The machine
is accompanied, so that the possibility of the appointed task
being consummated is transformed almost into a certainty.
The French flying men work upon broadly similar lines. Their
fleet is divided into small squadrons each numbering four, six,
or more machines, according to the nature of the contemplated
task. Each airman is given an area of territory which is to be
reconnoitred thoroughly. In this way perhaps one hundred or more
miles of the enemy's front are searched for information at one
and the same time. The units of the squadron start out, each
taking the appointed direction according to the preconceived
plan, and each steering by the aid of compass and map. They are
urged to complete the work with all speed and to return to a
secret rendezvous.
Later the air is alive with the whirring of motors. The machines
are coming back and all converging to one point. They vol-plane
to the earth and gracefully settle down within a short distance
of each other at the rendezvous. The pilots collect and each
relates the intelligence he has gained. The data are collated
and in this manner the General Staff is able to learn exactly
what is transpiring over a long stretch of the hostile lines, and
a considerable distance to the rear of his advance works.
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