Show 1 f. f v r IW ir rl t n S v i t iT 1 tj mf f. f Airships Valuable for War From the moment that M. M Santos- Santos Dumont Damont alighted softly on the sward of the Bois ls de d Boulogne after encircling cling the te the Eiffel Eifel tower a new era began began began be- be of or the atmosphere atmosphere atmosphere atmos atmos- gan in the man-conquest man phere says the Grand Magazine The aeronaut had succeeded in solving the problem he bad had set himself and thenceforward had merely to perfect the details Assuming as we are entitled to do that M. M Santos-Dumont's Santos new ship proves a success and that in addition to carrying a crew of eight or ten it will have a lifting power for fora a small cargo see what a powerful and novel weapon of offensive warfare is at the disposal of the nations In the next continental war it is unconceivable unconceivable un un- con conceivable that the effectiveness of such a mode of attack will not be utilized After the lessons of the recent recent re re- cent siege of Port Arthur any anyone one can realize the Immense service a practicable practicable cable war airship of sufficient size would have been to the operations if it instead of the enormous labor of having to bring immense siege guns from Japan in order to destroy the ships in the harbor could have been dropped upon the vessels vessel's decks from above Unquestionably the cheaper form o of attack in n this instance would have been by airships sIt s. s It will perhaps be urged that th the gasbag of a large airship would o oa or ora a comparatively easy target but at a sufficient elevation I think this this' is by byno byno byno no means the case During the She siege of Ladysmith I myself saw our cap tive balloon brought slowly to th the hit ground by Boer fire alone but then it must be borne in mind that the balloon balloon bal bal- loon was stationary and at a low elevation elevation elevation ele ele- very little higher than the hill bill from which the firing c came came me A moving airship at a considerable elevation elevation ele ele- would form a very difficult target tar tar- target get and if only slight damage were 1 inflicted there would always be the chance of being able to get away outside outI outside out out- I side the enemy's lines before having to come to earth Shrapnel fire will wilI I probably be found the most effective against such vessels but there must always be the difficulty of getting the proper elevation for tor the guns and they could not be fired vertically with put out the chance of the projectiles on their return doing more harm to the side sid that fired than than- they than they inflicted on the enemy |