OCR Text |
Show AVIATION CORPS WELL EQUIPPED Four New Schools Are to Be Opened in June. WASHINGTON". April 10- With four new schools in construction to be finished in June, the senate committee commit-tee said the signal corps Is now conducting con-ducting twenty aviation training schools in this country with a total capacity of 3000 cadets. Graduates have numbered 1926. commissioned as reserve military aviators, but "very few" have received their advanced training V'ith the exception of what the committee com-mittee referred to as "severe di appointment ap-pointment 'be primary training of aviators was said to appear to be progressing pro-gressing favorably. Fatalities from accident the committee said, were distressing dis-tressing "but appear to be less frequent fre-quent than in the schools of our allies " Regarding airplane construc- iiuu. me cummum luuna mat irom the inception of the work on primary training planes it "gave ground for grave concern." Output Being Increased. "In recent weeks, however." the report re-port said, "the output has been greatly increased and there seems to be no doubt of the signal corps having an amplv sufficient number in the future On April 1. 3458 primary training ; planes had been completed of two standard types, in advanced t raining four types are being made, the total number to date manufactured being 342. In these planes three types of engines (all of foreign design but American manufacture), will be used, of which 96.r hae been completed. Combat Planes a Failure. "The production of combat planes I 1 has thus far been a substantial substan-tial failure and constitutes a most i serious disappointment in our war preparations. We had no design of our own; neither did we adopt any one J of the European designs until months (after we entered the war. Much time was consumed in discussion of types; innumerable changes in designs and I specifications .have cost further fur-ther delays. In all five types have, at one time or another, been adopted. Two of them have been abandoned after expenditure of much time and monev The three remaining types still left see arc now jn course of manufacture," Handley-Page Machine. The larger and more powerful I land - j ley-Page machine the committee j staled, is to be driven by two Liberty i motors and carry six men, eight raa- ( chine guns and a heavy load cf bombs. i "The history of negotiations for the adoption of manufacture of this air- .plane afford a remarkable illustration of procrastination and indecision too long to recite." the report said. hi slgns of this plane have been used wlih marked success by the Bril- 'isb were offered to our officials offi-cials as early as May, 1917. The signal corps finally decided upon manufacture manufac-ture of a number of parts about January Jan-uary 1, 1918. Officials testify that the do not expect completion of the ffrsl set of parts in this country before June. 1018." Dc Haviland Combat Planes. The De Haviland combat planes. Liberty motor driven and carrying two I men, four machine guns and a moderate moder-ate load of bombs, is being developed, the committee said, but onlv fifteen I have been very recently completed and j one Shipped to France Brituh Fighting Machine. Another fighting machine, known as ' the Bristol, is lighter ;?nd faster and is j expected to attain ;i speed of 12"i miles an hour to be used largely for recon-nalsBance. recon-nalsBance. Another tpe. a defensive ; fighter, carries two men and four ma-j ma-j chine gUJl8, driven by one Liberty motor. The first machine of this kind was completed March 7,0 last It caught fire and was completely destroyed in testing but "satisfactory quantity production" pro-duction" is expected within a reason able period j "In addition to the American production pro-duction of engines and airplanes," the I report continues, "considerable orders for combat airplanes and engines were I placed last summer with European manufacturers and we have furnished materials and mechanics for their con-si con-si ruction." Changes in Liberty Motor. Important changes made in .no Lib-eriy Lib-eriy motor within ihe lasi two months, the i r port slates, "will make the motor serviceable" for combat planes of the defensive lype and for bombing and observation planes. The motor, it says, bids fair to hold Its own with foreign for-eign motors ol similar powers, weight and purpose. Some Liberty motors already al-ready delivered, the committee said, are being altered to overcome defects. Production Is Disappointing. "The production of Liberty motors to date is, of course, gravely disappointing. disap-pointing. The testimony show, thai experts of the highest reputat Ion and experience have, since last July, repeatedly re-peatedly warned officials that perfecting per-fecting of a newly designed motor must Inevitably involve many months of painstaking experiment, accompanied accom-panied by many setbacks and disappointments. disap-pointments. In spite of the unanimous testimony of motor experts along this) line, government officials having thel manufacture of the Liberty motor in charge have made the mistake Of leading lead-ing the public and ihe .illicd nations to the belief thai many thousands of these motors would be completed in the spring of 191R " Recommendations for ;i re -organization of the aircraft production machinery ma-chinery follow Would Appoint Manager. "Your committee believes that, production pro-duction of alcraft should be controlled by one executive officer appointed hv the president and responsible to him. He should be assisted by a corps of the best aircraft engineers and designers design-ers possible to obtain, both American and European. "The matter of production should be taken out of the hands of the signal corps entirely and no man who Ikis any near or remote Interest in a company com-pany manufacturing airplanes or engines en-gines should be permitted to act as adviser ad-viser or lo be in authority Shcppard's Minority Report Senator Sheppard's minority report, presented late today and signed by bimself and Senators Myers of Montana, Mon-tana, and Kirby of Arkansas, declan d the mlnorit believed the majority re port did not show "a proper estimate of what is being accomplished, or that it is sufficiently complete to nive an, accunle impression of the facts" Praising the work ol aviation of f i -eials. ;imi declaring that the Liberty motor is a demonstrated success, Ihe minority report concluded. "( m the whole the record of the signal turps is one of which every American can be justly proud. In the fact of unparalleled difficulty, it is accomplishing ac-complishing an .unparalleled task with characteristic American energy, capacity, capac-ity, patrotism and enthusiasm ' ' ! ! e i |