A DREADNOUGHT OF THE AIR

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 22, 20 October 1917, Page 10

A DREADNOUGHT OF THE AIR

ITS BAPTISM

CARRYING THE WAR INTO GERMANY

(By E. Percy Xoel.)

Tho aeroplane of the type most .suita'ni for the purpose of carrying the war inl the heart ot Germany is ready. To exc onto tho programme {.hat the Urifis public demands and which military ai thorities in. all Allied countries hav come to believe highly important, it' i only necessary to intensify the productio of this aeroplane, loviiithun. It is read developed, tried, and proved. Of tlii I have had practical demonstratioi thanks to the courtesy of the Brilis Admiralty which authorised mo to go s passenger on tho trial voyage of oho < these mammoth craft. Although it en ries a load of several tons, this mnehin travels faster than any aeroplane regi larly employed by the Allies during 111 first year of the war. Jt is provided wit two engines of the maximum powc known to successful air engineering, '.lowing spread is so expansive, that eightee full-sized men could lie along the plant head to heel aud any one of them migl walk on the ground underneath the loivs plane without bumping his head. It. hs flown with twenty-five people aboard :■ easily as with three. • I saw one of these aeroplanes leave tl ground for its air baptism, circle hig and wing its way from the works to tr naval station near by, just as it ho left the assembling rooms, and an hoii later without any alterations or adjus ments, felt it lift into spaco with n aboard, to climb above the clouds an fulfil to the letter tho Admiralty's n quirements. Even before we glide emoothly down to a perfect landing, was convinced that the big plane was suceess, realised that its employment i magnificent numbers as long distance a tillety in. Germany was now only a que tion of months,' -while the beginning < its commercial use would date from tt first days of victorious peace. The other morning I received a tel phone message: "The big machine wi leave tie works at 11 a.m." It was e the grass outside the great doors when arrived, and Mr. Clifford B. Prodger. a American, who was to pilot it, was pul ing on a tightly-fitting cloth helmet! ] front of us was this Brobdingnagian thin of the air, so heavy, solid, even inassiv that it seemed incredible it ever woul leave the ground. A mechanic in the fuselage fifteen fei above our heads asked: "Are you road for the motors now?" and the pilot noi ded assent. Then a most amazing thii ( happened. No mechanics touched ti eerows to put the motors inaction bt very slowly and noiselessly the b'ladi began to move by an unseen hand actua jng hidden mechanism. After a complei revolution, one motor after another bega to fire, their Wades whirring on eitht side of the fuselage. Then, as a ftm precaution, these great engines wei speeded up until the indicators register* the desired number of revolutions. Thei was a double blast of air of terrific fore accompanied by the continuous roars < explosions and the rumble of gears ths caused the screws to turn less rapid! than the motors. The test over, tl mechanic emerged through a trap doc in the floor of the fuselage and the pil< climbed in followed by other men. There is a ridge 6ome hundred and fifi yards distant. Tho machine must be i the air when it crosses that ridge, < crash. It is a tense moment for me i the huge aeroplane, released, moves ahea elowly at first, then goes on faster an faster. But before I can anticipate the wheels leave the ground. They ris a. few feet above, then move straigl ahead, as if hesitating to go higher, unt suddenly the nose points upwards an the enormous thing climbs steadily an rapidly on a long curve.. The weather was not agreeable. It we unsteadily windy. Rain clouds hung lo? occasionally sprinkling the ground wit cold drizzle. All bine sky was hidde by high altitude elouds above which xvoi probably more. It was black in th north-east, like a threatening storm. Th wind was now twelve miles, now twent on hour, I guessed. There were no rss chines in the air. At luncheon before the start, I ha asked: "What would you do if we mst Hun'up there in the ten-thousand foo level?" - : 'T)iv«," answered Prodger, "and r quickly as possible." "You mean to say that you go ou unarmed ?" "We took gunners with us the, las ■ time, but we don't need them \to-daj There won't be any Hun machines bver i weather like this." And I thought n more about it until later when we wer well above the third strata of clouds. They offered me the seat of honour, th gun ring at the very nose of the fuselag in front of the pilot 'and the Naval Ai Service- officer acting as official observe of the tests. Or I could sit in the wire less and bomb-dropping room behind th pilot, where, entirely enclosed and eaci fortable, my .vision would be limited t the ground below and horizontal glimpse through small windows. The after-gur ner's position was highly recominendec and I took that. An officer climbed i after me through the large gun opening and we mounted to what is called "th rack," a latticed floor over the mail lattice, through which one has a direc down view of the earth's surface. • Stand ing on the rack with the top of the fuse lage under my elbows, 1,-saw, looking foi ward, the head and shoulders of the pilo and observer, and another head in th gun ring beyond. Looking back, was th tail, with the rudders and elevators seem ing very far away. Prodger raised hi hand, the motors roared, and we racei across, the field with very littlo jarring That teased entirely as the .wheels lef the ground'and we mounted skyward. Prodger, anxious to better the recort time for the 10,000 foot climb, held tin biplane's nose up to the limit. That m;id the "big "bus" move through the nir a about one-third less speed thn.n could In attained on the level. Consequently tin bumpy air was felt even in this hugi craft. Bumps cause the machine to droj suddenly a few feet, which would he von disagreeable to anyone who was not sun that it was not any more dangerous thai the swells at sea are to a good ship. Tin higher the speed of the aeronlane the les: all nir disturbances are felt. Without, knowing it we pas-? througl the moving rain clouds at 1200 feet, am at 1800 look down on them. They an en light that they barely obstruct tin view of the country, which begins ti appear Lilliputian. ' Above are heavio: clouds,, still hiding the sun. Tired of standing, I go below and ?e out of the rush of air. After amusim mysclf with tho inter-communicating telo nlione, checking up our altitude baronie ter with the bettor instrument forward I look about. It is a comfortable intcrioi —comfortable except for these slats of f floor with an inch of open spane bohvoor them, through which earth recalls its (Hstwit presence, and filmy rain clouds siii by. . In front, of mo is a. magazine ot "Jimmy" bombs, ready in their trap*. AVniit nri array of oower tn wipe nut the force? that, mnkn it possible for th". enemy « continue to carry out that plan ot siidjitgation. which already has ca'isMl sn much misery in the world,! I could crawl by these projectiles, into the stations forward Hi! , wireless and liomb-droppmsr positions, to the pilot's and observer * seat and the gunners round hole in the nose of the fuselage, lint T content mvself with looking, watching the pilots feet on the rudder bar, ant Ins dhows as he actuates the wh«ol I mt controls the ailerons for lutornl stabih .V :md the wheel post which keep.? tho elevator set at tho best climbing angle our misiny engines permit. But to see movement I must watch closely, for there is very HI tie, only fractions of inches. T walk about (his space, oil the floor of slats, and inspect the various devices that "Britain's skill has devised to compete with the rulhlessness of the enemy. Finally, my companion comes down and we shout into each other-s Icafher-shenlh-od ears, one observation or anoliior, and fvnallv seat ourselves on the.rnck while the engines roar and the air rushes by ovni'head. , .. , , "Wo could play cards, here, if we had any" he shouts and signs to me: Rut as we have none I takn out a notebook, and demand the altitude. "Seven thousand five hundred feet, ho signals tack. So I record, as follows:"On board His Maiestj s Eoval Naval Air Service plane No. X. Sonipwhoro over Englandl at 7300 feet. ,7n,,e 25 1.15 pm. Both engines turning nicely, blight: bump now and then as we mount, but

steady oe tho whole. We are still on the way to 10,000 feet for altitude. Clouds abovo and below." '

Yea, looking: down through (he photogiaphie slots iu front; of me, I see only the white- down of clouds; above through Oie niicrture in the fuselago, tho same. Then I climb back to the rack, aad standing, peer over our sides. In every direction clouds. Through thoso that arc above Die sun is just visible, a round wiiito ball. But enough light iiltere through to illuminate the soap-suddy, cotton-like billows below. The ivind cuts like n winter hurricane.

Below again, this time- on the rack, where I lie down on juy side, and, resting in comfort, watch tho view from the window opposite. After a while I lower the unbreakable glass, but the air is too cold, and it soon goes np again. Before I had looked down on gas tanks and factories as wo passed over them, thinking how eimple it would be to release those bombs and how difficult to miss such enormous targets. But now tho comfort of the thing comes over me, and I imagine this same type of aeroplane sifter the war, on peaceful mission between continental cities. Instead of those bombs there will be room for more passongers, and the rack instead of being open to show the ground will be 6olid to. lend confidence to the passenger. There' will be a sort of promenade deck from i the control room forward to some point aft of the present after-gunners' position, and below it eeals_ or berths for passengers, who may enjoy the view, as I do now, through sido windows all along the fuselage. Then—bang! ' ' '

Like a small cannon firing close at hand comes this unnerving sound followed by others; one side, then another at unequal intervals. Quickly I notice that wa aro pointing steeply down, that the motors are barely turning over. It was exactly what Prodger said would happen in case we met an enemy in the air.

So I climb to my feet while the fusilade continues. But before there is time'to look about in search of an attacking Hun, I realise that the noise comee from the motors, which continue to fire spasmodically even after the ignition has been cut off. Wβ have attained 10,000 feet and are on tho way back to the aerodrome.

The air rushes by with new sneed as we glide down from 10,000 to 6000 feet in a few minutes, and. there is bo little noise that my companion and I converse without difficulty. There is only the prrinding of the gears and the sinning of the wind in the wires. At 6000 feet we are able to Bee much of the snrrenndinj? conntry again. Prodger gets his bearings and heads across country on a slight decline, now flying on one motor, now on the other, and then aaain on both, to show how easily it can be done. Not very lone after I hear, "There's the aerodrome." We po. down steeply with the motors barely turning and bankup on a steep angle, like a small machine, to land at the right epot. slip over a moving railway train not thirty feet below, and 'touch the turf as lightly as any aeroplane can, about one honr after the etart. "flow do you like it?" someone asked.

"That." I remarked, "is the lotißestranirn, highe?!: calibre artillery piece in existence, and I am very proud to have made its close acquaintance; for surely it is going to do much to win the war.