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Show ITALIAN AVIATOR IIS PVSADEWDRLO RECORD He Flies From Turin to London Lon-don Without -Making a Single Stop. CAPRONI MODEL USED Big Bombing Airplane Marks New Era in Craft of This Kind. t:.v International News Service. ROME, Dec. 15. Captatin Laurcati's wonderful feat in flying from Turin to London without a stop crowns it series of most remarkable achievements by Italian aviators. The qua lily of the Italian aviator avi-ator has been already proved in the days of the Tripoli war, when heavier than air machines for the first time acted not only as scouts, but as flying artillery. The beginning of the present war found Italy still e:perimenting and choosing between be-tween different machines, all of foreign make. The early Nieuport, Lieriot. Far-man Far-man and Etrich models had given way to the MaA-elu-Pamsol (so-called because the wings, slightly inclined, resembled a sunshade), sun-shade), and the ca rly 'aproni and the (..laud rot i were I a king the place of t he Bleriot as a machine specially adapted for artlUprv observation. But it was only at the end of J!ir that the first big Capronl of 300 horsepower matlo its peculir qualities qual-ities appreciated. New Era Is Marked. The Caproni bombing aeroplane marked a new era in the history of the Italian aeroplane Industry. The brothers Caproni, Ca-proni, bom in the Italia Itredenta, crossed the frontier as soon as they realized the military importance of the machine they had devised. They submitted their plans to the Itatltan authorities and their suggestions sug-gestions were accepted, but some time was to elapse before the machine could be perfected. Italy en tered the war in 101 5, and at the end of tho year tiie Captoni was already al-ready the most redoubtable opponent of the .Austrian flyers, although in fighting planes the superiority was on the side of the enemy. But it was only In the following year that Italian aviation began to assert its now undisputed superiority over the Austria Aus-tria ns. The Farmans and the Caudrons gradually disappeared, and in their stead the Italians adopted the S.U. and the Fiat both national products for scouting and reconnaissance, and the little Nieuport Nieu-port for attacking and for escorting the great Capronl new models of 450 horsepower horse-power In their bombing expeditions. Capability Is Shown. What the machines of the Soeieta Ttali-ana Ttali-ana Aeroplani (known as S. L A.) are now capable of in the hands of a daring pilot was shown by the recent flight of Captain La urea tl to London, and by the still longer journey of the same airman from Turin to Naples and back, without a stop, the distance in both cases being covered at an average speed of almost ninety miles an hour. But the work done by the Capronl machines has been no less remarkable in Its way. The last Italian push was ushered in by extensive bombardments of the enemy's ene-my's naval base and railway .-junction. The result of this attack was felt a few days later when the Italian and British monitors joined in the bombardment of the Austrian positions on the I-lermada, and not a single unit of the enemy's fleet daring to interfere. A similar attack was undertaken against Cattaro with equally satisfactory results a few days ago. Superior in the Air. The Italian superiority over the Austria Aus-tria ns is now as unquestionable in the air as it is on land. Aviation develops constantly and rapidly. The surprises have been sprung by us and upon us: but we may trust Italian inventors and manufacturers manu-facturers to keep pace with anything the enemy may do. In the rapid strides of the new Industry the Italians have shown once more in the best sense that "hard and practical spirit" as it was called before the war, which Is in reality the necessary ballast of a naturally ardent people. It is the same spirit which led Leonardo da Vinci first to inquire into the possibilities of air kites and Volta to the electric pile. |