New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1917-11-20
The Liberty Motor
Some Further Information Addressed
to a Dissatisfied Inventor
To the Editor of The Tribune.

to Dissatisfied Inventor
To the Editor of The Tribune.
Sir: The letter signed "Still Damn Foo,
of Patriot and Inventor" which app..,.a
Friday, argues:
l. That if the Liberty airplane motor /,
superior product, the Germans would nav.
built it. That they have not built it becau,.
il is inferior
,. That men going up in planes equipped
with the Liberty motor will be worsted BY The
enemy.
3. That "for single combat machines, wher.
nothing but the very best should be used, thu
Liberty motor of to-day will be entirely on.
of date by July, 1918, and this mainly becau,.
i. was out of date even in July. 1914"
Because of the confidential nature Of IA.
Liberty motor ] am unable TO present all Of
the information at my command. Discussion
of this subject in a popular journal also e.
cludes the use of technical arguments. Fur.
Their, the subject is more or less shrouded in
misty uncertainty. due to the bombastic ex.
aggeratons Of the Liberty motor Statements
issued by our Secretary of War through IA,
Bureau OF Public Information.
With these limitations in mind, shall en-.
deayor to take up the arguments Of "St
Damn Fool of Patriot and Inventor and
add some information to the discussion OF
each:
1. quote from an unpublished article sub.
piitted to The Tribune some months ago:
"The two engineers fguratively locked in
Washington hotel room to design the Liberty
motor were Major +. l.. Hall and Major J. C.
Vincent. designers and manufacturers Of the
Hall Scott and Packard airplane motors, re-
spectively. These men must have either ad.
hered to the designs Of their previous motors
or have admitted them 20 be inferior by sban-
doning them. This is very unlikely, in view
of the fact that the meters have been success.
full and are now being manufactured and sold.
what was the inspiration for their pre-
vous designs? The German Mercedes, man.
ufactured by the Daimler Motoren GeseTl-
schaft, at whose head is Gottlieb Daimler, the
inventor of the modern internal combustion
motor.
"What was their reason for adhering TO the
Mercedes design! Because il is the best en-.
CINE for performance and quantity produc-
ton. The Germans have been short Of rare
materials and have had to common ones:
they have been short of men, and have had
the same time have had to keep pace with
the Allies in numbers and efficiency-whieh
they have done"
1t will be seen, then, that the Liberty mo-
tor represents an attempt to turn the Ger
mans manufacturing and mechanical genius
against themselves. Is this radical enough
for my friend?
9. 1t seems unlikely that his second argu.
will hold IL the men nm in 'nlanes
equipped with an efficient design Of the en-.
emys best motor
3. There are two answers to his third argu-
ment. The best one is that the Germans have
abandoned single combat tactics and send
their planes to Attack in numerical superior.
ity. After several months of unproftable
hardihood, the Allies have been forced to re-
ply with group defence. The trend of aerial
warfare has passed single combat lighting
forever.
The second one is that the Liberty motor
will not be used for single combat work even
when the occasional necessity for it exists:
nor for aerial fighting. 1t will be used for
bombing and observation, which duties oceu.
~ at least so per cent of all war planes As
TO American fighting machines, am able to
say only that they will be equipped with the
best of the Allied fighting motors, and that
there will be thousands OF them.
In closing | wish to emphasize my non
critical attitude and desire to add merely
some useful information. Any patriot, any
inventor, has my sympathy.
JACK NATTEFoRD,
Office Manager, Airplane Division, Manufaet.
uring Gnome Rotary Motor.
New York, Nov. II, 1917.