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■ WAR rx TUB AIR.
“ AT Mil'KBN'T OXT.Y OF PRACTICAE
USE FOR SCOUTiMG."
I Mr. \V. 'F. (lleid, lecturing at a meeting
f*f the Aeronautical {Society, expressed the
[ opinum that the destructive effect of ex
plosives dropped from air-ships and aero
.planes had been much overrated, though
at first the .moral effect would be great.
If a fleet of air craft invjuled this coun
try it was very unlikely that any would
get a way. Tliey were of the greatest use
for s.-outing purposes and for locating sub
marines, 'but our climate, nvitli its cloudy
days, would be a great protection against
their effective use.
Colonel Stone, ILA., commanding the
South-Western Coast Defences, was con
vinced that the highest training and con
stant practice were needed before aerial
objects could be hit by gunners. Before
missies discharged from guns 01T air
ships or dropped could be seriously regard
ed as likely to hit their mark he thought
they iwould have to wait a long time.
■A dirigible might, htwever, be counted
on to bc able to discharge large bom6s at
comjKiratively sltort range at night with
sufficient accuracy to hit such objects as
dry docks or condite factories which were
vital to dir maintenance of naval suprem
acy, while an aeroplane gun could hit a
. " ATUSULPS FOB SCOUTEN'G.
At .present ne*ther dirigibles, nor aero
planes need be contemplated ns offensive
we a]) o'ns which would seriously dbeonceit
an army in the field. Tlieir great use was
in reconnaissance, and an army, which had
them in good working order would haw
an easy victory over a force without them.
The destruction of our supply of cordite
on a large scale or of four or five dry
docks would be po serious that we‘could
not afford to contemjhtite it without tak- i
mg incisures to prevent it.
Experiments in Germany,- he believed^
had slrown the great- difficulty of destroy
ing a dirigible, and similar experiments
were necessary to show what would be the
effect' of dropping explosives over . sub
marines.
Mr. S. F. Cody offered, to Oy in an
aeroplane over charges of lOOlb. or 2001b.
of guncotton, and. he believed that he
would ibe able to keep his balance when
they were detonated. Tt would be difficult
to sec submarines in .the water, as they
[ usually operated near harbours, where the
[ water liras stirred up by the traffic.
1 Colonel Trollope, who was superintendent
of the balloon factory during the Boer
war, told I tow a charge of shrapnel was
exploded near a captive, balloon 000yds.
i away, and though 63 holes were cut in the
: envelope, the balloon took 20 minutes to
come down. Haw much more difficult
would it ibe to deal with a rocketing dirig
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