AIRSHIPS TO DECIDE WAR

Conflict in Europe Will be Won by Fliers.

Aeronautical experts are reckoning the aircraft strength of the nations, knowing the vital part flying machines will play in a great war. But those who are not experts are pondering such things as these: What use will flying machines be put to in this war? Will they dart here and there, dropping bombs all over the map of Europe, or crash, head on, into each other in their own combats, or fire aerial guns, or what? Will they be a factor?

The experts say they probably will be a deciding factor. They will be used for scouting and for general warfare. Only three of the nations involved, however, have advanced in aeronautics sufficiently to be reckoned with in aerial warfare. They are France, Germany, and England. For the past year these nations have been putting armor on their aeroplanes and equipping them with aerial guns for the fighting of battles.

Russia, Austria, and Italy are not ready for aerial warfare. Therefore they will employ their crafts of the air for scouting purposes and reconnaissance…But their machines will be of inestimable value, for an army afoot moves over the ground at from fifteen to twenty miles a day, while an aeroplane that skims the air at the rate of a mile a minute can watch the movement of an army, so that such a thing as surprises will be impossible. In this business of circling over armies and gathering information to take back to commanders of rival armies airships can play a big role.