Show 0 4 Great t Problems 1 Discussed s by Authorities AMERICAS AMERICA'S NEW DEFENSE PROBLEM By MASON C. C PA PATRICK RICK Major General A. A C. C Chief of Army Air Ail Corps That aircraft will play a most important part in ift any war in inthe the i future is universally accepted Vh While 11 e endeavoring to avoid givIng too much weight to the long flights which have recently been made those the Atlantic and those b between tween our western vestern coast and the Hawaiian islands it is certainly that oWn position Is less isolated than it has ever been before and that the oceans which lave our borders are ez er the barrier to attack which they were once considered They can be covered by airplanes and although although al- al though one has not yet been built which could carry a destructive load df f bombs from foreign shores to this country drop this load and then there is every probability that such aircraft will be In exit ex- ex it nce before many years Am AIR DEFENSE The The next question which h arises Is how wo we should endeavor to safeguard safe safe- safeguard guard ourselves against an air attack attack at- at tack and at once it It becom s dent that when man devises devises' a better better bet bet- ter weapon or a better method of fighting he holds his nt helpless help less he he too arms himself or teaches himself hike This holds trpo through all all' the history of rill all the wars in which man has been engaged Correctly read it means that there is no adequate against an air attack except an aIr force of your own We Ve hear much of called so-called antiaIrcraft firing from weapons on the ground directed against attacking airplanes This fire will do some damage just as the arrows launched by archers occasionally occasionally oc- oc found vulnerable joints in hi the armor ot of the clad mail knight and will to some extent distUrb disturb dis- dis the air mans man's aim but I am firmly of the opinion that it cannot provide an impenetrable defense nor can it completely frustrate the efforts efforts ef- ef forts of an an enemy to d deliver an a aIr r attack nor prevent the air aft man manfrom manfrom from carrying out his mission No one wants another war 1 Soldiers Soldiers Sol Sol- diers who best know wars war's want It if least of all and yet no man can say that the world has reached a point where wars wars are impossible If If th then n. n we should against our will willbe willbe be involved In another war we must have an adequate air force properly equipped and properlY trained It must be developed with fater f nore Powerful more reliable reliable re- re liable machines The army now uses sIx types of aIrplanes First plane one of sImple construction rugged strong enough upon which young men are taught the of flying The observation plane lane norm nor S m mahly two men one the pilot the other the observer The bombing plane pane is capable apa le of carrying carrying car car- its crew of four or five men and projectiles charged with high explosives up to about pounds In weight The attack plane armed with machine guns and small is s ps ground either in Irne of f battle or on the march Tho so- so called pursuit planes are really the theair theair air fighters whose prime is isto is isto to sweep w p from the air jilt enemy aircraft Lat are the cargo planes which as their name indicates are arc used to to carry carry men or ma su h as spare parts for planes r rations and the like It is improbable that there will be beany any very radIcal change in these types Constant efforts are however however how how- ever b being made to j improve pr ve them by IncreasIng their speed their ability and to make mak th them i safer Already file He pursuit plane traveling at the rate of an hour is in sight the observation observation ob- ob plane m making miles an hour will soon be built the bombers will be gIven h a speed about equal or only a little less than that observation while the thea a attack tack pl planes nes ill be faster OUr air force ready leady the theIn In ment war comes for an air attack at- at tack tacIt can be delivered quickly and not serve after a dee dec lar tion o of war to bring into being a suitable force of airplanes manned by the proper number r of well well- trained men Copyright Cosmos Newspaper Syndicate Inc |