The Nenana daily news. (Nenana, Alaska) 1918-1921, 1919-06-27

logical evolution of navy seaplanes,
navy experts believe, as a result
of the first air trip across the At
lantic. First impressions of the
lessons taught by that trip had al
already taken definite shape in the
minds of the men who conceived
and created the NC machines before
Lieutenant Commander A. C. Read
had manoeuvered the NC-4 to a safe
mooring at Plymouth, England
Strangely enough, it was to the
experience of the NC-1. lost off the
Azores, and the NC-3, battered out
of usefulness by heavy seas before
she made port at Ponta Delgada.
that the inventive genius of the de-
partment turned for inspiration; not
to the NC-4 that battled her way
triumphantly through the historic
journey.
As far as they have yet gone and
lacking detailed reports and COM
ments from the seventeen men wno
set out from Rockaway on the great
adventure, the experts apparently
have reached certain definite pre-
liminary conclusions to guide them
in future seaplane designing. They
are convinced that to play its full
part in naval strategy, the seaplane
must become as Independent a unit
as a modern submarine or destroyer.
1t must be able to keep the sea
in heavy weather, riding it out on
the surface. It must be able to
lift itself into air or to plane down
to a safe landing even when tall
seas are running, and it must pro-
vide for its crew safety, shelter
and reasonable comfort under very
adverse circumstances. for the eff
cheney of the plane depends upon
the efficiency of its men.
Also, to fulfill its function as
scout, this plane Of the future must
be able to communicate at all times
by radio. When the NC-3 was fore
ed down west of the Azores wi h
Commander John H. Towers, flight
commander, aboard. she became
dumb. AS scouting unit her value
to a fleet was lost from that mo-
ment. Whatever her commander
might have learned of vital import
ance to the fleet commander could
not have been transmitted.
The answer to all Of these re-
quirements in the minds OF the ex-
perts spells larger craft-veritable
flying ships. The vision toward
which the designers are looking is
that Of flotillas of seaplanes. rely
ing wholly upon their own power
for transportation On the surface or
in the air and operating from swift
mother ships" as submarines and
destroyers now operate.
These conclusions will be written
into new designs gradually. As
battleships have developed from
1l,OO0-ton pre-dreadnaughts to the
43,000-ton monsters for which the
navy is now contracting, so naval
officers say, seaplane evolution will
come type by type and year by
year, each advance being based on
results obtained with preceding
types. This is the program laid
out by the navy department as the
basis for the request recently made
10 Congress by Secretary Daniels
for s45,000,0O0 for aviation de-
velopment in the next fiscal year.
Part of this appropriation, if
granted, will go into lighter-than-air
development. The general board is
expected to recommend immediate
purchase of British rigid dirigible
for personnel training and the con-
struction of a similar vessel on
American designs as pilot ship of
fleet of air cruisers. The purchase
of the British Zeppelin" would per-
NIT the training of crew to handle
the first American craft when COM
pleted
The navy department is said to
no raa1,-