ce a
mounted soldier's head, and pass vertically through his body and that
of his horse also. Time after time German soldiers have found themselves
pinned to the ground through the arrow striking and penetrating their
feet. Owing to the extremely light weight of the darts they can be
launched in batches of hundreds at a time, and in a promiscuous manner
when the objective is a massed body of infantry or cavalry, or a
transport convoy. They are extremely effective when thrown among horses
even from a comparatively low altitude, not so much from the fatalities
they produce, as from the fact that they precipitate a stampede among
the animals, which is generally sufficiently serious and frantic to
throw cavalry or a transport-train into wild confusion.

Although aerial craft, when skilfully handled, have proved highly
successful as weapons of offence, the possibilities of such aggression
as yet are scarcely realised; aerial tactics are in their infancy.
Developments are moving rapidly. Great efforts are being centred upon
the evolution of more formidable missiles to be launched from the
clouds. The airman is destined to inspire far greater awe than at
present, to exercise a still more demoralising influence, and to work
infinitely more destruction.

CHAPTER XI. ARMOURED AEROPLANES

The stern test of war has served to reveal conclusively the fact that
aerial craft can be put out of action readily and effectively, when once
the marksman has picked up the range, whether the gunner be conducting
his operations with an anti-aircraft gun stationed upon the ground,
or from a hostile machine. It will be remembered that Flight-Commander
Briggs, on the occasion of the daring British raid upon the Zeppelin
sheds at Friedrichshafen, was brought to the ground by a bullet which
penetrated his fuel tank. Several other vessels, British, German,
French, and Russian alike, have been thrown out of action in a similar
manner, and invariably the craft which has been disabled suddenly in
this way has fallen precipitately to earth in the fatal headlong dive.

Previous to the outbreak of hostilities there was considerable
divergence of opinion upon this subject. The general opinion was that
the outspread wings and the stays which constituted the weakest parts of
the structure were most susceptible to gun-fire, and thus were likely to
fail. But practice has proved that it is the driving mechanism which is
the most vulnerable part of the aer