§ 50. Mr. BOOTHasked the Prime Minister if instructions were given to the aviators who bombarded the Zeppelin 1303 sheds at Friedrichshafen to avoid neutral territory; and what is the policy of His Majesty's Government with regard to the passage of warlike machines over the land or territorial waters of neutral countries?
§ The FIRST LORD of the ADMIRALTY (Mr. Churchill)My right hon. Friend has asked me to reply to this question. Instructions were given to the Naval Flying officers who attacked the Zeppelin factory at Friedrichshafen to avoid neutral territory, and the course drawn on the maps supplied to them should have taken them well clear of Switzerland. When machines are flying at a great height it is almost impossible for any but a skilled observer to determine with any accuracy the course the aircraft are taking unless he is directly beneath them. No agreement was reached at the Paris Conference, 1910, in regard to the passage of belligerent aircraft over neutral territory.