While
they are not so speedy as the monoplanes of the German military
establishment, endurance in this instance is preferable to pace.
A thorough survey of the enemy's position over the whole of his
military zone, which stretches back for a distance of 30 miles or
so from the outer line of trenches, is of incalculable value to a
commander who is contemplating any decisive movement or who is
somewhat in doubt as to the precise character of his antagonist's
tactics.
The French aerial fleet has been particularly active in its work
of raiding hostile positions and submitting them to a fusillade
of bombs from the clouds. The machine which is allotted this
specific task is the Voisin biplane. This is due to the fact
that this machine is able to carry a great weight. It was
speedily discovered that in bomb-raids it is essential for
an aeroplane to be able to carry a somewhat large supply of
missiles, owing to the high percentage of misses which attends
these operations. A raid by a machine capable of carrying only,
say, half-a-dozen projectiles, is virtually a waste of fuel, and
the endurance limitations of the fast machines reacts against
their profitable use in this work.
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