German aircraft

“ We hear frequent reports of the work done by German aircraft, and particularly the effective tactical reconnaissance of the German aeroplanes, which appear to be continuously employed during the course of every engagement for locating our gun positions, directing gun-fire, following up bodies of troops in retreat, etc. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ Aircraft of the allied and associated powers shall have full liberty of passage and landing over and in German territory, equal treatment with German planes as to use of German airdromes, and with most favored nation planes as to internal commercial traffic in Germany. Germany agrees to accept allied certificates of nationality, airworthiness, or competency or licenses and to apply the convention relative to aerial navigation concluded between the allied and associated powers to her own aircraft over her own territory. ”

“ 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 aërial battle to devote their entire attention to the destruction of the enemy forces below. ”

“ 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. ”

“ The truth seems to be that the Germans are outmatched, first and foremost, in aircraft and in guns. You will remember the quiet certainty of our young Flight-Commander on March 1st—"When the next big offensive comes, we shall down them, just as we did on the Somme." The prophecy has been made good, abundantly good!—at the cost of many a precious life. The air observation on our side has been far better and more daring than that on the German side; and the work of our artillery has been proportionately more accurate and more effective. ”

“ 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 aërial battlefield, where machines perform marvellous evolutions, putting the best trick flying of pre-war days very much in the shade. ”

“ Indeed, by bombing manufacturing cities over a belt of a hundred miles along the Rhine it has done more to break down the morale of the German people than any other factor. Truly this new engine of man has developed, under the intense necessity of war, farther in this short space of time than any other mechanical device—not excepting the automobile—which man has ever invented or fostered. ”

“ 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. ”

“ German citizens and clubs which purchase a type of airship approved by the War Office of the German Empire are to receive a substantial subsidy, with the understanding that in case of war the aircraft is to be at the disposal of the Government. Under this plan it is expected that the German Government will control a large fleet of ships of the air without being obliged to own them.
And, in France, funds were raised recently, by popular subscription, sufficient to provide the nation with a fleet of fourteen airships (dirigibles) and thirty aeroplanes. ”

“ LOADING .50-CALIBER AMMUNITION into the wing of a P-47 Thunderbolt fighter plane. On 22 February one of the greatest aerial operations of the war was carried out by nearly 9,000 aircraft taking off from bases in England, France, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Italy. The targets, the German transportation facilities, covered an area of over a quarter of a million square miles. ”

“ 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 (p. 146) 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. ”

“ 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 (p. 197) 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. ”

“ In Sir John French’s report, mentioned in the introductory chapter, he tells us that our own Flying Corps in the present war were exposed to the shot of friend as well as of foe. As the German aëroplanes have a more or less distinctive appearance, it seems probable that these peculiar shapes were not well known to our troops at the beginning of the war. Such a knowledge would protect the aëroplanes of the Allies from being mistaken for those of the enemy. The shape of a bird has been very generally adopted for the German flying machines. ”

“ 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. ”

“ French, and British aircraft are employed with equal success; but here, in the nature of things, the information which appears in our Press is meagre. As already pointed out, the total number of machines engaged is microscopic; the Germans are reputed to have possessed at the outbreak of hostilities some 500 machines in all. If the German cavalry had been limited to 500 mounted men, would it have proved of any real utility? ”

“ The constant object of our aviators has been to effect the accurate location of the enemy’s forces, and incidentally—since the operations cover so large an area—of our own units. Nevertheless, the tactics adopted for dealing with hostile aircraft are to attack them instantly with one or more British machines. This has been so far successful that in five cases German pilots or observers have been shot in the air and their machines brought to the ground. ”

“ When it meets an aëroplane the chances are more evenly balanced. Success will depend chiefly upon the speed of the respective aëroplanes, their climbing power, their armouring, and the guns with which they are armed. Speed and climbing power are perhaps the greatest protective factors. Several stories have already been told of the pursuit of German aëroplanes by those of the Allies. The climbing power of the machines of the latter has often been the cause of victory. It is the well-directed shot from above to which the airman is exposed that has ended the career of airman and machine. ”

“ The Roland is one of the latest types of German two-seater scouts. Every effort has been made in it to decrease the “head resistance” by careful streamlining, reduction of the number of interplane struts, etc. Swift flying and a rapid climber, it has won for itself the title of The German Spad. The Pfalz is built either as a monoplane or as a biplane. It is a machine somewhat similar to the Fokker. The monoplane, however, has two machine guns, one on each side of the pilot, and firing through the propeller. ”

“ Making a total of 270 of which number about 200 were war-effectives.
For 1913 there are 200 new aeroplanes building or provided for.
Under the new regulations, military machines must comply with the following conditions:—
Must be of entirely German manufacture, with ample and comfortable seating accommodation for pilot and passenger. Design must permit of fitting bomb droppers and photographic apparatus. Speed capabilities must not be less than 90 kilometres (56 m.p.h.) ”

“ First came the German scouting and fighting Fokkers equipped with motors which owing to their superior horse-power made them faster and more easy to manœuvre than anything the Allies had until the famous French Baby Nieuports with 110 horse-power Le Rhone engines appeared in 1916 and began to equal the Boche in those two prime requisites. Then, owing to the number of machines shot down or forced to land through engine trouble, neither side could long keep any secret of aeromotor construction or aeroplane design from an opponent. Therefore the struggle for quantity production began. ”

“ Selected personnel attend Soviet technical schools for advance training, and East German SAM units travel to the USSR on a scheduled basis for live firing exercises. SAM units maintain proficiency through missile training and participation in joint air defense exercises.
4. Logistics The East German depend on the Soviet Union for sophisticated aircraft. East German industry does provide, however, some of the specialized air forces equipment and most of the general supply items needed by the air forces. ”

“ With the advent of the United States into the struggle it became more and more apparent to the German military leaders that they must win the war before the tremendous manufacturing and aviator resources of this country could be felt on the West Front. ”

“ This biplane with the Aviatik is remarkable for the amount of space provided for pilot and observer. The fuselage is protected in front with aluminium. The upper plane is not made to join in the centre, as in most German machines; instead, there is a short immovable central plane, which is permanently attached to the fuselage by four tubes ”

“ By these methods the Hun had hoped to acquire the supremacy of the air which his smaller fighting machines had not yet won for him. Fortunately the French and British had been hard at work, and in answer to the forays of the German bombing planes, squadrons of Allied planes dropped their missiles in the heart of Germany. The Allied planes, however, chose military objectives, and did not aim their blows [201] at defenseless civilians. ”

“ Near the close of the year a huge triplane Caproni, with its 150-foot wing spread, driven by three 700 horse-power Fiat motors, developing a total of 2,100 horse-power, has carried seventy-eight people in trial flights at the factory!
A Model F-5 flying-boat, with a wing spread of only 102 feet, driven by two Liberty motors, and lifting a 50-foot boat, has carried 12,900 pounds over many hundreds of miles looking for German submarines, and another flying-boat, with 123 feet of wing spread, carried fifteen officers and a pilot from Washington, District of Columbia, to Newport News, Virginia. ”

“ All are heavily armed with machine guns and bombs and are driven by powerful motors.
Yet for all the desperate German struggle for supremacy, her machines and her pilots did not prove the equals of the Allies in the air. The airplanes of France, England, Italy and America maintained a ceaseless vigilance over the lines, giving chase to every enemy plane or squadron of planes that made its appearance on the horizon. Our airmen showed the most dauntless courage, and they continually outwitted and outmaneuvered the slower thinking Hun. ”