Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1917-06-04
THREE AVIATION FIELDS
UNDER CONSTRUCTION
Instruction of About 900 AIrinen Elk.
pected to Begin Not Later
Than July 20.
CADETS ALREADY IN TRAINING
For America to Show Both Allies
and Enemies That She Can Sur.
pass Them In Development OF
Afrplane and Submarine.

Especial to The Times Dispatch.I
WASHINGTON, June 3.-The aircraf It
production board announced to-day
mat three OF the aviation fields which
tho War Department has planned are
actually under construction; that ca
diets are now In training at the pr..
liminary aviation schools established
In the six representative engineering
colleges and universities chosen for
the work; that training planes will h.
ready for the aviation fclda when they
are completed. and that instruction Of
about 500 aviators will begin not later
than July 20.
France and Great Britain have made
1t plain again and again that they e.
pect aircraft and aviators TO be one
OF Americas greatest contributions to
success In the war" Howard f. Coffin.
chairman of the board. said to-day.
The government can now say that IL
is actually embarked on the task O.
overcoming its present deficiency in
military aviation. We believe that the
outlook promises quick development
Of the latent air resources OF Ameri-
can which may be unprecedented In
the military history Of the world
America is responsible for the In
vention of both the submarine and the
airplane. in the development OF both
she has allowed Europe to outstrip
her. 1t is for us TO show that we
can yet surpass both our enemies and
our allies In the development Of the
two great mechanical inventions FOR
which we ourselves are responsible.
We believe that we are. making prog
ress in our air program, and we in
tend to increase rather than diminish
speed as We 80 forward"
TO PREPARE DUPLICATE
FIELDS IN FRANCE
The board announced to-day that the
government has not only rushed its
plans for the completion of it's Amcri-
can fields, but that a site has already
been selected, contracts have been let
and preparations for construction are
under way for a duplicate Of the Amer
lean standard two-squadron field to be
prepared in France for the first avia-
tors graduated from the American
fields. AS the new airmen leave the
American fields at the end OF their
four months training they will ny to
the Atlantic coast and embark for
France. On French soil, under French
instructors and with French machines.
they will complete their preparation
for actual work at the front. This
American field In France will be entire
~ a product of American brains and
American energy. The buildings will
AA al Ill
by an American contracting Arm, and
II will be an exact model OF the svi-
alton fields which the American gov
eminent is now constructing in the
United States The material for it's
construction will be shipped TO France
from America. Thousands OF men are
now engaged in the preparation of the
aviation fields at Dayton, Ohio. Detroit.
Mich, and Champagne. Ill. The gov.
eminent has made them emergency
projects, and nothing Is being permit
ted to delay their rapid construction.
Buildings arc being erected under ex-
pert supervision; materials arc being
rushed TO them from tho nearest avail
able sources Of supply. and July 20 is
expected TO be the latest possible date
within which they will be completed.
The work on these Ia being carried on
separately and will in no way inter
fere with the construction OF the new
army environments.
WORKING HARD TO GET
FULL QUOTA OF PLANES
1T may be hard pull 10 set train
ing planes enough for sll the cadets
from the universities who will be ready
n vi he,
the camps Themselves are completed"
Mr.. Comm said to-day We expect to
have them, none the less. II is just
possible that we can not get full
equipment OF airplanes within the time,
but we shall have enough to get
large part OF the men in the air. and
We shall not be seriously Handicapped
the nrst few weeks il we do not have
our full quota of planes.
We are perfecting plans as we pro-
Eress for more thorough co-operation
with our allies on the problems of
airplane construction. We shall be In
constant cooperation with European
a:rplano constructors in exchanging
designs and ideas for combat machines.
and although we are. OF course. under a
preliminary disadvantage, Americas
will rapidly enable us TO
speed up quantity production and be-
gin to overhaul Europe in the develop
ment OF the industry.
Work began last week on the big
field at Dayton, Ohio.
under Captain Warning. OF the Signal
Corrs. who was associated with Gem
eral Goethals in the construction OF
the Panama Canal
ut is significant that this Dayton
field OF $500 acres, built to accommo-
date the largest group OF aviation stu
dents to be trained in the great pro-
ject on which America has now set
forth, should be on the site.o the orig
inal field on which the Wrights de-
veloped their first successful airplanes.
The original Wright hangar, placed
on modest tract OF eighty-six acres
which constituted the Wright expert
mental field, is set within tho boun-
daries OF the big new government
neld."