The Making of a Modern Army and Its Operations in the Field; A Study Based on the Experience of Three Years on the French Front (1914-1917) (Paperback)

Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: aid, the United States should, at the beginning at least, adopt thoroughly tested types of aircraft, of easy control in the air; and should construct several standardized motors. After trial on the French front some types may have to be modified, but only after the American aviation corps has made sure that, in any event, it will have a sufficient number of aircraft in France while awaiting the arrival of the new models. Airplane construction has been hitherto, and will continue to be, constantly progressive. An improvement much needed is a device for the protection of the gasoline tank, which on most of the existing types is too vulnerable and too frequently set on fire. Very often the Germans aim at the tanks rather than at the pilot, as the former are easier to hit and the result is the same. 2. Use and scope of aviation. Our opinion is that during the present war no real success can be obtained without the help of numerous and daring aviators. During the days preceding an attack (in the trench war) or in order to hide the movements of the troops (in the open field) it is of the utmost necessity to maintain the supremacy in the air. The enemy's aviation must be entirely blinded. Not one enemy machine must pass over the lines. The captive balloons must be destroyed. In brief, the aviation must be powerful enough to prevent the enemy from having any knowledge of our preparations, and above all from ascertaining the exact point whence the main attack will be launched. Besides the work it will have to do on the front (with which we will deal hereafter) the aviation of bombardment will, during the period of preparation, have to make numerous raids on the enemy's rear, hurl destruction upon the aerodromes, and into the camps of the staff and reserves, blow up the importan...