WAR IN THE AIR.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXX, Issue 3416, 6 January 1912, Page 10

WAR IN THE AIR.

BRITISH OFFICER AND WHAT

WILL HAPPEN

The war in the air which will precede the great battles of the future was dealt with in a lecture at the Royal United Service Institution by Captain C. J. Burke, of the Army Air Battalion.

“On the outbreak of war,” he said, “it is to be expected that the aeroplanes of both sid'es will endeavor to reconnoitre and to pick up all the information possible about the enemy’s concentration areas. It is probable that the first day will see them in collision, as it is vital to success that the enemy should be deprived of the use of aeroplanes as early as possible in the campaign. “It appears probable that the passengers in the aeroplanes, will carry weapons, of precision, which they will use against their adversaries, and it may even be necessary to have recourse to wrecking the hostile aeroplane by the 'back-wash’ of the propeller, although that is a very risky proceeding. “There will be a struggle for the supremacy of tlie air, and we may assume that a commander, whose aeroplanes have defeated their adversaries can hope for an extraordinary amount of clear and accurate information as to his enemy’s dispositions for, and intentions of, battle.”