Learning to Duel in the Sky
How the towed target balloon is used in machine-gun practice By Lieutenant Henry A. Bruno
Late Imperial Royal Flying Corps, Canada
��A FEW weeks after America entered the war plans were made for the immediate training of thousands of air-fighters. Some of the best army men in the United States service were sent to Canada to find out something about the science of training men for aerial warfare.
The largest aerial gunnery school in Canada is the one at the Royal Flying Corps Headquarters, Camp Borden, On- tario. To-day there are several gunnery schools in this country modeled after Camp Borden, and the methods used in the United States are slight improve- ments over those adopted by Canada.
It is at the ground school that the prospective air-fighter first makes the ac- quaintance of a machine-gun. In order to graduate from the machine-gun di- vision of the ground school he must be able to take down and assemble both the Lewis and Vickers guns
Firing, with trench machine-guns, at large targets placed in gun-pits, is the first actual firing done by the pupils.
After receiv- ing Q. V. G. ("Qualified Very Good") on this ground gun work, the
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��pilot takes his first actual lesson in aerial gunnery. A standard Curtis, two seater, ninety horsepower training biplane is used, altered so as to allow a gun to be fitted. The target, a square of white can- vas bearing a reproduction of the German iron cross in the center, is laid out on the ground. Two signal flags are raised to warn the curious away.
You climb into the plane, and strap yourself tightly in your seat. As the gun (an eighteen-pound Lewis) will move up and down only about ten inches, the only way to get a shot at the target is to have the pilot shut off his motor and dive nose first to within a few feet of it. Then you grind out your shots and swoop up again. If your pilot doesn't open up his motor and swoop up in time, you crash. If you fire at too long a range the instructor will call your attention in no gentle way. If your pilot shows fear in not getting close enough to the target, both of you will get a worse reprimand than if you were to Rediiacj smash several
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later you will be ready for ad- vanced air prac- tice. This time the target is a pear-shaped
��The target, fifty feet from the gun, consists of white canvas with black squares painted on it
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��Appearance of the target, at which the flyer directs his fire, as his aeroplane dives down
��Diagram showing the line of flight in practice and marking the proper position for firing
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