Transcriber's note: Obvious printer's errors have been corrected.Hyphenation and accentuation have been standardised, allother inconsistencies are as in the original. The author's spellinghas been maintained.
Fighting by Sea and Sky.
Painting by John E. Whiting.
Aircraft and Submarines
The Story of the Invention, Development,
and Present-Day Uses of War's
Newest Weapons
By
Willis J. Abbot
Author of "The Story of Our Army," "The Story of Our Navy,"
"The Nations at War"
With Eight Color Plates and
100 Other Illustrations
G. P. Putnam's Sons
New York and London
The Knickerbocker Press
1918
Copyright, 1918
By
WILLIS J. ABBOT
The Knickerbocker Press, New York
(p. iii) PREFACE
Not since gunpowder was first employed in warfare has sorevolutionary a contribution to the science of slaughtering men beenmade as by the perfection of aircraft and submarines. The formerhave had their first employment in this world-wide war of thenations. The latter, though in the experimental stage as far back asthe American Revolution, have in this bitter contest been for thefirst time brought to so practical a stage of development as toexert a really appreciable influence on the outcome of the struggle.
Comparatively few people appreciate how the thought of navigatingthe air's dizziest heights and the sea's gloomiest depths hasobsessed the minds of inventors. From the earliest days of historymen have grappled with the problem, yet it is only within twohundred years for aircraft and one hundred for submarines that anyreally intelligent start has been made upon its solution. The menwho really gave practical effect to the vague theories which othersset up—in aircraft the Wrights, Santos-Dumont, and Count Zeppelin;in submarines Lake and Holland—are either still living, or havedied so recently that their memory is still fresh in the minds ofall.
In this book the author has sketched swiftly the slow stages bywhich in each of these fields of activity success has been attained.He has collated from the immense (p. iv) mass of records of theactivities of both submarines and aircraft enough interesting datato show the degree of perfection and practicability to which bothhave been brought. And he has outlined so far as possible fromexisting conditions the possibilities of future usefulness in fieldsother than those of war of these new devices.
The most serious difficulty encountered in dealing with the presentstate and future development of aircraft is the rapidity with whichthat development proceeds. Before a Congressional Committee lastJanuary an official testified that grave delay in the manufacture ofairplanes for the army had been caused by the fact that typesadopted a scant three months before had become obsolete, because ofexperience on the European battlefields, and later inventions beforethe first machines could be completed. There may be exaggeration inthe statement but it is largely true. Neither the machines nor thetactics employed at the beginning of the war were in use in itsfourth year. The course of this evolution, with its reasons, aredescribed in this volume.
Opportunities for the peaceful use of airplan