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Show Washington, D. C. SUBMARINE ANTIDOTE A history making event took place recently in the long war against the submarine. Official tests were made of the helicopter, which, despite opposition op-position of the navy, has been urged by officials of the army and War Shipping administration for antisubmarine anti-submarine patrol. Within a few hours after the publication pub-lication of a Merry-Go-Round story on this subject, a group of officials from Washington, including highly interested and highly placed officials of the British admiralty, British shipping ship-ping mission, and the RAF, stood in amazement on the deck of a tanker offshore while a little airplane with a crazy rotary wing on top landed and took off from a deck space not more than twice the size of the plane itself. It was a Sikorsky helicopter, piloted pilot-ed by a boyish colonel who reminded remind-ed everybody of Charles Lindbergh in his younger days H. F. Gregory, from Wright Field, Dayton, Ohio, who knows more about helicopters than anybody else in the air force. Gregory made 24 landings on the tanker during the two days of trials. He operated under all conceivable conditions when the tanker was riding rid-ing at anchor, when she was running run-ning at 15 knots, when she was headed into the wind, and when she was running with the wind. The War Shipping administration, which supplied the tanker, had offered of-fered to remove the mast, to provide a safer landing space. But inventor inven-tor Sikorsky scorned that as "too easy." Accordingly, his plane was set down by Colonel Gregory in the space between the mast and the deck house, with only a 14-foot clearance clear-ance on either side. Far-Seeing 'Eyes.' To the British and American shipping ship-ping experts whose ships are going to the bottom every day, the significance sig-nificance of this feat was inescapable. inescap-able. They firmly believe the helicopter heli-copter can be used to supplement the escort vessels for the greater protection of merchant ships in convoy. con-voy. It is too light to carry much striking strik-ing power of its own, except a few rockets, but it can fly out ahead of the convoy, hover over the sea, spot the wolf pack, and report by radio to the escort vessels. This saves movement of the escort vessels, which in present practice have to maneuver constantly around the merchant ships, with heavy consumption con-sumption of fuel oil. Moreover, the helicopter, without firing a shot, brings alarm to the prowling submarine and causes the U-boat to dive. Earlier acceptance of the helicopter helicop-ter was prevented by the navy's bureau bu-reau of aeronautics, which contends that the machine is defenseless against the guns of a submarine. The defenders reply that the plane can dart about so crazily that it is too evasive to be easily hit. Moreover, More-over, helicopters can be built for $15,000 each, and the loss of a few would not be serious, compared with the loss of escort vessels. In any case, the matter has gone beyond the stage of argument. The War Shipping administration is determined to have helicopters, and if the navy won't come along, WSA will make a deal with the coast guard to train pilots, and another deal with the war department to place the planes on its ships. ARMY AND COAL MINES John L. Lewis would have got the surprise of his life if he could have had a dictaphone recording of the conversation of Secretary of War Stimson and Gen. B. B. Somervell regarding the use of troops in taking over the coal mines. Lewis had expressed public apprehension ap-prehension that the army had a plan to seize the coal mines in case of a strike. Undoubtedly subordinate army officers did have such a plan in mind. But when Secretary Stimson sat down with Secretary Ickes, plus General Somervell and other army officers, the army expressed vigorous vigor-ous opinions to the contrary. General Gen-eral Somervell, accused by some of wanting the army to take over all civilian activities, made this remark: re-mark: "The last thing we want is an issue is-sue of the army against the people." Secretary Stimson also expressed relief that Secretary Ickes, known as a staunch defender of civil liberty, lib-erty, had been selected by the President Presi-dent to handle the coal crisis. He offered Ickes every co-operation but expressed the hope that he would not have to use troops. CAPITOL CHAFF C. Freshman Representative Charles La Follette is the only Republican congressman who supported the President's foreign policies in the last campaign. La Follette also has a liberal labor record. C Radio Operator R. W Dunn, who first received the coded message of an armistice November 11. 19:8, is eager to serve again He has enrolled en-rolled as a junior radio operator in Pan American Airways Seattle school, preparing for A'aska service. |