Americus times-recorder. [volume] (Americus, Ga.) 1891-current, 1917-09-30

Uncle Sans battleplane meet over
the German lines, came to be built.
The secretary of war has confirm
ed the account of the engines wonder
full performances, and this automatic
ally releases the story of how the en-
CINE was conceived
| It is a great story of American ge-
MUS, audacity and perseverance, with
touch of the working of fate that
stirs the imagination
| Fate played it's Tart when chance
view of a headline started the whole
train of events which gave the Unit
ed States the worlds greatest engine.
May 26 the French and British COM
missions at Detroit visited among
other centers of interest the Packard
Automobile Co. The aviation experts,
under guidance of j. G. Vincent, Pack
ard yice-president, visited the Packard
aircraft engine on which development
work had been done under Vincent
They were pleased, but said: ITS too
heavy"
At dinner Vincent discussed the air.
plane situation with the commission
experts until the small hours, when all
were wearied
But Vincent could not sleep. End
lessly through his mind ran chain of
thoughts-"th war must be won IN
the air-America must turn the trick
-airplanes are no good without first
class engines-nobody in the United
States can build real fighting en-
gine:"
The next day Vincent arose heavy
eyed and depressed. At breakfast he
listlessly thumbed the latest copy OF
an automobile trade journal, when
suddenly headline caught his eye:
"ThirtyLseven kinds of aircraft en-
gines in England; 46 in France"
In flash he saw why England and
France were failing to surpass G7r-
many in airp1ane out put and the line
the United States ought to follow.
Suppose" he thought, IAN automo-
bile company was building 81 or 46
types of engines, what chance would
it have. 1t wouldn't last a month.
We must get at the best features pro-
duced up to date by these 81 British
and 46 French builders, weld them
into a single engine, concentrate on II
and improve it. And we have got to
hurry!
He left the table on the jump and
went to see Alvin Macauley, president
of his company 1t looked right to
Macauley, but he is older and more
conservative. He urged long dis
lance conversation with Howard Coffin
of the aircraft production board; bu'
there was only half an hour to c. oh
the Washington train, and Vincent
wouldn't wait.
AS soon as he reached Washington
he conferred with Coffin, Deeds and
Waldron of the aircraft board and soon
had them with him. They told him
to go to it and offered to help. Deeds
suggested he meet E. ]. Hall of the
Hall-Scott Motor Co., who had just
left Washington after conference
with the aircraft board, in which he
had demonstrated his great Technical
knowledge. Vincent caught Hall
whom he had never met, at Cleveland
and thus was formed the Vincent-Hal
combination which worked out the all
American motor.
Meantime Maj Souther of the sig
nal corps, with the aid of British ant
French aviation experts, rounded W
all available information on foreign en-
gines.
With this Vincent and Hall locked
themselves in hotel suite They dus
through all the foreign engine models
French, English, Italian and German
picking out part by part the best de-
signs = Mercedes here, Rolls-Royct
there, Hispano-Suiza for this, Capron
for that. But through all ran the un
derlying conviction "The Lorair
Dietrich type just developed in France
is the coming motor" so it was set
tied on that basis.
My May 81, just four days after the
idea came to Vincent their 20-hour
day work resulted in tentative re
port for the aircraft board embody
ing sketches.
That night they met army and navy
officers and the aircraft board in Gen
Squire's office, where they were tolt
to go ahead with working drawings
They wired Detroit for two good lay
cut men, who arrived Friday, June l
and with Hall and Vincent worked
straight on through until Monday aft