Aircraft in Warfare (1916)/Author's Note

by Frederick William Lanchester

AUTHOR'S NOTE.

 

The Military and Naval importance of aeronautics, more especially of mechanical flight, has in the past been slow to receive adequate recognition. Even to-day, in spite of the awakening which has been brought about by the Great War, we are far from a full appreciation of the extent to which, as a nation, our destiny will be determined by aircraft and by military aeronautics.

The early pioneers of mechanical flight were but little concerned with the prospective future of flying; they were rightly occupied in overcoming the difficulties standing in the way of achievement. That ultimately a field of utility would present itself was generally accepted as an article of faith. Many suggestions both as to commercial and military usage were put forward, more frequently than not in ignorance of the limitations by which flight as a mode of locomotion is circumscribed: often claims were made of an altogether extravagant character. If it be true that in some directions, from the point of view of those early engaged in aeronautical development, the outlook has proved a disappointment, it is no less certain that military aeronautics has not only fulfilled, but already transcended, the most sanguine expectation.

Without going so far as to claim having predicted or foreseen in its entirety the many-sided utility of aircraft as it is to-day manifesting itself, the author can point to the fact that he has in the past taken every opportunity to insist on the importance of dynamic flight in its Military and Naval application. Thus, so long ago as 1897, in a patent specification^[1] in which all the main features of the present day aeroplane were figured and discussed, the proposal is made for an air-borne torpedo, a device to which the first nine figures specifically relate.

Writing in 1907, in the preface to the first volume of his "Aerial Flight," the author expressed his view in a passage as follows:—

"The importance of this matter [provision for the scientific study of aerial flight] entitles it to rank almost as a National obligation; for the country in which facilities are given for the proper theoretical and experimental study of flight will inevitably find itself in the best position to take the lead in its application and practical development. That this must be considered a vital question from a National point of view is beyond dispute; under the conditions of the near future the command of the air must become at least as essential to the safety of the Empire as will be our continued supremacy on the high seas."

And in 1909, the "Morning Post" (May 11th), reporting the 3rd Cantor Lecture delivered before the Royal Society of Arts, quotes the author as follows: —

"He considered that the immediate future of the flying machine was entirely confined to its military possibilities."

Again in the spring of 1914 (a few months prior to the outbreak of war) the author wrote:—^[2]

"Without looking so far ahead as has been attempted in the preceding paragraph,^[3] it cannot to-day be disputed that the immediate future of the flying-machine is guaranteed by its employment by the Army and Navy. It is already admitted by military and naval authorities that for the purpose of reconnaissance an aeronautical machine of some kind is imperative, and its more active employment as a gun-carrying or bomb- (or torpedo-) bearing machine will without question follow: its utility in this direction has already been experimentally demonstrated. In the author's opinion, there is scarcely an operation of importance hitherto entrusted to cavalry that could not be executed as well or better by a squad or fleet of aeronautical machines.^[4] If this should prove true, the number of flying-machines eventually to be utilized by any of the great military Powers will be counted not by hundreds but by thousands, and possibly by tens of thousands, and the issue of any great battle will be definitely determined by the efficiency of the Aeronautical Forces."

In addition to the foregoing, the author gave especial prominence to military aeronautics, as presenting the most promising field of development, in his Presidential address^[5] to the Institution of Automobile Engineers, in October, 1910.

The intention to write specifically on the subject of Aircraft in Warfare had been in the author's mind for some years, it was only after the outbreak of hostilities however that this intention came to be realised. The present work may be said to date from its contribution as a series of articles to "Engineering," covering a period from September to December, 1914. The text and order of the original articles have been preserved in the present volume, and thus the matter appears under the dates of its original publication. Revision has, in the main, been confined to ordinary legitimate corrections, the articles having been regarded and treated to all intents and purposes as a first proof. The last two chapters, however, include new matter; they are for this reason undated.

That it is at least desirable to give the dates of first publication is determined by the fact that the ever ready plagiarist commonly has one's writing over his own name almost before the ink of the original has had time to dry.^[6] Beyond this the author has no wish to present as a new edition, matter which is more justly entitled to rank as a reprint; he has the satisfaction of knowing that articles in a technical journal, whatever its standing may be, can never appeal to so wide a circle as publication in book form. Looking back to the time at which the original articles were penned, it must be admitted that very great progress has been made, progress not only in the number and quality of the belligerent aeroplanes, but also more generally in the understanding of the potential capabilities of the Aeronautical Arm; the author finds, however, that his own ideas also have developed and expanded; the experience gained has, in a sense, cleared our vision, and enabled us to look still further into the future. Thus, in spite of the great advance, the pressing needs of the future seem in no wise diminished.

The author in conclusion desires to acknowledge his debt of gratitude to Maj.-Gen. Sir David Henderson, K.C.B., to whom the preface of the present volume is due. He counts himself singularly fortunate in having been accorded the support of so great an authority on Military Aeronautics, and feels confident that his gratitude will be shared by those into whose hands this book may fall.

Birmingham,
November, 1915.

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1. No. 3608 of 1897.
2. "James Forrest" Lecture. Proc. Inst. C.E., cxcviii., p. 251.
3. The paragraph in question is that quoted incidentally on p. 158 of the present work.
4. Perhaps an overstatement of the case. Compare § 18.
5. Proc. Inst. Automobile Engineers, Vol. V, p. 10.
6. A coincidence such as the following scarcely requires comment.
   
   

   From an article contributed by a certain writer to the "Westminster Gazette," February 26th, 1909:—	From a paper read by the author December 8th, 1908, before the Aeronautical Society of Great Britain; as reported in "The Engineer," December 18th, 1908, and as subsequently published in the proceedings of the Society, January, 1909:—
   "... that Lilienthal invented a gliding apparatus, which was improved in its structural features and in its method of control successively by Chanute and the Wright brothers, until the latter, by installing a comparatively light-weight motor and screw propeller, achieved, for the first time in history, a man-carrying machine propelled by its own motive power."	"The gliding machine originated by Lilienthal, was improved especially as to its structural features and its method of control, successively by Chanute and the Brothers Wright, until the latter, by the addition of a lightweight petrol motor, and screw propellers, achieved, for the first time in history, free flight in a man-bearing machine propelled by its own motive power."

   Unfortunately, even though one may be morally certain as to the fact, it is not usually possible when broad opinions or the general results of an investigation are taken without acknowledgment, to "pillory" the offender; it is only when concerned with a quite trivial matter of words, as in the foregoing, that an accusation can be brought home. If such cases were clearly deliberate they would morally constitute a theft, since Editors commonly pay according to the space filled, but it is fair to assume that plagiarism of this kind is quite unconscious, what is read or heard one day, masquerades in the writer's mind as inspiration the next.

   Occasionally one is fortunate, as the author when his theoretical method of treating the problem of the screw propeller was attributed to Drzewiecki in a report in which the author's specially invented terminology was used throughout. Those who misappropriate another man's gold should take the ordinary precaution of throwing away the purse.