Page:O que eu vi, o que nós veremos (1918).pdf/76

 Aviation has proven to be the most effective weapon of war in both offensive and defensive warfare. Since the beginning of the war, improvements in the airplane have been marvelous.

Who, five years ago, would have believed that airplanes could be used to attack enemy forces? That cannon projectiles could be launched with deadly effect from heights inaccessible to the enemy?

Since the beginning of the war, the equipment has improved. They have been increased in size, and some are now made entirely of steel. The engines have also improved. The most amazing development has been the development of cannons for airplanes. At first, the recoil of the cannons, when firing, was the greatest obstacle to air attacks. The constant and repeated shocks of the backfire of even small cannons, soon shook the fragile structures of the airplanes so used, putting them out of use. This inconvenience has been solved. New cannons have been invented that do not produce backfire. They consist of a tube from which two projectiles are expelled by a single explosion. At the moment of firing, one of the projectiles, a deadly steel bullet, descends rapidly toward