The Daily Missoulian. [volume] (Missoula, Mont.) 1904-1961, 1917-07-01
To Sweep
Foe From
Air Field
kaiser's Army to Be Crippled
by Great Fleet of
Yankee Flyers.
(eY HOWARD e. COFFIN,
Chairman, Aircraft Production Board
OF Council Of National Oeferse,)

/
Chairman, Aircraft Production Board
OF Council Of National 0sfsnss.)
Americas aviation program,
which is being planned on a
scale sufficient to sweep the
German flyers out Of the air
and literally blind the Ger
man army, is already under
way.
Congress is asked to appropriate
S6oo,ooo.oo0 to carry out these pl;,ns.
nut in the meantime the various
branches of the federal government
that deal with aviation ore pushing
the work of preparation on large
scale with money already appropriated.
Three OF the great aviation fields
which the war department has planned
are actually under construction sites
tor the other six fields have been
chosen and work on them will soon
begin. Cadets are now In training at
the preliminary training schools estab-
tl'shed In six representative engineer.
ing colleges and universities. Train
ing planes have already been ordered
and will be ready by the time tho
aviation fields are completed and tho
instruction of the first group OF 500
avtators will begin not later than Au-
gust L.
Allies Expect Air Army.
France and Great Britain as we'll
as our own experts. have made 1t plain
they expect aircraft and aviators to
b"-ess0of Americas greatest contribu-
tons to winning the war. The govern
tnenf can now say il Is actually en-
| parked on the task OF overcoming It's
present deficiency in military aviation.
we believe the outlook promises q
quick development Of the enormous
! latent air resources OF the United
states which may be unprecedented In
the military history OF the world.
Two American Inventions.
America is responsible for the In
vention of both the submarine and the
aeroplane. In the development Of
both she has allowed Europe to out
strip her. 1t Is for us to show we con
yet surpass both Our enemies and onr
allies In tho DEVELOPMENT of these two
great inventions which Americans first
conceived.
It will surprise many people 10
Know tho United States has not
only rushed plans for completion
Of largo number Of train;no
schools in this country but has
selected a site and lot oontraots
Tor construction Of . duplicate %
tho American standard two SQUAD.
ron flying field in France to receive
tho first flyers graduated from the
American fields.
1t takes only four months to train n
flyer. As Americas new airmcn FIN
tsh their training they will embark
Tor France. On French soil, under
French instructors and with French
machines they will complete their
preparation for work at the front.
This training field In France win
be entirely n product OF American
brains and American cenrgy. The
buildings viii be constructed and the
plans prepared by an American con-
tracing firm with materials shipped
from the United States.
Thousands Of Mon at Work.
! Thousands of men are now engaged
IN preparation of the aviation fields
at Dayton, o., Champagne. H., and
|
made them emergency projects and
nothing is being permitted to hamper
their rapid construction. The work on
these Ii being separately conducted
and they will in no way interfere with
the new army fcantonmcnts.
! Work began more than two weeks
ago on the big four squadron field al
Dayton. 1t Is significant that this
ficid of $500 acres. the largest OF all.
Is on the site of the original field ON
winch the Wrights developed their first
successful aeroplanc. The modest
iic'd of SO acres in which the wrights
carried ont their experiments is with
IN tho boundaries Of the big. new gov
eminent field
Tho Dayton field, which i twice
a. big As any Of the others. will
accommodate ~ aeropianss and
800 flyers can be trained there a
ono time. As the training period
- just four months this meara that
one field should graduate nearly
LOO flyers within . year. jnclud.
ing Officers, enlistned mon, in.
struetors and mechanics, there Will
DO LOO or more persons q the
school, gs -,
The instructors for these fields win
T members of the aviation section OF
the regular army who have been u
tho Mexican border and Al fast. - tie
cadets are trained q few Of thu uie9f
promising will be utiuaed for tyaialng
newcomers.
America is launched on the 0reate1t
.. and most inspiring enterprisS In tho
8 worlds history. that Of winning tho
(Contiuued % FsSS ylvS.l