it¡¡is¡¡not¡¡at¡¡all¡¡an¡¡easy¡¡problem¡¡for¡¡an¡¡aviator¡¡to
do¡¡work¡¡which¡¡is¡¡commensurate¡¡with¡¡the¡¡risk
involved¡£¡¡The¡¡range¡¡is¡¡generally¡¡too¡¡great£»¡¡the
necessity¡¡of¡¡swift¡¡movement¡¡in¡¡the¡¡machine¡¡too
speedy¡¡to¡¡assure¡¡accuracy£»¡¡and¡¡to¡¡attack¡¡a¡¡foe¡¡at
haphazard¡¡points¡¡can¡¡never¡¡be¡¡effectual¡£¡¡Even
the¡¡slowly¡moving¡¡gas¡¡fields£»¡¡like¡¡the¡¡Zeppelin£»
cannot¡¡deliver¡¡bombs¡¡with¡¡any¡¡degree¡¡of¡¡precision
or¡¡accuracy¡£
BOMB¡THROWING¡¡TESTS¡£It¡¡is¡¡interesting£»¡¡however£»
to¡¡understand¡¡how¡¡an¡¡aviator¡¡knows¡¡where
or¡¡when¡¡to¡¡drop¡¡the¡¡bomb¡¡from¡¡a¡¡swiftly¡moving
machine¡£¡¡Several¡¡things¡¡must¡¡be¡¡taken¡¡into¡¡consideration£»
such¡¡as¡¡the¡¡height¡¡of¡¡the¡¡machine¡¡from
the¡¡earth£»¡¡its¡¡speed£»¡¡and¡¡the¡¡parabolic¡¡curve¡¡that
the¡¡bomb¡¡will¡¡take¡¡on¡¡its¡¡flight¡¡to¡¡the¡¡earth¡£
When¡¡an¡¡object¡¡is¡¡released¡¡from¡¡a¡¡moving¡¡machine
it¡¡will¡¡follow¡¡the¡¡machine¡¡from¡¡which¡¡it¡¡is
dropped£»¡¡gradually¡¡receding¡¡from¡¡it£»¡¡as¡¡it¡¡descends£»
so¡¡that¡¡the¡¡machine¡¡is¡¡actually¡¡beyond
the¡¡place¡¡where¡¡the¡¡bomb¡¡strikes¡¡the¡¡earth£»¡¡due
to¡¡the¡¡retarding¡¡motion¡¡of¡¡the¡¡atmosphere¡¡against
the¡¡missile¡£
The¡¡diagram¡¡Fig¡£¡¡90¡¡will¡¡aid¡¡the¡¡boy¡¡in¡¡grasping
the¡¡situation¡£¡¡A¡¡is¡¡the¡¡airship£»¡¡B¡¡the¡¡path
of¡¡its¡¡flight£»¡¡a¡¡the¡¡course¡¡of¡¡the¡¡bomb¡¡after¡¡it
leaves¡¡the¡¡airship£»¡¡and¡¡D¡¡the¡¡earth¡£¡¡The¡¡question
is¡¡how¡¡to¡¡determine¡¡the¡¡proper¡¡movement
when¡¡to¡¡release¡¡the¡¡bomb¡£
METHOD¡¡FOR¡¡DETERMINING¡¡MOVEMENT¡¡OF¡¡A
BOMB¡£Lieut¡£¡¡Scott£»¡¡U¡£¡¡S¡£¡¡A¡££»¡¡of¡¡the¡¡Coast¡¡Survey
Artillery£»¡¡suggested¡¡a¡¡method¡¡for¡¡determining
these¡¡questions¡£¡¡It¡¡was¡¡necessary¡¡to¡¡ascertain£»
first£»¡¡the¡¡altitude¡¡and¡¡speed¡£¡¡While¡¡the¡¡barometer
is¡¡used¡¡to¡¡determine¡¡altitudes£»¡¡it¡¡is
obvious¡¡that¡¡speed¡¡is¡¡a¡¡matter¡¡much¡¡more¡¡difficult
to¡¡ascertain£»¡¡owing¡¡to¡¡the¡¡wind¡¡movements£»
which¡¡in¡¡all¡¡cases¡¡make¡¡it¡¡difficult¡¡for¡¡a¡¡flier¡¡to
determine£»¡¡even¡¡with¡¡instruments¡¡which¡¡have
been¡¡devised¡¡for¡¡the¡¡purpose¡£
_Fig¡£¡¡90¡£¡¡Course¡¡of¡¡a¡¡Bomb¡£_
Instead£»¡¡therefore£»¡¡of¡¡relying¡¡on¡¡the¡¡barometer£»
the¡¡ship¡¡is¡¡equipped¡¡with¡¡a¡¡telescope¡¡which¡¡may
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Thus£»¡¡Fig¡¡91¡¡shows¡¡a¡¡ship¡¡A£»¡¡on¡¡which¡¡is
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The¡¡observer¡¡first¡¡notes¡¡the¡¡object¡¡along¡¡the¡¡line
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as¡¡at¡¡C£»¡¡and¡¡the¡¡observer¡¡watches¡¡through¡¡the
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the¡¡time¡¡between¡¡the¡¡two¡¡observations¡£
_Fig¡£¡¡91¡£¡¡Determining¡¡Altitude¡¡and¡¡Speed¡£_
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of¡¡the¡¡flight¡¡from¡¡B¡¡to¡¡a¡¡being¡¡thus¡¡known£»¡¡as
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consults¡¡specially¡prepared¡¡tables¡¡which¡¡show
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and¡¡when¡¡the¡¡object¡¡to¡¡be¡¡hit¡¡appears¡¡at¡¡the¡¡sight£»
the¡¡bomb¡¡is¡¡dropped¡£
THE¡¡GREAT¡¡EXTENT¡¡OF¡¡MODERN¡¡BATTLE¡¡LINES¡£
The¡¡great¡¡war¡¡brought¡¡into¡¡the¡¡field¡¡such¡¡stupendous
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miles¡£
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were¡¡engaged¡¡on¡¡both¡¡sides£»¡¡and¡¡the¡¡battle¡¡front
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Such¡¡tactics¡¡were¡¡often¡¡employed¡¡by¡¡Napoleon
and¡¡other¡¡great¡¡masters¡¡of¡¡war£»¡¡but¡¡in¡¡every¡¡effort
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The¡¡opposing¡¡force¡¡was¡¡ready¡¡to¡¡meet¡¡the¡¡attack
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in¡¡every¡¡instance¡£
THE¡¡AEROPLANE¡¡DETECTING¡¡THE¡¡MOVEMENTS¡¡OF
ARMIES¡£In¡¡the¡¡early¡¡stages¡¡of¡¡the¡¡war£»¡¡when
the¡¡Germans¡¡drove¡¡the¡¡left¡¡of¡¡the¡¡French¡¡army
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THE¡¡EFFECTIVE¡¡HEIGHT¡¡FOR¡¡SCOUTING¡£It¡¡has
been¡¡shown¡¡that¡¡aeroplane¡¡scouting¡¡is¡¡not¡¡effective
at¡¡high¡¡altitudes¡£¡¡It¡¡is¡¡not¡¡difficult¡¡for¡¡aviators
to¡¡reach¡¡and¡¡maintain¡¡altitudes¡¡of¡¡five¡¡thousand
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SIZES¡¡OF¡¡OBJECTS¡¡AT¡¡GREAT¡¡DISTANCES¡£At¡¡a
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of¡¡eight¡¡by¡¡one¡¡hundred¡¡feet£»¡¡looks¡¡to¡¡the¡¡aviator
about¡¡as¡¡large¡¡as¡¡an¡¡object¡¡one¡¡inch¡¡in¡¡length£»¡¡four
and¡¡a¡¡half¡¡feet¡¡from¡¡the¡¡eye¡£
The¡¡march¡¡of¡¡such¡¡a¡¡body¡¡of¡¡men£»¡¡viewed¡¡at
that¡¡distance£»¡¡is¡¡so¡¡small¡¡as¡¡almost¡¡to¡¡be¡¡imperceptible
to¡¡the¡¡eye¡¡of¡¡an¡¡observer¡¡at¡¡rest¡£¡¡How
much¡¡more¡¡difficult¡¡it¡¡is¡¡to¡¡distinguish¡¡a¡¡movement
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since¡¡the¡¡successful¡¡scout¡¡must¡¡bring¡¡himself
within¡¡range¡¡of¡¡specially¡¡designed¡¡guns£»¡¡which
are¡¡effective¡¡at¡¡a¡¡range¡¡of¡¡3000¡¡yards¡¡or¡¡more£»
knowing¡¡that¡¡his¡¡only¡¡hope¡¡of¡¡safety¡¡lies¡¡in¡¡the
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SOME¡¡DARING¡¡FEATS¡¡IN¡¡WAR¡£It¡¡would¡¡be¡¡impossible
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One¡¡of¡¡the¡¡most¡¡thrilling¡¡combats¡¡took¡¡place
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Russian¡¡Poland£»¡¡at¡¡the¡¡time¡¡of¡¡the¡¡first¡¡German
invasion¡£¡¡The¡¡Zeppelin¡¡was¡¡soaring¡¡over¡¡the
Russian¡¡position£»¡¡at¡¡an¡¡altitude¡¡of¡¡about¡¡a¡¡mile¡£
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airship£»¡¡darted¡¡down£»¡¡and¡¡crashed¡¡into¡¡the¡¡great
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time¡¡it¡¡neared¡¡the¡¡earth¡¡its¡¡velocity¡¡was¡¡great
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One¡¡of¡¡the¡¡most¡¡spectacular¡¡fights¡¡of¡¡the¡¡war
occurred¡¡outside¡¡Paris£»¡¡when¡¡one¡¡of¡¡the¡¡German
Taubes¡¡attempted¡¡to¡¡make¡¡its¡¡periodical¡¡tour
of¡¡observation¡£¡¡One¡¡of¡¡the¡¡French¡¡aeroplanes£»
which¡¡had¡¡the¡¡advantage¡¡of¡¡greater¡¡speed£»
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the¡¡Taube¡£
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of¡¡the¡¡Taube¡¡were¡¡completely¡¡riddled£»¡¡and¡¡it¡¡was
a¡¡marvel¡¡how¡¡it¡¡was¡¡possible¡¡for¡¡the¡¡German¡¡aviator
to¡¡remain¡¡afloat¡¡as¡¡long¡¡as¡¡he¡¡did¡£
Soon¡¡the¡¡Taube¡¡was¡¡noticed¡¡to¡¡lurch¡¡from¡¡side
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The¡¡principal¡¡ones£»¡¡however£»¡¡were¡¡monoplanes¡£
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tail£»¡¡so¡¡that¡¡the¡¡two¡¡can¡¡be¡¡readily¡¡distinguished¡£
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