THE ZEPPELIN MENACE.

Pukekohe & Waiuku Times, Volume 5, Issue 221, 27 October 1916, Page 2 (Supplement)

THE ZEPPELIN MENACE.

LORD MONTAGU'S PLAN TO MEET IT. DEMAND FOR AIRSHIPS AND "AIR LORD."

Lord Montagu oi Beaulieu— the man who doesn't believe m taking the Zeppelin raids lying down—is determined to press energetically his campaign tor tho appointment of an Air Lord on the Board of Admiralty. He has been discussing with me, writes a suecial cor respondent of the "Daily News." the wholo problem of how to meet the > ir menace and though some of the detail of what he knows, or even of what ho l>elieves that he foresees, cannot be made public, there are other points which it is right that the public should grnspThe first of these is Lord Montagu vuwv ol the genune gravity of the outlook if things are merely allowed to drift. He denies emphatically that he is out to frighten people for no purpose. " I am a realist in these matters," he says, "and by that I mean that I mean it is always good to face realities without flinching, because then you may find out how to meet them. It is absurd in face of what we know, apart altogether from what we suspect or foresee, to pretend that the Zeppelii menace isn't worth bothering about. It Is absurd to say that it may not ha. > any serious military importance, especially in the future. And it is enj :l to belittle the sufferings of those who have to bear the brunt of the personal .suffering these raids entail. Nothiag can absolve a Government from tinduty of protecting its civilian populition from invasion, whether by land, sea, or air."

CONSTRUCT RIGID AIRSHIPS

Lord Montagu adnrEii thai so far t.s possible raids at the end of October arc concerned comparatively little can no v l>e done in tho way of fresh defensive measures. But he urges, as ho urge 1 in the past, that, in view of the proable length of tho war, we sl.ould press on in tho construction of rigid airship.* with at least as much energy as if we wore called upon to provide at short notice some new kind of craft for the .Navy. There are three uses, he told me, to which these rigid airships would bo pun. and they are in the following order of importance: •"First we need them as eyes for th« Fleet. That would be their chief function. It 'is interesting to lure that on > Zeppelin may, according to some lngri authorities, be reckoned as equal to from three to six lignt cruisers, according to tho visibility at the time of acton. "Secondly, they would Ijo able to carry out bombing offensives against points of military importance within the territory occupied by the enemy, such as Essen or the Zeppelin sheds at Ghent or Namur, with greater efficiency than aeroplanes; simply because an airship can remain almost stationary an! let go her bombs while an aeroplane has to drop them in full flight and has to maintain itself in the an all tho time ot the expenditure ot fuel.

ZEPPELIN AGAINST ZEPPELIN. "Thirdly—and th:.s is the point that js at the present moment possibly < f greatest interest to civilians —they would lie used undoubtedly for fighting raiding Zepeplins in the air. It has been said that Zeppelin cannot light Zeppetn. That is not so. As far bacfc as 1909 I said that the only right wav of using aircraft was to meet like wit'i like, and that is as true to-day as ever it was. "The rigid airship we require for defensive purposes would oo able to suusttute great gun-power tor bomb-carry-ing capacity, replacing Somhs by guns, weight for weigbt. Apart from be: ability to remain stationary, waiting for the enemy, there would be this great advantage over tlie aeroplane as e know it to-day, that powerful seared* lights could be carried which would make it comparatively easy to attack -it night, "The method of meeting like wi f Ji like embodies one of the principles of warfare that have been proved true throughout the ages. It means tint Britain will inevitably be obliged to build an air fleet to be used defensively, if not offensively.

EYES OF THK FLEET. " But let me empTie.sise once more tlie fact that the primary function of vln rigid airship 'is to act as the eye of tin Navy. 1 see the day coming when air patrols will hover perpetually over our coasts, doing the work that cruisers do to-day, and when the capital ships of the Fleet, will in time of war nev»r leave harbour except to act upon intoMiiaf.on supplied by these patrols." Lord Montagu finds, however, that tho Admiralty is divided, and ill-m----formed upon the subject, end he *ees n effective way of enlightening it an I Keeping it in touch with the latest davelopments in the sconce of aeronautics except the appointment of an Air Lord. For what he considers on-' state ot iinprt par. dness to deal with raids ; v does not in any way blame Lord French c•• his staff. Lord French, in- declaro*. '..is effected improvements uh it'll, considering the difficulties facing him, must be regarded as considerable, and as great a* any man could have secure] under the circumstances. Tlie antiaircraft personnel e.s a whole is keen and alert, and t\\k<* as good as t!i? armament with wliich it still has k. work.