The weekly tribune and the Cape County herald. (Cape Girardeau, Mo.) 1914-1918, 1917-10-19

Compare to It in Magnitude In the
World.
Thousands Of young men are being
taught the game of flying and fighting
In the air at Kelly Field, situated ad-
jacent to San Antonio, Tex. This
training ground is being rapidly
brought up to the largest aero field in
the world.
The United States government is
constructing buildings and making i'm
provements to the Kelly Field at q
cost Of more than 100000. 1t is now
the largest government flying ground
in the United States, and when the
present plans are finished 1t is stated
that there will be nothing to compare
with it in magnitude in the world.
Accommodations will be provided
for more than 10000 army flyers here.
These will be divided into squadrons,
each to consist of 154 enlisted men and
10 commissioned officers. To each
squadron there will be assigned II air
planes.
The organization Is differed by
major, captain and two commits
stoned officers each for a supply Sec
ton, engineering section and u aero
sections, making 10 In all.
The personnel also includes the fol-
lowing: Four master signal electric
ians and one sergeant major, one first
sergeant, two clerks, one truck master
and 16 mechanicians with the grade
of sergeant, first class. Ranked as
sergeants there are an assistant truck
master, mess sergeant, supply SER
geant, mechanic, photographer, chauf-
feur and IL mechanicians. There are
also SO cOrpOrals, six cooks, 80 pri-
Yates, first class, and medical depart
ment of four.
In the Engineering Section.
Four of the first class and FIVE
ranked as SergeantS belong to the
engineering section. The sections In
the squadron are the headquarters
section. supply section, engineering
section and II aero sections. The dis
position Of the corporals is four to the
headquarters, eight to supply, three to
engineering and IS to the aero section.
One Of the interesting camp features
Of this great training camp for army
flyers is the machine shop, where the
airplanes are not only repaired but
are being rapidly constructed. Many
skilled mechanics are employed in this
work. These men are not only capa-
BILE Of building machines, but they are
experts in flying as we'll.
In a way the arrangement of the
aero squadron is similar to that OF
the racing teams that short time ago
were maintained by the leading motor
cur manufacturers. Classed in this
way the team would consist of II driv-
ers each with its particular machine.
In the aviation section the aero squad |
ron is the team" The II drivers and |
machines are represented by II COM
missiOned officers. Each section" of |
the aero squadron has q machine and |
flyer. The mechanicians and helpers |
Of the various auto race drivers have |
their cOunter-partS in the mechanics |
and men assigned to each section.
The machine shop Of the flying field |
corresponds to the automobile factory |
and there the more elaborate work /
Is done.
The men of the squadrons are
housed in barracks built in orderly
military fashion. Each building is
numbered, but the building numbers
do not always tally with the squadron
number.
Examining Board Meets Regularly.
An examining board meets regularly |
and examines applicants for commits
s!ons and applications are numerous.
Flyers also come from the ground
schools which have been opened at :
many places throughout the United
States. The ground school nearest to
San Antonio is that at Austin. Avi-
alton work has been featured as part
of the summer school courses at many
OF the leading universities, and this,
too, aids in getting men Of education
and training for the aviation sections.
1t is assured that one Of the attrac-
tons that winter tourists will find in
San Antonio during the coming season
will be that of flying men over and
around the city. Already myriads of
airplanes are often seen performing
the various kinds of feats above Kelly
Field. One day recently a great flock
Of buzzards was noticed to apparently
Join In the 1haneuvers that were being
conducted by the flying machine men.
These birds went through evolutions
that were being performed by the air
planes and their remarkable actions
were viewed with interest by visitors.