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AVIATION BOOK


[Illustration]


Copyright, 1918, by
McLoughlin Brothers. Inc.
New York

------------------------------------------------------------------------

[Illustration: ORIGINAL WRIGHT BIPLANE. INVENTED AND FLOWN BY WRIGHT
BROTHERS IN 1905 AT KITTY HAWK, N. C.]




                             AVIATION BOOK


[Illustration: UNCLE SAM STARTS HIS AVIATION STORY]

Tom and Jack are brothers and chums. They are Boy Scouts. Jack is first
class, but Tom is only a tenderfoot. Like all bright, manly boys they
are interested in airships and are anxious for the time to come when
they can fly too.

Tom and Jack’s uncle is a famous aviator, and he knows all about flying.
His name being Samuel the boys always call him Uncle Sam, and they
sometimes jokingly pretend to think that he is the great Uncle Sam who
represents the United States.

Tom and Jack knew that the best way to find out about airships was to
ask their Uncle Sam. So, as soon as they saw him, they made him consent
to tell his wonderful story of aviation.

Tom and Jack were all ears as their uncle started his aviation story.

“First,” he began, “I shall tell you the thrilling tale of Man’s long
striving to learn how to rival the birds. In myths and fairy tales there
were men and goblins who had wings or who owned winged chariots and
animals. But real, everyday people never learned how to go up in the air
until 1783.”

“The very year England and the United States made peace after the
Revolutionary War!” exclaimed Tom.

[Illustration: THE ASCENSION OF MONTGOLFIER’S BALLOON]

“Don’t interrupt Uncle Sam; it is not polite,” advised Jack.

“Well,” continued Uncle Sam, “it was on June 5, 1783 that Stephen and
Joseph Montgolfier, two French brothers, sent up the first balloon. You
can just imagine the amazement it caused when it arose from the ground.

“Many successful experiments were made with balloons; but they were
harder to run than old-time sailboats. A balloon could not fly against
the wind. In a storm or a heavy gale it would be wrecked and the
passengers killed. A machine was needed that could speed against the
wind and not upset in a heavy blow.

“A few inventors tried to solve the flying problem with motor-driven
balloons such as the German Zeppelin. But most attention was given to
heavier-than-air machines known as aeroplanes. Aeroplanes are called
heavier-than-air to distinguish them from balloons, which, being
inflated with gas, are lighter than air. There were many discouraging
years of hard thought and labor before success came. Finally, in 1905,
two American brothers, Wilbur and Orville Wright, invented the first
successful flying machine; and in a series of marvelous flights showed
that Man had, at last, rivaled the birds.

[Illustration]

“Numerous inventions have made man almost the equal of the birds in the
air. Flying has been made nearly as safe as riding on horseback or in an
automobile. The aeroplane is now a necessity in times of war and peace.
Its startling deeds will be the subject of the story I’m about to tell.

“Of course, you want to know something about the man who runs an
aeroplane,” said Uncle Sam.

“Indeed, we do,” replied both boys at the same time.

[Illustration: THE AEROPLANE IS A NECESSITY IN TIMES OF WAR AND PEACE]

[Illustration: SOME TYPES OF AMERICAN AND FOREIGN AEROPLANES]

[Illustration]

[Illustration: GROUP OF FRENCH AVIATORS]

“Now,” continued Uncle Sam, “to become a military aviator a man must,
first of all, have a strong, healthy body, a quick, active mind, and
iron nerves. There are many good aviators that wouldn’t be good
_military_ aviators, because the strain of war would prove too much for
them. If a man is just right in body and mind, they send him to an
aviation training camp where he is taught to fly.

[Illustration: LEARNING TO FLY BY WATCHING THE EXPERT AVIATOR]

“At the training camp he is instructed in the care of an aeroplane and
its powerful motor. He goes up in the air a number of times with an
expert aviator. By constantly watching the expert, he learns to fly.
Then he learns many dazzling stunts—to loop-the-loop, make figure
eights, fly upside down, and other dangerous maneuvers.

“After the new aviator knows how to care for an aeroplane and fly
perfectly, he is taught wireless telegraphy, and shown how to take
aerial photographs, fire machine guns and drop bombs. As soon as he
learns all these things, he’s a full-fledged aviator, and ready to go
into active service for his country.”

Tom and Jack had their eyes wide open in wonder as Uncle Sam continued:

“Ordinary flying, as I told you boys before, is now almost as safe as
riding on horseback or in an auto. But, in time of war, running a
military aeroplane is the riskiest work in the world. When I tell you of
the marvelous, death-defying deeds military aviators have done, I doubt
if you will believe me. Yet everything is absolutely true.

[Illustration: AEROPLANE DIRECTING ARTILLERY FIRE]

[Illustration: AVIATORS TAKING PHOTOGRAPHS]

“An aviator’s most important duties are to take photographs of the
enemy’s location and direct artillery fire. The aviator must seek out
the enemy and learn their exact position. He must discover, if he can,
about how many men and guns they have; how well they are fortified; how
hard or easy it is to attack them. He makes many photographs and
sketches which are valuable to his officers in planning an attack.”

“You haven’t told us how the brave aviator directs artillery fire,”
broke in Tom.

“I’m getting to that now,” said Uncle Sam. “You know that there was a
time when a man who fired a cannon could see his target. But now, a
cannon, or the artillery, fires at a range of from six to thirty miles.
No matter how big the target, it is impossible to see it from such a
distance, especially when trees, mountains or fogs are in the way.
Firing artillery is now a matter of calculation. Just where to shoot has
to be figured out by means of maps, instruments, and mathematics. Quite
often the figuring is not exactly right. The aviator must go up—bombs
and shells bursting all around him—and discover if the guns are hitting
the mark. When a shot doesn’t strike in the right place, the aviator
sends directions by wireless for firing the next shell so that it will
hit the enemy’s position and destroy it.

[Illustration: SCOUTING OVER THE RUINED REGION BETWEEN THE LINES (NO
MAN’S LAND)]

[Illustration: BATTLEPLANES CONVOYING PHOTOGRAPHING AEROPLANES]

“Not all the excitement is over the battle lines. One of the most
thrilling experiences an aviator can have is to fight off enemy
aeroplanes and Zeppelins when they come to drop bombs on a city or town.
Cities liable to be raided by hostile machines are protected by lookout
towers. As soon as the Zeppelins are sighted, the men in the towers toot
shrill blasts on loud siren horns. At the signal of the horns every
light in the attacked city is put out, and all the people rush into
houses and cellars for safety. Big anti-Zeppelin guns are pointed
skyward to fire destruction-dealing shells at the enemy overhead.

“The brave aviators, who protect the city, start their machines and go
up in the air to drive off the foe—amid the reek of fire and the scream
of shot and shell. The battle is usually short. The swift defending
aeroplanes, with their machine guns constantly spitting bullets, fight
rings around the Zeppelins. The big guns on the ground send deadly
missiles through many of the enemy airships. All of a sudden one bursts
into flames. With a roar and a bang it hurtles to the earth. In the next
moment, still another is hit. One of the doomed men saves himself by
dropping off in a huge floating parachute. He is made prisoner the
minute he touches ground.

[Illustration: FIGHTING ZEPPELIN RAIDERS]

[Illustration: TOOTING THE SIRENS OF WARNING]

“In a little while the remnant of the once-proud enemy air fleet flees
in mortal terror. The day is saved. The heroic aviators, who
successfully defended the city, return to earth amid the cheers of the
grateful people.

“Usually the damage done is unimportant from a military point of view.
Several non-combatants are killed and a few houses and an occasional
church are damaged.

“Now, we will go back to the firing line, and see how the aeroplane is
used in connection with the land fighting.

“Many German aeroplanes come to grief by trying to battle British
tanks.”

“What’s a British tank?” put in Jack.

“I thought everyone was familiar with the tank, but as you evidently are
not, I shall explain what it is. A tank is a great big battle car,
protected with heavy shot-proof steel and armed with guns. It can travel
anywhere—over hills, walls, trenches, through mud, bushes, and trees.
Many people call a tank a land-battleship.

[Illustration: DROPPING OFF IN PARACHUTE FROM FLAMING BALLOON]

[Illustration: BATTLE BETWEEN AEROPLANE AND BRITISH TANK]

“Now that you know what a tank is, I will go on with my story. When the
British attack the Germans, they often use tanks, which rumble along,
crushing everything before them. The enemy forces are driven back in
terror. In reckless despair they try to save the day by pitting their
aeroplanes against these unbeatable steel monsters.

“Aeroplanes fighting British tanks are practically helpless and seldom
attack them. ‘Zip! Zip! Bang!’ go the machine guns of the hostile
aeroplanes. But the rain of shot and shell rattles harmlessly against
the huge armored tanks. ‘Boom! Bang!’ roar the tanks’ heavy guns. Down
drops one enemy aeroplane, in a horrible wake of flames and exploding
gasoline. It strikes the earth—a shattered tangle of wire and wood. The
aviator, of course, is dashed to death. Another of the foe’s machines is
struck; and still another. All meet the same fate. Nothing can resist
the tanks.”

“Such battles must be more exciting than fairy tales and novels,”
exclaimed Tom and Jack in breathless wonder.

“There’s one thing our aviators do sometimes that is seldom excelled for
courage and daring,” said Uncle Sam, pleased with the way his nephews
were enjoying his story. “The enemy soldiers are very strongly
entrenched behind earthworks and barbed wire fences. When our infantry
find it impossible to make them flee, our bold aviators are assigned to
the task.

[Illustration: THE AGE OF FLYING]

[Illustration: THEY SWOOP DOWN OVER THE TRENCHES]

“With dash and bravery they go up in the air and hover near the hostile
positions. Suddenly, like eagles they swoop down over the trenches
shooting at the frightened enemy. ‘Zip! Crack! Bang!’ rattle their
machine guns. Those who are not killed or seriously wounded flee in
terror into the dugouts for safety.

“Then, quick as a flash, our men rush in and capture the trench before
enemy reinforcements come up. The courageous aviators are wildly cheered
but haven’t time now to listen to the praise; they must go up in the air
again to protect their comrades from enemy aeroplanes, which lurk
everywhere waiting for a chance to drop bombs.”

“By the way, Uncle Sam,” asked Jack, “why do aviators wear such heavy
clothing?”

[Illustration: JUST BEFORE THE BATTLE]

“It must be very cold up in the air,” thought Tom to himself, not saying
anything for the first time.

“It’s frightfully cold up above the clouds,” said Uncle Sam. “The higher
you fly the colder it becomes. Up in the sky, I have often felt a
temperature below zero, while down on the earth it was comfortable and
warm. Later on in school, you boys will learn that the sun’s rays give
very little heat until they reach the earth. I would explain the reason
myself, but I want to go on with the story.

“Our aviators are flying around in the sky about three miles above the
earth when, all at once, the enemy’s machines dash into view. The two
hostile air fleets see each other almost at the same time, and quickly
prepare for action. A thrilling battle in the air is at hand.

“Our machines are outnumbered, but that does not deter us.
‘Rat-a-tat-tat,’ shrieks one of our machine guns. One of the foe is put
out of action. His machine in flames, he falls dizzily to earth.
Marvelous flying is now going on. One of our men loops-the-loop to get
into position. An enemy aviator backs up his machine in mid-air: then
dives down headlong a thousand feet. Swiftly he rights himself and
speeds up firing right, left, and straight ahead. We have a hard time
dodging that dangerous fellow.

[Illustration: WE POUNCE ON THE BIG ENEMY BATTLEPLANE]

“A big enemy battleplane gets separated from the group. In just two
seconds two of our force pounce upon it. The huge machine battles
skillfully for a while. Then we force it into a bad position, and rain
upon it a terrible storm of bullets from our machine guns. The big
battleplane goes down, but fighting to the last.

“Night approaches and envelops the earth with a blanket of darkness.
Powerful searchlights from below, each of which is a wonderful
instrument, scan the heavens with beams of ghostly white and yellow. The
aeroplanes still struggle. The constant flashes from the bursting shells
are even more terrible than in the day time. The scene is still more
hideous when an unfortunate aviator takes the fatal plunge, his machine
ablaze. One of our fine biplanes makes a mistake and gets right in line
with an enemy’s gun. The foe’s machine-gun bullets penetrate its
gasoline tank. It explodes in mid-air, and the biplane rushes to earth
in a roaring blaze.”

“Who wins this great battle?” broke in Tom.

“Well, I’m getting to that now,” said Uncle Sam.

“Tom, you ought to be ashamed of yourself. You have done nothing but
interrupt during the whole story,” declared Jack.

[Illustration: THE BATTLEPLANES STRUGGLE IN THE NIGHT]

“Now, don’t you boys start quarreling. You might get in a worse scrape
than the aeroplanes I’m telling about.

“Now I’ll get back to my story again:

[Illustration: A SAFE LANDING SPOT]

“Between nine and ten o’clock, the two rival air fleets are equally
tired of the strife. Almost at the same time, both decide to stop
fighting, and withdraw to their own sides of the battleline. The
struggle itself might be called a tie. But since we kept the enemy from
dropping bombs on our men in the trenches, the victory is really ours.

“It is dangerous for our airmen to land their machines in the dark. They
might land on bad ground or in a tree, or possibly collide with some
building. To make landing at night safe and avoid being seen by the
enemy, was a problem we had to solve. We placed powerful electric lights
deep in the ground and covered them with heavy glasses to prevent their
breaking. When the lights are sunk in this manner they can be seen only
from above. Wherever our aviators see one of these lights, they know it
marks a safe landing spot.

“Now,” said Uncle Sam, “so far as our story is concerned we shall leave
the bloody battlefront, and I will tell you about the aeroplane of the
sea. The flying machine of the sea is called the hydroaeroplane. That is
a rather long name. Seaplane is an easier word to pronounce, and is more
commonly used. The seaplane can float like a boat and fly like an
aeroplane.

[Illustration: THE SEAPLANE CAN SAIL ON THE WATER LIKE A BOAT AND FLY IN
THE AIR LIKE AN AEROPLANE]

“I suppose you boys have the same opinion of seaplanes as most people.
You think the seaplane is not half as important as the land battleplanes
I’ve been telling you about.”

[Illustration: THE BLIMP DIRIGIBLE BALLOON]

“That’s right,” agreed Tom and Jack.

“Well,” continued Uncle Sam with an air of superior wisdom, “the
aviation service of the sea is just as important as that of the land. As
the land aeroplanes are the ‘eyes’ of the army, so the seaplanes are the
‘eyes’ of the navy. If it weren’t for these marvelous flying boats, the
German submarines might have succeeded in sinking nearly all of our
merchant ships—the boats that carry food, clothing, guns, and ammunition
to the Allies of Democracy. Sometimes, too, our seaplanes have helped
the battleships to destroy the enemy fleet.

“Just after the World War started, Germany launched her U-Boat
submarines and undertook a campaign which eventually brought this
country into the war. England was in a dreadful fix. Very little food,
clothing, and munitions could get in from America; many of her fine
ships were being sent to the bottom of the sea. There was no way to stop
the U-Boats. What could we do?

“In these hours of trial, a smart Englishman invented a motor-driven
balloon called a Blimp. It’s a mystery to me why they named it a Blimp.
But, even with such a modern name, the Blimp could certainly scout for
German submarines—the U-Boats. Whenever a Blimp found a U-Boat it would
send a wireless message to a ship called a Submarine Destroyer which
would chase the submarine and sink it.”

[Illustration: A GREAT BATTLE IN WHICH THE AMAZING AIR FLEETS OF THE SEA
TAKE PART]

[Illustration: BOMB SPLITS ZEPPELIN IN HALF]

“What I can’t understand,” said Tom thoughtfully, “is why they need a
Blimp or an aeroplane to find U-Boats? Why can’t the Submarine
Destroyers seek out the U-Boats for themselves?”

“Yes, Uncle Sam, please explain that,” said Jack.

“I’ll gladly tell you the reason,” said Uncle Sam. “You know that you
can’t see through a window from the outside when the sun shines on it.
It is the same on the sea. When the light shines on the water, it is
impossible to see beneath the waves. But when an aviator is high
overhead the light is not reflected in his eyes. Therefore, he is able
to see twenty, thirty, and, sometimes, a hundred feet under the surface
of the water. Furthermore, a man high in the air can look around and see
more than the man below.

“Now, I’ll start where I left off. I shall have to hurry along, as it is
getting late. Since the early days of the great World War, many new
inventions have made sea flying the marvel of the age. Suppose I tell
you boys of a great battle in which the amazing air fleets of the sea
take part.

“Two hostile fleets of warships steam defiantly toward each other. How
proudly their banners flaunt gay colors in the breeze! How boldly their
stately bows plough through the sea! How grim, how stern their gray
sides reflect the sunlight! Ere the day is over, many, many ships of
these grand fleets will lie on the ocean floor. Many others will stagger
to home ports—battered wrecks.

“High over the enemy fleet are their Zeppelins, floating lazily with the
clouds. Over our warships, darting here and there, are the ‘eyes’ of the
fleet—our seaplanes. It won’t be long before the Zeppelins, the hostile
aeroplanes, and our seaplanes are clinched in a struggle to death.

[Illustration: THE DEPTH BOMB DESTROYS A U-BOAT]

[Illustration]

[Illustration: A MASS OF WRECKAGE THAT STRIKES THE DECK OF ONE OF OUR
WARSHIPS]

“Let us look at the battleships again. Many of them carry small elevated
railways on which run tiny cars. These are called seaplane catapults.
The word catapult means, ‘To throw heavy stones.’ So we conclude that
these little railways throw seaplanes. Well, they _do_ throw seaplanes.
Let’s inspect one and see how it is done. The little car, bearing a big
seaplane, with its propeller spinning, shoots along the railway track at
lightning speed. At the very end, it strikes a bumper. Off shoots the
seaplane. The car darts back to the starting point. When a battleship
clears for action, the catapult is taken down.

“The monster warships have now begun to fight. Their big guns are
banging and booming—hundreds of times louder than thunder. On the decks,
behind the guns, in the engine rooms and wireless cabins—everywhere, men
are striving, straining every nerve, risking their lives for the land
they love.

“It’s aviation we are talking about, so let’s look high overhead. Our
marvelous seaplanes are spying on the hostile battleships, fighting the
Zeppelins and enemy aeroplanes, and dropping bombs on the foe below—all
at the same time. ‘Rat-a-tat-tat,’ shrieks a seaplane’s deadly machine
gun. With a sickening plunge, an enemy aeroplane darts down—a streak of
flaming wood and tangled metal. Down goes another—a mass of wreckage
that strikes the deck of one of our warships. A daring aviator dashes
up, up, away up in the air; and drops a bomb on a Zeppelin. Right in the
middle strikes the missile of destruction. The enemy’s cigar-shaped
airship makes a headlong dive for the ocean—split in half. It strikes
the bosom of the sea; and disappears in one final, deafening explosion,
which throws the salt spray high into the air.

[Illustration: THE SEAPLANE SHOOTS OFF THE CATAPULT]

“Let’s get a glimpse of another part of the battle scene. One of our
seaplanes is flying along at a moderate rate of speed, when the
tell-tale periscope is sighted. A U-Boat is near the surface of the
water. Our aviator drops a remarkable, a terrific bomb. When this bomb
sinks deep enough, the pressure of the water makes it explode. The force
of the underwater explosion causes anything near it to be crushed like
an egg shell. You can imagine what happens to the unfortunate submarine.

[Illustration: SENDING UP A “HUMMING” SHOT A LITTLE TOO CLOSE FOR
COMFORT]

“All of a sudden, three enemy aeroplanes dash into view, determined to
attack our seaplane—to avenge the sunken U-Boat. But when one of the big
guns on our warship sends up a ‘humming’ shot, a little too close to the
foe for comfort, they withdraw at once.

“We finally won this dreadful sea battle, and the seaplanes certainly
deserve a great deal of credit.

“If you boys have followed my story, you know the value of land and sea
aviation service in time of war.”

“Indeed, I have followed it,” said Tom warmly.

“It’s the most interesting tale I ever heard or read,” exclaimed Jack.

“Listen to me, boys,” said their Uncle Sam. He was a bit annoyed and
impatient; for he now had little time to spare for interruptions.

[Illustration: FAST MAIL-CARRYING AEROPLANES WILL MAKE POSTAL DELIVERIES
EVERYWHERE]

“The greatest benefit from the ‘Conquest of the Air’ will come in times
of peace. Before I go, I shall tell you boys a few of the peace-time
uses of the land aeroplane, the hydroaeroplane or seaplane, the
Zeppelin, the Blimp, the ordinary balloon—all the mechanical birds of
Man’s inventive genius. Some of these uses you are already familiar
with; some you and I will live to see; some won’t come to pass until we
are in our graves.

“The greatest aviation service will likely be transportation, both for
business and pleasure. Aeroplanes and motor-driven balloons will rival
steamships, trains, and automobiles as carriers of passengers, freight,
and mail. There will be big aerial ocean liners plying over the Atlantic
and, possibly, the wide Pacific. Fast mail-carrying aeroplanes, capable
of a speed of two or more miles a minute, will make postal deliveries
everywhere. Letters from New York will reach Chicago in a few hours.
Private aeroplanes, darting here and there among the clouds, will be as
numerous as the birds. Thousands of seaplanes will sail on and glide
over our lakes, rivers, bays, and oceans.

[Illustration: CAPRONI TRIPLANE CROSSING THE ALPS]

“Aerial transportation is not just a thing of the future. It is already
here. In May, 1918, regular aeroplane mail service was begun between New
York City and Washington, D. C. Many men now have their own aeroplanes
or seaplanes, and travel around in them as commonly as in an automobile.
Two brave Italians flew, in a trifle over seven hours, from Turin,
Italy, across the Alps and then to London—a distance of 650 miles. A
gigantic aeroplane has been invented in Italy. It is called the Caproni
Triplane, because a man named Caproni invented it, and because it bears
three sets of planes or wings. It is able to travel a long distance and
carry heavy loads.

[Illustration: SHIP SAVED BY LIFE LINE THROWN FROM A RESCUE AIRSHIP]

“Outside of transportation, there are and will be numerous other
peace-time uses for aeroplanes and balloons. But I have time to tell
about only two more—ship saving and aerial weather observation. Many a
ship stranded on the rocks in a storm can be reached by a life line
thrown from a rescue airship. An aviator high in the sky can find out
weather conditions not known on the earth below. From his reports, we
shall be able to make more accurate weather forecasts.

“Well, boys,” said Uncle Sam, “my aviation story is over, and I must be
on my way.”

He gives each boy a warm handshake, and bids good-bye. He jumps into his
aeroplane, and starts the motor. The propellers whirl. The noise of the
motor is deafening. Finally, the big bird skims the ground and
gracefully ascends.

[Illustration]

A beautiful landscape closes the scene. The sun, in a halo of golden
glory, sinks in the west. Uncle Sam in his aeroplane is a mere speck in
the lonely twilight sky. The boys watch him float out of sight, and then
start for home with their minds full of aeroplanes, balloons, aviators,
aviation.

[Illustration]




------------------------------------------------------------------------




Transcriber’s note:

 1. Silently corrected typographical errors and variations in spelling.

 2. Archaic, non-standard, and uncertain spellings retained as printed.