevation to render difficult the hitting of a vital part of the machine or the aviator by hostile rifle or artillery fire. While the modern rifle in use in our army will fire a ball about three thousand five hundred yards straight in the air, it is generally accepted among aviators that an aeroplane would be practically safe, save from a chance shot, at three thousand five hundred feet. Of course there is a large chance that if enough rifles are directed at an aeroplane for a long enough time the machine or operator would be hit, at this altitude, but war is not a game of croquet, and the men who would man these machines in war would stand ready to take the risks demanded by the exigencies of the service.

The proper machine to act as a gatherer of information is one that can carry a pilot, passenger, and wireless outfit. It is proposed to equip all information-gathering machines with wireless and to this end a special set has been devised and is being tested out at the U. S. Army Signal Corps Aviation School. That the wireless will be a success there is no doubt, for certain simple experiments with crude apparatus have been already tried out with remarkable success.

I have said that military aviators propose to fly at about three thousand five hundred feet while seeking information. Perhaps this will be increased to about five thousand feet if it can be demonstrated that the reconnaissance officer can clearly discern, from that height, the points which are of military value. This officer will be aided by powerful field glasses, a camera and sketching case, and he will have at hand a wireless outfit which he can use in sending back whatever he may ascertain of value. Upon reporting back to the officer who sent him out he will turn over his sketches and photographs. It is thought that in this way very complete and valuable data will be available.

From an aeroplane or balloon the ground presents a very different appearance than it does from our usual man's eye view. It takes time and practice to determine just what the different strange-looking objects are, let alone to determine relative sizes and distances. On this account we have concluded that the reconnaissance officer and pilot must both be trained at the same time. Since this is the case and since there is a decided mental and physical strain connected with long-continued flight, we have gone further and concluded that both officers who fly in the aeroplane must be pilots and both must be trained in reconnaissance duty. In this way each can relieve or "spell" the other.

There is much more to this than the mere acting as an aerial chauffeur. To be a successful military aviator a man must be an excellent cross-country flier. He must be an expert topographer or sketcher, he must understand photography and he must be a practical wireless operator, as well as have a knowledge of the theory of wireless. Above all, he must be trained in military art, that most elusive of all subjects. By that we mean that he must understand the military significance of what he sees, he must understand the powers, limitations, and functions of the three great arms–infantry, cavalry, and field artillery, whether used in combination or separately; he must know major and minor tactics to determine the worth or uselessness of a position; he must be able quickly and accurately to reduce his observations to a written report in order that the information gained may be of immediate use to his chief.

For all of these reasons we have concluded that we must rely on commissioned officers of the regular army or organised militia, trained in time of peace to fulfil their functions in time of war. We can not place dependence on civilian aviators, for they have not had the training along the highly technical and specialised lines that are necessary. We can not rely on enlisted men of the army, for the same reason.

There is another class of fliers that will, undoubtedly, be of use in war time. These are the men to drive fast-flying, single-passenger machines for speedy messenger service between detached bodies of troops, or to drive the heavy ammunition or food-carrying aeroplanes to relieve a besieged place. These may well be chosen from the ranks of the civilian volunteers who would, without doubt, flock to our colours and standards at the whistle of a hostile bullet. There is plenty of room in war time for all of the aviators we can scrape together, be they civilian or military.

Two new types of aeroplane have been alluded to in the last, preceding paragraph; the fast-flying, quick-climbing racer and the slow-going, heavy-weight carrier. We are of opinion that there should be three types in all for military purposes. Of greatest importance and in greatest numbers we should have the middle-class machines; those capable of staying in the air for at least three hours of continuous flight, while carrying two men and one hundred and fifty pounds extra, of either wireless apparatus or machine gun and ammunition. Such a machine will climb two thousand feet in ten minutes, will travel above fifty miles an hour on the level, is perfectly easy to manage, and forms the back-bone of the aerial fleet.