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A long discussion concerning day and night bombardment and low flying armored aviation--or "attack" aviation as we call it-- took place. This involved a study of the means of ground defense against aircraft--cannon, machine guns of various calibers, infantry fire, balloon barrages, searchlights, gas, and other devices. As far as defense against aircraft is concerned, the methods of defense from the ground at night have not been improved. Night pursuit aviation, however, is greatly to be feared, and protection against this form of attack must be contained in the bombardment or other ships themselves. During the daytime, at medium altitudes or clear days, defense against aircraft from the ground has gained something on account of the large caliber of the machine guns used and the volume of fire which they are able to deliver. However, in order to bring a coordinated defense from the ground against aircraft, depth of formation must be used. This depth must be thirty or forty kilometers at least as aircraft move at from one hundred and seventy to two hundred and fifty kilometers per hour. It is quite impossible for a whole frontier to be guarded in this way. Only certain important localities may be guarded. This defense, however, at high altitude where only artillery may act, has not been improved over that of the War because no ranging that is satisfactory can
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