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diff --git a/old/30047.txt b/old/30047.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..1f2bcd3 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/30047.txt @@ -0,0 +1,13775 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Aircraft and Submarines, by Willis J. Abbot + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Aircraft and Submarines + The Story of the Invention, Development, and Present-Day + Uses of War's Newest Weapons + +Author: Willis J. Abbot + +Release Date: September 20, 2009 [EBook #30047] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK AIRCRAFT AND SUBMARINES *** + + + + +Produced by Chris Curnow, Joseph Cooper, Christine P. +Travers and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at +https://www.pgdp.net + + + + + +[Transcriber's note: Obvious printer's errors have been corrected. +Hyphenation and accentuation have been standardised, all +other inconsistencies are as in the original. The author's spelling +has been maintained. + +{} are used to inclose superscript.] + + + + +[Illustration: _Fighting by Sea and Sky._ + +_Painting by John E. Whiting._] + + + + +AIRCRAFT AND SUBMARINES + +The Story of the Invention, Development, and Present-Day Uses of +War's Newest Weapons + +By + +WILLIS J. ABBOT + +Author of "The Story of Our Army," "The Story of Our Navy," "The +Nations at War" + + +_With Eight Color Plates and 100 Other Illustrations_ + + + + + G. P. Putnam's Sons + New York and London + The Knickerbocker Press + 1918 + + Copyright, 1918 + By + WILLIS J. ABBOT + + The Knickerbocker Press, New York + + + + +PREFACE + + +Not since gunpowder was first employed in warfare has so +revolutionary a contribution to the science of slaughtering men been +made as by the perfection of aircraft and submarines. The former +have had their first employment in this world-wide war of the +nations. The latter, though in the experimental stage as far back as +the American Revolution, have in this bitter contest been for the +first time brought to so practical a stage of development as to +exert a really appreciable influence on the outcome of the struggle. + +Comparatively few people appreciate how the thought of navigating +the air's dizziest heights and the sea's gloomiest depths has +obsessed the minds of inventors. From the earliest days of history +men have grappled with the problem, yet it is only within two +hundred years for aircraft and one hundred for submarines that any +really intelligent start has been made upon its solution. The men +who really gave practical effect to the vague theories which others +set up--in aircraft the Wrights, Santos-Dumont, and Count Zeppelin; +in submarines Lake and Holland--are either still living, or have +died so recently that their memory is still fresh in the minds of +all. + +In this book the author has sketched swiftly the slow stages by +which in each of these fields of activity success has been attained. +He has collated from the immense mass of records of the activities +of both submarines and aircraft enough interesting data to show the +degree of perfection and practicability to which both have been +brought. And he has outlined so far as possible from existing +conditions the possibilities of future usefulness in fields other +than those of war of these new devices. + +The most serious difficulty encountered in dealing with the present +state and future development of aircraft is the rapidity with which +that development proceeds. Before a Congressional Committee last +January an official testified that grave delay in the manufacture of +airplanes for the army had been caused by the fact that types +adopted a scant three months before had become obsolete, because of +experience on the European battlefields, and later inventions before +the first machines could be completed. There may be exaggeration in +the statement but it is largely true. Neither the machines nor the +tactics employed at the beginning of the war were in use in its +fourth year. The course of this evolution, with its reasons, are +described in this volume. + +Opportunities for the peaceful use of airplanes are beginning to +suggest themselves daily. After the main body of this book was in +type the Postmaster-General of the United States called for bids for +an aerial mail service between New York and Washington--an act urged +upon the Government in this volume. That service contemplates a +swift carriage of first-class mail at an enhanced price--the +tentative schedule being three hours, and a postage fee of +twenty-five cents an ounce. There can be no doubt of the success of +the service, its value to the public, and its possibilities of +revenue to the post-office. Once its usefulness is established it +will be extended to routes of similar length, such as New York and +Boston, New York and Buffalo, or New York and Pittsburgh. The mind +suggests no limit to the extension of aerial service, both postal +and passenger, in the years of industrial activity that shall follow +the war. + +In the preparation of this book the author has made use of many +records of personal experiences of those who have dared the air's +high altitudes and the sea's stilly depths. For permission to use +certain of these he wishes to express his thanks to the Century Co., +for extracts from _My Airships_ by Santos-Dumont; to Doubleday, Page +& Co., for extracts from _Flying for France_, by James R. McConnell; +to Charles Scribner's Sons, for material drawn from _With the French +Flying Corps_, by Carroll Dana Winslow; to _Collier's Weekly_, for +certain extracts from interviews with Wilbur Wright; to _McClure's +Magazine_, for the account of Mr. Ray Stannard Baker's trip in a +Lake submarine; to Hearst's International Library, and to the +_Scientific American_, for the use of several illustrations. + + W. J. A. + +NEW YORK, 1918. + + + + +CONTENTS + + Page + PREFACE iii + + CHAPTER + + I.--Introductory 3 + + II.--The Earliest Flying Men 14 + + III.--The Services of Santos-Dumont 39 + + IV.--The Count von Zeppelin 59 + + V.--The Development of the Airplane 82 + + VI.--The Training of the Aviator 103 + + VII.--Some Methods of the War in the Air 123 + + VIII.--Incidents of the War in the Air 159 + + IX.--The United States at War 182 + + X.--Some Features of Aerial Warfare 207 + + XI.--Beginnings of Submarine Invention 235 + + XII.--The Coming of Steam and Electricity 256 + + XIII.--John P. Holland and Simon Lake 271 + + XIV.--The Modern Submarine 294 + + XV.--Aboard a Submarine 318 + + XVI.--Submarine Warfare 333 + + XVII.--The Future of the Submarine 362 + + Index 383 + + + + +ILLUSTRATIONS + + Page + Fighting by Sea and Sky _Frontispiece_ + Painting by John E. Whiting + + Dropping a Depth Bomb 4 + Painting by Lieut. Farre + + A Battle in Mid-air 8 + Painting by Lieut. Farre + + Victory in the Clouds 12 + Painting by John E. Whiting + + The Fall of the Boche 16 + Painting by Lieut. Farre + + Lana's Vacuum Balloon 18 + + Montgolfier's Experimental Balloon 21 + + A Rescue at Sea 24 + Painting by Lieut. Farre + + Montgolfier's Passenger Balloon 27 + + Charles's Balloon 31 + + A French Observation Balloon on Fire 32 + + Roberts Brothers' Dirigible 34 + + Giffard's Dirigible 37 + + A British Kite Balloon 40 + + British "Blimp" 40 + Photographed from Above. + + A Kite Balloon Rising from the Hold of a Ship 48 + + The Giant and the Pigmies 60 + Painting by John E. Whiting + + A French "Sausage" 64 + Photo by Press Illustrating Co. + + A British "Blimp" 64 + + The Death of a Zeppelin 72 + Photo by Paul Thompson + + A German Dirigible, Hansa Type 76 + + A Wrecked Zeppelin at Salonika 76 + Photo by Press Illustrating Co. + + British Aviators about to Ascend 80 + + Langley's Airplane 84 + + A French Airdrome near the Front 84 + + Lilienthal's Glider 86 + + A German War Zeppelin 88 + + French Observation Balloon Seeking Submarines 88 + Photo by Press Illustrating Co. + + Chanute's Glider 90 + + A German Taube Pursued by British Planes 92 + + The First Wright Glider 93 + + Pilcher's Glider 94 + + Comparative Strength of Belligerents in Airplanes at the Opening + of the War 96 + + Comparative Strength of Belligerents in Dirigibles at the Opening + of the War 96 + + The Wright Glider 98 + + At a French Airplane Base 100 + International Film Service + + Stringfellow's Airplane 101 + + The "America"--Built to Cross the Atlantic 104 + + A Wright Airplane in Flight 104 + + First Americans to Fly in France 108 + The Lafayette Escadrille + + Distinguishing Marks of American Planes 116 + + What an Aviator must Watch 116 + + A Caproni Triplane 124 + + A Caproni Triplane Showing Propellers and Fuselage 124 + + The Terror that Flieth by Night 128 + Painting by Wm. J. Wilson + + A Curtis Seaplane Leaving a Battleship 132 + Photo by Press Illustrating Co. + + Launching a Hydroaeroplane 132 + + At a United States Training Camp 138 + + A "Blimp" with Gun Mounted on Top 138 + + Aviators Descending in Parachutes from a Balloon Struck by + Incendiary Shells 140 + + The Balloon from which the Aviators Fled 140 + + German Air Raiders over England 144 + + One Aviator's Narrow Escape 148 + + Downed in the Enemy's Country 156 + + Position of Gunner in Early French Machine 160 + + Later Type of French Scout 160 + Photo by Kadel & Herbert + + A French Scout Airplane 168 + Photo by Press Illustrating Co. + + "Showing Off." A Nieuport Performing Aerial Acrobatics around a + Heavier Bombing Machine 168 + + An Air Raid on a Troop Train 174 + Painting by John E. Whiting + + A Burning Balloon, Photographed from a Parachute by the Escaping + Balloonist 176 + + A Caproni Biplane Circling the Woolworth Building 184 + + Cruising at 2000 Feet. One Biplane Photographed from Another 184 + + An Air Battle in Progress 192 + + A Curtis Hydroaroplane 192 + + The U. S. Aviation School at Mineola 208 + + Miss Ruth Law at Close of her Chicago to New York Flight 216 + + A French Aviator between Flights 216 + + A German "Gotha"--Their Favorite Type 224 + + A French Monoplane 232 + + A German Scout Brought to Earth in France 232 + + A Gas Attack Photographed from an Airplane 240 + + A French Nieuport Dropping a Bomb 244 + + A Bomb-Dropping Taube 248 + + A Captured German Fokker Exhibited at the Invalides 252 + + A British Seaplane with Folding Wings 252 + + British Anti-Aircraft Guns 256 + + An Anti-Aircraft Outpost 264 + + A Coast Defense Anti-Aircraft Gun 264 + + The Submarine's Perfect Work 270 + Painting by John E. Whiting + + Types of American Aircraft 272 + + For Anti-Aircraft Service 288 + + The Latest French Aircraft Guns 288 + + Modern German Airplane Types 296 + + A German Submarine Mine-Layer Captured by the British 304 + + The Exterior of First German Submarine 312 + + The Interior of First German Submarine, Showing Appliances for + Man-Power 312 + + A Torpedo Designed by Fulton 320 + + The Method of Attack by Nautilus 320 + + The Capture of a U-Boat 324 + Painting by John E. Whiting + + A British Submarine 336 + + Sectional View of the Nautilus 336 + + U. S. Submarine H-3 aground on California Coast 344 + + Salvaging H-3. Views I, II, and III 348 + + U. S. Submarine D-1 off Weehawken 352 + + A Submarine Built for Spain in the Cape Cod Canal 356 + + A Critical Moment 360 + Painting by John E. Whiting + + A Submarine Built for Chili Passing through Cape Cod Canal 364 + + A Submarine Entrapped by Nets 368 + + Diagram of a German Submarine Mine-Layer Captured by British 372 + + A Submarine Discharging a Torpedo 374 + + A German Submarine in Three Positions 376 + + Sectional View of a British Submarine 380 + + + + +THE CONQUEST OF THE AIR + + + + +CHAPTER I + +INTRODUCTORY + + +It was at Mons in the third week of the Great War. The grey-green +German hordes had overwhelmed the greater part of Belgium and were +sweeping down into France whose people and military establishment +were all unprepared for attack from that quarter. For days the +little British army of perhaps 100,000 men, that forlorn hope which +the Germans scornfully called "contemptible," but which man for man +probably numbered more veteran fighters than any similar unit on +either side, had been stoutly holding back the enemy's right wing +and fighting for the delay that alone could save Paris. At Mons they +had halted, hoping that here was the spot to administer to von +Kluck, beating upon their front, the final check. The hope was +futile. Looking back upon the day with knowledge of what General +French's army faced--a knowledge largely denied to him--it seems +that the British escape from annihilation was miraculous. And indeed +it was due to a modern miracle--the conquest of the air by man in +the development of the airplane. + +General French was outnumbered and in danger of being flanked on his +left flank. His right he thought safe, for it was in contact with +the French line which extended eastward along the bank of the Somme +to where the dark fortress of Namur frowned on the steeps formed by +the junction of that river with the Meuse. At that point the French +line bent to the south following the course of the latter river. + +Namur was expected to hold out for weeks. Its defence lasted but +three days! As a matter of fact it did not delay the oncoming +Germans a day, for they invested it and drove past in their fierce +assault upon Joffre's lines. Enormously outnumbered, the French were +broken and forced to retreat. They left General French's right flank +in the air, exposed to envelopment by von Kluck who was already +reaching around the left flank. The German troops were ample in +number to surround the British, cut them off from all support, and +crush or capture them all. This indeed they were preparing to do +while General French, owing to some mischance never yet explained, +was holding his ground utterly without knowledge that his allies had +already retired leaving his flank without protection. + +[Illustration: Photo by Peter A. Juley. + +_Dropping a Depth Bomb._ + +_From the Painting by Lieutenant Farre._] + +When that fatal information arrived belatedly at the British +headquarters it seemed like a death warrant. The right of the line +had already been exposed for more than half-a-day. It was +inexplicable that it had not already been attacked. It was +unbelievable that the attack would not fall the next moment. But how +would it be delivered and where, and what force would the enemy +bring to it? Was von Kluck lulling the British into a false sense +of security by leaving the exposed flank unmenaced while he gained +their rear and cut off their retreat? Questions such as these +demanded immediate answer. Ten years before the most dashing scouts +would have clattered off to the front and would have required a day, +perhaps more, to complete the necessary reconnaissance. But though +of all nations, except of course the utterly negligent United +States, Great Britain had least developed her aviation corps, there +were attached to General French's headquarters enough airmen to meet +this need. In a few minutes after the disquieting news arrived the +beat of the propellers rose above the din of the battlefield and the +airplanes appeared above the enemy's lines. An hour or two sufficed +to gather the necessary facts, the fliers returned to headquarters, +and immediately the retreat was begun. + +It was a beaten army that plodded back to the line of the Marne. Its +retreat at times narrowly approached a rout. But the army was not +crushed, annihilated. It remained a coherent, serviceable part of +the allied line in the successful action speedily fought along the +Marne. But had it not been for the presence of the airmen the +British expeditionary force would have been wiped out then and +there. + +The battle of Mons gave the soldiers a legend which still +persists--that of the ghostly English bowmen of the time of Edward +the Black Prince who came back from their graves to save that field +for England and for France. Thousands of simple souls believe that +legend to-day. But it is no whit more unbelievable than the story of +an army saved by a handful of men flying thousands of feet above the +field would have been had it been told of a battle in our Civil War. +The world has believed in ghosts for centuries and the Archers of +Mons are the legitimate successors of the Great Twin Brethren at the +Battle of Lake Regillus. But Caesar, Napoleon, perhaps the elder von +Moltke himself would have scoffed at the idea that men could turn +themselves into birds to spy out the enemy's dispositions and save a +sorely menaced army. + +When this war has passed into history it will be recognized that its +greatest contributions to military science have been the development +and the use of aircraft and submarines. There have, of course, been +other features in the method of waging war which have been novel +either in themselves, or in the gigantic scale upon which they have +been employed. There is, for example, nothing new about trench +warfare. The American who desires to satisfy himself about that need +only to visit the Military Park at Vicksburg, or the country about +Petersburg or Richmond, to recognize that even fifty years ago our +soldiers understood the art of sheltering themselves from bullet and +shrapnel in the bosom of Mother Earth. The trench warfare in +Flanders, the Argonne, and around Verdun has been novel only in the +degree to which it has been developed and perfected. Concrete-lined +trenches, with spacious and well-furnished bomb-proofs, with +phonographs, printing presses, and occasional dramatic performances +for lightening the soldiers' lot present an impressive elaboration +of the muddy ditches of Virginia and Mississippi. Yet after all the +boys of Grant and Lee had the essentials of trench warfare well in +mind half a century before Germany, France, and England came to +grips on the long line from the North Sea to the Vosges. + +Asphyxiating gas, whether liberated from a shell, or released along +a trench front to roll slowly down before a wind upon its +defenders, was a novelty of this war. But in some degree it was +merely a development of the "stinkpot" which the Chinese have +employed for years. So too the tear-bomb, or lachrymatory bomb, +which painfully irritated the eyes of all in its neighbourhood when +it burst, filling them with tears and making the soldiers +practically helpless in the presence of a swift attack. These two +weapons of offence, and particularly the first, because of the +frightful and long-continuing agony it inflicts upon its victims, +fascinated the observer, and awakened the bitter protests of those +who held that an issue at war might be determined by civilized +nations without recourse to engines of death and anguish more +barbaric than any known to the red Indians, or the most savage +tribes of Asia. Neither of these devices, nor for that matter the +cognate one of fire spurted like a liquid from a hose upon a +shrinking enemy, can be shown to have had any appreciable effect +upon the fortunes of any great battle. Each, as soon as employed by +any one belligerent, was quickly seized by the adversary, and the +respiratory mask followed fast upon the appearance of the chlorine +gas. Whatever the outcome of the gigantic conflict may be, no one +will claim that any of these devices had contributed greatly to the +result. + +But the airplane revolutionized warfare on land. The submarine has +made an almost equal revolution in naval warfare. + +Had the airplane been known in the days of our Civil War some of its +most picturesque figures would have never risen to eminence or at +least would have had to win their places in history by efforts of an +entirely different sort. There is no place left in modern military +tactics for the dashing cavalry scout of the type of Sheridan, +Custer, Fitz Lee, or Forrest. The airplane, soaring high above the +lines of the enemy, brings back to headquarters in a few hours +information that in the old times took a detachment of cavalry days +to gather. The "screen of cavalry" that in bygone campaigns +commanders used to mask their movements no longer screens nor masks. +A general moves with perfect knowledge that his enemy's aircraft +will report to their headquarters his roads, his strength, and his +probable destination as soon as his vanguard is off. During the +Federal advance upon Richmond, Stonewall Jackson, most brilliant of +the generals of that war, repeatedly slipped away from the Federal +front, away from the spot where the Federal commanders confidently +supposed him to be, and was found days later in the Valley of the +Shenandoah, threatening Washington or menacing the Union rear and +its communications. The war was definitely prolonged by this +Confederate dash and elusiveness--none of which would have been +possible had the Union forces possessed an aviation corps. + +[Illustration: _A Battle in Mid-air._ + +(_Note rifleman on wing of airplane._) + +_From the painting by Lieutenant Farre._ + +Photo by Peter A. Juley.] + +It is yet to be shown conclusively that as offensive engines +aircraft have any great value. The tendency of the military +authorities of every side to minimize the damage they have suffered +makes any positive conclusion on this subject difficult and +dangerous at this moment. The airplane by day or the Zeppelin by +night appears swiftly and mysteriously, drops its bombs from a +height of several thousand feet, and takes its certain flight +through the boundless sky to safety. The aggressor cannot tell +whether his bombs have found a fitting target. He reports flaming +buildings left behind him, but whether they are munition factories, +theatres, or primary schools filled with little children he cannot +tell. Nor does he know how quickly the flames were extinguished, or +the amount of damage done. The British boast of successful air raids +upon Cuxhaven, Zeebrugge, Essen, and Friedrichshaven. But if we take +German official reports we must be convinced that the damage done +was negligible in its relation to the progress of the war. In their +turn the Germans brag mightily of the deeds of their Zeppelins over +London, and smaller British towns. But the sum and substance of +their accomplishment, according to the British reports, has been the +slaughter and mutilation of a number of civilians--mostly women and +children--and the bloody destruction of many humble working-class +homes. + +At this writing, December, 1917, it is not recorded that any +battleship, munition factory, any headquarters, great government +building, or fortress has been destroyed or seriously injured by the +activities of aircraft of either type. This lack of precise +information may be due to the censor rather than to any lack of +great deeds on the part of airmen. We do know of successful attacks +on submarines, though the military authorities are chary about +giving out the facts. But as scouts, messengers, and guides for +hidden batteries attacking unseen targets, aviators have compelled +the rewriting of the rules of military strategy. About this time, +however, it became apparent that the belligerents intended to +develop the battleplanes. Particularly was this true of the Allies. +The great measure of success won by the German submarines and the +apparent impossibility of coping adequately with those weapons of +death once they had reached the open sea, led the British and the +Americans to consider the possibility of destroying them in their +bases and destroying the bases as well. But Kiel and Wilhelmshaven +were too heavily defended to make an attack by sea seem at all +practicable. The lesser ports of Zeebrugge and Ostend had been +successfully raided from the air and made practically useless as +submarine bases. Discussion therefore was strong of making like +raids with heavier machines carrying heavier guns and dropping more +destructive bombs upon the two chief lurking places of the +submarines. While no conclusion had been reached as to this strategy +at the time of the publication of this book, both nations were busy +building larger aircraft probably for use in such an attack. + + * * * * * + +The submarine has exerted upon the progress of the war an influence +even more dominant than that of aircraft. It has been a positive +force both offensive and defensive. It has been Germany's only +potent weapon for bringing home to the British the privations and +want which war entails upon a civilian population, and at the same +time guarding the German people from the fullest result of the +British blockade. It is no overstatement to declare that but for the +German submarines the war would have ended in the victory of the +Allies in 1916. + +We may hark back to our own Civil War for an illustration of the +crushing power of a superior navy not qualified by any serviceable +weapon in the hands of the weaker power. + +Historians have very generally failed to ascribe to the Federal +blockade of Confederate ports its proportionate influence on the +outcome of that war. The Confederates had no navy. Their few naval +vessels were mere commerce destroyers, fleeing the ships of the +United States navy and preying upon unarmed merchantmen. With what +was rapidly developed into the most powerful navy the world had ever +seen, the United States Government from the very beginning of the +war locked the Confederate States in a wall of iron. None might pass +going in or out, except by stealth and at the peril of property and +life. Outside the harbour of every seaport in the control of the +Confederates the blockading men-of-war lurked awaiting the blockade +runners. Their vigilance was often eluded, of course, yet +nevertheless the number of cargoes that slipped through was +painfully inadequate to meet the needs of the fenced-in States. +Clothing, medicines, articles of necessary household use were denied +to civilians. Cannon, rifles, saltpetre, and other munitions of war +were withheld from the Confederate armies. While the ports of the +North were bustling with foreign trade, grass grew on the +cobble-stoned streets along the waterfronts of Charleston and +Savannah. Slow starvation aided the constant pounding of the +Northern armies in reducing the South to subjection. + +Had the Confederacy possessed but a few submarines of modern type +this situation could not have persisted. Then, as to-day, neutral +nations were eager to trade with both belligerents. There were then +more neutrals whose interests would have compelled the observance of +the laws of blockade, which in the present war are flagrantly +violated by all belligerents with impunity. A submarine raid which +would have sunk or driven away the blockading fleet at the entrance +to a single harbour would have resulted in opening that harbour to +the unrestricted uses of neutral ships until the blockade could be +re-established and formal notice given to all powers--a formality +which in those days, prior to the existence of cables, would have +entailed weeks, perhaps months, of delay. + +How serious such an interruption to the blockade was then considered +was shown by the trepidation of the Union naval authorities over the +first victories of the _Merrimac_ prior to the providential arrival +of the _Monitor_ in Hampton Roads. It was then thought that the +Confederate ram would go straight to Wilmington, Charleston, and +Savannah, destroy or drive away the blockaders, and open the +Confederacy to the trade of the world. + +Even then men dreamed of submarines, as indeed they have since the +days of the American Revolution. Of the slow development of that +engine of war to its present effectiveness we shall speak more fully +in later chapters. Enough now to say that had the Confederacy +possessed boats of the U-53 type the story of our Civil War might +have had a different ending. The device which the Allies have +adopted to-day of blockading a port or ports by posting their ships +several hundred miles away would have found no toleration among +neutrals none too friendly to the United States, and vastly stronger +in proportion to the power of this nation than all the neutrals +to-day are to the strength of the Allies. + +[Illustration: _Victory in the Clouds._ + +_Painting by John E. Whiting._] + +From the beginning of the Great War in Europe the fleets of the +Teutonic alliance were locked up in port by the superior floating +forces of the Entente. Such sporadic dashes into the arena of +conflict as the one made by the German High Fleet, bringing on the +Battle of Jutland, had but little bearing on the progress of the +war. But the steady, persistent malignant activity of the German +submarines had everything to do with it. They mitigated the +rigidity of the British blockade by keeping the blockaders far from +the ports they sought to seal. They preyed on the British fleets by +sinking dreadnoughts, battleships, and cruisers in nearly all of the +belligerent seas. If the British navy justified its costly power by +keeping the German fleet practically imprisoned in its fortified +harbours, the German submarines no less won credit and glory by +keeping even that overwhelming naval force restricted in its +movements, ever on guard, ever in a certain sense on the defensive. +And meanwhile these underwater craft so preyed upon British +foodships that in the days of the greatest submarine activity +England was reduced to husbanding her stores of food with almost as +great thrift and by precisely the same methods as did Germany +suffering from the British blockade. + +Aircraft and submarines! Twin terrors of the world's greatest war! +The development, though by no means the final development, of dreams +that men of many nations have dreamed throughout the centuries! They +are two of the outstanding features of the war; two of its legacies +to mankind. How much the legacy may be worth in peaceful times is +yet to be determined. The airplane and the dirigible at any rate +seem already to promise useful service to peaceful man. Already the +flier is almost as common a spectacle in certain sections of our +country as the automobile was fifteen years ago. The submarine, for +economic reasons, promises less for the future in the way of +peaceful service, notwithstanding the exploits of the _Deutschland_ +in the ocean-carrying trade. But perhaps it too will find its place +in industry when awakened man shall be willing to spend as much +treasure, as much genius, as much intelligent effort, and as much +heroic self-sacrifice in organizing for the social good as in the +last four years he has expended in its destruction. + + + + +CHAPTER II + +THE EARLIEST FLYING MEN + + +The conquest of the air has been the dream of mankind for uncounted +centuries. As far back as we have historic records we find stories +of the attempts of men to fly. The earliest Greek mythology is full +of aeronautical legends, and the disaster which befell Icarus and +his wings of wax when exposed to the glare of the midsummer sun in +Greece, is part of the schoolboy's task in Ovid. We find like +traditions in the legendary lore of the Peruvians, the East Indians, +the Babylonians, even the savage races of darkest Africa. In the +Hebrew scriptures the chief badge of sanctity conferred on God's +angels was wings, and the ability to fly. If we come down to the +mythology of more recent times we find our pious ancestors in New +England thoroughly convinced that the witches they flogged and +hanged were perfectly able to navigate the air on a broomstick--thus +antedating the Wrights' experiments with heavier-than-air machines +by more than 250 years. + +It is an interesting fact, stimulating to philosophical reflection, +that in the last decade more has been done toward the conquest of +the air, than in the twenty centuries preceding it, though during +all that period men had been dreaming, planning, and experimenting +upon contrivances for flight. Moreover when success came--or such +measure of success as has been won--it came by the application of an +entirely novel principle hardly dreamed of before the nineteenth +century. + +Some of the earlier efforts to master gravity and navigate the air +are worthy of brief mention if only to show how persistent were the +efforts from the earliest historic ages to accomplish this end. +Passing over the legends of the time of mythology we find that +many-sided genius, Leonardo da Vinci, early in the sixteenth +century, not content with being a painter, architect, sculptor, +engineer and designer of forts, offering drawings and specifications +of wings which, fitted to men, he thought would enable them to fly. +The sketches are still preserved in a museum at Paris. He modelled +his wings on those of a bat and worked them with ropes passing over +pulleys, the aviator lying prone, face downward, and kicking with +both arms and legs with the vigour of a frog. There is, unhappily, +no record that the proposition ever advanced beyond the literary +stage--certainly none that Da Vinci himself thus risked his life. +History records no one who kicked his way aloft with the Da Vinci +device. But the manuscript which the projector left shows that he +recognized the modern aviator's maxim, "There's safety in altitude." +He says, in somewhat confused diction: + + The bird should with the aid of the wind raise itself to a great + height, and this will be its safety; because although the + revolutions mentioned may happen there is time for it to recover + its equilibrium, provided its various parts are capable of strong + resistance so that they may safely withstand the fury and impetus + of the descent. + +[Illustration: _The Fall of the Boche._ + +_From the painting by Lieutenant Farre._ + +Photo by Peter A. Juley.] + +The fallacy that a man could, by the rapid flapping of wings of any +sort, overcome the force of gravity persisted up to a very recent +day, despite the complete mathematical demonstration by von +Helmholtz in 1878 that man could not possibly by his own muscular +exertions raise his own weight into the air and keep it suspended. +Time after time the "flapping wings" were resorted to by ambitious +aviators with results akin to those attained by Darius Green. One of +the earliest was a French locksmith named Besnier, who had four +collapsible planes on two rods balanced across his shoulders. These +he vigorously moved up and down with his hands and feet, the planes +opening like covers of a book as they came down, and closing as they +came up. Besnier made no attempt to raise himself from the ground, +but believed that once launched in the air from an elevation he +could maintain himself, and glide gradually to earth at a +considerable distance. It is said that he and one or two of his +students did in a way accomplish this. Others, however, +experimenting with the same method came to sorry disaster. Among +these was an Italian friar whom King James IV. of Scotland had made +Prior of Tongland. Equipped with a pair of large feather wings +operated on the Besnier principle, he launched himself from the +battlements of Stirling Castle in the presence of King James and +his court. But gravity was too much for his apparatus, and turning +over and over in mid-air he finally landed ingloriously on a manure +heap--at that period of nascent culture a very common feature of the +pleasure grounds of a palace. He had a soul above his fate however, +for he ascribed his fall not to vulgar mechanical causes, but wholly +to the fact that he had overlooked the proper dignity of flight by +pluming his wings with the feathers of common barn-yard fowl instead +of with plumes plucked from the wings of eagles! + +In sharp competition with the aspiring souls who sought to fly with +wings--the forerunners of the airplane devotees of to-day--were +those who tried to find some direct lifting device for a car which +should contain the aviators. Some of their ideas were curiously +logical and at the same time comic. There was, for example, a +priest, Le Pere Galien of Avignon. He observed that the rarified air +at the summit of the Alps was vastly lighter than that in the +valleys below. What then was to hinder carrying up empty sacks of +cotton or oiled silk to the mountain tops, opening them to the +lighter air of the upper ranges, and sealing them hermetically when +filled by it. When brought down into the valleys they would have +lifting power enough to carry tons up to the summits again. The good +Father's education in physics was not sufficiently advanced to warn +him that the effort to drag the balloons down into the valley would +exact precisely the force they would exert in lifting any load out +of the valley--if indeed they possessed any lifting power +whatsoever, which is exceedingly doubtful. + +Another project, which sounded logical enough, was based on the +irrefutable truth that as air has some weight--to be exact 14.70 +pounds for a column one inch square and the height of the earth's +atmosphere--a vacuum must be lighter, as it contains nothing, not +even air. Accordingly in the seventeenth century, one Francisco +Lana, another priest, proposed to build an airship supported by four +globes of copper, very thin and light, from which all the air had +been pumped. The globes were to be twenty feet in diameter, and were +estimated to have a lifting force of 2650 pounds. The weight of the +copper shells was put at 1030 pounds, leaving a margin of possible +weight for the car and its contents of 1620 pounds. It seemed at +first glance a perfectly reasonable and logical plan. Unhappily one +factor in the problem had been ignored. The atmospheric pressure on +each of the globes would be about 1800 tons. Something more than a +thin copper shell would be needed to resist this crushing force and +an adequate increase in the strength of the shells would so enhance +their weight as to destroy their lifting power. + +[Illustration: Lana's Vacuum Balloon.] + +To tell at length the stories of attempt and failure of the earliest +dabblers in aeronautics would be unprofitable and uninteresting. Not +until the eighteenth century did the experimenters with +lighter-than-air devices show any practical results. Not until the +twentieth century did the advocates of the heavier-than-air machines +show the value of their fundamental idea. The former had to discover +a gaseous substance actually lighter, and much lighter, than the +surrounding atmosphere before they could make headway. The latter +were compelled to abandon wholly the effort to imitate the flapping +of a bird's wings, and study rather the method by which the bird +adjusts the surface of its wings to the wind and soars without +apparent effort, before they could show the world any promising +results. + +Nearly every step forward in applied science is accomplished because +of the observation by some thoughtful mind of some common phenomenon +of nature, and the later application of those observations to some +useful purpose. + +It seems a far cry from an ancient Greek philosopher reposing +peacefully in his bath to a modern Zeppelin, but the connection is +direct. Every schoolboy knows the story of the sudden dash of +Archimedes, stark and dripping from his tub, with the triumphant cry +of "Eureka!"--"I have found it!" What he had found was the rule +which governed the partial flotation of his body in water. Most of +us observe it, but the philosophical mind alone inquired "Why?" +Archimedes' answer was this rule which has become a fundamental of +physics: "A body plunged into a fluid is subjected by this fluid to +a pressure from below to above equal to the weight of the fluid +displaced by the body." A balloon is plunged in the air--a fluid. If +it is filled with air there is no upward pressure from below, but if +it is filled with a gas lighter than air there is a pressure upward +equal to the difference between the weight of that gas and that of +an equal quantity of air. Upon that fact rests the whole theory and +practice of ballooning. + +The illustration of James Watt watching the steam rattle the cover +of a teapot and from it getting the rudimentary idea of the steam +engine is another case in point. Sometimes however the application +of the hints of nature to the needs of man is rather ludicrously +indirect. Charles Lamb gravely averred that because an early +Chinaman discovered that the flesh of a pet pig, accidentally +roasted in the destruction by fire of his owner's house, proved +delicious to the palate, the Chinese for years made a practice of +burning down their houses to get roast pig with "crackling." Early +experimenters in aviation observed that birds flapped their wings +and flew. Accordingly they believed that man to fly must have wings +and flap them likewise. Not for hundreds of years did they observe +that most birds flapped their wings only to get headway, or +altitude, thereafter soaring to great heights and distances merely +by adjusting the angle of their wings to the various currents of air +they encountered. + +In a similar way the earliest experimenters with balloons observed +that smoke always ascended. "Let us fill a light envelope with +smoke," said they, "and it will rise into the air bearing a burden +with it." All of which was true enough, and some of the first +balloonists cast upon their fires substances like sulphur and pitch +in order to produce a thicker smoke, which they believed had greater +lifting power than ordinary hot air. + +In the race for actual accomplishment the balloonists, the advocates +of lighter-than-air machines, took the lead at first. It is +customary and reasonable to discard as fanciful the various devices +and theories put forward by the experimenters in the Middle Ages and +fix the beginning of practical aeronautical devices with the +invention of hot-air balloons by the Montgolfiers, of Paris, in +1783. + +The Montgolfier brothers, Joseph and Jacques, were paper-makers of +Paris. The family had long been famous for its development of the +paper trade, and the many ingenious uses to which they put its +staple. Just as the tanners of the fabled town in the Middle Ages +thought there was "nothing like leather" with which to build its +walls and gates, thereby giving a useful phrase to literature, so +the Montgolfiers thought of everything in terms of paper. Sitting by +their big open fireplace one night, so runs the story, they noticed +the smoke rushing up the chimney. "Why not fill a big paper bag with +smoke and make it lift objects into the air?" cried one. The +experiment was tried next day with a small bag and proved a complete +success. A neighbouring housewife looked in, and saw the bag bumping +about the ceiling, but rapidly losing its buoyancy as the smoke +escaped. + +[Illustration: Montgolfier's Experimental Balloon.] + +"Why not fasten a pan below the mouth of the bag," said she, "and +put your fire in that? Its weight will keep the bag upright, and +when it rises will carry the smoke and the pan up with it." + +Acting upon the hint the brothers fixed up a small bag which sailed +up into the air beyond recapture. After various experiments a bag of +mixed paper and linen thirty-five feet in diameter was inflated and +released. It soared to a height of six thousand feet, and drifted +before the wind a mile or more before descending. The ascent took +place at Avonay, the home at the time of the Montgolfiers, and as +every sort of publicity was given in advance, a huge assemblage +including many officials of high estate gathered to witness it. A +roaring fire was built in a pit over the mouth of which eight men +held the great sack, which rolled, and beat about before the wind as +it filled and took the form of a huge ball. The crowd was +unbelieving and cynical, inclined to scoff at the idea that mere +smoke would carry so huge a construction up into the sky. But when +the signal was given to cast off, the balloon rose with a swiftness +and majesty that at first struck the crowd dumb, then moved it to +cheers of amazement and admiration. It went up six thousand feet and +the Montgolfiers were at once elevated to almost an equal height of +fame. The crowd which watched the experiment was wild with +enthusiasm; the Montgolfiers elated with the first considerable +victory over the force of gravity. They had demonstrated a principle +and made their names immortal. What remained was to develop that +principle and apply it to practical ends. That development, however, +proceeded for something more than a century before anything like a +practical airship was constructed. + +But for the moment the attack on the forces which had kept the air +virgin territory to man was not allowed to lag. In Paris public +subscriptions were opened to defray the cost of a new and greater +balloon. By this time it was known that hydrogen gas, or +"inflammable air" as it was then called, was lighter than air. But +its manufacture was then expensive and public aid was needed for the +new experiment which would call at the outset for a thousand pounds +of iron filings and 498 pounds of sulphuric acid wherewith to +manufacture the gas. + +The first experiment had been made in the provinces. This one was +set for Paris, and in an era when the French capital was +intellectually more alert, more eager for novelty, more interested +in the advancement of physical science and in new inventions than +ever in its long history of hospitality to the new idea. They began +to fill the bag August 23, 1783 in the _Place des Victoires_, but +the populace so thronged that square that two days later it was +moved half filled to Paris's most historic point, the _Champ de +Mars_. The transfer was made at midnight through the narrow dark +streets of mediaeval Paris. Eyewitnesses have left descriptions of +the scene. Torch-bearers lighted on its way the cortege the central +feature of which was the great bag, half filled with gas, flabby, +shapeless, monstrous, mysterious, borne along by men clutching at +its formless bulk. The state had recognized the importance of the +new device and cuirassiers in glittering breastplates on horseback, +and halbardiers in buff leather on foot guarded it in its transit +through the sleeping city. But Paris was not all asleep. An escort +of the sensation-loving rabble kept pace with the guards. The cries +of the quarters rose above the tramp of the armed men. Observers +have recorded that the passing cab drivers were so affected by +wonder that they clambered down from their boxes and with doffed +hats knelt in the highway while the procession passed. + +The ascension, which occurred two days later, was another moving +spectacle. In the centre of the great square which has seen so many +historic pageants, rose the swaying, quivering balloon, now filled +to its full capacity of twenty-two thousand feet. Whether from the +art instinct indigenous to the French, or some superstitious idea +like that which impels the Chinese to paint eyes on their junks, the +balloon was lavishly decorated in water colours, with views of +rising suns, whirling planets, and other solar bodies amongst which +it was expected to mingle. + +Ranks of soldiers kept the populace at a distance, while within the +sacred precincts strolled the King and the ladies and cavaliers of +his court treading all unconsciously on the brink of that red terror +soon to engulf the monarchy. The gas in the reeling bag was no more +inflammable than the air of Paris in those days just before the +Revolution. With a salvo of cannon the guy-ropes were released and +the balloon vanished in the clouds. + +Benjamin Franklin, at the moment representing in France the American +colonies then struggling for liberty, witnessed this ascension! "Of +what use is a new-born child?" he remarked sententiously as the +balloon vanished. 'Twas a saying worthy of a cautious philosopher. +Had Franklin been in Paris in 1914 he would have found the child, +grown to lusty manhood, a strong factor in the city's defence. It is +worth noting by the way that so alert was the American mind at that +period that when the news of the Montgolfiers' achievement reached +Philadelphia it found David Rittenhouse and other members of the +Philosophical Society already experimenting with balloons. + +[Illustration: _A Rescue at Sea._ + +_From the painting by Lieutenant Farre._ + +Photo by Peter A. Juley.] + +A curious sequel attended the descent of the Montgolfier craft which +took place in a field fifteen miles from Paris. Long before the days +of newspapers, the peasants had never heard of balloons, and this +mysterious object, dropping from high heaven into their peaceful +carrot patch affrighted them. Some fled. Others approached timidly, +armed with the normal bucolic weapons--scythes and pitchforks. +Attacked with these the fainting monster, which many took for a +dragon, responded with loud hisses and emitted a gas of unfamiliar +but most pestiferous odour. It suggested brimstone, which to the +devout in turn implied the presence of Satan. With guns, flails, and +all obtainable weapons they fell upon the emissary of the Evil One, +beat him to the ground, crushed out of him the vile-smelling breath +of his nostrils, and finally hitched horses to him and dragged him +about the fields until torn to tatters and shreds. + +When the public-spirited M. Charles who had contributed largely to +the cost of this experiment came in a day or two to seek his balloon +he found nothing but some shreds of cloth, and some lively legends +of the prowess of the peasants in demolishing the devil's own +dragon. + +The government, far-sightedly, recognizing that there would be more +balloons and useful ones, thereupon issued this proclamation for the +discouragement of such bucolic valour: + + A discovery has been made which the government deems it wise to + make known so that alarm may not be occasioned to the people. On + calculating the different weights of inflammable and common air + it has been found that a balloon filled with inflammable air will + rise toward heaven until it is in equilibrium with the + surrounding air; which may not happen till it has attained to a + great height. Anyone who should see such a globe, + resembling the moon in an eclipse, should be aware that far from + being an alarming phenomenon it is only a machine made of + taffetas, or light canvas covered with paper, that cannot + possibly cause any harm and which will some day prove serviceable + to the wants of society. + +Came now the next great step in the progress of aeronautics. It had +been demonstrated that balloons could lift themselves. They had even +been made to lift dumb animals and restore them to earth unhurt. But +if the conquest of the air was to amount to anything, men must go +aloft in these new machines. Lives must be risked to demonstrate a +theory, or to justify a calculation. Aeronautics is no science for +laboratory or library prosecution. Its battles must be fought in the +sky, and its devotees must be willing to offer their lives to the +cause. In that respect the science of aviation has been different +from almost any subject of inquiry that has ever engaged the +restless intellect of man, unless perhaps submarine navigation, or +the invention of explosives. It cannot be prosecuted except with a +perfect willingness to risk life. No doubt this is one of the +reasons why practical results seemed so long in the coming. Nor have +men been niggardly in this enforced sacrifice. Though no records of +assured accuracy are available, the names of forty-eight aeronauts +who gave up their lives in the century following the Montgolfiers' +invention are recorded. That record ended in 1890. How many have +since perished, particularly on the battlefields of Europe where +aircraft are as commonplace as cannon, it is too early yet to +estimate. + +[Illustration: Montgolfier's Passenger Balloon.] + +After the success of the ascension from the _Champ de Mars_, the +demand at once arose for an ascension by a human being. It was a +case of calling for volunteers. The experiments already made showed +clearly enough that the balloon would rise high in air. Who would +risk his life soaring one thousand feet or more above the earth, in +a flimsy bag, filled with hot air, or inflammable gas, without means +of directing its course or bringing it with certainty and safety +back to a landing place? It was a hard question, and it is +interesting to note that it was answered not by a soldier or sailor, +not by an adventurer, or devil-may-care spirit, but by a grave and +learned professor of physical science, Pilatre de Rozier. Presently +he was joined in his enterprise by a young man of the fashionable +world and sporting tastes, the Marquis d'Arlandes. Aristocratic +Paris took up aviation in the last days of the eighteenth century, +precisely as the American leisure class is taking it up in the first +days of the twentieth. + +The balloon for this adventure was bigger than its predecessors and +for the first time a departure was taken from the spherical +variety--the gas bag being seventy-four feet high, and forty-eight +feet in diameter. Like the first Montgolfier balloons it was to be +inflated with hot air, and the car was well packed with bundles of +fuel with which the two aeronauts were to fill the iron brazier when +its fires went down. The instinct for art and decoration, so strong +in the French mind, had been given full play by the constructors of +this balloon and it was painted with something of the gorgeousness +of a circus poster. + +A tremendous crowd packed the park near Paris whence the ascent was +made. Always the spectacle of human lives in danger has a morbid +attraction for curiosity seekers, and we have seen in our own days +throngs attracted to aviation congresses quite as much in the +expectation of witnessing some fatal disaster, as to observe the +progress made in man's latest conquest over nature. But in this +instance the occasion justified the widest interest. It was an +historic moment--more epoch-making than those who gathered in that +field in the environs of Paris could have possibly imagined. For in +the clumsy, gaudy bag, rolling and tossing above a smoky fire lay +the fundamentals of those great airships that, perfected by the +persistence of Count Zeppelin, have crossed angry seas, breasted +fierce winds, defied alike the blackest nights and the thickest fogs +to rain their messages of death on the capital of a foe. + +Contemporary accounts of this first ascension are but few, and those +that have survived have come down to us in but fragmentary form. It +was thought needful for two to make the ascent, for the car, or +basket, which held the fire hung below the open mouth of the bag, +and the weight of a man on one side would disturb the perfect +equilibrium which it was believed would be essential to a successful +flight. The Marquis d'Arlandes in a published account of the brief +flight, which sounds rather as if the two explorers of an unknown +element were not free from nervousness, writes: + +"Our departure was at fifty-four minutes past one, and occasioned +little stir among the spectators. Thinking they might be frightened +and stand in need of encouragement I waved my arm." + +This solicitude for the fears of the spectators, standing safely on +solid earth while the first aeronauts sailed skywards, is +characteristically Gallic. The Marquis continues: + + M. de Rozier cried: "You are doing nothing, and we are not + rising." I stirred the fire and then began to scan the river, + but Pilatre again cried: "See the river. We are dropping into + it!" We again urged the fire, but still clung to the river bed. + Presently I heard a noise in the upper part of the balloon, + which gave a shock as though it had burst. I called to my + companion: "Are you dancing?" The balloon by this time had many + holes burnt in it and using my sponge I cried that we must + descend. My companion however explained that we were over Paris + and must now cross it; therefore raising the fire once more we + turned south till we passed the Luxembourg, when, + extinguishing the flames, the balloon came down spent and + empty. + +If poor Pilatre played the part of a rather nervous man in this +narrative he had the nerve still to go on with his aeronautical +experiments to the point of death. In 1785 he essayed the crossing +of the English Channel in a balloon of his own design, in which he +sought to combine the principles of the gas and hot-air balloons. It +appears to have been something like an effort to combine +nitro-glycerine with an electric spark. At any rate the dense crowds +that thronged the coast near Boulogne to see the start of the +"Charles--Montgolfier"--as the balloon was named after the +originators of the rival systems--saw it, after half an hour's drift +out to sea, suddenly explode in a burst of flame. De Rozier and a +friend who accompanied him were killed. A monument still recalls +their fate, which however is more picturesquely recorded in the +signs of sundry inns and cafes of the neighbourhood which offer +refreshment in the name of _Les Aviateurs Perdus_. + +Thereafter experimenters with balloons multiplied amazingly. The +world thought the solution of the problem of flight had been found +in the gas bag. Within two months a balloon capable of lifting +eighteen tons and carrying seven passengers ascended three thousand +feet at Lyons, and, though sustaining a huge rent in the envelope, +because of the expansion of the gas at that height, returned to +earth in safety. The fever ran from France to England and in 1784, +only a year after the first Montgolfier experiments, Lunardi, an +Italian aeronaut made an ascension from London which was viewed by +King George III. and his ministers, among them William Pitt. But the +early enthusiasm for ballooning quickly died down to mere curiosity. +It became apparent to all that merely to rise into the air, there to +be the helpless plaything of the wind, was but a useless and futile +accomplishment. Pleasure seekers and mountebanks used balloons for +their own purposes, but serious experimenters at once saw that if +the invention of the balloon was to be of the slightest practical +value some method must be devised for controlling and directing its +flight. To this end some of the brightest intellects of the world +directed their efforts, but it is hardly overstating the case to say +that more than a century passed without any considerable progress +toward the development of a dirigible balloon. + +[Illustration: Charles's Balloon.] + +But even at the earlier time it was evident enough that the Quaker +philosopher, from the American Colonies, not yet the United States, +whose shrewd and inquiring disposition made him intellectually one +of the foremost figures of his day, foresaw clearly the great +possibilities of this new invention. In letters to Sir Joseph Banks, +then President of the Royal Society of London, Franklin gave a +lively account of the first three ascensions, together with some +comments, at once suggestive and humorous, which are worth quoting: + + Some think [he wrote of the balloon] Progressive Motion on the + Earth may be advanc'd by it, and that a Running Footman or a + Horse slung and suspended under such a Globe so as to have no + more of Weight pressing the Earth with their Feet than Perhaps + 8 or 10 Pounds, might with a fair Wind run in a straight Line + across Countries as fast as that Wind, and over Hedges, Ditches + and even Waters. It has been even fancied that in time People + will keep such Globes anchored in the Air to which by Pullies + they may draw up Game to be preserved in the Cool and Water to + be frozen when Ice is wanted. And that to get Money it will be + contriv'd, by running them up in an Elbow Chair a Mile high for + a guinea, etc., etc. + +With his New England lineage Franklin could hardly have failed of +this comparison: "A few Months since the Idea of Witches riding +through the Air upon a broomstick, and that of Philosophers upon a +Bag of Smoke would have appeared equally impossible and ridiculous." + +To-day when aircraft are the eyes of the armies in the greatest war +of history, and when it appears that, with the return of peace, the +conquest of the air for the ordinary uses of man will be swiftly +completed, Franklin's good-humoured plea for the fullest +experimentation is worth recalling. And the touch of piety with +which he concludes his argument is a delightful example of the +whimsical fashion in which he often undertook to bolster up a +mundane theory with a reference to things supernatural. + +[Illustration: _A French Observation Balloon on Fire._ + +(C) U. & U.] + + I am sorry this Experiment is totally neglected in England, where + mechanic Genius is so strong. I wish I could see the same + Emulation between the two Nations as I see between the two + Parties here. Your Philosophy seems to be too bashful. In this + Country we are not so much afraid of being laught at. If we do a + foolish thing, we are the first to laugh at it ourselves, and are + almost as much pleased with a _Bon Mot_ or a _Chanson_, that + ridicules well the Disappointment of a Project, as we might have + been with its success. It does not seem to me a good reason to + decline prosecuting a new Experiment which apparently increases + the power of Man over Matter, till we can see to what Use that + Power may be applied. When we have learnt to manage it, we may + hope some time or other to find Uses for it, as men have done for + Magnetism and Electricity, of which the first Experiments were + mere Matters of Amusement. + + This Experience is by no means a trifling one. It may be attended + with important Consequences that no one can foresee. We should + not suffer Pride to prevent our progress in Science. + + Beings of a Rank and Nature far superior to ours have not + disdained to amuse themselves with making and launching Balloons, + otherwise we should never have enjoyed the Light of those + glorious objects that rule our Day & Night, nor have had the + Pleasure of riding round the Sun ourselves upon the Balloon we + now inhabit. + + B. FRANKLIN. + +The earliest experimenters thought that oars might be employed to +propel and direct a balloon. The immediate failure of all endeavours +of this sort, led them, still pursuing the analogy between a balloon +and a ship at sea, to try to navigate the air with sails. This again +proved futile. It is impossible for a balloon, or airship to "tack" +or manoeuvre in any way by sail power. It is in fact a monster sail +itself, needing some other power than the wind to make headway or +steerage way against the wind. The sail device was tested only to be +abandoned. Only when a trail rope dragging along the ground or sea +is employed does the sail offer sufficient resistance to the wind to +sway the balloon's course this way or that. And a trailer is +impracticable when navigating great heights. + +[Illustration: Roberts Brothers' Dirigible.] + +For these reasons the development of the balloon lagged, until Count +Zeppelin and M. Santos-Dumont consecrated their fortunes, their +inventive minds, and their amazing courage to the task of perfecting +a dirigible. In a book, necessarily packed with information +concerning the rapid development of aircraft which began in the last +decade of the nineteenth century and was enormously stimulated +during the war of all the world, the long series of early +experiments with balloons must be passed over hastily. Though +interesting historically these experiments were futile. Beyond +having discovered what could _not_ be done with a balloon the +practitioners of that form of aeronautics were little further along +in 1898 when Count Zeppelin came along with the first plan for a +rigid dirigible than they were when Blanchard in 1786, seizing a +favourable gale drifted across the English Channel to the French +shore, together with Dr. Jefferies, an American. It was just 124 +years later that Bleriot, a Frenchman, made the crossing in an +airplane independently of favouring winds. It had taken a century +and a quarter to attain this independence. + +In a vague way the earliest balloonists recognized that power, +independent of wind, was necessary to give balloons steerage way and +direction. Steam was in its infancy during the early days of +ballooning, but the efforts to devise some sort of an engine light +enough to be carried into the air were untiring. Within a year after +the experiments of the Montgolfier brothers, the suggestion was made +that the explosion of small quantities of gun-cotton and the +expulsion of the resulting gases might be utilized in some fashion +to operate propelling machinery. Though the suggestion was not +developed to any useful point it was of interest as forecasting the +fundamental idea of the gas engines of to-day which have made +aviation possible--that is, the creation of power by a series of +explosions within the motor. + +In the effort to make balloons dirigible one of the first steps was +to change the form from the spherical or pear-shaped bag to a +cylindrical, or cigar-shape. This device was adopted by the brothers +Robert in France as early as 1784. Their balloon further had a +double skin or envelope, its purpose being partly to save the gas +which percolated through the inner skin, partly to maintain the +rigidity of the structure. As gas escapes from an ordinary balloon +it becomes flabby, and can be driven through the air only with +extreme difficulty. In the balloon of the Robert brothers air could +from time to time be pumped into the space between the two skins, +keeping the outer envelope always fully distended and rigid. In +later years this idea has been modified by incorporating in the +envelope one large or a number of smaller balloons or "balloonets," +into which air may be pumped as needed. + +The shape too has come to approximate that of a fish rather than a +bird, in the case of balloons at least. "The head of a cod and the +tail of a mackerel," was the way Marey-Monge, the French aeronaut +described it. Though most apparent in dirigible balloons, this will +be seen to be the favourite design for airplanes if the wings be +stripped off, and the body and tail alone considered. Complete, +these machines are not unlike a flying fish. + +In England, Sir George Cayley, as early as 1810 studied and wrote +largely on the subject of dirigibles but, though the English call +him the "father of British aeronautics," his work seems to have been +rather theoretical than practical. He did indeed demonstrate +mathematically that no lifting power existed that would support the +cumbrous steam-engine of that date, and tried to solve this dilemma +by devising a gas engine, and an explosive engine. With one of the +latter, driven by a series of explosions of gunpowder, each in a +separate cell set off by a detonator, he equipped a flying machine +which attained a sufficient height to frighten Cayley's coachman, +whom he had persuaded to act as pilot. The rather unwilling aviator, +fearing a loftier flight, jumped out and broke his leg. Though by +virtue of this martyrdom his name should surely have descended to +fame with that of Cayley it has been lost, together with all record +of any later performances of the machine, which unquestionably +embodied some of the basic principles of our modern aircraft, though +it antedated the first of these by nearly a century. + +[Illustration: Giffard's Dirigible.] + +We may pass over hastily some of the later experiments with dirigibles +that failed. In 1834 the Count de Lennox built an airship 130 feet +long to be driven by oars worked by man power. When the crowd that +gathered to watch the ascent found that the machine was too heavy to +ascend even without the men, they expressed their lively contempt for +the inventor by tearing his clothes to tatters and smashing his +luckless airship. In 1852, another Frenchman, Henry Giffard, built a +cigar-shaped balloon 150 feet long by 40 feet in diameter, driven by +steam. The engine weighed three hundred pounds and generated about 3 +H.-P.--about 1/200 as much power as a gas engine of equal weight would +produce. Even with this slender power, however, Giffard attained a +speed, independent of the wind, of from five to seven miles an +hour--enough at least for steerage way. This was really the first +practical demonstration of the possibilities of the mechanical +propulsion of balloons. Several adaptations of the Giffard idea +followed, and in 1883 Renard and Krebs, in a fusiform ship, driven by +an electric motor, attained a speed of fifteen miles an hour. By this +time inventive genius in all countries--save the United States which +lagged in interest in dirigibles--was stimulated. Germany and France +became the great protagonists in the struggle for precedence and in +the struggle two figures stand out with commanding prominence--the +Count von Zeppelin and Santos-Dumont, a young Brazilian resident in +Paris who without official countenance consecrated his fortune to, and +risked his life in, the service of aviation. + + + + +CHAPTER III + +THE SERVICES OF SANTOS-DUMONT + + +In his book _My Airships_ the distinguished aviator A. Santos-Dumont +tells this story of the ambition of his youth and its realization in +later days: + + I cannot say at what age I made my first kites, but I remember + how my comrades used to tease me at our game of "pigeon flies." + All the children gather round a table and the leader calls out + "Pigeon Flies! Hen flies! Crow flies! Bee flies!" and so on; and + at each call we were supposed to raise our fingers. Sometimes, + however, he would call out "Dog flies! Fox flies!" or some other + like impossibility to catch us. If any one raised a finger then + he was made to pay a forfeit. Now my playmates never failed to + wink and smile mockingly at me when one of them called "Man + flies!" for at the word I would always raise my finger very high, + as a sign of absolute conviction, and I refused with energy to + pay the forfeit. The more they laughed at me the happier I was, + hoping that some day the laugh would be on my side. + + Among the thousands of letters which I received after winning the + Deutsch prize (a prize offered in 1901 for sailing around the + Eiffel Tower) there was one that gave me peculiar pleasure. I + quote from it as a matter of curiosity: + + "Do you remember, my dear Alberto, when we played together + 'Pigeon Flies!'? It came back to me suddenly when the news of + your success reached Rio. 'Man flies!' old fellow! You were right + to raise your finger, and you have just proved it by flying round + the Eiffel Tower. + + "They play the old game now more than ever at home; but the + name has been changed, and the rules modified since October 19, + 1901. They call it now 'Man flies!' and he who does not raise his + finger at the word pays the forfeit." + +The story of Santos-Dumont affords a curious instance of a boy being +obsessed by an idea which as a man he carried to its successful +fruition. It offers also evidence of the service that may accrue to +society from the devotion of a dilettante to what people may call a +"fad," but what is in fact the germ of a great idea needing only an +enthusiast with enthusiasm, brains, and money for its development. +Because the efforts of Santos-Dumont always smacked of the amateur +he has been denied his real place in the history of aeronautics, +which is that of a fearless innovator, and a devoted worker in the +cause. + +Born on one of those great coffee plantations of Brazil, where all +is done by machinery that possibly can be, Santos-Dumont early +developed a passion for mechanics. In childhood he made toy +airplanes. He confesses that his favourite author was Jules Verne, +that literary idol of boyhood, who while writing books as wildly +imaginative as any dime tale of redskins, or nickel novel of the +doings of "Nick Carter" had none the less the spirit of prophecy +that led him to forecast the submarine, the automobile, and the +navigation of the air. At fifteen Santos-Dumont saw his first +balloon and marked the day with red. + +[Illustration: (C) U. & U. + +_A British Kite Balloon._ + +(_The open sack at the lower end catches the breeze and keeps the +balloon steady._)] + + I too desired to go ballooning [he writes]. In the long + sun-bathed Brazilian afternoons, when the hum of insects, + punctuated by the far-off cry of some bird lulled me, I would lie + in the shade of the veranda and gaze into the fair sky of Brazil + where the birds fly so high and soar with such ease on their + great outstretched wings; where the clouds mount so gaily in the + pure light of day, and you have only to raise your eyes to fall + in love with space and freedom. So, musing on the exploration of + the aerial ocean, I, too, devised airships and flying-machines in + my imagination. + +[Illustration: (C) U. & U. + +_A British "Blimp" Photographed from Above._] + +From dreaming, the boy's ambitions rapidly developed into actions. +Good South Americans, whatever the practice of their northern +neighbours, do not wait to die before going to Paris. At the age of +eighteen the youth found himself in the capital of the world. To his +amazement he found that the science of aeronautics, such as it was, +had stopped with Giffard's work in 1852. No dirigible was to be +heard of in all Paris. The antiquated gas ball was the only way to +approach the upper air. When the boy tried to arrange for an +ascension the balloonist he consulted put so unconscionable a price +on one ascent that he bought an automobile instead--one of the first +made, for this was in 1891--and with it returned to Brazil. It was +not until six years later that, his ambition newly fired by reading +of Andree's plans for reaching the Pole in a balloon, Santos-Dumont +took up anew his ambition to become an aviator. His own account of +his first ascent does not bear precisely the hall-mark of the +enthusiast too rapt in ecstasy to think of common things. "I had +brought up," he notes gravely, "a substantial lunch of hard-boiled +eggs, cold roast beef and chicken, cheese, ice cream, fruits and +cakes, champagne, coffee, and chartreuse!" + +The balloon with its intrepid voyagers nevertheless returned to +earth in safety. + +A picturesque figure, an habitue of the clubs and an eager +sportsman, Santos-Dumont at once won the liking of the French +people, and attracted attention wherever people gave thought to +aviation. Liberal in expenditure of money, and utterly fearless in +exposing his life, he pushed his experiments for the development of +a true dirigible tirelessly. Perhaps his major fault was that he +learned but slowly from the experiences of others. He clung to the +spherical balloon long after the impossibility of controlling it in +the air was accepted as unavoidable by aeronauts. But in 1898 having +become infatuated with the performances of a little sixty-six pound +tricycle motor he determined to build a cigar-shaped airship to fit +it, and with that determination won success. + +Amateur he may have been, was indeed throughout the greater part of +his career as an airman. Nevertheless Santos-Dumont has to his +credit two very notable achievements. + +He was the first constructor and pilot of a dirigible balloon that +made a round trip, that is to say returned to its starting place +after rounding a stake at some distance--in this instance the Eiffel +Tower, 3-1/2 miles from St. Cloud whence Santos-Dumont started and +whither he returned within half an hour, the time prescribed. + +This was not, indeed, the first occasion on which a round trip, +necessitating operation against the wind on at least one course, had +been made. In 1884 Captain Renard had accomplished this feat for the +first time with the fish-shaped balloon _La France_, driven by an +electric motor of nine horse-power. But though thus antedated in his +exploit, Santos-Dumont did in fact accomplish more for the +advancement and development of dirigible balloons. To begin with he +was able to use a new and efficient form of motor destined to become +popular, and capable, as the automobile manufacturers later showed, +of almost illimitable development in the direction of power and +lightness. Except for the gasoline engine, developed by the makers +of motor cars, aviation to-day would be where it was a quarter of a +century ago. + +Moreover by his personal qualities, no less than by his successful +demonstration of the possibilities inherent in the dirigible, +Santos-Dumont persuaded the French Government to take up aeronautics +again, after abandoning the subject as the mere fad of a number of +visionaries. + +Turning from balloons to airplanes the Brazilian was the first +aviator to make a flight with a heavier-than-air machine before a +body of judges. This triumph was mainly technical. The Wrights had +made an equally notable flight almost a year before but not under +conditions that made it a matter of scientific record. + +But setting aside for the time the work done by Santos-Dumont with +machines heavier than air, let us consider his triumphs with +balloons at the opening of his career. He had come to France about +forty years after Henry Giffard had demonstrated the practicability +of navigating a balloon 144 feet long and 34 feet in diameter with a +three-horse-power steam-engine. But no material success attended +this demonstration, important as it was, and the inventor turned his +attention to captive balloons, operating one at the Paris Exposition +of 1878 that took up forty passengers at a time. There followed +Captain Renard to whose achievement we have already referred. He had +laid down as the fundamentals of a dirigible balloon these +specifications: + + A cigar, or fishlike shape. + + An internal sack or ballonet into which air might be pumped to + replace any lost gas, and maintain the shape of the balloon. + + A keel, or other longitudinal brace, to maintain the longitudinal + stability of the balloon and from which the car containing the + motor might be hung. + + A propeller driven by a motor, the size and power of both to be + as great as permitted by the lifting power of the balloon. + + A rudder capable of controlling the course of the ship. + +Santos-Dumont adopted all of these specifications, but added to them +certain improvements which gave his airships--he built five of them +before taking his first prize--notable superiority over that of +Renard. To begin with he had the inestimable advantage of having the +gasoline motor. He further lightened his craft by having the +envelope made of Japanese silk, in flat defiance of all the builders +of balloons who assured him that the substance was too light and its +use would be suicidal. "All right," said the innovator to his +favourite constructor, who refused to build him a balloon of that +material, "I'll build it myself." In the face of this threat the +builder capitulated. The balloon was built, and the silk proved to +be the best fabric available at that time for the purpose. A keel +made of strips of pine banded together with aluminum wire formed the +backbone of the Santos-Dumont craft, and from it depended the car +about one quarter of the length of the balloon and hung squarely +amidships. The idea of this keel occurred to the inventor while +pleasuring at Nice. Later it saved his life. + +One novel and exceedingly simple device bore witness to the +ingenuity of the inventor. He had noticed in his days of free +ballooning that to rise the aeronaut had to throw out sand-ballast; +to descend he had to open the valves and let out gas. As his supply +of both gas and sand was limited it was clear that the time of his +flight was necessarily curtailed every time he ascended or +descended. Santos-Dumont thought to husband his supplies of lifting +force and of ballast, and make the motor raise and lower the ship. +It was obvious that the craft would go whichever way the bow might +be pointed, whether up or down. But how to shift the bow? The +solution seems so simple that one wonders it ever perplexed +aviators. From the peak of the bow and stern of his craft +Santos-Dumont hung long ropes caught in the centre by lighter ropes +by which they could be dragged into the car. In the car was carried +a heavy bag of sand, which so long as it was there held the ship in +a horizontal plane. Was it needful to depress the bow? Then the bow +rope was hauled in, the bag attached, and swung out to a position +where it would pull the forward tip of the delicately adjusted gas +bag toward the earth. If only a gentle inclination was desired the +bag was not allowed to hang directly under the bow, but was held at +a point somewhere between the car and the bow so that the pull would +be diagonal and the great cylinder would be diverted but little from +the horizontal. If it were desired to ascend, a like manipulation of +the ballast on the stern rope would depress the stern and point the +bow upwards. For slight changes in direction it was not necessary +even to attach the sand bag. Merely drawing the rope into the car +and thus changing the line of its "pull" was sufficient. + +The Deutsch prize which stimulated Santos-Dumont to his greatest +achievements with dirigibles was a purse of twenty thousand dollars, +offered by Mr. Henry Deutsch, a wealthy patron of the art of +aviation. Not himself an aviator, M. Deutsch greatly aided the +progress of the air's conquest. Convinced that the true solution of +the problem lay in development of the gasoline engine, he expended +large sums in developing and perfecting it. When he believed it was +sufficiently developed to solve the problem of directing the flight +of balloons he offered his prize for the circuit of the Eiffel +Tower. The conditions of the contest were not easy. The competitor +had to sail from the Aero Club at St. Cloud, pass twice over the +Seine which at that point makes an abrupt bend, sail over the Bois +de Boulogne, circle the Tower, and return to the stopping place +within a half an hour. The distance was about seven miles, and it is +noteworthy that in his own comment on the test Santos-Dumont +complains that that required an average speed of fifteen miles an +hour of which he could not be sure with his balloon. To-day +dirigibles make sixty miles an hour, and airplanes not infrequently +reach 130 miles. Moreover there could be no picking of a day on +which atmospheric conditions were especially good. Mr. Deutsch had +stipulated that the test must be made in the presence of a +Scientific Commission whose members must be notified twenty-four +hours in advance. None could tell twenty-four hours ahead what the +air might be like, and as for utilizing the aviator's most +favourable hour, the calm of the dawn, M. Santos-Dumont remarked: +"The duellist may call out his friends at that sacred hour, but not +the airship captain." + +The craft with which the Brazilian first strove to win the Deutsch +prize he called _Santos-Dumont No. V._ It was a cylinder, sharp at +both ends, 109 feet long and driven by a 12-horse-power motor. A new +feature was the use of piano wire for the support of the car, thus +greatly reducing the resistance of the air which in the case of the +old cord suspensions was almost as great as that of the balloon +itself. Another novel feature was water ballast tanks forward and +aft on the balloon itself and holding together twelve gallons. By +pulling steel wires in the car the aviator could open the +stop-cocks. The layman scarcely appreciates the very slight shift in +ballast which will affect the stability of a dirigible. The shifting +of a rope a few feet from its normal position, the dropping of two +handfuls of sand, or release of a cup of water will do it. A +humorous writer describing a lunch with Santos-Dumont in the air +says: "Nothing must be thrown overboard, be it a bottle, an empty +box or a chicken bone without the pilot's permission." + +After unofficial tests of his "No. 5" in one of which he circled the +Tower without difficulty, Santos-Dumont summoned the Scientific +Commission for a test. In ten minutes he had turned the Tower, and +started back against a fierce head-wind, which made him ten minutes +late in reaching the time-keepers. Just as he did so his engine +failed, and after drifting for a time his ship perched in the top of +a chestnut tree on the estate of M. Edmond Rothschild. Philosophical +as ever the aeronaut clung to his craft, dispatched an excellent +lunch which the Princess Isabel, Comtesse d'Eu, daughter of Dom +Pedro, the deposed Emperor of Brazil, sent to his eyrie in the +branches, and finally extricated himself and his balloon--neither +much the worse for the accident. He had failed but his determination +to win was only whetted. + +The second trial for the Deutsch prize like the first ended in +failure, but that failure was so much more dramatic even than the +success which attended the third effort that it is worth telling and +can best be told in M. Santos-Dumont's own words. The quotation is +from his memoir, _My Airships_: + + And now I come to a terrible day--8th of August, 1901. At 6:30 + A.M. in presence of the Scientific Commission of the Aero Club, I + started again for the Eiffel Tower. + + I turned the tower at the end of nine minutes and took my way + back to St. Cloud; but my balloon was losing hydrogen through one + of its two automatic gas valves whose spring had been + accidentally weakened. + + I had perceived the beginning of this loss of gas even before + reaching the Eiffel Tower, and ordinarily, in such an event, I + should have come at once to earth to examine the lesion. But here + I was competing for a prize of great honour and my speed had been + good. Therefore I risked going on. + + The balloon now shrunk visibly. By the time I had got back to the + fortifications of Paris, near La Muette, it caused the suspension + wires to sag so much that those nearest to the screw-propeller + caught in it as it revolved. + + I saw the propeller cutting and tearing at the wires. I stopped + the motor instantly. Then, as a consequence, the airship was at + once driven back toward the tower by the wind which was strong. + +[Illustration: Photo by International Film Service Co. + +_A Kite Balloon Rising from the Hold of a Ship._] + + At the same time I was falling. The balloon had lost much gas. I + might have thrown out ballast and greatly diminished the fall, + but then the wind would have time to blow me back on the Eiffel + Tower. I therefore preferred to let the airship go down as it was + going. It may have seemed a terrific fall to those who watched it + from the ground but to me the worst detail was the airship's lack + of equilibrium. The half-empty balloon, fluttering its empty end + as an elephant waves his trunk, caused the airship's stern to + point upward at an alarming angle. What I most feared therefore + was that the unequal strain on the suspension wires would break + them one by one and so precipitate me to the ground. + + Why was the balloon fluttering an empty end causing all this + extra danger? How was it that the rotary ventilator was not + fulfilling its purpose in feeding the interior air balloon and in + this manner swelling out the gas balloon around it? The answer + must be looked for in the nature of the accident. The rotary + ventilator stopped working when the motor itself stopped, and I + had been obliged to stop the motor to prevent the propeller from + tearing the suspension wires near it when the balloon first began + to sag from loss of gas. It is true that the ventilator which was + working at that moment had not proved sufficient to prevent the + first sagging. It may have been that the interior balloon refused + to fill out properly. The day after the accident when my balloon + constructor's man came to me for the plans of a "No. 6" balloon + envelope I gathered from something he said that the interior + balloon of "No. 5," not having been given time for its varnish to + dry before being adjusted, might have stuck together or stuck to + the sides or bottom of the outer balloon. Such are the rewards of + haste. + + I was falling. At the same time the wind was carrying me toward + the Eiffel Tower. It had already carried me so far that I was + expecting to land on the Seine embankment beyond the Trocadero. + My basket and the whole of the keel had already passed the + Trocadero hotels, and had my balloon been a spherical one it + would have cleared the building. But now at the last critical + moment, the end of the long balloon that was still full of gas + came slapping down on the roof just before clearing it. It + exploded with a great noise; struck after being blown up. This + was the terrific explosion described in the newspaper of the day. + + I had made a mistake in my estimate of the wind's force, by a few + yards. Instead of being carried on to fall on the Seine + embankment, I now found myself hanging in my wicker basket high + up in the courtyard of the Trocadero hotels, supported by my + airship's keel, that stood braced at an angle of about forty-five + degrees between the courtyard wall above and the roof of a lower + construction farther down. The keel, in spite of my weight, that + of the motor and machinery, and the shock it had received in + falling, resisted wonderfully. The thin pine scantlings and piano + wires of Nice (the town where the idea of a keel first suggested + itself) had saved my life! + + After what seemed tedious waiting, I saw a rope being lowered to + me from the roof above. I held to it and was hauled up, when I + perceived my rescuers to be the brave firemen of Paris. From + their station at Passy they had been watching the flight of the + airship. They had seen my fall and immediately hastened to the + spot. Then, having rescued me, they proceeded to rescue the + airship. + + The operation was painful. The remains of the balloon envelope + and the suspension wires hung lamentably; and it was impossible + to disengage them except in strips and fragments! + +The later balloon "No. VI." with which Santos-Dumont won the Deutsch +prize may fairly be taken as his conception of the finished type of +dirigible for one man. In fact his aspirations never soared as high +as those of Count Zeppelin, and the largest airship he ever +planned--called "the _Omnibus_"--carried only four men. It is +probable that the diversion of his interest from dirigibles to +airplanes had most to do with his failure to carry his development +further than he did. "No. VI." was 108 feet long, and 20 feet in +diameter with an eighteen-horse-power gasoline engine which could +drive it at about nineteen miles an hour. Naturally the aeronaut's +first thought in his new construction was of the valves. The memory +of the anxious minutes spent perched on the window-sill of the +Trocadero Hotel or dangling like a spider at the end of the +firemen's rope were still fresh. The ballonet which had failed him +in "No. V." was perfected in its successor. Notwithstanding the care +with which she was constructed the prize-winner turned out to be a +rather unlucky ship. On her trial voyage she ran into a tree and was +damaged, and even on the day of her greatest conquest she behaved +badly. The test was made on October 1, 1901. The aeronaut had +rounded the Tower finely and was making for home when the motor +began to miss and threatened to stop altogether. While Santos-Dumont +was tinkering with the engine, leaving the steering wheel to itself, +the balloon drifted over the Bois de Boulogne. As usual the cool air +from the wood caused the hydrogen in the balloon to contract and the +craft dropped until it appeared the voyage would end in the tree +tops. Hastily shifting his weights the aeronaut forced the prow of +the ship upwards to a sharp angle with the earth. Just at this +moment the reluctant engine started up again with such vigour that +for a moment the ship threatened to assume a perpendicular position, +pointing straight up in the sky. A cry went up from the spectators +below who feared a dire catastrophe was about to end a voyage which +promised success. But with incomparable _sang-froid_ the young +Brazilian manipulated the weights, restored the ship to the +horizontal again without stopping the engines, and reached the +finishing stake in time to win the prize. Soon after it was awarded +him the Brazilian Government presented him with another substantial +prize, together with a gold medal bearing the words: _Por ceos nunca +d'antes navegados_ ("Through heavens hitherto unsailed"). + +In a sense the reference to the heavens is a trifle over-rhetorical. +Santos-Dumont differed from all aviators (or pilots of airplanes) +and most navigators of dirigibles in always advocating the strategy +of staying near the ground. In his flights he barely topped the +roofs of the houses, and in his writings he repeatedly refers to the +sense of safety that came to him when he knew he was close to the +tree tops of a forest. This may have been due to the fact that in +his very first flight in a dirigible he narrowly escaped a fatal +accident due to flying too high. As he descended, the gas which had +expanded now contracted. The balloon began to collapse in the +middle. Cords subjected to unusual stress began to snap. The air +pump, which should have pumped the ballonet full of air to keep the +balloon rigid failed to work. Seeing that he was about to fall into +a field in which his drag rope was already trailing the imperilled +airman had a happy thought. Some boys were there flying kites. He +shouted to them to seize his rope and run against the wind. The +balloon responded to the new force like a kite. The rapidity of its +fall was checked, and its pilot landed with only a serious shaking. + +But thereafter Santos-Dumont preached the maxim--rare among +airmen--"Keep near the ground. That way lies safety!" Most aviators +however, prefer the heights of the atmosphere, as the sailor prefers +the wide and open sea to a course near land. + +After winning the Deutsch prize, Santos-Dumont continued for a time +to amuse himself with dirigibles. I say "amuse" purposely, for never +did serious aeronaut get so much fun out of a rather perilous +pastime as he. In his "No. IX." he built the smallest dirigible +ever known. The balloon had just power enough to raise her pilot and +sixty-six pounds more beside a three-horse-power motor. But she +attained a speed of twelve miles an hour, was readily handled, and +it was her owner's dearest delight to use her for a taxicab, calling +for lunch at the cafes in the Bois, and paying visits to friends +upon whom he looked in, literally, at their second-story windows. He +ran her in and out of her hangar as one would a motor-car from its +garage. One day he sailed down the Avenue des Champs Elysees at the +level of the second-and third-story windows of the palaces that line +that stately street. Coming to his own house he descended, made +fast, and went in to _dejeuner_, leaving his aerial cab without. In +the city streets he steered mainly by aid of a guide rope trailing +behind him. With this he turned sharp corners, went round the Arc de +Triomphe, and said: "I might have guide-roped under it had I thought +myself worthy." On occasion he picked up children in the streets and +gave them a ride. + +Though before losing his interest in dirigibles Santos-Dumont +carried the number of his construction up to ten, he cannot be said +to have devised any new and useful improvements after his "No. VI." +The largest of his ships was "No. X.," which had a capacity of +eighty thousand cubic feet--about ten times the size of the little +runabout with which he played pranks in Paris streets. In this +balloon he placed partitions to prevent the gas shifting to one part +of the envelope, and to guard against losing it all in the event of +a tear. The same principle was fundamental in Count Zeppelin's +airships. In 1904 he brought a dirigible to the United States +expecting to compete for a prize at the St. Louis Exposition. But +while suffering exasperating delay from the red-tape which +enveloped the exposition authorities, he discovered one morning that +his craft had been mutilated almost beyond repair in its storage +place. In high dudgeon he left at once for Paris. The explanation of +the malicious act has never been made clear, though many Americans +had an uneasy feeling that the gallant and sportsman-like Brazilian +had been badly treated in our land. On his return to Paris he at +once began experimenting with heavier-than-air machines. Of his work +with them we shall give some account later. + +Despite his great personal popularity the airship built by +Santos-Dumont never appealed to the French military authorities. +Probably this was largely due to the fact that he never built one of +a sufficient size to meet military tests. The amateur in him was +unconquerable. While von Zeppelin's first ship was big enough to +take the air in actual war the Frenchman went on building craft for +one or two men--good models for others to seize and build upon, but +nothing which a war office could actually adopt. But he served his +country well by stimulating the creation of great companies who +built largely upon the foundations he had laid. + +First and greatest of these was the company formed by the Lebaudy +Brothers, wealthy sugar manufacturers. Their model was semi-rigid, +that is, provided with an inflexible keel or floor to the gas bag, +which was cigar shaped. The most successful of the earlier ships was +190 feet long, with a car suspended by cables ten feet below the +balloon and carrying the twin motors, together with passengers and +supplies. Although it made many voyages without accident, it finally +encountered what seems to be the chief peril of dirigible balloons, +being torn from its moorings at Chalons and dashed against trees to +the complete demolition of its envelope. Repaired in eleven weeks +she was taken over by the French Department of War, and was in +active service at the beginning of the war. Her two successors on +the company's building ways were less fortunate. _La Patrie_, after +many successful trips, and manoeuvres with the troops, was +insecurely moored at Verdun, the famous fortress where she was to +have been permanently stationed. Came up a heavy gale. Her anchors +began to drag. The bugles sounded and the soldiers by hundreds +rushed from the fort to aid. Hurled along by the wind she dragged +the soldiers after her. Fearing disaster to the men the commandant +reluctantly ordered them to let go. The ship leaped into the black +upper air and disappeared. All across France, across that very +country where in 1916 the trenches cut their ugly zigzags from the +Channel to the Vosges, she drifted unseen. By morning she was flying +over England and Wales. Ireland caught a glimpse of her and days +thereafter sailors coming into port told of a curious yellow mass, +seemingly flabby and disintegrating like the carcass of a whale, +floating far out at sea. + +Her partner ship _La Republique_ had a like tragic end. She too made +many successful trips, and proved her stability and worth. But one +day while manoeuvring near Paris one of her propellers broke and +tore a great rent in her envelope. As the _Titanic_, her hull ripped +open by an iceberg, sunk with more than a thousand of her people, so +this airship, wounded in a more unstable element, fell to the ground +killing all on board. + +Two airships were built in France for England in 1909. One, the +_Clement-Bayard II._, was of the rigid type and built for the +government; the other, a _Lebaudy_, was non-rigid and paid for by +popular subscriptions raised in England by the _Morning Post_. Both +were safely delivered near London having made their voyages of +approximately 242 miles each at a speed exceeding forty miles an +hour. These were the first airships acquired for British use. + +In the United States the only serious effort to develop the +dirigible prior to the war, and to apply it to some definite +purpose, was made not by the government but by an individual. Mr. +Walter Wellman, a distinguished journalist, fired by the effort of +Andree to reach the North Pole in a drifting balloon, undertook a +similar expedition with a dirigible in 1907. A balloon was built 184 +feet in length and 52 feet in diameter, and was driven by a +seventy-to eighty-horse-power motor. A curious feature of this craft +was the guide rope or, as Wellman called it, the equilibrator, which +was made of steel, jointed and hollow. At the lower end were four +steel cylinders carrying wheels and so arranged that they would +float on water or trundle along over the roughest ice. The idea was +that the equilibrator would serve like a guide rope, trailing on the +water or ice when the balloon hung low, and increasing the power of +its drag if the balloon, rising higher, lifted a greater part of its +length into the air. Wellman had every possible appliance to +contribute to the safety of the airship, and many believe that had +fortune favoured him the glory of the discovery of the Pole would +have been his. Unhappily he encountered only ill luck. One season he +spent at Dane's Island, near Spitzenberg whence Andree had set sail, +waiting vainly for favourable weather conditions. The following +summer, just as he was about to start, a fierce storm destroyed his +balloon shed and injured the balloon. Before necessary repairs could +be accomplished Admiral Peary discovered the Pole and the purpose +of the expedition was at an end. Wellman, however, had become deeply +interested in aeronautics and, balked in one ambition, set out to +accomplish another. With the same balloon somewhat remodelled he +tried to cross the Atlantic, setting sail from Atlantic City, N. J., +October 16, 1911. But the device on which the aeronaut most prided +himself proved his undoing. The equilibrator, relied upon both for +storage room and as a regulator of the altitude of the ship, proved +a fatal attachment. In even moderate weather it bumped over the +waves and racked the structure of the balloon with its savage +tugging until the machinery broke down and the adventurers were at +the mercy of the elements. Luckily for them after they had been +adrift for seventy-two hours, and travelled several hundred miles +they were rescued by the British steamer _Trent_. Not long after +Wellman's chief engineer Vanniman sought to cross the Atlantic in a +similar craft but from some unexplained cause she blew up in mid-air +and all aboard were lost. + +Neither Great Britain nor the United States has reason to be proud +of the attitude of its government towards the inventors who were +struggling to subdue the air to the uses of man. Nor has either +reason to boast much of its action in utterly ignoring up to the +very day war broke that aid to military service of which Lord +Kitchener said, "One aviator is worth a corps of cavalry." It will +be noted that to get its first effective dirigible Great Britain had +to rely upon popular subscriptions drummed up by a newspaper. That +was in 1909. To-day, in 1917, the United States has only one +dirigible of a type to be considered effective in the light of +modern standards, though our entrance upon the war has caused the +beginning of a considerable fleet. In aviation no less than in +aerostatics the record of the United States is negligible. Our +country did indeed produce the Wright Brothers, pioneers and true +conquerors of the air with airplanes. But even they were forced to +go to France for support and indeed for respectful attention. + +So far as the development of dirigible balloons is concerned there +is no more need to devote space to what was done in England and the +United States than there was for the famous chapter on Snakes in +Iceland. + + + + +CHAPTER IV + +THE COUNT VON ZEPPELIN + + +The year that witnessed the first triumphs of Santos-Dumont saw also +the beginning of the success of his great German rival, the Count +von Zeppelin. These two daring spirits, struggling to attain the +same end, were alike in their enthusiasm, their pertinacity, and +their devotion to the same cause. Both were animated by the highest +patriotism. Santos-Dumont offered his fleet to France to be used +against any nation except those of the two Americas. He said: "It is +in France that I have met with all my encouragement; in France and +with French material I have made all my experiments. I excepted the +two Americas because I am an American." + +Count Zeppelin for his part, when bowed down in apparent defeat and +crushed beneath the burden of virtual bankruptcy, steadily refused +to deal with agents of other nations than Germany--which at that +time was turning upon him the cold shoulder. He declared that his +genius had been exerted for his own country alone, and that his +invention should be kept a secret from all but German authorities. A +secret it would be to-day, except that accident and the fortunes of +war revealed the intricacies of the Zeppelin construction to both +France and England. + +Santos-Dumont had the fire, enthusiasm, and resiliency of youth; +Zeppelin, upon whom age had begun to press when first he took up +aeronautics, had the dogged pertinacity of the Teuton. Both were +rich at the outset, but Zeppelin's capital melted away under the +demands of his experimental workshops, while the ancestral coffee +lands of the Brazilian never failed him. + +Of the two Zeppelin had the more obstinacy, for he held to his plan +of a rigid dirigible balloon even in face of its virtual failure in +the supreme test of war. Santos-Dumont was the more alert +intellectually for he was still in the flood tide of successful +demonstration with his balloons when he saw and grasped the promise +of the airplane and shifted his activities to that new field in +which he won new laurels. + +Zeppelin won perhaps the wider measure of immediate fame, but +whether enduring or not is yet to be determined. His airships +impressive, even majestic as they are, have failed to prove their +worth in war, and are yet to be fully tested in peace. That they +remain a unique type, one which no other individual nor any other +nation has sought to copy, cannot be attributed wholly to the +jealousy of possible rivals. If the monster ship, of rigid frame, +were indeed the ideal form of dirigible it would be imitated on +every hand. The inventions of the Wrights have been seized upon, +adapted, improved perhaps by half a hundred airplane designers of +every nation. But nobody has been imitating the Zeppelins. + +[Illustration: _The Giant and the Pigmies._ + +_Painting by John E. Whiting._] + +That, however, is a mere passing reflection. If the Zeppelin has not +done all in war that the sanguine German people expected of it, +nevertheless it is not yet to be pronounced an entire failure. And +even though a failure in war, the chief service for which its +stout-hearted inventor designed it, there is still hope that it may +ultimately prove better adapted to many ends of peace than the +airplanes which for the time seem to have outdone it. + +Stout-hearted indeed the old _Luftgraaf_--"Air Scout"--as the +Germans call him, was. His was a Bismarckian nature, reminiscent of +the Iron Chancellor alike physically and mentally. In appearance he +recalls irresistibly the heroic figure of Bismarck, jack-booted and +cuirassed at the Congress of Vienna, painted by von Werner. Heir to +an old land-owning family, ennobled and entitled to bear the title +_Landgraf_, Count von Zeppelin was a type of the German aristocrat. +But for his title and aristocratic rank he could never have won his +long fight for recognition by the bureaucrats who control the German +army. In youth he was anti-Prussian in sentiment, and indeed some of +his most interesting army experiences were in service with the army +of South Germany against Prussia and her allied states. But all that +was forgotten in the national unity that followed the defeat of +France in 1872. + +Before that, however, the young count--he was born in 1838--had +served with gallantry, if not distinction, in the Union Army in our +Civil War, had made a balloon ascension on the fighting line, had +swum in the Niagara River below the falls, being rescued with +difficulty, and together with two Russian officers and some Indian +guides had almost starved in trying to discover the source of the +Mississippi River--a spot which can now be visited without +undergoing more serious hardships than the upper berth in a Pullman +car. + +It was at the siege of Paris that Zeppelin's mind first became +engaged with the problem of aerial navigation. From his post in the +besieging trenches he saw the almost daily ascent of balloons in +which mail was sent out, and persons who could pay the price sought +to escape from the beleaguered city. As a colonel of cavalry, he +had been employed mainly in scouting duty throughout the war. He was +impressed now with the conviction that those globes, rising silently +into the air, above the enemy's cannon shot and drifting away to +safety would be the ideal scouts could they but return with their +intelligence. Was there no way of guiding these ships in the air, as +a ship in the ocean is guided? The young soldier was hardly home +from the war when he began to study the problem. He studied it +indeed so much to the exclusion of other military matters that in +1890 the General Staff abruptly dismissed him from his command. They +saw no reason why a major-general of cavalry should be mooning +around with balloons and kites like a schoolboy. + +The dismissal hurt him, but deterred him in no way from the purpose +of his life. Indeed the fruit of his many years' study of aeronautic +conditions was ready for the gathering at this very moment. On the +surface of the picturesque Lake Constance, on the border line +between Germany and Switzerland, floated a huge shed, open to the +water and more than five hundred feet long. In it, nearing +completion, floated the first Zeppelin airship. + +In the long patient study which the Count had given to his problem +he had reached the fixed conclusion that the basis of a practical +dirigible balloon must be a rigid frame over which the envelope +should be stretched. His experiments were made at the same time as +those of Santos-Dumont, and he could not be ignorant of the measure +of success which the younger man was attaining with the non-rigid +balloon. But it was a fact that all the serious accidents which +befell Santos-Dumont and most of the threatened accidents which he +narrowly escaped were fundamentally caused by the lack of rigidity +in his balloon. The immediate cause may have been a leaky valve +permitting the gas to escape, or a faulty air-pump which made prompt +filling of the ballonet impossible. But the effect of these flaws +was to deprive the balloon of its rigidity, cause it to buckle, +throwing the cordage out of gear, shifting stresses and strains, +and resulting in ultimate breakdown. + +Whether he observed the vicissitudes of his rival or not, Count +Zeppelin determined that the advantages of a rigid frame counted for +more than the disadvantage of its weight. Moreover that disadvantage +could be compensated for by increasing the size, and therefore the +lifting power of the balloon. In determining upon a rigid frame the +Count was not a pioneer even in his own country. While his +experiments were still under way, a rival, David Schwartz, who had +begun, without completing, an airship in St. Petersburg, secured in +some way aid from the German Government, which was at the moment +coldly repulsing Zeppelin. He planned and built an aluminum airship +but died before its completion. His widow continued the work amidst +constant opposition from the builders. The end was one of the many +tragedies of invention. Nobody but the widow ever believed the ship +would rise from its moorings. It was in charge of a man who had +never made an ascent. To his amazement and to the amazement of the +spectators the engine was hardly started when the ship mounted and +made headway against a stiff breeze. On the ground the spectators +shouted in wonder; the widow, overwhelmed by this reward for her +faith in her husband's genius, burst into tears of joy. But the +amateur pilot was no match for the situation. Affrighted to find +himself in mid-air, too dazed to know what to do, he pulled the +wrong levers and the machine crashed to earth. The pilot escaped, +but the airship which had taken four years to build was +irretrievably wrecked. The widow's hopes were blasted, and the way +was left free for the Count von Zeppelin. + +Freed, though unwillingly, from the routine duties of his military +rank, Zeppelin thereafter devoted himself wholly to his airships. He +was fifty-three years old, adding one more to the long list of men +who found their real life's work after middle age. With him was +associated his brother Eberhard, the two forming a partnership in +aeronautical work as inseparable as that of Wilbur and Orville +Wright. Like Wilbur Wright, Eberhard von Zeppelin did not live to +witness the fullest fruition of the work, though he did see the +soundness of its principles thoroughly established and in practical +application. There is a picturesque story that when Eberhard lay on +his death-bed his brother, instead of watching by his side, took the +then completed airship from its hangar, and drove it over and around +the house that the last sounds to reach the ears of his faithful +ally might be the roar of the propellers in the air--the grand paean +of victory. + +[Illustration: Photo by Press Illustrating Service. + +_A French "Sausage"._] + +Though Count von Zeppelin had begun his experiments in 1873 it was +not until 1890 that he actually began the construction of his first +airship. The intervening years had been spent in constructing and +testing models, in abstruse calculations of the resistance of the +air, the lifting power of hydrogen, the comparative rigidity and +weight of different woods and various metals, the power and weight +of the different makes of motors. In these studies he spent both his +time and his money lavishly, with the result that when he had built +a model on the lines of which he was willing to risk the +construction of an airship of operative size, his private fortune +was gone. It is the common lot of inventors. For a time the Count +suffered all the mortification and ignominy which the beggar, even +in a most worthy cause, must always experience. Hat in hand he +approached every possible patron with his story of certain success +if only supplied with funds with which to complete his ship. A +stock company with a capital of $225,000 of which he contributed one +half, soon found its resources exhausted and retired from the +speculation. Appeals to the Emperor met with only cold indifference. +An American millionaire newspaper owner, resident in Europe, sent +contemptuous word by his secretary that he "had no time to bother +with crazy inventors." That was indeed the attitude of the business +classes at the moment when the inventors of dirigibles were on the +very point of conquering the obstacles in the way of making the +navigation of air a practical art. A governmental commission at +Berlin rejected with contempt the plans which Zeppelin presented in +his appeal for support. Members of that commission were forced to an +about-face later and became some of the inventor's sturdiest +champions. But in his darkest hour the government failed him, and +the one friendly hand stretched out in aid was that of the German +Engineers' Society which, somewhat doubtfully, advanced some funds +to keep the work in operation. + +[Illustration: (C) U. & U. + +_A British "Blimp"._] + +With this the construction of the first Zeppelin craft was begun. +Though there had been built up to the opening of the war twenty-five +"Zeps"--nobody knows how many since--the fundamental type was not +materially altered in the later ones, and a description of the first +will stand for all. In connection with this description may be noted +the criticisms of experts some of which proved only too well +founded. + +The first Zeppelin was polygonal, 450 feet long, 78 broad, and 66 +feet high. This colossal bulk, equivalent to that of a 7500-ton +ship necessary to supply lifting power for the metallic frame, +naturally made her unwieldy to handle, unsafe to leave at rest, +outside of a sheltering shed, and a particularly attractive target +for artillery in time of war. Actual action indeed proved that to be +safe from the shells of anti-aircraft guns, the Zeppelins were +forced to fly so high that their own bombs could not be dropped with +any degree of accuracy upon a desired target. + +The balloon's frame is made of aluminum, the lightest of metals, but +not the least costly. A curious disadvantage of this construction +was made apparent in the accident which destroyed _Zeppelin IV._ +That was the first of the airships to be equipped with a full +wireless outfit which was used freely on its flight. It appeared +that the aluminum frame absorbed much of the electricity generated +for the purpose of the wireless. The effect of this was two-fold. It +limited the radius of operation of the wireless to 150 miles or +less, and it made the metal frame a perilous storehouse of +electricity. When _Zeppelin IV._ met with a disaster by a storm +which dragged it from its moorings, the stored electricity in her +frame was suddenly released by contact with the trees and set fire +to the envelope, utterly destroying the ship. + +The balloon frame was divided into seventeen compartments, each of +which held a ballonet filled with hydrogen gas. The purpose of this +was similar to the practice of dividing a ship's hulls into +compartments. If one or more of the ballonets, for any reason, were +injured the remainder would keep the ship afloat. The space between +the ballonets and the outer skin was pumped full of air to keep the +latter taut and rigid. Moreover it helped to prevent the radiation +of heat to the gas bags from the outer envelope whose huge expanse, +presented to the sun, absorbed an immense amount of heat rays. + +Two cars were suspended from the frame of the Zeppelin, forward and +aft, and a corridor connected them. A sliding weight was employed +to raise or depress the bow. In each car of the first Zeppelin was +a sixteen-horse-power gasoline motor, each working two screws, with +four foot blades, revolving one thousand times a minute. The engines +were reversible, thus making it possible to work the propellers +against each other and aid materially in steering the ship. Rudders +at bow and stern completed the navigating equipment. + +In the first Zeppelins, the corridor connecting the two cars was +wholly outside the frame and envelope of the car. Later the perilous +experiment was tried of putting it within the envelope. This +resulted in one of the most shocking of the many Zeppelin disasters. +In the case of the ship _L-II._, built in 1912, the corridor became +filled with gas that had oozed out of the ballonets. At one end or +the other of the corridor this gas, then mixed with air, came in +contact with fire,--perhaps the exhaust of the engines,--a violent +explosion followed while the ship was some nine hundred feet aloft, +and the mass of twisted and broken metal, with the flaming envelope, +fell to the ground carrying twenty-eight men, including members of +the Admiralty Board, to a horrible death. + +But to return to the first Zeppelin. Her trial was set for July 2, +1900, and though the immediate vicinity of the floating hangar was +barred to the public by the military authorities, the shores and +surface of the lake were black with people eager to witness the +test. Boats pulled out of the wide portal the huge cigar-shaped +structure, floating on small rafts, its polished surface of pegamoid +glittering in the sun. As large as a fair-sized ocean steamship, it +looked, on that little lake dotted with pleasure craft, like a +leviathan. Men were busy in the cars, fore and aft. The mooring +ropes were cast off as the vessel gained an offing, and ballast +being thrown out she began to rise slowly. The propellers began to +whir, and the great craft swung around breasting the breeze and +moved slowly up the lake. The crowd cheered. Count von Zeppelin, +tense with excitement, alert for every sign of weakness watched his +monster creation with mingled pride and apprehension. Two points +were set at rest in the first two minutes--the lifting power was +great enough to carry the heaviest load ever imposed upon a balloon +and the motive power was sufficient to propel her against an +ordinary breeze. But she was hardly in mid-air when defects became +apparent. The apparatus for controlling the balancing weight got out +of order. The steering lines became entangled so that the ship was +first obliged to stop, then by reversing the engines to proceed +backwards. This was, however, a favourable evidence of her handiness +under untoward circumstances. After she had been in the air nearly +an hour and had covered four or five miles, a landing was ordered +and she dropped to the surface of the lake with perfect ease. Before +reaching her shed, however, she collided with a pile--an accident in +no way attributable to her design--and seriously bent her frame. + +The story told thus baldly does not sound like a record of glorious +success. Nevertheless not Count Zeppelin alone but all Germany was +wild with jubilation. _Zeppelin I._ had demonstrated a principle; +all that remained was to develop and apply this principle and +Germany would have a fleet of aerial dreadnoughts that would force +any hostile nation to subjection. There was little or no discussion +of the application of the principle to the ends of peace. It was as +an engine of war alone that the airship appealed to the popular +fancy. + +But at the time that fancy proved fickle. With a few repairs the +airship was brought out for another test. In the air it did all that +was asked for it, but it came to earth--or rather to the surface of +the lake--with a shock that put it out of commission. When Count +Zeppelin's company estimated the cost of further repairs it gave a +sigh and abandoned the wreck. Thereupon the pertinacious inventor +laid aside his tools, got into his old uniform, and went out again +on the dreary task of begging for further funds. + +It was two years before he could take up again the work of +construction. He lectured, wrote magazine articles, begged, cajoled, +and pleaded for money. At last he made an impression upon the +Emperor who, indeed, with a keen eye for all that makes for military +advantage, should have given heed to his efforts long before. Merely +a letter of approval from the all-powerful Kaiser was needed to turn +the scale and in 1902 this was forthcoming. The factories of the +empire agreed to furnish materials at cost price, and sufficient +money was soon forthcoming to build a second ship. This ship took +more than two years to build, was tested in January, 1906, made a +creditable flight, and was dashed to pieces by a gale the same +night! + +The wearisome work of begging began again. But this time the +Kaiser's aid was even more effectively given and in nine months +_Zeppelin III._ was in the air. More powerful than its predecessors +it met with a greater measure of success. On one of its trials a +propeller blade flew off and penetrated the envelope, but the ship +returned to earth in safety. In October, 1906, the Minister of War +reported that the airship was extremely stable, responded readily to +her helm, had carried eleven persons sixty-seven miles in two hours +and seventeen minutes, and had made its landing in ease and safety. +Accepted by the government "No. III." passed into military service +and Zeppelin, now the idol of the German people, began the +construction of "No. IV." + +That ship was larger than her predecessors and carried a third +cabin for passengers suspended amidships. Marked increase in the +size of the steering and stabling planes characterized the +appearance of the ship when compared with earlier types. She was at +the outset a lucky ship. She cruised through Alpine passes into +Switzerland, and made a circular voyage carrying eleven passengers +and flying from Friedrichshaven to Mayence and back via Basle, +Strassburg, Mannheim, and Stuttgart. The voyage occupied twenty-one +hours--a world's record. The performance of the ship on both voyages +was perfection. Even in the tortuous Alpine passes which she was +forced to navigate on her trip to Lucerne she moved with the +steadiness and certainty of a great ship at sea. The rarification of +the air at high altitudes, the extreme and sudden variations in +temperature, the gusts of wind that poured from the ice-bound peaks +down through the narrow canyons affected her not at all. When to +this experience was added the triumphant tour of the six German +cities, Count von Zeppelin might well have thought his triumph was +complete. + +But once again the cup of victory was dashed from his lips. After +his landing a violent wind beat upon the ship. An army of men strove +to hold her fast, while an effort was made to reduce her bulk by +deflation. That effort, which would have been entirely successful in +the case of a non-rigid balloon, was obviously futile in that of a +Zeppelin. Not the gas in the ballonets, but the great rigid frame +covered with water-proofed cloth constituted the huge bulk that made +her the plaything of the winds. In a trice she was snatched from the +hands of her crew and hurled against the trees in a neighbouring +grove. There was a sudden and utterly unexpected explosion and the +whole fabric was in flames. The precise cause of the explosion will +always be in doubt, but, as already pointed out, many scientists +believe that the great volume of electricity accumulated in the +metallic frame was suddenly released in a mighty spark which set +fire to the stores of gasoline on board. + +With this disaster the iron nerve of the inventor was for the first +time broken. It followed so fast upon what appeared to be a complete +triumph that the shock was peculiarly hard to bear. It is said that +he broke down and wept, and that but for the loving courage and +earnest entreaties of his wife and daughter he would then have +abandoned the hope and ambition of his life. But after all it was +but that darkest hour which comes just before the dawn. The +demolition of "No. IV." had been no accident which reflected at all +upon the plan or construction of the craft--unless the great bulk of +the ship be considered a fundamental defect. What it did demonstrate +was that the Zeppelin, like the one-thousand-foot ocean liner, must +have adequate harbour and docking facilities wherever it is to land. +The one cannot safely drop down in any convenient meadow, any more +than the other can put into any little fishing port. Germany has +learned this lesson well enough and since the opening of the Great +War her territory is plentifully provided with Zeppelin shelters at +all strategic points. + +[Illustration: _The Death of a Zeppelin._ + +Photo by Paul Thompson.] + +Fortunately for the Count the German people judged his latest +reverse more justly than he did. They saw the completeness of the +triumph which had preceded the disaster and recognized that the +latter was one easily guarded against in future. Enthusiasm ran high +all over the land. Begging was no longer necessary. The Emperor, +who had heretofore expressed rather guarded approval of the +enterprise, now flung himself into it with that enthusiasm for which +he is notable. He bestowed upon the Count the Order of the Black +Eagle, embraced him in public three times, and called aloud that all +might hear, "Long life to his Excellency, Count Zeppelin, the +Conqueror of the Air." He never wearied of assuring his hearers that +the Count was the "greatest German of the century." With such august +patronage the Count became the rage. Next to the Kaiser's the face +best known to the people of Germany, through pictures and statues, +was that of the inventor of the Zeppelin. The pleasing practice of +showing affection for a public man by driving nails into his wooden +effigy had not then been invented by the poetic Teutons, else von +Zeppelin would have outdone von Hindenburg in weight of metal. + +The story that Zeppelin had refused repeated offers from other +governments was widely published and evoked patriotic enthusiasm. +With it went shrewd hints that in these powerful aircraft lay the +way to overcome the hated English navy, and even to carry war to the +very soil of England. It was then eight years before the greatest +war of history was to break out, but even at that date hatred of +England was being sedulously cultivated among the German people by +those in authority. + +As a result of this national attitude Count Zeppelin's enterprise +was speedily put on a sound financial footing. Though "No. IV." had +been destroyed by an accident it had been the purpose of the +government to buy her, and $125,000 of the purchase price was now +put at the disposal of the Count von Zeppelin. A popular Zeppelin +fund of $1,500,000 was raised and expended in building great works. +Thenceforward there was no lack of money for furthering what had +truly become a great national interest. + +But the progress of the construction of Zeppelins for the next few +years was curiously compounded of success and failure. Fate seemed +to have decreed to every Zeppelin triumph a disaster. Each mischance +was attributed to exceptional conditions which never could happen +again, but either they did occur, or some new but equally effective +accident did. Outside of Germany, where the public mind had become +set in an almost idolatrous confidence in Zeppelin, the great +airships were becoming a jest and a byword notwithstanding their +unquestioned accomplishments. Indeed when the record was made up +just before the declaration of war in 1914 it was found that of +twenty-five Zeppelins thus far constructed only twelve were +available. Thirteen had been destroyed by accident--two of them +modern naval airships only completed in 1913. The record was not one +to inspire confidence. + +In 1909, during a voyage in which he made nine hundred miles in +thirty-eight hours, the rumour was spread that von Zeppelin would +continue it to Berlin. Some joker sent a forged telegram to the +Kaiser to that effect signed "Zeppelin." It was expected to be the +first appearance of one of the great ships at the capital, and the +Emperor hastened to prepare a suitable welcome. A great crowd +assembled at the Templehoff Parade Ground. The Berlin Airship +Battalion was under orders to assist in the landing. The Kaiser +himself was ready to hasten to the spot should the ship be sighted. +But she never appeared. If von Zeppelin knew of the exploit which +rumour had assigned to him--which is doubtful--he could not have +carried it out. His ship collided with a tree--an accident +singularly frequent in the Zeppelin records--so disabling it that +it could only limp home under half power. A rather curt telegram +from his Imperial master is said to have been Count von Zeppelin's +first intimation that he had broken an engagement. + +However, he kept it two months later, flying to Berlin, a distance +of 475 miles. He was greeted with mad enthusiasm and among the crowd +to welcome him was Orville Wright the American aviator. It is a +curious coincidence that on the day the writer pens these words the +New York newspapers contain accounts of Mr. Wright's proffer of his +services, and aeronautical facilities, to the President in case an +existing diplomatic break with Germany should reach the point of +actual war. Mr. Wright accompanied his proffer by an appeal for a +tremendous aviation force, "but," said he, "I strongly advise +against spending any money whatsoever on dirigible balloons of any +sort." + +Thereafter the progress of Count von Zeppelin was without +interruption for any lack of financial strength. His great works at +Friedrichshaven expanded until they were capable of putting out a +complete ship in eight weeks. He was building, of course, primarily +for war, and never concealed the fact that the enemy he expected to +be the target of his bomb throwers was England. What the airships +accomplished in this direction, how greatly they were developed, and +the strength and weakness of the German air fleet, will be dwelt +upon in another chapter. + +But, though building primarily for military purposes, Zeppelin did +not wholly neglect the possibilities of his ship for non-military +service. He built one which made more than thirty trips between +Munich and Berlin, carrying passengers who paid a heavy fee for the +privilege of enjoying this novel form of travel. The car was fitted +up like our most up-to-date Pullmans, with comfortable seats, bright +lights, and a kitchen from which excellent meals were served to +the passengers. The service was not continued long enough to +determine whether it could ever be made commercially profitable, +but as an aid to firing the Teutonic heart and an assistance in +selling stock it was well worth while. The spectacle of one of these +great cars, six hundred or more feet long, floating grandly on even +keel and with a steady course above one of the compact little towns +of South Germany, was one to thrill the pulses. + +But the ill luck which pursued Count von Zeppelin even in what +seemed to be his moments of assured success was remorseless. In 1912 +he produced the monster _L-I_, 525 feet long, 50 feet in diameter, +of 776,900 cubic feet capacity, and equipped with three sets of +motors, giving it a speed of fifty-two miles an hour. This ship was +designed for naval use and after several successful cross-country +voyages she was ordered to Heligoland, to participate in naval +manoeuvres with the fleet there stationed. One day, caught by a +sudden gust of wind such as are common enough on the North Sea, she +proved utterly helpless. Why no man could tell, her commander being +drowned, but in the face of the gale she lost all control, was +buffeted by the elements at their will, and dropped into the sea +where she was a total loss. Fifteen of her twenty-two officers and +men were drowned. The accident was the more inexplicable because the +craft had been flying steadily overland for nearly twelve months and +had covered more miles than any ship of Zeppelin construction. It +was reported that her captain had said she was overloaded and that +he feared that she would be helpless in a gale. But after the +disaster his mouth was stopped by the waters of the North Sea. + +[Illustration: _A German Dirigible, Hansa Type._ + +(C) U.& U.] + +This calamity was not permitted long to stand alone. Indeed one of +the most curious facts about the Zeppelin record is the regular, +periodical recurrence of fatal accidents at almost equal intervals +and apparently wholly unaffected by the growing perfection of the +airships. While _L-I_ was making her successful cross-country +flights, _L-II_ was reaching completion at Friedrichshaven. She was +shorter but bulkier than her immediate predecessor and carried +engines giving her nine hundred horse power, or four hundred more +than _L-I._ On its first official trip this ship exploded a thousand +feet in air, killing twenty-eight officers and men aboard, including +all the officials who were conducting the trials. The calamity, as +explained on an earlier page, was due to the accumulation of gas in +the communicating passage between the three cars. + +[Illustration: _A Wrecked Zeppelin at Salonika._ + +Photo by Press Illustrating Service.] + +This new disaster left the faith and loyalty of the German people +unshaken. But it did decidedly estrange the scientific world from +Count von Zeppelin and all his works. It was pointed out, with +truth, that the accident paralleled precisely one which had +demolished the _Severo Pax_ airship ten years earlier, and which had +caused French inventors to establish a hard and fast rule against +incorporating in an airship's design any inclosed space in which +waste gas might gather. This rule and its reason were known to Count +von Zeppelin and by ignoring both he lent new colour to the charge, +already current in scientific circles, that he was loath to profit +by the experiences of other inventors. + +Whether this feeling spread to the German Government it is +impossible to say. Nor it is easy to estimate how much official +confidence was shaken by it. The government, even before the war, +was singularly reticent about the Zeppelins, their numbers and +plans. It is certain that orders were not withheld from the Count. +Great numbers of his machines were built, especially after the war +was entered upon. But he was not permitted longer to have a monopoly +of government aid for manufacturers of dirigibles. Other types +sprung up, notably the Schutte-Lanz, the Gross, and the Parseval. +But being first in the field the Zeppelin came to give its name to +all the dirigibles of German make and many of the famous--or +infamous--exploits credited to it during the war may in fact have +been performed by one of its rivals. + +It would be futile to attempt to enumerate all these rivals here. +Among them are the semi-rigid Parseval and Gross types which found +great favour among the military authorities during the war. The +latter is merely an adaptation of the highly successful French ship +the _Lebaudy_, but the Parseval is the result of a slow evolution +from an ordinary balloon. It is wholly German, in conception and +development, and it is reported that the Kaiser, secretly disgusted +that the Zeppelins, to the advancement of which he had given such +powerful aid, should have recorded so many disasters, quietly +transferred his interest to the new and simpler model. Despite the +hope of a more efficient craft, however, both the Gross and the +Parseval failed in their first official trials, though later they +made good. + +The latter ship was absolutely without any wooden or metallic +structure to give her rigidity. Two air ballonets were contained in +the envelope at bow and stern and the ascent and descent of the +ship was regulated by the quantity of air pumped into these. A most +curious device was the utilization of heavy cloth for the propeller +blades. Limp and flaccid when at rest, heavy weights in the hem of +the cloth caused these blades to stand out stiff and rigid as the +result of the centrifugal force created by their rapid revolution. +One great military advantage of the Parseval was that she could be +quickly deflated in the presence of danger at her moorings, and +wholly knocked down and packed in small compass for shipment by rail +in case of need. To neither of these models did there ever come such +a succession of disasters as befell the earlier Zeppelins. It is +fair to say however that prior to the war not many of them had been +built, and that both their builders and navigators had opportunity +to learn from Count von Zeppelin's errors. + +Among the chief German rivals to the Zeppelin is the Schutte-Lanz, +of the rigid type, broader but not so long as the Zeppelin, framed +of wood bound with wire and planned to carry a load of five or six +tons, or as many as thirty passengers. No. I of this type met its +fate as did so many Zeppelins by encountering a storm while +improperly moored. Called to earth to replenish its supply of gas it +was moored to an anchor sunk six feet in the ground, and as an +additional precaution three hundred soldiers were called from a +neighbouring barracks to handle it. It seems to have been one of the +advantages of Germany as a place in which to manoeuvre dirigibles, +that, even in time of peace, there were always several hundred +soldiers available wherever a ship might land. But this force was +inadequate. A violent gust tore the ship from their hands. One poor +fellow instinctively clung to his rope until one thousand feet in +the air when he let go. The ship itself hovered over the town for an +hour or more, then descended and was dashed to pieces against trees +and stone walls. + +The danger which was always attached to the landing of airships has +led some to suggest that they should never be brought to earth, but +moored in mid-air as large ships anchor in midstream. It is +suggested that tall towers be built to the top of which the ship be +attached by a cable, so arranged that she will always float to the +leeward of the tower. The passengers would be landed by gangplanks, +and taken up and down the towers in elevators. Kipling suggests this +expedient in his prophetic sketch _With the Night Mail_. The airship +would only return to earth--as a ship goes into dry dock--when in +need of repairs. + +A curious mishap that threatened for a time to wreck the peace of +the world, occurred in April, 1913, when a German Zeppelin was +forced out of its course and over French territory. The right of +alien machines to pass over their territory is jealously guarded by +European nations, and during the progress of the Great War the Dutch +repeatedly protested against the violation of their atmosphere by +German aviators. At the time of this mischance, however, France and +Germany were at peace--or as nearly so as racial and historic +antipathies would permit. Accordingly when officers of a brigade of +French cavalry engaged in manoeuvring near the great fortress of +Luneville saw a shadow moving across the field and looking up saw a +huge Zeppelin betwixt themselves and the sun they were astonished +and alarmed. Signs and faint shouts from the aeronauts appeared to +indicate that their errand was at least friendly, if not +involuntary. The soldiers stopped their drill; the townspeople +trooped out to the Champs de Mars where the phenomenon was exhibited +and began excitedly discussing this suspicious invasion. Word was +speedily sent to military headquarters asking whether to welcome or +to repel the foe. + +[Illustration: (C) U. & U. + +_British Aviators about to Ascend._ + +_Note position of gunner on lower seat._] + +Meantime the great ship was drifting perilously near the housetops, +and the uniformed officers in the cars began making signals to the +soldiers below. Ropes were thrown out, seized by willing hands and +made fast. The crew of Germans descended to find themselves +prisoners. The international law was clear enough. The ship was a +military engine of the German army. Its officers, all in uniform, +had deliberately steered her into the very heart of a French +fortress. Though the countries were at peace the act was technically +one of war--an armed invasion by the enemy. Diplomacy of course +settled the issue peacefully but not before the French had made +careful drawings of all the essential features of the Zeppelin, and +taken copies of its log. As Germany had theretofore kept a rigid +secrecy about all the details of Zeppelin construction and operation +this angered the military authorities beyond measure. The unlucky +officers who had shared in the accident were savagely told that they +should have blown the ship up in mid-air and perished with it rather +than to have weakly submitted it to French inspection. They suffered +court-martial but escaped with severe reprimands. + +The story of the dirigibles of France and Germany is practically the +whole story of the development to a reasonable degree of perfection +of the lighter-than-air machine. Other nations experimented +somewhat, but in the main lagged behind these pioneers. Out of Spain +indeed came a most efficient craft--the Astra-Torres, of which the +British Government had the best example prior to the war, while both +France and Russia placed large orders with the builders. How many +finally went into service and what may have been their record are +facts veiled in the secrecy of wartime. Belgium and Italy both +produced dirigibles of distinctive character. The United States is +alone at the present moment in having contributed nothing to the +improvement of the dirigible balloon. + + + + +CHAPTER V + +THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE AIRPLANE + + +The story of the development of the heavier-than-air machine--which +were called aeroplanes at first, but have been given the simpler +name of airplanes--is far shorter than that of the balloons. It is +really a record of achievement made since 1903 when the plane built +by Professor Langley of the Smithsonian Institution came to utter +disaster on the Potomac. In 1917, at the time of writing this book, +there are probably thirty distinct types of airplanes being +manufactured for commercial and military use, and not less than +fifty thousand are being used daily over the battlefields of Europe. +No invention save possibly the telephone and the automobile ever +attained so prodigious a development in so brief a time. Wise +observers hold that the demand for these machines is yet in its +infancy, and that when the end of the war shall lead manufacturers +and designers to turn their attention to the commercial value of the +airplane the flying craft will be as common in the air as the +automobiles at least on our country roads. + +The idea of flying like a bird with wings, the idea basicly +underlying the airplane theory, is old enough--almost as old as the +first conception of the balloon, before hydrogen gas was discovered. +In an earlier chapter some account is given of early experiments +with wings. No progress was made along this line until the +hallucination that man could make any headway whatsoever against +gravity by flapping artificial wings was definitely abandoned. There +was more promise in the experiments made by Sir George Cayley, and +he was followed in the first half of the nineteenth century by half +a dozen British experimenters who were convinced that a series of +planes, presenting a fixed angle to the breeze and driven against it +by a sufficiently powerful motor, would develop a considerable +lifting power. This was demonstrated by Henson, in 1842, +Stringfellow, in 1847, Wenham, who arranged his planes like slats in +a Venetian blind and first applied the modern term "aeroplane" to +his invention, and Sir Hiram Maxim, who built in 1890 the most +complicated and impressive looking 'plane the world has yet seen. +But though each of these inventors proved the theorem that a +heavier-than-air machine could be made to fly, all failed to get +practical results because no motor had then been invented which +combined the necessary lightness with the generation of the required +power. + +In America we like to think of the brothers Wright as being the true +inventors of the airplane. And indeed they did first bring it to the +point of usefulness, and alone among the many pioneers lived to see +the adoption of their device by many nations for serious practical +use. But it would be unjust to claim for them entire priority in the +field of the glider and the heavier-than-air machine. Professor +Langley preceded them with an airplane which, dismissed with +ridicule as a failure in his day, was long after his death equipped +with a lighter motor and flown by Glenn Curtis, who declared that +the scientist had solved the problem, had only the explosive engine +been perfected in his time. + +Despite, however, the early period of the successful experiments of +the Wrights and Professor Langley, it would be unjust for America to +arrogate to herself entire priority in airplane invention. Any story +of that achievement which leaves out Lilienthal, the German, and +Pilcher, the Englishman, is a record in which the truth is +subordinated to national pride. + +[Illustration: Langley's Airplane.] + +Otto Lilienthal and his brother Gustav--the two like the Wrights +were always associated in their aviation work--had been studying +long the problem of flight when in 1889 they jointly published their +book _Bird Flight as the Basis of the Flying Art_. Their +investigations were wholly into the problem of flight without a +motor. At the outset they even harked back to the long-abandoned +theory that man could raise himself by mere muscular effort, and +Otto spent many hours suspended at the end of a rope flapping +frantically a pair of wings before he abandoned this effort as +futile. Convinced that the soaring or gliding of the birds was the +feat to emulate, he made himself a pair of fixed, bat-like wings +formed of a light fabric stretched over a willow frame. A tail +composed of one vertical and one horizontal plane extended to the +rear, and in the middle the aviator hung by his armpits, in an erect +position. With this device he made some experimental glides, leaping +from slight eminences. With his body, which swung at will from its +cushioned supports, he could balance, and even steer the fabric +which supported him, and accomplished long glides against the wind. +Not infrequently, running into the teeth of the breeze down a gentle +slope he would find himself gently wafted into the air and would +make flights of as much as three hundred yards, steering to either +side, or rising and falling at will. He was even able to make a +circuitous flight and return to his starting place--a feat that was +not accomplished with a motor-driven airplane until years later. +Lilienthal achieved it with no mechanical aid, except the wings. He +became passionately devoted to the art, made more than two thousand +flights, and at the time of his death had just completed a +motor-driven airplane, which he was never able to test. His earlier +gliding wings he developed into a form of biplane, with which he +made several successful flights, but met his death in 1896 by the +collapse of this machine, of the bad condition of which he had been +warned. + +[Illustration: (C) Kadel & Herbert. + +_French Airdrome near the Front._] + +Lilienthal was more of a factor in the conquest of the air than his +actual accomplishments would imply. His persistent experiments, his +voluminous writings, and above all his friendly and intelligent +interest in the work of other and younger men won him a host of +disciples in other lands who took up the work that dropped from his +lifeless hands. + +[Illustration: Lilienthal's Glider.] + +In England Percy S. Pilcher emulated the Lilienthal glides, and was +at work on a motor-propelled machine when he was killed by the +breakage of a seemingly unimportant part of his machine. He was on +the edge of the greater success, not to that moment attained by +anyone, of building a true airplane propelled by motor. Many +historians think that to Lilienthal and Pilcher is justly due the +title "the first flying men." But Le Bris, a French sailor, utterly +without scientific or technical equipment, as far back as 1854 had +accomplished a wonderful feat in that line. While on a cruise he had +watched an albatross that followed his ship day after day apparently +without rest and equally without fatigue. His imagination was fired +by the spectacle and probably having never heard of the punishment +that befell the Ancient Mariner, he shot the albatross. "I took the +wing," he wrote later, "and exposed it to the breeze, and lo, in +spite of me, it drew forward into the wind; notwithstanding my +resistance it tended to rise. Thus I had discovered the secret of +the bird. I comprehend the whole mystery of flight." + +A trifle too sanguine was sailor Le Bris, but he had just the +qualities of imagination and confidence essential to one who sets +forth to conquer the air. Had he possessed the accurate mind, the +patience, and the pertinacity of the Wrights he might have beaten +them by half a century. As it was he accomplished a remarkable feat, +though it ended in somewhat laughable failure. He built an +artificial bird, on the general plan of his albatross. The wings +were not to flap, but their angles to the wind were controlled by a +system of levers controlled by Le Bris, who stood up in the basket +in the centre. To rise he required something like the flying start +which the airplanes of to-day get on their bicycle wheels before +leaving the ground. As Le Bris had no motor this method of +propulsion was denied him, so he loaded the apparatus in a cart, and +fastened it to the rail by a rope knotted in a slip knot which a +jerk from him would release. As they started men walked beside the +cart holding the wings, which extended for twenty-five feet on +either side. As the horses speeded up these assistants released +their hold. Feeling the car try to rise under his feet Le Bris cast +off the rope, tilted the front end of the machine, and to his joy +began to rise steadily into the air. The spectators below cheered +madly, but a note of alarm mingled with their cheers, and the +untried aviator noticed a strange and inexplicable jerking of his +machine. Peering down he discovered, to his amaze, a man kicking +and crying aloud in deadly fear. It was evident that the rope he had +detached from the cart had caught up the driver, who had thus +become, to his intense dismay, a partner in the inventor's triumph. +Indeed it is most possible that he contributed to that triumph for +the ease and steadiness with which the machine rose to a height +estimated at three hundred feet suggests that he may have furnished +needed ballast--acted in fact as the tail to the kite. Humanity +naturally impelled Le Bris to descend at once, which he did +skilfully without injuring his involuntary passenger, and only +slightly breaking one of the wings. + +[Illustration: (C) U. & U. + +_A German War Zeppelin._] + +Had Le Bris won this success twenty years later his fame and fortune +would have been secure. But in 1854 the time was not ripe for aeronautics. +Le Bris was poor. The public responded but grudgingly to his appeals +for aid. His next experiment was less successful--perhaps for lack of +the carter--and he ultimately disappeared from aviation to become an +excellent soldier of France. + +[Illustration: Photo by Press Illustrating Service. + +_A French Observation Balloon Seeking Submarines._] + +Perhaps had they not met with early and violent deaths, the +Lilienthals and Pilcher might have carried their experiments in the +art of gliding into the broader domain of power flight. This however +was left to the two Americans, Orville and Wilbur Wright, who have +done more to advance the art of navigating the air than all the +other experimenters whose names we have used. The story of the +Wright brothers is one of boyhood interest gradually developed into +the passion of a lifetime. It parallels to some degree the story of +Santos-Dumont who insisting as a child that "man flies" finally made +it a fact. The interest of the Wrights was first stimulated when, in +1878, their father brought home a small toy, called a "helicopter," +which when tossed in the air rose up instead of falling. Every child +had them at that time, but curiously this one was like the seed +which fell upon fertile soil. The boys went mad, as boys will, on +the subject of flying. But unlike most boys they nurtured and +cultivated the passion and it stayed with them to manhood. From +helicopters they passed to kites, and from kites to gliders. By +calling they were makers and repairers of bicycles, but their spare +time was for years devoted to solving the problem of flight. In time +it became their sole occupation and by it they won a fortune and +world-wide fame. Their story forms a remarkable testimony to the +part of imagination, pertinacity, and courage in winning success. +After years of tests with models, and with kites controlled from the +ground, the brothers had worked out a type of glider which they +believed, in a wind of from eighteen to twenty miles an hour, would +lift and carry a man. But they had to find a testing ground. The +fields near their home in Ohio were too level, and their firm +unyielding surface was not attractive as a cushion on which to light +in the event of disaster. Moreover the people round about were +getting inquisitive about these grown men "fooling around" with +kites and flying toys. To the last the Wrights were noted for their +dislike of publicity, and it is entirely probable that the sneering +criticisms of their "level headed" and "practical" neighbours had a +good deal to do with rooting them in this distaste. + +Low steep hills down the sides of which they could run and at the +proper moment throw themselves upon their glider; a sandy soil which +would at least lessen the shock of a tumble; and a vicinage in which +winds of eighteen miles an hour or more is the normal atmospheric +state were the conditions they sought. These they found at a little +hamlet called Kitty-Hawk on the coast of North Carolina. There for +uncounted centuries the tossing Atlantic had been throwing up its +snowy sand upon the shore, and the steady wind had caught it up, +piled it in windrows, rolled it up into towering hills, or carried +it over into the dunes which extended far inland. It was a lonely +spot, and there secure from observation the Wrights pitched their +camp. For them it was a midsummer's holiday. Not at first did they +decide to make aviation not a sport but a profession. To their camp +came visitors interested in the same study, among them Chanute, a +well-known experimenter, and some of his associates. They had +thought to give hours at a time to actual flight. When they closed +their first season, they found that all their time spent in actual +flight footed up less than an hour. Lilienthal, despite all he +accomplished, estimated that he, up to a short time before his +death, spent only about five hours actually in the air. In that +early day of experimentation a glide covering one hundred feet, and +consuming eight or ten seconds, was counted a triumph. + +[Illustration: Chanute's Glider.] + +But the season was by no means wasted. Indeed such was the estimate +that the Wrights put upon it that they folded their tents determined +that when they returned the year following it would be as +professionals, not amateurs. They were confident of their ability to +build machines that would fly, though up to that time they had never +mounted a motor on their aircraft. + +In the clear hot air of a North Carolina midsummer the Wrights used +to lie on their backs studying through glasses the methods of flight +of the great buzzards--filthy scavenger birds which none the less +soaring high aloft against a blue sky are pictures of dignity and +grace. + + Bald eagles, ospreys, hawks, and buzzards give us daily + exhibitions of their powers [wrote Wilbur Wright]. The buzzards + were the most numerous, and were the most persistent soarers. + They apparently never flapped except when it was absolutely + necessary, while the eagles and hawks usually soared only when + they were at leisure. Two methods of soaring were employed. When + the weather was cold and damp and the wind strong the buzzards + would be seen soaring back and forth along the hills or at the + edge of a clump of trees. They were evidently taking advantage of + the current of air flowing upward over these obstructions. On + such days they were often utterly unable to soar, except in these + special places. But on warm clear days when the wind was light + they would be seen high in the air soaring in great circles. + Usually, however, it seemed to be necessary to reach a height of + several hundred feet by flapping before this style of soaring + became possible. Frequently a great number of them would begin + circling in one spot, rising together higher and higher till + finally they would disperse, each gliding off in whatever + direction it wished to go. At such times other buzzards only a + short distance away found it necessary to flap frequently in + order to maintain themselves. But when they reached a point + beneath the circling flock they began to rise on motionless + wings. This seemed to indicate that rising columns of air do not + exist everywhere, but that the birds must find them. They + evidently watch each other and when one finds a rising current + the others quickly make their way to it. One day when scarce a + breath of wind was stirring on the ground we noticed two bald + eagles sailing in circling sweeps at a height of probably five + hundred feet. After a time our attention was attracted to the + flashing of some object considerably lower down. Examination with + a field-glass proved it to be a feather which one of the birds + had evidently cast. As it seemed apparent that it would come to + earth only a short distance away, some of our party started to + get it. But in a little while it was noted that the feather was + no longer falling, but on the contrary was rising rapidly. It + finally went out of sight upward. It apparently was drawn into + the same current in which the eagles were soaring and was carried + up like the birds. + +It was by such painstaking methods as these, coupled with the +mathematical reduction of the fruits of such observations to terms +of angles and supporting planes, that the Wrights gradually +perfected their machine. The first airplane to which they fitted a +motor and which actually flew has been widely exhibited in the +United States, and is to find final repose in some public museum. +Study it as you will you can find little resemblance in those +rectangular rigid planes to the wings of a bird. But it was built +according to deductions drawn from natural flight. + +[Illustration: Photo by Paul Thompson. + +_A German Taube Pursued by British Planes._] + +The method of progress in these preliminary experiments was, by +repeated tests, to determine what form of airplane, and of what +proportions, would best support a man. It was evident that for free +and continuous flight it must be able to carry not only the pilot, +but an engine and a store of fuel as well. Having, as they thought, +determined these conditions the Wrights essayed their first flight +at their home near Dayton, Ohio. It was a cold December day in 1903. +The first flight, with motor and all, lasted twelve seconds; the +fourth fifty-nine seconds. The handful of people who came out to +witness the marvel went home jeering. In the spring of the next year +a new flight was announced near Dayton. The newspapers had been +asked to send reporters. A crowd of perhaps fifty persons had +gathered. Again fate was hostile. The engine worked badly and the +airplane refused to rise. The crowd dispersed and the newspapermen, +returning the next day, met only with another disappointment. + +[Illustration: The First Wright Glider.] + +These repeated failures in public exhibitions resulted in creating +general indifference to the real progress that the Wrights were +making in solving the flight problem. While the gliding experiments +at Kitty-Hawk were furnishing the data for the plans on which the +tens of thousands of airplanes used in the European war were +afterwards built, no American newspaper was sufficiently interested +to send representatives to the spot. The people of the United States +were supremely indifferent. Perhaps this was due to the fact that +superficially regarded the machine the Wrights were trying to +perfect gave promise of usefulness only in war or in sport. We are +not either a warlike or a sporting people. Ready enough to adopt a +new device which seems adapted for utilitarian purposes, as is shown +by the rapid multiplication of automobiles, we leave sport to our +professional ball players, and our military equipment to luck. + +[Illustration: Pilcher's Glider.] + +So after continued experimental flights in the open fields near +Dayton had convinced them that the practical weaknesses in their +machine had been eliminated, the Wrights packed up their flyer and +went to France. Before so doing they tried to get encouragement from +the United States Government, but failed. Neither the government nor +any rich American was willing to share the cost of further +experiments. All that had been done was at their own cost, both in +time and money. In France, whither they went in 1908, they had no +coldness to complain of. It was then the golden day of aviation in +the land which always afforded to the Knights of the Air their +warmest welcome and their most liberal support. Two years had +elapsed since Santos-Dumont, turning from dirigibles to 'planes, had +made a flight of 238 yards. This the Wrights had at the time +excelled at home but without attracting attention. France on the +contrary went mad with enthusiasm, and claimed for the Brazilian the +honour of first demonstrating the possibility of flight in a +heavier-than-air machine. England, like the United States, was cold, +clinging to the balloon long after all other nations had abandoned +it. But France welcomed the Wrights with enthusiasm. They found +rivals a-plenty in their field of effort. Santos-Dumont, Bleriot, +Farman, Latham were all flying with airplanes, but with models +radically different from that of the American brothers. Nevertheless +the latter made an instant success. + +[Illustration: Permission of _Scientific American_. + +_The Comparative Strength of Belligerents in Airplanes at the +Opening of the War._ + +_The French Army had at least 500 aeroplanes. England had about 250 +aeroplanes of all types Russia had 50 aeroplanes--Austria had at +least 50 aeroplanes Germany is about the equal of France, having 500 +flyers._] + +From the moment they found that they had hit upon the secret of +raising, supporting, and propelling an airplane, the Wrights made of +their profession a matter of cold business. In many ways this was +the best contribution they could possibly have made to the science +of aviation, though their keen eye to the main chance did bring down +on them a certain amount of ridicule. Europe laughed long at the +_sang-froid_ with which Wilbur Wright, having won the Michelin prize +of eight hundred pounds, gave no heed to the applause which the +assembled throng gave him as the money was transferred to him with a +neat presentation speech. Without a word he divided the notes into +two packets, handed one to his brother Orville, and thrust the other +into his own pocket. For the glory which attended his achievement he +cared nothing. It was all in the day's work. Later in the course of +trials of a machine for the United States Government at Fort Myer, +just across the Potomac from Washington, the Wrights seriously +offended a certain sort of public sentiment in a way which +undoubtedly set back the encouragement of aviation by the United +States Government very seriously. + +[Illustration: Permission of _Scientific American_. + +_The Comparative Strength of Belligerents in Dirigibles at the +Opening of the War._ + +_France must be credited with at least eighteen airships of various +types--England had only seven--Russia had probably not more than +three airships available--Belgium had one airship Austria had not +less than three, not more than five airships available--Germany had +twenty three airships of the rigid, semi-rigid, and non-rigid +type._] + +In 1909, they had received a contract from the government for a +machine for the use of the Signal Service. The price was fixed at +$25,000, but a bonus of $2500 was to be paid for every mile above +forty miles an hour made by the machine on its trial trip. That +bonus looked big to the Wrights, but it cost the cause of aviation +many times its face value in the congressional disfavour it caused. +Aviation was then in its infancy in the United States. Every man in +Congress wanted to see the flights. But Fort Myer, whose parade was +to be the testing ground, was fully fourteen miles from the Capitol, +and reached only most inconveniently from Washington by trolley, or +most expensively by carriage or automobile. Day after day members +of the House and Senate made the long journey across the Potomac. +Time and again they journeyed back without even a sight of the +flyer in the hangar. One after another little flaws discovered in +the machine led the aviators to postpone their flight. Investigating +statesmen who thought that their position justified them in seeking +special privileges were brusquely turned away by the military guard. +The dusk of many a summer's night saw thousands of disappointed +sightseers tramping the long road back to Washington. The climax +came when on a clear but breezy day Wilbur Wright announced that the +machine was in perfect condition and could meet its tests readily, +but that in order to win a bigger bonus, he would postpone the +flight for a day with less wind. All over Washington the threat was +heard that night that Congress would vote no more money for +aviation, and whether or not the incident was the cause, the +sequence was that the American Congress was, until the menace of war +with Germany in 1916, the most niggardly of all legislative bodies +in its treatment of the flying corps. When the Wrights did finally +fly they made a triumphant flight before twelve thousand spectators. +The test involved crossing the Potomac, going down its north side to +Alexandria, and then back to Fort Myer. Ringing cheers and the +crashing strains of the military band greeted the return of the +aviator, but oblivious to the enthusiasm Wilbur Wright stood beside +his machine with pencil and pad computing his bonus. It figured up +to five thousand dollars, and the reporters chronicled that the +Wrights knew well the difference between solid coin and the bubble +of reputation. + +[Illustration: Wright Glider.] + +But this seemingly cold indifference to fame and single-minded +concentration on the business of flying on the part of the Wrights +was in fact of the utmost value to aviation as an art and a science. +They were pioneers and successful ones. Their example was heeded by +others in the business. In every way they sought to discourage that +wild reaching after public favour and notoriety that led aviators to +attempt reckless feats, and often sacrifice their lives in a foolish +effort to astonish an audience. No one ever heard of either of the +Wright brothers "looping-the-loop," doing a "demon glide," or in any +other fashion reducing the profession of aviation to the level of a +circus. In a time when brave and skilful aviators, with a mistaken +idea of the ethics of their calling, were appealing to sensation +lovers by the practice of dare-devil feats, the Wrights with +admirable common sense and dignity stood sturdily against any such +degradation of the aviator's art. In this position they were joined +by Glenn Curtis, and the influence of the three was beginning to be +shown in the reduced number of lives sacrificed in these follies +when the Great War broke upon the world and gave to aviation its +greatest opportunity. The world will hope nevertheless that after +that war shall end the effort to adapt the airplane to the ends of +peace will be no less earnest and persistent than have been the +methods by which it has been made a most serviceable auxiliary of +war. + +In July, 1915, _Collier's Weekly_ published an interview with +Orville Wright in which that man, ordinarily of few words, set up +some interesting theories upon the future of airplanes. + + "The greatest use of the airplane to date," said Mr. Wright, "has + been as a tremendously big factor of modern warfare. But-- + + "The greatest use of the airplane eventually will be to prevent + war. + + "Some day there will be neither war nor rumours of war, and the + reason may be flying machines. + + "It sounds paradoxical. We are building airplanes to use in time + of war, and will continue to build them for war. We think of war + and we think of airplanes. Later on, perhaps, we shall think of + airplanes in connection with the wisdom of keeping out of war. + + "The airplane will prevent war by making it too expensive, too + slow, too difficult, too long drawn out--in brief, by making the + cost prohibitive. + + "Did you ever stop to think," inquires Wright, "that there is a + very definite reason why the present war in Europe has dragged + along for a year with neither side gaining much advantage over + the other? The reason as I figure it out is airplanes. In + consequence of the scouting work done by the flying machines each + side knows exactly what the opposing forces are doing. + + "There is little chance for one army to take another by surprise. + Napoleon won his wars by massing his troops at unexpected places. + The airplane has made that impossible. It has equalized + information. Each side has such complete knowledge of the other's + movements that both sides are obliged to crawl into trenches and + fight by means of slow, tedious routine, rather than by quick, + spectacular dashes. + + "My impression is that before the present war started the army + experts expected it to be a matter of a few weeks, or at the + most, a few months. To-day it looks as if it might run into years + before one side can dictate terms. Now, a nation that may be + willing to undertake a war lasting a few months may well hesitate + about engaging in one that will occupy years. The daily cost of a + great war is of course stupendous. When this cost runs on for + years the total is likely to be so great that the side which wins + nevertheless loses. War will become prohibitively expensive. The + scouting work in flying machines will be the predominating + factor, as it seems to me, in bringing this about. I like to + think so anyhow." + + "What, in your opinion, has the present war demonstrated + regarding the relative advantages of airplanes and Zeppelin + airships?" the inventor was asked. + + "The airplane seems to have been of the more practical use," + replied Wright. "In the first place, dirigible airships of the + Zeppelin type are so expensive to build, costing somewhere around + a half million dollars each, that it is distinctly + disadvantageous to the nation operating them to have one + destroyed. But what is more important is the fact that the + Zeppelin is so large that it furnishes an excellent target, + unless it sails considerably higher than is comparatively safe + for an airplane. And when the Zeppelin is at a safe height it is + too far above the ground for your scout to make accurate + observations. Similarly, when the Zeppelin is used for dropping + bombs, it must be too high for the bomb thrower to show much + accuracy." + + "You think that the use of flying machines for scouting purposes + will be of considerably more importance than their use as a means + of attack?" was another question. + + "That has been decidedly true so far," replied Wright. "About all + that has been accomplished by either side from bomb dropping has + been to kill a few non-combatants and that will have no bearing + on the result of the war. + +[Illustration: _At a French Airplane Base._ (C) International Pilot +Service.] + + "English newspapers have long talked of the danger of Zeppelin + attacks or airplane attacks, but it was all for a purpose, + because they did not believe the country was sufficiently + prepared for war and sought to arouse the people and the War + Department to action by means of the airship bogy. [Later history + showed Mr. Wright sadly in error on this point.] + + "Aside from the use of the machines for war purposes the war will + give a great boost to aviation generally. It has led more men to + learn to fly, and with a higher degree of skill than ever before. + It has awakened people to aviation possibilities. + +[Illustration: Stringfellow's Airplane.] + + "Just like the automobile, it will become more and more + fool-proof, easier to handle and safer. There is no reason why it + should not take the place of special trains where there is urgent + need of great speed. + + "The airplane has never really come into its own as a sporting + proposition. Of late years the tendency has been to develop a + high rate of speed rather than to build machines that may be + operated safely at a comparatively low speed. You see, a machine + adapted to make from seventy to one hundred miles an hour cannot + run at all except at a pretty rapid clip, and this means + difficulty in getting down. One must have a good, smooth piece of + ground to land on and plenty of it. When we get an airplane that + will fly along at twenty miles an hour, one can land almost any + place,--on a roof, if necessary,--and then people will begin to + take an interest in owning an airplane for the enjoyment of + flying." + + "Is it true that you and your brother had a compact not to fly + together?" + + "Yes, we felt that until the records of our work could be made + complete it was a wise precaution not to take a chance on both of + us getting killed at the same time. We never flew together but + once. From 1900 to 1908 the total time in the air for both Wilbur + and myself, all put together, was only about four hours." + +Mr. Wright's statement of the brevity of the time spent in actual +flying in order to learn the art will astonish many people. Few +novices would be so rash as to undertake to steer an automobile +alone after only four hours' practice, and despite the fact that the +aviator always has plenty of space to himself the airplane can +hardly yet be regarded as simple a machine to handle as the +automobile. Nevertheless the ease with which the method of its +actual manipulation is acquired is surprising. More work is done in +the classroom and on the ground to make the fighting pilot than in +the air. As we have traced the development of both dirigible and +airplane from the first nascent germ of their creation to the point +at which they were sufficiently developed to play a large part in +the greatest of all wars, let us now consider how hosts of young +men, boys in truth, were trained to fly like eagles and to give +battle in mid-air to foes no less well trained and desperate than +they. + + + + +CHAPTER VI + +THE TRAINING OF THE AVIATOR + + +The Great War, opening in Europe in 1914 and before its end +involving practically the whole world, including our own nation, has +had more to do with the rapid development of aircraft, both +dirigible balloons and airplanes, than any other agency up to the +present time. It tested widely and discarded all but the most +efficient. It established the relative value of the dirigible and +the airplane, so relegating the former to the rear that it is said +that the death of Count Zeppelin, March 8, 1917, was in a measure +due to his chagrin and disappointment. It stimulated at once the +inventiveness of the constructors and the skill and daring of the +pilots. When it opened there were a few thousand machines and +trained pilots in all the armies of Europe. Before the war had been +in progress three years there were more flying men over the +battlefields of the three continents, Europe, Asia, and Africa, +than there were at that time soldiers of all classes enlisted in the +regular army of the United States. Before that war the three arms of +the armed service had been infantry, artillery, and cavalry. The +experience of war added a new arm--the aviation corps--and there is +to-day some doubt whether in importance it should not be ranked +above the cavalry. + +[Illustration: "_America"--Built to Cross the Atlantic Ocean._ (C) U. +& U.] + +When war was declared none of the belligerent nations had its aerial +fleet properly organized, nor was the aviation department in any of +them equal in preparedness to the rest of the army. The two great +antagonists did not differ greatly in the strength of their flying +forces. Germany possessed about 1000 airplanes, exclusive of about +450 in private hands, of all which it is estimated about 700 were +ready for immediate service. Fourteen Zeppelins were in commission, +and other large dirigibles of different types brought the number of +the craft of this sort available up to forty. + +[Illustration: _Wright Airplane in Flight._] + +France was stronger in airplanes but weaker in dirigibles. Of the +former she had about 1500; of the latter not more than twenty-five. +The land was swept for planes in the hands of private owners and, as +the French people had from the first taken a lively interest in +aviation, more than 500 were thus obtained. The French furthermore +at the very outset imperilled their immediate strength in the air +for the sake of the future by adopting four or five machines as army +types and throwing out all of other makes. More than 550 machines +were thus discarded, and their services lost during the first weeks +of the war. The reason for this action was the determination of the +French to equip their aviation corps with standardized machines of a +few types only. Thus interchangeable parts could always be kept in +readiness in case of an emergency, and the aviation corps was +obliged to familiarize itself with the workings of only a few +machines. The objection to the system is the fact that it +practically stopped all development of any machines in France except +the favoured few. Moreover it threw out of the service at a stroke, +or remanded for further instruction, not less than four hundred +pilots who had been trained on the rejected machines. The order was +received with great public dissatisfaction, and for a time +threatened serious trouble in the Chamber of Deputies where +criticisms of the direction of the flying service even menaced the +continuance of the ministry in power. + +At the outset of the war Great Britain lagged far behind the other +chief belligerents in the extent of her preparations for war in the +air. As has been pointed out the people of that nation had never +taken the general interest in aviation which was manifested in +France, and there was no persistent Count von Zeppelin to stir +government and citizens into action. The situation was rather +anomalous. Protected from invasion by its ring of surrounding +waters, England had long concentrated its defensive efforts upon its +navy. But while the danger of invasion by the air was second only to +that by sea the British contemplated with indifference the feverish +building of Zeppelins by Germany, and the multiplication of aircraft +of every sort in all the nations of the continent. The manufacture +of aircraft was left to private builders, and not until the war was +well under way did the government undertake its systematic +supervision. The Royal Aerial Factory, then established, became the +chief manufacturer of machines for army and navy use, and acted also +as the agent for the inspection and testing of machines built by +private firms. Control of the Royal Flying Corps is vested in the +Admiralty, the government holding that the strategy of airships was +distinctly naval. + +In the use of seaplanes the British were early far in the lead of +other nations, as we shall see in a later chapter. And in the prompt +and efficient employment of such aircraft as she possessed at the +opening of the war she far outclassed Germany which in point of +numbers was her superior. At that moment Great Britain possessed +about five hundred machines, of which two hundred were seaplanes, +and fifteen dirigibles. Despite this puny force, however, British +aviators flew across the channel in such numbers to the headquarters +in France that when the Expeditionary Army arrived on the scene it +found ready to its hand a scouting force vastly superior to anything +the Germans could put in the air. It is no exaggeration to say that +the Royal Flying Corps saved Sir John French's army in his long and +gallant fight against the overwhelming numbers of the foe. + +Russia before the war had hidden her aeronautic activities behind +the dreary curtain of miles of steppe and marsh that shut her off +from the watchfulness of Western Europe. Professional aviators, +indeed, had gone thither to make exhibition flights for enormous +purses and had brought back word of huge airplanes in course of +construction and an eager public interest in the subject of flying. +But the secrecy which all the governments so soon to be plunged in +war sought to throw about their production of aircraft was +especially easy for Russia in her isolation. When the storm burst +her air fleet was not less than eight hundred airplanes, and at +least twenty-five dirigibles. + +A competent authority estimates that at the outbreak of the war the +various Powers possessed a total of 4980 aircraft of all sorts. This +sounds like a colossal fleet, but by 1917 it was probably multiplied +more than tenfold. Of the increase of aircraft we can judge only by +guesswork. The belligerents keep their output an inviolable secret. +It was known that many factories with a capacity of from thirty to +fifty 'planes a week were working in the chief belligerent lands, +that the United States was shipping aircraft in parts to avoid +violation of neutrality laws before their entrance upon the war, and +that American capital operated factories in Canada whence the +completed craft could be shipped regardless of such laws. How great +was the loss to be offset against this new construction is a subject +on which no authoritative figures are available. + +It was estimated early in the war that the life of an airplane in +active service seldom exceeded three weeks. In passing it may be +mentioned that by some misapprehension on the part of the public, +this estimate of the duration of a machine was thought to cover also +the average life of the aviators in service. Happily this was far +from true. The mortality among the machines was not altogether due +to wounds sustained in combat, but largely to general wear and tear, +rough usage, and constant service. The slightest sign of weakness in +a machine led to its instant condemnation and destruction, for if it +should develop in mid-air into a serious fault it might cost the +life of the aviator and even a serious disaster to the army which he +was serving. As the war went on the period of service of a machine +became even briefer, for with the growing demand for faster and more +quickly controllable machines everything was sacrificed to lightness +and speed. The factor of safety which early in the war was six to +eight was reduced to three and a half, and instances were known in +all services of machines simply collapsing and going to pieces under +their own weight without wound or shock. + +About the extent to which the belligerent governments developed +their air forces after the outbreak of war there was during the +continuance of that conflict great reticence maintained by all of +them. At the outset there was little employment of the flyers except +on scouting reconnaissance work, or in directing artillery fire. The +raids of Zeppelins upon England, of seaplanes on Kiel and Cuxhaven, +of airplanes on Friedrichshaven, Essen, and Venice came later. It +has been noted by military authorities that, while Germany was +provided at first with the largest aviation force of all the +belligerents, she either underestimated its value at the outset, or +did not know how to employ it, for she blundered into and through +Belgium using her traditional Uhlans for scouts, to the virtual +exclusion of airmen. The effectiveness of the Belgian fight for +delay is ascribed largely to the intelligent and effective use its +strategists made of the few aircraft they possessed. + +Wellington was wont to say that the thing he yearned for most in +battle was to "see the other side of that hill." + +Napoleon wrote: + + Nothing is more contradictory, nothing more bewildering than the + multitude of reports of spies, or of officers sent out to + reconnoitre. Some locate army corps where they have seen only + detachments; others see only detachments where they ought to have + seen army corps. + +[Illustration: (C) U. & U. + +_The Lafayette Escadrille--First Americans to Fly in France._ +(_Lufbery on left, Thaw on right._)] + +So the two great protagonists of the opening years of the +nineteenth century deplored their military blindness. In the opening +years of the twentieth it was healed. All that Wellington strove to +see, all that the cavalry failed to find for Napoleon is to-day +brought to headquarters by airmen, neatly set forth in maps, +supported by photographs of the enemy's positions taken from the +sky. + +Before describing the exploits of the airmen in actual campaign let +us consider some account of how they were trained for their arduous +and novel duties. + +To the non-professional an amazing thing about the employment of +aircraft in war has been the rapidity with which pilots are trained. +The average layman would think that to learn the art of manoeuvring +an airplane with such swiftness as to evade the attacks of an enemy, +and to detect precisely the proper moment and method of attacking +him in turn, would require long and arduous practice in the air. But +as we have seen in earlier chapters, inventors like the Wrights, +Bleriot, and Farman learned to fly with but a few hours spent in the +air, with flights lasting less than ten minutes each. So too the +army aviators spent but little time aloft, though their course of +instruction covered in all a period of about four months. + +Some account of the method of instruction as reported by several out +of the hundred or more American boys who went to fly for France may +be interesting. + +As a rule the aviators were from twenty to twenty-five years of age. +"Below twenty boys are too rash; above twenty-five they are too +prudent," said a sententious French aviator. A slight knowledge of +motors such as would be obtained from familiarity with automobiles +was a marked advantage at the start, for the first task of the +novice was to make himself familiar with every type of airplane +engine. The army pilot in all the armies was the aristocrat of the +service. Mechanics kept his motor in shape, and helpers housed, +cleaned, and brought forth his machine for action. But while all but +the actual piloting and fighting was spared him, there was always +the possibility of his making an untimely landing back of the +enemy's lines with an engine that would not work. To prepare for +such an emergency he was taught all the intricacies of motor +construction, so that he might speedily correct any minor fault. + +In our army, and indeed in all others, applicants for appointment to +the aviation corps were subjected to scientific tests of their +nerves, and their mental and physical alertness. How they would +react to the sudden explosion of a shell near their ears, how long +it took the candidate to respond to a sudden call for action, how +swiftly he reacted to a sensation of touch were all tested and +measured by delicate electric apparatus. A standard was fixed, +failing to attain which, the applicant was rejected. The practical +effect might be to determine how long after suddenly discovering a +masked machine gun a given candidate would take before taking the +action necessary to avoid its fire. Or how quickly would he pull the +lever necessary to guard against a sudden gust of wind. To the +layman it would appear that problems of this sort could only be +solved in the presence of the actual attack, but science, which +enables artillerists to destroy a little village beyond the hills +which they never see, was able to devise instruments to answer these +questions in the quiet of the laboratory. + +One of the best known flying schools of the French army was at Pau, +where on broad level plains were, in 1917, four separate camps for +aviators, each with its group of hangars for the machines, its +repair shops, and with a tall wireless tower upstanding in the +midst for the daily war news from Paris. On these plains the Wright +Brothers had made some of their earliest French flights. A little +red barn which they had made their workshop was still standing there +when war suddenly turned the spot into a flying school often with as +many as five thousand pupils in attendance. "To-day that little red +barn," writes Carroll Dana Winslow, one of the Americans who went to +fly for France, "stands as a monument to American stupidity, for +when we allowed the Wrights to go abroad to perfect their ideas +instead of aiding them to carry on their work at home we lost a +golden opportunity. Now the United States which gave to the world +the first practical airplane is the least advanced in this +all-important science." + +Arrived at the school the tyro studies the fundamentals of flying in +the classroom and on the field for two months before he is allowed +to go up--to receive as they express it, his _bapteme de l'air_. He +picks motors to pieces, and puts them together, he learns the +principles of airplane construction, and can discourse on such +topics as the angle of attack of the cellule, the incidence of the +wings, and the carrying power of the tail-plane. More than any other +science aviation has a vocabulary of its own, and a peculiarly +cosmopolitan one drawn from all tongues, but with the French +predominating. America gave the airplane to France, but France has +given the science its terminology. + +The maps of the battlefields of this war are the marvels of military +science. Made from the air they show every road and watercourse, +every ditch and gully, every patch of woodland, every farmhouse, +church, or stonewall. Much of the early work of the aviator is in +learning to make such maps, both by sketches and by the employment +of the camera. It is no easy task. From an airplane one thousand +feet up the earth seems to be all a dead level. Slight hills, gentle +elevations, offer no contrast to the general plain. A road is not +easy to tell from a trench. All these things the aviator must first +learn to see with accuracy, and then to depict on his map with +precision. He must learn furthermore to read the maps of his +fellows--a task presupposing some knowledge of how they had been +made. He must learn to fly by a map, to recognize objects by the +technical signs upon it, to estimate his drift before the wind +because of which the machine moves sidewise _en crabe_--or like a +crab as the French phrase it. + +His first flight the novice makes in a machine especially fitted for +instruction. The levers are fitted with double handles so that both +learner and tutor may hold them at once. If the greenhorn pushes +when he should pull the veteran's grip is hard on the handle to +correct the error before it can cost two lives--for in the air there +is little time to experiment. Either set of controls will steer the +machine. The pupil grasps his levers, and puts his feet on the +pedals. At first the instructor will do the steering, the pupil +following with hands and feet as the motions made by the instructor +are communicated to him by the moving levers. For a time the two +work together. Then as the instructor senses that the student +himself is doing the right thing he gradually lessens his own +activity, until after a few days' practice the student finds that he +is flying with a passenger and directing the machine himself. In +France, at any rate, they teach in brief lessons. Each flight for +instruction is limited to about five minutes. At first the student +operates in a "penguin"--a machine which will run swiftly along the +ground but cannot rise. It is no easy trick at first, to control the +"penguin" and keep its course direct. Then he will try the "jumps" +in a machine that leaps into the air and descends automatically +after a twenty to forty yards' flight. As Darius Green expressed it +so long ago, the trouble about flying comes when you want to alight. +That holds as true to-day with the most perfect airplanes, as in +boyhood days when one jumped from the barn in perfect confidence +that the family umbrella would serve as a parachute. To alight +with an airplane the pilot--supposing his descent to be voluntary +and not compelled by accident or otherwise--surveys the country +about him for a level field, big and clear enough for the machine to +run off its momentum in a run of perhaps two hundred yards on its +wheels. Then he gets up a good rate of speed, points the nose of the +'plane down at a sharp angle to the ground, cuts off the engine, and +glides. The angle of the fall must be great enough for the force of +gravity to keep up the speed. There is a minimum speed at which an +airplane will remain subject to control. Loss of speed--"_perte de +vitesse_," as the French call it--is the aviator's most common peril +in landing. If it occurs after his engine is cut off and he has not +the time to start it again, the machine tilts and slides down +sideways. If it occurs higher up a _vrille_ is the probable result. +In this the plane plunges toward the ground spinning round and round +with the corner of one wing as a pivot. In either case a serious +accident is almost inevitable. + +In fact the land is almost as dangerous to the navigator of the air +as it is to him of the sea. To make good landings is an art only +perfected by constant practice. To shut off the engine at precisely +the right moment, to choose an angle of descent that will secure the +greatest speed and at the same moment bring you to your landing +place, to change at the most favourable time from this angle to one +that will bring you to the ground at the most gentle of obtuse +angles, and to let your machine, weighing perhaps a ton, drop as +lightly as a bird and run along the earth for several hundred feet +before coming to a full stop, are all features of making a landing +which the aviator has to master. + +In full air there are but few perils to encounter. All airmen unite +in declaring that even to the novice in an airplane there is none of +that sense of dizziness or vertigo which so many people experience +in looking down from high places. The flyer has no sense of motion. +A speed of forty miles an hour and of one hundred miles are the +same to him. As he looks down the earth seems to be slipping away +from him, and moving by, tailwards, like an old-fashioned panorama +being unwound. + +Everything about the control of an airplane has to be learned +mechanically. Once learned the aviator applies his knowledge +intuitively. He "senses" the position and progress of the craft by +the feel of the controls, as the man at the yacht's tiller tells +mysteriously how she is responding to the breeze by "the feel." Even +before the 'plane responds to some sudden gust of wind, or drops +into a hole in the air, the trained aviator will foresee precisely +what is about to happen. He reads it in some little thrill of his +lever, a quiver in the frame, as the trained boxer reads in his +antagonist's eyes the sort of blow that is coming. This instinctive +control of his machine is absolutely essential for the fighting +pilot who must keep his eyes on the movements of his enemy, watch +out for possible aircraft guns below, and all the time be striving +to get an advantageous position whence he can turn his machine gun +loose. A row of gauges, dials, a compass, and a map on the frame of +the car in which he sits will engage his attention in any moments of +leisure. It is needless to remark that the successful pilot must +have a quick eye and steady nerves. + +Nerve and rapidity of thought save the aviator in many a ticklish +position. It is perhaps a tribute to the growing perfection of the +airplanes that in certain moments of peril the machine is best left +wholly to itself. Its stability is such that if freed from control +it will often right itself and glide safely to earth. This not +infrequently occurs in the moment of the dreaded _perte de vitesse_, +to which reference has been made. In his book, _With the French +Flying Corps_, Mr. Carroll Dana Winslow, a daring American aviator, +tells of two such experiences, the one under his observation, the +other happening to himself: + + The modern airplane is naturally so stable [he says] that if not + interfered with it will always attempt to right itself before the + dreaded _vrille_ occurs, and fall _en feuille morte_. Like a leaf + dropping in an autumn breeze is what this means, and no other + words explain the meaning better. + + A curious instance of this happened one day as I was watching the + flights and waiting for my turn. I was particularly interested in + a machine that had just risen from the "Grande Piste." It was + acting very peculiarly. Suddenly its motor was heard to stop. + Instead of diving it commenced to wabble, indicating a _perte de + vitesse_. It slipped off on the wing and then dove. I watched it + intently, expecting it to turn into the dreaded spiral. Instead + it began to climb. Then it went off on the wing, righted itself, + again slipped off on the wing, volplaned, and went off once more. + This extraordinary performance was repeated several times, while + each time the machine approached nearer and nearer to the ground. + I thought that the pilot would surely be killed. Luck was with + him, however, for his slip ceased just as he made contact with + the ground and he settled in a neighbouring field. It was a very + bumpy landing but the airplane was undamaged. + + The officers rushed to the spot to find out what was the matter. + They found the pilot unconscious, but otherwise unhurt. Later in + the hospital he explained that the altitude had affected his + heart and that he had fainted. As he felt himself going he + remembered his instructions and relinquished the controls, at the + same time stopping his motor. His presence of mind and his luck + had saved his life--his luck I say, for had the machine not + righted itself at the moment of touching the ground it would have + been inevitably wrecked. + +The spectacle, though terrifying, proved valuable as an education to +young Winslow who a few days later was ordered to a test of +ascension of two thousand feet. This is his story: + + I had a narrow escape. I had received orders to make a flight + during a snow-storm. I rose to the prescribed height and then + prepared to make my descent. A whirling squall caught me in the + act of making a spiral. I felt the tail of my machine go down and + the nose point up. I had a classical _perte de vitesse_. I looked + out and saw that I was less than eight hundred feet above the + ground and approaching it at an alarming rate of speed. I had + already shut off the motor for the spiral, and turning it on, I + knew, would not help me in the least. Suddenly I remembered the + pilot who fainted. I let go of everything, and with a sickening + feeling I looked down at the up-rushing ground. At that instant I + felt the machine give a lurch and right itself. I grabbed the + controls, turned on the motor, and resumed my line of flight only + two hundred feet in the air. All this happened in a few seconds, + but my helplessness seemed to have lasted for hours. I had had a + very close call--not as close as the man who fainted, but + sufficiently so for me. + +[Illustration: _Distinguishing Marks of American Planes._] + +We have said that the process of training a flyer is remarkably +expeditious. So far as the fundamentals of his profession are +concerned it is. But his education in fact never ends. In the mere +matter of reconnaissance, for example, experience is everything. One +might imagine that ten thousand men marching on a road would look +alike in numbers whatever the nationality. Not so. To the untrained +eye five thousand or six thousand French troops will look as +numerous as ten thousand British or Germans. Why? Because the French +march in much more extended order. Into their democratic military +methods the precision and mechanical exactitude of German drill do +not enter. With the same number of troops they will extend further +along the road by at least a third than would a detachment of either +of the other armies. + +[Illustration: _What an Aviator must Watch._ + + 1 _Watch_ + 2 _Altimeter-registering height_ + 3 _Compass_ + 4 _Pressure gauges for two gasoline tanks_ + 5 _Dial registering engine revolutions_ + 6 _Inclinometer, registering level fore and aft_ + 7 _Oil pulsator_ + 8 _Control stick, with thumb switch_ + 9 _Switches, two magnetos_ + 10 _Air speed indicator_ + 11 _Gasolene supply pipe_] + +And again. Great skill has been developed in the course of the war +in the art of concealing positions and particularly in disguising +cannon. The art has given a new word to the world--_camouflage_. +Correspondents have repeatedly told of their amazement in suddenly +coming across a battery of 75's, or a great siege gun so cunningly +hidden in the edge of a thicket they would be almost upon it before +detecting it. From an airplane 2500 feet or more in the air it +requires sharp eyes to penetrate artillery disguises. A French poilu +in a little book of reminiscences tells with glee how a German +observation aviator deceived his batteries. A considerable body of +French troops being halted in an open field, out of sight of the +enemy batteries, found the glare of the sun oppressive, and having +some time to wait threw down their equipment and betook themselves +to the cool shadows of a neighbouring wood. Along came an enemy +aviator. From his lofty height the haversacks, blanket-rolls, and +other pieces of dark equipment lying upon the grass looked like a +body of troops resting. After sailing over and around the field +twice as though to make assurance doubly sure he sailed swiftly +away. In a very few minutes shells from a concealed battery began +dropping into that field at the rate of several a minute. Every foot +of it was torn up, and the French soldiers from their retreat in the +woods saw their equipment being blown to pieces in every direction. +The spectacle was harrowing, but the reflection that the aviator +undoubtedly thought that he had turned his guns on a field full of +men was cheering to them in their safety. + +An art which the fighting aviator must master early in his career is +that of high diving. Many of us have seen a hawk, soaring high in +air, suddenly fold his pinions and drop like a plummet full on the +back of some luckless pigeon flapping along ungainly scores of feet +below, or a fishhawk drop like a meteor from the sky with a +resounding splash upon the bosom of some placid stream and rise +again carrying a flapping fish to his eyrie in the distant pines. +The hunting methods of the hawk are the fighting methods of the +airman. But his dives exceed in height and daring anything known to +the feathered warriors of the air. + +Boelke, most famous of all the German airmen--or for that matter of +all aerial fighters of his day--who in 1917 held the record for the +number of enemy flyers brought down, was famed for his savage dives. +He would fly at a great height, fifteen thousand or more feet, thus +assuring himself that there was no enemy above him. When he sighted +his prey he would make an absolutely vertical nose dive, dropping at +the rate of 150 miles an hour or more and spattering shots from his +machine gun as he fell. Six hundred shots a minute and the sight of +this charging demon were enough to test the nerve of any threatened +aviator. In some fashion Boelke was enabled to give a slight spiral +form to his dive so that his victim was enveloped in a ring of +bullets that blocked his retreat whichever way he might turn for +safety. + +Personality in fighting counted much for success. Boelke's method, +its audacity and fierceness, placed him first in the list of airmen +with killing records. Captain Immelman, also a German, who rolled up +a score of thirty enemies put out of action before he himself was +slain, followed entirely different tactics. His battle manoeuvre +savoured much of the circus, including as it did complete +loop-the-loop. For instead of approaching his adversary from the +side, or as would be said in the sea navy, on the beam, he followed +squarely behind him. His study was to get the nose of his machine +almost on the tail of the aircraft he was pursuing. This gave him, +to begin with, what used to be called in the navy a raking position, +for his shots would rake the whole body of the enemy airplane from +tail to nose with a fair chance of hitting either the fuel tank, +the engine, or the pilot. Failing to secure the position he most +coveted, this daring German would surrender it with apparent +unconcern to the enemy who usually fell into the trap. For just as +the foeman's machine came up to the tail of Immelman's craft the +latter would suddenly turn his nose straight to earth, drop like a +stone, execute a backward loop, and come up behind his surprised +adversary who thus found the tables suddenly turned. + +These two German aviators long held the record for execution done in +single combat. Boelke was killed before the air duel vanished to be +replaced by the battle of scores of planes high in air. Immelman +survived longer, but with the incoming of the pitched battle his +personal prowess counted for less and his fame waned. + +In July, 1917, arrangements were complete in the United States for +the immediate training in the fundamentals of aviation of ten +thousand young Americans. The expectation was that long before the +end of the year facilities would be provided for the training of +many more. Both France and Great Britain sent over squads of their +best aviators, some of them so incapacitated from wounds as to be +disqualified for further fighting, but still vigorous enough for the +work of an instructor. The aerial service took hold upon the +imagination and the patriotism of young America as did no other. The +flock of volunteers was far beyond the capacity of the government to +care for, and many drifted over into private aviation schools which +were established in great numbers. The need for the young students +was admittedly great. More and more the impression had grown in both +Great Britain and France that the airplane was to be the final +arbiter in the war. It was hailed at once as the most dangerous +enemy of the submarine and the most efficient ally of troops in the +field. No number seemed too great for the needs of the entente +allies, and their eagerness to increase their flying force was +strengthened by the knowledge of the fact that Germany was building +feverishly in order that its fleet in the air might not be +eclipsed. + +Perhaps the best description of an idealized aviator was given by +Lieutenant Lufbery, of the Lafayette Escadrille, who came to the +United States to assist in training the new corps of American flying +men. Lufbery himself was a most successful air fighter--an "ace" +several times over. Though French by lineage, he was an American +citizen and had been a soldier in the United States Army. In October +of 1917 his record was thirteen Boches brought down within the +allied lines. In the allied air service one gets no credit for the +defeated enemy plane if it falls within the enemy lines. + +While young Americans were being drilled into shape for service in +the flying corps, Lufbery gave this outline of the type of men the +service would demand: + + It will take the cream of the American youth between the ages of + eighteen and twenty-six to man America's thousands of airplanes, + and the double cream of youth to qualify as chasers in the + Republic's new aerial army. + + Intensive and scientific training must be given this cream of + youth upon which America's welfare in the war must rest. + Experience has shown that for best results the fighting aviator + should be not over twenty-six years old or under eighteen. The + youth under eighteen has shown himself to be bold, but he lacks + judgment. Men over twenty-six are too cautious. + + The best air fighters, especially a man handling a chaser, must + be of perfect physique. He must have the coolest nerve and be of + a temperament that longs for a fight. He must have a sense of + absolute duty and fearlessness, the keenest sense of action, and + perfect sight to gain the absolute "feel" of his machine. + + He must be entirely familiar with aerial acrobatics. The latter + frequently means life or death. + + Fighting twenty-two thousand feet in the air produces a heavy + strain on the heart. It is vital therefore that this organ show + not the slightest evidence of weakness. Such weakness would + decrease the aviator's fighting efficiency. + + The American boys who come over to France for this work will be + subject to rapid and frequent variations in altitude. It is a + common occurrence to dive vertically from six thousand to ten + thousand feet with the motor pulling hard. + + Sharpness of vision is imperative. Otherwise the enemy may escape + or the aviator himself will be surprised or mistake a friendly + machine for a hostile craft. The differences are often merely + insignificant colours and details. + + America's aviators must be men who will be absolute masters of + themselves under fire, thinking out their attacks as their fight + progresses. + + Experience has shown that the chaser men should weigh under 180 + pounds. Americans from the ranks of sport, youth who have played + baseball, polo, football, or have shot and participated in other + sports will make the best fighting aviators. + + + + +CHAPTER VII + +SOME METHODS OF THE WAR IN THE AIR + + +The fighting tactics of the airmen with the various armies were +developed as the war ran its course. As happens so often in the +utilization of a new device, either of war or peace, the manner of +its use was by no means what was expected at the outset. For the +first year of the war the activities of the airmen fell far short of +realizing Tennyson's conception of + + The nations' airy navies grappling in the central blue. + +The grappling was only incidental. The flyers seemed destined to be +scouts and rangefinders, rather than fighters. Such pitched combats +as there were took rather the form of duels, conducted with +something of the formality of the days of chivalry. The aviator +intent upon a fight would take his machine over the enemy's line and +in various ways convey a challenge to a rival--often a hostile +aviator of fame for his daring and skill in combat. If the duel was +to the death it would be watched usually from the ground by the +comrades of the two duellists, and if the one who fell left his body +in the enemy's lines, the victor would gather up his identification +disk and other personal belongings and drop them the next day in the +camp of the dead man's comrades with a note of polite regret. + +It was all very daring and chivalric, but it was not war according +to twentieth century standards and was not long continued. + +[Illustration: (C) U. & U. + +_A Caproni Triplane._] + +When at first the aviators of one side flew over the enemy's +territory diligently mapping out his trenches, observing the +movements of his troops, or indicating, by dropping bunches of +tinsel for the sun to shine upon or breaking smoke bombs, the +position of his hidden battery, the foe thus menaced sought to drive +them away with anti-aircraft guns. These proved to be ineffective +and it may be said here that throughout the war the swift airplanes +proved themselves more than a match for the best anti-aircraft +artillery that had been devised. They could complete their +reconnaissances or give their signals at a height out of range of +these guns, or at least so great that the chances of their being hit +were but slight. It was amazing the manner in which an airplane +could navigate a stretch of air full of bursting shrapnel and yet +escape serious injury. The mere puncture, even the repeated +puncture, of the wings did no damage. Only lucky shots that might +pierce the fuel tank, hit the engine, touch an aileron or an +important stay or strut, could affect the machine, while in due +course of time a light armour on the bottom of the fusillage or body +of the machine in which the pilot sat, protected the operator to +some degree. Other considerations, however, finally led to the +rejection of armour. + +[Illustration: (C) U. & U. + +_A Caproni Triplane_ (_Showing Propellers and Fuselage_).] + +Accordingly it soon became the custom of the commanders who saw +their works being spied out by an enemy soaring above to send up one +or more aircraft to challenge the invader and drive him away. This +led to the second step in the development in aerial strategy. It was +perfectly evident that a man could not observe critically a position +and draw maps of it, or seek out the hiding place of massed +batteries and indicate them to his own artillerists, and at the same +time protect himself from assaults. Accordingly the flying corps of +every army gradually became differentiated into observation machines +and fighting machines--or _avions de reglage_, _avions de +bombardement_, and _avions de chasse_, as the French call them. In +their order these titles were applied to heavy slow-moving machines +used for taking photographs and directing artillery fire, more +heavily armed machines of greater weight used in raids and bombing +attacks, and the swift fighting machines, quick to rise high, and +swift to manoeuvre which would protect the former from the enemy, or +drive away the enemy's observation machines as the case might be. In +the form which the belligerents finally adopted as most +advantageous the fighting airplanes were mainly biplanes equipped +with powerful motors seldom of less than 140 horse-power, and +carrying often but one man who is not merely the pilot, but the +operator of the machine gun with which each was equipped. Still +planes carrying two men, and even three of whom one was the pilot, +the other two the operators of the machine guns were widely adopted. +They had indeed their disadvantages. They were slower to rise and +clumsier in the turns. The added weight of the two gunmen cut down +the amount of fuel that could be carried and limited the radius of +action. But one curious disadvantage which would not at first +suggest itself to the lay mind was the fact that the roar of the +propeller was so great that no possible communication could pass +between the pilot and the gunner. Their co-operation must be +entirely instinctive or there could be no unity of action--and in +practice it was found that there was little indeed. The smaller +machine, carrying but one man, was quicker in the get-away and could +rise higher in less time--a most vital consideration, for in the +tactics of aerial warfare it is as desirable to get above your enemy +as in the days of the old line of battleships it was advantageous to +secure a position off the stern of your enemy so that you might rake +him fore and aft. + +The machines ultimately found to best meet the needs of aerial +fighting were for the Germans always the Fokker, and the Taube--so +called from its resemblance to a flying dove, though it was far from +being the dove of peace. The wings are shaped like those of a bird +and the tail adds to the resemblance. The Allies after testing the +Taube design contemptuously rejected it, and indeed the Germans +themselves substituted the Fokker for it in the war's later days. + +The English used the "Vickers Scout," built of aluminum and steel +and until late in the war usually designed to carry two aviators. +This machine unlike most of the others has the propeller at the +stern, called a "pusher" in contradistinction to the "tractor," +acting as the screw of a ship and avoiding the interference with the +rifle fire which the pulling, or tractor propeller mounted before +the pilot to a certain degree presents. The Vickers machine is +lightly armoured. The English also use what was known as the "D. H. +5," a machine carrying a motor of very high horse-power, while the +Sopwith and Bristol biplane were popular as fighting craft. + +The French pinned their faith mainly to the Farman, the Caudron, the +Voisin, and the Moraine-Saulnier machines. The Bleriot and the +Nieuport, which were for some reason ruled out at the beginning of +the war, were afterwards re-adopted and employed in great numbers. + +It would be gratifying to an American author to be able to describe, +or at least to mention, the favourite machine of the American +aviators who flocked to France immediately upon the declaration of +war, but the mortifying fact is that having no airplanes of our own, +our gallant volunteer soldiers of the air had to be equipped +throughout by the French with machines of their favourite types. +After we entered the war we adopted a 'plane of American design to +which was given the name "Liberty plane." + +It may be worth while to revert for a moment to the distinction +drawn in a preceding paragraph between the pusher propeller and the +tractor which revolved in front of the aviator and of his machine +gun. It would seem almost incredible that two heavy blades of hard +wood revolving at a speed not less that twelve hundred times a +minute, a speed so rapid that their passage in front of the eyes of +the aviator interfered in no way with his vision, should not have +blocked a stream of bullets falling from a gun at the rate of more +than six hundred a minute. Nevertheless it was claimed during the +earlier days of the war that these bullets were not appreciably +diverted by the whirling propellers nor were the latter apparently +injured by the missiles. The latter assertion, however, must have +been to some extent disproved because it came about that the +propellers of the later machines were rimmed with a thin coating of +steel lest the blades be cut by the bullets. But the amazing ability +of modern science to cope with what seemed to be an insoluble +problem was demonstrated by the invention of a device light and +compact enough to be carried in an airplane, which applied to the +machine gun and timed in accordance with the revolutions of the +propeller so synchronized the shots with those revolutions that the +stream of lead passed between the whirling blades never once +striking. The machine was entirely automatic, requiring no attention +on the part of the operator after the gun was once started on its +discharge. This device was originally used by the Germans who +applied it to their Fokker machines. It was claimed for it that by +doing away with the wastage caused by the diversion of the course of +bullets, which struck the revolving propellers, it actually saved +for effective use about thirty per cent. of the ammunition employed. +As the amount of ammunition which can be carried by an airplane is +rigidly limited this gave to the appliance a positive value. + +[Illustration: _The Terror that Flieth by Night._ + +_Painting by William J. Wilson._] + +Reference has been made to the extraordinary immunity of flying +airplanes to the attacks of anti-aircraft guns. The number of wounds +they could sustain without being brought to earth was amazing. +Grahame-White tells of a comparison made in one of the airdromes of +the wounds sustained by the machines after a day's hard scouting and +fighting. One was found to have been hit no less than thirty-seven +times. Curiously enough the man who navigated it escaped unscathed. +Wounds in the wings are harmless. But the puncture of the fuel tank +almost certainly means an explosion and the death of the aviator in +the flame thousands of feet in the air. During an air battle before +Arras, a British aviator encountered this fate. When his tank was +struck and the fusillage, or body, of his machine burst into flames, +he knew that he was lost. By no possibility could he reach the +ground before he should be burned to death. A neighbouring aviator +flying not far from him told the story afterwards: + + Jack was not in the thick of this fight [said he]. He was rather + on the outskirts striving to get in when I suddenly saw his whole + machine enveloped in a sheet of flame. Instantly he turned + towards the nearest German and made at him with the obvious + intention of running him down and carrying him to earth in the + same cloud of fire. The man thus threatened, twisted and turned + in a vain effort to escape the red terror bearing down upon him. + But suffering acutely as he must have been, Jack followed his + every move until the two machines crashed, and whirling over and + over each other like two birds in an aerial combat fell to earth + and to destruction. They landed inside the German lines so we + heard no more about them. But we could see the smoke from the + burning debris for some time. + +As the range of anti-aircraft guns increased the flyers were driven +higher and higher into the air to escape their missiles. At one time +4500 feet was looked upon as a reasonably safe height, but when the +war had been under way about two years the weapons designed to +combat aircraft were so improved that they could send their shots +effectively 10,000 feet into the air. If the aircraft had been +forced to operate at that height their usefulness would have been +largely destroyed, for it is obvious that for observation purposes +the atmospheric haze at such a height would obscure the view and +make accurate mapping of the enemy's position impossible. For +offensive purposes too the airplanes at so great an elevation would +be heavily handicapped, if not indeed rendered impotent. As we shall +see later, dropping a bomb from a swiftly moving airplane upon a +target is no easy task. It never falls direct but partakes of the +motion of the plane. It is estimated that for every thousand feet of +elevation a bomb will advance four hundred feet in the direction +that the aircraft is moving, provided its speed is not in excess of +sixty miles an hour. As a result marksmanship at a height of more +than five thousand feet is practically impossible. + +In the main this situation is met, as all situations in war in which +efficiency can only be attained at the expense of great personal +danger are met, namely, by braving the danger. When the aviators +have an attack in contemplation they fly low and snap their fingers +at the puff balls of death as the shrapnel from their appearance +when bursting may well be called. Naturally, efforts were made early +in the war to lessen the danger by armouring the body of the machine +sufficiently to protect the aviator and his engine--for if the +aviator escaped a shot which found the engine, his plight would be +almost as bad as if the missile had struck him. + +The main difficulty with armouring the machines grew out of the +added weight. The more efficient the armour, the less fuel could be +carried and the less ammunition. If too heavily loaded the speed of +the machine would be reduced and its ability to climb rapidly upon +which the safety of the aviator usually depends, either in +reconnaissance or fighting, would be seriously impeded. The first +essays in protective armour took the form of the installation of a +thin sheet of steel along the bottom of the body of the craft. This +turned aside missiles from below provided the plane were not so near +the ground as to receive them at the moment of their highest +velocity. But it was only an unsatisfactory makeshift. At the higher +altitudes it was unnecessary and in conflict with other airplanes it +proved worthless, because in a battle in the air the shots of the +enemy are more likely to come from above or at least from levels in +the same plane. The armoured airplane was quickly found to have less +chance of mounting above its enemy, because of the weight it +carried, and before long the principle of protecting an airplane as +a battleship is protected was abandoned, except in the case of the +heavier machines intended to operate as scouts or guides to +artillery, holding their flights near the earth and protected from +attack from above by their attendant fleet of swift fighting +machines. Of these the Vickers machine used mainly by the British is +a common type. It is built throughout of steel and aluminum, and the +entire fusillage is clothed with steel plating which assures +protection to the two occupants from either upward or lateral fire. +The sides of the body are carried up so that only the heads of the +aviators are visible. But to accomplish this measure of protection +for the pilot and the gunner who operates the machine gun from a +seat forward of the pilot, the weight of the craft is so greatly +increased that it is but little esteemed for any save the most +sluggish manoeuvre. + +Indeed just as aircraft, as a factor in war, have come to be more +like the cavalry in the army, or the destroyers and scout cruisers +in the navy, so the tendency has been to discard everything in their +design that might by any possibility interfere with their speed and +their ability to turn and twist, and change direction and elevation +with the utmost celerity under the most difficult of conditions. It +is possible that should this war run into the indefinite future we +may see aircraft built on ponderous lines and heavily armoured, and +performing in the air some of the functions that the British "tanks" +have discharged on the battlefields. But at the end of three years +of war, and at the moment when aerial hostilities seemed to be +engaging more fully than even before the inventive genius of the +nations, and the dash and skill of the fighting flyers, the tendency +is all toward the light and swift machine. + +[Illustration: Photo by Press Illustrating Service. + +_A Curtis Seaplane Leaving a Battleship._] + +The attitude of the fighting airmen is somewhat reminiscent of that +of America's greatest sea-fighter, Admiral Farragut. Always opposed +to ironclads, the hero of Mobile Bay used to say that when he went +to sea he did not want to go in an iron coffin, and that when a +shell had made its way through one side of his ship he didn't want +any obstacle presented to impede its passing out of the other side. + +[Illustration: (C) U. & U. + +_Launching a Hydroaeroplane._] + +The all important and even vital necessity for speed also detracted +much from the value of aircraft in offensive operations. It was +found early that you could not mount on a flying machine guns of +sufficient calibre to be of material use in attacking fortified +positions. If it was necessary for the planes to proceed any +material distance before reaching their objective, the weight of +the necessary fuel would preclude the carriage of heavy artillery. +In the case of seaplanes which might be carried on the deck of a +battleship to a point reasonably contiguous to the object to be +attacked, this difficulty was not so serious. This was demonstrated +to some extent by the British raids on the German naval bases of +Cuxhaven and Wilhelmshaven, but even in these instances it was bombs +dropped by aviators, not gunfire that injured the enemy's works. But +for the airplane proper this added weight was so positive a handicap +as to practically destroy its usefulness as an assailant of +fortified positions. + +The heavier weapons of offence which could be carried by the +airplane even of the highest development were the bombs. These once +landed might cause the greatest destruction, but the difficulty of +depositing them directly upon a desired target was not to be +overcome. The dirigible balloon enjoyed a great advantage over the +airplane in this respect, for it was able to hover over the spot +which it desired to hit and to discharge its bombs in a direct +perpendicular line with enough initial velocity from a spring gun to +overcome largely any tendency to deviate from the perpendicular. But +an airplane cannot stop. When it stops it must descend. If it is +moving at the moderate speed of sixty miles an hour when it drops +its missile, the bomb itself will move forward at the rate of sixty +miles an hour until gravity has overcome the initial forward force. +Years before the war broke out, tests were held in Germany and +France of the ability of aviators to drop a missile upon a target +marked out upon the ground. One such test in France required the +dropping of bombs from a height of 2400 feet upon a target 170 feet +long by 40 broad--or about the dimensions of a small and rather +stubby ship. The results were uniformly disappointing. The most +creditable record was made by an American aviator, Lieutenant Scott, +formerly of the United States Army. His first three shots missed +altogether, but thereafter he landed eight within the limits. In +Germany the same year the test was to drop bombs upon two targets, +one resembling a captive Zeppelin, the other a military camp 330 +feet square. The altitude limit was set at 660 feet. This, though a +comparatively easy test, was virtually a failure. Only two +competitors succeeded in dropping a bomb into the square at all, +while the balloon was hit but once. + +The character and size of the bombs employed by aircraft naturally +differed very widely, particularly as to size, between those carried +by dirigibles and those used by airplanes. The Zeppelin shell varied +in weight between two hundred and two hundred and fifty pounds. It +was about forty-seven inches long by eight and a half inches in +diameter. Its charge varied according to the use to which it was to +be put. If it was hoped that it would drop in a crowded spot and +inflict the greatest amount of damage to human life and limb it +would carry a bursting charge, shrapnel, and bits of iron, all of +which on the impact of the missile upon the earth would be hurled in +every direction to a radius exceeding forty yards. If damage to +buildings, on the other hand, was desired, some high explosive such +as picric acid would be used which would totally wreck any +moderate-sized building upon which the shell might fall. In many +instances, particularly in raids upon cities such as London, +incendiary shells were used charged with some form of liquid fire, +which rapidly spread the conflagration, and which itself was +practically inextinguishable. + +Shells or bombs of these varying types were dropped from airplanes +as well as from the larger and steadier Zeppelins. The difference +was entirely in the size. It was said that a Zeppelin might drop a +bomb of a ton's weight. But so far as attainable records are +concerned it is impossible to cite any instance of this being done. +The effect on the great gas bag of the sudden release of a load so +great would certainly cause a sudden upward flight which might be so +quick and so powerful as to affect the very structure of the ship. +So far as known 250 pounds was the topmost limit of Zeppelin bombs, +while most of them were of much smaller dimensions. The airplane +bombs were seldom more than sixty pounds in weight, although in the +larger British machines a record of ninety-five pounds has been +attained. The most common form of bomb used in the heavier-than-air +machines was pear-shaped, with a whirling tail to keep the missile +upright as it falls. Steel balls within, a little larger than +ordinary shrapnel, are held in place by a device which releases them +during the fall. On striking the ground they fall on the explosive +charge within and the shell bursts, scattering the two or three +hundred steel bullets which it carries over a wide radius. Bombs of +this character weigh in the neighbourhood of six pounds and an +ordinary airplane can carry a very considerable number. Their +exploding device is very delicate so that it will operate upon +impact with water, very soft earth, or even the covering of an +airship. Other bombs commonly used in airplanes were shaped like +darts, winged like an arrow so that they would fall perpendicularly +and explode by a pusher at the point which was driven into the body +of the bomb upon its impact with any hard substance. + +It seems curious to read of the devices sometimes quite complicated +and at all times the result of the greatest care and thought, used +for dropping these bombs. In the trenches men pitched explosive +missiles about with little more care than if they had been so many +baseballs, but only seldom was a bomb from aloft actually delivered +by hand. In the case of the heavier bombs used by the dirigibles +this is understandable. They could not be handled by a single man +without the aid of mechanical devices. Some are dropped from a +cradle which is tilted into a vertical position after the shell has +been inserted. Others are fired from a tube not unlike the torpedo +tube of a submarine, but which imparts only slight initial velocity +to the missile. Its chief force is derived from gravity, and to be +assured of its explosion the aviator must discharge it from a height +proportionate to its size. + +In the airplane the aviator's methods are more simple. Sometimes the +bombs are carried in a rack beneath the body of the machine, and +released by means of a lever at the side. A more primitive method +often in use is merely to attach the bomb to a string and lower it +to a point at which the aviator is certain that in falling it will +not touch any part of the craft, and then cut the string. Half a +dozen devices by which the aviator can hold the bomb at arm's length +and drop it with the certainty of a perpendicular fall are in use in +the different air navies. It will be evident to the most casual +consideration that with any one of these devices employed by an +aviator in a machine going at a speed of sixty miles an hour or more +the matter of hitting the target is one in which luck has a very +great share. + +There is good reason for the pains taken by the aviators to see that +their bombs fall swift and true, and clear of all the outlying parts +of their machines. The grenadier in the trenches has a clear field +for his explosive missile and he may toss it about with what appears +to be desperate carelessness--though instances have been known in +which a bomb thrower, throwing back his arm preparatory to launching +his canned volcano, has struck the back of his own trench with +disastrous results. But the aviator must be even more careful. His +bombs must not hit any of the wires below his machine in +falling--else there will be a dire fall for him. And above all they +must not get entangled in stays or braces. In such case landing will +bring a most unpleasant surprise. + +A striking case was that of a bomber who had been out over the +German trenches. He had a two-man machine, had made a successful +flight and had dropped, effectively as he supposed, all his bombs. +Returning in serene consciousness of a day's duty well done, he was +about to spiral down to the landing place when his passenger looked +over the side of the car to see if everything was in good order. +Emphatically it was not. To his horror he discovered that two of the +bombs had not fallen, but had caught in the running gear of his +machine. To attempt a landing with the bombs in this position would +have been suicidal. The bombs would have instantly exploded, and +annihilated both machine and aviators. But to get out of the car, +climb down on the wires, and try to unhook the bombs seemed more +desperate still. Stabilizers, and other devices, now in common use, +had not then been invented and to go out on the wing of a biplane, +or to disturb its delicate balance, was unheard of. Nevertheless it +was a moment for desperate remedies. The pilot clung to his +controls, and sought to meet the shifting strains, while the +passenger climbed out on the wing and then upon the running gear. To +trust yourself two thousand feet in mid-air with your feet on one +piano wire, and one hand clutching another, while with the other +hand you grope blindly for a bomb charged with high explosive, is an +experience for which few men would yearn. But in this case it was +successful. The bombs fell--nobody cared where--and the two +imperilled aviators came to ground safely. + +A form of offensive weapon which for some reason seems peculiarly +horrible to the human mind is the flechette. These are steel darts a +little larger than a heavy lead pencil and with the upper two thirds +of the stem deeply grooved so that the greater weight of the lower +part will cause them to fall perpendicularly. These are used in +attacks upon dense bodies of troops. Particularly have they proved +effective in assailing cavalry, for the nature of the wounds they +produce invariably maddens the horses who suffer from them and +causes confusion that will often bring grave disaster to a +transport or artillery train. Though very light, these arrows when +dropped from any considerable height inflict most extraordinary +wounds. They have been known to penetrate a soldier's steel helmet, +to pass through his body and that of the horse he bestrode, and bury +themselves in the earth. In the airplane they are carried in boxes +of one hundred each, placed over an orifice in the floor. A touch of +the aviator's foot and all are discharged. The speed of the machine +causes them to fall at first in a somewhat confused fashion, with +the result that before all have finally assumed their perpendicular +position they have been scattered over a very considerable extent of +air. Once fairly pointed downward they fall with unerring directness +points downward to their mark. + +[Illustration: _At a United States Training Camp._ (C) U. & U.] + +It is a curious fact that not long after these arrows first made +their appearance in the French machines, they were imitated by the +Germans, but the German darts had stamped upon them the words: "Made +in Germany, but invented by the French." + +[Illustration: _A "Blimp" with Gun Mounted on Top._ (C) U. & U.] + +One of the duties of the fighting airmen is to destroy the +observation balloons which float in great numbers over both the +lines tugging lazily at the ropes by which they are held captive +while the observers perched in their baskets communicate the results +of their observations by telephone to staff officers at a +considerable distance. These balloons are usually anchored far +enough back of their own lines to be safe from the ordinary +artillery fire of their enemies. They were therefore fair game for +the mosquitoes of the air. But they were not readily destroyed by +such artillery as could be mounted on an ordinary airplane. Bullets +from the machine-guns were too small to make any rents in the +envelope that would affect its stability. Even if incendiary they +could not carry a sufficiently heavy charge to affect so large a +body. The skin of the "sausages," as the balloons were commonly +called from their shape, was too soft to offer sufficient resistance +to explode a shell of any size. The war was pretty well under way +before the precise weapon needed for their destruction was +discovered. This proved to be a large rocket of which eight were +carried on an airplane, four on each side. They were discharged by +powerful springs and a mechanism started which ignited them as soon +as they had left the airplane behind. The head of each rocket was of +pointed steel, very sharp and heavy enough to pierce the balloon +skin. Winslow was fortunate enough to be present when the first test +of this weapon was made. In his book, _With the French Flying +Corps_, he thus tells the story: + + Swinging lazily above the field was a captive balloon. At one end + of Le Bourget was a line of waiting airplanes. "This is the + second; they have already brought down one balloon," remarked the + man at my elbow. The hum of a motor caused me to look up. A + wide-winged double motor, Caudron, had left the ground and was + mounting gracefully above us. Up and up it went, describing a + great circle, until it faced the balloon. Everyone caught his + breath. The Caudron was rushing straight at the balloon, diving + for the attack. + + "Now!" cried the crowd. There was a loud crack, a flash, and + eight long rockets darted forth leaving behind a fiery trail. The + aviator's aim however was wide, and to the disappointment of + everyone the darts fell harmlessly to the ground. + + Another motor roared far down the field, and a tiny _appareil de + chasse_ shot upward like a swallow. "A Nieuport," shouted the + crowd as one voice. Eager to atone for his _copain's_ failure, + and impatient at his delay in getting out of the way, the tiny + biplane tossed and tumbled about in the air like a clown in the + circus ring. + + "Look! he's looping! he falls! he slips! no, he rights again!" + cried a hundred voices as the skilful pilot kept our nerves on + edge. + + Suddenly he darted into position and for a second hovered + uncertain. Then with a dive like that of a dragon-fly, he rushed + down to the attack. Again a sheet of flame and a shower of + sparks. This time the balloon sagged. The flames crept slowly + around its silken envelope. "_Touchez!_" cried the multitude. + Then the balloon burst and fell to the ground a mass of flames. + High above the little Nieuport saucily continued its pranks, as + though contemptuous of such easy prey. + +[Illustration: _Aviators Descending in Parachutes from a Balloon +Struck by Incendiary Shells._ (C) U. & U.] + +It may be properly noted at this point that the captive balloons or +kite balloons have proved of the greatest value for observations in +this war. Lacking of course the mobility of the swiftly moving +airplanes, they have the advantage over the latter of being at all +times in direct communication by telephone with the ground and being +able to carry quite heavy scientific instruments for the more +accurate mapping out of such territory as comes within their sphere +of observation. They are not easy to destroy by artillery fire, for +the continual swaying of the balloon before the wind perplexes +gunners in their aim. At a height of six hundred feet, a normal +observation post, the horizon is nearly thirty miles from the +observer. In flat countries like Flanders, or at sea where the +balloon may be sent up from the deck of a ship, this gives an +outlook of the greatest advantage to the army or fleet relying upon +the balloon for its observations of the enemy's dispositions. + +[Illustration: _The Balloon from which the Aviators Fled._ (C) U. & +U.] + +Most of the British and French observation balloons have been of the +old-fashioned spherical form which officers in those services find +sufficiently effective. The Germans, however, claimed that a balloon +might be devised which would not be so very unstable in gusty +weather. Out of this belief grew the Parseval-Siegfeld balloon which +from its form took the name of the Sausage. In fact its appearance +far from being terrifying suggests not only that particular edible, +but a large dill pickle floating awkwardly in the air. In order to +keep the balloon always pointed into the teeth of the wind there is +attached to one end of it a large surrounding bag hanging from the +lower half of the main envelope. One end of this, the end facing +forward, is left open and into this the wind blows, steadying the +whole structure after the fashion of the tail of a kite. The effect +is somewhat grotesque as anyone who has studied the numerous +pictures of balloons of this type employed during the war must have +observed. It looks not unlike some form of tumor growing from a +healthy structure. + +Captive or kite balloons are especially effective as coast guards. +Posted fifty miles apart along a threatened coast they can keep a +steady watch over the sea for more than twenty-five miles toward the +horizon. With their telephonic connections they can notify airplanes +in waiting, or for that matter swift destroyers, of any suspicious +sight in the distance, and secure an immediate investigation which +will perhaps result in the defeat of some attempted raid. Requiring +little power for raising and lowering them and few men for their +operation, they form a method of standing sentry guard at a nation's +front door which can probably be equalled by no other device. The +United States at the moment of the preparation of this book is +virtually without any balloons of this type--the first one of any +pretensions having been tested in the summer of 1917. + +As late as the third year of the war it could not be said that the +possibilities of aerial offense had been thoroughly developed by any +nation. The Germans indeed had done more than any of the +belligerents in this direction with their raids on the British coast +and on London. But, as already pointed out, these raids as serious +attacks on strategic positions were mere failures. Advocates of the +increased employment of aircraft in this fashion insist that the +military value to Germany of the raids lay not so much in the +possibility of doing damage of military importance but rather in the +fact that the possibility of repeated and more effective raids +compelled Great Britain to keep at home a force of thirty thousand +to fifty thousand men constantly on guard, who but for this menace +would have been employed on the battlefields of France. In this +argument there is a measure of plausibility. Indeed between January, +1915, and June 13, 1917, the Germans made twenty-three disastrous +raids upon England, killing more than seven hundred persons and +injuring nearly twice as many. The amount of damage to property has +never been reported nor is it possible to estimate the extent of +injury inflicted upon works of a military character. The extreme +secrecy with which Great Britain, in common with the other +belligerents, has enveloped operations of this character makes it +impossible at this early day to estimate the military value of these +exploits. Merely to inflict anguish and death upon a great number of +civilians, and those largely women and children, is obviously of no +military service. But if such suffering is inflicted in the course +of an attack which promises the destruction or even the crippling of +works of military character like arsenals, munition plants, or naval +stores, it must be accepted as an incident of legitimate warfare. +The limited information obtainable in wartime seems to indicate that +the German raids had no legitimate objective in view but were +undertaken for the mere purpose of frightfulness. + +The methods of defence employed in Great Britain, where all attacks +must come from the sea, were mainly naval. What might be called the +outer, or flying, defences consisted of fast armed fighting +seaplanes and dirigibles. Stationed on the coast and ready on the +receipt of a wireless warning from scouts, either aerial or naval, +that an enemy air flotilla was approaching the coast, they could at +once fly forth and give it battle. A thorough defence of the British +territory demanded that the enemy should be driven back before +reaching the land. Once over British territory the projectiles +discharged whether by friend or foe did equal harm to the people on +the ground below. Accordingly every endeavour was made to meet and +beat the raiders before they had passed the barrier of sea. Beside +the flying defences there were the floating defences. Anti-aircraft +guns were mounted on different types of ships stationed far out +from the shore and ever on the watch. But these latter were of +comparatively little avail, for flying over the Channel or the North +Sea the invaders naturally flew at a great height. They had no +targets there to seek, steered by their compasses, and were entirely +indifferent to the prospect beneath them. Moreover anti-aircraft +guns, hard to train effectively from an immovable mount, were +particularly untrustworthy when fired from the deck of a rolling and +tossing ship in the turbulent Channel. + +Third in the list of defences of the British coast, or of any other +coast which may at any time be threatened with an aerial raid, are +defensive stations equipped not only with anti-aircraft guns and +searchlights but with batteries of strange new scientific +instruments like the "listening towers," equipped with huge +microphones to magnify the sound of the motors of approaching +aircraft so that they would be heard long before they could be seen, +range finders, and other devices for the purpose of gauging the +distance and fixing the direction of an approaching enemy. + +Some brief attention may here be given to the various types of +anti-aircraft guns. These differ very materially in type and weight +in the different belligerent armies and navies. They have but one +quality in common, namely that they are most disappointing in the +results attained. Mr. F. W. Lancaster, the foremost British +authority on aircraft, says on this subject: + +"Anti-aircraft firing is very inaccurate, hence numbers of guns are +employed to compensate." + +[Illustration: Photo by International Film Service. + +_German Air Raiders over England._ + +_In the foreground three British planes are advancing to the +attack._] + +That is to say that one or two guns can be little relied upon to put +a flyer _hors du combat_. The method adopted is to have large +batteries which fairly fill that portion of the air through which +the adventurous airman is making his way with shells fired rather at +the section than at the swiftly moving target. + +"Archibald," the British airmen call, for some mysterious reason, the +anti-aircraft guns employed by their enemies, sometimes referring to a +big howitzer which made its appearance late in the war as "Cuthbert." +The names sound a little effeminate, redolent somehow of high teas and +the dancing floor, rather than the field of battle. Perhaps this was +why the British soldiers adopted them as an expression of contempt for +the enemy's batteries. But contempt was hardly justifiable in face of +the difficulty of the problem. A gun firing a twenty-pound shrapnel +shell is not pointed on an object with the celerity with which a +practised revolver shot can throw his weapon into position. The gunner +on the ground seeing an airplane flying five thousand feet above +him--almost a mile up in the air--hurries to get his piece into +position for a shot. But while he is aiming the flyer, if a high-speed +machine, will be changing its position at a rate of perhaps 120 miles +an hour. Nor does it fly straight ahead. The gunner cannot point his +weapon some distance in advance as he would were he a sportsman intent +on cutting off a flight of wild geese. The aviator makes quick +turns--zigzags--employs every artifice to defeat the aim of his enemy +below. Small wonder that in the majority of cases they have been +successful. The attitude of the airmen toward the "Archies" is one of +calm contempt. + +The German mind being distinctly scientific invented early in the +war a method of fixing the range and position of an enemy airplane +which would be most effective if the target were not continually in +erratic motion. The method was to arrange anti-aircraft guns in a +triangle, all in telephonic connection with a central observer. When +a flyer enters the territory which these guns are guarding, the +gunner at one of the apexes of the triangle fires a shell which +gives out a red cloud of smoke. Perhaps it falls short. The central +observer notes the result and orders a second gun to fire. Instantly +a gunner at another apex fires again, this time a shell giving +forth black smoke. This shell discharged with the warning given by +the earlier one is likely to come nearer the target, but at any rate +marks another point at which it has been missed. Between the two a +third gunner instantly corrects his aim by the results of the first +two shots. His shell gives out a yellow smoke. The observer then +figures from the positions of the three guns the lines of a +triangular cone at the apex of which the target should be. Sometimes +science wins, often enough for the Germans to cling to the system. +But more often the shrewd aviator defeats science by his swift and +eccentric changes of his line of flight. + +At the beginning of the war Germany was very much better equipped +with anti-aircraft guns than any of her enemies. This was due to the +remarkable foresight of the great munition makers, Krupp and +Ehrhardt, who began experimenting with anti-aircraft guns before the +aircraft themselves were much more than experiments. The problem was +no easy one. The gun had to be light, mobile, and often mounted on +an automobile so as to be swiftly transferred from place to place in +pursuit of raiders. It was vital that it should be so mounted as to +be speedily trained to any position vertical or horizontal. As a +result the type determined upon was mounted on a pedestal fixed to +the chassis of an automobile or to the deck of a ship in case it was +to be used in naval warfare. The heaviest gun manufactured in +Germany was of 4-1/4-inch calibre, throwing a shell of forty pounds +weight. This could be mounted directly over the rear axle of a heavy +motor truck. To protect the structure of the car from the shock of +the recoil these guns are of course equipped with hydraulic or other +appliances for taking it up. They are manufactured also in the +3-inch size. Germany, France, and England vied with each other in +devising armored motor cars equipped with guns of this type--the +British using the makes of Vickers and Hotchkiss, and the French +their favourite Creusot. The trucks are always armoured, the guns +mounted in turrets so that the effect is not unlike that of a small +battleship dashing madly down a country road and firing repeatedly +at some object directly overhead. But the record has not shown that +the success of these picturesque and ponderous engines of war has +been great. They cannot manoeuvre with enough swiftness to keep up +with the gyrations of an airplane. They offer as good a target for a +bomb from above as the aircraft does to their shots from below. +Indeed they so thoroughly demonstrated their inefficiency that +before the war had passed its third year they were either abandoned +or their guns employed only when the car was stationary. Shots fired +at full speed were seldom effective. + +The real measure of the effectiveness of anti-aircraft guns may be +judged by the comparative immunity that attended the aviators +engaged on the two early British raids on Friedrichshaven, the seat +of the great Zeppelin works on Lake Constance, and on the German +naval base at Cuxhaven. The first was undertaken by three machines. +From Belfort in France, the aviators turned into Germany and flew +for 120 miles across hostile territory. The flight was made by day +though indeed the adventurous aviators were favoured by a slight +mist. Small single seated "avro" machines were used, loaded heavily +with bombs as well as with the large amount of fuel necessary for a +flight which before its completion would extend over 250 miles. Not +only at the frontier, but at many fortified positions over which +they passed, they must have exposed themselves to the fire of +artillery, but until they actually reached the neighbourhood of the +Zeppelin works they encountered no fire whatsoever. There the attack +on them was savage and well maintained. On the roofs of the +gigantic factory, on neighbouring hillocks and points of vantage +there were anti-aircraft guns busily discharging shrapnel at the +invaders. It is claimed by the British that fearing this attack the +Germans had called from the front in Flanders their best marksmen, +for at that time the comparative worthlessness of the Zeppelin had +not been demonstrated and the protection of the works was regarded +as a prime duty of the army. + +[Illustration: (C) U. & U. + +_One Aviator's Narrow Escape._] + +The invading machines flew low above the factory roofs. The +adventurers had come far on an errand which they knew would awaken +the utmost enthusiasm among their fellows at home and they were +determined to so perform their task that no charge of having left +anything undone could possibly lie. Commander Briggs, the first of +the aviators to reach the scene, flew as low as one hundred feet +above the roofs, dropping his bombs with deadly accuracy. But he +paid for his temerity with the loss of his machine and his liberty. +A bullet pierced his petrol tank and there was nothing for him to do +save to glide to earth and surrender. The two aviators who +accompanied him although their machines were repeatedly hit were +nevertheless able to drop all their bombs and to fly safely back to +Belfort whence they had taken their departure some hours before. The +measure of actual damage done in the raid has never been precisely +known. Germany always denied that it was serious, while the British +ascribe to it the greatest importance--a clash of opinion common in +the war and which will for some years greatly perplex the student of +its history. + +The second raid, that upon Cuxhaven, was made by seaplanes so far as +the air fighting was concerned, but in it not only destroyers but +submarines also took part. It presented the unique phenomenon of a +battle fought at once above, upon, and below the surface of the sea. +It is with the aerial feature of the battle alone that we have to +do. + +Christmas morning, 1915, seven seaplanes were quietly lowered to the +surface of the water of the North Sea from their mother ships a +little before daybreak. The spot was within a few miles of Cuxhaven +and the mouth of the River Elbe. As the aircraft rose from the +surface of the water and out of the light mist that lay upon it, +they could see in the harbour which they threatened, a small group +of German warships. Almost at the same moment their presence was +detected. The alarms of the bugles rang out from the hitherto quiet +craft and in a moment with the smoke pouring from their funnels +destroyers and torpedo boats moved out to meet the attack. Two +Zeppelins rose high in the air surrounded by a number of the smaller +airplanes, eager for the conflict. The latter proceeded at once to +the attack upon the raiding air fleet, while the destroyers, the +heavier Zeppelins, and a number of submarines sped out to sea to +attack the British ships. The mist, which grew thicker, turned the +combat from a battle into a mere disorderly raid, but out of it the +seaplanes emerged unhurt. All made their way safely back to the +fleet, after having dropped their bombs with a degree of damage +never precisely known. The weakness of the seaplane is that on +returning to its parent ship it cannot usually alight upon her deck, +even though a landing platform has been provided. It must, as a +rule, drop to the surface of the ocean, and if this be at all rough +the machine very speedily goes to pieces. This was the case with +four of the seven seaplanes which took part in the raid on Cuxhaven. +All however delivered their pilots safely to the awaiting fleet and +none fell a victim to the German anti-aircraft guns. + +In May of 1917, the British Royal Naval Air Service undertook the +mapping of the coast of Belgium north from Nieuport, the most +northerly seaport held by the British, to the southern boundary of +Holland. This section of coast was held by the Germans and in it +were included the two submarine bases of Zeebrugge and Ostend. At +the latter point the long line of German trenches extending to the +boundary of Switzerland rested its right flank on the sea. The whole +coast north of that was lined with German batteries, snugly +concealed in the rolling sand dunes and masked by the waving grasses +of a barren coast. From British ships thirty miles out at sea, for +the waters there are shallow and large vessels can only at great +peril approach the shore, the seaplanes were launched. Just south of +Nieuport a land base was established as a rendezvous for both +air-and seaplanes when their day's work was done. From fleet and +station the aerial observers took their way daily to the enemy's +coast. Every mile of it was photographed. The hidden batteries were +detected and the inexorable record of their presence imprinted on +the films. The work in progress at Ostend and Zeebrugge, the active +construction of basins, locks, and quays, the progress of the great +mole building at the latter port, the activities of submarines and +destroyers within the harbour, the locations of guns and the +positions of barracks were all indelibly set down. These films +developed at leisure were made into coherent wholes, placed in +projecting machines, and displayed like moving pictures in the ward +rooms of the ships hovering off shore, so that the naval forces +preparing for the assault had a very accurate idea of the nature of +the defences they were about to encounter. + +This was not done of course without considerable savage fighting in +mid-air. The Germans had no idea of allowing their defences and the +works of their submarine bases to be pictured for the guidance of +their foes. Their anti-aircraft guns barked from dawn to dark +whenever a British plane was seen within range. Their own aerial +fighters were continually busy, and along that desolate wave-washed +coast many a lost lad in leather clothing and goggles, crumpled up +in the ruins of his machine after a fall of thousands of feet, lay +as a memorial to the prowess of the defenders of the coast and the +audacity of those who sought to invade it. But during the long weeks +of this extended reconnaissance hardly a spadeful of dirt could be +moved, a square yard of concrete placed in position, or a submarine +or torpedo boat manoeuvred without its record being entered upon the +detailed charts the British were so painstakingly preparing against +the day of assault. When peace shall finally permit the publication +of the records of the war, now held secret for military reasons, +such maps as those prepared by the British air service on the +Belgian coast will prove most convincing evidence of the military +value of the aerial scouts. + +What the lads engaged in making these records had to brave in the +way of physical danger is strikingly shown by the description of a +combat included in one of the coldly matter-of-fact official +reports. The battle was fought at about twelve thousand feet above +mother earth. We quote the official description accompanied by some +explanatory comments added by one who was an eye-witness and who +conversed with the triumphant young airman on his return to the +safety of the soil. + + "While exposing six plates," says the official report of this + youthful recording angel, "I observed five H. A.'s cruising." + + "H. A." stands for "hostile aeroplane." + + "Not having seen the escort since returning inland, the pilot + prepared to return. The enemy separated, one taking up a position + above the tail and one ahead. The other three glided toward us + on the port side, firing as they came. The two diving machines + fired over 100 rounds, hitting the pilot in the shoulder." + + As a matter of fact, the bullet entered his shoulder from above, + behind, breaking his left collarbone, and emerged just above his + heart, tearing a jagged rent down his breast. Both his feet, + furthermore, were pierced by bullets; but the observer is not + concerned with petty detail. + + The observer held his fire until H. A., diving on tail, was + within five yards. + + Here it might be mentioned that the machines were hurtling + through space at a speed in the region of one hundred miles an + hour. + + The pilot of H. A., having swooped to within speaking distance, + pushed up his goggles, and laughed triumphantly as he took sight + for the shot that was to end the fight. But the observer, had his + own idea how the fight should end. + + "I then shot one tray into the enemy pilot's face," he says, with + curt relish, "and watched him sideslip and go spinning earthward + in a train of smoke." + + He then turned his attention to his own pilot. The British + machine was barely under control, but as the observer rose in his + seat to investigate the foremost gun was fired, and the aggressor + ahead went out of control and dived nose first in helpless + spirals. + + Suspecting that his mate was badly wounded in spite of this + achievement, the observer swung one leg over the side of the + fusillage and climbed on to the wing--figure for a minute the air + pressure on his body during this gymnastic feat--until he was + beside the pilot, faint and drenched with blood, who had + nevertheless got his machine back into complete control. + + "Get back, you ass!" he said through white lips in response to + inquiries how he felt. So the ass got back the way he came, and + looked around for the remainder of the H. A.'s. These, however, + appeared to have lost stomach for further fighting and fled. + + The riddled machine returned home at one hundred knots while the + observer, having nothing better to do, continued to take + photographs. + + "The pilot, though wounded, made a perfect landing"--thus the + report concludes. + +When the time came for the assault upon Zeebrugge the value of these +painstaking preparations was made evident. The attack was made from +sea and air alike. Out in the North Sea the great British +battleships steamed in as near the coast as the shallowness of the +water would permit. From the forward deck of each rose grandly a +seaplane until the air was darkened by their wings, and they looked +like a monstrous flock of the gulls which passengers on ocean-going +liners watch wheeling and soaring around the ship as it ploughs its +way through the ocean. These gulls though were birds of prey. They +were planes of the larger type, biplanes or triplanes carrying two +men, usually equipped with two motors and heavily laden with high +explosive bombs. As they made their way toward the land they were +accompanied by a fleet of light draft monitors especially built for +this service, each mounting two heavy guns and able to manoeuvre in +shallow water. With them advanced a swarm of swift, low-lying, +dark-painted destroyers ready to watch out for enemy torpedo boats +or submarines. They mounted anti-aircraft guns too and were prepared +to defend the monitors against assaults from the heavens above as +well as from the sinister attack of the underwater boats. Up from +the land base at Nieuport came a great fleet of airplanes to +co-operate with their naval brethren. Soon upon the German works, +sheltering squadrons of the sinister undersea boats, there rained a +hell of exploding projectiles from sea and sky. Every gunner had +absolute knowledge of the precise position and range of the target +to which he was assigned. The great guns of the monitors roared +steadily and their twelve and fourteen-inch projectiles rent in +pieces the bomb proofs of the Germans, driving the Boches to cover +and reducing their works to mere heaps of battered concrete. Back +and forth above flew seaplanes and airplanes, giving battle to the +aircraft which the Germans sent up in the forlorn hope of heading +off that attack and dropping their bombs on points carefully mapped +long in advance. It is true that the aim of the aviators was +necessarily inaccurate. That is the chief weakness of a bombardment +from the sky. But what was lacking in individual accuracy was made +up by the numbers of the bombing craft. One might miss a lock or a +shelter, but twenty concentrating their fire on the same target +could not all fail. This has become the accepted principle of aerial +offensive warfare. The inaccuracy of the individual must be +corrected by the multiplication of the number of the assailants. + +The attack on Zeebrugge was wholly successful. Though the Germans +assiduously strove to conceal the damage done, the later +observations of the ruined port by British airmen left no doubt that +as a submarine base it had been put out of commission for months to +come. The success of the attack led to serious discussion, in which +a determination has not yet been reached, of the feasibility of a +similar assault upon Heligoland, Kiel, or Cuxhaven, the three great +naval bases in which the German fleet has lurked in avoidance of +battle with the British fleet. Many able naval strategists declared +that it was time for the British to abandon the policy of a mere +blockade and carry out the somewhat rash promise made by Winston +Churchill when First Lord of the Admiralty, to "dig the rats out of +their holes." Such an attack it was urged should be made mainly from +the air, as the land batteries and sunken mines made the waters +adjacent to these harbours almost impassable to attacking ships. +Rear-Admiral Fiske, of the United States Navy, strongly urging such +an attack, wrote in an open letter: + + The German Naval General Staff realizes the value of + concentration of power and mobility in as large units as + possible. The torpedo plane embodies a greater concentration of + power and mobility than does any other mechanism. For its cost, + the torpedo plane is the most powerful and mobile weapon which + exists at the present day. + + An attack by allied torpedo planes, armed with guns to defend + themselves from fighting airplanes, would be a powerful menace to + the German fleet and, if made in sufficient numbers, would give + the Allies such unrestricted command of the North Sea, even of + the shallow parts near the German coast, that German submarines + would be prevented from coming from a German port, the submarine + menace abolished, and all chance of German success wiped out. + + I beg also to point out that an inspection of the map of Europe + shows that in the air raids over land the strategical advantage + lies with Germany, because her most important towns, like Berlin, + are farther inland than the most important towns of the Allies, + like London, so that aeroplanes of the Allies, in order to reach + Berlin, would have to fly over greater distances, while exposed + to the fire of other aeroplanes, than do aeroplanes of the + Germans in going to London for raids on naval vessels. + + However, the strategical advantage over water lies with the + British, because their control of the deep parts of the North Sea + enables them to establish a temporary aeronautical base of mother + ships sufficiently close to the German fleet to enable the + British to launch a torpedo-plane attack from it on the German + fleets in Kiel and Wilhelmshaven, while the Germans could not + possibly establish an aeronautical base sufficiently close to the + British fleet. + +[Illustration: (C) Press Illustrating Service. + +_Downed in the Enemy's Country._] + + This gives the Allies the greatest advantage of the offensive. It + would seem possible, provided a distinct effort is made, for the + Allies to send a large number of aeroplane mother ships to a + point, say, fifty miles west of Heligoland, and for a large force + of fighting aeroplanes and torpedo planes to start from this + place about two hours before dawn, reach Kiel Bay and + Wilhelmshaven about dawn, attack the German fleets there and sink + the German ships. + + The distance from Heligoland to Kiel is about ninety land miles, + and to Wilhelmshaven about forty-five. + +The torpedo planes referred to are an invention of Admiral Fiske's +which, in accordance with what seems to be a fixed and fatal +precedent in the United States, has been ignored by our own +authorities but eagerly adopted by the naval services of practically +all the belligerents. One weakness of the aerial attack upon ships +of war is that the bombs dropped from the air, even if they strike +the target, strike upon the protective deck which in most warships +above the gunboat class is strong enough to resist, or at least to +minimize, the effect of any bomb capable of being carried by an +airplane. The real vulnerable part of a ship of war is the thin skin +of its hull below water and below the armor belt. This is the point +at which the torpedo strikes. Admiral Fiske's device permits an +airplane to carry two torpedoes of the regular Whitehead class and +to launch them with such an impetus and at such an angle that they +will take the water and continue their course thereunder exactly as +though launched from a naval torpedo tube. His idea was adopted both +by Great Britain and Germany. British torpedo planes thus equipped +sank four Turkish ships in the Sea of Marmora, a field of action +which no British ship could have reached after the disastrous +failure to force the Dardanelles. The Germans by employment of the +same device sank at least two Russian ships in the Baltic and one +British vessel in the North Sea. The blindness of the United States +naval authorities to the merits of this invention was a matter +arousing at once curiosity and indignation among observers during +the early days of our entrance upon the war. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII + +INCIDENTS OF THE WAR IN THE AIR + + +In time, no doubt, volumes will be written on the work of the airmen +in the Great War. Except the submarine, no such novel and effective +device was introduced into the conduct of this colossal struggle as +the scouting airplane. The development of the service was steady +from the first day when the Belgian flyers proved their worth at +Liege. From mere observation trips there sprang up the air duels, +from the duels developed skirmishes, and from these in time pitched +battles in which several hundred machines would be engaged on each +side. To this extent of development aerial tactics had proceeded by +midsummer of 1917. Their further development must be left to some +future chronicler to record. It must be noted, however, that at that +early day the Secretary of the Treasury of the United States, +pleading for a larger measure of preparation for the perils of war, +asserted that the time was not far distant when this country would +have to prepare to repel invading fleets of aircraft from European +shores. This may have been an exaggeration. At that moment no +aircraft had crossed the Atlantic and no effort to make the passage +had been made save those of Wellman and Vanniman. When the guns +began to roar on the Belgian frontier there was floating on Keuka +Lake, New York, a huge hydro-airplane with which it was planned to +make the trans-Atlantic voyage. The project had been financed by Mr. +Rodman Wanamaker, of Philadelphia, and the tests of the ship under +the supervision of a young British army officer who was to make the +voyage were progressing most promisingly. But the event that plunged +the world into war put a sudden end to experiments like this for the +commercial development of the airplane. There is every reason to +believe, however, that such a flight is practicable and that it will +ultimately be made not long after the world shall have returned to +peace and sanity. + +[Illustration: Photo by Kadel & Herbert. + +_Later Type of French Scout._ + +_The gun mounted on the upper wing is aimed by pointing the machine +and is fired by the pilot._] + +Airmen are not, as a rule, of a romantic or a literary temperament. +Pursuing what seems to the onlooker to be the most adventurous and +exhilarating of all forms of military service, they have been chary +of telling their experiences and singularly set upon treating them +as all in the day's work and eliminating all that is picturesque +from their narratives. Sergeant James R. McConnell, one of the +Americans in the French flying corps, afterwards killed, tells of a +day's service in his most readable book, _Flying for France_, in a +way that gives some idea of the daily routine of an operator of an +_avion de chasse_. He is starting just as the sky at dawn is showing +a faint pink toward the eastern horizon, for the aviator's work is +best done in early morning when, as a rule, the sky is clear and the +wind light: + +[Illustration: (C) U. & U. + +_Position of Gunner in Early French Machines._] + + Drawing forward out of line, you put on full power, race across + the grass, and take the air. The ground drops as the hood slants + up before you and you seem to be going more and more slowly as + you rise. At a great height you hardly realize you are moving. + You glance at the clock to note the time of your departure, and + at the oil gauge to see its throb. The altimeter registers 650 + feet. You turn and look back at the field below and see others + leaving. + + In three minutes you are at about four thousand feet. You have + been making wide circles over the field and watching the other + machines. At forty-five hundred feet you throttle down and wait + on that level for your companions to catch up. Soon the + escadrille is bunched and off for the lines. You begin climbing + again, gulping to clear your ears in the changing pressure. + Surveying the other machines, you recognize the pilot of each by + the marks on its side--or by the way he flies. + + The country below has changed into a flat surface of varicoloured + figures. Woods are irregular blocks of dark green, like daubs of + ink spilled on a table; fields are geometrical designs of + different shades of green and brown, forming in composite an + ultra-cubist painting; roads are thin white lines, each with its + distinctive windings and crossings--from which you determine your + location. The higher you are the easier it is to read. + + In about ten minutes you see the Meuse sparkling in the morning + light, and on either side the long line of sausage-shaped + observation balloons far below you. Red-roofed Verdun springs + into view just beyond. There are spots in it where no red shows + and you know what has happened there. In the green pasture land + bordering the town, round flecks of brown indicate the shell + holes. You cross the Meuse. + + Immediately east and north of Verdun there lies a broad, brown + band. From the Woevre plain it runs westward to the "S" bend in + the Meuse, and on the left bank of that famous stream continues + on into the Argonne Forest. Peaceful fields and farms and + villages adorned that landscape a few months ago--when there was + no Battle of Verdun. Now there is only that sinister brown belt, + a strip of murdered Nature. It seems to belong to another world. + Every sign of humanity has been swept away. The woods and roads + have vanished like chalk wiped from a blackboard; of the villages + nothing remains but grey smears where stone walls have tumbled + together. The great forts of Douaumont and Vaux are outlined + faintly, like the tracings of a finger in wet sand. One cannot + distinguish any one shell crater, as one can on the pockmarked + fields on either side. On the brown band the indentations are so + closely interlocked that they blend into a confused mass of + troubled earth. Of the trenches only broken, half-obliterated + links are visible. + + Columns of muddy smoke spurt up continually as high explosives + tear deeper into this ulcered area. During heavy bombardment and + attacks I have seen shells falling like rain. The countless + towers of smoke remind one of Gustave Dore's picture of the fiery + tombs of the arch-heretics in Dante's "Hell." A smoky pall covers + the sector under fire, rising so high that at a height of one + thousand feet one is enveloped in its mist-like fumes. Now and + then monster projectiles hurtling through the air close by leave + one's plane rocking violently in their wake. Airplanes have been + cut in two by them. + + For us the battle passes in silence, the noise of one's motor + deadening all other sounds. In the green patches behind the brown + belt myriads of tiny flashes tell where the guns are hidden; and + those flashes, and the smoke of bursting shells, are all we see + of the fighting. It is a weird combination of stillness and + havoc, the Verdun conflict viewed from the sky. + + Far below us, the observation and range-finding planes circle + over the trenches like gliding gulls. At a feeble altitude they + follow the attacking infantrymen and flash back wireless reports + of the engagement. Only through them can communication be + maintained when, under the barrier fire, wires from the front + lines are cut. Sometimes it falls to our lot to guard these + machines from Germans eager to swoop down on their backs. Sailing + about high above a busy flock of them makes one feel like an old + mother hen protecting her chicks. + + The pilot of an _avion de chasse_ must not concern himself with + the ground, which to him is useful only for learning his + whereabouts. The earth is all-important to the men in the + observation, artillery-regulating, and bombardment machines, but + the fighting aviator has an entirely different sphere. His domain + is the blue heavens, the glistening rolls of clouds below the + fleecy banks towering above the vague aerial horizon, and he must + watch it as carefully as a navigator watches the storm-tossed + sea. + + On days when the clouds form almost a solid flooring, one feels + very much at sea, and wonders if one is in the navy instead of + aviation. The diminutive Nieuports skirt the white expanse like + torpedo boats in an arctic sea, and sometimes, far across the + cloud-waves, one sights an enemy escadrille, moving as a fleet. + + Principally our work consists of keeping German airmen away from + our lines, and in attacking them when opportunity offers. We + traverse the brown band and enter enemy territory to the + accompaniment of an anti-aircraft cannonade. Most of the shots + are wild, however, and we pay little attention to them. When the + shrapnel comes uncomfortably close, one shifts position slightly + to evade the range. One glances up to see if there is another + machine higher than one's own. Low, and far within the German + lines, are several enemy planes, a dull white in appearance, + resembling sandflies against the mottled earth. High above them + one glimpses the mosquito-like forms of two Fokkers. Away off to + one side white shrapnel puffs are vaguely visible, perhaps + directed against a German crossing the lines. We approach the + enemy machines ahead, only to find them slanting at a rapid rate + into their own country. High above them lurks a protection plane. + The man doing the "ceiling work," as it is called, will look + after him for us. + + Getting started is the hardest part of an attack. Once you have + begun diving you're all right. The pilot just ahead turns tail up + like a trout dropping back to water, and swoops down in irregular + curves and circles. You follow at an angle so steep your feet + seem to be holding you back in your seat. Now the black Maltese + crosses on the German's wings stand out clearly. You think of him + as some sort of a big bug. Then you hear the rapid tut-tut-tut of + his machine-gun. The man that dived ahead of you becomes mixed up + with the topmost German. He is so close it looks as if he had hit + the enemy machine. You hear the staccato barking of his + mitrailleuse and see him pass from under the German's tail. + + The rattle of the gun that is aimed at you leaves you + undisturbed. Only when the bullets pierce the wings a few feet + off do you become uncomfortable. You see the gunner crouched + down behind his weapon, but you aim at where the pilot ought to + be--there are two men aboard the German craft--and press on the + release hard. Your mitrailleuse hammers out a stream of bullets + as you pass over and dive, nose down, to get out of range. Then, + hopefully, you redress and look back at the foe. He ought to be + dropping earthward at several miles a minute. As a matter of + fact, however, he is sailing serenely on. They have an annoying + habit of doing that, these Boches. + +Zeppelins as well as the stationary kite balloons and the swiftly +flying airplanes often tempted the fighting aviators to attack. One +of the most successful of the British champions of the air, though +his own life was ended in the second year of the war, was +sub-Lieutenant R. A. J. Warneford, of the British Flying Corps. In +his brief period of service Warneford won more laurels than any of +the British aviators of the time. He was absolutely fearless, with a +marvelous control of the fast Vickers scout which he employed, and +fertile in every resource of the chase and of the flight. In an +interview widely printed at the time, Lieutenant Warneford thus told +the story of his casual meeting of a German Zeppelin high in air +between Ghent and Brussels and his prompt and systematic destruction +of the great balloon. The story as told in his own language reads +like the recountal of an everyday event. That to meet an enemy more +than a mile above the earth and demolish him was anything +extraordinary does not seem to have occurred to the aviator. + + I proceeded on my journey at an increased height [he says]. It + was just three o'clock in the morning when all of a sudden I + perceived on the horizon about midway between Ghent and Brussels + a Zeppelin flying fast at an altitude of about six thousand feet. + I immediately flew toward it and when I was almost over the + monster I descended about fifteen metres, and flung six bombs at + it. The sixth struck the envelope of the ship fair and square in + the middle. There was instantly a terrible explosion. The + displacement of the air round about me was so great that a + tornado seemed to have been produced. My machine tossed upward + and then flung absolutely upside down, I was forced to loop the + loop in spite of myself. I thought for a moment that the end of + everything had come. In the whirl I had the pleasure of seeing my + victim falling to the earth in a cloud of flames and smoke. Then + by some miracle my machine righted herself and I came to earth in + the enemy's country. I was not long on the ground you may be + sure. I speedily put myself and my machine into working order + again; then I set my engine going. + +This time the fortunate aviator returned safely to his own +territory. He had then served only four months, had attained the age +of twenty-three, and even in so brief a service had received the +Cross of the Legion of Honour from France and the Victoria Cross +from the British. Only one week after this courageous exploit he was +killed while on a pleasure flight and with him a young American +journalist, Henry Beach Needham, to whom he was showing the +battlefield. + +During the early years of the war all of the governments were +peculiarly secretive concerning all matters relative to their +aviation services. This was probably due to the fact that the flying +corps was a brand new branch of the service. No nation was +adequately equipped with flyers. Each was afraid to let its enemies +know how insufficient were its air guards, or what measures were +being taken to bring the aerial fleet up to the necessary point of +efficiency. Investigators were frowned upon and the aviators +themselves were discouraged from much conversation about their work. + +About the beginning of 1916 the British suddenly awoke to the fact +that even in war publicity has its value. It was necessary to arouse +the enthusiastic support of the people for recruiting or for the +conscription which ultimately was ordered. To do this graphic +descriptions of what was doing at the front in the various branches +of the service seemed necessary. The best writers in England were +mobilized for this work. Kipling wrote of the submarines, Conan +Doyle of the fighting on the fields of France. The Royal Flying +Corps gave out a detailed story the authorship of which was not +stated, but which describes most picturesquely the day of a flying +man. + +In the United States it appeared in the _Sun_, of New York, and +sections of it are reprinted here: + + "The following bombing will be carried out by No.--Squadron at + night (10 P.M., 12 midnight, and 2 A.M.). At each of these times + three machines, each carrying eight twenty-pound bombs, will bomb + respectively P----, C----, H----." + + Thus the operation order read one evening in France. Just an + ordinary order too, for bombing is carried out day and night + incessantly. Bombing by night is usually carried out on towns and + villages known to be resting places of the German troops, and it + is part of the work of the Royal Flying Corps to see that the Hun + never rests. + + Fritz after a hard spell in the trenches is withdrawn to some + shell torn village behind his lines to rest. He enters the ruined + house, that forms his billet, and with a sigh of contentment at + reaching such luxury after the miseries of trench life prepares + to sleep in peace. He dreams of home, and then out of the night + comes the terror of the air. + + A bomb falls in his billet, exploding with a terrific report and + doing more damage to the already ruined walls. Possibly a few of + his comrades are wounded or killed. Other explosions take place + close by and the whole village is in turmoil. + + Fritz does not sleep again. His nerves are jangled and all + possibility of sleep is gone. The next day he is in a worse + condition than after a night in the trenches. This continues + night after night. The damage to German morale is enormous. + + From the aerial point of view things are different. A pilot + warned for night flying takes it as he takes everything else, + with apparent unconcern. He realizes that he will have an + uninteresting ride in the dark; the danger from "Archie" will be + small, for an airplane is a difficult target to keep under + observation with a searchlight, and the danger from hostile + aircraft will be smaller still. + + Over the trenches the star shells of the infantry may be seen, + occasionally the flash of a badly concealed gun glints in the + darkness or the exploding bombs of a trench raiding party cause + tiny sparks to glimmer far below. Probably the enemy, hearing the + sound of engines, will turn on his searchlights and sweep the sky + with long pencils of light. The pilot may be picked up for a + second, and a trifle later the angry bang, bang, bang of "Archie" + may be heard, firing excitedly at the place where the aeroplane + ought to be but is not--the pilot has probably dipped and changed + his course since he was in the rays of the searchlight. He may be + caught again for an instant and the performance is repeated. + + Before long the vicinity of the target is reached and he prepares + to drop his bombs, usually eight in number. A little before he is + over the spot the first bombs will be released, for the + trajectory of the bomb follows the course of the machine if the + latter keeps on a straight course and when it explodes the + airplane is still overhead. Down far below will be seen a tiny + burst of flame; possibly a large fire blazes up and the pilot + knows that his work is good. He then turns and repeats his + performance until all his bombs are exhausted, when he turns for + home. + + Bombs are usually dropped from a low altitude at night in order + to be surer of getting the target. If during the performance any + local searchlights are turned on "Archie" gets busy and a merry + game of hide and seek in and out the beams takes place. If the + airplane is very low, and bombs are sometimes dropped from a + height of only a few hundred feet, it is highly probable that the + bursting shells do more damage than the airplane's bombs, and it + is almost impossible to wing an airplane by night. + +[Illustration: Photo by Press Illustrating Service. + +_A French Scout Airplane._] + + Over the lines the pilot probably meets more searchlights, dodges + them, and gradually descends. Below him he sees the aerodromes of + the surrounding squadrons lighted up for landing purposes. Should + he be in doubt as to which is his own he fires a certain + combination of signal lights and is answered from below. He then + lands, hands his machine over to the mechanics, and turns in. + +[Illustration: Photo by International Film Service. + +"_Showing Off._" + +_A Nieuport performing aerial acrobatics around a heavier bombing +machine._] + + So much for night bombing. By day it is different. Though at + night it is the billets which usually form the target, by day + bombing is carried out for the purpose of damaging specific + objects. Railroads, dumps of stores and ammunition, and enemy + aerodromes are the favourite targets. + + The raiding machines fly in formation and are surrounded by other + machines used solely for protective purposes. Generally a raid is + carried out by machines from two squadrons, the bomb carriers + belonging to a corps wing and the escorting machines to an army + wing. + + All the machines meet at a prearranged rendezvous well on our + side of the line at a certain time and a given altitude. There + they manoeuvre into their correct formation. A flight commander + leads the raid and his machine is distinguished by streamers tied + to it. + + Once over the target the fighters scatter and patrol the + neighbourhood while the bombers discharge their missiles on the + objective. Usually, unless anti-aircraft fire is very heavy, they + descend a few thousand feet to make surer of the target, and when + their work is completed rise again to the level of the escort. + + Results can usually be fairly judged by day. An ammunition dump + quickly shows if it is hit and stores soon burst into flame. + Railway stations or junctions show clearly damage to buildings or + overturned trucks, but the damage to the track itself is hard to + estimate. Aerodromes may be bombed for the purpose of destroying + enemy machines in their hangars or merely in order to spoil the + landing by blowing holes all over the place. It is with great + delight that a pilot remarks in his report that a hostile + machine, surrounded by mechanics, was about to ascend, but that + instead he had descended to within a few hundred feet and + obtained a direct hit, with the result that the enemy machine, + including the surrounding men, seemed to be severely damaged. + + One officer on a bomb raid saw his chance in this way, descended + to four hundred feet under intense rifle fire, successfully + bombed the enemy machine, which was just emerging from its + hangar, and then tried to make off. Unfortunately at this moment + his engine petered out, possibly on account of the enemy's fire, + and he had to descend. + + By skillful planing he managed to descend about three quarters of + a mile away, in full view of the enemy. Instead of giving up the + ghost and at once firing his machine, this officer jumped out + and, utterly unperturbed by the German fire or by the Huns making + across country to take him prisoner, commenced to inspect the + engine. Luckily he found the cause of the trouble at once, put it + right,--it was only a trifling mishap,--adjusted the controls, + and swung the propeller. + + The engine started, he jumped in, with the nearest Hun only a + hundred yards off, and opening the throttle raced over the ground + and into the air pursued by a futile fusillade of bullets. His + engine held out and he safely regained his aerodrome, after + having been reported missing by his comrades. For this escapade + he received the Military Cross--a well-earned reward. + + When all the bombs have been dropped and the formation resumed + the machines head for home. It is on the homeward journey that + events may be expected, for time enough has elapsed for the Hun + to detail a squadron to intercept our returning machines and pick + off any stragglers that may fall behind. + + It is a favourite Boche manoeuvre to detail some of his slow + machines to entice our fighters away from the main body, and when + this has been accomplished, to attack the remainder with Fokkers, + which dive from aloft onto the bombing machines. This trick is + now well-known and the fighters rarely leave their charges until + the latter are in comparative safety. + + Sometimes a Hun of more sporting character than his brothers will + wait alone for the returning convoy, hiding himself thousands of + feet up in the clouds until he sees his moment. Then singling out + a machine he will dive at it, pouring out a stream of bullets as + he falls. Sometimes he achieves his object and a British machine + falls to earth, but whatever the result, the Hun does not alter + his tactics. He dives clean through the whole block of machines, + down many thousands of feet, only flattening out when close to + the ground. + + The whole affair is so swift--just one lightning dive--that long + before a fighter can reach the Hun the latter is away thousands + of feet below and heading for home and safety. Every Fokker + pilot knows that once his surprise dive is over he has no chance + against another machine--the build of the Fokker only allows this + one method of attack--and he does not stop to argue about it. His + offensive dive becomes a defensive one--that is the sole + difference. + + Sometimes a large squadron of German machines, composed of + various types of airplanes, intercepts a returning formation. If + it attacks a grand aerial battle ensues. The British fighting + machines spread out in a screen to allow the bombing machines a + chance of escape and then attack the Huns as they arrive. In one + place one British airplane will be defending itself from two or + three German machines; close by two or three of our busses will + be occupied in sending a Hun to his death; elsewhere more equal + combats rage and the whole sky becomes an aerial battlefield, + where machines perform marvellous evolutions, putting the best + trick flying of pre-war days very much in the shade. No sooner + has a pilot accounted for his foe, by killing him, forcing him to + descend, or making him think discretion the better part of + valour, than he turns to the help of a hard-pressed brother, + surprising the enemy by an attack from the rear or otherwise + creating a diversion. + + A single shot in the petrol tank proves fatal; loss of pressure + ensues, the engine fails, and the pilot is forced to descend. He + can usually land safely, but should he be in enemy territory he + must fire his machine and prepare for a holiday in Germany. + Should he be fortunate enough to plane over our lines little + damage is done; the tank can be repaired and the machine made + serviceable again. But for the time being he is out of the fight. + Sometimes the escaping petrol may ignite and the pilot and + observer perish in the flames--the most terrible fate of all. + + The aerial battle ends in one of two ways: one side is + outmanoeuvred, outnumbered, and has lost several machines and + flies to safety, or, the more usual ending, both sides exhaust + their ammunition, only a limited quantity perforce being carried, + and the fight is of necessity broken off. Meanwhile the bombing + machines have probably crossed the line in safety, and their duty + is finished. Should they be attacked by a stray machine they are + armed and quite capable of guarding themselves against any attack + except one in force. + + During these bomb raids photographs of the target are frequently + obtained or should the staff require any district crossed on the + journey and taken they are generally secured by bombing machines. + It is wonderful what minute details may be seen in a photograph + taken at a height of from eight to twelve thousand feet, and our + prints, which are far superior to those taken by the Hun, have + revealed many useful points which would otherwise have remained + unknown. + + When it is remembered that a single machine crossing the line is + heavily shelled it may be conceived what an immense concentration + of "Archies" is made on the raiders on their return. It is + remarkable what feeble results are obtained considering the + intensity of the bombardment, but rarely is a machine brought + down, though casualties naturally occur occasionally. + + Lieutenant C., in company with other machines, had successfully + bombed his target and had meanwhile been heavily shelled, with + the result that his engine was not giving its full number of + revolutions and he lagged a little behind the rest of the + formation. No hostile aircraft appeared and all went well until + he was about to cross the lines, when a terrific bombardment was + opened on him. + + He dodged and turned to the best of his ability, but a well-aimed + shell burst just above him and a piece of the "Archie" hit him on + the head, not seriously wounding him, but knocking him + unconscious. The machine, deprived of the guiding hand, + immediately got into a dive and commenced a rapid descent from + ten thousand feet, carrying the unconscious pilot with it, to be + dashed to pieces on the ground. + + Whether the rush of air, the sudden increase of pressure, or the + passing off of the effect of the blow caused the disabled man to + come to his senses is not known, but when the machine was only a + few hundred feet from the ground, Lieutenant C. recovered his + senses sufficiently to realize his position and managed to pull + the machine up and make a landing. He then lapsed into + unconsciousness again. Had he remained in his state of collapse + half a minute longer, he would inevitably have been killed. + + Another curious case of wounding was that of Lieutenant H., who + was also returning from a bomb raid. When passing through the + heavily shelled zone his machine was hit by a shell, which passed + through the floor by the pilot's seat and out at the top without + exploding. Lieutenant H. thought it must have been very close to + his leg, but he was so fully occupied with manoeuvring to dodge + other shells that he had no time to think of it. + + He crossed the line and began to plane down when he was aware of + a feeling of faintness, but pulling himself together he landed + his machine, taxied up to the sheds, and attempted to get out. It + was only then that he realized that his leg was shot almost + completely off above the knee; the lower part was merely hanging + by a piece of skin. + + Incredible as it may seem the shell which hit his machine also + tore through the leg--luckily without exploding--unknown to + Lieutenant H. Probably the force of the blow and excitement of + the moment caused it to pass unnoticed and the torn nature of the + wound helped to close the arteries and prevent his bleeding to + death. He recovered, and though no longer flying is still engaged + in doing his duty for the duration of the war. + +[Illustration: _Raid on a Troop Train by John E. Whiting._] + +The courage and dash of the American aviators, serving with the +French Army, led the Allies to expect great things of our flying +corps which should be organized immediately after our declaration of +war. About the time of that declaration Major L. W. B. Rees, of the +British Flying Corps, came to the United States for the purpose of +giving to our authorities the benefit of British experience in +raising and equipping aerial fleets and in the development of the +most efficient tactics. Major Rees in an official statement set +forth many facts of general interest concerning the various flying +services of the belligerent armies. The British, he said, fly on +three levels with three different kinds of machines. Nearest the +ground, about six thousand feet up, are the artillery directors who +hover about cutting big figure eights above the enemy trenches and +flash back directions by wireless to the British artillerists. These +observers are, of course, exposed to attack from anti-aircraft guns, +the effective range of which had by the middle of war become as +great as ten thousand feet. Yet, as has already been noted, the +amount of execution done by these weapons was surprisingly small. +The observers are protected from attack from above, first by the +heavy fighting planes, flying at ten thousand feet, carrying two men +to the plane and able to keep the air for four hours at a time at a +speed of 110 miles an hour. They are supposed to use every possible +vigilance to keep the enemy's fighters away from the slower and busy +observing machines. In this they are seconded by the lighter one-man +fighting machines which cruise about at a height of fifteen thousand +feet at a speed of 130 miles an hour and able to make a straight +upward dash at the rate of ten thousand feet in ten minutes. The +aviators of these latter machines came to describe their task as +"ceiling work," suggesting that they operated at the very top of the +world's great room. They are able to keep the air only about two +hours at a time. + +Americans, perhaps, gave exaggerated importance to the work of the +Lafayette Escadrille which was manned wholly by American boys, and +which, while in service from the very beginning of the war, was the +first section of the French Army permitted to display the flag of +the United States in battle after our declaration of war. It was +made up, in the main, of young Americans of good family and +independent means, most of them being college students who had laid +down their books for the more exciting life of an airman. They paid +heavily in the toll of death for their adventure and for the +conviction which led them to take the side of democracy and right in +the struggle against autocracy and barbarism months, even years, +before their nation finally determined to join with them. In the +first two and a half years of the war, seven of the aviators in this +comparatively small body lost their lives. + +Harvard College was particularly well represented in the American +Flying Corps--although this is a proper and pertinent place to say +that the sympathy shown for the allied cause by the young collegians +of the United States was a magnificent evidence of the lofty +righteousness of their convictions and the spirit of democracy with +which they looked out upon the world. When the leash was taken off +by the declaration of war by the United States the college boys +flocked to training camps and enlistment headquarters in a way that +bade fair to leave those institutions of learning without students +for some years to come. + +But to hark back to Harvard, it had in the Lafayette Escadrille five +men in 1916; three of these, Kiffen Rockwell, Norman Prince, and +Victor Chapman, were killed in that year. A letter published in +_Harvard Volunteers in Europe_ tells of the way these young +gladiators started the day's work: + + Rockwell called me up at three: "Fine day, fine day, get up!" It + was very clear. We hung around at Billy's [Lieutenant Thaw] and + took chocolate made by his ordonnance. Hall and the Lieutenant + were guards on the field; but Thaw, Rockwell, and I thought we + would take _a tour chez les Boches_. Being the first time the + _mechanaux_ were not there and the machine gun rolls not ready. + However it looked misty in the Vosges, so we were not hurried. + "Rendezvous over the field at a thousand metres," shouted Kiffen. + I nodded, for the motor was turning; and we sped over the field + and up. + +[Illustration: (C) U. & U. + +_A Burning Balloon, Photographed from a Parachute by the Escaping +Balloonist._] + + In my little cockpit from which my shoulders just protrude I have + several diversions besides flying. The compass, of course, and + the map I keep tucked in a tiny closet over the reservoir before + my knees, a small clock and one altimetre. But most important is + the contour, showing revolutions of the motor which one is + constantly regarding as he moves the manettes of gasoline and gas + back and forth. To husband one's fuel and tease the motor to + round eleven takes attention, for the carburetor changes with the + weather and the altitude.... The earth seemed hidden under a fine + web such as the Lady of Shalott wove. Soft purple in the west, + changing to shimmering white in the east. Under me on the left + the Vosges like rounded sand dunes cushioned up with velvety + light and dark masses (really forests), but to the south standing + firmly above the purple cloth like icebergs shone the Alps. My! + they look steep and jagged. The sharp blue shadows on their + western slopes emphasized the effect. One mighty group standing + aloof to the west--Mount Blanc perhaps. Ah, there are quantities + of worm-eaten fields my friends the trenches--and that town with + the canal going through it must be M----. Right beside the capote + of my engine, showing through the white cloth a silver snake--the + Rhine! + + What, not a quarter to six, and I left the field at five! + Thirty-two hundred metres. Let's go north and have a look at the + map. + + While thus engaged a black puff of smoke appeared behind my tail + and I had the impression of hearing a piece of iron hiss by. + "Must have got my range first shot!" I surmised, and making a + steep bank piqued heavily. "There, I have lost them now." The + whole art of avoiding shells is to pay no attention till they get + your range and then dodge away, change altitude, and generally + avoid going in a straight line. In point of fact, I could see + bunches of exploding shells up over my right shoulder not a + kilometre off. They continued to shell that section for some + time; the little balls of smoke thinning out and merging as they + crossed the lines. + +In the earlier days of the war, when the American aviators were +still few, their deeds were widely recounted in their home country, +and their deaths were deplored as though a personal loss to many of +their countrymen. Later they went faster and were lost in the daily +reports. Among those who had early fixed his personality in the +minds of those who followed the fortunes of the little band of +Americans flying in France was Kiffen Rockwell, mentioned in an +earlier paragraph, and one of the first to join the American +escadrille. Rockwell was in the war from sincere conviction of the +righteousness of the Allies' cause. + +"I pay my part for Lafayette, and Rochambeau," he said proudly, when +asked what he was doing in a French uniform flying for France. And +pay he did though not before making the Germans pay heavily for +their part. Once, flying alone over Thann, he came upon a German +scout. Without hesitation the battle was on. Rockwell's machine was +the higher, had the better position. As aerial tactics demanded he +dived for the foe, opening fire as soon as he came within thirty or +forty yards. At his fourth shot the enemy pilot fell forward in his +seat and his machine fell heavily to earth. He lighted behind the +German lines much to the victor's disgust, for it was counted a +higher achievement to bring your foe to earth in your own territory. +But Rockwell was able to pursue his victim far enough to see the +wreck burst into flames. + +Though often wounded, Rockwell scorned danger. He would go into +action so bandaged that he seemed fitter to go to an hospital. He +was always on the attack--"shoved his gun into the enemy's face" as +his fellows in the escadrille expressed it. So in September, 1916, +he went out after a big German machine, he saw flying in French +territory. He had but little difficulty in climbing above it, and +then dashed down in his usual impetuous manner, his machine gun +blazing as he came on. But the German was of heavier metal mounting +two machine guns. Just as to onlookers it seemed that the two +machines would crash together, the wings of one side of Rockwell's +plane suddenly collapsed and he fell like a stone between the lines. +The Germans turned their guns on the pile of wreckage where he lay, +but French gunners ran out and brought his body in. His breast was +all blown to pieces with an explosive bullet--criminal, of course, +barbarous and uncivilized, but an everyday practice of the Germans. + +Rockwell was given an impressive funeral. All the British pilots, +and five hundred of their men marched, and the bier was followed by +a battalion of French troops. Over and around the little French +graveyard aviators flew dropping flowers. In later days less +ceremony attended the last scene of an American aviator's career. + +Another American aviator, also a Harvard man, who met death in the +air, was Victor Chapman of New York, a youth of unusual charm, high +ideals, and indomitable courage. At the very outbreak of the war he +enlisted in the French Foreign Legion--a rough entourage for a +college-bred man. Into the Foreign Legion drifted everything that +was doubtful, and many that were criminal. No questions were asked +of those who sought its hospitable ranks, and readers of Ouida's +novel _Under Two Flags_ will recall that it enveloped in its +convenient obscurity British lordlings and the lowest of Catalonian +thieves. But in time of actual war its personnel was less mixed, and +Chapman's letters showed him serving there contentedly as pointer of +a mitrailleuse. But not for long. Most of the spirited young +Americans who entered the French Army aspired to serve in the +aviation corps, and Chapman soon was transferred to that field. +There he developed into a most daring flyer. On one occasion, with a +bad scalp wound, after a brush with four German machines, he made +his landing with his machine so badly wrecked that he had to hold +together the broken ends of a severed control with one hand, while +he steered with the other. Instead of laying up for the day he had +his mechanician repair his machine while a surgeon repaired him, +then, patched up together, man and machine took the air again in +search for the Boches. + +In June, 1916, though still suffering from a wound in the head, he +started in his machine to carry some oranges to a comrade lying +desperately wounded in a hospital some miles away. On the way he saw +in the distance behind the German lines two French airmen set upon +by an overwhelming force of Germans. Instantly he was off to the +assistance of his friends, plunging into so unequal a fight that +even his coming left the other Americans outnumbered. But he had +scarce a chance to strike a blow. Some chance shot from a German gun +put him out of action. All that the other two Americans, Lufbery and +Prince, knew was that they saw a French machine come flying to their +aid, and suddenly tip and fall away to earth. Until nightfall came +and Chapman failed to return none was sure that he was the victim. + +The part played by young Americans as volunteers for France before +the United States entered upon the war was gallant and stimulating +to national pride. It showed to the world--and to our own countrymen +who needed the lesson as much as any--that we had among our youth +scores who, moved by high ideals, stood ready to risk their lives +for a sentiment--stood ready to brave the myriad discomforts of the +trenches, the bursting shrapnel, the mutilating liquid fire, the +torturing gas that German autocracy should be balked of its purpose +of dominating the world. + +And the service of these boys aided far more than they knew. The +fact that our countrymen in numbers were flying for France kept ever +before the American people the vision of that war in the air of +which poets and philosophers had dreamed for ages. It brought home +to our people the importance of aviation before our statesmen could +begin to see it. It set our boys to reading of aircraft, building +model planes, haunting the few aviation fields which at the time our +country possessed. And it finally so filled the consciousness of our +people with conviction of the supreme importance of aviation as an +arm of the national armed service that long before the declaration +of war the government was embarrassed by the flood of volunteers +seeking to be enrolled in the flying forces of the nation. + + + + +CHAPTER IX + +THE UNITED STATES AT WAR + + +The entrance of the United States upon the war was the signal for a +most active agitation of the question of overwhelming the enemy with +illimitable fleets of aircraft. Though the agitation was most +vociferous in this country whence it was hoped the enormous new +fleets of aircraft would come, it was fomented and earnestly pressed +by our Allies. France sent a deputation of her leading flyers over +to supervise the instruction of our new pilots. England contributed +experts to advise as to the construction of our machines. The most +comprehensive plans were urged upon Congress and the Administration +for the creation of a navy of the air. A bill for an initial +appropriation of $640,000,000, for aircraft purposes alone, was +passed and one for a Department of Aeronautics to be established, +co-ordinate with those of War and the Navy, its secretary holding a +seat in the cabinet, was introduced in Congress. Many of the most +eminent retired officers of the navy joined in their support. +Retired officers only because officers in active service were +estopped from political agitation. + +There was every possible reason for this great interest in the +United States in wartime aviation. The nation had long been +shamefaced because the development of the heavier-than-air machines, +having their origin undoubtedly in the inventive genius of Professor +Langley and the Wrights, had been taken away from us by the more +alert governments of France and Germany. The people were ready to +buy back something of our lost prestige by building the greatest of +air fleets at the moment when it should exercise the most +determinative influence upon the war. + +But more. We entered upon the war in our chronic state of +unpreparedness. We were without an army and without equipment for +one. To raise, equip, and drill an army of a million, the least +number that would have any appreciable effect upon the outcome of +the war, would take months. When completed we would have added only +to the numerical superiority of the Allies on the Western Front. The +quality of a novel and decisive contribution to the war would be +lacking. + +So too it was with our navy. The British Navy was amply adequate to +deal with the German fleet should the latter ever leave its prudent +retreat behind Helgoland and in the bases of Kiel and Wilhelmshaven. +True it was not capable of crushing out altogether the submarine +menace, but it did hold the German underwater boats down to a fixed +average of ships destroyed, which was far less than half of what the +Germans had anticipated. In this work our ships, especially our +destroyers, took a notable part. + +The argument for a monster fleet of fighting aircraft, thus came to +the people of the United States in a moment of depression and +perplexity. By land the Germans had dug themselves in, holding all +of Belgium and the thousands of square miles of France they had won +in their first dash to the Marne. What they had won swiftly and +cheaply could only be regained slowly and at heavy cost. True, the +Allies were, day by day, driving them back from their position, but +the cost was disheartening and the progress but slow. + +By sea the Germans refused to bring their fleet to battle with their +foes. But from every harbour of Belgium, and from Wilhelmshaven and +Kiel, they sent out their sinister submarines to prey upon the +commerce of the world--neutral as well as belligerent. Against them +the navies of the world were impotent. To the threat that by them +Germany would starve England into cowering surrender, the only +answer was the despairing effort to build new ships faster than the +submarines could sink those afloat--even though half a million tons +a month were sent to the bottom in wasteful destruction. + +[Illustration: Photo by Levick. + +_A Caproni Biplane Circling the Woolworth Building._] + +Faced by these disheartening conditions, wondering what they might +do that could be done quickly and aid materially in bringing the war +to a triumphant conclusion, the American people listened eagerly to +the appeals and arguments of the advocates of a monster aerial +fleet. + +[Illustration: (C) International Film Service. + +_Cruising at 2000 Feet._ + +_One Biplane photographed from another._] + + Listen [said these advocates], we show you a way to spring full + panoplied into the war, and to make your force felt with your + first stroke. We are not preaching dreadnoughts that take four + years to build. We are not asking for a million men taking nearly + a year to gather, equip, drill, and transport to France, in + imminent danger of destruction by the enemy's submarines every + mile of the way. + + We ask you for a cheap, simple device of wood, wire, and cloth, + with an engine to drive it. All its parts are standardized. In a + few weeks the nation can be equipped to turn out 2000 of them + weekly. We want within the year 100,000 of them. We do not ask + for a million men. We want 10,000 bright, active, hardy, plucky + American boys between 20 and 25 years of age. We want to give + them four months' intensive training before sending them into the + air above the enemy's lines. In time we shall want 25,000 to + 35,000 but the smaller number will well do to open the campaign. + + And what will they effect? + + Do you know that to-day the eyes of an army are its airplanes? + Cavalry has disappeared practically. If a general wishes to pick + out a weak point in his enemy's line to assault he sends out + airmen to find it. If he is annoyed by the fire of some distant + unseen battery over the hills and far away he sends a man in an + airplane who brings back its location, its distance, and perhaps + a photograph of it in action. If he suspects that his foe is + abandoning his trenches, or getting ready for an attack, the + ready airmen bring in the facts. + + And of course the enemy's airmen serve their side in the same + manner. They spy out what their foe is doing, and so far as their + power permits prevent him from seeing what they are doing. + + Now suppose one side has an enormous preponderance of + aircraft--six to one, let us say. It is not believed, for + example, that at this moment Germany has more than 10,000 + aircraft on the whole western front. Let us imagine that through + the enterprise of the United States our Allies were provided with + 25,000 on one sector which we intended to make the scene of an + attack on the foe. Say the neighbourhood of Arras and Lille. For + days, weeks perhaps, we would be drawing troops toward this + sector from every part of the line. Through the reports of spies + the enemy's suspicions would be aroused. It is the business of an + efficient general to be suspicious. He would send out his + airplanes to report on the activities of the other side. Few + would come back. None would bring a useful report. For every + German plane that showed above the lines three Allied planes + would be ready to attack and destroy it or beat it back. The air + would be full of Allied airmen--the great bombing planes flying + low and inundating the trenches with bombs, and the troops on + march with the deadly flechettes. Over every German battery would + soar the observation plane indicating by tinsel or smoke bombs + the location of the guns, or even telegraphing it back by + wireless to the Allied batteries safe in positions which the + blinded enemy could never hope to find. Above all in myriads + would be soaring the swift fighting scouts, the Bleriots, + Nieuports, Moranes or perhaps some new American machine to-day + unknown. Let the wing of a Boche but show above the smoke and + they would be upon him in hordes, beating him to the ground, + enveloping him in flames, annihilating him before he had a chance + to observe, much less to report. + + What think you would be the result on that sector of the battle + line? Why the foe would be cut to pieces, demolished, + obliterated. Blinded, he would be unrelentingly punished by an + adversary all eyes. Writhing under the concentrated fire of a + thousand guns he could make no response, for his own guns could + not find the attacking batteries. Did he think to flee? His + retreating columns would be marked down by the relentless scouts + in the air, and the deadly curtain of fire from well-coached + batteries miles away would sweep every road with death. If in + desperation he sought to attack he would do so ignorant whether + he were not hurling his regiments against the strongest part of + the Allied line, and with full knowledge of the fact that though + he was blinded they had complete information of his strength and + dispositions. + +The argument impressed itself strongly upon the mind of the country. +There appeared indeed no public sentiment hostile to it nor any +organized opposition to the proposition for an enormous +appropriation for purposes of aviation. The customary inertia of +Congress delayed the actual appropriation for some months. But the +President espoused its cause and the Secretaries both of War and the +Navy warmly recommended it, although they united in opposing the +proposition to establish a distinct department of aeronautics with a +seat in the Cabinet. Being human neither one desired to let his +share of this great new gift of power slip out of his hands. Leading +in the fight for this legislation was Rear-Admiral Robert E. Peary, +U. S. N., retired, the discoverer of the North Pole. Admiral Peary +from the very outbreak of the war consecrated his time and his +abilities to pushing the development of aeronautics in the United +States. He was continually before Congressional committees urging +the fullest appropriations for this purpose. In his first statement +before the Senate Committee he declared that "in the immediate +future the air service will be more important than the army and navy +combined," and supported that statement by reference to utterances +made by such British authorities as Mr. Balfour, Lord Charles +Beresford, Lord Northcliffe, and Lord Montague. In an article +published shortly after his appearance before the Senate Committee, +the Admiral summarized in a popular way his views as to the +possibility of meeting the submarine menace with aircraft, and what +the United States might do in that respect. He wrote: + + We are receiving agreeable reports as to the efficiency of the + American destroyer flotilla now operating against submarines in + the North Sea. An unknown naval officer, according to the + newspapers of May 30th, calls for the immediate construction of + from 100 to 200 additional American destroyers. + + By all means let us have this force--when it can be made + ready--but it would take at least two years to construct, equip, + and deliver such a heavy additional naval tonnage, while 200 + fighting seaplanes, with a full complement of machine guns, + bombs, microphones, and aerial cameras, could be put in active + service in the North Sea within six months. + + Seaplanes, small dirigibles on the order of the English "blimp" + type, and kite balloons have already shown themselves to be more + effective in detecting submarines than are submarine chasers or + armed liners. + + Not only have the British, French, German, and Turkish forces + destroyed trawlers, patrol boats, and transports by aircraft, + but successful experiments in airplane submarine hunting have + also been made in this country. + + In September, 1916, our first Aerial Coast Patrol Unit, in acting + as an auxiliary to the Mosquito Squadron in the annual manoeuvres + of the Atlantic fleet, detected objects smaller than the latest + type of German submarines from fifteen to twenty feet below the + surface. + + A more complete aerial submarine hunt took place on March 26th of + this year. This was the real thing, because the fliers were + looking for German U-boats. Inasmuch as the Navy Department is + still waiting before establishing its first and only aeronautical + base on the Atlantic seaboard, the honour of having conducted the + first aerial hunt of the enemy submarines in American history + went to the civilian aviators who are soon to be a part of the + Aerial Reserve Squadron at Governor's Island and to the civilian + instructors and aerial reservists connected with the Army + Aviation School at Mineola, Long Island. + + These hawks of the air darted up and down the coast in search of + the enemy, often flying as far as eleven miles out to sea. The + inlets and bays were searched, vessels plotted, compass direction + and time when located were given. + + No enemy submarines were found. It developed that the supposed + submarines were two patrol motor-boats returning from a trial + trip. Nevertheless the incident is illuminating, and the official + statement of the Navy Department closed with the words: "This + incident emphasizes the need of hydroaeroplanes for naval + scouting purposes." + + It is also interesting to note what happened when Lawrence Sperry + went out to sea one day last summer in his hydroplane and failed + to return. Two seaplanes and three naval destroyers were sent in + search of him. In forty minutes the seaplanes returned with the + news that they had located Sperry floating safely on the water. + At the end of the day, after several hours of search, the + destroyers came back without having seen Sperry at all. + + Those who may still believe that we Americans cannot build + aircraft and that all the exploits we read so much about in the + newspapers taking place on the other side are being done in + foreign aircraft will be surprised to know that a large number of + the big flying boats now in use in the English navy, harbour, and + coast defence work are Curtiss machines, designed and built in + this country by Americans, with American material and American + engines. + + Great Britain wants all the machines of this type that it can + get, and sees no reason why we cannot do the same thing in + protecting our own Atlantic seaboard. I quote from C. G. Grey, + editor of _The London Aeroplane_: + + "Curiously enough, these big flying boats originated in America, + and, if America is seriously perturbed about the fate of American + shipping and American citizens travelling by sea in the vicinity + of Europe, it should not be a difficult matter for America to rig + up in a very small space of time quite a fleet of seaplane + carriers suitable for the handling of these big seaplanes. If + each seaplane ship were armed with guns having a range of five to + ten miles, and if the gunners were practised in co-operating with + airplane spotters, such ships ought to be the very best possible + insurance for American lives and goods on the high seas." + + I quote from _The Associated Press_ report from Paris on May 14th + to show the relative importance of aeroplanes in submarine + attacks: + + "During the last three months French patrol boats have had twelve + engagements with submarines, French hydroaeroplanes have fought + them thirteen times, and there have been sixteen engagements + between armed merchantmen and submarines." + + Henry Woodhouse, one of the most distinguished authorities on + aeronautics in the United States, in his standard _Textbook on + Naval Aeronautics_, published by the Century Company, has + assembled the following data on submarine and aeroplane combats: + + "On May 4, 1915, the German Admiralty reported an engagement + between a German dirigible and several British submarines in the + North Sea. The submarines fired on the dirigible without success, + whereas bombs from the dirigible sank one submarine. + + "On May 31, 1915, the German Admiralty announced the sinking of a + Russian submarine by bombs dropped by German naval aviators near + Gotland. + + "On July 1, 1915, the Austrian submarine U-11 was destroyed in + the Adriatic by a French aeroplane, which swooped suddenly and + dropped three bombs directly on the deck of the submarine. The + craft was destroyed and the entire crew of twenty-five were lost. + + "On July 27, 1915, a German submarine in the Dardanelles was + about to launch a torpedo at a British transport filled with + troops and ammunition, when British aviators gave the alarm to + the transport, and immediately began dropping bombs at the + submarine, which had to submerge and escape hurriedly, without + launching its torpedo. + + "On August 19, 1915, the Turkish War Office stated that an Allied + submarine had been sunk in the Dardanelles by a Turkish + aeroplane. + + "On August 26, the Secretary of the British Admiralty announced + that Squadron Commander Arthur W. Bigsworth in a single-handed + attack bombed and destroyed a German submarine off Ostend. + + "Lieutenant Viney received the Victoria Cross and Lieutenant de + Sincay was recommended for the Legion of Honour for having flown + over a German submarine and destroyed it with bombs off the + Belgian coast on November 18, 1915. + + "Early in 1916 an Austrian seaplane sank the French submarine + _Foucault_ in the southern Adriatic. Lieutenant Calezeny was the + pilot and the observer was Lieutenant von Klinburg. After + crippling the submarine they then performed the remarkable feat + of calling another Austrian seaplane and rescuing the entire + French crew, two officers and twenty seven men, in spite of the + fact that a high sea was running at the time." + +It will be noted that Admiral Peary lays great stress on the supreme +value of aircraft as foes of the submarine. This was due to the fact +that at about the time of his appearance before the Senate Committee +the world was fairly panic-stricken by the vigour and effect of the +German submarine campaign and its possible bearing upon the outcome +of the war. Of that campaign I shall have more to say in the section +of this book dealing with submarines. But the subject of the +undersea boat in war became at this time inextricably interwoven +with that of the aerial fleets, and the sudden development of the +latter, together with the marked interest taken in it by our people, +cannot be understood without some description of the way in which +the two became related. + +From the very beginning of the war the Germans had prosecuted a +desultory submarine warfare on the shipping of Great Britain and had +extended it gradually until neutral shipping also was largely +involved. All the established principles of international law, or +principles that had been supposed to be established, were set at +naught. In bygone days enemy merchant ships were subject to +destruction only after their crews had been given an opportunity to +take to the boats. Neutral ships bearing neutral goods, even if +bound to an enemy port, were liable to destruction only if found +upon visit to be carrying goods that were contraband of war. The +list of contraband had been from time immemorial rigidly limited, +and confined almost wholly to munitions of war, or to raw material +used in their construction. But international law went by the board +early in the war. Each belligerent was able to ascribe plausible +reasons for its amendment out of recognizable form. Great Britain +established blockades two hundred miles away from the blockaded +ports because the submarines made the old practice of watching at +the entrance of the port too perilous. The list of contraband of war +was extended by both belligerents until it comprehended almost every +useful article grown, mined, or manufactured. But the amendment to +international law which acted as new fuel for the flames of war, +which aroused the utmost world-wide indignation, and which finally +dragged the United States into the conflict, was that by which +Germany sought to relieve her submarine commanders of the duty of +visiting and searching a vessel, or of giving its people time to +provide for their safety, before sinking it. + +[Illustration: (C) U. & U. + +_An Air Battle in Progress._] + +The German argument was that the submarine was unknown when the code +of international law then in force was formulated. It was a +peculiarly delicate naval weapon. Its strength lay in its ability to +keep itself concealed while delivering its attack. If exposed on the +surface a shot from a small calibred gun striking in a vital point +would instantly send it to the bottom. If rammed it was lost. Should +a submarine rise to the surface, send an officer aboard a ship it +had halted, and await the result of his search, it would be exposed +all the time to destruction at the hands of enemy vessels coming up +to her aid. Indeed if the merchantman happened to carry one gun a +single shot might put the assailant out of business. Accordingly the +practice grew up among the Germans of launching their torpedoes +without a word of warning at their helpless victim. The wound +inflicted by a torpedo is such that the ship will go down in but a +few minutes carrying with it most of the people aboard. The most +glaring, inexcusable, and criminal instance of this sort of warfare +was the sinking without warning of the great passenger liner, +_Lusitania_, by which more than eleven hundred people were drowned, +one hundred and fourteen of them American citizens. + +[Illustration: Photo by U. & U. + +_A Curtis Hydroaeroplane._] + +Against this policy--or piracy--the United States protested, and +people of this country waxed very weary as month after month through +the years 1915 and 1916 Germany met the protests with polite letters +of evasion and excuse continuing the while the very practice +complained of. But late in January, 1917, her government announced +that there would be no longer any pretence of complying with +international law, but that with the coming month a campaign of +unlimited submarine ruthlessness would be begun and ships sunk +without warning and irrespective of their nationality if they +appeared in certain prohibited zones. Within twenty-four hours the +United States sent the German Ambassador from the country and within +two months we were at war. + +At once the submarine was seen to be the great problem confronting +us. Its attack was not so much upon the United States, for we are a +self-contained nation able to raise all that we need within our own +borders for our own support. But England is a nation that has to be +fed from without. Seldom are her stores of food great enough to +avert starvation for more than six weeks should the steady flow of +supply ships from America and Australia to her ports be interrupted. +This interruption the Germans proposed to effect by means of their +underwater boats. Von Tirpitz and other leaders in the German +administration promised the people that within six weeks England +would be starved and begging for peace at any price. The output of +submarines from German navy yards was greatly increased. Their +activity became terrifying. The Germans estimated that if they could +sink 1,000,000 tons of shipping monthly they would put England out +of action in two or three months. For some weeks the destruction +accomplished by their boats narrowly approached this estimate, but +gradually fell off. At the same time there was no period in 1917 up +to the time of Admiral Peary's statement, or indeed up to that of +the preparation of this book, when it was not felt that the cause of +the Allies was in danger because of the swarms of German submarines. + +It was that feeling, coupled with the wide-spread belief that +aircraft furnished the best means of combating the submarine, that +caused an irresistible demand in the United States for the +construction of colossal fleets of these flying crafts. Congress +enacted in midsummer the law appropriating $640,000,000 for the +construction of aircraft and the maintenance of the aerial service. +The Secretaries of War and the Navy each appealed for heavy +additional appropriations for aerial service. The arguments which +have already been set forth as supporting the use of aircraft in +military service were paralleled by those who urge its unlimited use +in naval service. + + Consider [said they] the primary need for attacking these vipers + of the sea in their nests. Once out on the broad Atlantic their + chances of roaming about undetected by destroyers or other patrol + boats are almost unlimited. But we know where they come from, + from Kiel, Antwerp, Wilhelmshaven, Ostend, and Zeebrugge. Catch + them there and you will destroy them as boys destroy hornets by + smoking out their nests. But against this the Germans have + provided by blocking every avenue of approach save one. The + channels are obstructed and mined, and guarded from the shore by + heavy batteries. No hostile ships dare run that gauntlet. Even + the much-boasted British navy in the three years of the war has + not ventured to attack a single naval base. You could not even + seek out the submarines thus sheltered by other submarines + because running below the surface our boats could not detect + either mines or nets and would be doomed to destruction. The + enemy boats come out on the surface protected by the batteries + and naval craft. But the air cannot be blocked by any fixed + defences. Give us more and more powerful aircraft than the + Germans possess and we will darken the sky above the German bases + with the wings of our airplanes, and rain explosive shells upon + the submarines that have taken shelter there until none survive. + + The one essential is that our flyers shall be in overwhelming + numbers. We must be able not only to take care of any flying + force that the Germans may send against us, but also to have + enough of our aircraft not engaged in the aerial battle to devote + their entire attention to the destruction of the enemy forces + below. + +From every country allied with us came approval of this policy. At +the time the debate was pending in Congress our Allies one after +another were sending to us official commissions to consult upon the +conduct of the war, to give us the benefit of their long and bitter +experience in it, and to assist in any way our preparations for +taking a decisive part in that combat. The subject of the part to be +played by aircraft was one frequently discussed with them. With the +French commission came two members of the staff of General Joffre, +Major Tulasne and Lieutenant de la Grange, experts in aviation +service. A formal interview given out by these gentlemen expressed +so clearly the point of view on aviation and its possibilities held +in France where it has reached its highest development that some +extracts from it will be of interest here: + + "At the beginning of the war the Germans were the only ones who + had realized the great importance of aviation from a military + point of view," said these officers. + + "France had looked upon aviation as a sport, Germany as a + powerful weapon in war. This is illustrated by the fact that + even in August, 1914, German artillery fire was directed by + airplanes. + + "It was only after the retreat from Belgium and the battle of the + Marne that the Allies realized the great importance of aviation. + Between August 15 and 25 the French General Staff thought that + the greater part of the German army was concentrated in Alsace + and that only a few army corps were coming through Belgium. It + was only through the reports of the aviators that they realized + that this was a mistake and that almost the whole of the German + army was invading Belgium. + + "Immediately after the battle of the Marne the greatest efforts + were made in France to develop the aviation corps in every + possible way. The English army, then in process of formation, + profited by the experience of the French. Since that time the + allied as well as the German aviation corps has grown constantly. + + "A modern army is incomplete if it has not a strong aviation + corps. All the different services are obliged to turn to the + aviation corps for help in their work. An army without airplanes + is like a soldier without eyes. An army which has the superiority + in aviation over its adversary will have the following + advantages: + + "It will have constantly the latest information on the movements + of the enemy. In this way, no concentration of troops will be + ignored and no surprise attack will be possible. The attack + against the enemy positions will be rendered easier because all + the details of these positions will be thoroughly known + beforehand. The artillery fire will be much more accurate. Many + enemy machines will be brought down by the superior fighting + machines and the result will be to strengthen the morale both of + the aviators and of the army." + + The next question put to the French experts was: "Why do we need + to make a great effort to obtain the superiority in the air?" + They answered with much interesting detail: + + "Because the Germans have understood the importance of aviation + from a military point of view and have concentrated all their + forces to develop this service. + + "Owing to the large number of scientists and technicians they + possess they are able constantly to perfect motors and planes. + Owing to their great industrial organization they are able to + produce an enormous number of the best machines. + + "The German aviation service is now fully as strong as that of + the Allies as far as numbers are concerned. The superiority in + the air can only remain in the hands of the Allies because of the + spirit of self-sacrifice of their aviators and their greater + skill. + + "Germany feels that the decisive phase of the war is imminent and + the efforts she will make next year will be infinitely greater + than any she has made before. She will try in every way to regain + the supremacy of the air. Realizing what a formidable enemy + America can be in the air, she will strengthen her aviation + forces in consequence. + + "The aeroplane is by far the most powerful of all the modern + weapons. If the Allies have the supremacy of the air the German + artillery will lose its accuracy of aim. It is impossible, + because of the long range, for modern guns to fire without the + help of airplanes. The accuracy of artillery fire depends + entirely on its being directed by an airplane. + + "This was clearly illustrated during the battle of the Somme in + 1916. The French at that time had concentrated such a large + number of fighting machines that no German machine was allowed to + fly over the lines. On the other hand, the Allies' reconnaissance + machines were so numerous that each French battery could have its + fire directed by an airplane. + + "The destruction of the enemy positions was in consequence + carried out very effectively and very rapidly, while the Germans + were obliged to fire blindly and scatter their shells over large + areas, incapable as they were of locating our battery + emplacements and the positions of our troops. Unluckily, a few + weeks later the Germans had called from the different parts of + the line a good many of their squadrons, and were able to carry + out their work under better conditions. + + "We need such a superiority that it will be impossible for any + German airplane to fly anywhere near the lines. + + "Every German kite balloon, every airplane would immediately be + attacked by a number of allied machines. In this way the German + aviation will not only be dominated but will be entirely crushed. + + "If we can prevent the Germans from seeing, through their + airplanes, what we are preparing we will be very near the end of + the war. It will require a huge effort to carry out this plan. + Neither the English nor the French are able to do so by their own + means. + + "As far as France is concerned, she is able to keep on building + machines rapidly enough to increase her aviation corps at about + the same rate as Germany is increasing hers. If she wanted to + double or triple her production of machines she could do so, but + she would have to call back from the trenches a certain number of + skilled workmen, and this would weaken her fighting power. She + needs in the trenches all the men who are able to carry a rifle. + + "If the Allies are to have the absolute supremacy of the air + which we have been describing it will be the privilege of America + to give it to them. We want three or four or even five allied + machines for one German. America only has the possibilities of + production which would allow her to build an enormous number of + machines in a very short time. + + "The airplane is a great engine of destruction. It tells the + artillery where to fire, it drops bombs, it gives the enemy all + the information he needs to plan murderous attacks. Drive the + German airplanes down and you will save the lives of thousands + of men in our trenches. As Ulysses in the cavern put out the eye + of the Cyclops, so the eyes of the beast must be put out before + you can attempt to kill it." + + Major Tulasne and Lieutenant de la Grange then outlined what the + aviation programme of the United States should be, saying: + + "American industry must be enabled to begin building at once. No + time must be lost in experiments. America must profit by the + experience of the Allies. She must choose the best planes and + build thousands of them. + + "She must build reconnoissance machines which she will need for + her army; she must build a large number of fighting machines + because it is these machines that will destroy German planes; she + must also build squadrons of powerful bombing machines which will + go behind the German lines to destroy the railway junctions and + bomb the enemy cantonments, so as to give the soldiers no rest + even when they have left the trenches. + + "Bombing done by a few machines gives poor results. The same + cannot be said of this operation carried out by a large number of + machines which can go to the same places and bomb continually. + + "Besides the number of men that are actually killed in these + raids, great disturbance is caused in the enemy's communication + lines, thereby hindering the operations. For example, since the + British Admiralty has increased the number of its bombing + squadrons in northern France and has decided to attack constantly + the two harbours of Ostend and Zeebrugge and the locks, bridges, + and canals leading to them they have greatly interfered with the + activity of these two German bases. + + "It is certain that shortly, owing to this, these two ports will + no more be used by German torpedo boats and submarines. What the + English Royal Naval Air Service has been able to accomplish with + 100 machines the Flying Corps of the United States with 1000 + machines must be able to carry out on other parts of the front. + + "The work of the bombing machines is rendered difficult now by + the fact that the actual lines are far from Germany. But it is + hoped that soon fighting will be carried on near the enemy + frontier and then a wonderful field will be opened to the bombing + machines. + + "All the big ammunition factories which are in the Rhine and Ruhr + valleys, like Krupp's, will be wonderful targets for the American + bombing machines. If these machines are of the proper type--that + is to say, sufficiently fast and well armed and able to carry a + great weight of bombs--nothing will prevent them from destroying + any of these important factories. + + "As Germany at the present time is only able to continue the war + because of her great stock of war material the destruction of her + sources of production would be the end of her resistance. For + this also the Allies must turn to America. Such a large number of + machines is required to produce results that America must be + relied on to manufacture them. + + "Every man in this country must know that it is in the power of + the United States, no matter what can be done in other fields, to + bring the war to an end simply by concentrating all its energies + on producing an enormous amount of material for aviation, and to + enlist a corresponding number of pilots. But this will not be + done without great effort. In order to be ready for the great + 1918 offensive work must be begun at once." + +The extreme secrecy which in this war has characterized the +operation of the governments--our own most of all--makes it +impossible to state the amount of progress made in 1917 in the +construction of our aerial fleet. During the debate in Congress +orators were very outspoken in their prophecies that we should +outnumber the Kaiser's flying fleet two or three to one. The press +of the nation was so very explicit in its descriptions of the way in +which we were to blind the Germans and drive them from the air that +it is no wonder the Kaiser's government took alarm, and set about +building additional aircraft with feverish zeal. In this it was +imitated by France and England. It seemed, all at once about the +middle of 1917, that the whole belligerent world suddenly recognized +the air as the final battlefield and began preparations for its +conquest. + +All statistical estimates in war time are subject to doubt as to +their accuracy--and particularly those having to do in any way with +the activities of an enemy country. But competent estimators--or at +any rate shrewd guessers--think that Germany's facilities for +constructing airplanes equal those of France and England together. +If then all three nations build to the very limit of their abilities +there will be a tie, which the contribution of aircraft from the +United States will settle overwhelmingly in favour of the Allies. +How great that contribution may be cannot be foretold with certainty +at this moment. The building of aircraft was a decidedly infant +industry in this country when war began. In the eight years prior to +1916 the government had given orders for just fifty-nine +aircraft--scarcely enough to justify manufacturers in keeping their +shops open. Orders from foreign governments, however, stimulated +production after the war began so that when the United States +belatedly took her place as national honour and national safety +demanded among the Entente Allies, Mr. Howard E. Coffin, Chairman of +the Aircraft Section of the Council of National Defence was able to +report eight companies capable of turning out about 14,000 machines +in six months--a better showing than British manufacturers could +have made when Great Britain, first entered the war. + +A feature in the situation which impressed both Congress and the +American people was the exposure by various military experts of the +defenceless condition of New York City against an air raid by a +hostile foreign power. At the moment, of course, there was no +danger. The only hostile foreign power with any considerable naval +or aerial force was Germany and her fleet was securely bottled up in +her own harbours by the overpowering fleet of Great Britain. Yet if +one could imagine the British fleet reduced to inefficiency, let us +say by a futile, suicidal attack upon Kiel or Heligoland which would +leave it crippled, and free the Germans, or if we could conceive +that the German threat to reduce Great Britain to subjection by the +submarine campaign, proved effective, the peril of New York would +then be very real and very immediate. For, although the harbour +defences are declared by military authorities to be practically +impregnable against attack by sea, they would not be effective +against an attack from the air. A hostile fleet carrying a number of +seaplanes could round-to out of range of our shore batteries and +loose their flyers who could within less than an hour be dropping +bombs on the most congested section of Manhattan Island. It is true +that our own navy would have to be evaded in such case, but the +attack might be made from points more distant from New York and at +which no scouts would ever dream of looking for an enemy. + +The development in later months of the big heavily armed cruising +machines makes the menace to any seaport city like New York still +greater. The Germans have built great biplanes with two fuselages, +or bodies, armoured, carrying two machine guns and one automatic +rifle to each body. They have twin engines of three hundred and +forty horse power and carry a crew of six men. They are able in an +emergency to keep the air for not less than three days. It is +obvious that a small fleet of such machines launched from the deck +of a hostile squadron, let us say in the neighbourhood of Block +Island, could menace equally Boston or New York, or by flying up the +Sound could work ruin and desolation upon all the defenceless cities +bordering that body of water. + +Nor are the Germans alone in possessing machines of this type. The +giant Sikorsky machines of Russia, mentioned in an earlier chapter, +have during the war been developed into types capable of carrying +crews of twenty-five men with guns and ammunition. The French, after +having brought down one of the big German machines with the double +bodies, instantly began building aircraft of their own of an even +superior type. Some of these are driven by four motors and carry +eleven persons, besides guns and ammunition. The Caproni machines of +Italy are even bigger--capable of carrying nine guns and thirty-five +men. The Congressional Committee was much impressed by consideration +of what might be done by a small fleet of aircraft of this type +launched from a hostile squadron off the Capes of Chesapeake Bay and +operating against Washington. It is not likely that any foreign foe +advancing by land could repeat the exploit of the British who burned +the capitol in 1812. But in our present defenceless state a dozen +aircraft of the largest type might reduce the national capitol to +ruins. + +If an enemy well provided with aerial force possesses such power of +offence an equal power of defence is given to the nation at all well +provided with flying craft. In imitation, or perhaps rather in +modification, of the English plan for guarding the coasts of Great +Britain, a well matured system of defending the American coasts has +been worked out and submitted to the national authorities. It +involves the division of the coasts of the United States into +thirteen aeronautical districts, each with aeronautical stations +established at suitable points and all in communication with each +other. Eight of these districts would be laid out on the Atlantic +Coast extending from the northern boundary of Maine to the Rio +Grande River. + +Just what the purpose and value of these districts would be may be +explained by taking the case, not of a typical one, but of the most +important one of all, the third district including the coast line +from New London, Conn., to Barnegat Inlet, New Jersey. This of +course includes New York and adjacent commercial centres and the +entrance to Long Island Sound with its long line of thriving cities +and the ports of the places from which come our chief supplies of +munitions of war. It includes the part of the United States which an +enemy would most covet. The part which at once would furnish the +richest plunder, and possession of which by a foe would most cripple +this nation. To-day it is defended by stationary guns in land +fortresses and in time of attack would be further guarded by a +fringe of cruising naval vessels. Apparently up to the middle of +1917 the government thought no aerial watch was needed. + +But if we were to follow the methods which all the belligerent +nations of Europe are employing on their sea coasts we would +establish in this district ten aeronautical stations. This would be +no match for the British system which has one such station to every +twenty miles of coast. Ours would be farther apart, but as the Sound +could be guarded at its entrance the stations need only be +maintained along the south shore of Long Island and down the Jersey +coast. Each station would be provided with patrol, fighting, and +observation airplanes. It would have the mechanical equipment of +microphones, searchlights, and other devices for detecting the +approach of an enemy now employed successfully abroad. Its +patrolling airplanes would cruise constantly far out to sea, not +less than eighty miles, keeping ever in touch with their station. As +the horizon visible from a soaring airplane is not less than fifty +miles distant from the observer, this would mean that no enemy fleet +could approach within 130 miles of our coast without detection and +report. The Montauk Point station would be charged with guarding the +entrance to Long Island Sound and, the waters of Nantucket shoals +and Block Island Sound where the German submarine U-53 did its +deadly work in 1916. The Sandy Hook station would of course be the +most important of all, guarding New York sea-going commerce and +protecting the ship channel by a constant patrol of aircraft over +it. + +The modern airplane has a speed of from eighty to one hundred and +sixty miles an hour--the latter rate being attained only by the +light scouts. Thus it is apparent that if an alarm were raised at +any one of these stations between New London and Barnegat three +hours at most would suffice to bring the fighting equipment of all +the stations to the point threatened. There would be thus +concentrated a fleet of several hundred swift scouts, heavy fighting +machines, the torpedo planes of the type designed by Admiral Fiske, +hydroaeroplanes capable of carrying heavy guns and in brief every +form of aerial fighter. Moreover, by use of the wireless, every ship +of the Navy within a radius of several hundred miles would be +notified of the menace. They could not reach the scene of action so +swiftly as the flying men but the former would be able to hold the +foe in action until the heavier ships should arrive. + +The enormous advantage of such a system of guarding our coasts needs +no further explanation. It is not even experimental, for France on +her limited coast has 150 such stations. England, which started the +war with 18, had 114 in 1917 and was still building. We at that time +had none, although the extent of our sea coast and the great +multiplicity of practicable harbours make us more vulnerable than +any other nation. + + + + +CHAPTER X + +SOME FEATURES OF AERIAL WARFARE + + +As devices to translate German hate for England into deeds of bloody +malignancy and cowardly murder the German aircraft have ranked +supreme. The ruthless submarine war has indeed done something toward +working off this peculiar passion, but it lacked the spectacular +qualities which German wrath demanded. As the war proceeded, and it +became apparent that the participation of Great Britain--at first +wholly unexpected by the Kaiser's advisers--was certain to defeat +the German aims, the authorities carefully inculcated in the minds +of the people the most malignant hatred for that power. As +Lissauer's famous hymn of hate had it-- + + French and Russians it matters not, + A blow for a blow, and a shot for a shot. + ................................. + We have one foe and one alone-- + England! + +By way of at once gratifying this hatred and still further +stimulating it the German military authorities began early in the +war a series of air raids upon English towns. They were of more than +doubtful military value. They damaged no military or naval works. +They aroused the savage ire of the British people who saw their +children slain in schools and their wounded in hospitals by bombs +dropped from the sky and straightway rushed off to enlist against so +callous and barbaric a foe. But the raids served their political +purpose by making the German people believe that the British were +suffering all the horrors of war on their own soil, while the iron +line of trenches drawn across France by the German troops kept the +invader and war's agonies far from the soil of the Fatherland. + +[Illustration: (C)International Film Service. + +_The U. S. Aviation School at Mineola._] + +The first German air raids were by Zeppelins on little English +seaside towns--Scarborough, Hartlepool, and Harwich. Except in so +far as they inflicted mutilation and death upon many non-combatants, +mostly women and children, and misery upon their relatives and +friends they were without effect. But early in 1915 began a +systematic series of raids upon London, which, by October of 1917, +had totalled thirty-four, with a toll of 865 persons killed, and +2500 wounded. It seems fair to say that for these raids there was +more plausible excuse than for those on the peaceful little seaside +bathing resorts and fishing villages. London is full of military +and naval centres, arsenals and navy yards, executive offices and +centres of warlike activity. An incendiary bomb dropped into the +Bank of England, or the Admiralty, might paralyze the finances of +the Empire, or throw the naval organization into a state of anarchy. +But as a matter of fact the German bombs did nothing of the sort. +They fell in the congested districts of London, "the crowded warrens +of the poor." They spread wounds and death among peaceable theatre +audiences. One dropped on a 'bus loaded with passengers homeward +bound, and obliterated it and them from the face of the earth. But +no building of the least military importance sustained any injury. +It is true, however, that the persistent raiding has compelled +England to withhold from the fighting lines in France several +thousand men and several hundred guns in order to be in readiness to +meet air raids in which Germany has never employed more than fifty +machines and at most two hundred men, including both aviators and +mechanics. + +It is entirely probable that the failure of the Germans to strike +targets of military importance and the slaughter they wrought among +peaceful civilians were due to no intent or purpose on their part. +Hitting a chosen target from the air is no matter of certainty. The +bomb intended for the railway station is quite as likely to hit the +adjacent public school or hospital. If the world ever recurs to that +moderate degree of sanity and civilization which shall permit wars, +but strive to regulate them in the interest of humanity this +untrustworthiness of the aircraft's aim will compel some form of +international regulation, just as the vulnerability of the submarine +will force the amendment of the doctrine of visitation and search. +But neither problem can be logically and reasonably solved in the +middle of a war. And so, while the German violation of existing +international law had the uncomfortable result for Germany of +bringing the United States into the war, the barbarous raids upon +London caused the British at last to turn aside from their +commendable abstention from air raids on unfortified and +non-military towns and prepare for reprisals in kind. + +From the beginning of the war the British had abstained from bombing +peaceful and non-military towns. They had not indeed been weak in +the employment of their air forces. General Smuts speaking in +October, 1917, said that the British had, in the month previous, +dropped 207 tons of bombs behind the lines of the enemy. But the +targets were airdromes, military camps, arsenals and munitions +camps--not hospitals or kindergartens. The time had now come when +this purely military campaign no longer satisfied an enraged British +people who demanded the enforcement of the Mosaic law of an eye for +an eye and a tooth for a tooth, against a people whom General Smuts +described as "an enemy who apparently recognizes no laws, human or +divine; who knows no pity or restraint, who sung Te Deums over the +sinking of the _Lusitania_, and to whom the maiming and slaughter of +women and children appear legitimate means of warfare." + +And Premier Lloyd George, speaking to an audience of poor people in +one of the congested districts which had suffered sorely from the +aerial activities of the Hun, said: + +"We will give it all back to them, and we will give it soon. We +shall bomb Germany with compound interest." + +But whether undertaken as part of a general programme of +frightfulness or as reprisals for cruel and indefensible outrages +air raids upon defenceless towns, killing peaceable citizens in +their beds, and children in their kindergartens, are not incidents +to add glory to aviation. The mind turns with relief from such +examples of the cruel misuse of aircraft to the hosts of individual +instances in which the airman and his machine remind one of the +doughty Sir Knight and his charger in the most gallant days of +chivalry. There were hosts of such incidents--men who fought +gallantly and who always fought fair, men who hung about the +outskirts of an aerial battle waiting for some individual champion +of their own choosing to show himself and join in battle to death in +the high ranges of the sky. Some of these have been mentioned in +this book already. To discuss all who even as early as 1917 had made +their names memorable would require a volume in itself. A few may +well be mentioned below. + +There, for example, was Captain Georges Guynemer, "King of the +French Aces." An "ace" is an aviator who has brought down five enemy +aircraft. Guynemer had fifty-three to his credit. Still a youth, +only twenty-three years of age at the time of his death, and only +flying for twenty-one months, he had lived out several life times in +the mad excitement of combat in mid-air. Within three weeks after +getting his aviator's license he had become an "Ace." Before his +first year's service had expired he was decorated and promoted for +gallantry in rushing to the aid of a comrade attacked by five enemy +machines. He entered the combat at the height of ten thousand feet, +and inside of two minutes had dropped two of the enemy. The others +fled. He pursued hotly keeping up a steady fire with his machine +gun. One Boche wavered and fell, but just then an enemy shell from +an "Archie" far below exploded under Guynemer, tearing away one wing +of his machine. Let him tell the rest of that story: + + I felt myself dropping [he said later]. It was ten thousand feet + to the earth, and, like a flash, I saw my funeral with my + saddened comrades marching behind the gun carriage to the + cemetery. But I pulled and pushed every lever I had, but nothing + would check my terrific descent. + + Five thousand feet from the earth, the wrecked machine began to + turn somersaults, but I was strapped into the seat. I do not know + what it was, but something happened and I felt the speed descent + lessen. But suddenly there was a tremendous crash and when I + recovered my senses I had been taken from the wreckage and was + all right. + +Two records Guynemer made which have not yet been surpassed--the +first, the one described above of dropping three Fokkers in two +minutes and thirty seconds, and rounding off the adventure by +himself dropping ten thousand feet. The second was in shooting down +four enemy machines in one day. His methods were of the simplest. He +was always alone in his machine, which was the lightest available. +He would rather carry more gasoline and ammunition than take along a +gunner. The machine gun was mounted on the plane above his head, +pointing dead ahead, and aimed by aiming the whole airplane. Once +started the gun continued firing automatically and Guynemer's task +was to follow his enemy pitilessly keeping that lead-spitting muzzle +steadily bearing upon him. In September, 1917, he went up to attack +five enemy machines--no odds however appalling seemed to terrify +him--but was caught in a fleet of nearly forty Boches and fell to +earth in the enemy's country. + +One of the last of the air duels to be fought under the practices +which made early air service so vividly recall the age of chivalry, +was that in which Captain Immelman, "The Falcon," of the German +army, met Captain Ball of the British Royal Flying Corps. Immelman +had a record of fifty-one British airplanes downed. Captain Ball was +desirous of wiping out this record and the audacious German at the +same time, and so flying over the German lines he dropped this +letter: + + CAPTAIN IMMELMAN: + + I challenge you to a man-to-man fight to take place this + afternoon at two o'clock. I will meet you over the German lines. + Have your anti-air craft guns withhold their fire, while we + decide which is the better man. The British guns will be silent. + + BALL. + +Presently thereafter this answer was dropped from a German airplane: + + CAPTAIN BALL: + + Your challenge is accepted. The guns will not interfere. I will + meet you promptly at two. + + IMMELMAN. + +The word spread far and wide along the trenches on both sides. +Tacitly all firing stopped as though the bugles had sung truce. Men +left cover and clambered up on the top to watch the duel. Punctually +both flyers rose from their lines and made their way down No Man's +Land. Let an eye witness tell the story: + + From our trenches there were wild cheers for Ball. The Germans + yelled just as vigorously for Immelman. + + The cheers from the trenches continued; the Germans increased in + volume; ours changed into cries of alarm. + + Ball, thousands of feet above us and only a speck in the sky, was + doing the craziest things imaginable. He was below Immelman and + was apparently making no effort to get above him, thus gaining + the advantage of position. Rather he was swinging around, this + way and that, attempting, it seemed, to postpone the inevitable. + + We saw the German's machine dip over preparatory to starting the + nose dive. + + "He's gone now," sobbed a young soldier, at my side, for he knew + Immelman's gun would start its raking fire once it was being + driven straight down. + + Then in a fraction of a second the tables were turned. Before + Immelman's plane could get into firing position, Ball drove his + machine into a loop, getting above his adversary and cutting + loose with his gun and smashing Immelman by a hail of bullets as + he swept by. + + Immelman's airplane burst into flames and dropped. Ball, from + above, followed for a few hundred feet and then straightened out + and raced for home. He settled down, rose again, hurried back, + and released a huge wreath of flowers, almost directly over the + spot where Immelman's charred body was being lifted from a + tangled mass of metal. + + Four days later Ball too was killed. + +But the Germans, too, had their champion airmen, mighty fliers, +skillful at control and with the machine gun, in whose triumphs they +took the same pride that our boys in France did in those of Chapman, +Rockwell or Thaw, the British in Warneford, or the French in +Guynemer. Chief of these was Captain Boelke, who came to his death +in the latter part of 1917, after putting to his credit over sixty +Allied planes brought down. A German account of one of his duels as +watched from the trenches, will be of interest: + + For quite a long time an Englishman had been making circles + before our eyes--calmly and deliberately.... My men on duty + clenched their fists in impotent wrath. "The dog--!" Shooting + would do no good. + + Then suddenly from the rear a harsh, deep singing and buzzing + cuts the air. It sounds like a German flyer. But he is not yet + visible. Only the buzz of an approaching motor is heard in the + clouds in the direction of the Englishman. More than a hundred + eyes scanned the horizon. There! Far away and high among the + clouds is a small black humming bird--a German battle aeroplane. + Its course is laid directly for the hostile biplane and it flies + like an arrow shot with a clear eye and steady hand. My men crawl + out of the shelters. I adjust my field glasses. A lump rises in + our throats as if we are awaiting something new and wonderful. + + So far the other does not seem to have noticed or recognized the + black flyer that already is poised as a hawk above him. All at + once there is a mighty swoop through the air like the drop of a + bird of prey, and in no time the black flyer is immediately over + the Englishman and the air is filled with the furious crackling + of a machine gun, followed by the rapid ta-ta-ta of two or three + more, all operated at the highest speed just as during a charge. + The Englishman drops a little, makes a circle and tries to escape + toward the rear. The other circles and attacks him in front, and + again we hear the exciting ta-ta-ta! Now the Englishman tries to + slip from under his opponent, but the German makes a circle and + the effort fails. Then the enemy describes a great circle and + attempts to rise above the German. The latter ascends in sharp + half circles and again swoops down upon the biplane, driving it + toward the German trenches. + + Will the Englishman yield so soon? Scattered shouts of joy are + already heard in our ranks. Suddenly he drops a hundred yards and + more through the air and makes a skillful loop toward the rear. + Our warrior of the air swoops after him, tackles him once more + and again we hear the wild defiant rattle of the machine guns + over our heads. Now they are quite close to our trenches. The + French infantry and artillery begin firing in a last desperate + hope. Neither of them is touched. Sticking close above and behind + him the German drives the Englishman along some six hundred yards + over our heads and then just above the housetops of St. A. Once + more we hear a distant ta-ta-ta a little slower and more + scattered and then as they drop both disappear from our view. + + Scarcely five minutes pass before the telephone brings up this + news: Lieutenant Boelke has just brought down his seventh flyer. + +Methods of air-fighting were succinctly described in a hearing +before the Senate Committee on Military Affairs, in June, 1917. The +officers testifying were young Americans of the Lafayette Escadrille +of the French army. To the civilian the testimony is interesting for +the clear idea it gives of military aviation. The extracts following +are from the official record: + + _Adjt. Prince_: Senator, there are about four kinds of machines + used abroad on the western front to-day. The machines that Adjt. + Rumsey and myself are looking after are called the battle + machines. Then there are the photography machines, machines that + go up to enable the taking of photographs of the German + batteries, go back of the line and take views of the country + behind their lines and find out what their next line of attack + will be, or, if they retreat from the present line, then + everything in that way. Probably we have, where we are, in my + group alone, a hundred and fifty photographers who do nothing all + day long except develop pictures, and you can get pictures of any + part of the country that you want. When the Germans retreated + from the old line where they used to be, by Peronne and Chaulnes, + we had absolute pictures of all the Hindenburg line from where + they are now right down to St. Quentin, down to the line the + French are on. We had photographs of it all. + + _Senator Kirby_: When they started on the retreat? + +[Illustration: (C) Kadel & Herbert. + +_Miss Ruth Law at Close of her Chicago to New York Flight._] + + _Adjt. Prince_: Yes, sir. So we knew exactly where their stand + would be made. Then, besides that, those photograph machines do a + lot of scouting. They have a pilot and a photographer aboard. He + has not only a camera, but quite often he has a Lewis gun with + him in order to ward off any hostile airmen if they should get + through the battle planes that are above him; in other words, + should get through us in order to fight him. They do a great deal + of the scouting, because they fly at a lower level. The battle + planes go up to protect photography machines, or to go + man-hunting, as it is called; in other words, to fight the + Germans. We fly all day, like to-day, as high as we can go, or as + high as the French go as a rule, about 5500 metres, about 17,000 + to 18,000 feet. + +[Illustration: (C) International Film Service. + +_A French Aviator between Flights._] + + _Adjt. Rumsey_: I think 5500 metres is about 19,000 feet. Some go + up 6000 metres, which makes about 20,000 feet. + + _Adjt. Prince_: We go up there, and we have a certain sector of + the front to look after. If we are only man-hunting, we go + backward and forward like a policeman to prevent the Germans from + getting over our own lines. We usually fly by fours, if we can, + and the four go out together, so as not to be alone. We are + usually fighting inside of the German lines, because the morale + of the French and English is better than that of the Germans + to-day; and every fight I have had--I have never been lucky + enough to have one inside of my own lines--they have all been + inside of the German lines. + + _Senator Kirby_: What is the equipment of a battle plane such as + you use? + + _Adjt. Prince_: I use the 180 horse-power machine. It is called a + "S. P. A. D.," which has a Spanish motor. But a great many of the + motors to-day are being built here in America. + + _Senator Kirby_: How many men do you carry? + + _Adjt. Prince_: We go up alone in these machines. We did have two + guns. We had the Lewis gun on our upper wing and the Vickers down + below, that shoots through the propeller as the propeller turns + around. Then we gave up the Lewis above. It added more weight, + and we did not need it so much. The trouble with the Lewis gun is + that it has only ninety-seven cartridges, while the Vickers has + five hundred, and you can do just as much damage with the Vickers + as you could with them both. + + _Senator Sutherland_: You drive and fight at the same time? + + _Adjt. Prince_: Yes, sir. + + _Adjt. Rumsey_: The machine gun is fixed. + + _Adjt. Prince_: It is absolutely fixed on the machine, and if I + should want to adjust it to shoot you, I would adjust my machine + on you. + +The witness then took up the nature and work of some of the heavier +machines. He testified: + + _Adjt. Prince_: Then comes the artillery regulating machine. That + machine goes up, and it may be a Farman or a bi-motor, or some + other kind of heavier machine, a machine that goes slowly. They + go over a certain spot. They have a driver, who is a pilot, like + ourselves; then they have an artillery officer on board, whose + sole duty it is to send back word, mostly by Marconi, to his + battery where the shots are landing. He will say: "Too far," "Too + short," "Right," or "Left," and he stays there over this battery + until the work done by the French guns has been absolutely + controlled, and above him he has some of these battle planes + keeping him from being attacked from above by German airmen. Of + course, they may be shot at by anti-aircraft guns, which you can + not help. That is artillery regulating. + + _The Chairman_: Are you always attacked from above? + + _Adjt. Prince_: By airplanes; yes, sir. It is always much safer + to attack from above. + + Then you have the bomb-dropping machines, which carry a lot of + weight. They go out sometimes in the daytime, but mostly at + night, and they have these new sights by which they can stay up + quite high in the air and still know the spot they are going at. + They know the wind speed, they know their height, and they can + figure out by this new arrangement they have exactly when the + time is to let go their bombs. + + _Senator Kirby_: Something in the nature of a range-finder? + + _Adjt. Prince_: A sort of range-finder. + + _Adjt. Rumsey_: It is a sort of telescope that looks down between + your legs, and you have to regulate yourself, observing your + speed, and when you see the spot, you have to touch a button and + off go these things. + + _Adjt. Rumsey_: In a raid my brother went on there were + sixty-eight machines that left; the French heavy machines, the + English heavy machines, and then the English sort of + half-fighting machine and half-bombing machine. They call it a + Sopwith, and it is a very good machine. They went over there, and + the first ones over were the Frenchmen, and they dropped bombs on + these Mauser works, and the only thing that the English saw was a + big cloud of smoke and dust, and they could not see the works so + they just dropped into them. Out of that raid the fighting + machines got eight Germans and dropped them, and the Germans got + eight Frenchmen. So, out of sixty-eight they lost eight, but we + also got eight Germans and dropped six tons of this stuff, which + is twenty times as strong as the melinite. We do not know what + the name of the powder is. The fighting machines on that trip + only carried gasolene for two hours, and the other ones carried + it for something like six hours, so we escorted them out for an + hour, came back to our lines, filled up with gasolene, went out + and met them and brought them back over the danger zone. + + _Adjt. Prince_: Near the trenches is where the danger zone is, + because there the German fighting machines are located. + + _Senator Kirby_: How far was it from your battle front that you + went? + + _Adjt. Rumsey_: I think it was about 500 miles, 250 there and 250 + back; it was between 200 and 250 miles there. + + _Senator Kirby_: Beyond the battle front? + + _Adjt. Rumsey_: Yes; or, to be more accurate, I think it was + nearer 200 than 250. + + _The Chairman_: What do you think of the function of the airplane + as a determining factor? + + _Adjt. Prince_: There is no doubt that if we could send over in + huge waves a great number of these bomb-dropping machines, and + simply lay the country waste--for instance, the big cities like + Strassburg, Freiburg, and others--not only would the damage done + be great, but I guess the popular opinion in Germany, everything + being laid waste, would work very strongly in the minds of the + public toward having peace. I do not think you could destroy an + army, because you could not see them, but you could go to + different stations; you could go to Strassburg, to Brussels, and + places like that. + + _The Chairman_: Then, sending them over in enormous numbers would + also put out of business their airplanes, and they would be + helpless, would they not? + + _Adjt. Prince_: Absolutely. You not only have on the front a + large number of bomb-dropping machines, but a large number of + fighting machines. When the Somme battle was started in the + morning the Germans knew, naturally, that the French and British + were going to start the Somme drive, and they had up these + Drachens, these observation balloons, and the first eighteen + minutes that the battle started the French and the English, I + think, got twenty-one "saucisse"; in other words, for the next + five days there was not a single German who came anywhere near + the lines, but the French and English could go ahead as they-felt + like. + + _Admiral Peary_: Have you any idea as to how many airplanes there + are along that western front on the German side? + + _Adjt. Prince_: There must be about 3000 on that line in actual + commission. + + _Admiral Peary_: That means, then, about 10,000 in all, at least? + + _Adjt. Prince_: I should think so; I should say the French have + about 2000 and the English possibly 1000, or we have about 2500. + + _Adjt. Rumsey_: If they have 3000 we have 4000; that is, right on + the line. + + _Adjt. Prince_: We have about 1000 more than they have, and we + are up all the time. The day before I left the front I was called + to go out five times, and I went out five times, and spent two + hours every time I went out. + +It would be gratifying to author and to reader alike if it were +possible to give some account of the progress in aerial equipment +made by the United States, since its declaration of war. But at the +present moment (February, 1918), the government is chary of +furnishing information concerning the advance made in the creation +of an aerial fleet. Perhaps precise information, if available, would +be discouraging to the many who believe that the war will be won in +the air. For it is known in a broad general way that the activities +of the Administration have been centred upon the construction of +training camps and aviation stations. Orders for the actual +construction of airplanes have been limited, so that a chorus of +criticism arose from manufacturers who declared that they might have +to close their works for lack of employment. The apparent check was +discouraging to American airmen, and to our Allies who had expected +marvellous things from the United States in the way of swift and +wholesale preparation for winning battles in the air. The response +of the government to all criticism was that it was laying broad +foundations in order that construction once begun would proceed with +unabated activity, and that when aircraft began to be turned out by +the thousands a week there would be aviators and trained mechanics +a-plenty to handle them. In this situation the advocates of a +special cabinet department of aeronautics found new reason to +criticize the Administration and Congress for having ignored or +antagonized their appeals. For responsibility for the delay and +indifference--if indifference there was--rested equally upon the +Secretary of the Navy and the Secretary of War. Each had his measure +of control over the enormous sum voted in a lump for aviation, each +had the further millions especially voted to his department to +account for. But no single individual could be officially asked what +had been done with the almost one billion dollars voted for +aeronautics in 1917. + +But if the authorities seemed to lag, the inventors were busy. +Mention has already been made of the new "Liberty" motor, which +report had it was the fruit of the imprisonment of two mechanical +experts in a hotel room with orders that they should not be freed +until they had produced a motor which met all criticisms upon those +now in use. Their product is said to have met this test, and the +happy result caused a general wish that the Secretaries of War and +of the Navy might be similarly incarcerated and only liberated upon +producing plans for the immediate creation of an aerial fleet suited +to the nation's needs. If, however, the Liberty motor shall prove +the complete success which at the moment the government believes it +to be, it will be such a spur to the development of the airplane in +peace and war, as could not otherwise be applied. For the motor is +the true life of the airplane--its heart, lungs, and nerve centre. +The few people who still doubt the wide adoption of aircraft for +peaceful purposes after the war base their skepticism on the +treachery of motors still in use. They repudiate all comparisons +with automobiles. They say: + + It is perfectly true that a man can run his car repeatedly from + New York to Boston without motor trouble. But the trouble is + inevitable sooner or later. When it comes to an automobile it is + trifling. The driver gets out and makes his repairs by the + roadside. But if it comes to the aviator it brings the + possibility of death with it every time. If his motor stops he + must descend. But to alight he must find a long level field, with + at least two hundred yards in which to run off his momentum. If, + when he discovers the failure of his motor, he is flying at the + height of a mile he must find his landing place within a space of + eight miles, for in gliding to earth the ratio of forward + movement to height is as eight to one. But how often in rugged + and densely populated New England, or Pennsylvania is there a + vacant level field half a mile in length? The aviator who made a + practice of daily flight between New York and Boston would + inevitably meet death in the end. + +The criticism is a shrewd and searching one. But it is based on the +airplane and the motor of to-day without allowance for the +development and improvement which are proceeding apace. It +contemplates a craft which has but one motor, but the more modern +machines have sufficient lifting power to carry two motors, and can +be navigated successfully with one of these out of service. +Experiments furthermore are being made with a device after the type +of the helicopter which with the steady lightening of the aircraft +motor, may be installed on airplanes with a special motor for its +operation. This device, it is believed, will enable the airplane +so equipped to stop dead in its course with both propellers out of +action, to hover over a given spot or to rise or to descend gently +in a perpendicular line without the necessity of soaring. It is +obvious that if this device prove successful the chief force of the +objections to aerial navigation outlined above will be nullified. + +The menace of infrequent landing places will quickly remedy itself +on busy lines of aerial traffic. The average railroad doing business +in a densely populated section has stations once every eight or ten +miles which with their sidings, buildings, water tanks, etc., cost +far more than the field half a mile long with a few hangars that the +fliers will need as a place of refuge. Indeed, although for its size +and apparent simplicity of construction an airplane is phenomenally +costly, in the grand total of cost an aerial line would cost a tithe +of the ordinary railway. It has neither right of way, road bed, +rails, nor telegraph system to maintain, and if the average flyer +seems to cost amazingly it still foots up less than one fifth the +cost of a modern locomotive though its period of service is much +shorter. + +Just at the present time aircraft costs are high, based on +artificial conditions in the market. Their construction is a new +industry; its processes not yet standardized; its materials still +experimental in many ways and not yet systematically produced. A +light sporting monoplane which superficially seems to have about +$250 worth of materials in it--exclusive of the engine--will cost +about $3000. A fighting biplane will touch $10,000. Yet the latter +seems to the lay observer to contain no costly materials to justify +so great a charge. The wings are a light wooden framework, usually +of spruce, across which a fine grade of linen cloth is stretched. +The materials are simple enough, but every bit of wood, every screw, +every strand of wire is selected with the utmost care, and the +workmanship of their assemblage is as painstaking as the setting of +the most precious stones. + +[Illustration: (C) International Film Service. + +_A German "Gotha"--their Favorite Type._] + +"REMEMBER THE LEAST NEGLIGENCE MAY COST A LIFE!" is a sign +frequently seen hanging over the work benches in an airplane +factory. + +When stretched over the framework, the cloth of the wings is +treated to a dressing down of a preparation of collodion, which in +the jargon of the shop is called "dope." This substance has a +peculiar effect upon the cloth, causing it to shrink, and thus +making it more taut and rigid than it could be by the most careful +stretching. Though the layman would not suspect it, this wash alone +costs about $150 a machine. The seaplanes too--or hydroaeroplanes as +purists call them--present a curious illustration of unexpected and, +it would seem, unexplainable expense. Where the flyer over land has +two bicycle wheels on which to land, the flyer over the sea has two +flat-bottomed boats or pontoons. These cost from $1000 to $1200 and +look as though they should cost not over $100. But the necessity of +combining maximum strength with minimum weight sends the price +soaring as the machine itself soars. Moreover there is not yet the +demand for either air-or seaplanes that would result in the division +of labour, standardization of parts, and other manufacturing +economies which reduce the cost of products. + +To the high cost of aircraft their comparative fragility is added as +a reason for their unfitness for commercial uses. The engines cost +from $2000 to $5000 each, are very delicate and usually must be +taken out of the plane and overhauled after about 100 hours of +active service. The strain on them is prodigious for it is estimated +that the number of revolutions of an airplane's engine during an +hour's flight is equal to the number of revolutions of an +automobile's wheels during active service of a whole month. + +It is believed that the superior lightness and durability of the +Liberty motor will obviate some of these objections to the +commercial availability of aircraft in times of peace. And it is +certain that with the cessation of the war, the retirement of the +governments of the world from the purchasing field and the reduction +of the demand for aircraft to such as are needed for pleasure and +industrial uses the prices which we have cited will be cut in half. +In such event what will be the future of aircraft; what their part +in the social and industrial organization of the world? + +Ten or a dozen years ago Rudyard Kipling entertained the English +reading public of the world with a vivacious sketch of aerial +navigation in the year 2000 A.D. He used the license of a poet in +avoiding too precise descriptions of what is to come--dealing +rather with broad and picturesque generalizations. Now the year 2000 +is still far enough away for pretty much anything to be invented, +and to become commonplace before that era arrives. Airships of the +sort Mr. Kipling pictured may by that period have come and +gone--have been relegated to the museums along with the +stage-coaches of yesterday and the locomotives of to-day. For that +matter before that millennial period shall arrive men may have +learned to dispense with material transportation altogether, and be +able to project their consciousness or even their astral bodies to +any desired point on psychic waves. If a poet is going to prophecy +he might as well be audacious and even revolutionary in his +predictions. + +Mr. Kipling tried so hard to be reasonable that he made himself +recognizably wrong so far as the present tendency of aircraft +development would indicate. _With the Night Mail_, is the story of a +trip by night across the Atlantic from England to America. It is +made in a monster dirigible--though the present tendency is to +reject the dirigible for the swifter, less costly, and more +airworthy (leave "seaworthy" to the plodding ships on old ocean's +breast) airplanes. If, however, we condone this glaring +improbability we find Mr. Kipling's tale full of action and +imaginary incident that give it an air of truth. His ship is not +docked on the ground at the tempest's mercy, but is moored high in +air to the top of a tall tower up which passengers and freight are +conveyed in elevators. His lighthouses send their beams straight up +into the sky instead of projecting them horizontally as do those +which now guard our coasts. Just why lighthouses are needed, +however, he does not explain. There are no reefs on which a packet +of the air may run, no lee shores which they must avoid. On overland +voyages guiding lights by night may be useful, as great white +direction strips laid out on the ground are even now suggested as +guides for daylight flying. But the main reliance of the airman must +be his compass. Crossing the broad oceans no lighted path is +possible, and even in a voyage from New York to Chicago, or from +London to Rome good airmanship will dictate flight at a height that +will make reliance upon natural objects as a guide perilous. The +airman has the advantage over the sailor in that he may lay his +course on leaving his port, or flying field, and pursue it straight +as an arrow to his destination. No rocks or other obstacles bar his +path, no tortuous channels must be navigated. All that can divert +him from his chosen course is a steady wind on the beam, and that +is instantly detected by his instruments and allowance made for it. +On the other hand the sailor has a certain advantage over the airman +in that his more leisurely progress allows time for the +rectification of errors in course arising from contrary currents or +winds. An error of a point, or even two, amounts to but little in a +day's steaming of perhaps four hundred miles. It can readily be +remedied, unless the ship is too near shore. But when the whole +three thousand miles of Atlantic are covered in twenty hours in the +air, the course must be right from the start and exactly adhered to, +else the passenger for New York may be set down in Florida. + +It is not improbable that even before the war is over the crossing +of the Atlantic by plane will be accomplished. Certainly it will be +one of the first tasks undertaken by airmen on the return of peace. +But it is probable that the adaptation of aircraft to commercial +uses will be begun with undertakings of smaller proportions. Already +the United States maintains an aerial mail route in Alaska, while +Italy has military mail routes served by airplanes in the Alps. +These have been undertaken because of the physical obstacles to +travel on the surface, presented in those rugged neighbourhoods. But +in the more densely populated regions of the United States +considerations of financial profit will almost certainly result in +the early establishment of mail and passenger air service. Air +service will cut down the time between any two given points at least +one half, and ultimately two thirds. Letters could be sent from New +York to Boston, or even to Buffalo, and an answer received the same +day. The carrying plane could take on each trip five tons of mail. +Philadelphia would be brought within forty-five minutes of New York; +Washington within two hours instead of the present five. Is there +any doubt of the creation of an aerial passenger service under such +conditions? Already a Caproni triplane will carry thirty-five +passengers beside guns--say, fifty passengers if all other load be +excluded, and has flown with a lighter load from Newport News to New +York. It is easily imaginable that by 1920 the airplane capable of +carrying eighty persons--or the normal number now accommodated on an +inter-urban trolley car--will be an accomplished fact. + +The lines that will thus spring up will need no rails, no right of +way, no expensive power plant. Their physical property will be +confined to the airplanes themselves and to the fields from which +the craft rise and on which they alight, with the necessary hangars. +These indeed will involve heavy expenditure. For a busy line, with +frequent sailings, of high speed machines a field will need to be in +the neighbourhood of a mile square. A plane swooping down for its +landing is not to be held up at the switch like a train while room +is made for it. It is an imperative guest, and cannot be gainsaid. +Accordingly the fields must be large enough to accommodate scores of +planes at once and give each new arrival a long straight course on +which to run off its momentum. It is obvious therefore that the +union stations for aircraft routes cannot be in the hearts of our +cities as are the railroad stations of to-day, but must be fairly +well out in the suburbs. + +A form of machine which the professional airmen say has yet to be +developed is the small monoplane, carrying two passengers at most, +and of low speed--not more than twenty miles an hour at most. In +this age of speed mania the idea of deliberately planning a +conveyance or vehicle that shall not exceed a low limit seems out of +accord with public desire. But the low speed airplane has the +advantage of needing no extended field in which to alight. It +reaches the ground with but little momentum to be taken up and can +be brought up standing on the roof of a house or the deck of a ship. +Small machines of this sort are likely to serve as the runabouts of +the air, to succeed the trim little automobile roadsters as pleasure +craft. + +[Illustration: (C) International Film Service. + +_A French Monoplane._] + +The beginning of the fourth year of the war brought a notable change +in aerial tactics. For three years everything had been sacrificed to +speed. Such aerial duels as have been described were encouraged by +the fact that aircraft were reduced to the proportions needful for +carrying one man and a machine gun. The gallant flyers went up in +the air and killed each other. That was about all there was to it. +While as scouts, range finders, guides for the artillery, they +exerted some influence on the course of the war, as a fighting arm +in its earlier years, they were without efficiency. The bombing +forays were harassing but little more, because the craft engaged +were of too small capacity to carry enough bombs to work really +serious damage, while the ever increasing range of the "Archies" +compels the airmen to deliver their fire from so great a height as +to make accurate aim impossible. + +[Illustration: Photo Press Illustrating Service. + +_A German Scout Brought to Earth in France._] + +But Kiel, Wilhelmshaven and Zeebrugge are likely to change all this. +The constant contemplation of those nests for the sanctuary of +pestiferous submarines, effectively guarded against attack by either +land or water, has stirred up the determination of the Allies to +seek their destruction from above. Heavy bombing planes are being +built in all the Allied workshops for this purpose, and furthermore +to give effect to the British determination to take vengeance upon +Germany, for her raids upon London. It is reported that the United +States, by agreement with its Allies, is to specialize in building +the light, swift scout planes, but in other shops the heavy +triplane, the dreadnought of the air is expected to be the feature +of 1918. With it will come an entirely novel strategic use of +aircraft in war, and with it too, which is perhaps the more +permanently important, will come the development of aircraft of the +sort that will be readily adaptable to the purposes of peace when +the war shall end. + + + + +THE SUBMARINE BOAT + + + + +CHAPTER XI + +BEGINNINGS OF SUBMARINE INVENTION + + +In September, 1914 the British Fleet in the North Sea had settled +down to the monotonous task of holding the coasts of Germany and the +channels leading to them in a state of blockade. The work was dismal +enough. The ships tossing from day to day on the always unquiet +waters of the North Sea were crowded with Jackies all of whom prayed +each day that the German would come from hiding and give battle. Not +far from the Hook of Holland engaged in this monotonous work were +three cruisers of about 12,000 tons, each carrying 755 men and +officers. They were the _Cressy_, _Aboukir_, and _Hogue_--not +vessels of the first rank but still important factors in the British +blockade. They were well within the torpedo belt and it may be +believed that unceasing vigilance was observed on every ship. +Nevertheless without warning the other two suddenly saw the +_Aboukir_ overwhelmed by a flash of fire, a pillar of smoke and a +great geyser of water that rose from the sea and fell heavily upon +her deck. Instantly followed a thundering explosion as the magazines +of the doomed ship went off. Within a very few minutes, too little +time to use their guns against the enemy had they been able to see +him, or to lower their boats, the _Aboukir_ sank leaving the crew +floundering in the water. + +In the distance lay the German submarine U-9--one of the earliest of +her class in service. From her conning tower Captain Weddigen had +viewed the tragedy. Now seeing the two sister ships speeding to the +rescue he quickly submerged. It may be noted that as a result of +what followed, orders were given by the British Admiralty that in +the event of the destruction of a ship by a submarine others in the +same squadron should not come to the rescue of the victim, but +scatter as widely as possible to avoid a like fate. In this instance +the _Hogue_ and the _Cressy_ hurried to the spot whence the +_Aboukir_ had vanished and began lowering their boats. Hardly had +they begun the work of mercy when a torpedo from the now unseen foe +struck the _Hogue_ and in twenty minutes she too had vanished. While +she was sinking the _Cressy_, with all guns ready for action and her +gunners scanning the sea in every direction for this deadly enemy, +suddenly felt the shock of a torpedo and, her magazines having been +set off, followed her sister ships to the ocean's bed. + +In little more than half an hour thirty-six thousand tons of +up-to-date British fighting machinery, and more than 1200 gallant +blue jackets had been sent to the depths of the North Sea by a +little boat of 450 tons carrying a crew of twenty-six men. + +The world stood aghast. With the feeling of horror at the swift +death of so many caused by so few, there was mingled a feeling of +amazement at the scientific perfection of the submarine, its power, +and its deadly work. Men said it was the end of dreadnoughts, +battleships, and cruisers, but the history of the war has shown +singularly few of these destroyed by submarines since the first +novelty of the attack wore off. The world at the moment seemed to +think that the submarine was an entirely new idea and invention. +But like almost everything else it was merely the ultimate reduction +to practical use of an idea that had been germinating in the mind of +man from the earliest days of history. + +We need not trouble ourselves with the speculations of Alexander the +Great, Aristotle, and Pliny concerning "underwater" activities. +Their active minds gave consideration to the problem, but mainly as +to the employment of divers. Not until the first part of the +sixteenth century do we find any very specific reference to actual +underwater boats. That appears in a book of travels by Olaus Magnus, +Archbishop of Upsala in Sweden. Notwithstanding the gentleman's +reverend quality, one must question somewhat the veracity of the +chapter which he heads: + +"Of the Leather Ships Made of Hides Used by the Pyrats of +Greenland." + +He professed to have seen two of these "ships," more probably boats, +hanging in a cathedral church in Greenland. With these singular +vessels, according to his veracious reports the people of that +country could navigate under water and attack stranger ships from +beneath. "For the Inhabitants of that Countrey are wont to get small +profits by the spoils of others," he wrote, "by these and the like +treacherous Arts, who by their thieving wit, and by boring a hole +privately in the sides of the ships beneath (as I said) have let in +the water and presently caused them to sink." + +Leaving the tale of the Archbishop where we think it must belong in +the realm of fiction, we may note that it was not until the +beginning of the seventeenth century that the first submarine boat +was actually built and navigated. A Hollander, Cornelius Drebel, or +Van Drebel, born in 1572, in the town of Alkmaar, had come to +London during the reign of James I., who became his patron and +friend. Drebel seems to have been a serious student of science and +in many ways far ahead of his times. Moreover, he had the talent of +getting next to royalty. In 1620 he first conceived the idea of +building a submarine. Fairly detailed descriptions of his boats--he +built three from 1620-1624--and of their actual use, have been +handed down to us by men whose accuracy and truthfulness cannot be +doubted. The Honorable Robert Boyle, a scientist of unquestioned +seriousness, tells in his _New Experiments, Physico-Mechanical +touching the Spring of the Air and its Effects_ about Drebel's work +in the quaint language of his time: + + But yet on occasion of this opinion of Paracelsus, perhaps it + will not be impertinent if, before I proceed, I acquaint your + Lordship with a conceit of that deservedly famous mechanician and + Chymist, Cornelius Drebel, who, among other strange things that + he perform'd, is affirm'd, by more than a few credible persons, + to have contrived for the late learned King James, a vessel to go + under water; of which, trial was made in the Thames, with admired + success, the vessel carrying twelve rowers, besides passengers; + one which is yet alive, and related it to an excellent + Mathematician that informed me of it. Now that for which I + mention this story is, that having had the curiosity and + opportunity to make particular inquiries among the relations of + Drebel, and especially of an ingenious physician that married his + daughter, concerning the grounds upon which he conceived it + feasible to make men unaccustomed to continue so long under water + without suffocation, or (as the lately mentioned person that went + in the vessel affirms) without inconvenience; I was answered, + that Drebel conceived, that it is not the whole body of the air, + but a certain quintessence (as Chymists speak) or spirituous part + of it, that makes it fit for respiration; which being spent, the + remaining grosser body, or carcase, if I may so call it, of the + air, is unable to cherish the vital flame residing in the heart; + so that, for aught I could gather, besides the mechanical + contrivances of his vessel, he had a chymical liquor, which he + accounted the chief secret of his submarine navigation. For when, + from time to time, he conceived that the finer and purer part of + the air was consumed, or over-clogged by the respiration and + steam of those that went in his ship, he would by unstopping a + vessel full of this liquor, speedily restore to the troubled air + such a proportion of vital parts, as would make it again, for a + good while, fit for respiration whether by dissipating, or + precipitating the grosser exhalations, or by some other + intelligible way, I must not now stay to examine, contenting + myself to add, that having had the opportunity to do some service + to those of his relations that were most intimate with him, and + having made it my business to learn what this strange liquor + might be, they constantly affirmed that Drebel would never + disclose the liquor unto any, nor so much as tell the nature + whereof he had made it, to above one person, who himself assured + me what it was. + +This most curious narrative suggests that in some way Drebel, who +died in London in 1634, had discovered the art of compressing oxygen +and conceived the idea of making it serviceable for freshening the +air in a boat, or other place, contaminated by the respiration of a +number of men for a long time. Indeed the reference made to the +substance by which Drebel purified the atmosphere in his submarine +as "a liquor" suggests that he may possibly have hit upon the secret +of liquid air which late in the nineteenth century caused such a +stir in the United States. Of his possession of some such secret +there can be no doubt whatsoever, for Samuel Pepys refers in his +famous diary to a lawsuit, brought in the King's Courts by the heirs +of Drebel, to secure the secret for their own use. What was the +outcome of the suit or the subsequent history of Drebel's invention +history does not record. + +Throughout the next 150 years a large number of inventors and +near-inventors occupied themselves with the problem of the +submarine. Some of these men went no further than to draw plans and +to write out descriptions of what appeared to them to be feasible +submarine boats. Others took one step further, by taking out +patents, but only very few of the submarine engineers of this period +had either the means or the courage to test their inventions in the +only practicable way, by building an experimental boat and using it. + +In spite of this apparent lack of faith on the part of the men who +worked on the submarine problem, it would not be fair to condemn +them as fakirs. Experimental workers, in those times, had to face +many difficulties which were removed in later times. The study of +science and the examination of the forces of nature were not only +not as popular as they became later, but frequently were looked upon +as blasphemous, savouring of sorcery, or as a sign of an unbalanced +mind. + +[Illustration: (C) Kadel & Herbert. + +_A Gas Attack Photographed from an Airplane._] + +England and France supplied most of the men who occupied themselves +with the submarine problem between 1610 and 1760. Of the +Englishmen, the following left records of one kind or another +concerning their labours in this direction. Richard Norwood, in +1632, was granted a patent for a contrivance which was apparently +little more than a diving apparatus. In 1648, Bishop Wilkins +published a book, _Mathematical Magick_, which was full of rather +grotesque projects and which contained one chapter on the +possibility "of framing an ark for submarine navigation." In 1691, +patents were granted on engines connected with submarine navigation +to John Holland--curious forerunner of a name destined to be famous +two hundred years later--and on a submarine boat to Sir Stephen +Evance. + +In Prance, two priests, Fathers Mersenne and Fournier, published in +1634 a small book called _Questions Theologiques, Physiques, Morales +et Mathematiques_, which contained a detailed description of a +submarine boat. They suggested that the hull of submarines ought to +be of metal and not of wood, and that their shape ought to be as +nearly fishlike as possible. Nearly three hundred years have hardly +altered these opinions. Ancient French records also tell us that six +years later, in 1640, the King of France had granted a patent to +Jean Barrie, permitting him during the next twelve years to fish at +the bottom of the sea with his boat. Unluckily Barrie's fish stories +have expired with his permit. In 1654, a French engineer, De Son, is +said to have built at Rotterdam a submarine boat. Little is known +concerning this vessel except that it was reported to have been +seventy-two feet long, twelve feet high, and eight feet broad, and +to have been propelled by a paddlewheel instead of oars. + +Borelli, about whom very little seems to be known, is credited with +having invented in 1680 a submarine boat, whose descent and ascent +were regulated by a series of leather bottles placed in the hull of +the boat with their mouths open to the surrounding water. The +English magazine, _Graphic_, published a picture which is considered +the oldest known illustration of any submarine boat. This picture +matches in all details the description of Borelli's boat, but it is +credited to a man called Symons. + +Twenty-seven years later, in 1774, another Englishman, J. Day, built +a small submarine boat, and after fairly extensive experiments, +descended in his boat in Plymouth harbour. This descent is of +special interest because we have a more detailed record of it than +of any previous submarine exploit, and because Day is the first +submarine inventor who lost his life in the attempt to prove the +feasibility of his invention. The _Annual Register_ of 1774 gives a +narration in detail of Day's experiments and death and inasmuch as +this is the first ungarbled report of a submarine descent, it may be +quoted at length. + + _Authentic account of a late unfortunate transaction, with + respect to a diving machine at Plymouth._ + + + Mr. Day (the sole projector of the scheme, and, as matters have + turned out, the unhappy sacrifice to his own ingenuity) employed + his thoughts for some years past in planning a method of sinking + a vessel under water, with a man in it, who should live therein + for a certain time, and then by his own means only, bring himself + up to the surface. After much study he conceived that his plan + could be reduced into practice. He communicated his idea in the + part of the country where he lived, and had the most sanguine + hopes of success. He went so far as to try his project in the + Broads near Yarmouth. He fitted a Norwich market-boat for his + purpose, sunk himself thirty feet under water, where he continued + during the space of twenty-four hours, and executed his design to + his own entire satisfaction. Elated with this success, he then + wanted to avail himself of his invention. He conversed with his + friends, convinced them that he had brought his undertaking to a + certainty; but how to reap the advantage of it was the difficulty + that remained. The person in whom he confided suggested to him, + that, if he acquainted the sporting Gentlemen with the discovery, + and the certainty of the performance, considerable betts would + take place, as soon as the project would be mentioned in company. + The Sporting Kalendar was immediately looked into, and the name + of Blake soon occurred; that gentleman was fixed upon as the + person to whom Mr. Day ought to address himself. Accordingly, Mr. + Blake, in the month of November last, received the following + letter: + + "SIR, + + "I found out an affair by which many thousands may be won; it is + of a paradoxical nature, but can be performed with ease; + therefore, sir, if you chuse to be informed of it, and give me + one hundred pounds of every thousand you shall win by it, I will + very readily wait upon you and inform you of it. I am myself + but a poor mechanic and not able to make anything by it without + your assistance. + + "Your's, etc. + + "J. DAY." + + Mr. Blake had no conception of Mr. Day's design, nor was he sure + that the letter was serious. To clear the matter up, he returned + for answer, that, if Mr. Day would come to town, and explain + himself, Mr. Blake would consider of the proposal. If he approved + of it, Mr. Day should have the recompence he desired; if, on the + other hand, the plan should be rejected, Mr. Blake would make him + a present to defray the expences of his journey. In a short time + after Mr. Day came to town; Mr. Blake saw him and desired to know + what secret he was possessed of. The man replied, "that he could + sink a ship 100 feet deep in the sea with himself in it, and + remain therein for the space of 24 hours, without communication + with anything above; and at the expiration of the time, rise up + again in the vessel." The proposal, in all its parts, was new to + Mr. Blake. He took down the particulars, and, after considering + the matter, desired some kind of proof of the practicability. The + man added that if Mr. Blake would furnish him with the materials + necessary, he would give him an occular demonstration. A model of + the vessel, with which he was to perform the experiment, was then + required, and in three or four weeks accomplished, so as to give + a perfect idea of the principle upon which the scheme was to be + executed, and, in time, a very plausible promise of success, not + to Mr. Blake only, but many other gentlemen who were consulted + upon the occasion. The consequence was, that Mr. Blake, agreeably + to the man's desire, advanced money for the construction of a + vessel fit for that purpose. Mr. Day, thus assisted, went to + Plymouth with his model, and set a man in that place to work upon + it. The pressure of the water at 100 feet deep was a circumstance + of which Mr. Blake was advised, and touching that article he gave + the strongest precautions to Mr. Day, telling him, at any + expence, to fortify the chamber in which he was to subsist, + against the weight of such a body of water. Mr. Day set off in + great spirits for Plymouth, and seemed so confident, that Mr. + Blake made a bett that the project would succeed, reducing, + however, the depth of water from 100 yards to 100 feet, and the + time from 24 to 12 hours. By the terms of the wager, the + experiment was to be made within three months from the date; but + so much time was necessary for due preparation, that on the + appointed day things were not in readiness and Mr. Blake lost the + bett. + +[Illustration: Photo by International Film Service. + +_A French Nieuport Dropping a Bomb._] + + In some short time afterwards the vessel was finished, and Mr. + Day still continued eager for the carrying of his plan into + execution; he was uneasy at the idea of dropping the scheme and + wished for an opportunity to convince Mr. Blake that he could + perform what he had undertaken. He wrote from Plymouth that + everything was in readiness and should be executed the moment Mr. + Blake arrived. Induced by this promise, Mr. Blake set out for + Plymouth; upon his arrival a trial was made in Cat-water, where + Mr. Day lay, during the flow of tide, six hours, and six more + during the tide of ebb; confined all the time in the room + appropriated for his use. A day for the final determination was + fixed; the vessel was towed to the place agreed upon; Mr. Day + provided himself with whatever he thought necessary; he went into + the vessel, let the water into her and with great composure + retired to the room constructed for him, and shut up the valve. + The ship went gradually down in 22 fathoms of water at 2 o'clock + on Tuesday, June 28, in the afternoon, being to return at 2 the + next morning. He had three buoys or messengers, which he could + send to the surface at option, to announce his situation below; + but, none appearing, Mr. Blake, who was near at hand in a barge, + began to entertain some suspicion. He kept a strict lookout, and + at the time appointed, neither the buoys nor the vessel coming + up, he applied to the _Orpheus_ frigate, which lay just off the + barge, for assistance. The captain with the most ready + benevolence supplied them with everything in his power to seek + for the ship. Mr. Blake, in this alarming situation was not + content with the help of the _Orpheus_ only; he made immediate + application to Lord Sandwich (who happened to be at Plymouth) for + further relief. His Lordship with great humanity ordered a number + of hands from the dock-yard, who went with the utmost alacrity + and tried every effort to regain the ship, but unhappily without + effect. + + Thus ended this unfortunate affair. Mr. Blake had not experience + enough to judge of all possible contingencies, and he had now + only to lament the credulity with which he listened to a + projector, fond of his own scheme but certainly not possessed of + skill enough to guard against the variety of accidents to which + he was liable. The poor man has unfortunately shortened his days; + he was not however tempted or influenced by anybody; he confided + in his own judgment, and put his life to the hazard upon his own + mistaken notions. + + Many and various have been the opinions on this strange, useless, + and fatal experiment, though the more reasonable part of mankind + seemed to give it up as wholly impracticable. It is well-known, + that pent-up air, when overcharged with the vapours emitted out + of animal bodies, becomes unfit for respiration; for which + reason, those confined in the diving-bell, after continuing some + time under water are obliged to come up, and take in fresh air, + or by some such means recruit it. That any man should be able + after having sunk a vessel to so great a depth, to make that + vessel at pressure, so much more specifically lighter than water, + as thereby to enable it to force its way to the surface, through + the depressure of so great a weight, is a matter not hastily to + be credited. Even cork, when sunk to a certain depth will, by the + great weight of the fluid upon it, be prevented from rising. + +The English of the _Annual Register_ leaves much to be desired in +clarity. It makes reasonably clear, however, that the unfortunate +Mr. Day's knowledge of submarine conditions was, by no means, equal +to Mr. Blake's sporting spirit. Even to-day one hundred feet is an +unusual depth of submersion for the largest submarines. + +The credit for using a submarine boat for the first time in actual +warfare belongs to a Yankee, David Bushnell. He was born in +Saybrook, Connecticut, and graduated from Yale with the class of +1775. While still in college he was interested in science and as far +as his means and opportunities allowed, he devoted a great deal of +his time and energy to experimental work. The problem which +attracted his special attention was how to explode powder under +water, and before very long he succeeded in solving this to his own +satisfaction as well as to that of a number of prominent people +amongst whom were the Governor of Connecticut and his Council. +Bushnell's experiments, of course, fell in the period during which +the Revolutionary War was fought, and when he had completed his +invention, there naturally presented itself to him a further +problem. How could his device be used for the benefit of his country +and against the British ships which were then threatening New York +City? As a means to this end, Bushnell planned and built a submarine +boat which on account of its shape is usually called the _Turtle_. + +General Washington thought very highly of Bushnell, whom he called +in a letter to Thomas Jefferson "a man of great mechanical powers, +fertile in inventions and master of execution." In regard to +Bushnell's submarine boat the same letter, written after its +failure, says: "I thought and still think that it was an effort of +genius, but that too many things were necessary to be combined to +expect much against an enemy who are always on guard." + +During the whole period of the building of the _Turtle_ Bushnell was +in ill health. Otherwise he would have navigated it on its trial +trip himself for he was a man of undoubted courage and wrapped up +alike in the merits of his invention and in the possibility of +utilizing it to free New York from the constant ignominy of the +presence of British ships in its harbour. But his health made this +out of the question. Accordingly he taught his brother the method of +navigating the craft, but at the moment for action the brother too +fell ill. It became necessary to hire an operator. This was by no +means easy as volunteers to go below the water in a submarine boat +of a type hitherto undreamed of, and to attach an explosive to the +hull of a British man-of-war, the sentries upon which were +presumably especially vigilant, being in a hostile harbour, was an +adventure likely to attract only the most daring and reckless +spirits. In a letter to Thomas Jefferson, other portions of which we +shall have occasion to quote later, Bushnell refers to this +difficulty in finding a suitable operator and tells briefly and with +evident chagrin the story of the failure of the attempts made to +utilize successfully his submarine: + +[Illustration: Photo by U. & U. + +_A Bomb-Dropping Taube._] + + After various attempts to find an operator to my wish, I sent one + who appeared more expert than the rest from New York to a 50-gun + ship lying not far from Governor's Island. He went under the ship + and attempted to fix the wooden screw into her bottom, but + struck, as he supposes, a bar of iron which passes from the + rudder hinge, and is spiked under the ship's quarter. Had he + moved a few inches, which he might have done without rowing, I + have no doubt but he would have found wood where he might have + fixed the screw, or if the ship were sheathed with copper he + might easily have pierced it; but, not being well skilled in the + management of the vessel, in attempting to move to another place + he lost the ship. After seeking her in vain for some time, he + rowed some distance and rose to the surface of the water, but + found daylight had advanced so far that he durst not renew the + attempt. He says that he could easily have fastened the magazine + under the stem of the ship above water, as he rowed up to the + stern and touched it before he descended. Had he fastened it + there the explosion of 150 lbs. of powder (the quantity contained + in the magazine) must have been fatal to the ship. In his return + from the ship to New York he passed near Governor's Island, and + thought he was discovered by the enemy on the island. Being in + haste to avoid the danger he feared, he cast off the magazine, as + he imagined it retarded him in the swell, which was very + considerable. After the magazine had been cast off one hour, the + time the internal apparatus was set to run, it blew up with great + violence. + + Afterwards there were two attempts made in Hudson's River, above + the city, but they effected nothing. One of them was by the + aforementioned person. In going towards the ship he lost sight + of her, and went a great distance beyond her. When he at length + found her the tide ran so strong that, as he descended under + water for the ship's bottom, it swept him away. Soon after this + the enemy went up the river and pursued the boat which had the + submarine vessel on board and sunk it with their shot. Though I + afterwards recovered the vessel, I found it impossible at that + time to prosecute the design any farther. + +The operator to whom Bushnell had entrusted his submarine boat was a +typical Yankee, Ezra Lee of Lyme, Connecticut. His story of the +adventure differs but little from that of Bushnell, but it is told +with a calm indifference to danger and a seeming lack of any notion +of the extraordinary in what he had done that gives an idea of the +man. "When I rode under the stern of the ship [the _Eagle_] I could +see the men on deck and hear them talk," he wrote. "I then shut down +all the doors, sunk down, and came up under the bottom of the ship." + +This means that he hermetically sealed himself inside of a craft, +shaped like two upper turtle shells joined together--hence the name +of the _Turtle_. He had entered through the orifice at the top, +whence the head of the turtle usually protrudes. This before sinking +he had covered and made water-tight by screwing down upon it a brass +crown or top like that to a flask. Within he had enough air to +support him thirty minutes. The vessel stood upright, not flat as a +turtle carries himself. It was maintained in this position by lead +ballast. Within the operator occupied an upright position, half +sitting, half standing. To sink water was admitted, which gathered +in the lower part of the boat, while to rise again this was +expelled by a force pump. There were ventilators and portholes for +the admission of light and air when operating on the surface, but +once the cap was screwed down the operator was in darkness. + +In this craft, which suggests more than anything else a curiously +shaped submarine coffin, Lee drifted along by the side of the ship, +navigating with difficulty with his single oar and seeking vainly to +find some spot to which he might affix his magazine. A fact which +might have disquieted a more nervous man was that the clockwork of +this machine was running and had been set to go off in an hour from +the time the voyage was undertaken. As to almost anyone in that +position minutes would seem hours, the calmness of sailor Lee's +nerves seems to be something beyond the ordinary. + +When he finally abandoned the attempt on the _Eagle_ he started up +the bay. Off Governor's Island he narrowly escaped capture. + + When I was abreast of the Fort on the Island three hundred or + four hundred men got upon the parapet to observe me; at length a + number came down to the shore, shoved off a twelve oar'd barge + with five or six sitters and pulled for me. I eyed them, and when + they had got within fifty or sixty yards of me I let loose the + magazine in hopes that if they should take me they would likewise + pick up the magazine and then we should all be blown up together. + But as kind providence would have it they took fright and + returned to the Island to my infinite joy.... The magazine after + getting a little past the Island went off with a tremendous + explosion, throwing up large bodies of water to an immense + height. + +During the last quarter of the eighteenth and during the first half +of the nineteenth century France was the chief centre for the +activities of submarine inventors. However, very few of the many +plans put forward in this period were executed. The few exceptions +resulted in little else than trial boats which usually did not live +up to the expectations of their inventors or their financial backers +and were, therefore, discarded in quick order. In spite of this lack +of actual results this particular period was of considerable +importance to the later development of the submarine. Almost every +one of the many boats then projected or built contained some +innovation and in this way some of the many obstacles were gradually +overcome. Strictly speaking the net result of the experimental work +done during these seventy-five years by a score or more of men, most +of whom were French, though a few were English, was the creation of +a more sane and sound basis on which, before long, other men began +to build with greater success. + +The one notable accomplishment of interest, especially to Americans, +was the submarine built in 1800-01 by Robert Fulton. Fulton, of +course, is far better known by his work in connection with the +discovery and development of steam navigation. Born in Pennsylvania +in 1765, he early showed marked mechanical genius. In 1787 he went +to England with the purpose of studying art under the famous painter +West, but soon began to devote most of his time and energy to +mechanical problems. Not finding in England as much encouragement as +he had hoped, he went, in 1797, to Paris and, for the next seven +years, lived there in the house of the American Minister, Joel +Barlow. + +As soon as he had settled down in France, he offered his plans of a +submarine boat which he called the _Nautilus_ to the French +Government. Though a special commission reported favourably on this +boat, the opposition of the French Minister of the Marine was too +strong to be overcome, even after another commission had approved a +model built by Fulton. In 1800, however, he was successful in +gaining the moral and financial support of Napoleon Bonaparte, then +First Consul of the French Republic. + +Fulton immediately proceeded to build the _Nautilus_ and completed +the boat in May, 1801. It was cigar-shaped, about seven feet in +diameter and over twenty-one feet in length. The hull was of copper +strengthened by iron ribs. The most noticeable features were a +collapsible mast and sail and a small conning tower at the forward +end. The boat was propelled by a wheel affixed to the centre of the +stern and worked by a hand-winch. A rudder was used for steering, +and increased stability was gained by a keel which ran the whole +length of the hull. + +[Illustration: (C) U. & U. + +_A Captured German Fokker Exhibited at the Invalides._] + +Soon after completion the boat was taken out for a number of trial +trips all of which were carried out with signal success and finally +culminated, on June 26, 1801, in the successful blowing up of an old +ship furnished by the French Government. Although the _Nautilus_ +created a great sensation, popular as well as official interest +began soon to flag. Fulton received no further encouragement and +finally gave up his submarine experiments. + +[Illustration: (C) U. & U. + +_A British Seaplane with Folding Wings._] + +In 1806 he returned to America. By 1814 he had built another +submarine boat which he called the _Mute_. It was, comparatively +speaking, of immense size, being over eighty feet long, twenty-one +feet wide, and fourteen feet deep and accommodating a hundred men. +It was iron-plated on top and derived its peculiar name from the +fact that it was propelled by a noiseless engine. Before its trials +could be completed, Fulton died on February 24, 1815, and no one +seemed to have sufficient interest or faith in his new boat to +continue his work. + +In the middle of the nineteenth century for the first time a German +became seriously interested in submarines. His name was Wilhelm +Bauer. He was born in 1822 in a small town in Bavaria and, though a +turner by trade, joined the army in 1842. Bauer was even in his +youth of a highly inventive turn of mind. He possessed an +indomitable will and an unlimited supply of enthusiasm. Step by step +he acquired, in what little time he could spare from his military +duties, the necessary mechanical knowledge, and finally, supported +financially by a few loyal friends and patrons, he built his first +submarine at Kiel at a cost of about $2750. It sank to the bottom on +its first trial trip, fortunately without anyone on board. Undaunted +he continued his efforts. + +When he found that his support at Kiel was weakening, he promptly +went to Austria. In spite of glowing promises, opposition on the +part of some officials deprived Bauer of the promised assistance. He +went then to England and succeeded in enlisting the interest of the +Prince Consort. A boat was built according to Bauer's plans, which, +however, he was forced by the interference of politicians to change +to such an extent that it sank on its first trial with considerable +loss of life. + +Still full of faith in his ability to produce a successful +submarine, Bauer now went to Russia. In 1855, he built a boat at St. +Petersburg and had it accepted by the Russian Government. It was +called _Le Diable Marin_ and looked very much like a dolphin. Its +length was fifty-two feet, its beam twelve feet five inches, and its +depth eleven feet. Its hull was of iron. A propeller, worked by four +wheels, furnished motive power. Submersion and stability were +regulated by four cylinders into which water could be pumped at +will. + +The first trial of the boat was made on May 26, 1856, and was +entirely successful. In later trials as many as fourteen men at a +time descended in _Le Diable Marin_. It is said that Bauer made a +total of 134 trips on his boat. All but two were carried out +successfully. At one time, however, the propeller was caught in some +seaweed and it was only by the quickest action that all the water +was pumped out and the bow of the boat allowed to rise out of the +water, so that the occupants managed to escape by means of the +hatchway. Like Fulton in France, Bauer now experienced in Russia a +sudden decrease of official interest. When he finally lost his boat, +about four weeks later, he also lost his courage, and in 1858 he +returned to Germany where he later died in comparative poverty. + +Contemporary with Bauer's submarines and immediately following them +were a large number of other boats. Some of these were little more +than freaks. Others failed in certain respects but added new +features to the sum-total of submarine inventions. As early as 1854, +M. Marie-Davy, Professor of Chemistry at Montpellier University, +suggested an electro-magnetic engine as motive power. In 1855 a +well-known engineer, J. Nasmith, suggested a submerged motor, driven +by a steam engine. None of the boats of this period proved +successful enough, however, to receive more than passing notice, and +very few, indeed, ever reached the trial stage. But before long the +rapid development of internal-combustion engines and the immense +progress made in the study of electricity was to advance the +development of submarines by leaps and bounds. + + + + +CHAPTER XII + +THE COMING OF STEAM AND ELECTRICITY + + +In the fall of 1863, the Federal fleet was blockading the harbour of +Charleston, S. C. Included among the many ships was one of the +marvels of that period, the United States battleship _Ironsides_. +Armour-plated and possessing what was then considered a wonderful +equipment of high calibred guns and a remarkably trained crew, she +was the terror of the Confederates. None of their ships could hope +to compete with her and the land batteries of the Southern harbour +were powerless to reach her. + +[Illustration: (C) U. & U. + +_A British Anti-Aircraft Gun._] + +During the night of October 5, 1863, the officer of the watch on +board the _Ironsides_, Ensign Howard, suddenly observed a small +object looking somewhat like a pleasure boat, floating close to his +own ship. Before Ensign Howard's order to fire at it could be +executed, the _Ironsides_ was shaken from bow to stern, an immense +column of water was thrown up and flooded her deck and engine room, +and Ensign Howard fell, mortally wounded. The little floating object +was responsible for all this. It was a Confederate submersible boat, +only fifty feet long and nine feet in diameter, carrying a +fifteen-foot spar-torpedo. She had been named _David_ and the +Confederate authorities hoped to do away by means of her with the +Goliaths of the Federal navy. Manned only by five men, under the +command of Lieutenant W. T. Glassel, driven by a small engine and +propeller, she had managed to come up unobserved within striking +distance of the big battleship. + +The attack, however, was unsuccessful. The _Ironsides_ was +undamaged. On the other hand the plucky little _David_ had been +disabled to such an extent that her crew had to abandon her and take +to the water, allowing their boat to drift without motive power. +Four of them were later picked up. According to an account in +Barnes, _Torpedoes and Torpedo Warfare_, the engineer, after having +been in the water for some time, found himself near her and +succeeded in getting on board. He relighted her fires and navigated +his little boat safely back to Charleston. There she remained, +making occasional unsuccessful sallies against the Federal fleet, +and when Charleston was finally occupied by the Federal forces, she +was found there. + +In spite of this failure the Confederates continued their attempts +to break the blockade of their most important port by submarine +devices. A new and somewhat improved _David_ was ordered and built +at another port. News of this somehow reached the Federal Navy +Department and was immediately communicated to Vice-Admiral +Dahlgren, in command of the blockading fleet. Despite this warning +and instructions to all the officers of the fleet, the second +_David_ succeeded in crossing Charleston bar. + +This new boat was a real diving submarine boat and though frequently +called _David_ had been christened the _Hundley_. It had been built +in the shipyards of McClintock & Hundley at Mobile, Alabama, and had +been brought to Charleston by rail. On her trial she proved very +clumsy and difficult to manage. For her first trip a crew of nine +men volunteered. Not having any conning tower it was necessary that +one of the hatchways should be left open while the boat travelled on +the surface so that the steersman could find his bearings. While she +was on her first trip, the swell from a passing boat engulfed her. +Before the hatchway could be closed, she filled with water. Of +course, she sank like a piece of lead and her entire crew, with the +exception of the steersman, was drowned. + +In spite of this mishap the _Hundley_ was raised and again put in +commission. Lieutenant Payne who had steered her on her first fatal +trip had lost neither his courage nor faith and again assumed +command of her. Soon after she started on her second trip a sudden +squall arose. Before the hatchways could be closed, she again filled +with water and sank, drowning all of her crew with the exception of +Lieutenant Payne and two of his men. + +Undaunted he took her out on a third trip after she had again been +raised. Ill luck still pursued her. Off Fort Sumter she was capsized +and this time four of her crew were drowned. + +The difficulties encountered in sailing the _Hundley_ on the surface +of the water apparently made no difference when it came to finding +new crews for her. By this time, however, the powers that be had +become anxious that their submarine boat should accomplish something +against an enemy, instead of drowning only her own men and it was +decided to use her on the next trip in a submerged state. Again +Lieutenant Payne was entrusted with her guidance. Her hatches were +closed, her water tanks filled, and she was off for her first dive. +Something went wrong however; either too much water had been put in +her tanks or else the steering gear refused to work. At any rate she +hit the muddy bottom with such force that her nose became deeply +imbedded and before she could work herself free her entire crew of +eight was suffocated. Lieutenant Payne himself lost his life which +he had risked so valiantly and frequently before. + +Once more she was raised and once more volunteers rushed to man her. +On the fifth trip, however, the _Hundley_, while travelling +underwater, became entangled in the anchor chains of a boat she +passed and was held fast so long that her crew of nine were dead +when she was finally disentangled and raised. + +Thirty-five lives had so far been lost without any actual results +having been accomplished. In spite of this a new crew was found. Her +commander, Lieutenant Dixon, was ordered to make an attack against +the Federal fleet immediately, using, however, the boat as a +submersible instead of a submarine. + +Admiral David Porter in his _Naval History of the Civil War_ +described the attack, which was directed against the U. S. S. +_Housatonic_, one of the newest Federal battleships, as follows: + + At about 8.45 P. M., the officer of the deck on board the + unfortunate vessel discovered something about one hundred yards + away, moving along the water. It came directly towards the ship, + and within two minutes of the time it was first sighted was + alongside. The cable was slipped, the engines backed, and all + hands called to quarters. But it was too late--the torpedo struck + the _Housatonic_ just forward of the mainmast, on the starboard + side, on a line with the magazine. The man who steered her (the + _Hundley_) knew where the vital spots of the steamer were and he + did his work well. When the explosion took place the ship + trembled all over as if by the shock of an earthquake, and seemed + to be lifted out of the water, and then sank stern foremost, + heeling to port as she went down. + +Only a part of the _Housatonic's_ complement was saved. Of the +_Hundley_ no trace was discovered and she was believed to have +escaped. Three years later, however, divers who had been sent down +to examine the hull of the _Housatonic_ found the little submarine +stuck in the hole made by her attack on the larger ship and inside +of her the bodies of her entire crew. + +The submarines and near-submarines built in the United States during +the Civil War were remarkable rather for what they actually +accomplished than for what they contributed towards the development +of submarine boats. Perhaps the greatest service which they rendered +in the latter direction was that they proved to the satisfaction of +many scientific men that submarine boats really held vast +possibilities as instruments of naval warfare. + +France still retained its lead in furnishing new submarine +projects. One of these put forward in 1861 by Olivier Riou deserves +mention because it provided for two boats, one driven by steam and +one by electricity. Both of these submarines were built, but +inasmuch as nothing is known of the result of their trials, it is +safe to conclude that neither of them proved of any practical value. + +Two years later, in 1863, two other Frenchmen, Captain Bourgeois and +M. Brun, built at Rochefort a submarine 146 feet long and 12 feet in +diameter which they called the _Plongeur_. They fitted it with a +compressed-air engine of eighty horse-power. Extensive trials were +made with this boat but resulted only in the discovery that, though +it was possible to sink or rise with a boat of this type without +great difficulty, it was impossible to keep her at an even keel for +any length of time. + +During the next few years, undoubtedly as a result of the submarine +activities during the Civil War, a number of projects were put +forward in the United States, none of which, however, turned out +successfully. One of them, for which a man by the name of Halstead +was responsible, was a submarine built for the United States Navy in +1865. It was not tried out until 1872 and it was not even successful +in living up to its wonderful name, _The Intelligent Whale_. Its +first trial almost resulted in loss of life and was never repeated. +In spite of this, however, the boat was preserved and may still be +seen at the Brooklyn Navy Yard. + +In the meantime, an invention had been made by an Austrian artillery +officer which before long was to exert a powerful influence on +submarine development, though it was in no sense a submarine boat. +The manner in which the submarines had attacked their opponents +during the Civil War suggested to him the need of improvements in +this direction. As a result he conceived a small launch which was to +carry the explosive without any navigators. Before he could carry +his plans very far he died. A brother officer in the navy continued +his work and finally interested the manager of an English +engineering firm located at Fiume, Mr. Whitehead. The result of the +collaboration of these two men was the Whitehead torpedo. A series +of experiments led to the construction of what was first called a +"Submarine Locomotive" torpedo, which not only contained a +sufficient quantity of explosives to destroy large boats, but was +also enabled by mechanical means to propel itself and keep on its +course after having been fired. The Austrian Government was the +first one to adopt this new weapon. Whitehead, however, refused to +grant a monopoly to the Austrians and in 1870 he sold his +manufacturing rights and secret processes to the British Government +for a consideration of $45,000. + +Before very long, special boats were built for the purpose of +carrying and firing these torpedoes and gradually every great power +developed a separate torpedo flotilla. Hand in hand with this +development a large number of improvements were made on the original +torpedo and some of these devices proved of great usefulness in the +development of submarine boats. + +The public interest in submarines grew rapidly at this time. Every +man who was a boy in 1873, or who had the spirit of boyhood in him +then,--or perhaps now,--will remember the extraordinary piece of +literary and imaginative prophecy achieved by Jules Verne in his +novel _Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea_. Little about the +_Nautilus_ that held all readers entranced throughout his story is +lacking in the submarines of to-day except indeed its extreme +comfort, even luxury. With those qualities our submarine navigators +have to dispense. But the electric light, as we know it, was unknown +in Verne's time yet he installed it in the boat of his fancy. Our +modern internal-combustion engines were barely dreamed of, yet they +drove his boat. His fancy even enabled him to foresee one of the +most amazing features of the Lake boat of to-day, namely the +compressed air chamber which opened to the sea still holds the water +back, and enables the submarine navigator clad in a diver's suit to +step into the wall of water and prosecute his labors on the bed of +the ocean. Jules Verne even foresaw the callous and inhuman +character of the men who command the German submarines to-day. His +Captain Nemo had taken a vow of hate against the world and +relentlessly drove the prow of his steel boat into the hulls of +crowded passenger ships, finding his greatest joy in sinking slowly +beside them with the bright glare of his submarine electric lights +turned full upon the hapless women and children over whose +sufferings he gloated as they sank. The man who sank the _Lusitania_ +could do no more. + +More and more determined became the attempts to build submarine +boats that could sink and rise easily, navigate safely and quickly, +and sustain human beings under the surface of the water for a +considerable length of time. Steam, compressed air, and electricity +were called upon to do their share in accomplishing this desired +result. Engineers in every part of the world began to interest +themselves in the submarine problem and as a result submarine boats +in numbers were either projected or built between 1875 and 1900. + +One of the most persistent workers in this period was a well-known +Swedish inventor, Nordenfeldt, who had established for himself a +reputation by inventing a gun which even to-day has lost nothing of +its fame. In 1881 he became interested in the work which had been +done by an English clergyman named Garret. The latter had built a +submarine boat which he called the _Resurgam_ (I shall rise)--thus +neatly combining a sacred promise with a profane purpose. In 1879 +another boat was built by him driven by a steam engine. Nordenfeldt +used the fundamental ideas upon which these two boats were based, +added to them some improvements of his own as well as some devices +which had been used by Bushnell, and finally launched in 1886 his +first submarine boat. The government of Greece bought it after some +successful trials. Not to be outdone, Greece's old rival, Turkey, +immediately ordered two boats for her own navy. Both of these were +much larger than the Greek boat and by 1887 they had reached +Constantinople in sections where they were to be put together. Only +one of them, however, was ever completed. Characteristic Turkish +delay intervened. The most typical feature of this boat was the fact +that it carried a torpedo tube for Whitehead torpedoes. On the +surface of the water this boat proved very efficient, but as an +underwater boat it was a dismal failure. More than in any other +craft that had ever been built and accepted, the lack of stability +was a cause of trouble in the _Nordenfeldt II._ As soon as any +member of the crew moved from one part of the boat to another, she +would dip in the direction in which he was moving, and everybody, +who could not in time take hold of some part of the boat, came +sliding and rolling in the same direction. When finally such a +tangle was straightened out, only a few minutes elapsed before +somebody else, moving a few steps, would bring about the same +deplorable state of affairs. The _Nordenfeldt II._ acted more like a +bucking bronco than a self-respecting submarine boat and as a result +it became impossible to find a crew willing to risk their lives in +manning her. Before very long she had rusted and rotted to pieces. +In spite of this lack of success, Nordenfeldt built a fourth boat +which displayed almost as many unfortunate features as her +predecessors and soon was discarded and forgotten. + +[Illustration: Photo by Bain News Service. + +_An Anti-Aircraft Outpost._] + +In the latter part of the nineteenth century the French Government, +which for so many years had shown a strong and continuous interest +in the submarine problem, was particularly active. Three different +types of boats built in this period under the auspices and with the +assistance of the French Government deserve particular attention. +The first of these was the _Gymnote_, planned originally by a +well-known French engineer, Dupuy de Lome, whose alert mind also +planned an airship and made him a figure in the history of our +Panama Canal. He died, however, before his project could be +executed. M. Gustave Zede, a marine engineer and his friend, +continued his work after modifying some of his plans. The French +Minister of Marine of this period, Admiral Aube who had long been +strongly interested in submarines, immediately accepted M. Zede's +design and ordered the boat to be built. As the earliest of +successful submarines she merits description: + +[Illustration: (C) U. & U. + +_A Coast Defense Anti-Aircraft Gun._] + +The _Gymnote_ was built of steel in the shape of a cigar. She was 59 +feet long, 5 feet 9 inches beam, and 6 feet in diameter, just deep +enough to allow a man to stand upright in the interior. The motive +power was originally an electro-motor of 55 horse-power, driven from +564 accumulators. It was of extraordinary lightness, weighing only +4410 pounds, and drove the screw at the rate of two thousand +revolutions a minute, giving a speed of six knots an hour, its +radius of action at this speed being thirty-five miles. + +Immersion was accomplished by the introduction of water into three +reservoirs, placed one forward, one aft, and one centre. The water +was expelled either by means of compressed air or by a rotary pump +worked by an electro-motor. Two horizontal rudders steered the boat +in the vertical plane and an ordinary rudder steered in the +horizontal. + +The _Gymnote_ had her first trial on September 4, 1888, and the +Paris _Temps_ described the result in the following enthusiastic +language: + + She steered like a fish both as regards direction and depth; she + mastered the desired depth with ease and exactness; at full power + she attained the anticipated speed of from nine to ten knots; the + lighting was excellent, there was no difficulty about heating. It + was a strange sight to see the vessel skimming along the top of + the water, suddenly give a downward plunge with its snout, and + disappear with a shark-like wriggle of its stern, only to come up + again at a distance out and in an unlooked-for direction. A few + small matters connected with the accumulators had to be seen to, + but they did not take a month. + +Following along the same lines as this boat another boat, +considerably larger, was built. Before it was completed, M. Zede +died and it was decided to name the new boat in his honour. The +_Gustave Zede_ was launched at Toulon on June 1, 1893; she was 159 +feet in length, beam 12 feet 4 inches, and had a total displacement +of 266 tons. Her shell was of "Roma" bronze, a non-magnetic metal, +and one that could not be attacked by sea water. + +The motive power was furnished by two independent electro-motors of +360 horse-power each and fed by accumulators. In order to endow the +boat with a wide radius of action a storage battery was provided. + +The successive crews of the _Gustave Zede_ suffered much from the +poisonous fumes of the accumulators, and during the earlier trials +all the men on board were ill. + +In the bows was a torpedo tube, and an arrangement was used whereby +the water that entered the tube after the discharge of the torpedo +was forced out by compressed air. Three Whitehead torpedoes were +carried. In spite of the fact that a horizontal rudder placed at the +stern had not proved serviceable on the _Gymnote_, such a rudder was +fitted in the _Gustave Zede_. With this rudder she usually plunged +at an angle of about 5 deg., but on several occasions she behaved in a +very erratic fashion, seesawing up and down, and once when the +Committee of Experts were on board, she proved so capricious, going +down at an angle of 30 deg.-35 deg., often throwing the poor gentlemen on to +the floor, that it was decided to fix a system of six rudders, three +on each side. + +Four water tanks were carried, one at each end and two in the +middle, and the water was expelled by four pumps worked by a little +electro-motor; these pumps also furnished the air necessary for the +crew and for the discharge of the torpedoes. For underwater vision, +an optical tube and a periscope had been provided. + +On July 5, 1899, still another submarine boat was launched for the +French Navy. She was called the _Morse_. She was 118 feet long, 9 +feet beam, displaced 146 tons, and was likewise made of "Roma" +bronze. The motive power was electricity and in many other respects +she was very similar to the _Gustave Zede_, embodying, however, a +number of improvements. M. Calmette, who accompanied the French +Minister of War on the trial trip of the _Morse_, described his +experience in the Paris _Figaro_ as follows: + + General Andre, Dr. Vincent, a naval doctor, and I entered the + submarine boat _Morse_ through the narrow opening in the upper + surface of the boat. Our excursion was to begin immediately; in + two hours we came to the surface of the water again three miles + to the north to rejoin the _Narval_. Turning to the crew, every + man of which was at his post, the commandant gave his orders, + dwelling with emphasis on each word. A sailor repeated his orders + one by one, and all was silent. The _Morse_ had already started + on its mysterious voyage, but was skimming along the surface + until outside the port in order to avoid the numerous craft in + the Arsenal. To say that at this moment, which I had so keenly + anticipated, I did not have the tremor which comes from contact + with the unknown would be beside the truth. On the other hand, + calm and imperturbable, but keenly curious as to this novel form + of navigation, General Andre had already taken his place near + the commandant on a folding seat. There were no chairs in this + long tube in which we were imprisoned. Everything was arranged + for the crew alone, with an eye to serious action. Moreover, the + Minister of War was too tall to stand upright beneath the iron + ceiling, and in any case it would be impossible to walk about. + + The only free space was a narrow passage, sixty centimetres + broad, less than two metres high, and thirty metres long, divided + into three equal sections. In the first, in the forefront of the + tube, reposed the torpedoes, with the machine for launching them, + which at a distance of from 500 to 600 metres were bound to sink, + with the present secret processes, the largest of ironclads. In + the second section were the electric accumulators which gave the + light and power. In the third, near the screw, was the electric + motor which transformed into movement the current of the + accumulators. Under all this, beneath the floor, from end to end, + were immense water ballasts, which were capable of being emptied + or filled in a few seconds by electric machines, in order to + carry the vessel up or down. Finally, in the centre of the tube, + dominating these three sections, which the electric light + inundated, and which no partition divided, the navigating + lieutenant stood on the lookout giving his orders. + + There was but one thing which could destroy in a second all the + sources of authority, initiative, and responsibility in this + officer. That was the failure of the accumulators. Were the + electricity to fail everything would come to a stop. Darkness + would overtake the boat and imprison it for ever in the water. To + avoid any such disaster there have been arranged, it is true, + outside the tube and low down, a series of lead blades which were + capable of being removed from within to lighten the vessel. But + admitting that the plunger would return to the surface, the boat + would float hither and thither, and at all events lose all its + properties as a submarine vessel. To avoid any such disaster a + combination of motors have been in course of construction for + some months, so that the accumulators might be loaded afresh on + the spot, in case of their being used up. + + The _Morse_, after skimming along the surface of the water until + outside the port, was now about to sink. The commandant's place + was no longer in the helmet or kiosque whence he could direct the + route along the surface of the sea. His place was henceforth in + the very centre of the tube, in the midst of all sort of electric + manipulators, his eyes continually fixed on a mysterious optical + apparatus, the periscope. The other extremity of this instrument + floated on the surface of the water, and whatever the depth of + the plunge it gave him a perfectly faithful and clear + representation, as in a camera, of everything occurring on the + water. + + The most interesting moment of all now came. I hastened to the + little opening to get the impression of total immersion. The + lieutenant by the marine chart verified the depths. The casks of + water were filled and our supply of air was thereby renewed from + their stores of surplus air. In our tiny observatory, where + General Andre stationed himself above me, a most unexpected + spectacle presented itself as the boat was immersed. + + The plunge was so gentle that in the perfect silence of the + waters one did not perceive the process of descent, and there was + only an instrument capable of indicating, by a needle, the depth + to which the _Morse_ was penetrating. The vessel was advancing + while at the same time it descended, but there was no sensation + of either advance or roll. As to respiration, it was as perfect + as in any room. M. de Lanessan, who since entering office has + ordered eight more submarine vessels, had concerned himself with + the question as a medical man also, and, thanks to the labours of + a commission formed by him, the difficulties of respiration were + entirely solved. The crew were able to remain under water sixteen + hours without the slightest strain. Our excursion on this + occasion lasted scarcely two hours. Towards noon, by means of + the mysterious periscope, which, always invisible, floated on the + surface and brought to the vessel below a reflection of all that + passed up above, the captain showed us the _Narval_, which had + just emerged with its two flags near the old battery + _Impregnable_. From the depths in which we were sailing we + watched its slightest manoeuvres until the admiral's flag, waving + on the top of a fort, reminded us that it was time to return. + +[Illustration: _The Submarine's Perfect Work._ + +_Painting by John E. Whiting._] + + + + +CHAPTER XIII + +JOHN P. HOLLAND AND SIMON LAKE + + +The Naval Committee of the House of Representatives of the United +States in the early part of 1900 held a meeting for the purpose of +hearing expert testimony upon the subject of submarines. Up to then +the United States authorities had shown, as compared with the ruling +powers of other navies, only a limited amount of interest in the +submarine question. Increased appropriations for the construction of +submarine boats which were then beginning to become more frequent in +other countries acted, however, as a stimulus at this time. + +The committee meeting took place a few days after some of the +members of the committee, together with a number of United States +navy officers, had attended an exhibition of a new submarine boat, +the _Holland No. 9_. + +The late Admiral Dewey gave the following opinion about this +submarine to the committee, an opinion which since then has become +rather famous: + + Gentlemen: I saw the operation of the boat down off Mount Vernon + the other day. Several members of this committee were there. I + think we were very much impressed with its performance. My aid, + Lieutenant Caldwell, was on board. The boat did everything that + the owners proposed to do. I said then, and I have said it since, + that if they had two of those things at Manila, I could never + have held it with the squadron I had. The moral effect--to my + mind, it is infinitely superior to mines or torpedoes or anything + of the kind. With two of those in Galveston all the navies of the + world could not blockade the place. + +Admiral Dewey's approval of the _Holland No. 9_ undoubtedly exerted +a considerable influence on the Naval Committee and as a result of +its recommendations the United States Government finally purchased +the boat on April 11, 1900, for $150,000. This amount was about +$86,000 less than the cost of building to the manufacturers, the +Holland Torpedo Boat Company. The latter, however, could well afford +to take this loss because this first sale resulted a few months +afterwards--on August 25th--in an order for six additional +submarines. The British Government also contracted in the fall of +the same year for five Hollands. The navy of almost every power +interested in submarines soon followed the lead of the British +Admiralty. Submarines of the Holland type were either ordered +outright, or else arrangements were concluded permitting the use of +the basic patents held by the Holland Company. It will be noted that +the United States Government having discovered that it had a good +thing benevolently shared it with the governments that might be +expected to use it against us. + +[Illustration: Copyright by Munn & Co., Inc. + +From the _Scientific American._ + +_Types of American Aircraft._] + +The _Holland No. 9_, as her very name indicates, was one of a long +line of similar boats. As compared with other experimental submarine +boats she was small. She was only fifty-three feet ten inches long, +and ten feet seven inches deep. Although these proportions made her +look rather thickset, they were the result of experimental work done +by the builder during a period of twenty-five years. She was +equipped both with a gasoline engine of fifty horse-power and an +electric motor run by storage batteries. The latter was intended for +use when the boat was submerged, the former when she was travelling +on the surface of the water. She was capable of a maximum speed of +seven knots an hour. Her cruising radius was 1500 miles and the +combination of oil and electric motors proved so successful that +from that time on every submarine built anywhere adopted this +principle. Two horizontal rudders placed at the stern of the boat +steered her downward whenever she wanted to dive and so +accomplished a diver was this boat that a depth of twenty-eight feet +could be reached by her in five seconds. Her conning tower was the +only means of making observations. No periscopes had been provided +because none of the instruments available at that time gave +satisfaction. This meant that whenever she wished to aim at her +target it was necessary for her to make a quick ascent to the +surface. Her stability was one of her most satisfactory features. So +carefully had her proportions been worked out that there was +practically no pitching or rolling when the boat was submerged. Even +the concussion caused by the discharge of a torpedo was hardly +noticeable because arrangements had been made to take up the recoil +caused by the firing and to maintain the balance of the boat by +permitting a quantity of water equal to the weight of the discharged +torpedo to enter special compartments at the very moment of the +discharge. + +The _Holland No. 9_ was built at Lewis Nixon's shipyards at +Elizabethport, New Jersey, and was launched early in 1898, just +previous to the outbreak of the Spanish-American War. Although +numerous requests were made to the United States Government by her +inventor and builder, John P. Holland, for permission to take her +into Santiago harbour in an attempt to torpedo Cervera's fleet, the +navy authorities at Washington refused this permission. Why? +Presumably through navy hostility to the submarine idea. When the +_Monitor_ whipped the _Merrimac_ in 1862 the former ship belonged to +her inventor, not to the United States Government. It would have +been interesting had Holland at his own expense destroyed the +Spanish ships. + +John P. Holland at the time when he achieved his success was +fifty-eight years old, Irish by birth and an early immigrant to the +United States. He had been deeply interested for many years in +mechanical problems and especially in those connected with +navigation. The change from the old wooden battleships to the new +ironclads and the rapidly increasing development of steam-engines +acted as a strong stimulus to the young Irishman's experiments. It +is claimed that his interest in submarine navigation was due +primarily to his desire to find a weapon strong enough to destroy or +at least dominate the British navy; for at that time Holland was +strongly anti-British, because he, like many other educated Irishmen +of that period, desired before everything else to free Ireland. His +plans for doing this by supplying to the proposed Irish Republic a +means for overcoming the British navy found little support and a +great deal of ridicule on the part of his Irish friends. In spite of +this he kept on with his work and in 1875 he built and launched his +first submarine boat at Paterson. This boat was far from being very +revolutionary. She was only sixteen feet long and two feet in +diameter, shaped like a cigar but with both ends sharply pointed. In +many respects except in appearance she was similar to Bushnell's +_Turtle_. Room for only one operator was provided and the latter was +to turn the propeller by means of pedals to be worked by his feet. +She accomplished little beyond giving an opportunity to her inventor +and builder to gather experience in actual underwater navigation. + +Two years later in 1877 the _Holland No. 2_ was built. In spite of +the number of improvements represented by her she was not +particularly successful. Her double hull, it is true, provided space +for carrying water ballast. But the leaks from this ballast tank +continuously threatened to drown the navigator sitting inside of the +second hull. A small oil engine of four horse-power was soon +discarded on account of its inefficiency. + +The experience gathered by Holland in building and navigating these +two boats strengthened his determination to build a thoroughly +successful submarine and increased his faith in his ability to do +so. He opened negotiations with the Fenian Brotherhood. This was a +secret society founded for the purpose of freeing Ireland from +British rule and creating an Irish Republic. Holland finally +succeeded in persuading his Fenian friends to order from him two +submarine boats and to supply him with the necessary means to build +them. Both of these boats were built. The lack of success of the +first one was due primarily to the inefficiency of her engine. The +second boat which was really the _Holland No. 4_ was built in 1881. +It is usually known as the _Fenian Ram_, and is still in existence +at New Haven, Connecticut, where a series of financial and political +complications finally landed her. + +These two boats added vastly to Holland's knowledge concerning +submarine navigation. A few others which he built with his own means +increased this fund of knowledge and step by step he came nearer to +his goal. By 1888 his reputation as a submarine engineer and +navigator had grown to such an extent that Holland was asked by the +famous Philadelphia shipbuilders, the Cramps, to submit to them +designs for a submarine boat to be built by the United States +Government. Only one other design was submitted and this was by the +Scandinavian, Nordenfeldt. + +William C. Whitney, then Secretary of the United States Navy, +accepted Holland's design. Month after month passed by wasted by the +usual governmental red tape, and when all preliminary arrangements +had been made and the contract for the actual building of an +experimental boat was to be drawn up, a sudden change in the +administration resulted in the dropping of the entire plan. + +Holland's faith in the future submarine and in his own ability was +still unshaken, but this was not the case with his financial +condition. None of the boats he had built so far had brought him any +profits and on some he had lost everything that he had put into +them. His financial support, for which he relied entirely upon +relatives and friends, was practically exhausted. But fortunately on +March 3, 1893, Congress appropriated a sum of money to defray the +expenses of constructing an experimental submarine. Invitations to +inventors were extended. So precarious was Holland's financial +condition at that time that he found it necessary to borrow the +small sum of money involved in making plans which he had to submit. +It is claimed that he succeeded in doing this in a manner highly +typical of his thoroughness. + +He needed only about $350.00 but even this comparatively small sum +was more than he had. However, he happened to be lunching with a +young lawyer just about this time and began to tell him about his +financial difficulties. Holland told him that if he only had $347.19 +he could prepare the plans and pay the necessary fees. And that +done, he was sure of being able to win the competition. His lawyer +friend, of course, had been approached before by other people for +loans. Invariably they had asked him for some round sum and +Holland's request for $347.19 when he might just as well have asked +for $350.00 aroused his interest. He asked the inventor what the +nineteen cents were to be used for. Quick as a flash he was told +that they were needed to pay for a particular type of ruler +necessary to draw the required plans. So impressed was the lawyer +with Holland's accuracy and honesty in asking not a cent more than +he actually needed that he at once advanced the money. And a good +investment it turned out to be. For in exchange he received a +good-sized block of stock in the Holland Torpedo Boat Company which +in later years made him a multi-millionaire. + +Holland's plans did win the competition just as he asserted that +they would; but, of course, winning a prize, offered by a +government, and getting that government to do something about it, +are two different matters. So two years went by before the Holland +Torpedo Boat Company at last was able to start with the construction +of the new submarine which was to be called the _Plunger_. + +The principal feature of this new boat was that it was to have a +steam engine for surface navigation and an electric motor for +underwater navigation. This arrangement was not so much a new +invention of Holland's as an adaptation of ideas which had been +promulgated by others. Especially indebted was he in this respect to +Commander Hovgaard of the Danish navy who, in 1887, had published an +important book on the subject of double propulsion in submarines. +Though Holland had made many improvements on these earlier theories, +he soon found out that even at that there was going to be serious +trouble with the _Plunger's_ engines. The boat had been launched in +1897; but instead of finishing it, he persuaded the government to +permit his company to build a new boat, and to return to the +government all the money so far expended on the _Plunger_. + +The new boat, _Holland No. 8_, was started immediately and completed +in record time but she, too, was unsatisfactory to the inventor. So +without loss of time he went ahead and built another boat, the +_Holland No. 9_, which, as we have said, became the first United +States submarine. + +Two other men submitted plans for submarine boats in the competition +which was won by the Holland boat, George C. Baker and Simon Lake. +Neither of these was accepted. Mr. Baker made no further efforts to +find out if his plans would result in a practicable submarine boat. +But Simon Lake was not so easily discouraged. + +It is very interesting that the United States Navy Department at +that time demanded that plans submitted for this competition should +meet the following specifications: + + 1. Safety. + 2. Facility and certainty of action when submerged. + 3. Speed when running on the surface. + 4. Speed when submerged. + 5. Endurance, both submerged and on the surface. + 6. Stability. + 7. Visibility of object to be attacked. + +In spite of the many years that have passed since this competition +and in spite of the tremendous progress that has been made in +submarine construction these are still the essential requirements +necessary to make a successful submarine boat. + +The designs submitted by Mr. Lake provided for a twin-screw vessel, +80 feet long, 10 feet beam, and 115 tons displacement, with 400 +horse-power steam engines for surface propulsion and 70 horse-power +motors for submerged work. The boat was to have a double hull, the +spaces between the inner and the outer hulls forming water ballast +tanks. There were to be four torpedo tubes, two forward and two aft. + +In an article published in 1915 in _International Marine +Engineering_, Mr. Lake says about his 1893 design: + + The new and novel feature which attracted the most attention and + skepticism regarding this design was (the author was later + informed by a member of the board) the claim made that the vessel + could readily navigate over the waterbed itself, and that while + navigating on the waterbed a door could be opened in the bottom + of a compartment and the water kept from entering the vessel by + means of compressed air, and that the crew could, by donning + diving suits, readily leave and enter the vessel while submerged. + Another novel feature was in the method of controlling the depth + of submergence when navigating between the surface and waterbed. + The vessel was designed to always submerge and navigate on a + level keel rather than to be inclined down or up by the back, to + "dive" or "rise." This maintenance of a level keel while + submerged was provided for by the installation of four depth + regulating vanes which I later termed "hydroplanes" to + distinguish them from the forward and aft levelling vanes or + horizontal rudders. These hydroplanes were located at equal + distances forward and aft of the center of gravity and buoyancy + of the vessel when in the submerged condition, so as not to + disturb the vessel when the planes were inclined down or up to + cause the vessel to submerge or rise when under way. + + I also used, in conjunction with the hydroplanes, horizontal + rudders which I then called "levelling vanes," as their purpose + was just the opposite from that of the horizontal rudder used in + the diving type of vessel. They were operated by a pendulum + controlling device to be inclined so as to always maintain the + vessel on a level keel rather than to cause her to depart + therefrom. When I came to try this combination out in practice, I + found hand control of the horizontal rudders was sufficient. If + vessels with this system of control have a sufficient amount of + stability, you will run for hours and automatically maintain both + a constant depth and a level keel, without the depth control man + touching either the hydroplane or horizontal rudder control gear. + This automatic maintenance of depth without manipulating the + hydroplanes or rudders was a performance not anticipated, nor + claimed in my original patent on the above-mentioned + combination, and what caused these vessels to function in this + manner remained a mystery, which was unsolved until I built a + model tank in 1905 in Berlin, Germany, and conducted a series of + experiments on models of submarines. I then learned that a down + pull of a hydroplane at a given degree of inclination varied + according to its depth of submergence and that the deeper the + submergence, the less the down pull. This works out to give + automatic trim on a substantially level keel, and I have known of + vessels running for a period of two hours without variation of + depth of one foot and without once changing the inclination of + either the hydroplanes or the horizontal rudder. + +A great deal of skepticism was displayed for many years towards this +new system of controlling the depth of submergence. But in recent +years all the latest submarine boats have been built on this plan. + +Who, then, was this mechanical genius who was responsible for these +far-going changes in submarine construction? Simon Lake was born at +Pleasantville, New Jersey, September 4, 1866. He was educated at +Clinton Liberal Institute, Fort Plain, New York, and Franklin +Institute, Philadelphia. Early in life he displayed a marked +interest in and genius for mechanical problems. His lack of success +in the 1893 competition only spurred him on to further efforts. As +long as the United States Government was unwilling to assist him in +building his submarine boat, there was nothing left for him except +to build it from his own means. In 1894, therefore, he set to work +on an experimental boat, called the _Argonaut, Jr._ According to Mr. +Lake's description as published in _International Marine +Engineering_ in a series of articles from his pen the _Argonaut, +Jr._, was + + provided with three wheels, two on either side forward and one + aft, the latter acting as a steering wheel. When on the bottom + the wheels were rotated by hand by one or two men inside the + boat. Her displacement was about seven tons, yet she could be + propelled at a moderate walking gait when on the bottom. She was + also fitted with an air lock and diver's compartment, so arranged + that by putting an air pressure on the diver's compartment equal + to the water pressure outside, a bottom door could be opened and + no water would come into the vessel. Then by putting on a pair of + rubber boots the operator could walk around on the sea bottom and + push the boat along with him and pick up objects, such as clams, + oysters, etc. from the sea bottom. + +So much interest was aroused by this little wooden boat that Mr. +Lake was enabled to finance the building of a larger boat, called +the _Argonaut_. It was designed in 1895 and built in 1897 at +Baltimore. + +Concerning the _Argonaut_ Mr. Lake says in the same article: + + The _Argonaut_ as originally built was 36 feet long and 9 feet in + diameter. She was the first submarine to be fitted with an + internal-combustion engine. She was propelled with a thirty + horse-power gasoline (petrol) engine driving a screw propeller. + She was fitted with two toothed driving wheels forward which were + revolved by suitable gearing when navigating on the waterbed, or + they could be disconnected from this gearing and permitted to + revolve freely, propulsion being secured by the screw propeller. + A wheel in the rudder enabled her to be steered in any direction + when on the bottom. She also had a diving compartment to enable + divers to leave or enter the vessel when submerged, to operate on + wrecks or to permit inspection of the bottom or to recover + shellfish. She also had a lookout compartment in the extreme bow, + with a powerful searchlight to light up a pathway in front of her + as she moved along over the waterbed. This searchlight I later + found of little value except for night work in clear water. In + clear water the sunlight would permit of as good vision without + the use of the light as with it, while if the water was not + clear, no amount of light would permit of vision through it for + any considerable distance. + + In January, 1898 [says Mr. Lake], while the _Argonaut_ was + submerged, telephone conversation was held from submerged + stations with Baltimore, Washington, and New York. + + In 1898, also, the _Argonaut_ made the trip from Norfolk to New + York under her own power and unescorted. In her original form she + was a cigar-shaped craft with only a small percentage of reserve + buoyancy in her surface cruising condition. We were caught out in + the severe November northeast storm of 1898 in which over 200 + vessels were lost and we did not succeed in reaching a harbour in + the "horseshoe" back of Sandy Hook until, of course, in the + morning. The seas were so rough they would break over her conning + tower in such masses I was obliged to lash myself fast to prevent + being swept overboard. It was freezing weather and I was soaked + and covered with ice on reaching harbour. + + This experience caused me to apply to the _Argonaut_ a further + improvement for which I had already applied for a patent. This + was, doubled around the usual pressure resisting body of a + submarine, a ship-shape form of light plating which would give + greater seaworthiness, better surface speed, and make the vessel + more habitable for surface navigation. It would, in other words, + make a "sea-going submarine," which the usual form of + cigar-shaped vessel was not, as it would not have sufficient + surface buoyancy to enable it to rise with the seas and the seas + would sweep over it as they would sweep over a partly submerged + rock. + + The _Argonaut_ was, therefore, taken to Brooklyn, twenty feet + added to her length, and a light water-tight buoyancy + superstructure of ship-shape form added. This superstructure was + opened to the sea when it was desired to submerge the vessel, + and water was permitted to enter the space between the light + plating of the ship-shaped form and the heavy plating of the + pressure resisting hull. This equalized pressure on the light + plates and prevented their becoming deformed due to pressure. The + superstructure increased her reserve of buoyancy in the surface + cruising condition from about 10 per cent. to over 40 per cent. + and lifted right up to the seas like any ordinary type of surface + vessel, instead of being buried by them in rough weather. + + This feature of construction has been adopted by the Germans, + Italians, Russians, and in all the latest types of French boats. + It is the principal feature which distinguishes them in their + surface appearance from the earlier cigar-shaped boats of the + diving type. This ship-shaped form of hull is only suited to the + level keel submergence. + +In those days submarine boats were a much more unusual sight than +they are to-day and simple fishermen who had never read or heard +about submarines undoubtedly experienced disturbing sensations when +they ran across their first underwater boat. Mr. Lake, a short time +ago, while addressing a meeting of electrical engineers in Brooklyn, +told the following experience which he had on one of his trips in +the _Argonaut_: + + On the first trip down the Chesapeake Bay, we had been running + along in forty feet of water and had been down about four hours. + Night was coming on, so we decided to come up to find out where + we were. I noticed one of those Chesapeake "Bug Eyes" lighting + just to leeward of us, and, as I opened the conning tower hatch, + called to the men aboard to find out where we were. As soon as I + did so, he turned his boat around and made straight for the + beach. I thought he was rather discourteous. He ran his boat up + on that beach and never stopped; the last I saw of him was when + he jumped ashore and started to run inland as hard as he and his + helper could go. Finally I learned we were just above the mouth + of the York or Rappahannock River and I found a sort of inland + harbour back of it. I decided to put up there for the night. Then + learning that there was a store nearby, we called after dark for + more provisions and I noticed a large crowd there. We got what we + wanted, and stepped outside the door. He asked us where we were + from. "We are down here in the submarine boat, _Argonaut_, making + an experimental trip down the bay." He then commenced to laugh. + "That explains it," he said; "just before nightfall, Captain + So-and-So and his mate came running up here to the store just as + hard as they could, and both dropped down exhausted, and when we + were able to get anything out of them, they told a very strange + story. That's why all these people are here." This is the story + the storekeeper told me: "The men were out dredging and all at + once they noticed a buoy with a red flag on it, and that buoy was + going against the tide, and they could not understand it. It came + up alongside, and they heard a 'puff, puff,' something like a + locomotive puffing, and then they smelt sulphur." (The "puff, + puff" was the exhaust of our engine and those fumes were what + they thought was sulphur.) "Just then the thing rose up out of + the water, then the smokestack appeared, and then the devil came + right out of that smokestack." + +In the January, 1899, issue of _McClure's Magazine_ there appeared a +profusely illustrated article entitled "Voyaging under the Sea." The +first part of it, "The Submarine Boat _Argonaut_ and her +Achievements," was written by Simon Lake himself. In it he quotes +as follows from the log book of the _Argonaut_ under date of July +28, 1898. + + Submerged at 8.20 A. M. in about thirty feet of water. + Temperature in living compartment, eighty-three degrees + Fahrenheit. Compass bearing west-north-west, one quarter west. + Quite a lively sea running on the surface, also strong current. + At 10.45 A. M. shut down engine; temperature, eighty-eight + degrees Fahrenheit. + + After engine was shut down, we could hear the wind blowing past + our pipes extending above the surface; we could also tell by the + sound when any steamers were in the vicinity. We first allowed + the boat to settle gradually to the bottom, with the tide running + ebb; after a time the tide changed, and she would work slightly + sideways; we admitted about four hundred pounds of water + additional, but she still would move occasionally, so that a + pendulum nine inches long would sway one eighth of an inch + (thwartship). At 12 o'clock (noon) temperature was eighty-seven + degrees Fahrenheit; at 2.45 P. M. the temperature was still + eighty-seven degrees Fahrenheit. There were no signs of carbonic + acid gas at 2.45, although the engine had been closed down for + three hours and no fresh air had been admitted during the time. + Could hear the whistle of boats on the surface, and also their + propellers when running close, to the boat. At 3.30 the + temperature had dropped to eighty-five degrees. At 3.45 found a + little sign of carbonic acid gas, very slight, however, as a + candle would burn fairly bright in the pits. Thought we could + detect a smell of gasoline by comparing the fresh air which came + down the pipe (when hand blower was turned). Storage lamps were + burning during the five hours of submergence, while engine was + not running. + + At 3.50 engine was again started, and went off nicely. Went into + diving compartment and opened door; came out through air-lock, + and left pressure there; found the wheels had buried about ten + inches or one foot, as the bottom had several inches of mud. We + had 500 pounds of air in the tanks, and it ran the pressure down + to 250 pounds to open the door in about thirty feet. + + The temperature fell in the diving compartment to eighty-two + degrees after the compressed air was let in. + + Cooked clam fritters and coffee for supper. The spirits of the + crew appeared to improve the longer we remained below; the time + was spent in catching clams, singing, trying to waltz, playing + cards, and writing letters to wives and sweethearts. + + Our only visitors during the day were a couple of black bass that + came and looked in at the windows with a great deal of apparent + interest. + + In future boats, it will be well to provide a smoking + compartment, as most of the crew had their smoking apparatus all + ready as soon as we came up. + + Started pumps at 6.20, and arrived at the surface at 6.30. Down + altogether ten hours and fifteen minutes. People on pilot boat + _Calvert_ thought we were all hands drowned. + +The second part of this article was called "A Voyage on the Bottom +of the Sea." It was written by Ray Stannard Baker, who had been +fortunate enough to receive an invitation from Mr. Lake to accompany +him on one of the trips of the _Argonaut_. Any one who has read +Jules Verne's fascinating story _Twenty Thousand Leagues under the +Sea_ must be struck immediately with the similarity between Mr. +Baker's experiences and those of Captain Nemo's guests. It is not at +all surprising, therefore, to have Mr. Baker tell us that during +this trip Mr. Lake told him: + + "When I was ten years old, I read Jules Verne's _Twenty Thousand + Leagues under the Sea_, and I have been working on submarine + boats ever since." + +Mr. Baker's record of what he saw and how he felt is not only a +credit to his keen powers of observation, but also a proof of the +fact that, in many ways, there was little difference between the +_Argonaut_ of 1898 and the most up-to-date submarine of to-day. In +part he says: + + Simon Lake planned an excursion on the bottom of the sea for + October 12, 1898. His strange amphibian craft, the _Argonaut_, + about which we had been hearing so many marvels, lay off the pier + at Atlantic Highlands. Before we were near enough to make out her + hulk, we saw a great black letter A, framed of heavy gas-pipe, + rising forty feet above the water. A flag rippled from its + summit. As we drew nearer, we discovered that there really wasn't + any hulk to make out--only a small oblong deck shouldering deep + in the water and supporting a slightly higher platform, from + which rose what seemed to be a squatty funnel. A moment later we + saw that the funnel was provided with a cap somewhat resembling a + tall silk hat, the crown of which was represented by a brass + binnacle. This cap was tilted back, and as we ran alongside, a + man stuck his head up over the rim and sang out, "Ahoy there!" + + A considerable sea was running, but I observed that the + _Argonaut_ was planted as firmly in the water as a stone pillar, + the big waves splitting over her without imparting any + perceptible motion. + + We scrambled up on the little platform, and peered down through + the open conning-tower, which we had taken for a funnel, into the + depths of the ship below. Wilson had started his gasoline engine. + + Mr. Lake had taken his place at the wheel, and we were going + ahead slowly, steering straight across the bay toward Sandy Hook + and deeper water. The _Argonaut_ makes about five knots an hour + on the surface, but when she gets deep down on the sea bottom, + where she belongs, she can spin along more rapidly. + + The _Argonaut_ was slowly sinking under the water. We became + momentarily more impressed with the extreme smallness of the + craft to which we were trusting our lives. The little platform + around the conning-tower on which we stood--in reality the top of + the gasoline tank--was scarcely a half dozen feet across, and the + _Argonaut_ herself was only thirty-six feet long. Her sides had + already faded out of sight, but not before we had seen how + solidly they were built--all of steel, riveted and reinforced, so + that the wonder grew how such a tremendous weight, when + submerged, could ever again be raised. + + I think we made some inquiries about the safety of submarine + boats in general. Other water compartments had been flooded, and + we had settled so far down that the waves dashed repeatedly over + the platform on which we stood--and the conning-tower was still + wide open, inviting a sudden engulfing rush of water. "You + mustn't confuse the _Argonaut_ with ordinary submarine boats," + said Mr. Lake. "She is quite different and much safer." + +[Illustration: (C) U. & U. + +_For Anti-Aircraft Service._] + + He explained that the _Argonaut_ was not only a submarine boat, + but much besides. She not only swims either on the surface or + beneath it, but she adds to this accomplishment the extraordinary + power of diving deep and rolling along the bottom of the sea on + wheels. No machine ever before did that. Indeed, the _Argonaut_ + is more properly a "sea motorcycle" than a "boat." In its + invention Mr. Lake elaborated an idea which the United States + Patent Office has decided to be absolutely original. + +[Illustration: Photo by Bain News Service. + +_The Latest French Aircraft Gun._] + + We found ourselves in a long, narrow compartment, dimly + illuminated by yellowish-green light from the little round, glass + windows. The stern was filled with Wilson's gasoline engine and + the electric motor, and in front of us toward the bow we could + see through the heavy steel doorways of the diver's compartment + into the lookout room, where there was a single round eye of + light. + + I climbed up the ladder of the conning-tower and looked out + through one of the glass ports. My eyes were just even with the + surface of the water. A wave came driving and foaming entirely + over the top of the vessel, and I could see the curiously + beautiful sheen of the bright summit of the water above us. It + was a most impressive sight. Mr. Lake told me that in very clear + water it was difficult to tell just where the air left off and + the water began; but in the muddy bay where we were going down + the surface looked like a peculiarly clear, greenish pane of + glass moving straight up and down, not forward, as the waves + appear to move when looked at from above. + + Now we were entirely under water. The rippling noises that the + waves had made in beating against the upper structure of the boat + had ceased. As I looked through the thick glass port, the water + was only three inches from my eyes, and I could see thousands of + dainty, semi-translucent jellyfish floating about as lightly as + thistledown. They gathered in the eddy behind the conning-tower + in great numbers, bumping up sociably against one another and + darting up and down with each gentle movement of the water. And I + realized that we were in the domain of the fishes. + + Jim brought the government chart, and Mr. Lake announced that we + were heading directly for Sandy Hook and the open ocean. But we + had not yet reached the bottom, and John was busily opening + valves and letting in more water. I went forward to the little + steel cuddy-hole in the extreme prow of the boat, and looked out + through the watch-port. The water had grown denser and yellower, + and I could not see much beyond the dim outlines of the ship's + spar reaching out forward. Jim said that he had often seen fishes + come swimming up wonderingly to gaze into the port. They would + remain quite motionless until he stirred his head, and then they + vanished instantly. Mr. Lake has a remarkable photograph which he + took of a visiting fish, and Wilson tells of nurturing a queer + flat crab for days in the crevice of one of the view-holes. + + At that moment, I felt a faint jolt, and Mr. Lake said that we + were on the bottom of the sea. + + Here we were running as comfortably along the bottom of Sandy + Hook Bay as we would ride in a Broadway car, and with quite as + much safety. Wilson, who was of a musical turn, was whistling + _Down Went McGinty_, and Mr. Lake, with his hands on the + pilot-wheel, put in an occasional word about his marvellous + invention. On the wall opposite there was a row of dials which + told automatically every fact about our condition that the most + nervous of men could wish to know. One of them shows the pressure + of air in the main compartment of the boat, another registers + vacuum, and when both are at zero, Mr. Lake knows that the + pressure of the air is normal, the same as it is on the surface, + and he tries to maintain it in this condition. There are also a + cyclometer, not unlike those used on bicycles, to show how far + the boat travels on the wheels; a depth gauge, which keeps us + accurately informed as to the depth of the boat in the water, and + a declension indicator. By the long finger of the declension dial + we could tell whether we were going up hill or down. Once while + we were out, there was a sudden, sharp shock, the pointer leaped + back, and then quivered steady again. Mr. Lake said that we had + probably struck a bit of wreckage or an embankment, but the + _Argonaut_ was running so lightly that she had leaped up jauntily + and slid over the obstruction. + + We had been keeping our eyes on the depth dial, the most + fascinating and interesting of any of the number. It showed that + we were going down, down, down, literally down to the sea in a + ship. When we had been submerged far more than an hour, and there + was thirty feet of yellowish green ocean over our heads, Mr. Lake + suddenly ordered the machinery stopped. The clacking noises of + the dynamo ceased, and the electric lights blinked out, leaving + us at once in almost absolute darkness and silence. Before this, + we had found it hard to realize that we were on the bottom of the + ocean; now it came upon us suddenly and not without a touch of + awe. This absence of sound and light, this unchanging + motionlessness and coolness, this absolute negation--that was the + bottom of the sea. It lasted only a moment, but in that moment we + realized acutely the meaning and joy of sunshine and moving + winds, trees, and the world of men. + + A minute light twinkled out like a star, and then another and + another, until the boat was bright again, and we knew that among + the other wonders of this most astonishing of inventions there + was storage electricity which would keep the boat illuminated for + hours, without so much as a single turn of the dynamo. With the + stopping of the engine, the air supply from above had ceased; but + Mr. Lake laid his hand on the steel wall above us, where he said + there was enough air compressed to last us all for two days, + should anything happen. The possibility of "something happening" + had been lurking in our minds ever since we started. "What if + your engine should break down, so that you couldn't pump the + water out of the water compartments?" I asked. "Here we have + hand-pumps," said Mr. Lake promptly; "and if those failed, a + single touch of this lever would release our iron keel, which + weighs 4000 pounds, and up we would go like a rocket." + + I questioned further, only to find that every imaginable + contingency, and some that were not at all imaginable to the + uninitiated, had been absolutely provided against by the genius + of the inventor. And everything from the gasoline engine to the + hand-pump was as compact and ingenious as the mechanism of a + watch. Moreover, the boat was not crowded; we had plenty of room + to move around and to sleep, if we wished, to say nothing of + eating. As for eating, John had brought out the kerosene stove + and was making coffee, while Jim cut the pumpkin pie. "This isn't + Delmonico's," said Jim, "but we're serving a lunch that + Delmonico's couldn't serve--a submarine lunch." + + By this time the novelty was wearing off and we sat there, at the + bottom of the sea, drinking our coffee with as much unconcern as + though we were in an up-town restaurant. For the first time since + we started, Mr. Lake sat down, and we had an opportunity of + talking with him at leisure. He is a stout-shouldered, powerfully + built man, in the prime of life--a man of cool common sense, a + practical man, who is also an inventor. And he talks frankly and + convincingly, and yet modestly, of his accomplishment. + + Having finished our lunch, Mr. Lake prepared to show us something + about the practical operations of the _Argonaut_. It has been a + good deal of a mystery to us how workmen penned up in a submarine + boat could expect to recover gold from wrecks in the water + outside, or to place torpedoes, or to pick up cables. "We simply + open the door, and the diver steps out on the bottom of the sea," + Mr. Lake said, quite as if he was conveying the most ordinary + information. + + At first it seemed incredible, but Mr. Lake showed us the heavy, + riveted door in the bottom of the diver's compartment. Then he + invited us inside with Wilson, who, besides being an engineer, is + also an expert diver. The massive steel doors of the little room + were closed and barred, and then Mr. Lake turned a cock and the + air rushed in under high pressure. At once our ears began to + throb, and it seemed as if the drums would burst inward. + + "Keep swallowing," said Wilson, the diver. + + As soon as we applied this remedy, the pain was relieved, but the + general sensation of increased air pressure, while exhilarating, + was still most uncomfortable. The finger on the pressure dial + kept creeping up and up, until it showed that the air pressure + inside of the compartment was nearly equal to the water pressure + without. Then Wilson opened a cock in the door. Instantly the + water gushed in, and for a single instant we expected to be + drowned there like rats in a trap. "This is really very simple," + Mr. Lake was saying calmly. "When the pressure within is the same + as that without, no water can enter." + + With that, Wilson dropped the iron door, and there was the water + and the muddy bottom of the sea within touch of a man's hand. It + was all easy enough to understand, and yet it seemed impossible, + even as we saw it with our own eyes. Mr. Lake stooped down, and + picked up a wooden rod having a sharp hook at the end. This he + pulled along the bottom.... + + We were now rising again to the surface, after being submerged + for more than three hours. I climbed into the conning-tower and + watched for the first glimpse of the sunlight. There was a sudden + fluff of foam, the ragged edge of a wave, and then I saw, not + more than a hundred feet away, a smack bound toward New York + under full sail. Her rigging was full of men, gazing curiously in + our direction, no doubt wondering what strange monster of the sea + was coming forth for a breath of air. + + + + +CHAPTER XIV + +THE MODERN SUBMARINE + + +Holland and Lake must be considered the fathers of the modern +submarine. This claim is not made in a spirit of patriotic +boastfulness, though, of course it is true that the latter was an +American by birth, and the former by choice, and that, therefore, +we, as a nation, have a right to be proud of the accomplishments of +these two fellow-citizens of ours. Without wishing to detract +anything from the value of the work done by many men in many +countries towards the development of the submarine after and +contemporaneously with Holland and Lake, it still remains true that +the work which these two did formed the foundation on which all +others built. To-day, no submarine worthy of the name, no matter +where it has been built and no matter where and how it is used, is +without some features which are typical of either the Holland or +Lake type. In many instances, and this is true especially of +submarines of the highest type and the greatest development, the +most significant characteristics of the Holland and Lake boats have +been combined. + +During the years that followed the small beginnings of Holland and +Lake, vast and highly efficient organizations have been built up to +continue and elaborate their work. Death claimed Mr. Holland shortly +after the outbreak of the great war, on August 12, 1914. Mr. Lake in +1917 was still personally connected with and the guiding spirit of +the extensive industrial establishments which have been created at +Bridgeport, Conn., as a result of his inventions. He, too, +surrounded himself with a corps of experts who in co-operation with +him have brought the Lake submarines to a point of perfection which +at the time of the _Argonaut's_ first trip would have appeared all +but impossible. + +Roughly speaking, the beginning of the twentieth century may be called +the turning point in the history of submarine invention and the +beginning of the modern submarine. Although, as we have heard, various +governments, especially those of France and the United States, +interested themselves in the submarine question and appropriated +small sums of money towards its solution previous to 1900, it was only +after that year that governmental interest and influence were set to +work with determination and purpose on behalf of submarine inventors. +Quite naturally this resulted in increased popular interest. +Experimental work on and with submarines no longer had to rely +exclusively on private capital, frequently inconveniently timid and +limited, but could count now on the vast financial resources of all +the great nations of the world. This also made available the unlimited +intellectual resources of serious scientists in every part of the +universe. Mechanical and electrical engineers, naval designers and +constructors, active men of finance and business, and quiet thinkers +and investigators in laboratories began to interest themselves in the +further development of the submarine. + +The United States for a number of years after its adoption of the +Holland type remained true to its first choice. Between 1900, when +the first Holland boat was bought by the United States Government, +and 1911 all the United States submarine, boats were of the Holland +type. In the latter year, however, it was decided to give the Lake +boat a trial and since that time a number of boats of this type have +been built. In all essential features both the Holland and Lake +boats of later days were very similar to the original boats of these +two types. In all the details, however, immense progress was made. +Each new boat thus became greatly superior to its predecessors. This +was especially true in regard to size and speed and the improvements +made in these two respects naturally resulted in a corresponding +increase in radius of activity. The passing years also brought a +wonderful refinement of all the technical details of the submarine +boats. Practically every feature was developed to a remarkable +degree. There is, indeed, a great difference between the submarine +boats of the early twentieth century which had to rely on their +conning-tower for steering, and more recent boats with their +wonderful periscopes and gyro compasses. Similar progress was made +in the development of the means of propulsion. The engines used for +surface travelling became more powerful and efficient. This was also +true of the electric motors, batteries, and accumulators employed +in the submerged state. The problem of ventilation likewise has been +worked out to such an extent that in the most modern submarines most +of the inconveniences experienced by the crews of earlier boats have +been removed. This perfection of technical details which was thus +gradually approached also permitted a very considerable increase in +the fighting power of submarine boats. The number of torpedo tubes +was increased and it became possible to carry a larger reserve stock +of torpedoes. Submarines of to-day furthermore carry guns varying in +calibre, attaining in some instances four inches, and when in later +years it became evident that one of the most dangerous enemies of +the submarine was the airplane, some of the boats were equipped even +with anti-aircraft guns. + +[Illustration: Copyright by Munn & Co., Inc. From the _Scientific +American_. + +_Modern German Airplane Types._] + +In the United States Navy the submarine has never been popular. +Indeed it is by no means certain that in comparison with other +navies of the world the United States was not better off in +underwater boats in 1911 than she was three years later when the +warcloud broke. The bulk of our naval opinion has always been for +the dreadnoughts. A change of political administration at Washington +in 1912 gave a temporary setback to naval development, and the +submarines, being still a matter of controversy, languished. Few +were built and of those few many showed such structural weakness +that the reports of their manoeuvres were either suppressed, or +issued in terms of such broad generality that the public could by no +possibility suspect, what all the Navy knew to be the fact, that the +submarine flotilla of the United States was weak to the point of +impotence. + +Happily we had nearly three years in which to observe the progress +of the war before becoming ourselves embroiled in it. During this +period our submarine fleet was somewhat increased, and upon our +actual entrance upon the struggle a feverish race was begun to put +us on an equality with other nations in underwater boats. It would +have been too late had any emergency arisen. But Germany had no +ships afloat to be attacked by our submarines had we possessed them. +Her own warfare upon our merchant shipping could not be met in kind, +for submarines cannot fight submarines. We have, therefore, up to +the present time, not suffered from the perilous neglect with which +we long treated this form of naval weapon. + +Indeed the submarine fleet of the United States Navy at the +beginning of the war was so inconsiderable that foreign writers on +the subject ignored it. In 1900 we had purchased nine of the type of +submarines then put out by the Holland Company. One of these, the +first in actual service, known as the "Baby" Holland was kept in +commission ten years and upon becoming obsolete was honoured by +being taken in state to the Naval Academy at Annapolis and there +mounted on a pedestal for the admiration of all comers. She was 59 +feet long and would make a striking exhibit placed next to one of +the new German submersible cruisers which exceed 300 feet and have a +displacement of 5000 tons. These first Holland ships which long +constituted the entire underwater force of the United States were +but trivial affairs compared with the modern vessel. Their +displacement was but 122 tons, their engines for surface navigation +were of 160 horse-power, gasoline, and for underwater navigation 70 +horse-power, electric. They carried but one torpedo tube and two +extra torpedoes and had a radius of action of but 300 miles. At that +time in fact the naval theory was that submarines were coast defence +vessels altogether. After this war they are likely to form part of +the first battle line of every navy. Yet these pioneer vessels +established their seaworthiness well in 1911, when four of them +accompanied by a parent ship to supply them with fresh stocks of +fuel and to render assistance in case of need, crossed the Pacific +Ocean under their own power to the Philippines. This exploit tended +to popularize these craft in the Navy Department, and soon after +larger vessels known as the "Viper" class were ordered. One of these +was called the _Octopus_, the first submarine to be fitted with twin +screws. In many ways she represented a distinct advance in the art +of submarine construction. She was in fact the first vessel built +with the distinct idea of being a cruising, as well as a harbour +defence ship. Her type proved successful in this respect. The +_Octopus_ further established a record for deep sea submergence in +1907 when she descended to a depth of 205 feet off Boston, returning +to the surface in entire safety. + +The ability to withstand the pressure of the water at great depths +is a vital quality of a successful submarine. One American submarine +narrowly escaped destruction because of structural weakness in this +respect. She had by accident descended a few feet below the normal +depth at which such boats navigate. The water pressure affected the +valves which refused to work and the vessel slowly sank deeper and +deeper. At a recorded depth of 123 feet the sinking of the vessel +became so much more rapid that the crew with frantic endeavours +sought at once to stop the leaks and pump out the water which had +entered. At that depth there was a pressure of 153-1/2 pounds upon +every square inch of the surface of the submarine. This the workers +at the one hand pump had to overcome. It was a savage and a +desperate struggle but the men finally won and the vessel regained +the surface. As a result of this experience every navy prescribed +submergence tests for its submarines before putting them into +commission. How to make these tests was perplexing at first. A +government did not want to send men down in a steel casket to see +just how far they could go before it collapsed. But if no observer +accompanied the ship it would be impossible to tell at what depth +leakage and other signs of weakness became apparent. An Italian +naval architect, Major Laurenti, whose submarines are now found in +every navy of the world, invented a dock in which these tests can be +made up to any desired pressure while the observers inside the +submarine are in communication with those without and the pressure +can be instantly removed if signs of danger appear. In the United +States Navy boats to be accepted must stand a pressure equivalent to +that encountered at 200 feet. In the German navy the depth +prescribed is 170 feet. Under normal conditions submarines seldom +travel at a depth of more than 100 feet although the "F-1" of the +United States Navy accomplished the remarkable feat of making a +six-hour cruise in San Francisco Bay at a depth of 283 feet. At this +depth the skin of the ship has to withstand a pressure of no less +than 123 pounds per square inch. + +Specific information as to the nature of submarine construction in +the United States since the beginning of the war in 1914 is +jealously guarded by the Navy Department. In broad general terms the +number of ships under construction is revealed to the public, but +all information as to the size of individual vessels, their armour +or the qualities of novelty with which every one hopes and believes +American inventive genius has invested them, are kept secret. The +_Navy Year Book of 1916_ summarized our submarine strength at that +time as follows: + + _Displacement_ + + Submarines fit for action 42 15,722 Tons + " under construction 33 21,093 " + " authorized and appropriated + for 30 22,590 " + --- ------ + Total 105 59,405 " + +In addition thirty-seven more had been authorized by Congress +without the appropriation of money for them. By this time however +these appropriations have been made together with further heavy +ones. While figures are refused at the Navy Department, it is +declared that while the United States in 1914 was the last of the +great powers in respect to submarine strength provided for, it is +now well up to the foremost, even to Germany. + +Great Britain like the United States continued for many years to +build submarines of the Holland type. Naturally all the recent +improvements were incorporated in the British boats. Very little, +however, is known concerning the details of the more recent +additions to the British submarine flotilla because of the secrecy +maintained by the British authorities in war time. + +At the beginning of the present war, the British navy possessed 82 +active submarines of 5 different classes. They were all of the +Holland type, but in each class there were incorporated vast +improvements over the preceding class. Displacement, size, motive +power, speed, radius of action, and armament were gradually +increased until the "E" class contained boats possessing the +following features: Submerged displacement, 800 tons; length 176 +feet; beam 22-1/2 feet; heavy oil engines of 2000 H.-P.; electric +engines of 800 H.-P.; surface speed 16 knots; submerged speed 10 +knots; cruising range 5000 miles; armament: 4 torpedo tubes, space +for 6 torpedoes, and two 3-inch quick-firing, high-angle, +disappearing guns; armoured conning-towers and decks; wireless +equipment; 3 panoramic periscopes. + +At the same time 22 other submarines were said to be in course of +construction. Some of these were of the "F" class (Holland type), +similar to the "E" class except that every single characteristic had +been greatly increased, in many instances even doubled. In addition +to the "F" class Holland-type boats, there were also under +construction a number of boats of different types designated +respectively as "V," "W," and "S" class. The "V" class were of the +Lake type, the "W" of the French "Laubeuf" type, and the "S" class +of the Italian "F. I. A. T." or Laurenti type; both of the last +named were adaptations of the Lake type. + +France, which was for many years the prodigal of the nations when it +came to submarine building has continued this tendency. In a way +this liberal expenditure of money did not pay particularly well. +For, although it resulted in the creation of a comparatively large +submarine fleet, this fleet contained boats of every kind and +description. Quite a number of the boats were little more than +experiments and possessed not a great deal of practical value. The +manning and efficient handling of a fleet having so little +homogeneity naturally was a difficult matter and seriously +restricted its fighting efficiency. + +At the outbreak of the war France had 92 submarines in active +service, belonging to 12 different classes. In addition there had +also been built at various times 5 experimental boats which had been +named: _Argonaute_, _Amiral Bourgeoise_, _Archimede_, _Mariotte_, +and _Charles Brun_. The majority of the boats belonging to the +various classes were of the Laubeuf type, an adaptation of the Lake +type made for the French navy by M. Laubeuf, a marine engineer. In +their various details these boats vary considerably. Their +displacement ranges from 67 tons to 1000 tons, their length from 100 +feet to 240 feet, their beam from 12 feet to 20 feet, their surface +speed from 8-1/2 knots to 17 1/2 knots, their submerged speed from 5 +knots to 12 knots, the horse-power of their heavy oil engines from +1300 to 2000 and that of their electric motors from 350 to 900. Some +of the boats, however, have steam engines, others gasoline motors, +and still others steam turbines. The cruising range of the biggest +and newest boats is 4000 miles. Armament varies with size, of +course, the latest boats carrying 4 torpedo tubes for eight 18-inch +torpedoes and two 14-pdr. quick-firing, high angle, disappearing +guns. + +Nine more submarines were in course of construction at the outbreak +of war, most of which were of the improved "Gustave Zede" class. +During the war French shipyards were chiefly occupied with capital +navy ships and it is not thought the submarine strength has been +much increased. + +Of the great naval powers, Germany was, strangely enough, the last to +become interested in the building of a submarine fleet. This, however, +was not due to any neglect on the part of the German naval +authorities. It is quite evident from the few official records which +are available that they watched and studied very carefully the +development of the submarine and growth of the various submarine +fleets. During the early years of the twentieth century, however, the +Germans seemed to think that most of the boats that were being built +then had not yet passed through the experimental stage and they also +apparently decided that it would be just as well to wait until other +nations had spent their money and efforts on these quasi experimental +boats. Not until submarines had been built in the United States, +England, and France which had proved beyond all doubt that they were +practicable vessels of definite accomplishments, did the Germans +seriously concern themselves with the creation of a German submarine +fleet. When this period had been reached they went ahead with full +power, and with the usual German thoroughness they adopted the best +points from each of the various types developed by that time. The +result of this attitude was a submarine boat built at first +exclusively by Krupp and known as the "Germania" type. It was this +type which formed the basis of the German submarine which has become +known so extensively and disastrously during recent years. In most +respects this type is perhaps more similar to the Lake type than to +any other, although some features of the Holland type have been +incorporated as well. + +At the beginning of the war Germany was credited with only thirty +submarines. Six more were then rapidly approaching completion and +the German naval law passed some time before provided for the +building of seventy-two submarines by the end of 1917. It is +believed in fact that by that time the Germans had not less than two +hundred _Unterseeboots_. + +From the very beginning the Germans have designated their submarines +by the letter "U" (standing for _Unterseeboot_) followed by numbers. +The first boat was built in 1905 and was named "U-1." It was a +comparatively small boat of 236 tons displacement. The motive power +on the surface was a heavy-oil engine of 250 H.-P. Under water the +boat was driven by electric motors of a little more than 100 H.-P. +Submerged the "U-1" was capable of a speed of 7 knots only, which on +the surface of the water could be increased to 10. Her radius of +action was about 750 miles. Only one torpedo tube had been provided. + +[Illustration: (C) U. & U. + +_German Submarine Mine-Layer Captured by the British._] + +From this boat to the modern German submarine was indeed a long step +taken in a comparatively short time. Not very much is known +regarding modern German submarines, but the latest boats completed +before the war were vessels of 900 tons displacement with heavy-oil +engines of 2000 H.-P. and electric motors of 900 H.-P., possessing a +surface and submerged speed of 18 and 10 knots respectively and a +cruising radius of 4000 miles. They had four torpedo tubes for eight +torpedoes, two 14-pdr. quick-firing guns, and two 1-pdr. high-angle +anti-aircraft guns. Naturally they were also equipped with all the +latest improvements, such as wireless apparatus, panoramic +periscopes, armoured conning-towers, and decks. Since the outbreak +of the war the Germans have built even more powerful submarine boats +whose perfections in regard to speed, radius of action and armament +became known through their accomplishments. Of these we will hear +more in a later chapter. + +At just what period of the war the Germans woke up to the vital +importance to them of an enormous submarine fleet is not known. It +may have been immediately upon the amazing exploit of Captain +Weddigen in the North Sea. At any rate the war had not long +progressed before the destruction caused by German submarine attacks +began to awaken the apprehension of the Allies and neutral nations. +Retaliation in kind was impossible. The Germans had neither +merchant nor naval ships at sea to be sunk. The rapidity with which +the volume of the loss inflicted upon merchant shipping grew +indicated an equally rapid increase in the size of the German +underwater fleet. Neutrals were enraged by the extension by the +Germans of the areas of sea in which they claimed the right to sink +neutral ships, and their growing disregard for the restraining +principles of international law. How greatly they developed the +submarine idea was shown by their construction in 1916 of vessels +with a displacement of 2400 tons; a length of 279 feet, and a beam +of 26 feet; a surface speed of 22 knots, cruising radius of 6500 +miles, mounting 4 to 8 guns and carrying a crew of from 40 to 60. +But it was reported that two vessels designed primarily for surface +cruising, but nevertheless submersible at will, had been laid down +of 5000 tons, a length of 414 feet, and a radius of 18,000 to 20,000 +miles. These "submersible cruisers" as they were called, mounted 6 +to 8 guns, 30 torpedo tubes, and carried 90 torpedoes. What part +vessels of this type shall play in war is still to be determined. + +Of the smaller naval powers, Italy comparatively early had become +interested in the building of submarines. Most of her boats are of +the Laurenti type--which is a very close adaptation of the Lake +type. Russia and Japan, especially the latter, built up fairly +efficient underwater fleets. The lesser countries, like Austria, +Holland, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, and Spain have concerned +themselves seriously with the creation of submarine fleets. The +submarine boats of all of these countries in most instances were +either of the Lake or Holland type though frequently they were built +from plans of English, French or German adaptations rather than in +accordance with the original American plans. + +The exact number of submarines possessed now by the various navies +of the world is a matter of rather indefinite knowledge. Great +secrecy has been maintained by every country in this respect. From a +variety of sources, however, it has been possible to compile the +following list which at least gives an approximate idea of the +respective strength of the various submarine fleets at the beginning +of the war. The numbers assigned to each country are only +approximate, however, and include both boats then in existence or +ordered built: United States 57; Great Britain 104; France 92; +Germany 36; Italy 28; Russia 40; Japan 15; Austria 12; Holland 13; +Denmark 15; Sweden 13; Norway 4; Greece 2; Turkey 2; Brazil 3; Peru +2. + +Having traced the development of the submarine from its earliest +beginnings to recent times we are naturally now confronted with the +question "What are the principal requirements and characteristics of +the modern submarine?" + +The submarine boat of to-day, in order to do its work promptly and +efficiently, must first of all possess seaworthiness. This means +that no matter whether the sea is quiet or rough the submarine must +be able to execute its operations with a fair degree of accuracy and +promptness and must also be capable of making continuous headway. +Surface and underwater navigation must be possible with equal +facility and it is necessary that a state of submergence can be +reached without loss of time and without any degree of danger to the +boat's safety. At all times, travelling above water or below, the +submarine must possess mechanical means which will make it possible +to control its evolutions under all conditions. Furthermore, the +ability of the submarine to find and to observe objects in its +vicinity must not be greatly reduced when it is in a submerged +position. In the latter it also becomes of extreme importance that +the provisions for ventilation are such that the crew of the +submarine should lose as little as possible in its efficiency and +comfort. A fair amount of speed both on and below the surface of the +water is essential and the maintenance of the speed for a fairly +long period of time must be assured. + +In regard to their general outward appearance, submarines of various +types to-day vary comparatively little. In many respects they +resemble closely in shape, torpedo boats--the earlier submarines +particularly. In size, of course, they differ in accordance with the +purposes for which they have been designed. As compared with earlier +submarines the most notable difference is that modern submarines +possess more of a superstructure. Almost all of them are built now +with double hulls. The space between the outer and the inner hull is +utilized primarily for ballast tanks by means of which submergence +is accomplished and stability maintained and regulated. Some of +these tanks, however, are not used to carry water ballast, but serve +as reservoirs for the fuel needed by the engines. The stability of +the submarine and the facility with which it can submerge also +depend greatly on the distribution of weight of its various parts. +This problem has been worked out in such a way that to-day there is +little room for improvement. Its details, however, are of too +technical a nature to permit discussion in this place. + +Hydroplanes both fore and aft are now generally used to assist in +regulating and controlling stability in the submerged state. The +motive power of the modern submarine is invariably of a two-fold +type. For travelling on the surface internal combustion engines are +used. The gasoline engine of former years has been displaced by +Diesel motors or adaptations of them. Although these represent a +wonderful advance over the engines used in the past there is still a +great deal of room for improvement. The opinions of engineers in +this respect vary greatly, American opinion being generally +unfavourable to the Diesel type, and whether the final solution of +this problem will lie in the direction of a more highly developed +motor of Diesel type, of an improved gasoline engine, or of some +other engine not yet developed, only the future can tell. Simplicity +of construction and reliability of operation are the two essential +features which must be possessed by every part of the power plant of +a submarine. For underwater travel electric motors and storage +batteries are employed exclusively. These vary, of course, in +detail. In principle, however, they are very much alike. Although +this combination of electric and oil power is largely responsible +for having made the submarine what it is to-day, it is far from +perfect. Mechanical complications of many kinds and difficulties of +varying degrees result from it. Up to comparatively recently these +were considered insurmountable obstacles. But engineers all over the +world are giving their most serious attention to the problem of +devising a way to remove these obstacles and continuous progress is +made by them. + +As an immediate result of the development of motive power in the +submarine its speed both on and below the surface of the water as +well as its radius of action has been materially increased. To-day +submarines travel on the water with a speed which even a few years +ago would have been thought quite respectable for the most powerful +battleships or the swiftest passenger liners. And even under water, +submarines attain a velocity which is far superior to that of which +earlier submarines were capable on the surface of the water. How +immensely extended the radius of action of the submarine has become +in recent years, has impressed itself on the world especially in the +last few years. Both English and French submarines have travelled +without making any stops from their home ports to the Dardanelles +and back again. And used to, and satiated as we are with mechanical +wonders of all kinds the whole world was amazed when in 1916 German +submarines made successful trips from their home ports to ports in +the United States and returned with equal success. This meant a +minimum radius of action of 3500 miles. In the case of the German +U-boat which in 1916 appeared at Newport for a few hours, then +attacked and sank some merchantmen off the United States coast and +later was reported as having arrived safely in a German port, it has +never been established whether the boat renewed its supplies of food +and fuel on the way or carried enough to make the trip of some 7000 +miles. + +One other important feature without which submarines would have +found it impossible to score such accomplishments is the periscope. +In the beginning periscopes were rather crude appliances. They were +very weak and sprung leaks frequently. Moisture, formed by +condensation, made them practically useless. In certain positions +the image of the object picked up by the periscope became inverted. +Their radius of vision was limited, and in every way they proved +unreliable and unsatisfactory. But, just as almost every feature of +submarine construction was gradually developed and most every +technical obstacle overcome, experts gradually concentrated their +efforts on the improvement of periscopes. Modern periscopes are +complicated optical instruments which have been developed to a very +high point of efficiency. A combination of prisms and lenses makes +it possible now to see true images clearly. Appliances have been +developed to make the rotation of the periscope safe, prompt, and +easy so that the horizon can be swept readily in every direction. +Magnification can be established at will by special devices easily +connected or disconnected with the regular instrument. The range of +vision of the modern periscope is as remarkable as its other +characteristics. It differs, of course, in proportion to the height +to which the periscope is elevated above the surface of the water. +In clear weather a submarine, having elevated its periscope to a +height of 20 feet can pick up a large battleship at as great a +distance as 6 miles, while observers on the latter, even if equipped +with the most powerful optical instruments, are absolutely unable to +detect the submarine. This great distance is reduced to about 4000 +yards if the periscope is only 3 feet above the surface of the water +and to about 2200 yards if the elevation of the periscope is 1 foot. +But even the highly developed periscope of to-day, usually called +"panoramic periscope," has its limitations. The strain on the +observer's eyes is very severe and can be borne only for short +periods. In dirty weather the objectives become cloudy and the +images are rendered obscure and indefinite, although this trouble +has been corrected, at least in part, by forcing a strong blast +through the rim surrounding the observation glass. At night, of +course, the periscope is practically useless. Formerly a shot which +cut off the periscope near the water's edge might sink the boat. +This has been guarded against by cutting off the tube with a heavy +plate of transparent glass which does not obstruct vision but shuts +off the entrance of water. + +Important as the periscope is both as a means of observing the +surroundings of the submarine and as a guide in steering it, it is +not the only means of accomplishing the latter purpose. To-day every +submarine possesses the most reliable type of compass available. At +night when the periscope is practically useless or in very rough +weather, or in case the periscope has been damaged or destroyed, +steering is done exclusively by means of the compass. The latest +type in use now on submarines is called the gyroscope compass which +is a highly efficient and reliable instrument. + +[Illustration: Permission of _Scientific American_. + +_The Exterior of First German Submarine._] + +In the matter of ventilation the modern submarine also has reached a +high state of perfection. The fresh air supply is provided and +regulated in such a manner that most of the discomforts suffered by +submarine crews in times past have been eliminated. The grave danger +which formerly existed as a result of the poisonous fumes, emanating +from the storage batteries and accumulators, has been reduced to a +minimum. In every respect, except that of space, conditions of life +in a submarine have been brought to a point where they can be +favourably compared with those of boats navigated on the surface of +the water. Of course, even at the best, living quarters in a +submarine will always be cramped. However, it is so important that +submarine crews should be continuously kept on a high plane of +efficiency that they are supplied with every conceivable comfort +permitted by the natural limitations of submarine construction. + +[Illustration: Permission of _Scientific American_. + +_The Interior of First German Submarine. Showing Appliances for +Man-Power._] + +Submarine boats so far have been used almost exclusively as +instruments of warfare. One of their most important features, +therefore, naturally is their armament. We have already heard +something about the use of torpedoes by submarines. The early +submarines had as a rule only one torpedo tube and were incapable of +carrying more than two or three torpedoes. Gradually, however, both +the number of torpedo tubes and of torpedoes was increased. The +latest types have as many as eight or ten tubes and carry enough +torpedoes to permit them to stay away from their base for several +weeks. In recent years submarines have also been armed with guns. +Naturally these have to be of light weight and small calibre. They +are usually mounted so that they can be used at a high angle. This +is done in order to make it possible for submarines to defend +themselves against attacks from airships. The mountings of these +guns are constructed in such a way that the guns themselves +disappear immediately after discharge and are not visible while not +in use. Though mounted on deck they are aimed and fired from below. +As part of the armament of the submarine we must also consider the +additional protection which they receive from having certain +essential parts protected by armour plate. + +All these features have increased the safety of submarine navigation +to a great extent. In spite of the popular impression that submarine +navigation entailed a greater number of danger factors than +navigation on the surface of the water, this is not altogether so. +If we stop to consider this subject we can readily see why rather +the opposite should be true. Navigation under the surface of the +water greatly reduces the possibility of collision and also the +dangers arising from rough weather. For the results of the latter +are felt to a much lesser degree below than on the surface of the +water. Many other factors are responsible for the comparatively high +degree of safety inherent in submarines. Up to the outbreak of the +present war only about two hundred and fifty lives had been lost as +a result to accidents to modern submarines. Considering that up to +1910 a great deal of submarine navigation was more or less +experimental this is a record which can bear favourable comparison +with similar records established by overwater navigation or by +navigation in the air. + +To the average man the thought of imprisonment in a steel tube +beneath the surface of the sea, and being suddenly deprived of all +means of bringing it up to air and light is a terrifying and nerve +shattering thing. It is probably the first consideration which +suggests itself to one asked to make a submarine trip. Always the +newspaper headlines dealing with a submarine disaster speak of those +lost as "drowned like rats in a trap." Men will admit that the +progress of invention has greatly lessened the danger of accident to +submarines, but nevertheless sturdily insist that when the accident +does happen the men inside have no chance of escape. + +As a matter of fact many devices have been applied to the modern +submarine to meet exactly this contingency. Perhaps nothing is more +effective than the so-called telephone buoy installed in our Navy +and in some of those of Europe. This is a buoy lightly attached to +the outer surface of the boat, containing a telephone transmitter +and receiver connected by wire with a telephone within. In the event +of an accident this buoy is released and rises at once to the +surface. A flag attached attracts the attention of any craft that +may be in the neighbourhood and makes immediate communication with +those below possible. Arrangements can then be made for raising the +boat or towing her to some point at which salvage is possible. An +instance of the value of this device was given by the disaster to +the German submarine "U-3" which was sunk at Kiel in 1910. Through +the telephone the imprisoned crew notified those at the other end +that they had oxygen enough for forty-eight hours but that the work +of rescue must be completed in that time. A powerful floating +derrick grappled the sunken submarine and lifted its bow above +water. Twenty-seven of the imprisoned crew crept out through the +torpedo tubes. The captain and two lieutenants conceived it their +duty to stay with the ship until she was actually saved. In the +course of the operations one of the ventilators was broken, the +water rushed in and all three were drowned. + +In some of the Holland ships of late construction there is an +ingenious, indeed an almost incredible device by which the ship +takes charge of herself if the operators or crew are incapacitated. +It has happened that the shock of a collision has so stunned the men +cooped up in the narrow quarters of a submarine that they are for +quite an appreciable time unable to attend to their duties. Such a +collision would naturally cause the boat to leak and to sink. In +these newer Holland ships an automatic device causes the ship, when +she has sunk to a certain depth, registered of course by automatic +machinery, to start certain apparatus which empties the ballast +tanks and starts the pumps which will empty the interior of the ship +if it has become flooded. The result is that after a few minutes of +this automatic work, whether the crew has sufficiently recovered to +take part in it or not, the boat will rise to the surface. + +This extraordinary invention is curiously reminiscent of the fact +chronicled in earlier chapters of this book that the most modern +airplanes are so built that should the aviator become insensible or +incapacitated for his work, if he will but drop the controls, the +machine will adjust itself and make its own landing in safety. +Unaided the airplane drops lightly to earth; unaided the submarine +rises buoyantly to the air. + +In recent years there have been developed special ships for the +salvage of damaged or sunk submarines. At the same time the navies +of the world have also produced special submarine tenders or mother +ships. The purpose of these is to supply a base which can keep on +the move with the same degree of facility which the submarine itself +possesses. These tenders are equipped with air compressors by means +of which the air tanks of submarines can be refilled. Electric +generators make it possible to replenish the submarine storage +batteries. Mechanical equipment permits the execution of repairs to +the submarine's machinery and equipment. Extra fuel, substitute +parts for the machinery, spare torpedoes are carried by these +tenders. The most modern of them are even supplied with dry dock +facilities, powerful cranes, and sufficiently strong armament to +repel attacks from boats of the type most frequently encountered by +submarines. + +There are, of course, many other special appliances which make up +the sum total of a modern submarine's equipment. Electricity is used +for illuminating all parts of the boat. Heat is supplied in the same +manner; this is a very essential feature because the temperature of +a submarine, after a certain period of submergence, becomes +uncomfortably low. Electricity is also used for cooking purposes. + +Every submarine boat built to-day is equipped with wireless +apparatus. Naturally it is only of limited range varying from one +hundred and twenty to one hundred and eighty miles, but even at that +it is possible for a submarine to send messages to its base or some +other given point from a considerable distance by relay. If the +submarine is running on the surface of the water the usual means of +naval communication-flag signals, wig-wagging or the semaphore, can +be employed. The submarine bell is another means for signalling. It +is really a wireless telephone, operating through the water instead +of the air. Up to the present, however, it has not been sufficiently +developed to permit its use for any great distance. It is so +constructed that it can also be used as a sound detector. + +Some submarines, besides being equipped with torpedo tubes, carry +other tubes for laying mines. In most instances this is only a +secondary function of the submarine. There are, however, special +mine-laying submarines. Others, especially of the Lake type, have +diving compartments which permit the employment of divers for the +purpose of planting or taking up mines. + +Disappearing anchors, operated by electricity from within the boat, +are carried. They are used for steadying the boat if it is desired +to keep it for any length of time on the bottom of the sea in a +current. + +From this necessarily brief description it can be seen readily that +the modern submarine boat is a highly developed, but very +complicated mechanism. Naturally it requires a highly trained, +extremely efficient crew. The commanding officers must be men of +strong personality, keen intellect, high mechanical efficiency, and +quick judgment. The gradual increase in size has brought a +corresponding increase in the number of a submarine's crew. A decade +ago from 8 to 10 officers and men were sufficient but to-day we hear +of submarine crews that number anywhere from 25 to 40. + +In spite of the marvellous advances which have been made in the +construction, equipment, and handling of the submarine during the +last ten years, perfection in many directions is still a long way +off. How soon it will be reached, if ever, and by what means, are, +of course, questions which only the future can answer. + + + + +CHAPTER XV + +ABOARD A SUBMARINE + + +Submarines have been compared to all kinds of things, from a fish to +a cigar. Life on them has been described in terms of the highest +elation as well as of the deepest depression. Their operation and +navigation, according to some claims, require a veritable +combination of mechanical, electrical, and naval genius--not only on +the part of the officers, but even on that of the simplest +oiler--while others make it appear as if a submarine was at least as +simple to handle as a small motor boat. The truth concerning all +these matters lies somewhere between these various extremes. + +It is quite true that except on the very latest "submerged cruisers" +built by the Germans, the space for the men operating a submarine is +painfully straitened. They must hold to their positions almost like +a row of peas in a pod. From this results the gravest strain upon +the nerves so that it has been found in Germany that after a cruise +a period of rest of equal duration is needed to restore the men to +their normal condition. Before assignment to submarine duty, too, a +special course of training is requisite. Submarine crews are not +created in a day. + +What the interior of the new German submarines with a length of 280 +feet, and a beam of 26 feet may be, no man of the Anglo-Saxon race +may know or tell. The few who have descended into those mysterious +depths will have no chance to tell of them until the war is over. +Nor is it possible during wartimes to secure descriptions even of +our own underwater boats. But the interior of the typical submarine +may be imagined as in size and shape something like an unusually +long street car. Along the sides, where seats would normally be, are +packed wheels, cylinders, motors, pumps, machinery of all imaginable +kinds and some of it utterly unimaginable to the lay observer. The +whole interior is painted white and bathed in electric light. The +casual visitor from "above seas" is dazed by the array of machinery +and shrinks as he walks the narrow aisle lest he become entangled in +it. + +Running on the surface the submarine chamber is filled with a roar +and clatter like a boiler shop in full operation. The Diesel engines +are compact and powerful, but the racket they make more nearly +corresponds to their power than to their size. On the surface too +the boat rolls and pitches and the stranger passenger, unequipped +with sea legs grabs for support as the subway rider reaches for a +strap on the curves. But let the order come to submerge. The Diesels +are stopped. The electric motors take up the task, spinning +noiselessly in their jackets. In a moment or two all rolling ceases. +One can hardly tell whether the ship is moving at all--it might for +all its motion tells be resting quietly on the bottom. If you could +disabuse your mind for a moment of the recollection that you were in +a great steel cigar heavy laden with explosives, and deep under the +surface of the sea you would find the experience no more exciting +than a trip through the Pennsylvania tubes. But there is something +uncanny about the silence. + +[Illustration: Permission of _Scientific American_. + +_A Torpedo Designed by Fulton._] + +Go forward to the conical compartment at the very bow. There you +will find the torpedo chamber for the submarine, like the cigar to +which it is so often compared, carries its fire at its front tip. +The most common type of boat will have two or four torpedo tubes in +this chamber. The more modern ones will have a second torpedo +chamber astern with the same number of tubes and carry other +torpedoes on deck which by an ingenious device can be launched from +their outside cradles by mechanism within the boat. In the torpedo +chamber are twice as many spare torpedoes as there are tubes, made +fast along the sides. Here too the anchor winch stands with the +cable attached to the anchor outside the boat and an automatic knife +which cuts the cable should the anchor be fouled. + +[Illustration: Permission of _Scientific American_. + +_The Method of Attack by Nautilus._] + +Immediately aft of the torpedo chamber, cut off by a water-tight +partition, is the battery compartment. It gets its name because of +the fact, that beneath the deck which is full of traps readily +raised are the electric storage batteries of anywhere from 60 to 260 +cells according to the size of the boat. This room is commonly used +as the loafing place for the crew, being regarded as very spacious +and empty. In it are nothing but the electric stove, the kitchen +sink, the various lockers for food and all the housekeeping +apparatus of the submarine. Mighty trim and compact they all are. +The builder of twentieth century flats with his kitchenettes and his +in-door beds might learn a good deal from a study of the smaller +type of submarine. Next aft come the officers' staterooms, rather +smaller than prison cells, each holding a bunk, a bureau, and a +desk. Each holds also a good deal of moisture, for the greatest +discomfort in submarine life comes from the fact that everything is +dripping with the water resulting from the constant condensation of +the air within. + +The great compartment amidships given over to machinery is a place +to test the nerves. The aisle down the centre is scarcely two feet +wide and on each side are whirling wheels, engines, and electric +motors. Only the photographs can give a clear idea of the crowded +appearance of this compartment. It contains steering wheels, the +gyroscopic compass, huge valves, dials showing depth of submergence, +Kingston levers, motor controllers, all polished and shining, each +doing its work and each easily thrown out of gear by an ignorant +touch. + +The author once spending the night on a United States man-of-war was +shown by the captain to his own cabin, that officer occupying the +admiral's cabin for the time. At the head of the bunk were two small +electric push buttons absolutely identical in appearance and about +two inches apart. "Push this button," said the captain genially, "if +you want the Jap boy to bring you shaving water or anything else. +But be sure to push the right one. If you push the other you will +call the entire crew to quarters at whatever hour of night the bell +may ring." + +The possibility of mistaking the button rested heavily on the +writer's nerves all night. A somewhat similar feeling comes over one +who walks the narrow path down the centre of the machinery +compartment of a submarine. He seems hedged about by mysterious +apparatus a touch of which, or even an accidental jostle may release +powerful and even murderous forces. + +While the submarine is under way, submerged, the operator at every +piece of individual machinery stands at its side ready for action. +Here are the gunner's mates at the diving rudder. They watch +steadily a big gauge on which a needle which shows how deep the boat +is sinking. When the required depth is reached swift turns of two +big brass wheels set the horizontal rudders that check the descent +and keep the boat on an even keel. Other men stand at the levers of +the Kingston valves which, when open, flood the ballast tanks with +water and secure the submergence of the boat. Most of the underwater +boats to-day sink rapidly on an even keel. The old method of +depressing the nose of the boat so as to make a literal dive has +been abandoned, partly because of the inconvenience it caused to the +men within who suddenly found the floor on which they were standing +tilted at a sharp angle, and partly because the diving position +proved to be a dangerous one for the boat. + +In the early days of the submarines the quarters for the men were +almost intolerable. The sleeping accommodations were cramped and +there was no place for the men off duty to lounge and relax from the +strain of constant attention to duty. Man cannot keep his body in a +certain fixed position even though it be not rigid, for many hours. +This is shown as well at the base ball grounds at the end of the +sixth inning when "all stretch" as it was in the old time underwater +boats. The crews now have space in which to loaf and even the strain +of long silent watches under water is relieved by the use of talking +machines and musical instruments. The efficiency of the boat of +course is only that of her crew, and since more care and more +scientific thought has been given to the comfort of the men, to the +purity of the air they breathe, and even to their amusements, the +effect upon the work done by the craft has been apparent. Ten years +ago hot meals were unthought of on a submarine; now the electric +cooker provides for quite an elaborate bill of fare. But ten years +ago the submarine was only expected to cruise for a few hours off +the harbour's mouth carrying a crew of twenty men or less. Now it +stays at sea sometimes for as long as three months. Its crews number +often as many as fifty and the day is in sight when accommodations +will have to be made for the housing of at least eighty men in such +comparative comfort that they can stand a six months' voyage without +loss of morale or decrease in physical vigour. + +It is, of course, very rare that a civilian has the chance to be +present on a submarine when the latter is making either a real or a +feigned attack. Fred B. Pitney, a correspondent of the New York +_Tribune_, was fortunate enough to have this experience, fortunate +especially because it was all a game arranged for his special +benefit by a French admiral. He writes of this interesting +experience in the _Tribune_ of Sunday, May 27, 1917, and at the same +time gives a vivid description of a French submarine. + +It appears that Mr. Pitney was on a small vessel put at his disposal +by the French Ministry of Marine to view the defences of a French +naval base. This boat was attacked by what seemed to be an enemy +submarine, but later turned out to be a French one which was giving +this special performance for Mr. Pitney's information. We read: + + Our officers were experts at watching for submarines, and though + the little white wave made by the periscope disappeared, they + caught the white wake of the torpedo coming toward the port + quarter and sheered off to escape it. The torpedo passed + harmlessly by our stern, but the adventure was not ended, for + hardly a minute later we heard a shot from off the starboard + quarter and, turning in that direction, saw that the submarine + had come to the surface and was busily firing at us to bring us + to. + + We stopped without any foolish waste of time in argument. I asked + if a boat would be sent to us, or if we would have to get out our + boat. + + "They carry a small folding boat," said the officer to whom I had + been talking, "but we will have to send our boat." + + While we were getting our boat over the side, the submarine + moved closer in, keeping her gun bearing on us all the time, most + uncomfortably. The gun stood uncovered on the deck, just abaft + the turret. It was thickly coated with grease to protect it when + the vessel submerged. It is only the very latest type of + submarines that have disappearing guns which go under cover when + the vessel submerges and are fired from within the ship, which + makes all the more surprising the speed with which a submarine + can come to the surface, the men get out on deck, fire the gun, + get in again and the vessel once more submerges. + + I was in the first boatload that went over to the submarine. From + a distance it looked like nothing so much as a rather long piece + of 4x8 floating on the water, with another block set on top of it + and a length of lath nailed on the block. It lost none of these + characteristics as we neared it. It only gained a couple of ropes + along the sides of the 4x8, while men kept coming mysteriously + out of the block until a round dozen was waiting to receive us. + The really surprising thing was that the men turned out to be + perfectly good French sailors, with a most exceedingly polite + French lieutenant to help us aboard the little craft.... + +[Illustration: _The Capture of a U-Boat._ + +_Painting by John E. Whiting._] + + The vessel we were in was a 500-ton cruising submarine. It had + just come from eight months' guarding the Channel, and showed all + the battering of eight months of a very rough and stormy career + with no time for a lie-up for repairs. It was interesting to see + the commander hand the depth gauge a wallop to start it working + and find out if the centre of the boat was really nine feet + higher than either end. We were fifty-four feet under water and + diving when the commander performed that little experiment and we + continued to dive while the gauge spun around and finally stopped + at a place which indicated approximately that our back was not + broken. I suppose that was one of the things my friend the + lieutenant referred to when he said life on a submarine was such + a sporting proposition. + + We boarded the submarine over the tail end and balanced our way + up the long narrow block, like walking a tight rope, to the + turret, where we descended through a hole like the opening into a + gas main into a small round compartment about six feet in + diameter exactly in the midship section, which was the largest + compartment in the ship. Running each way from it the length of + the vessel were long corridors, some two feet wide. On each side + of the corridors were rows of tiny compartments, which were the + living and working rooms of the ship. Naturally, most of the + space was given up to the working rooms. + + The officers' quarters consisted of four tiny compartments, two + on each side of the after corridor. The first two were the mess + room and chart room, and the second pair were the cabins of the + commander--a lieutenant--and his second in command, an ensign. + Behind them was an electric kitchen, and next came the engines, + first two sets of Diesel engines, one on each side of the + corridor, each of four hundred horse-power. These were for + running on the surface. Then came four bunks for the + quartermasters and last the electric motors for running under the + surface. The motors were run from storage batteries and were half + the power of the Diesel engines. The quarters of the crew were + along the sides of the forward corridor. The floors of the + corridor were an unbroken series of trap doors, covering the + storage tanks for drinking water, food, and the ship's supplies. + The torpedo tubes were forward of the men's quarters. Ten + torpedoes were carried. The ammunition for the deck gun was + stored immediately beneath the gun, which was mounted between the + turret and the first hatch, abaft the turret. Besides the turret + there were three hatches in the deck, one forward and two aft. + + There were thirty-four men in the crew. The men are counted every + two hours, as there is great danger of men being lost overboard + when running on the surface, and in bad weather they are + sometimes counted as often as every half hour. + + The turret was divided in two sections. In the after part was the + main hatch and behind it a stationary periscope, standing about + thirty inches above the surface of the water when the deck was + submerged and only the periscope showing. There was no opening in + the forward section of the turret, but the fighting periscope, + which could be drawn down into the interior or pushed up to ten + feet above the surface when the vessel was completely submerged, + extended through the top. + + For two hours, turn and turn about, the commander and his second + stand watch on the iron grips in the turret, one eye on the + periscope, the other on the compass. And this goes on for weeks + on end. It is only when they lie for a few hours fifty to + seventy-five feet below the surface that they can get some rest. + And even then there is no real rest, for one or the other of them + must be constantly on duty, testing pipes and gauges, air + pressure, water pressure, and a thousand other things. + + When we dropped through the hatch into the interior of the + submarine and the cover was clamped down over our heads the + commander at once ordered me back into the turret. + + "Hurry, if you want to see her dive," he said. + + I climbed into the after section of the turret and fastened my + eye to the periscope. Around the top of the turret was a circle + of bulls' eyes and I was conscious of the water dashing against + them while the spray washed over the glass of the periscope. The + little vessel rolled very slightly on the surface, though there + was quite a bit of sea running. I watched the horizon through the + periscope and watched for the dive, expecting a distinct + sensation, but the first thing I noticed was that even the slight + roll had ceased and I was surprised to see that the bulls' eyes + were completely under water. The next thing there was no more + horizon. The periscope also was covered and we were completely + beneath the surface. + + "Did it make you sick?" the commander asked, when I climbed down + from the turret, and when I told him "no" he was surprised, for + he said most men were made sick by their first dive. + + The thing most astonishing to me about that experience was how a + submerged submarine can thread its way through a mine field. For + though the water is luminous and translucent one can hardly make + out the black hull of the boat under the turret and a mine would + have to be on top of you before you could see it. The men who + watch for mines must have a sense for them as well as + particularly powerful sight. + + We continued to dive until we were sixty-eight feet below the + surface, too deep to strike any mine, and there we ran tranquilly + on our electric engines, while the commander navigated the vessel + and the second in command opened champagne in the two by four + mess room. After half an hour of underwater work we came near + enough the surface for our fighting periscope to stick twenty + inches out of the water and searched the lonely horizon for a + ship to attack. + + It was not long before we sighted a mine trawler, steaming for + the harbour, and speeded up to overtake her. + + "Pikers!" said our commander, as we circled twice around the + trawler; "they can't find us." + + Five men on the trawler were scanning the sea with glasses + looking for submarines. We could follow all their motions, could + tell when they thought they had found us and see their + disappointment at their mistakes, but though we were never more + than five hundred yards from them, I did not think they were + pikers because they did not find us. I had tried that hunt for + the tiny wave of a periscope. + + "No use wasting a torpedo on those fellows," said our commander. + "We will use the gun on them." + + "How far away can you use a torpedo?" I asked. + + "Two hundred yards is the best distance," he said. "Never more + than five hundred. A torpedo is pure guesswork at more than five + hundred yards." + + We crossed the bow of the trawler, circled around to her + starboard quarter and came to the surface, fired nine shots and + submerged again in forty-five seconds. + + The prey secured, we ran submerged through the mine field and + past the net barrier to come to the surface well within the + harbour and proceed peacefully to our mooring under the shelter + of the guns of the land forts. + +Life and work on a German submarine is known to us, of course, only +from descriptions in German publications. One of these appeared, +previous to our entry in the war, in various journals and was +translated and republished by the New York _Evening Post_. It reads +partly as follows: + + "U-47 will take provisions and clear for sea. Extreme economical + radius." + + A first lieutenant, with acting rank of commander, takes the + order in the grey dawn of a February day. The hulk of an old + corvette with the Iron Cross of 1870 on her stubby foremast is + his quarters in port, and on the corvette's deck he is presently + saluted by his first engineer and the officer of the watch. On + the pier the crew of U-47 await him. At their feet the narrow + grey submarine lies alongside, straining a little at her cables. + + "Well, we've our orders at last," begins the commander, + addressing his crew of thirty, and the crew grin. For this is + U-47's first experience of active service. She has done nothing + save trial trips hitherto, and has just been overhauled for her + first fighting cruise. Her commander snaps out a number of + orders. Provisions are to be taken in "up to the neck," fresh + water is to be put aboard, and engine-room supplies to be + supplemented. + + A mere plank is the gangway to the little vessel. As the + commander, followed by his officers, comes aboard, a sailor hands + to each a ball of cotton-waste, the sign and symbol of a + submarine officer, which never leaves his hand. For the steel + walls of his craft, the doors, and the companion-ladder all + sweat oil, and at every touch the hands must be wiped dry. The + doorways are narrow round holes. Through one of the holes aft the + commander descends by a breakneck iron ladder into the black hole + lit by electric glow-lamps. The air is heavy with the smell of + oil, and to the unaccustomed longshoreman it is almost choking, + though the hatches are off. The submarine man breathes this air + as if it were the purest ozone. Here in the engine-room aft men + must live and strain every nerve even if for days at a time every + crack whereby the fresh air could get in is hermetically sealed. + On their tense watchfulness thirty lives depend. + + Here, too, are slung some hammocks, and in them one watch tries, + and, what is more, succeeds in sleeping, though the men moving + about bump them with head and elbows at every turn, and the low + and narrow vault is full of the hum and purr of machinery. In + length the vault is about ten feet, but if a man of normal + stature stands in the middle and raises his arms to about half + shoulder height his hands will touch the cold, moist steel walls + on either side. A network of wires runs overhead, and there is a + juggler's outfit of handles, levers, and instruments. The + commander inspects everything minutely, then creeps through a + hole into the central control station, where the chief engineer + is at his post. With just about enough assistance to run a fairly + simple machine ashore the chief engineer of a submarine is + expected to control, correct, and, if necessary, repair at sea an + infinitely complex machinery which must not break down for an + instant if thirty men are to return alive to the hulk. + + Forward is another narrow steel vault serving at once as + engine-room and crew's quarters. Next to it is a place like a + cupboard, where the cook has just room to stand in front of his + doll's house galley-stove. It is electrically heated, that the + already oppressive air may not be further vitiated by smoke or + fumes. A German submarine in any case smells perpetually of + coffee and cabbage. Two little cabins of the size of a decent + clothes-chest take the deck and engine-room officers, four of + them. Another box cabin is reserved for the commander--when he + has time to occupy it. + + At daybreak the commander comes on deck in coat and trousers of + black leather lined with wool, a protection against oil, cold, + and sea-water. The crew at their stations await the command to + cast off. + + "Machines clear," calls a voice from the control-station and + "Clear ship," snaps the order from the bridge. Then "Cast-off!" + The cables slap on to the landing-stage, the engines begin to + purr, and U-47 slides away into open water. + + A few cable-lengths away another submarine appears homeward + bound. She is the U-20 returning from a long cruise in which she + succeeded in sinking a ship bound with a cargo of frozen mutton + for England. + + "Good luck, old sheep-butcher," sings the commander of U-47 as + the sister-ship passes within hail. + + The seas are heavier now, and U-47 rolls unpleasantly as she + makes the light-ship and answers the last salute from a friendly + hand. The two officers on the bridge turn once to look at the + light-ship already astern, then their eyes look seaward. It is + rough, stormy weather. If the egg-shell goes ahead two or three + days without a stop, the officers in charge will get no sleep for + just that long. If it gets any rougher they will be tied to the + bridge-rails to avoid being swept overboard. If they are hungry, + plates of soup will be brought to them on the bridge, and the + North Sea will attend to its salting for them. + +Frequently this "meal" is interrupted by some announcement from the +watch, such as: "Smoke on the horizon off the port bow." Then--so we +are told: + + The commander drops his plate, shouts a short, crisp command, + and an electric alarm whirs inside the egg-shell. The ship buzzes + like a hive. Then water begins to gurgle into the ballast-tanks, + and U-47 sinks until only her periscope shows. + + "The steamship is a Dutchman, sir," calls the watch officer. The + commander inspects her with the aid of a periscope. She has no + wireless and is bound for the Continent. So he can come up and is + glad, because moving under the water consumes electricity, and + the usefulness of a submarine is measured by her electric power. + + After fifty-four hours of waking nerve tension, sleep becomes a + necessity. So the ballast-tanks are filled and the nutshell sinks + to the sandy bottom. This is the time for sleep aboard a + submarine, because a sleeping man consumes less of the precious + oxygen than one awake and busy. So a submarine man has three + principal lessons to learn--to keep every faculty at tension when + he is awake, to keep stern silence when he is ashore (there is a + warning against talkativeness in all the German railway-carriages + now), and to sleep instantly when he gets a legitimate + opportunity. His sleep and the economy of oxygen may save the + ship. However, the commander allows half an hour's grace for + music. There is a gramophone, of course, and the "ship's band" + performs on all manner of instruments. At worst, a comb with a + bit of tissue paper is pressed into service. + +Another American who suffered an enforced voyage on an +_unterseeboot_ made public later some of his experiences. His +captor's craft was a good sized one--about 250 feet long, with a +crew of 35 men and mounting two 4-1/2 inch guns. She could make 18 +knots on the surface and 11 submerged and had a radius of 3200 miles +of action. Her accommodations were not uncomfortable. Each officer +had a separate cabin while the crew were bunked along either side of +a narrow passage. The ventilation was excellent, and her officers +declared that they could stand twenty-four hours continuous +submergence without discomfort, after that for six hours it was +uncomfortable, and thereafter intolerable because of the exudation +of moisture--or sweating--from every part. At such times all below +have to wear leather suits. The food was varied and cooked on an +electric stove. The original stores included preserved pork and +beef, vegetables, tinned soups, fruits, raisins, biscuits, butter, +marmalade, milk, tea, and coffee. But the pleasures of the table +depended greatly on the number of their prizes, for whenever +possible they made every ship captured contribute heavily to their +larder before sinking her. Of the tactics followed the observer +writes: + + It appears that 55 per cent., or more than half, of the torpedoes + fired miss their mark, and with this average they seem satisfied. + Once they let go at a ship two torpedoes at 3000 yards' range, + and both missed, the range being too long but they did not care + to come any nearer, as they believed the ship to be well armed. + + They prefer to fire at 500 to 700 yards, which means that at this + range the track or "wake" of a projectile would be discernible + for, say, twenty-five to thirty seconds--not much time, indeed, + for any ship to get out of the way. At 100 yards' range or less + they do not care to fire unless compelled to, as the torpedo is + nearly always discharged when the submarine is lying ahead of the + object, _i. e._, to hit the ship coming up to it; it follows that + a gun forward is more useful than one aft, the gun aft being of + real service when a submarine starts shelling, which she will do + for choice from aft the ship rather than from forward of her, + where she would be in danger of being run over and rammed. + + + + +CHAPTER XVI + +SUBMARINE WARFARE + + +At the moment of writing these words the outcome of the greatest war +the world has ever known is believed by many to hang upon the +success with which the Allies can meet and defeat the campaign of +the German submarines. The German people believe this absolutely. +The Allies and their sympathizers grudgingly admit that they are +only too fearful that it may be true. + +To such a marvellous degree of military efficiency has the ingenuity +of man brought these boats which so recently as our Civil War were +still in the vaguest experimental stage and scarcely possessed of +any offensive power whatsoever! + +Nevertheless these machines had reached a degree of development, and +had demonstrated their dangerous character so early in the war that +it was amazing that the British were so slow in comprehending the +use that might be made of them in cutting off British commerce. It +is true that the first submarine actions redounded in their results +entirely to British credit. In September of 1914 a British submarine +ran gallantly into Heligoland Bay and sank the German light cruiser +_Hela_ at her moorings. Shortly after the Germans sought retaliation +by attacking a British squadron, but the effort miscarried. The +British cruiser _Birmingham_ caught a glimpse of her wake and with a +well-aimed shot destroyed her periscope. The submarine dived, but +shortly afterwards came up again making what was called a porpoise +dive--that is to say, she came up just long enough for the officer +in the conning tower to locate the enemy, then submerged again. +Brief, however, as had been the appearance of the conning tower, the +British put a shell into it and in a few minutes the submarine and +most of her crew were at the bottom of the sea. + +Soon after followed the attack upon and sinking of the three +cruisers by the submarine under the command of Lieutenant Commander +Otto von Weddigen, the narrative of which we have already told. But +while after that attacks upon British armed ships were many, +successes were few. There were no German ships at sea for the +British to attack in turn, but some very gallant work was done by +their submarines against Austrian and Turkish warships in the +Mediterranean and the Dardanelles. All this time the Germans were +preparing for that warfare upon the merchant shipping of all +countries which at the end they came to believe would force the +conclusion of the war. It seems curious that during this early +period the Allies were able to devise no method of meeting this form +of attack. When the United States entered the war more than three +years later they looked to us for the instant invention of some +effective anti-submarine weapon. If they were disappointed at our +failure at once to produce one, they should have remembered at least +that they too were baffled by the situation although it was +presented to them long before it became part of our problems. + +About no feature of the war have the belligerents thrown more of +mystery than about the circumstances attending submarine attacks +upon battleships and armed transports and the method employed of +meeting them. Even when later in the war the Germans apparently +driven to frenzy made special efforts to sink hospital and Red Cross +ships the facts were concealed by the censors, and accounts of the +efforts made to balk such inhuman and unchristian practices +diligently suppressed. In the end it seemed that the British, who of +course led all naval activities, had reached the conclusion that +only by the maintenance of an enormous fleet of patrol boats could +the submarines be kept in check. This method they have applied +unremittingly. Alfred Noyes in a publication authorized by the +British government has thus picturesquely told some of the incidents +connected with this service: + + It is difficult to convey in words the wide sweep and subtle + co-ordination of this ocean hunting; for the beginning of any + tale may be known only to an admiral in a London office, the + middle of it only to a commander at Kirkwall, and the end of it + only to a trawler skipper off the coast of Ireland. But here and + there it is possible to piece the fragments together into a + complete adventure, as in the following record of a successful + chase, where the glorious facts outrun all the imaginations of + the wildest melodrama. + + There were suspicious vessels at anchor, one moonless night, in a + small bay near the Mumbles. They lay there like shadows, but + before long they knew that the night was alive for a hundred + miles with silent talk about them. At dawn His Majesty's trawlers + _Golden Feather_ and _Peggy Nutten_ foamed up, but the shadows + had disappeared. + + The trawlers were ordered to search the coast thoroughly for any + submarine stores that might have been left there. "Thoroughly" in + this war means a great deal. It means that even the bottom of the + sea must be searched. This was done by grapnels; but the bottom + was rocky and seemed unfit for a base. Nothing was found but a + battered old lobster pot, crammed with seaweed and little green + crabs. + + Probably these appearances were more than usually deceitful; for + shortly afterward watchers on the coast reported a strange + fishing boat, with patched brown sails, heading for the suspected + bay. Before the patrols came up, however, she seemed to be + alarmed. The brown sails were suddenly taken in; the disguised + conning tower was revealed, and this innocent fishing boat, + gracefully submerging, left only the smiling and spotless April + seas to the bewildered eyes of the coast guard. + + In the meantime signals were pulsing and flashing on land and + sea, and the U-boat had hardly dipped when, over the smooth green + swell, a great sea hawk came whirring up to join the hunt, a hawk + with light yellow wings and a body of service grey--the latest + type of seaplane. It was one of those oily seas in which a + watcher from the air may follow a submarine for miles, as an + olive green shadow under the lighter green. The U-boat doubled + twice; but it was half an hour before her sunken shadow was lost + to sight under choppy blue waters, and long before that time she + was evidently at ease in her mind and pursuing a steady course. + For the moment her trail was then lost, and the hawk, having + reported her course, dropped out of the tale. + +[Illustration: Photo by U. & U. + +_A British Submarine._] + + The next morning in the direction indicated by that report + several patrol boats heard the sound of gunfire and overhauled a + steamer which had been attacked by a submarine. They gave chase + by "starring" to all the points of the compass, but could not + locate the enemy. A little later, however, another trawler + observed the wash of a submarine crossing her stern about two + hundred yards away. The trawler star-boarded, got into the wake + of the submarine and tried to ram her at full speed. She failed + to do this, as the U-boat was at too great a depth. The enemy + disappeared, and again the trawlers gathered and "starred." + +[Illustration: Permission of _Scientific American_. + +_Sectional View of the Nautilus._] + + In the meantime, certain nets had been shot, and, though the + inclosed waters were very wide, it was quite certain that the + submarine was contained within them. Some hours later another + trawler heard firing and rushed toward the sound. About sunset + she sighted a submarine which was just dipping. The trawler + opened fire at once without result. The light was very bad and it + was very difficult to trace the enemy, but the trawler continued + the search, and about midnight she observed a small light close + to the water. She steamed within a few yards of it and hailed, + thinking it was a small boat. There was a considerable amount of + wreckage about, which was afterward proved to be the remains of a + patrol vessel sunk by the submarine. There was no reply to the + hail, and the light instantly disappeared. For the third time the + patrols gathered and "starred" from this new point. + + And here the tale was taken up by a sailor who was in command of + another trawler at the time. I give it, so far as possible, in + his own words. + + "About 4 o'clock in the morning I was called by Deckhand William + Brown to come on deck and see if an object sighted was a + submarine. I did so, and saw a submarine about a mile distant on + the port bow. I gave the order, 'Hard a-starboard.' The ship was + turned until the gun was able to bear on the submarine, and it + was kept bearing. At the same time I ordered hands to station, + and about ten minutes afterward I gave the order to fire. The + submarine immediately altered her course from W. to N. N. W., and + went away from us very fast. I burned lights to attract the + attention of the drifters, and we followed at our utmost speed, + making about eight knots and shipping light sprays. We fired + another shot about two minutes later, but it was breaking dawn, + and we were unable to see the fall of the shots. After the second + shot the submarine submerged. I hoisted warning signals and about + half an hour later I saw a large steamer turning round, distant + between two and three miles on our starboard beam. I headed + toward her, keeping the gun trained on her, as I expected, + judging by her action, that she had smelt the submarine. When we + were about a mile and a half from the steamer I saw the submarine + half a mile astern of her. We opened fire again, and gave her + four shots, with about two minutes between 'em. The submarine + then dodged behind the off quarter of the steamer." + + He paused to light his pipe, and added, quite gravely, "When she + had disappeared behind the steamer I gave the order 'Cease fire,' + to avoid hitting the larger vessel." + + I made a mental note of his thoughtfulness; but, not for worlds + would I have shown any doubt of his power to blast his way, if + necessary, through all the wood and iron in the universe; and I + was glad that the blue clouds of our smoke mingled for a moment + between us. + + "I saw two white boats off the port quarter," he continued. "But + I paid no attention to them. I ordered the helm to be + star-boarded a bit more, and told the gunner to train his gun on + the bow of the steamer; for I expected the submarine to show + there next. A few minutes later she did so, and when she drew + ahead I gave the order to fire. I should say we were about a mile + and a quarter away. We gave him two more shots and they dropped + very close, as the spray rose over his conning tower. He altered + his course directly away from us, and we continued to fire. The + third shot smothered his conning tower with spray. I did not see + the fourth and fifth shots pitch. There was no splash visible, + although it was then broad daylight; so I believe they must have + hit him. A few moments after this the submarine disappeared. + + "I turned, then, toward the two white boats and hailed them. The + chief officer of the steamer was in charge of one. They were + returning to their ship, and told me that we had hit the + submarine. We escorted them through the nets and parted very good + friends." + + "But how did you get the scalp of this U-boat?" I asked. + + "We signalled to the admiral, and sent the Daffy to investigate. + She found the place, all right. It was a choppy sea, but there + was one smooth patch in it, just where we told 'em the submarine + had disappeared; a big patch of water like wavy satin, two or + three hundred yards of it, coloured like the stripes on mackerel, + all blue and green with oil. They took a specimen of the oil." + + "Did it satisfy the Admiralty?" + + "No. Nothing satisfies the Admiralty but certainties. They count + the minimum losses of the enemy, and the maximum of their own. + Very proper, too. Then you know where you are. But, mind you, I + don't believe we finished him off that morning. Oil don't prove + that. It only proves we hit him. I believe it was the 'Maggie and + Rose' that killed him, or the 'Hawthorn.' No; it wasn't either. + It was the 'Loch Awe.'" + + "How was that?" + + "Well, as Commander White was telling you, we'd shot out nets to + the north and south of him. There were two or three hundred + miles, perhaps, in which he might wriggle about; but he couldn't + get out of the trap, even if he knew where to look for the + danger. He tried to run for home, and that's what finished him. + They'll tell you all about that on the 'Loch Awe.'" + + So the next day I heard the end of the yarn from a sandy-haired + skipper in a trawler whose old romantic name was dark with new + significance. He was terribly logical. In his cabin--a + comfortable room with a fine big stove--he had a picture of his + wife and daughters, all very rigid and uncomfortable. He also had + three books. They included neither Burns nor Scott. One was the + Bible, thumbed by his grandfather and his father till the paper + had worn yellow and thin at the sides. The second, I am sorry to + say, was called _The Beautiful White Devil_. The third was an odd + volume of Froude in the _Everyman_ edition. It dealt with the + Armada. + + "I was towin' my nets wi' the rest o' my group," he said, "till + about 3 o'clock i' the mornin' on yon occasion. It was fine + weather wi' a kind o' haar. All at once, my ship gaed six points + aff her coorse, frae S. E. to E. N. E., and I jaloused that the + nets had been fouled by some muckle movin' body. I gave orders to + pit the wheel hard a-port, but she wouldna answer. Suddenly the + strain on the nets stoppit. + + "I needna tell you what had happened. Of course, it was + preceesely what the Admiralty had arranged tae happen when + gentlemen in undersea boats try to cut their way through our + nets. Mind ye, thae nets are verra expensive." + +A different situation, however, has lately developed in the more +unequal fight between submarines and merchant vessels. There the +submarine unquestionably has gained and maintained supremacy. Two +factors are primarily responsible for this: lack of speed and lack +of armament on the part of the merchantman. Of course, recently the +latter condition has been changed and apparently with good success. +But even at best, an armed merchantman has a rather slim chance at +escape. Neither space nor available equipment permits a general +arming of merchantmen to a sufficient degree to make it possible for +the latter to attack a submarine from any considerable distance. +Then, too, what chance has a merchant vessel unprotected by patrol +boats to escape the torpedo of a hidden submarine? How successfully +this question will finally be solved, the future only will show. At +present it bids fair to become one of the deciding factors in +determining the final issue of this war. + +The first authentically known case of an attack without warning by a +German submarine against an allied merchantman was the torpedoing of +the French steamship _Amiral Ganteaume_ on October 26, 1914, in the +English Channel. The steamer was sunk and thirty of its passengers +and crew were lost. A number of other attacks followed during the +remainder of 1914 and in January, 1915. Then came on February 3, +1915, the now famous pronouncement of the German Government +declaring "all the waters around Great Britain and Ireland, +including the whole of the English Channel, a war zone," and +announcing that on and after Feb. 18th, Germany "will attempt to +destroy every enemy ship found in that war zone, without its being +always possible to avoid the danger that will thus threaten neutral +persons and ships." Germany gave warning that "it cannot be +responsible hereafter for the safety of crews, passengers, and +cargoes of such ships," and it furthermore "calls the attention of +neutrals to the fact that it would be well for their ships to avoid +entering this zone, for, although the German naval forces are +instructed to avoid all violence to neutral ships, in so far as +these can be recognized, the order given by the British Government +to hoist neutral flags and the contingencies of naval warfare might +be the cause of these ships becoming the victims of an attack +directed against the vessels of the enemy." + +This was the beginning of the submarine controversy between Germany +and the United States and resulted in a note from the United States +Government in which it was stated that the latter viewed the +possibilities created by the German note + + with such grave concern, that it feels it to be its privilege, + and, indeed, its duty, in the circumstances to request the + Imperial German Government to consider before action is taken the + critical situation in respect of the relation between this + country and Germany which might arise were the German naval + forces, in carrying out the policy foreshadowed in the + Admiralty's proclamation, to destroy any merchant vessel of the + United States or cause the death of American citizens:--To + declare and exercise a right to attack and destroy any vessel + entering a prescribed area of the high seas without first + certainly determining its belligerent nationality and the + contraband character of its cargo would be an act so + unprecedented in naval warfare that this Government is reluctant + to believe that the Imperial Government of Germany in this case + contemplates it as possible. + +After stating that the destruction of American ships or American +lives on the high seas would be difficult to reconcile with the +friendly relations existing between the two Governments, the note +adds that the United States "would be constrained to hold the +Imperial Government of Germany to a strict accountability for such +acts of their naval authorities, and to take any steps it might feel +necessary to take to safeguard American lives and property and to +secure to American citizens the full enjoyment of their acknowledged +rights on the high seas." + +It is not within the province of this book to go in detail into the +diplomatic history of the submarine controversy between Germany and +the United States. Suffice it to say, therefore, that from the very +beginning the controversy held many possibilities of the disastrous +ending which finally came to pass when diplomatic relations were +broken off between the two countries on February 3, 1917, and a +state of war was declared by President Wilson's proclamation of +April 6, 1917. + +The period between Germany's first War Zone Declaration and the +President's proclamation--two months and three days more than two +years--was crowded with incidents in which submarines and submarine +warfare held the centre of the stage. It would be impossible within +the compass of this story to give a complete survey of all the +boats that were sunk and of all the lives that were lost. Nor would +it be possible to recount all the deeds of heroism which this new +warfare occasioned. Belligerents and neutrals alike were affected. +American ships suffered, perhaps, to a lesser degree, than those of +other neutrals, partly because of the determined stand taken by the +United States Government. On May 1, 1915, the first American +steamer, the _Gulflight_, was sunk. Six days later the world was +shocked by the news that the _Lusitania_, one of the biggest British +passenger liners, had been torpedoed without warning on May 7, 1915 +and had been sunk with a loss of 1198 lives, of whom 124 were +American citizens. Before this nation was goaded into war, more than +200 Americans were slain. + +Notes were again exchanged between the two Governments. Though the +German government at that time showed an inclination to abandon its +position in the submarine controversy under certain conditions, +sinkings of passenger and freight steamers without warning +continued. All attempts on the part of the United States Government +to come to an equitable understanding with Germany failed on account +of the latter's refusal to give up submarine warfare, or at least +those features of it which, though considered illegal and inhuman by +the United States, seemed to be considered most essential by +Germany. + +Then came the German note of January 31, 1917, stating that "from +February 1, 1917, sea traffic will be stopped with every available +weapon and without further notice" in certain minutely described +"prohibited zones around Great Britain, France, Italy, and in the +Eastern Mediterranean." + +The total tonnage sunk by German submarines from the beginning of +the war up to February 1, 1917, has been given by British sources as +over three million tons, while German authorities claimed four +million. The result of the German edict for unrestricted submarine +warfare has been rather appalling, even if it fell far short of +German prophesies and hopes. During the first two weeks of February +a total of ninety-seven ships with a tonnage of about 210,000 tons +were sent to the bottom of the sea. Since then the German submarines +have taken an even heavier toll. It has, however, become next to +impossible, due to the restrictions of censorship, to compute any +accurate figures for later totals, though it has become known from +time to time that the Allied as well as the neutral losses have been +very much higher during the five months of February to July, 1917 +than during any other five months. + +[Illustration: (C) U. & U. + +_U. S. Submarine H-3 Aground on California Coast._] + +The figures of the losses of British merchantmen alone are shown by +the following table: + + Ships + Over 1,600 Under 1,600 + Week ending-- Tons. Tons. Total. + + March 4 14 9 23 + March 11 13 4 17 + March 18 16 8 24 + March 25 18 7 25 + April 1 18 13 31 + April 8 17 2 19 + April 15 19 9 28 + April 22 40 15 55 + April 29 38 13 51 + May 6 24 22 46 + May 13 18 5 23 + May 20 18 9 27 + May 27 18 1 19 + June 3 15 3 18 + June 10 22 10 32 + June 17 27 5 32 + June 24 21 7 28 + July 1 15 5 20 + July 8 14 3 17 + July 15 14 4 18 + July 22 21 3 24 + July 29 18 3 21 + Aug. 5 21 2 23 + Aug. 12 14 2 16 + Aug. 19 15 3 18 + Aug. 26 18 5 23 + Sept. 2 20 3 23 + Sept. 9 12 6 18 + Sept. 16 8 20 28 + Sept. 23 13 2 15 + Sept. 30 11 2 13 + Oct. 7 14 2 16 + Oct. 14 12 6 18 + Oct. 21 17 8 25 + Oct. 28 14 4 18 + Nov. 4 8 4 12 + Nov. 11 1 5 6 + +The table with its week by week report of the British losses is of +importance because at the time it was taken as a barometer +indicative of German success or failure. The German admiralty at the +moment of declaring the ruthless submarine war promised the people +of Germany that they would sink a million tons a month and by so +doing would force England to abject surrender in the face of +starvation within three months. During that period the whole +civilized world looked eagerly for the weekly statement of British +losses. Only at one time was the German estimate of a million tons +monthly obtained. Most of the time the execution done by the +undersea boats amounted to less than half that figure. So far from +England being beaten in three months, at the end of ten she was +still unshattered, though sorely disturbed by the loss of so much +shipping. Her new crops had come on and her statesmen declared that +so far as the food supply was concerned they were safe for another +year. + +During this period of submarine activity the United States entered +upon the war and its government immediately turned its attention to +meeting the submarine menace. In the first four months literally +nothing was accomplished toward this end. A few submarines were +reported sunk by merchantmen, but in nearly every instance it was +doubtful whether they were actually destroyed or merely submerged +purposely in the face of a hostile fire. Americans were looked upon +universally as a people of extraordinary inventive genius, and +everywhere it was believed that by some sudden lucky thought an +American would emerge from a laboratory equipped with a sovereign +remedy for the submarine evil. Prominent inventors indeed declared +their purpose of undertaking this search and went into retirement to +study the problem. From that seclusion none had emerged with a +solution at the end of ten months. When the submarine campaign was +at its very height no one was able to suggest a better remedy for it +than the building of cargo ships in such quantities that, sink as +many as they might, the Germans would have to let enough slip +through to sufficiently supply England with food and with the +necessary munitions of war. + +Many cruel sufferings befell seafaring people during the period of +German ruthlessness on the high seas. An open boat, overcrowded with +refugees, hastily provisioned as the ship to which it belonged was +careening to its fate, and tossing on the open sea two or three +hundred miles from shore in the icy nights of midwinter was no place +of safety or of comfort. Yet the Germans so construed it, holding +that when they gave passengers and crew of a ship time to take to +the boats, they had fully complied with the international law +providing that in the event of sinking a ship its people must first +be given an opportunity to assure their safety. + +There have been many harrowing stories of the experiences of +survivors thus turned adrift. Under the auspices of the British +government, Rudyard Kipling wrote a book detailing the agonies which +the practice inflicted upon helpless human beings, including many +women and children. Some of the survivors have told in graphic story +the record of their actual experiences. Among these one of the most +vivid is from the pen of a well-known American journalist, Floyd P. +Gibbons, correspondent of the Chicago _Tribune_. He was saved from +the British liner, _Laconia_, sunk by a German submarine, and thus +tells the tale of his sufferings and final rescue: + + I have serious doubts whether this is a real story. I am not + entirely certain that it is not all a dream and that in a few + minutes I will wake up back in stateroom B. 19 on the promenade + deck of the Cunarder _Laconia_ and hear my cockney steward + informing me with an abundance of "and sirs" that it is a fine + morning. + + I am writing this within thirty minutes after stepping on the + dock here in Queenstown from the British mine sweeper which + picked up our open lifeboat after an eventful six hours of + drifting, and darkness and baling and pulling on the oars and of + straining aching eyes toward that empty, meaningless horizon in + search of help. But, dream or fact, here it is: + + The first-cabin passengers were gathered in the lounge Sunday + evening, with the exception of the bridge fiends in the + smoking-room. _Poor Butterfly_ was dying wearily on the + talking-machine and several couples were dancing. + + About the tables in the smoke-room the conversation was limited + to the announcement of bids and orders to the stewards. This + group had about exhausted available discussion when the ship gave + a sudden lurch sideways and forward. There was a muffled noise + like the slamming of some large door at a good distance away. The + slightness of the shock and the mildness of the report compared + with my imagination was disappointing. Every man in the room + was on his feet in an instant. + + I looked at my watch. It was 10.30. + + Then came five blasts on the whistle. We rushed down the corridor + leading from the smoking-room at the stern to the lounge, which + was amidships. We were running, but there was no panic. The + occupants of the lounge were just leaving by the forward doors as + we entered. + + It was dark when we reached the lower deck. I rushed into my + stateroom, grabbed life preservers and overcoat and made my way + to the upper deck on that same dark landing. + + I saw the chief steward opening an electric switch box in the + wall and turning on the switch. Instantly the boat decks were + illuminated. That illumination saved lives. + + The torpedo had hit us well astern on the starboard side and had + missed the engines and the dynamos. I had not noticed the deck + lights before. Throughout the voyage our decks had remained dark + at night and all cabin portholes were clamped down and all + windows covered with opaque paint. + + The illumination of the upper deck, on which I stood, made the + darkness of the water, sixty feet below, appear all the blacker + when I peered over the edge at my station boat, No. 10. + + Already the boat was loading up and men and boys were busy with + the ropes. I started to help near a davit that seemed to be + giving trouble, but was stoutly ordered to get out of the way and + get into the boat. We were on the port side, practically opposite + the engine well. Up and down the deck passengers and crew were + donning lifebelts, throwing on overcoats, and taking positions in + the boats. There were a number of women, but only one appeared + hysterical.... + + The boat started downward with a jerk toward the seemingly hungry + rising and falling swells. Then we stopped and remained suspended + in mid-air while the men at the bow and the stern swore and + tusselled with the lowering ropes. The stern of the boat was + down, the bow up, leaving us at an angle of about forty-five + degrees. We clung to the seats to save ourselves from falling + out. + +[Illustration: Permission of _Scientific American_. + +_Salvaging H-3, View I._] + +[Illustration: Permission of _Scientific American_. + +_Salvaging H-3, View II._] + +[Illustration: Permission of _Scientific American_. + +_Salvaging H-3, View III._] + + "Who's got a knife? A knife! a knife!" bawled a sweating seaman + in the bow. + + "Great God! Give him a knife," bawled a half-dressed, gibbering + negro stoker who wrung his hands in the stern. + + A hatchet was thrust into my hand, and I forwarded it to the bow. + There was a flash of sparks as it crashed down on the holding + pulley. Many feet and hands pushed the boat from the side of the + ship and we sagged down again, this time smacking squarely on the + billowy top of a rising swell. + + As we pulled away from the side of the ship its receding terrace + of lights stretched upward. The ship was slowly turning over. We + were opposite that part occupied by the engine rooms. There was a + tangle of oars, spars and rigging on the seat and considerable + confusion before four of the big sweeps could be manned on either + side of the boat. + + The gibbering bullet-headed negro was pulling directly behind me + and I turned to quiet him as his frantic reaches with his oar + were hitting me in the back. + + "Get away from her, get away from her," he kept repeating. "When + the water hits her hot boilers she'll blow up, and there's just + tons and tons of shrapnel in the hold." + + His excitement spread to other members of the crew in the boat. + + It was the give-way of nerve tension. It was bedlam and + nightmare. + + We rested on our oars, with all eyes on the still lighted + _Laconia_. The torpedo had struck at 10.30 P. M. It was thirty + minutes afterward that another dull thud, which was accompanied + by a noticeable drop in the hulk, told its story of the second + torpedo that the submarine had despatched through the engine room + and the boat's vitals from a distance of two hundred yards. + + We watched silently during the next minute, as the tiers of + lights dimmed slowly from white to yellow, then a red, and + nothing was left but the murky mourning of the night, which hung + over all like a pall. + + A mean, cheese-coloured crescent of a moon revealed one horn + above a ragged bundle of clouds low in the distance. A rim of + blackness settled around our little world, relieved only by + general leering stars in the zenith, and where the _Laconia's_ + lights had shone there remained only the dim outlines of a + blacker hulk standing out above the water like a jagged headland, + silhouetted against the overcast sky. + + The ship sank rapidly at the stern until at last its nose stood + straight in the air. Then it slid silently down and out of sight + like a piece of disappearing scenery in a panorama spectacle. + + Boat No. 3 stood closest to the ship and rocked about in a + perilous sea of clashing spars and wreckage. As our boat's crew + steadied its head into the wind a black hulk, glistening wet and + standing about eight feet above the surface of the water, + approached slowly and came to a stop opposite the boat and not + six feet from the side of it. + + "What ship was dot?" The correct words in throaty English with a + German accent came from the dark hulk, according to Chief Steward + Ballyn's statement to me later. + + "The _Laconia_," Ballyn answered. + + "Vot?" + + "The _Laconia_, Cunard Line," responded the steward. + + "Vot did she weigh?" was the next question from the submarine. + + "Eighteen thousand tons." + + "Any passengers?" + + "Seventy-three," replied Ballyn, "men, women, and children, some + of them in this boat. She had over two hundred in the crew." + + "Did she carry cargo?" + + "Yes." + + "Well, you'll be all right. The patrol will pick you up soon." + And without further sound save for the almost silent fixing of + the conning tower lid, the submarine moved off. + + There was no assurance of an early pick-up, even tho the promise + were from a German source, for the rest of the boats, whose + occupants--if they felt and spoke like those in my boat--were + more than mildly anxious about their plight and the prospects of + rescue. + + The fear of some of the boats crashing together produced a + general inclination toward further separation on the part of all + the little units of survivors, with the result that soon the + small craft stretched out for several miles, all of them + endeavouring to keep their heads in the wind. + + And then we saw the first light--the first sign of help + coming--the first searching glow of white brilliance, deep down + on the sombre sides of the black pot of night that hung over us. + + It was way over there--first a trembling quiver of silver against + the blackness; then, drawing closer, it defined itself as a + beckoning finger, altho still too far away yet to see our feeble + efforts to attract it.... + + We pulled, pulled, lustily forgetting the strain and pain of + innards torn and racked from pain, vomiting--oblivious of + blistered hands and wet, half frozen feet. + + Then a nodding of that finger of light--a happy, snapping, + crap-shooting finger that seemed to say: "Come on, you men," like + a dice-player wooing the bones--led us to believe that our lights + had been seen. This was the fact, for immediately the coming + vessel flashed on its green and red side-lights and we saw it was + headed for our position. + + "Come alongside port!" was megaphoned to us. And as fast as we + could we swung under the stern, while a dozen flashlights blinked + down to us and orders began to flow fast and thick. + + A score of hands reached out, and we were suspended in the husky + tattooed arms of those doughty British jack tars, looking up into + the weather-beaten, youthful faces, mumbling thanks and + thankfulness and reading in the gold lettering on their pancake + hats the legend "H. M. S. Laburnum." + +Of course, the submarine fleets of the various navies paid a heavy +toll too. It has become, however, increasingly difficult to get any +accurate figures of these losses. The British navy, it is known, has +lost during 1914, 1915, and 1916 twelve boats, some of which +foundered, were wrecked or mined while others simply never returned. +The loss of eight German submarines has also been definitely +established. Others, however, are known to have been lost, and their +number has been greatly increased since the arming of merchantmen. +In 1917 it was estimated that the Germans lost one U-boat a week and +built three. + +Just what sensations a man experiences in a submerged submarine that +finds it impossible to rise again, is, of course, more or less of a +mystery. For, though submarines, the entire crew of which perished, +have been raised later, only one record has ever been known to have +been made covering the period during which death by suffocation or +drowning stared their occupants in the face. This heroic and +pathetic record was written in form of a letter by the commander of +a Japanese submarine, Lieutenant Takuma Faotomu, whose boat, with +its entire crew, was lost on April 15, 1910, during manoeuvres in +Hiroshima Bay. The letter reads in part as follows: + +[Illustration: (C) International Film Service, Inc. + +_U. S. Submarine D 1 off Weehawken._] + + Although there is, indeed, no excuse to make for the sinking of + his Imperial Majesty's boat and for the doing away of + subordinates through my heedlessness, all on the boat have + discharged their duties well and in everything acted calmly until + death. Although we are departing in pursuance of our duty to the + State, the only regret we have is due to anxiety lest the men of + the world may misunderstand the matter, and that thereby a blow + may be given to the future development of submarines. While going + through gasoline submarine exercise, we submerged too far, and + when we attempted to shut the sluice-valve, the chain in the + meantime gave way. Then we tried to close the sluice-valve, by + hand, but it was too late, the rear part being full of water, and + the boat sank at an angle of about twenty-five degrees. + + The switchboard being under water, the electric lights gave out. + Offensive gas developed and respiration became difficult. The + above has been written under the light of the conning-tower when + it was 11.45 o'clock. We are now soaked by the water that has + made its way in. Our clothes are very wet and we feel cold. I + have always expected death whenever I left my home, and therefore + my will is already in the drawer at Karasaki. I beg, + respectfully, to say to his Majesty that I respectfully request + that none of the families left by my subordinates shall suffer. + The only matter I am anxious about now is this. Atmospheric + pressure is increasing, and I feel as if my tympanum were + breaking. At 12.30 o'clock respiration is extraordinarily + difficult. I am breathing gasoline. I am intoxicated with + gasoline. It is 12.40 o'clock. + +Could there be a more touching record of the way in which a brave +man met death? + + * * * * * + +More interest in submarine warfare than ever before was aroused in +this country when the German war submarine U-53 unexpectedly made +its appearance in the harbour of Newport, R. I., during the +afternoon of October 7, 1916. About three hours afterwards, without +having taken on any supplies, and after explaining her presence by +the desire of delivering a letter addressed to Count von Bernstorff, +then German Ambassador at Washington, the U-53 left as suddenly and +mysteriously as she had appeared. + +This was the first appearance of a foreign war submarine in an +American port. It was claimed that the U-53 had made the trip from +Wilhelmshaven in seventeen days. She was 213 feet long, equipped +with two guns, four torpedo tubes, and an exceptionally strong +wireless outfit. Besides her commander, Captain Rose, she was manned +by three officers and thirty-three men. + +Early the next morning, October 8, it became evident what had +brought the U-53 to this side of the Atlantic. At the break of day, +she made her re-appearance southeast of Nantucket. The American +steamer _Kansan_ of the American Hawaiian Company bound from New +York by way of Boston to Genoa was stopped by her, but, after +proving her nationality and neutral ownership was allowed to +proceed. Five other steamships, three of them British, one Dutch, +and one Norwegian were less fortunate. The British freighter +_Strathend_, of 4321 tons was the first victim. Her crew were taken +aboard the Nantucket shoals light-ship. Two other British +freighters, _West Point_ and _Stephano_, followed in short order to +the bottom of the ocean. The crews of both were saved by United +States torpedo boat destroyers who had come from Newport as soon as +news of the U-53's activities had been received there. This was also +the case with the crews of the Dutch _Bloomersdijk_ and the +Norwegian tanker, _Christian Knudsen_. + +Not often in recent years has there been put on American naval +officers quite so disagreeable a restraint as duty enforced upon the +commanders of the destroyers who watched the destruction of these +friendly ships, almost within our own territorial waters, by an +arrogant foreigner who gave himself no concern over the rescue of +the crews of the sunken ships but seemed to think that the function +of the American men of war. It was no secret at the time that +sentiment in the Navy was strongly pro-Ally. Probably had it been +wholly neutral the mind of any commander would have revolted at this +spectacle of wanton destruction of property and callous indifference +to human life. It is quite probable that had this event occurred +before the invention of wireless telegraphy had robbed the navy +commander at sea of all initiative, there might have happened off +Nantucket something analogous to the famous action of Commodore +Tatnall when with the cry, "Blood is thicker than water" he took a +part of his crew to the aid of British vessels sorely pressed by the +fire of certain Chinese forts on the Yellow River. As it was it is +an open secret that one commander appealed by wireless to Washington +for authority to intervene. He did not get it of course. No +possible construction of international law could give us rights +beyond the three-mile limit. He had at least however the +satisfaction when the German commander asked him to move his ship to +a point at which it would not interfere with the submarine's fire +upon one of the doomed vessels, of telling him to move his own ship +and accompanying the suggestion with certain phrases of elaboration +thoroughly American. + +The rapid development of submarine warfare naturally made it +necessary to find ways and means to combat this new weapon of naval +warfare. Much difficulty was experienced, especially in the +beginning, because there were no precedents and because for a +considerable period everything that was tried had necessarily to be +of an experimental nature. + +To protect harbours and bays was found comparatively easy. Nets were +spread across their entrances. They were made of strong wire cables +and to judge from the total absence of submarines within the +harbours thus guarded they proved a successful deterrent. In most +cases they were supported by extensive minefields. The danger of +these to submarines, however, is rather a matter of doubt, for +submarines can dive successfully under them and by careful +navigating escape unharmed. + +The general idea of fighting submarines with nets was also adopted +for areas of open water which were suspected of being infested with +submarines. Recently, serious doubts have been raised concerning the +future usefulness of nets. Reports have been published that German +submarines have been fitted up with a wire and cable cutting +appliance which would make it possible for them to break through +nets at will, supposing, of course, that they had been caught by the +nets in such a way that no vital parts of the underwater craft had +been seriously damaged. A sketch of this wire cutting device was +made by the captain of a merchantman, who, while in a small boat +after his ship had been torpedoed, had come close enough to the +attacking submarine to make the necessary observations. The sketch +showed an arrangement consisting of a number of strands of heavy +steel hawsers which were stretched from bow to stern, passing +through the conning tower and to which were attached a series of +heavy circular knives a foot in diameter and placed about a yard +apart. Even as early as January, 1915, Mr. Simon Lake, the famous +American submarine engineer and inventor, published an article in +the _Scientific American_ in which he dwelt at length on means by +which a submarine could escape mines and nets. One of the +illustrations, accompanying this article, showed a device enabling +submarines travelling on the bottom of the sea to lift a net with a +pair of projecting arms and thus pass unharmed under it. + +[Illustration: (C) International Film Service, Inc. + +_Submarine Built for Spain in the Cape Cod Canal._] + +Many other devices to trap, sink or capture submarines have been +invented. A large number of these, of course, have been found +impracticable. Others, however, have been used with success. Few +details of any of these have been allowed to become known. + +The most dangerous power of submarines, is their ability to approach +very closely to their object of attack without making their presence +known to their prey. This naturally suggested that a way be found to +detect the presence of submarines early enough to make it possible +to stave off an attack or even to assume the offensive against the +underwater boat. A recent invention, the perfection of which is due +to the work of Mr. William Dubilier, an American electrical +engineer, and of Professor Tissot, a member of the French Academy of +Science, is the microphone. Few details are known about this +instrument except that it records sound waves at as great a distance +as fifty-five miles. This would permit in most cases the calling of +patrol boats or the use of other defensive means before the +submarine would be able to execute an attack. + +At the present moment it would appear that the most dangerous enemy +of the submarine yet discovered is the airplane or the dirigible. +Some figures as to the mortality among submarines due to the efforts +of aircraft have been published in an earlier chapter. The chief +value of aircraft in this work is due to the fact that objects under +the water are readily discernible at a considerable depth when +viewed from a point directly over them. An illustration familiar to +every boy is to be found in the fact that he can see fish at the +bottom of a clear stream from a bridge, while from the shore the +refraction of the water is such that he can see nothing. From the +air the aviator can readily see a submarine at a depth of fifty feet +unless the water is unusually rough or turbid. The higher he rises +the wider is his sphere of vision. With the lurking craft thus +located the airman can either signal to watching destroyers or may +bide his time and follow the submarine until it rises to the +surface, when a well placed bomb will destroy it. Both of these +methods have been adopted with success. For a time the submarines +were immune from this form of attack because of the difficulty of +finding a bomb which would not explode on striking the surface of +the water, thus allowing its force to be dissipated before it +reached the submarine, or else would not have its velocity so +greatly checked by the water that on reaching the submarine the +shock of its impact would not be great enough to explode it at all. +Both of these difficulties have been overcome. The new high +explosives have such power, taken in connection with the fact that +water transmits the force of an explosion undiminished to a great +distance, that many of them exploding at the surface will put out of +action a submarine at a considerable depth. Furthermore bombs have +been invented, which being fired, not merely dropped from an +airplane, will go through the water with almost undiminished +momentum and explode on striking the target, or after a period fixed +by the assailant. Other bombs known as "depth bombs" are fitted with +flanges that revolve as they sink, causing an explosion at any +desired depth. + +About the actual achievements of the airplane as a foe to submarines +there hangs a haze of mystery. It has been the policy of the Allied +governments to keep secret the record of submarines destroyed and +particularly the methods of destruction. But we know that a few have +met their fate from bolts dropped from the blue. In _The Outlook_ +Lawrence La Tourette Driggs, himself a flying man of no contemptible +record, describes the method and result of such an attack. After +recounting the steps by which a brother airman attained a position +directly above a submerged submarine preparatory to dropping his +bomb, he says: + + Down shot his plummet of steel and neatly parted the waters ahead + of the labouring submarine. But it did not explode. I could see a + whirling metal propeller on the torpedo revolve as it sank. It + must have missed the craft by twenty feet. + + Suddenly a column of water higher than my position in the air + stood straight up over the sea, then slipped noiselessly back. By + all that is wonderful how did that happen? + + As we covered the spot again and again in our circling machines, + we were joined by two more pilots, and finally by a fast clipper + steam yacht. The surface of the water was literally covered with + oil, breaking up the ripple of the waves, and smoothing a huge + area into gleaming bronze. Here and there floated a cork belt, + odd bunches of cotton waste, a strip of carpet, and a wooden + three-legged stool. These fragments alone remained to testify to + the _corpus delicti_. + + "Philip," I said half an hour later, as the hot coffee was + thawing out our insides, "what kind of a civilized bomb do you + call that?" + + "That bears the simple little title of trinitrotoluol; call it T. + N. T. for short," replied Sergeant Pieron. + + "But what made it hang fire so long?" I demanded. + + "It's made to work that way. When the bomb begins sinking the + little propeller is turned as it is pulled down through the + water. It continues turning until it screws to the end. There it + touches the fuse-pin and that sets off the high explosive--at any + depth you arrange it for." + + I regarded him steadfastly. Then I remarked, "But it did not + touch the submarine. I saw it miss." + + "Yes, you can miss it fifty yards and still crush the submarine." + He took up an empty egg shell. "The submarine is hollow like + this. She is held rigidly on all her sides by the water. Water is + non-compressible like steel. Now when the T. N. T. explodes, even + some distance away, the violent expending concussion is + communicated to this hollow shell just as though a battering ram + struck it. The submarine can't give any because the surrounding + water holds her in place. So she crumples up--like this." + + Pieron opened his hand and the flakes of egg shell fluttered down + until they struck the floor. + +Gunfire undoubtedly is still the most reliable preventive against +submarine attacks. Comparatively small calibred guns can cause +serious damage to submarines even by one well directed shot. +Submarines have been sunk both by warships and merchantmen in this +way and many more have been forced to desist from attacks. Not every +merchantman, of course, can be equipped with the necessary guns and +gunners. Neither equipment nor men can be spared in sufficient +quantities. But the efficiency of gun protection has been proved +beyond all doubt by many authentic reports of successful encounters +between armed merchantmen and submarines in which the latter were +defeated. + +Ramming, too, has been advocated and tried. It is, however, a +procedure involving considerable danger to the attacking boat. For +one thing all the submarine has to do is to dive quick and deep +enough and it is out of harm's way. Then, too, the chances are that +the submarine can launch a torpedo in time to reach the ramming +vessel before the latter can do any damage. + +[Illustration: _A Critical Moment._ + +_Painting by John E. Whiting._] + +There have been reports of submarine duels between Austrian and +Italian submarines in the Adriatic in which it was claimed that in +each at least one submarine was destroyed, and, at least, in one +instance both the duellists were sunk. Generally speaking the fact +has been established, however, that submarines cannot fight +submarines with any degree of success, except in exceptional cases +and under exceptional conditions. + +Since the outbreak of the war between the United States and Germany +the question of combating the submarine has become more acute than +ever. The latest development has been along negative rather than +affirmative lines. It has apparently been decided that none of the +devices, known at present and capable of destroying submarines, is +sufficient either alone or in combinations to defeat the submarines +decisively. The best means of balancing as much as possible the +losses which German submarines are inflicting on the shipping +facilities of the Allies at the present seems to be the unlimited +and prompt building of large fleets of comparatively small ships. If +this can be accomplished in time, the German submarines undoubtedly +will find it impossible to destroy a tonnage sufficient to exert any +great influence on the final outcome of the war. + + + + +CHAPTER XVII + +THE FUTURE OF THE SUBMARINE + + +The world will not always be at war. Interminable as the conflict by +which it is now racked seems, and endless as appear the resources of +the nations participating in it, the time must come when victory or +sheer exhaustion shall compel peace. People talk of that peace being +permanent. That is perhaps too sanguine a dream while human nature +remains what it is, and nations can still be as covetous, ambitious, +and heedless of others' rights as are individuals. But beyond doubt +a prolonged period of peace awaits the world. What then is to be the +future of the aircraft and the submarine which had to wait for war +to secure any recognition from mankind of their prodigious +possibilities? + +Of the future of the aircraft there can be no doubt. Its uses in +peace will be innumerable. Poor old Count Zeppelin, who thought of +his invention only as a weapon of war, nevertheless showed how it +might be successfully adapted to the needs of peace merely as a +byproduct. As for the airplane both for sport and business its +opportunities are endless. Easy and inexpensive to build, simple to +operate with but little training on the part of the aviator, it will +be made the common carrier of all nations. Already the United States +is maintaining an aerial mail service in Alaska. Already too, bi- +and triplanes are built capable of carrying twenty-five to thirty +men besides guns and ammunition. It is easy to foresee the use that +can be made of machines of this character in times of peace. Needing +no tracks or right of way, requiring no expensive signalling or +operative system, asking only that at each end of the route there +shall be a huge level field for rising and for landing, these +machines will in time take to themselves the passenger business of +the world. + +But the future of the submarine is more dubious. Always it will be a +potent weapon of war. It may indeed force the relegation of +dreadnoughts to the scrap heap. But of its peaceful services there +is more doubt. That it can be made a cargo carrier is unquestionably +true. But to what good? There is no intelligent reason for carrying +cargoes slowly under water which might just as well be carried +swiftly on the surface unless war compels concealment. Underwater +navigation must always be slower and more expensive than surface +navigation, nor does it seem probable that the underwater boats can +ever equal in size ordinary ships, though undoubtedly their present +proportions are going to be greatly increased. + +As a result of the German submarine campaign it is possible that the +United States may develop a fleet of underwater merchantmen to +circumvent the enemy while this war continues, though there has been +but little discussion of it. But even so, commonsense would indicate +that such a fleet would be abandoned on the restoration of peace. If +anything is to be done toward making the submarine a vessel of +ordinary everyday use the present double system of motors--the +Diesels for surface navigation and the electric for submerged +service--will have to be abandoned. Inventors however are diligently +working on this problem to-day. Indeed so well known and successful +a builder of submarines as Mr. Simon Lake seemed to have faith in +their possibilities as merchant craft. As early as February, 1916, +he announced that he had taken out a patent on a new form of +cargo-carrying submarine which he described as made up of "nests of +light-weight circular tanks of comparatively small diameter +surrounded by a ship-shape form of hull." What advantage was to +accrue from this type of vessel Mr. Lake has not explained. However +the Germans who seemed to originate everything successfully +demonstrated that the merchant submarine was a practicable and +useful craft with which to beat the blockade. + +This was proved by the two successful trips made by the unarmed +German merchant submarine _Deutschland_ between Germany and the +United States in 1916. Loaded with a cargo of dyestuffs and +chemicals she left Bremen on June 14, 1916, and arrived in Baltimore +early in July. After a short stay, during which she took on a full +return cargo, consisting chiefly of rubber and metal, she started on +August 1, 1916, for her return trip to Bremen where she arrived +safely soon after August 15, 1916. Once more, in October of the same +year she made a successful round trip, docking this time in New +London. There was considerable talk about additional trips by other +German merchant submarines, but none of them were ever carried out. +It has never become known whether this was due to the loss of these +merchant submarines or to political relations between Germany and +the United States which were then gradually assuming a less friendly +form. + +[Illustration: Photo by International Film Service. + +_A Submarine Built for Chili, Passing through Cape Cod Canal._] + +Of course, it is true that such boats are blockade runners and in a +way, therefore, part and parcel of warfare. But they are unarmed +merchantmen just the same and their exclusively mercantile character +has been officially acknowledged by the United States Government. +Under conditions of peace, however, it is very doubtful whether +submarine merchantmen would pay, nor does it seem as if they +possessed any advantages at all over surface merchant vessels. +Nevertheless they represent an entirely new development of submarine +navigation and, therefore, deserve attention. + +During her stay in the United States, very few people were permitted +to get more than a glance of the _Deutschland_. As a result, +comparatively little became known regarding her mechanical details. +The _Scientific American_, however, in its issue of July 22, 1916, +gives a fairly detailed description of this first merchant +submarine. + +From this account we learn that the _Deutschland_ conforms rather +closely to the typical German naval U-boat. The hull proper consists +of an internal cigar-shaped, cylindrical structure, which extends +from stem to stern, and in its largest diameter measures about +twenty feet. Enclosing this hull is a lighter false hull, which is +perforated, to permit the entrance and exit of the sea-water, and is +so shaped as to give the submarine a fairly good ship model for +driving at high speed on the surface and at a much lesser speed +submerged. The upper portion of the false hull does not present such +a flat deck-like appearance as is noticeable in the naval U-boats. +In fact, the whole modelling of the _Deutschland_, as compared with +the naval boats, suggests that she has been fulled out somewhat, +with a view to obtaining the necessary displacement for cargo +carrying. + + The interior cylindrical hull is divided by four transverse + bulkheads into five separate water-tight compartments. + Compartment No. 1, at the bow, contains the anchor cables and + electric winches for handling the anchor; also general ship + stores, and a certain amount of cargo. Compartment No. 2 is given + up entirely to cargo. Compartment No. 3, which is considerably + larger than any of the others, contains the living quarters of + the officers and crew. At the after end of this compartment, and + communicating with it, is the conning tower. Compartment No. 4 is + given up entirely to cargo. Compartment No. 5 contains the + propelling machinery, consisting of two heavy oil engines and two + electric motors. The storage batteries are carried in the bottom + of the boat, below the living compartment. For purposes of + communication, a gangway, 2 feet 6 inches wide by 6 feet high, is + built through each cargo compartment, thus rendering it possible + for the crew to pass entirely from one end of the boat to the + other. + + The length of the _Deutschland_ is about 315 feet; beam 30 feet, + and draught 17 feet. For surface propulsion and for charging the + batteries, the boat carries two 4-cylinder, Diesel, heavy-oil + motors of about 600 H. P. each. The speed at the surface is from + 12 to 13 knots; and submerged it is 7 knots. At the surface the + displacement of the boat is about 2000 tons, and she has a cargo + capacity of about 700 tons. + + The freeboard to the main deck, which runs the full length of the + boat, but is only about 5-1/2 feet wide, is about 6 feet, and the + cockpit at the top of the conning tower is about 15 feet above + the water. This cockpit, by the way, is suggestive of the + protection afforded a chauffeur in an automobile, there being a + shield in front of the quartermaster, so shaped as to throw the + wind and spray upwards and clear of his face. + + Two periscopes are provided; one at the forward end of the + conning tower, and the other, of larger diameter, being forward + and on the starboard of the conning tower. An interesting feature + is the two folding, steel, wireless masts, about 50 feet in + height, both of which fold aft into pockets built in the deck of + the ship. The forward one of these masts carries a crow's nest + for the lookout. + +The commander of the _Deutschland_, Captain Paul Koenig, was before the +war a popular captain of North German Lloyd liners. He has published a +very vivid and interesting account of the _Deutschland's_ trip, the +_Voyage of the Deutschland_. In this book, he tells us how he was +offered this novel command while the plans were still being drawn and +that he immediately accepted, making, however, the proviso "if the +thing really comes off." + +The men, backing the venture, lost no time and, so Captain Koenig +tells us, + + in less than two months a telegram called me to Berlin to an + important conference. Here I looked at sketches, plans, and + working drawings until my eyes swam. Four more months passed + which I utilized to the full. I then went to Kiel and saw a + remarkable framework of steel slowly take shape upon the stocks + across the way at Gaarden. Rotund, snug, and harmless the thing + lay there. Inside it were hidden all the countless, complicated, + and powerful features of those sketches and working drawings. I + cannot boast that the reality as executed in steel and brass was + any easier to grasp than the endless network of lines and circles + which had bewildered me when inspecting the blueprints. + + Those of you who have seen illustrations and photographs of the + interior of the "central station" or the "turret" of a submarine, + will understand what I mean. And should you have entered a + submarine itself and felt yourself hopelessly confused by the + bewildering chaos of wheels, vents, screws, cocks, pipes, + conduits--above, below, and all about--not to speak of the + mysterious levers and weird mechanisms, each of which has some + important function to fulfill, you may find some consolation in + the thought that my own brains performed a devils' dance at the + sight. + + But after this monster, with its tangle of tubes and pipes, had + been duly christened, and its huge grey-green body had slid + majestically into the water, it suddenly became a ship. It swam + in its element as though born to it--as though it had never known + another. + + For the first time I trod the tiny deck and mounted the turret to + the navigation platform. From here I glanced down and was + surprised to see beneath me a long, slender craft--with gracious + lines and dainty contours. Only the sides, where the green body + vaulted massively above the water, gave an indication of the huge + size of the hull. I felt pride and rapture as my eye took in this + picture. The fabric swayed slightly beneath my feet--an + impressive combination of power and delicacy. + + And now I know that what had at first seemed to me nothing more + than the product of some mad phantasy on the part of the + technicians was in reality a ship. It was a ship in which oceans + might be crossed, a real ship, to which the heart of an old + sailor like myself might safely attach itself. + + Then came a short period of trial trips and diving tests, all of + which were carried off successfully, and at last the day of + departure arrived. As soon as the last escort had turned around a + final diving test was ordered. + + Instantly the response came back from the turret and the central + station, and the men hurried to their posts. The oil engines were + still hammering away at a mad rate. I left the manhole of the + turret. The cover was battened down, the engines stopped at the + same moment. + + We felt a slight pressure in our ears for a moment. We were cut + off from outside and silence reigned. But this silence was merely + an illusion--and was due to the change. + +[Illustration: Permission of _Scientific American_. + +_A Submarine Entrapped by Nets._] + + "Open the diving-valves! Submerge!" + + The valves were flung open and the compressed air escaped hissing + from the tanks. At the same time a gigantic, intermittent + snorting ensued, like the blowing and belching of some + prehistoric monster. There was an uncomfortable pressure in our + ears, then the noise became more regular, followed by a buzzing + and a shrill hum. All the high notes of the engines in the + central station intermingled and made a bewildering noise. It was + like a mad diabolical singsong. And yet it was almost like + silence after the dull, heavy pounding of the oil-motors--only + more insistent and irritating. The penetrating hum in the various + vents announced the fact that the diving mechanism was in + operation. It moaned and sang lower and lower in the scale of + tones. These slowly diminishing and steadily deepening tones + give one the physical feeling of mighty volumes of water pouring + in and flooding full. + + You have the sensation of growing heavier and sinking as the boat + grows heavier and sinks, even though you may not be able to see + through the turret window, or the periscope, how the bows are + gradually submerged and the water climbs higher and higher up the + turret until all things without are wrapped in the eerie twilight + of the depths. + + The faithful lamps burned, however, and then a real silence + suddenly ensued. There was no sound but the gentle trembling + rhythm of the electric engines. + + I then gave the order: + + "Submerge to twenty meters!" + + "Both engines half steam ahead!" + + I was able to follow our submersion by means of the manometer. + Through flooding the tanks, the boat is given several tons + over-weight and the enclosed ship's space is made heavier than + the displaced quantity of water. The titanic fish, therefore, + began to sink downward in its element, that is to say, it began, + in a certain sense, to fall. At the same time the electric + engines are put into motion and the propulsive force of the + propellers acts upon the diving rudders and causes the sinking to + become a gliding. After the required depth has been + reached--something which may easily be read from the manometer + that records the depth--all further sinking may be stopped by + simply lightening the hull, which is done by forcing out some of + the water in the submarine's tanks. The furious growling of the + pump is always a sure sign that the required depth is being + approached. The noise ceased, only the electric motors continued + to purr, and the word came from the central station: + + "Twenty meters--even keel!" + + "Rudder set!" + + So we forged ahead at a depth of twenty meters. Of course we are + "blind" under such conditions and can regulate our movements only + by means of the depth recorder and that precious little jewel of + the boat, our compass. No ray of light reached us any longer from + without, the periscope was submerged long ago and the steel + safety covers over the windows were closed. We had been + metamorphosed completely into a fish.[1] + + [Footnote 1: (C)] + +Orders were then given to rise again. The _Deutschland_ carried out +this manoeuvre with the same facility with which she had taken the +initial dive of her long voyage. In record time the ballast tanks +were emptied and the change from electric motors to oil engines was +completed without further loss of time. The boat was started at top +surface speed towards her ultimate goal, the United States. + +On the following day the _Deutschland_ barely escaped running foul +of a British submarine chaser, disguised as a neutral merchantman. A +quick dive alone saved her. When she came up again a wild storm and +a heavy sea were raging. Even before the change from the electric +motors to the oil engines had been completed, another dangerous +looking vessel appeared and before long was recognized as a hostile +destroyer by Captain Koenig. He tells us that he "Made one jump into +the turret and slammed the cover fast." + + "Alarm! Dive quickly! Flood!" + + "Set diving rudder!" + + "Twenty meters' depth!" + + The commands were uttered in almost one breath. But the execution + of them! + + To attempt to dive with such a sea running was sheer madness, as + experience has taught us. What was I to do? The destroyer might + have seen us already! + + Well, we knew we must get under--and as quickly as possible. + + The men in the central below me were working away in silent + haste. All the exhausts were opened wide, the compressed air + hissed from the tanks--the diving vents were chanting in all + possible keys. + + I stood with my lips pressed together and stared out of the + turret window upon the tossing sea, and watched for the first + sign of our going down. But our deck remained still visible and + we were continually lifted into the air by some wave. There was + not a moment to be lost. + + I ordered the diving rudder to be set still more sharply and both + engines to drive ahead with full power. + + The whole vessel quivered and thrilled under the increased + pressure of the engines and made several leaps. She staggered + about in the furious seas--but still seemed loath to leave the + surface. Then she gave a jerk and her bows suddenly dipped and + cut into the flood. She began to sink into the depths at an + ever-increasing angle. The coming daylight vanished from the + windows of the turret, the manometer in rapid succession showed + 2--3--6--10 meters' depth. But the angle of the boat also began + to increase. + + We staggered about, leaned back, slipped off our feet. We then + lost our footing entirely--for the floor of the _Deutschland_ + slanted sharply toward the front. I was just able to catch hold + of the ocular or eye-piece of the periscope. Down in the central + the men were hanging on to the hand-wheels of the diving rudder. + A few terrible seconds passed thus. + + We had not yet seized the full significance of this new situation + when there came a severe shock. We were hurled to the floor and + everything that was not fastened down went flying in all + directions. + + We found ourselves in the queerest attitudes--and stared into one + another's faces. There was a grim silence for a moment, then + First Officer Krapohl remarked dryly: + + "Well, we seem to have arrived!" + + This broke the ghastly tension. + + We were all rather pale around the gills, but at once tried to + get our bearings. + + What had happened? + + What had caused this unnatural inclination of the boat? And why + were the engines above us raving at intervals in a way that made + the whole boat roar from stem to stern? + + Before any of us had arrived at any solution of the mystery, our + Chief Engineer, little Klees, had jumped up from his crouching + position, and, swift as lightning, had swept the engine-signal + dial around to "Stop!" + + And suddenly there was a deep silence. + + We slowly assembled our proper legs and arms and thought hard + over what had happened. + + The vessel had slanted down toward the bows at an angle of about + 36 degrees. She was standing, so to speak, on her head. Our bow + was fast upon the bottom of the sea--our stern was still + oscillating up and down like a mighty pendulum. The manometer + showed a depth of about 15 meters.[2] + + [Footnote 2: (C)] + +[Illustration: Permission of _Scientific American_. + +_Diagram of a German Submarine Mine-Layer Captured by British._] + +However, the _Deutschland_ finally worked herself free and soon was +again on the surface. Luck must have been with her, for she had +suffered no damage and, in spite of the mountains of water which she +must have thrown up, the hostile destroyer had not discovered her. +Once more she was off on her way. + +So the days went by and before long the merchant submarine had +passed, without having been detected, beyond the territory in which +British patrol boats were operating. Then came a succession of +uneventful days and fine weather. Practically every day diving tests +were made. One of these the captain describes as follows: + + During these experimental diving tests we were treated to a + spectacle of fairy-like loveliness. + + I had set the rudder in such a way that the turret was travelling + about three yards under water. Overhead the sun shone brilliantly + and filled the deeps with a clear radiance. The pure water was + luminous with colour--close at hand it was of a light azure blue, + of fabulous clearness and transparent as glass. I could see the + entire boat from the turret windows. The shimmering pearls of the + air-bubbles which rise constantly from the body of the craft + played about the entire length of the vessel from deck to bows, + and every detail stood out in miraculous sharpness. Farther ahead + there was a multi-coloured twilight. It seemed as if the prow + kept pushing itself noiselessly into a wall of opalescent green + which parted, glistening, and grew to an ethereal, rainbow-like + translucency close at hand. + + We were spell-bound by this vision of beauty. The fairy-like + effect was increased by medusae which, poised in the transparent + blue, frequently became entangled in the wires of the mine-guards + or the railings and glowed like trembling fires of rose, pale + gold, and purple.[3] + + [Footnote 3: (C)] + +But less pleasant things were in store for the _Deutschland's_ crew. +The nearer the boat came to the region of the Gulf Stream, the more +violent the weather became. Though she still ran most of the time on +the surface, it became necessary to keep all openings battened down. +Even the manhole, leading to the turret, could be kept open only +for short periods. Naturally the temperature was rising all the +time. It was midsummer and the Gulf Stream contributed its share of +warmth. No wonder, therefore, that Captain Koenig compares conditions +below decks to a "veritable hell," and then continues: + + While in the Gulf Stream we had an outer temperature of 28 deg. + Celsius. This was about the warmth of the surrounding water. + Fresh air no longer entered. In the engine-room two 6-cylinder + combustion motors kept hammering away in a maddening two-four + time. They hurled the power of their explosions into the whirling + crankshafts. The red-hot breath of the consumed gases went + crashing out through the exhausts, but the glow of these + incessant firings remained in the cylinders and communicated + itself to the entire oil-dripping environment of steel. A choking + cloud of heat and oily vapour streamed from the engines and + spread itself like a leaden pressure through the entire ship. + + During these days the temperature mounted to 53 deg. Celsius. + + And yet men lived and worked in a hell such as this! The watch + off duty, naked to the skin, groaned and writhed in their bunks. + It was no longer possible to think of sleep. And when one of the + men fell into a dull stupor, then he would be aroused by the + sweat which ran incessantly over his forehead and into his eyes, + and would awake to new torment. + + It was almost like a blessed deliverance when the eight hours of + rest were over, and a new watch was called to the central or the + engine-room. + +[Illustration: Redrawn from _The Sphere_. Permission of _Scientific +American_. + +_A Submarine Discharging a Torpedo._] + + But there the real martyrdom began. Clad only in an undershirt + and drawers, the men stood at their posts, a cloth wound about + their foreheads to keep the running sweat from streaming into + their eyes. Their blood hammered and raced in their temples. + Every vein boiled as with fever. It was only by the exertion of + the most tremendous willpower that it was possible to force the + dripping human body to perform its mechanical duty and to remain + upright during the four hours of the watch.... + + But how long would we be able to endure this? + + I no longer kept a log during these days and I find merely this + one note: "Temperature must not rise any higher if the men are to + remain any longer in the engine-room." + + But they did endure it. They remained erect like so many heroes, + they did their duty, exhausted, glowing hot, and bathed in sweat, + until the storm centre lay behind us, until the weather cleared, + until the sun broke through the clouds, and the diminishing seas + permitted us once more to open the hatches.[4] + + [Footnote 4: (C)] + +The _Deutschland_ was now near her goal. Without any trouble she +entered Hampton Roads and was docked at Baltimore. There her cargo +was discharged and her return cargo loaded. This latter operation +involved many difficulties. During her stay a United States +Government Commission made a detailed inspection of the +_Deutschland_ to determine beyond all question her mercantile +character. But at last the day of departure, August 1, had arrived. +Properly escorted she made the trip down the Patapsco River and +Chesapeake Bay. On her way down she made again diving trials which +Captain Koenig describes as follows: + + In order to see that everything else was tight and in good order, + I gave the command to set the boat upon the sea bottom at a spot + which, according to the reading upon the chart, had a depth of + some 30 meters. + + Once again everything grew silent. The daylight vanished the + well-known singing and boiling noise of the submerging vents + vibrated about us. In my turret I fixed my eyes upon the + manometer. Twenty meters were recorded, then twenty-five. The + water ballast was diminished--thirty meters appeared and I waited + the slight bump which was to announce the arrival of the boat at + the bottom. + + Nothing of the sort happened. + + Instead of this the indicator upon the dial pointed to 32--to + 33--to 35 meters.... + + I knocked against the glass with my finger--correct--the arrow + was just pointing toward thirty-six. + + "Great thunder! what's up?" I cried, and reached for the chart. + Everything tallied. Thirty meters were indicated at this spot and + our reckoning had been most exact. + + And we continued to sink deeper and deeper. + + The dial was now announcing 40 meters. + + This was a bit too much for me. I called down to the central and + got back the comforting answer that the large manometer was also + indicating a depth of over forty meters! + + The two manometers agreed. + + This, however, did not prevent the boat from continuing to sink. + + The men in the central began to look at one another.... + + Ugh! it gives one a creepy feeling to go slipping away into the + unknown amidst this infernal singing silence and to see nothing + but the climbing down of the confounded indicator upon the + white-faced dial.... + + There was nothing else to be seen in my turret. I glanced at the + chart and then at the manometer in a pretty helpless fashion. + + In the meantime the boat sank deeper; forty-five meters were + passed--the pointer indicated forty-eight meters. I began to + think the depth of the Chesapeake Bay must have some limit; we + surely could not be heading for the bottomless pit? Then--the + boat halted at a depth of fifty meters without the slightest + shock. + + I climbed down into the central and took counsel with Klees and + the two officers of the watch. + + There could be only one explanation; we must have sunk into a + hole which had not been marked upon the chart.[5] + + [Footnote 5: (C)] + +[Illustration: Permission of _Scientific American_. + +_A German Submarine in Three Positions._] + +When orders were now given to rise, it was found that the exhaust +pumps refused to work. After a while, however, the chief engineer +succeeded in getting them started. They reached the surface after +about two hours of submergence. + +It was dark by the time the merchant submarine was approaching the +three-mile limit. Outside of it hostile warships were lying in wait. +That the _Deutschland_ escaped them well illustrates the fact that +submarines may be kept by various means from entering a bay or a +harbour, but that to blockade their exit is practically impossible. +This is how Captain Koenig speaks of his escape. + + We knew that the most dangerous moment of our entire voyage was + now approaching. We once more marked our exact position, and then + proceeded to make all the preparations necessary for our breaking + through. + + Then we dived and drove forward. All our senses were keyed to the + utmost, our nerves taut to the breaking-point with that cold + excitement which sends quivers through one's soul, the while + outwardly one remains quite serene, governed by that clear and + icy deliberation which is apt to possess a man who is fully + conscious of the unknown perils toward which he goes.... + + We knew our path. We had already been informed that fishermen had + been hired to spread their nets along certain stretches of the + three-mile limit; nets in which we were supposed to entangle + ourselves; nets into which devilish mines had very likely been + woven.... + + Possibly these nets were merely attached to buoys which we were + then supposed to drag along after us, thus betraying our + position.... + + We were prepared for all emergencies, so that in case of extreme + necessity we should be able to free ourselves of the nets. But + all went well. + + It was a dark night. Quietly and peacefully the lighthouses upon + the two capes sent forth their light, the while a few miles + further out death lay lowering for us in every imaginable form. + + But while the English ships were racing up and down, jerking + their searchlights across the waters and searching again and + again in every imaginable spot, they little surmised that, at + times within the radius of their own shadows, a periscope pursued + its silent way, and under this periscope the _U-Deutschland_. + + That night at twelve o'clock, after hours of indescribable + tension, I gave the command to rise. + + We Had Broken Through! + + Slowly the _Deutschland_ rose to the surface, the tanks were + blown out and the Diesel engines flung into the gearing. At our + highest speed we now went rushing toward the free Atlantic.[6] + + [Footnote 6: (C)] + +The homeward voyage was completed without untoward incident and long +before the month had ended, the first--and probably last--merchant +submarine was again safe and snug in her home port. + +The cargo-carrying submarine, however, is by no means the only type +of underwater vessel engaged in peaceful pursuits which has been +suggested so far. Mr. Simon Lake, the American submarine engineer +and inventor, has frequently pointed out the commercial +possibilities of the submarine. + +In the early part of 1916 a series of articles from his pen appeared +in _International Marine Engineering_. They contained a number of +apparently feasible suggestions looking towards the commercial +development of the submarine. + +First of all he tells of experiments made with submarines for +navigation under ice. The proper development of this idea, of +course, would be of immense commercial value. Many harbours in +various parts of the world are inaccessible during the winter months +for vessels navigating on the surface. Navigation on many important +inland lakes likewise has to be stopped during that period. +Submarines, built so that they can safely travel under the ice, +would overcome these conditions and would make it possible to use +most ice-bound ports throughout the entire year at least in Mr. +Lake's view. + +Ever since Mr. Lake began inventing and building submarines he has +been interested in the possibilities which submarines offer for the +exploration of the sea-bottom and for the discovery of wrecks and +recovery of their valuable cargoes. His first boat, the _Argonaut_, +as we have heard, possessed a diving chamber for just such purposes. +He has continued his investigations and experiments along this line, +and in these articles he shows illustrations of submarine boats and +devices adapted for such work. Properly financed and directed, the +recovery of cargoes from wrecks undoubtedly would not only bring +large financial returns to the backers of such a venture, but also +do away with the immense waste which the total loss of sunken +vessels and cargoes inflicts now on the world. Submarines in peace +may yet recover for the use of man much of the wealth which +submarines in war have sent to the bottom of the sea. Marine +insurance, too, would be favourably affected by such an undertaking. + +Still one other commercial submarine boat is advocated by Mr. Lake. +This is to be used for the location and collection of shellfish on a +large scale. Of this vessel its inventor says: + + The design of this submarine oyster-dredging vessel is such that + the vessel goes down to the bottom direct, and the water is + forced out of the centre raking compartment so that the oysters + may be seen by the operator in the control compartment. With only + a few inches of water over them, headway is then given to the + submarine and the oysters are automatically raked up, washed, and + delivered through pipes into the cargo-carrying chambers. + Centrifugal pumps are constantly delivering water from the cargo + compartments, which induces a flow of water through the pipes + leading from the "rake pans" with sufficient velocity to carry up + the oysters and deposit them into the cargo holds. In this manner + the bottom may be seen, and by "tracking" back and forth over the + bottom the ground may be "cleaned up" at one operation. + + This boat has a capacity of gathering oysters from good ground at + the rate of five thousand bushels per hour. The use of the + submarine will make the collection of oysters more nearly like + the method of reaping a field of grain, where one "swathe" + systematically joins on to another, and the whole field is + "cleaned up" at one operation. + +Man's greediness for profit has already driven the salmon from the +rivers of New England where once they swarmed. Mechanical devices +for taking them by the hundreds of thousands threaten a like result +in the now teeming rivers of Washington and British Columbia. Mr. +Lake's invention has the demerit of giving conscienceless profiteers +the opportunity to obliterate the oyster from our national waters. + +[Illustration: Permission of _Scientific American_. + +_Sectional View of a British Submarine._] + +It does not appear, however, that, except as an engine of war the +submarine offers much prospect of future development or future +usefulness. And as we of the United States entered this war, which +now engages our energies and our thoughts, for the purpose of making +it the last war the world shall ever know, speculation on the future +of the submarine seems rather barren. That does not mean however +that there will be a complete stoppage of submarine construction or +submarine development. War is not going to be ended by complete +international disarmament, any more than complete unpreparedness +kept the United States out of the struggle. A reasonable armament +for every nation, and the union of all nations against any one or +two that threaten wantonly to break the peace is the most promising +plan intelligent pacifism has yet suggested. In such an +international system there will be room and plenty for submarines. + +Indeed it is into just such a plan that they intelligently fit. +Though not wholly successful in their operations against capital +ships, they have demonstrated enough power to make nations hesitate +henceforth before putting a score of millions into ponderous +dreadnoughts which have to retire from submarine-infested waters as +the British did in their very hour of triumph at Jutland. They have +not nullified, but greatly reduced the value of overwhelming sea +power such as the British have possessed. A navy greater than those +of any two other nations has indeed kept the German ships, naval and +commercial, locked in port. But less than two hundred inexpensive +submarines bid fair to sweep the seas of all merchant ships--neutral +as well as British unless by feverish building the nations can build +ships faster than submarines can sink them. Huge navies may +henceforth be unknown. + +The submarine has been the David of the war. It is a pity that its +courage and efficiency have been exerted mainly in the wrong cause +and that the missiles from its sling have felled the wrong Goliath. + +Aircraft and submarine! It is still on the cards that when the +definitive history of the war shall be written, its outcome may be +ascribed to one or the other of these novel weapons--the creation of +American inventive genius. + + + + +INDEX + + +A + + _Aboukir_, 235, 236 + + Aerial mail service, 362 + + Aerial instruction, 109-121 + + Aerial Coast Patrol Unit, 188 + + Aerodromes, 170 + + Airplane costs, 224, 225 + + American aviators in France, 109, 111, 174 + + American Flying Corps, 175 + + Andre, General, 267-269 + + Andree, Polar expedition, 41, 56, 57 + + Anti-aircraft guns, 128, 129, 144-147, 150, 151, 169, 172, 173, 211, + 230, 297, 305 + + Antwerp, 195 + + "Archies," _see_ anti-aircraft guns + + Arlandes, Marquis, d', 29 + + Archimedes, 19 + + Army Aviation School, Mineola, 188 + + Arras, 185 + + Astra-Torres, 81 + + Austrian, submarine, U-11, 190; + seaplane, 191; + warships _vs._, British submarines, 334; + submarines, 261, 360; + submarine strength of, 306, 307 + + Aviation, in England, 104, 105, 106; + in France, 104-106; + Germany, 104-106, 108; + Russia, 106; + United States, 182-190, 194, 202, 221 + + "Avro" machines, 148 + + +B + + Baker, Ray Stannard, quoted, 287-293 + + Ball, Captain, 212-214 + + Baltic, 157 + + Bauer, Wilhelm, 253, 254 + + Belgium, 18, 108, 184, 196 + + Belgium, mapping coast of, 150 + + Berlin, 65, 74, 75, 156, 357 + + Besnier, wings, 16 + + Blanchard, aeronaut, 35 + + Bleriot, aviator, 35, 95, 109; + airplane, 186 + + Blockade, United States, 10 + + Boelke, Lieutenant, 118-120; + story of air duel of, 214-216 + + Brazil, submarine strength of, 307 + + Briggs, Commander, 148 + + Bristol, biplane, 126 + + British, 105, 147, 149, 151, 152, 164, 166, 171, 183, 188, 190, 334; + Admiralty, 236, 272; + Navy, 195, 274; + Royal Flying Corps, 105, 106, 164, 166, 167, 174, 212; + Royal Naval Air Service, 150, 200; + submarine strength, 301, 302 + + Brussels, 165 + + Bushnell, David, 246-249, 263 + + +C + + Calmette, M., 267-270 + + Canada, airplane factories in, 107 + + Caproni, airplanes, 204, 228 + + Cayley, Sir George, 36, 83 + + Channel, English, 30, 35, 55, 144, 324, 340, 341 + + Chanute, 90 + + Chapman, Victor, 176, 179, 180, 214 + + Charles, M., 25; + balloon, 31 + + Churchill, Winston, 155 + + Civil War, 5, 7, 10, 61, 260, 261, 333 + + _Clement-Bayard II._, 56 + + Coffin, Howard E., 202 + + Congress of the United States, 182, 187, 194, 196, 201, 221, 276, 301 + + Congressional Committee, 204 + + _Cressy_, 235, 236 + + Curtis, Glenn, 83, 98 + + Cuxhaven, 8, 108, 132, 148, 149, 150, 155 + + +D + + Dardanelles, 157, 190, 310, 334 + + Da Vinci, Leonardo, 15 + + Day, J., 242-246 + + "D. H. 5," 126 + + Denmark, submarine strength of, 306, 307 + + Department of Aeronautics, 182 + + Deutsch, Henry, prize for aviation, 39, 46-50 + + _Deutschland_, The, 13, 364-378 + + Dewey, Admiral, 271, 272 + + Diesel motor, 308, 309, 319, 325, 363, 366 + + Douaumont, 162 + + Drachens, 220 + + Drebel, Cornelius, 238-240 + + Driggs, Lawrence La Tourette, 358, 359 + + Dubilier, William, 357 + + +E + + Eiffel Tower, 42, 46-49, 51. _See also_ Santos-Dumont + + Emperor of Germany, 65, 69, 72 + + England, 73, 75, 95, 105, 108, 142, 147, 166, 182, 184, 194, 201, + 202, 207, 209, 240, 251, 253, 303, 345 + + Essen, 8, 108 + + Expeditionary Army, 106 + + +F + + Faotomu, Lieutenant Takuma, 352, 353 + + Farman, 95, 108, 218 + + Farragut, Admiral, 132 + + Fiske, Rear-Admiral, 155, 157, 206 + + Flanders, 6, 148 + + Flechette, 138, 186 + + Fokker, 126, 128, 163, 170, 171, 212 + + Fort Myer, 96, 97 + + _Foucault_, submarine, 191 + + France, 59, 80, 81, 95, 104-106, 111, 120, 133, 142, 147, 167, 180, + 182, 183, 195, 199, 200-202, 208, 209, 214, 240, 251, 254, 295, + 303, 343 + + Franklin, Benjamin, views of balloons, 24; + letters, 32, 33 + + French, airplanes at Battle of Somme, 198; + Commission to United States, 196; + guns, 147; + improve on German airplane, 204; + inspection of captive Zeppelin, 81; + standardize their airplanes, 104; + submarine, 309; + submarine strength, 302, 303 + + French, General Sir John, 3-5, 106 + + Friedrichshaven, 8, 70, 75, 76, 108, 147 + + Fulton, Robert, 251, 252, 253 + + +G + + George, Lloyd, 210 + + German, Admiralty, 190; + air champion, 214; + air raids on England, 207; + attempt to starve England, 194; + fleet, 183, 184; + submarine attacks on allied shipping, 305; + submarine destroyed by bombs, 191; + submarines _vs._ international law, 192; + submarine strength, 303-305 + + German U-boats, 188, 206, 236, 304, 310, 314, 333, 336, 338 + + Germany, 61, 62, 69, 72, 73, 75, 79, 80, 81, 97, 104, 105, 106, 108, + 121, 133, 142, 146-149, 157, 171, 183-185, 193, 198, 200, 210, 235, + 280, 297, 310, 341, 361, 364 + + Ghent, 165 + + Gibbons, Floyd P., 347-351 + + Giffard, dirigible, 37, 38, 41, 43 + + Grange, de la, Lieutenant, 196, 199 + + Great Britain, 57, 58, 105, 106, 120, 142, 143, 157, 191, 192, 202, + 203, 204, 207, 310, 341, 343 + + Great War, 3, 12, 72, 80, 98, 103, 159 + + Greece, submarine strength of, 307 + + Grey, C. G., quoted, 189 + + Gross, dirigible, 77, 78 + + Guynemer, Captain Georges, 211, 212, 214 + + Gyroscope compass, 312 + + +H + + Hartlepool, 208 + + Harvard University, 175, 176 + + Harwich, 208 + + Heligoland, 155-157, 202, 333 + + _Hogue_, 235, 236 + + Holland, 150, 235; + submarine strength of, 306, 307 + + Holland, John P., 241, 274-277, 294; + submarine, 294-296, 298, 301, 302, 304, 306, 313 + + Holland Torpedo Boat Company, 272, 277, 298 + + Hotchkiss, 147 + + _Housatonic_, U. S. S., 259, 260 + + Hydro-airplane, 160, 189, 190, 206, 225 + + Hydroplane, 280, 308 + + +I + + Icarus, 14 + + Immelman, Captain, 119, 212-214 + + Instruction, in aviation, 111-118; + of American aviators, 11 + + _Ironsides_, 256, 257, 295 + + Italy, 81, 343; + submarine strength of, 306 + + Italian submarines, 360 + + +J + + Japan, submarine strength of, 306, 307 + + Japanese submarines, 352 + + Joffre, General, 4, 196 + + Jutland, battle of, 12, 381 + + +K + + Kaiser, 78. _Also see_ Emperor of Germany + + Kiel, 9, 108, 155-157, 183, 195, 202, 230, 253, 314, 367 + + Kipling, Rudyard, 80, 166, 226, 227, 346 + + Kitchener, Lord, 58 + + Kitty-Hawk, 89, 94 + + Kluck, General von, 3, 4 + + Koenig, Captain Paul, 367-377 + + Krebs, 39 + + +L + + Lafayette Escadrille, 121, 175, 176, 216 + + Lake Constance, 62, 148 + + Lake, Simon, 278-295, 356, 364, 378-380; + submarine, 294-296, 302, 304, 306, 317 + + Lana, Francisco, 17 + + Lancaster, F. W., 144 + + Langley, Professor Samuel, 82, 83, 84, 183 + + _La Patrie_, 55 + + _La Republique_, 55 + + Latham, 95 + + Laurenti, Major, 300; + submarine, 302, 306 + + Lebaudy Brothers, 54; + airplane, 56, 78 + + Le Bris, 86-88 + + Lee, Ezra, 249, 250 + + Lewis gun, 217 + + Liberty motor, 222, 226; + plane, 127 + + Liege, 159 + + Lilienthal, Gustav, 84 + + Lilienthal, Otto, 84-86, 90 + + Lilienthals, 88 + + Lille, 185 + + London, 9, 134, 142, 156, 208, 209, 230 + + Lufbery, Captain Raoul, 121, 180 + + Lunardi, aeronaut, 30 + + _Lusitania_, 193, 210, 263, 343 + + +M + + McConnell, Sergeant James R., 160 + + Marne, battle of, 5, 183, 196 + + Maxim, Sir Hiram, 83 + + _Merrimac_, 12 + + Meuse river, 4, 161 + + _Monitor_, 12 + + Mons, battle of, 3, 5 + + Montgolfier Brothers, Jos. & Jacques, 20, 22; + balloon, 21, 22, 23, 24, 28, 30 + + Moranes, 186 + + +N + + Namur, 4 + + Napoleon, 99, 108, 252 + + Naval Committee, House of Representatives, 271, 272 + + Navy Department of U. S., 188, 189, 278, 298, 300, 301 + + Navy Department, Civil War, 256, 257 + + Navy, Secretary of, 187, 194, 222 + + Needham, Henry Beach, 166 + + Nieuport, airplane, 140, 163, 186; + town of, 150, 151, 154 + + Nordenfeldt, Swedish inventor, 263, 264, 275 + + North Sea, 6, 76, 144, 149, 154, 156, 157, 187, 188, 190, 235, 236, 305 + + Norway, submarine strength of, 306, 307 + + Noyes, Alfred, quoted, 335-340 + + +O + + Ostend, 9, 150, 151, 191, 194, 200 + + +P + + Paris, 3, 23-25, 28, 48, 50-53, 61, 110 + + Parseval, dirigible, 77, 78 + + Parseval-Siegfeld, 141 + + Pau, 110 + + Pere Galien, 17 + + Periscopes, 296, 305, 310, 311, 326-328, 333, 366 + + Petersburg, 6 + + Pilcher, Percy S., 84, 86, 88 + + Pitney, Fred B., quoted, 323-328 + + Porter, Admiral David, 259 + + Prince, Norman, 176, 180, 216-221 + + +R + + Rees, Major L. W. B., 174 + + Renard, 38, 42, 43 + + Richmond, 6 + + Roberts Brothers' balloon, 34, 35 + + Rockwell, Kiffen, 176-179, 214 + + Royal Aerial Factory, 105 + + Rozier, Pilatre de, 27, 29; + death of, 30 + + Rumsey, Adjt., quoted, 217-220 + + Russia, 81, 106, 203, 254; + submarine strength of, 306, 307 + + Russian ships sunk in Baltic, 157; + submarine sunk by bombs, 190 + + +S + + Santos-Dumont, 34; + quoted, 38, 39-47, 48-50, 51-54, 59, 60, 62, 63, 88, 95 + + Scarborough, 208 + + Schutte-Lanz, dirigible, 77, 79 + + Schwartz, David, 63 + + Scott, Lieutenant, 133 + + Seaplanes, 105, 106, 108, 143, 149, 150, 154, 188, 191, 225, 236 + + _Severo Pax_, 77 + + Sikorsky, airplanes, 203 + + Sincay, Lieutenant de, 191 + + Sopwith, biplane, 126, 219 + + "S. P. A. D.," 217 + + Spain, 81; + submarine strength of, 306 + + St. Louis Exposition, 54 + + St. Petersburg, 63 + + Submarine, controversy between U. S. and Germany, 342; + cruise on, 323-331; + interior of, 318-323; + losses, 351-354; + tenders, 316; + strength of different countries, 306, 307; + ventilation, 239, 240, 307, 312; + war zones, 342, 343 + + Submarine warfare, allied losses, 344; + British losses, 344, 345; + neutral losses, 344 + + Submarines: + _Argonaut_, 282-295, 379 + _David_, 256, 257 + "E" class, 301 + _Fenian Ram_, 275 + "F-1," 300 + "F" (Holland type), 301 + German type, 304 + _Gustave Zede_, 266, 267 + _Gymnote_, 265, 266 + _Holland No. 2_, 275 + _Holland No. 4_, 275 + _Holland No. 8_, 278 + _Holland No. 9_, 271-273, 278 + _Hundley_, 258-260 + _Intelligent Whale_, 261 + _Le Diable Marin_, 254 + Laurenti type, 306 + _Morse_, 267-270 + _Mute_, 253 + _Narval_, 267, 270 + _Nautilus_, 252 + _Nordenfeldt II._, 264 + _Octopus_, 299 + _Plongeur_, 260 + _Plunger_, 277, 278 + _Resurgam_, 263 + "S" class, 302 (Laurenti or "F. I. A. T." type) + _Turtle_, 247, 249, 275 + "U-3," 314 + "U-20," 330 + "U-47," 328-331 + "V" class (Lake type), 302 + "W" class (Laubeuf type), 302 + "Viper" class, 299 + + Submarines, aircraft as enemy of, 357, 358; + armament of, 312; + (general topic), 159, 188, 190-195, 209; + marksmanship, 322; + microphone, 357; + motives powers of, 308, 309; + precautions and devices against, 345, 346, 355, 361; + requirements of modern, 307-317 + + Sweden, submarine strength of, 306, 307 + + Switzerland, 150 + + +T + + Taube, 126 + + Thaw, Lieutenant William, 214 + + Tissot, Professor, 357 + + Torpedo chamber, 320; + plane, 156, 157; + tubes, 298, 301, 303-306, 312, 315, 317, 320, 353 + + Trocadero, 49-51 + + Tulasne, Major, 196, 199 + + Turkey, submarine strength of, 307 + + Turkish, 177, 188, 334 + + +U + + U-53, 12, 206, 353, 354 + + U-Boat attacks on, allied merchantmen; + _Amiral Ganteaume,_ 340; + _Gulflight_, 343; + _Lusitania_, 193, 210, 263, 343; + _Laconia_, 347-351; + _Strathend_, 354; + _West Point_, 354; + _Stephano_, 354; + _Bloomersdijk_, 354; + _Christian Knudsen_, 354; + in general, 346-354 + + United States, 56-58, 81, 91, 94-96, 103, 107, 111, 120, 142, 158, + 166, 180, 182, 185, 187, 193, 194, 200, 202, 209, 221, 228, 230, + 239, 260, 261, 271, 295, 297, 301, 303, 310, 334, 341, 343, 345, + 361, 364, 365, 381; + government of, 96, 272, 273, 276, 296, 343; + declares war upon Germany, 342; + Navy, 297, 298, 300, 354; + submarine strength, 350 + + +V + + Vanniman, 57, 159 + + Vaux, 162 + + Venice, 108 + + Verdun, 6, 55, 161, 162 + + Verne, Jules, 40, 262, 287 + + Vickers, gun, 217; + scout airplane, 126, 131, 147, 164 + + Vicksburg, 6 + + Viney, Lieutenant, 191 + + von Bernstorff, Count, 353 + + +W + + Wanamaker, Rodman, 160 + + War, Department of, 101; + Secretary of, 187, 194, 222 + + War zones, 341, 342 + + Warneford, sub-Lieutenant R. A. J., 164, 165, 214 + + Washington, D. C., 96, 97, 204 + + Washington, General George, 247 + + Watt, James, 19 + + Weddigen, Captain, Otto von, 236, 305, 334 + + Wellington, 108 + + Wellman, Walter, 56, 57, 159 + + White, Claude Graham, 128 + + Whitehead torpedo, 261, 262, 264, 266 + + Wilhelmshaven, 132, 156, 157, 183, 195, 230, 353 + + Winslow, Carroll Dana, 111, 115, 116, 139 + + Woodhouse, Henry, 190 + + Wright Brothers, 14, 43, 58, 60, 64, 83, 84, 87, 89, 90-95, 97, + 98, 109, 111, 183 + + Wright, Orville, 74, 75, 88, 99-102 + + Wright, Wilbur, 88, 91, 96, 97 + + +Z + + Zede, M. Gustav, 265, 266, 303 + + Zeebrugge, 8, 9, 150, 151, 153, 155, 195, 200, 230 + + Zeppelin, Count, von, 28, 34, 38, 50, 54, 59-65, 68-77, 79, 105, 362 + + Zeppelin, Eberhard, 64 + + Zeppelin disasters: + _Zeppelin I._, 66-69 + _IV._, 66, 72 + _L-I_, 76 + _L-II_, 67 + + Zeppelin raids, 9, 208, 209 + + Zeppelins, 8, 60, 62, 65-81, 100, 101, 104, 105, 108, 133, 134, + 148-150, 164, 165, 208 + + + + +_A Selection from the Catalogue of_ + +G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS + +Complete Catalogues sent on application + + + THE MAKING OF A MODERN ARMY + + And Its Operations in the Field + + A Study Bated on the Experience of + Three Years on the French Front + 1914-1917 + + Rene Radiguet + General de Division, Army of France + + Translated by + Henry P. du Bellet + Formerly American Consul at Rheims + + _12{o}. 18 Illustrations and Diagrams. $1.50 net. + By mail, $1.65_ + +The younger Americans who are now in training for active service in +the field, and particularly those who have secured commissions as +officers or who are preparing to compete for such commissions, will +have a very direct interest in the instructions and suggestions +presented by General Radiguet in regard to the organization of an +army and the method of its operations in the field. General +Radiguet's treatise is based upon a varied experience in the +campaigns of the present war. + +The old text-books must be put to one side. The methods of +organization and the methods of fighting have alike changed. It is +only those who have had responsibilities as leaders in the present +war whose instructions can be accepted as authoritative. + + + + + LIFE AT THE U. S. NAVAL ACADEMY + + The Making of the American Navy Officer: + His Studies, Discipline, and Amusements + + By + + Ralph Earle + Rear-Admiral, U. S. N. + (Formerly Head of the Department of Ordnance and + Gunnery, U. S. Naval Academy) + + With an Introduction by + Franklin Roosevelt + Assistant-Secretary of the Navy + + _12{o}. 73 Illustrations and a Map. $2.00 net + By mail, $2.20_ + +This book follows the boy's procedure in entering and his first +summer's course, after which it takes the midshipman through the +course, not by years, but by clear discussions of the various +activities that make up his daily life. The recitations, drills, +practice cruises, physical training, medical care, athletics, +recreations, and the career that the Navy affords one after +graduation are related in a manner that will make the midshipman's +life easily understood by his parents and friends, and also show the +boy intending to enter the Academy just what he may expect there. + +_At All Booksellers_ + + + + + WEST POINT + + An Intimate Picture of the National + Military Academy, and of the Life + of the Cadet + + By + + Robert C. Richardson, Jr. + + Captain, 2d Cavalry, U. S. A.; Aide-de-Camp to Major-General + Thomas H. Barry + + Foreword by + + Major-General Hugh L. Scott + Chief-of-Staff, U. S. Army + + _12{o}. 32 Illustrations, $2.00 net + By mail, $2.20_ + +The book, while of interest to all who have attended the +institution, is addressed primarily to the general public so that +that public may become better acquainted with the aims and ideals of +their National Military Academy. 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