Ogden Standard-Examiner | 1921-02-07 | Page 6 | Bombs Vs. Ships Will be Tested

BOMBS VS. SHIPS WILL BE TESTED r Superiority of Battleship and Aircraft Will Be Settled in Near Future WASHINGTON-, Feb. 7. Th'- COI-trnversv COI-trnversv on the nuporlori of tattle-ihips tattle-ihips and aircraft, may le settled through tests, naval officers std Sim-day. Sim-day. v Brigadier General William Mltchall, assiit.'int ehtcf t the air service. h" told a congressional committee thut developments in aircraft had doomed the present dreadu.-iiiffht, and other jir service offli en are understood to hae Ix-sued a trtunl ohalienjre to tho navy department ftn parmlt theni to I'invo their contentlins. The nAvy de-liHrtniont de-liHrtniont lr. l.elle. r In the superiority superior-ity nf the capital ship and officers of-ficers believe, will accept the challenge in the hope of cheeking the eontro-versy. I." i l v Mil; I IUOI I S General Mitehell has asked his su-poiiors su-poiiors to hhiiiI .i rciuest to Secrclar Daniels that two torpedo boats, two apply vowels and one battleship bt designed for the tests. Naval offloSTS express the belief that such requtfM would b refused because be-cause material involved ;lnd ost of fit -tinjr the Rvf vessels with radio eon-trol eon-trol apparatus. There Ik .i stroiiR likelihood, how- i. naval oflcen said, that the old battleship Iowa, fitted with radio control con-trol Koar and capable of bfelng man- m .-red with no one o:i board, will be used as a target for aerial bombs after experiments now being conduct-od conduct-od on tho control devices are completed. complet-ed. Ml I'M I IT TO III Another suggestion 1m that large lighter be towed at hinh speed and used as hirga,, Uany officials be-lisvt be-lisvt anj tesi of tho ability of the avl- .ItorS to tilt n;,al es,.v woillil not be conclusive unless the target ware moving at bast twenty knots an hour It was generally conceded, however that such experiments as Gencrai Mitchell has proposed would clvo an Idea of the ability of the aviators to actually hit r moving vessel ' Armv aviators maintain that any surface, vessel can be destroyed by an Plane attack, Ciltlt)g the tests on the battleship Iiidlar.a uith dummy bombs as proof. Navy officers assert that it Is one I mmg io nit a battleship ant hon d and another to hit the same ship moving.