Salt Lake Telegram | 1938-11-21 | Page 1 | Arms Program to Upset Rank of Air Forces

ARMS PROGRAM TO UPSET RANK OF AIR FORCES Men Would Be Needed in Plan for Army Planes WASHINGTON Nov 21 AP Government experts said today the administrations administration's administrations administration's tion's prospective armament program promises to upset the established relationship of air forces to the army and navy At present air forces are ranked officially as auxiliaries to both ground troops and the fleets fleet's battleships battleships battleships battle battle- ships and cruisers Officers and men of the army air corps compose only about of the army's aggregate for all units Quadrupling the corps officially suggested Friday as a a. a possibility by Louis Johnson assistant assistant assistant assist assist- ant secretary of war would call for foran foran foran an air force of upward of Would Need More Men Johnson a key Icy figure in the administrations administration's administrations administration's administrations administration's ad ad- ministrations ministration's resurvey of defense ne dS h that Mr R Roosevelt os velt might ask congress ss to authorize an army air force of first line planes By official estimates these would require or more pilots and mechanics When the first suggestion of multiplying multiplying multiplying mul mul- American forces was advanced advanced advanced ad ad- after the Munch conference some high ranking officers privately private private- ly dubbed it fantastic Mr Roosevelt indicated its purpose purpose purpose pur pur- pose when he announced last week that national defense has become a matter of security for the entire western hemisphere against threats of outside aggression To Augment Branches From Representative Thomason D. D Texas senior member of the house military committee came an indication today that efforts may maybe maybe maybe be made in congress to augment other military branches so that they would not be overshadowed Thomason said he believed an immediate increase of or 20 army enlisted men was a possibility possibility possibility pos pos- to be followed by successive annual additions General Malin Craig chief of staff devoted only a paragraph to the air corps in his annual report published last week Making deductions deductions deductions de de- de- de from the war in Spain he stressed that infantry alone can win a decision Each of the other arms is but an auxiliary Views Differ Diller Of the planes being supplied the theair theair theair air corps at the rate of one each working day Craig said they were the equal if not superior of those of any power Johnson on the theother theother theother other hand said in an address at Boston that our supremacy is threatened in quality as well as numbers Officers pointed out that Craigs Craig's rep report rt W wa drafted e S1 after the close of the t i im I year June Jun 30 Since thes thee e European picture has chang 1 in many re re- re- re Military head shaking in public over the big air force project has been limited thus far to retired officers Major General George Van Horn Moseley who retired September 30 recently advised in inan inan inan an address at Cincinnati that the nation resist war propaganda Speculation over details of the then n new w defense recommendations have revolved almost entirely around the army The navy was given authorIty authority authority author author- ity to Increase its air and sea forces in this years year's dollar billion fleet expansion expansion ex ex- act S