8.
A bomb released from an altitude of 1000 feet seldom, if ever,
makes a bee-line for the earth, even if dropped from a stationary
airship. Accordingly, the airman has to release the bomb before
he reaches the target below. The determination of the critical
moment for the release is not easy, inasmuch as the airman has to
take into his calculations the speed of his machine, his
altitude, and the direction and velocity of the air-currents.
The difficulty of aiming has been demonstrated upon several
occasions at aviation meetings and other similar gatherings.
Monsieur Michelin, who has done so much for aviation in France,
offered a prize of L1,00--$5,000--in 1912 for bomb-dropping from
an aeroplane. The target was a rectangular space marked out upon
the ground, measuring 170 feet long by 40 feet broad, and the
missiles had to be dropped from a height of 2,400 feet. The
prize was won by the well-known American airman, Lieutenant Riley
E. Scott, formerly of the United States Army. He dropped his
bombs in groups of three. The first round fell clear of the
target, but eight of the remaining missiles fell within the area.
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