FRENCH AIR FLEETS

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2664, 8 January 1916, Page 14

FRENCH AIR FLEETS

NEWS BY WIRELESS. A Paris message says: "No fleot of the sea is moro thoroughly organised, equipped, and drilled than France's fleet of tho air. The days of haphazard aerial scouting or privateering in the sky aro as much gone lor.ever.as similar days at sea. "France's air fighters are drilled and organised in tactical units of nine aeroplanes to the squadron; they are equipped with signalling devices and with wireless, and aerial tactics havo become as much of a, science as land or sea tactics—moro so, for whereas on land and sea tho fighting forces can manoeuvre in only two dimensions, in : the air they manoeuvre iu three. "The oxtcnt to which wireless is used for communicating with aeroplanes in flight is one of the most remarkable developments''of tho . war. Tho big battle aeroplane and scouting iiiachines are fitted with, apparatus having a radius of 220 miles, and aro thus able instantly to report anything they see, or to receive orders, when far within the German linos. "Thus, fov instance, a : scouting machine above the German : lines of communication in Luxemburg or Belgium, 100 miles from its base, observing a remarkable movement of troops or guns ill any direction, need not wait for its return home to report. A wireless messago can bo sent out instantly, and in a few minutes Genoral Joffre himself knows what is afoot. ' For the important duty of spotting artillery fire, the aeroplane carries a signalling apparatus consisting of small glass bottles .filled with chemicals,-which explode five seconds alter the cork iu drawn. Tossed over tho side, thssa bottles explode in tho air. : Some of them are so planned as to givo a little round puff of black smoke, visible miles away, while others burn longer, and make a black smoke trail on the sky. Thus provided with dots and dashes, the observer can signal "too high," "too low," "left," "righi," or "hit," after every shell. "The development of aerial tactics has to a considerable extent followed along lines similar to those of Gea tactics. Just as, at sea, there are the small, fast scout cruisers, a large proportion of an aerial squadron consists of fast scouting aeroplanes. But at sea there followed tho development of the fast, heavily armed battle cruiser, for the purpose of driving in the scouts of the enemy. ■ Ju-st so there has been developed a cruiser-plane, or avion do chasse (chasing aeroplane), as the French call it. ' "The sole duty of this cruiser-plane is to drive off the scouting aeroplane of the Germans, and for this purpose it has been developed primarily for speed and power. One of these machines can mount almost straight up from the ground to a height\of nearly 6000 feet in two minutes, so as to pounce on an enemy as soon as he makes an appearance. Finally, as at sea, there is the dreadnought of the line, in the air ; there is the enormous armoured battleaeroplane, which can carry a crew of twelve men, and has a battery of two 3-inch guns, and a small rapid-fire gun. Tho 3-inch guns are mounted l one at 'the ! tip of each wing, and the quick-firer in , the middle, on top of the conningtower. "The cruiser-plane carries one 3-inch gnu, mounted on a platform in front of the pilot's station, and the scouting neros oarry only a machine-gun. The tactical unit, or squadron, consists of six scouting planes, two cruiser-planes, and one. battle-aeroplane, with their respective motor-lorries, trailers, portable ■ canvas sheds, and three fast auto- ; mobiles."