Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1909-11-25

Army officers are already congratulating themselves
that the new aeroplane squad was organized at the very
outset of the army's experiments in this most important
branch of aeronautics. The outcome is sure to be in
contrast to the history of American military ballooning,
wherein there were innumerable disap%pointments. Par
ticularly was this the case during the S~panish-American
war when the war department sought to get results with
war balloons in the hands of men who had had no op-
portunity to specialize in this unusual line of work. The
newlyorganized aeroplane detachment, on the other
hand, will grow up in our military aeroplane work from
its inception. What is more, these caretakers of the sky
sentries have acquired experience of the most valuable
kind in establishing Uncle Sans first aviation field. 1t
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 $4,000 craft, but
they did almost everything else connected with setting
things in order, not forgetting the transportation of army
'aeroplane No. l by wagon from its previous resting place
at Fort Myer, Va, a dozen miles away. The insight thus
gained into the how of such things will be well nigh in
valuable, since it will make it possible to send this squad
around the country to lay out aviation fields wherever
needed by the army.
While, as has been explained, the new aeroplane de-
tachment is entirely separate and distinct from the bal
loon squad, its brief history is linked at many points
with that of the older branch Of the aeronautical divi-
sion. Some of the star members of the original balloon
squad have latterly been transferred to the aeroplane
detachment and indeed the new organization will have
a sort of a dual existence as a 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 Fort Omaha and
Fort Leavenworth. The present membership of the aero
plane detachment, alike to that of the balloon squad, is
expected to be merely the nucleus for a much more
numerous body later on-when Uncle Sam shall have
gone in more extensively for military aeronautics.
The aeronautical division of the signal corps, of which
both the new a~eroplane detachment and the balloon
squad are branches, was established as a result of the
pride and interest aroused by Lieut.. Lahm's victory in
the first great international balloon race, held in Europe
in 1896. The young American army officer, then barely
% years of age, who, unknown and u%nheralded, defeated
the most experienced aeronauts of Europe, Is the self
same Lahm who Is now qualifying at College Park as our
premier army aeToplanist and who is in general COM
mand of the aeroplane detachment. He had made about
40 balloon flights ere he assembled for the first time in
an aeroplane and he has the complete confidence of his
men-an important requisite in a new and untried realm
such as military aeronautics. a
The order formally creating the aeronautical division
of the signal corps was issued on August /, 1907, and
the new organization was launched with a membership
of a sole individual, Sergeant Edward Ward, who has
since graduated to the position of head chauffeur for
the chief of the general staff. Gradually the membership
grew to a dozen or more. At first the work of the new
organization was merely with the old balloons Of foreign
make which had been purchased by the United States
during the Spanish war and had been in storage ever
since. Then came army dirigible No. /, which the wal
department purchased from Capt. Thomas Baldwin, and
finally the initial Wright %aeroplane, which is now at Col
lege Park. At the outset the headquarters OF the aero
nautical division were at Fort Myer, Va, and the non
commissioned officers and enlisted men of the aeronau
ticaI division displayed their versatility by handling in
discriminatory spherical balloons, dirigible and %aeroplane
When the signal corps completed its fine, new PLAN
Yor generating hydrogen gas at Fort Omaha 1t was de
cided to make the western post the headquarters for al
army balloon work and the dirigible was transferred
4hither. With it went the balloon squad. Consequently
when the Wright aeroplane was accepted by the govern
ment and preparations were undertaken for establishing
IA government school for aeroplanists, it was necessar!
to organize an aeroplane detachment as a new adjunct
AS has been explained, some OF the most capable mel
were transferred from the balloon squad and other
were selected from the ranks OF the signal corps, ever.