CHAPTER VIII
SCOUTING FROM THE SKIES
From the moment when human flight was lifted from the rut of
experiment to the field of practical application, many theories,
interesting and illuminating, concerning the utility of the
Fourth Arm as a military unit were advanced. The general
consensus of expert opinion was that the flying machine would be
useful to glean information concerning the movements of an enemy,
rather than as a weapon of offence.
The war is substantiating this argument very completely.
Although bomb-dropping is practised somewhat extensively, the
results achieved are rather moral than material in their effects.
Here and there startling successes have been recorded especially
upon the British side, but these triumphs are outnumbered by the
failures in this direction, and merely serve to emphasise the
views of the theorists.
The argument was also advanced that, in this particular work, the
aeroplane would prove more valuable than the dirigible, but
actual campaigning has proved conclusively that the dirigible and
the heavier-than-air machines have their respective fields of
utility in the capacity of scouts.
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