New Britain herald. [microfilm reel] (New Britain, Conn.) 1890-1976, 1918-04-10
AlRPLANE PROGRAM FAILURE
PUBLIC GROSSLY DECEIVED
Senate Military Committee
Finds Public Has Been
Misled and Production Has
Been Far Below Plans.

Washington, April 10.-The gov
srnmcnts aircraft program is CHAR
acterjzed as "gravely disappointing"
and Il drastic reorganiztion of pro-
duction machinery was recommended
IN a report by the senate military
committee today which charged Off
eials with misrepresenting the stu
alton and misleading the public and
with "procrastination and indecison."
The prospects for the future, the
commtee said, look more Favorable
and production of the fast few weeks
promises to get the program under
way to such an extent that q suffi-
eient number of planes would beg fur
nished later to meet all reQull ements
Of the troops in France.
One man control of produ'3tion is
proposed and the committee. suggests
;hat building be taken entirely out of
The hands of the signal corps. DELAY
Is charged not l8K1y in the manufac-
.ure of Liberty motors and machine
parts, but in the training of flyers as
we'll
The committee reCOmpGnIAds.1a s.1aasSt
the one man administrators be ap-
pointed by the president and assisted
by a corps Of expert engineers and
designers. 1t suggested that no man
who has any near or remote interest
IN a company making airships or en-
gines should be permitted to act as
adviser.
"The Liberty motor" the commit
zee declared lis just emerging from
The development or experimental
stage"| and is not designed for or
,an be used in the swift seated fight
ng machines"
OF 22,500 Liberty motors ordered,
The committee said, only 122 have
oeen completed for the army, 142 for
the navy and four shipped overseas.
'"The production of Liberty motors
10 date is graVely disappointing,' says
he report Government officials
have made the mistake of leading the
public and the Allied nations to the
belief that many thousands of these
motors would be completed in the
bpring of 1918. Information of this
sort not borne out by the facts has
been injurious and its constant dis
semination the committee regards rs
misleading and detrimental to our
cause
Regarding the training Of aViators
the committee found there has been
rery serious delay in providing them
with training planes.
Hundreds of Cadets Idle.
LAS a result the report says, 'sev-
eral hundred of the American cadets
have been virtually idle and have
made no progress" About 1900
cadets were sent to England, France
and Italy last year to receive primary
and advanced training.
THE experiences of q great many o
;hese men has been most unsatisfac
,orv'. says the report 'in that 8,
,ome of the schools q very serious de
av has occurred in providing then
with training planes which, it wa
,vnected would be manufactured A II
,oreign countries. Only about $50 o
hem are reported as having com
,leted the primary training and aftc
onp delay the signal corps is givinI
serious consideration to the advis
lbility of bringing the remainder pacl
% the United States.
with four new schools under con
rvuctfon to be finished in June, til
committee said the signal corps i
1ow conducting 20 aviation trainin
,chools in this country with tota
capacity Of 5000 cadets. Graduate
nave numbered 1926, commlsslone
rs reserve military aviators, hl
very few have received their &C
Tanced training.
With the exception of what th
committee referred to as a "sever
disappointing the primary trals
a1g of aviators was said to appear
Dc progressing favorably. Fatalitit
rom accidents, the committee sale
hut +0 las
requcnt than in the schools of OF
lilies.
Regarding airplane construction tt
:or1 1mittec found that from the incer
tCo.t. ~t5.3 or Eleventh Paael