New-York tribune., 1918-06-21
Production, ir, August

one that is actually turning out the De
Havilands. but tho Standard and the Fisher
Body Company are on the verge of produc-
tion, and both have accumulated tremen-
dous "head' Of parts. think 1t is conser-
vative to say that by August the three
plants will be producing seventy-flve of
these combat, bombing and observation ma
chimes day.
Other plants that have been making train
ing planes will later swing into the produc-
ton of De Havilands, the new Liberty plane
or other types. Plants that have been maxi
ing spares will be gradually turned into
makers Of complete machines, and the Amer
lean airplane industry will soon have a
very wide and solid base.
The adaptability Of American quantity
production methods to airplanes as we'll as
motors has been demonstrated, Give the
manufacturers definite model instead Of
phantom to reproduce, and the timea will
ccme when we shall make good on the
boast Of darkening the air of Germany with
our mechanical eagles.
Disseminators of the doctrine Of q ring
or rings in aircraft production have main
tained that only about S per cent of the
possible American aircraft capacity is being
utilized. AS matter Of fact, in planes alone
the Signal Corps has been patronizing about
twenty-five main and 400 secondary es-
Establishments, and it is really a blessing
that we did not go further, as the delays
incident to adapting aircraft manufacture
to American ways and other causes would
have been increased just that much. More
over, it is not possible to utilize every piano
factory, collar factory, machine shop, wood
working establishment, ETC., to such an ex
tent under the quantity production system
as under the European system of man
ufacture.
A hundred European aircraft factories
could be set down in one of our big plants,
Confusion worse confounded is no name
Tor what we would have had in this coun.
try with a constant flow Of alteration orders
from Washington to several hundred small
plants.
Lest by dwelling too much on the mis-
takes and faults Of the past I should be
giving too gloomy view Of the aircraft
situation, would say that in the tri-
umphant march OF the De Hayilands at
Dayton, in the tremendous mobilization of
the great Fisher Body Company plants at
Detroit, in the swarms Of great and small
flying boats that are pouring out Of the
colossal Curtiss plants at Buffalo. from
the Standard at Elizabeth and other plants
and in those gigantic Caproni and Hnndey
Paige night bombers there is abundant food
for hope, confidence and enthusiasm.
The Next PROBLEM,
Within six months Americas aircraft
problem Will not be one Of production, but
will be one OF personnel transportation
and physical limitations at the front.
Ten thousand planes in service at the
front will mean 100000 men in the air
service at home and abroad. 1t takes three
Dig hatcars to move one Of the great
bombers and two for De Haviland four
and its spares. Some of the packing cases
arc so large that they cannot be sent
through the tunnels on some railways.
rive thousand Of the large night bomb
crs, packed, would take up $500 900 cubic
feet of shipping space. At forty cubic feat
to the ton, it would take ITO 5Ooo-ton sh;na
to transport them to France, if they could be
packed in tight, and probably twice as many
in fact. To send 10000 two-seaters would
probably require several hundred ships.
Add to these figures the vast volume Of re.
placement machines and parts that would
have to follow. and we find the air COMING
nack to the water, the bird depending on
the ship.
because OF the limitations of transporta.
tion' the number Of planes actually COM
r'eted and wholly assembled in thi, conn.
Try VIII be comparatively small. AS
standardization is checked up on each type
and quantity production thereof ia an AZ
sureo success, full assembling will be large
~ left to great plants that are now be;nv
provided abroad. The economising Of space
resulting from shipping parts instead of
full machines is very great.
But at best the measure of our success
IN sne air. as in all other war activities.
vau bs our success on the seas.