St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1909-12-11

army ohcers are already congratuating themselves
go ne" aeroplane squad was organized at the very
eI Vi the aTmys experiments in this most important
Oranch OF aeronautics The outcome is sure to be in
contrast TO the history of American military balloonng
wherein tnere were innumerable dsappointments Par
cuary was this the case during the SpanishAmerican
war when the department sought to get results with
war balloons in the hands of men who had had no on
poilty 10 specialize in this unusual line of work. The
ne"ly-organized aeroplane detachment on the other
hand Will grow UP in military aeroplane work from
Its inception What is more these careakers of he skv
senries have acquired experience of the most valuable
KIND IN establishing Uncle Sans first aviation field It
Is not meant of course that the soldiers had much hand
in clearing the field, blasting out stumps or erecting the
unpretentious shed that shelters the 100000 craft bt
they did almost everything else with setting
tlngs IN ORDER not forgetting the transportation army
aeropane No by wagon from it's previous resting place
at Fort Myer Va. dozen miles away. The insight thus
gained into the how Of such things will be well nigh
valuable since will make possible to send this squad
around the country to lay out aviation fields wherever
needed by the army
While, as has been explained the aeroplane de-
tachment is entirely separate and distinct the bal
loon squad its brief history is linked at many points
with that Of the older branch aeronautical dv
sion Some of the star members of original balloon
squad have attery been transferred to the aeropane
detachment and indeed the organization will have
sort of dual existence regular aeroplane corps
and emergency balloon squad since the members will
have charge of any flights that may be made from the
capital in signal corps balloons the regular balloon squad
having been transferred meanwhile to Omaha and
Fort Leavenworh The present membership of the
expected to be merely the nucleus for much
numerous body later on-when Uncle Sam shall have
gone in extensively for military aeronautics
The aeronautical division signal CORDS of which
both the aeroplane detachment the balloon
squad branches, established a result of the
pride interest aroused by Lieut. Lahms victory in
the first great international balloon race Europe
in 1896 The young American army officer, then barely
% years Of who unknown and unheraded defeated
most experienced aeronauts of Europe is
same Lahm who qualifying College Park as our
premier army aeroplanis and who is in general CON-
mand Of the aeroplane detachment. He had
40 balloon flights he assembled for time in
an aeroplane and he has the complete confidence his
men-an important requisite in and untried
such military aeronautlcs.
The order formally creating the aeronaucal division
of the signal corps was issued August l. 1907
the new organization launched with membership
of a sole individual Sergeant Edward Ward, who has
since graduated to the position of head chauffeur
the chief general staff Gradually the membership
grew TO dozen At first the work of the
organization merely with the old balloons foreign
make which had been purchased by the United States
during the Spanish and had been in storage
since Then came army dirigibc No. l, which the war
department purchased from Capt Thomas Baldwin,
finally the initial Wright aeropane, which is Col
lege At the outset the headquarters of the aero
nautical division at Fort Myer Va, and the
commissioned officers and enlisted of the
teal division displayed their versatility by handling in
discriminatory spherical balloons drigbe and aeropane
When the signal corps completed its fine, plant
for generating hydrogen at Fort Omaha it de-
cided to make the post the headquarters all
army balloon work and the dirigible transferred
thher With it went the balloon squad Consequently,
Wright aerOplane accepted by the govern
mont and preparations undertaken for establishing
+o organize an aeroplane detachment adjunct.
As has been explained of the most capable men
were transferred from the balloon squad and others
were selected the ranks of the signal CORPS every