CHAPTER XIV

THE NEW ARM IN WARFARE

We shall, no doubt, have occasion to return later to the heroic achievements of our airmen in destroying enemy raiders. Meanwhile, our attention is claimed by a subject of great interest and importance, namely, the part played by aircraft on the various battle fronts of the great war. It was clear some while before the outbreak of hostilities that the aeroplane was destined to play a prominent part. Mr. Sydney F. Walker, R.N., M.I.E.E., remarks, in a useful little volume on aviation, published before the war, that the first important work to which the aeroplane has been put is that of scouting. ‘When armies are manœuvring in the field, it is the great object of each general to find out what his opponent is doing, exactly where his forces are, where each particular arm is weak, and where, above all things, he is open to attack. On the other hand, each general makes the greatest efforts to prevent his opponents from finding out all about himself. The art of hiding men, and even of artillery and of horses, has been brought to such success that the non-military observer might be in the midst of an army of 30,000 or 40,000 men and be perfectly ignorant of their presence. Every inequality in the ground, every natural object, such as a tree, a mound, a house, &c., is made use of for the purpose of concealing the presence of men, horses, and accessories. It will be evident that with an aeroplane flying at anywhere up to eighty miles an hour, and that has been exceeded at the time of writing, and viewing the surface of the ground from above—provided the pilots, or passengers accompanying them, are trained to observe the ground and the bodies of men on the ground from above—practically any disposition of the enemy could be discovered.’

We are now able to judge by results and appreciate the work done. A point of primary importance in active warfare, as we have seen, is the use of the aeroplane for reconnaissance work. Other duties, and there are many, are set forth with admirable clearness by Mr. W. E. Dommett in his little work, _Aeroplanes and Airships_. The book was written at the early part of the war, and on that account is particularly instructive at this point; for it enables us to trace the progress made and the victories won by our airmen. ‘Reconnaissance work for the purpose of co-operation with artillery,’ Mr. Dommett writes, ‘forms the most important function next to scouting. An aerial observer is sent out to determine the position of hostile batteries whose existence may or may not be known by its fire, to determine the strength of the batteries, and how the units composing them are grouped. In addition it is the duty of the observer to look out for troops, stores, or other matters which could and should be subjected to the fire of one’s own batteries. He should supply as far as possible details as to range and elevation necessary for clearing intervening high ground. In addition the observer can report as to the effect of his own side’s artillery, and the manner in which it is failing or succeeding in its object.

‘The value of this form of observation is beyond calculation, in view of the fact that the artillery have not to waste time and ammunition in getting the target. Moreover, the time during which the opposing batteries or forces can do damage is correspondingly reduced. Naturally, much depends upon the accuracy of an observer’s report as to its value, and in this respect it appears that the allied forces are superior to their opponents, and it would seem that this superiority is due not so much to the superiority in the observer’s machine, but to the better self-reliance, intelligence, and powers of initiative possessed by the men themselves. Observation work, it may be said, is generally accompanied by some offensive action on the part of the pilot or accompanying observer.’

Observation in naval warfare is of course also of great importance. In the work of detecting submarines, for instance, aeroplanes have proved of great value, for it is possible to detect submerged objects with greater ease from considerable heights than from the water surface. Writing to the _Matin_, a correspondent stated in the early part of the war that an aviator flying several hundreds of feet above the sea off Cape Helles, saw a black spot in the water beneath him. Circling round, to enable him to observe it more closely, he at last made out the form of a German submarine, under water, moving towards a British transport, which was heavily laden with troops and munitions. Immediately the aviator flashed a wireless signal to the transport, and then, swooping down to a few feet of the surface of the water he dropped two bombs. These did no damage to the submarine, but taking warning she sank to greater depths. When the enemy thought enough time had passed he raised his periscope above the surface, but the aeroplane was still circling close at hand and once more a couple of bombs fell close alongside the boat. Then the submarine finally disappeared. Many incidents of a similar nature have been recorded.

It is, moreover, sometimes necessary to find out the position of our own submarines in such a case as when a submarine has disappeared and not returned to its base. Before the war, when one of our A Class boats sank off the Cornish coast, whilst out from Devonport for exercise, an aeroplane was successfully employed for finding its whereabouts. The boats in company with the lost boat laid buoys to indicate the position, but these had become shifted by heavy seas, and had become useless for the purpose.

Observation work is frequently accompanied by direct offensive action; but the work is sometimes done purely with the view to the offence. For example, as early as September 23, 1914, naval airmen, namely, Squadron-Commander E. F. Briggs, Flight-Commander J. T. Babington, and Flight-Commander S. V. Lippe, carried out a raid over a mountainous route of 120 miles upon the Zeppelin sheds at Dusseldorf. And at a later date a similar raid was made on the sheds near Lake Constance.

In the early part of the war the Paris correspondent of the _Times_ wrote as follows: ‘A feature of the operations along the front is the active use by the French of their air service, and the many indications given of the progress which has been accomplished in this branch of the service since the outbreak of the war. Realizing that for fighting purposes the chief mission of the aeroplane is to act like a gun of immense range, and that bombardment requires swarms of aeroplanes and not an isolated machine, the French have equipped and organized a number of air squadrons with the object of disturbing and destroying the enemy’s communications, either during or on the eve of military developments, so as to impede the arrival of men and shells from the reserve points during the progress of operations.

‘For this purpose the squadrons are composed of three different types of machines, the names of which indicate the special duties of each type. These squadrons, in spite of the boisterous weather which has prevailed throughout the month, have raided no less than ten important German railway centres in the area of operations, throwing over 400 bombs in their flight, while the chaser planes engaged any protecting enemy aircraft that tried to interfere with the operations.

‘A glance at a map will show how effectively the air services are able to act as an extension of artillery in upsetting the enemy’s transport. Thus Challerange, an important junction on the Vouziers—St. Menehould and Vouziers—Apremont Railways, whence are served the requirements of the army operating in the west of the Argonne; Arnaville and Bayonville, to the south-west of Metz; Vigneuvelles les Hattonchattel, the railway centre for the south-eastern armies operating against Verdun; Autruy, to the north of the Argonne; and Conflans-en-Jarisy, on the Verdun-Metz railway, have been regularly bombarded by aerial squadrons, which in some cases have numbered thirty-five air machines.’

In this connexion it is interesting to recall an extract from an official communiqué that was issued early in the war: July 20—‘Thirty-one aviators yesterday bombarded the railway station of Conflans, an important junction. Three shells of 155 mm. and four of 90 mm. were observed to have been neatly dropped on the station. The engine shed was struck by a shell of 155 mm. Three aviatiks were put to flight by our pursuing aeroplanes, which accompanied the squadron. One aviatik was compelled to land rapidly.’

In the place of an enemy camp or railway junction the attack is made by the Naval Air Service on the submarine base or the dockyard. On many occasions naval airmen have bombarded German submarines in Ghent harbour. In the raid on Cuxhaven, seven seaplanes were conveyed to the vicinity of Heligoland and thence flew over Cuxhaven and dropped bombs on the docks.

A report issued at a comparatively early date of the war stated: ‘Quite one of the features of the campaign, on our side, has been the success attained by the Royal Flying Corps. In regard to the collection of information it is impossible either to award too much praise to our aviators for the way they have carried out their duties, or to over-estimate the value of the intelligence collected, more especially during the recent advance. In due course certain examples of what has been effected may be specified, and the far-reaching nature of the results more fully explained, but that time has not yet arrived. That the services of our Flying Corps, which has really been on trial, are fully appreciated by our Allies is shown by the following message from the Commander-in-Chief of the French armies, received on the night of September 9 by Field-Marshal Sir John French:—

‘“_Please express most particularly to Marshal French my thanks for services rendered on every day by the English Flying Corps. The precision, exactitude, and regularity of the news brought in by its members are evidence of their perfect organization, and also of the perfect training of pilots and observers._”’