Part 10 (1/2)
The coming of the War caused all nations to stop and take strict account of what had been accomplished in solving the many problems of aviation, for the war machine had to be as nearly as possible the sum total of all the best that had been worked out up to that time in the difficult matter. In aircraft design and in types of engines France undoubtedly stood foremost, although the knowledge she possessed had not been sorted, pigeonholed and accurately standardized as was the case in Germany.
Germany had some excellent aircraft motors of the water-cooled type, which were light in weight, very reliable and high-powered. The German government had spent large sums of money for the purpose of encouraging airplane construction and the improvement of designs and engines.
Yet no country at war found her military airplanes all she had expected them to be. It was not until actual war service brought definite demands from the pilots and definite criticisms of the bad features of the airplanes in use, that the designers were able to turn out machines of the highest efficiency.
There were many things which the pilots asked for. Speed and climbing power were among them, greater ease of operation, more protection in the way of guns and armament, the pilot's seat so located that his vision was not obstructed above or below, and a uniform system of controls.
Gradually all these requirements have been met by the airplane makers.
By 1917 they had turned out machines which could fly as fast as 150 miles per hour and climb to 22,000 feet, while since then even this record has been greatly improved upon.
In the field of aviation America can claim one big accomplishment since her entrance into the World War. That is the Liberty motor, probably the most successful motor that has ever yet been devised for an airplane.
When it was decided that we should begin work building American airplanes, there was one important problem: the engine. Foreign types of engines could not very well be built in this country, as they required workmen of many years' training in a highly specialized field. It was agreed that we must have a motor of our own, which could be manufactured rapidly under the conditions of our present industrial system.
Two of the most capable engineers in the country were summoned to Was.h.i.+ngton, and in order to a.s.sist them in their work motor manufacturers from all over the United States sent draftsmen and consulting engineers. For five days these two men did not leave the rooms that had been engaged for them at the capital.
Sacrifice was necessary if victory was to be won. Engineering companies and companies making motors for automobiles, etc., gave up their most carefully-guarded secrets in order to make the Liberty motor a success.
The result was that an engine was produced so much better than anything on the market that our allies ordered it in large quant.i.ties for their own airplanes. Twenty-eight days after the drawings were started, the first motor was set up. It was ready on Independence Day, and was demonstrated in Was.h.i.+ngton. The parts had been manufactured in many factories, yet they were a.s.sembled without the slightest difficulty. The completed engine was sent to Was.h.i.+ngton by special train from the West.
Thirty days later it had pa.s.sed all tests and was officially the Liberty motor.
One of the most remarkable things about the Liberty motor is the way in which all of its parts have been carefully standardized so that they can be manufactured according to instructions by factories in all parts of the United States. The parts can then be rapidly a.s.sembled at a central point. The cylinders are exactly the same in every case, although the Liberty motor is made in four models, ranging from 4 to 12 cylinders.
They can be interchanged and the parts of a wrecked engine can be used to repair another engine.
Thus American wit, patriotism and energy were able at a most critical time to answer the threat of German supremacy in the air. Our aircraft production has gone forward with speed which almost baffles understanding, while the airplane motors we s.h.i.+pped abroad in such overwhelming numbers to be installed in foreign machines gave good service to the cause for which the Liberty motor was named.
CHAPTER VI
FAMOUS ALLIED AIRPLANES
Airplanes, like men, are not all alike, even when they are in the same line of work and performing the self-same duties. In war time, every gunner has his own little peculiarities, every sharpshooter has his personal ideas about catching the enemy napping, and every infantryman who goes over the top, in spite of his rigorous training in the art of war, meets and downs his opponent in a manner all his own. So it is with the machines that in the last few years have won fame for their valiant service over the dread region of battle. Roughly they can be lined up as fighting machines, reconnaissance airplanes and bombers. Yet if we look a little closer, individual types of planes will stand out of the general group, and it becomes fascinating to study them in their design, their achievements and their particular capabilities.
[Ill.u.s.tration: _Copyright International Film Service, Inc._
THIS PHOTOGRAPH SHOWS THE RELATIVE SIZE OF THE GIANT CAp.r.o.nI BOMBING PLANE AND THE FRENCH BABY NIEUPORT, USED AS A SPEED SCOUT]
As it would be impossible to mention in one short chapter all the brave pilots who distinguished themselves for their heroism in the war in the air, so it would be a hopeless task to attempt to do justice to all the airplanes which rendered good service over the front lines. The best we can hope to do is to make the acquaintance of the most famous of them all.
[Ill.u.s.tration: _Copyright International Film Service, Inc._
THE SPAD, THE PRIDE OF THE FRENCH AIR FLEET]
There is one little machine, which, when the final retreat was sounded and accomplishments were reckoned, had covered itself with glory. Like the many famous pilots who have driven it, it has learned much by experience, and it has changed considerably in outward appearance since the summer of 1914. Wherever the achievements of the ”speed scout” are mentioned the _Nieuport_ is bound to come in for its share of the praise. This little fighting machine was greatly relied on by the French, who used it in large numbers over the front lines. Although lately another swift scout plane has come into the field to eclipse its reputation, it probably took part in more aerial battles than any other airplane of the Great War.
It was the _Nieuport_ monoplane whose speed and agility at maneuvers made it a favorite in the early days of the hostilities. For a while it was a match for the German scout machines, but the rapid strides which aviation took under the pressure of war necessity left it behind, and the more rapid and efficient _Nieuport Biplane Scout_ made its appearance. In several important features it was entirely different from any of the biplanes. It could not quite forget its monoplane construction, and it had made a compromise with the biplane by adding a very narrow lower wing. It was humorously nicknamed the ”one and one-half plane,” but it proved itself just the thing the fighting airmen were looking for. Its narrow lower plane, while giving more stability and a ”girder formation” to its wing bracing, did not interfere with the pilot's range of vision, a highly important consideration. In order to allow as full a view as possible in all directions, it had only two V-shaped struts between the planes, while the upper wing, just above the pilot's seat, had been cut away in a semi-circle at the rear so that he might be able to see above. The lower wing was in two sections, one at each side of the fuselage.
This little biplane had a top wing span of only 23 feet, 6 inches, while the distance across the lower plane from tip to tip was a trifle shorter, measuring just 23 feet. The upper plane measured from the front to the rear edge a trifle less than 4 feet,--or to use technical language, it had a ”chord” of 3 feet, 11 inches; while the chord of the lower wing was only a little over 2 feet. The entire length of the biplane from the tip of its nose to its tail was 18 feet, 6 inches. The fuselage was built with sides and bottom flat but the top rounded off.
There was plenty of room for the pilot to move freely in his seat. Armed with a machine gun which fired over the propeller, he was well able to defend himself when enemy craft appeared.
The _Nieuport_ biplane wrote its achievements in large letters during the Great War. It was the machine which Guynemer and his famous band of ”Storks” flew in their daring battles against the German fast scout, the _Fokker_. It carried many an American chap to fame in the Lafayette Escadrille. England, Italy and America all used it over the lines, and its high speed and quickness at maneuver made it a general favorite.
To-day it is made in either the single-seater scout type, or in a larger, two-seated model. The gunner's seat in the latter is in front of the pilot, and a circular opening has been cut in the upper plane above him, so that in an aerial battle he may stand up, his head and shoulders above the top wing, and operate the machine gun, which fires across the propeller.