Page:Aircraft in Warfare (1916).djvu/137



§ 64. Other Weapons of Offence. For the fighting aeroplane there is no doubt that the gun will prove to be the most useful all-round weapon; however, several other means of offence have been suggested and to some extent have proved themselves of value. Bombs and hand-grenades, both explosive and incendiary, have been found to be of considerable service under appropriate conditions. Other means of attack have been proposed, such as rockets, air-borne torpedoes, etc.; so far, neither of these latter appears to have been successfully utilised.

The difference between a bomb and a hand-grenade is mainly a matter of size and weight, and a corresponding difference in the arrangements made for its release. Ordinarily, a hand-grenade is a small bomb of some 5 lb, or 6 lb, weight or less, containing a high explosive or inflammable charge, and is, as its name implies, thrown by hand. Requiring no particular provision for its storage or discharge, it is a weapon particularly suited to employment by scouting and other machines not primarily intended for fighting. The judicious employment of a few hand-grenades for the scattering of cavalry or the stampeding of led horses, or against troops on the march or massed in reserve, may by its effect amply justify the use of such a device. The bomb is commonly of considerably larger dimensions than the hand-grenade, and is stored or mounted in a magazine of some kind