T. E. Lawrence Correspondence – Page 19

begins to jump unmanageably. It could be re-designed, without difficulty, for high speed work, but in its present state is not recommended except for speeds between 12 and 20 miles per hour. VISIBILITY A Southampton Flying Boat, unaware that the target was out, saw it from 5 miles, at 800 feet. The air photographs appended were taken at 900 feet. It is considered that in any possible weather the target should be recognisable from 9,000 feet. WINDING DEVICE. My previous report recommended a power -driven windlass for the wire, to save time, to obtain smoother winding, and to enable winding in to be done with way on the boat, thus preventing the tendency of a slack wire to sink to the bottom and entangle itself. The fitting of a windlass drum, power driven by belt and pulley from an engine shaft, on the 200 class presents no great mechanical difficulty; but as no motor boat of this class was available, I ... a hand-drum with friction brake. This took 12 minutes to wind in the 600 yards of wire, and the boat had to be stopped for the purpose. The wire kinked twice, through ... too slack, and had to be cut and spliced where kinked, to avoid the possibility of breaking.