The waterplanes have established
their supremacy over the naval dirigible in a striking manner.
British endeavour fostered the waterplane movement and has
carried it to a high degree of perfection. The waterplane is not
primarily designed to perform long flights, although such may be
carried out if the exigencies demand. The practice of deputing
certain vessels to art as "parent ships" to a covey of
waterplanes has proved as successful in practice, as in theory.
Again, the arrangements for conveying these machines by such
means to a rendezvous, and there putting them into the water to
complete a certain duty, have been triumphantly vindicated.
At the time this idea was embraced it met with a certain degree
of hostile criticism: it was argued that the association of the
two fighting, machines would tend towards confusion, and impair
the efficiency of both.
Practice has refuted this theory. The British aerial raids upon
Cuxhaven and other places would have been impossible, and
probably valueless as an effective move, but for the fact that it
was possible to release the machines from a certain point upon
the open sea, within easy reach of the cooperating naval
squadron.
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