mpelling a hurried descent.

The most amazing feature of these aerial raids has been the remarkably
low height at which the airmen have ventured to fly. While such a
procedure facilitates marksmanship it increases the hazards. The airmen
have to trust implicitly to the fleetness of their craft and to their
own nerve. Bearing in mind the vulnerability of the average aeroplane,
and the general absence of protective armouring against rifle fire at
almost point-blank range, it shows the important part which the human
element is compelled to play in bomb-dropping operations.

Another missile which has been introduced by the French airmen, and
which is extremely deadly when hurled against dense masses of men,
is the steel arrow, or "flechette" as it is called. It is a fiendish
projectile consisting in reality of a pencil of solid polished steel, 4
3/4 inches in length. The lower end has a sharp tapering point, 5/8ths
of an inch in length. For a distance of 1 1/8th of an inch above this
point the cylindrical form of the pencil is preserved, but for the
succeeding three inches to the upper end, the pencil is provided with
four equally spaced angle flanges or vanes. This flanging of the upper
end or tail ensures the arrow spinning rapidly as it falls through the
air, and at the same times preserves its vertical position during its
descent. The weight of the arrow is two-thirds of an ounce.

The method of launching this fearsome projectile is ingenious. A hundred
or even more are packed in a vertical position in a special receptacle,
placed upon the floor of the aeroplane, preferably near the foot of the
pilot or observer. This receptacle is fitted with a bottom moving in the
manner of a trap-door, and is opened by pressing a lever. The aviator
has merely to depress this pedal with his foot, when the box is opened
and the whole of the contents are released. The fall at first is
somewhat erratic, but this is an advantage, as it enables the darts to
scatter and to cover a wide area. As the rotary motion of the arrows
increases during the fall, the direct line of flight becomes more
pronounced until at last they assume a vertical direction free from all
wobbling, so that when they alight upon the target they are quite plumb.

When launched from a height they strike the objective with terrific
force, and will readily penetrate a soldier's helmet and skull. Indeed,
when released at a height of 4,000 feet they have been known to pier