Audubon Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Iowa) 1894-1925, 1909-11-25

army ohlcers are already congrarIatIng themselves
hat the new aeropane squad organized at the very
Vi inc army experiments in this most important
Dranch or aeronautcs. The outcome is sure IN he in
, 70 tne history OF American military baooning
wherein there were innumerable Instantaneous par
ucuariy was this the case during the SpansAmercan
war wben the war department sought 10 get results with
m oa.loohs IN the hands of men who had had no OPP
portunlty to specialize in unusual line of work The
.ie"y-oisdhl2ed aeroplane detachment on the other
hand' VIII grow up in military aeropane work from
us ihcepton What is these careakers of the skv
sentrles have acquired experience of the most
knd In establishing Uncle Sans first aviation field It
Is not meant of course that he soldiers had much hand
In clearing the field blasting stumps or erecting the
anpretentious she'd that shelters the 100000 craft bt
they ala almost everything else connected with setting
things in ORDER not forgetting transportation of
aeropane No. by wagon from its previous resting place
at Fort Myer Var dozen miles away The insight thus
gained INTO the how of such things will be well nigh in
valuable since will make possible to send this SQUAD
around the country to lay aviation fields wherever
needed by the army
While, is has been explained the now oeronoro do
tachment is entirely separate distinct from the bal
loon squad, its brief history is linked at many points
with that of the older branch the aeronautica dy
sion Some of the star members of the original balloon
squad have attery been transferred to the aeropane
detachment and indeed the organization will have
sort of dual existence a regular aeroplane corps
and emergency balloon squad since the members win
have charge of any flights that may be made from the
capital in signal balloons the regular balloon SQUAD
having been transferred meanwhile to Omaha and
Fort LeaVenworth The present membership of the
plane detachment alike to that of balloon SQUAD is
expected to be merely the nucleus for much more
numerous body later on--when Uncle Sam shall have
gone in more extensively for military aeronautics
The aeronauca division of the signal corps which
both the aeroplane detachment and the balloon
squad branches, established result of the
pride and interest aroused by Lieut. Lahms victory in
the first great international balloon race held in Europe
in 1886. The young American army officer, then barely
% years of age who unknown unheralded defeated
the most experienced aeronauts of Europe the self.
same Lahm who is qualifying at College Park as our
premier army aeropanst and who is in general COM
mand of the aeroplane detachment had made about
40 balloon fights he assembled for the first time
aeropane and he has the complete confidence of his
men-an important requisite in and unried realm
such as military aeronautics.
The order formally creating the aeronautical division
OF the signal corps issued August l, 1907 and
the organization was launched with membership
of 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 more. AT first the the new
organization merely with the old balloons foreign
make which had been purchased by the United States
during the Spanish and had been in storage ever
since, Then army dirigible No I, which the war
department purchased from Capt Thomas Baldwin, and
finally the initial Wright aeroplane, which is Col
lege Park the outset the headquarters the aero
nautical division at Fort Myer. Va. and the
commissioned officers and enlisted aeronal
tical division displayed their versatility by handling
discriminatory spherical balloons drgibe and aeroplane
When the signal corps completed its fine. plant
for generating hydrogen at Fort Omaha II de
cded to make the western post the headquarters for all
army balloon work and the drgibe transferred
thther With 1t the balloon squad Consequently
when the Wright aeropane accepted by the
preparations establishing
organize aeropane detachment adjunct
AS has been explained, of the most capable
transferred from the balloon squad and others
were selected from the ranks of the signal