The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1919-04-02
Airplanes Against
Submarines
Naval AviatOrs Scored
High Average of Success
Against German
U.BOats

|
London. Feb. Correspondence OF
The Associated Press Thirty nine
attacks upon submarines were made
/ Jy American naval air force in the
/ war and ten OF them wero considered
III some manner successful says q
summary Of American n:,.;,l aviation
prepared at headquarters here
/ When the lsnited States entered
! the war th. navy boosted Of only
/, thipty officers who knew anything
about flying When tha urmisilce was
signed the force was composed Of l.
500 officers and $4,000 n,en. accord
! ing to the report.
Trials and discouragements OF the
United States naval clir fnrce III the
war are enumeratc at some length
along with occasional triumphs.
tVarious causes are assigned for lack
of effectiveness but many af the trou-
bles are said TO hay. been overcome
and the service ready 10 execute what
had been expected Of it when the
armistice interviewed. The summary
of actual operations is interspersed
with accounts of the leck Of trained
pilots and the difficulty in training
them. shortage Of machines. stories
of the receipt of machines from the
United States without propellers, with
out magnetoS. defective parts and
lastly of the failure Of Italian ma
chimes Tor night-bombing for which
they were intended. The United
States had turned to Italy for planes
when machines were not delivered
from America quickly enough.
One of the biggest plH' the SER
vice, was the northern :. ing pro-
ject" calling, for the cooperation of
Americans with the British in almost
bases on the Belgian coast. a great
many hindrances arose. some Of them
shown in the summary being: lack Of
machines, lack Of material. lack OF
properly trained personnel. born h2ts
and enlisted men, necessity OF comn'l-
Gated negotiations with .he Royal -slr
Force in the matter Of supplies of all
sorts and necessity Of ferryine@ Italian
machines from Milan. Isal:@. 10 the
L
the day wings were operating cf:ci-
sently at the time Of the arnistice, in
the opinion Of those who complied The |
summary.
1t was planned to have y squad
rons. six day and ,six night. This. |
however. was reduced to when it
was found that the United States army |!
could not deliver the planes required. |
American machines with Lib-r:y mo- I
tors were 10 he used Tor the lay !
work and 4 contract was nlaIle With !
t. Italian government TO d-nNer
thirty. 600ho power airpian-s icr
the night work The Italian macitines
ii is stated. proved wholly unfit for
night bombing work.
What is considered by the Ameri-
can navy the most successful aviation
operation resulted from the Killing
hoime project. This was. All agi5'.-
ment by which England was 20 f:ir !
nish so Se;iplanes and so lighters and I
the United States was 10 provide 10
;eaplanes and 80 lighters by March /.
1913 for offensive work in Heiig01a I'D !
Blight The British We're successfully I
doing similar work from their staten |
II F'elfXstow approximately 1000
Americans were sent to Kiilinghol.n me
TO train and assist the. British: while
Awaiting the arrival Of the American
planes. BY July I. Six Amer AN
planes were assembled and the hciI.sh /.
turned over the station 10 tin. An-ri
cans. 1t was necessary, to leave Brit
st planes. how "er. owing 10 Tic
faults OF the Ijrs ler:::an machines
Il is reported t! the American p,o
pliers we,e faulty. radia.,,:s 4.ahed
nr.l .haf /, & : July ~ befgrc tho rirSt
wholly A.ncI",an patrol was Unt!rr-
taken.
Even under these handicaps. how
ever the American pilots kept after
the submarine and the Kiilingholme
station had several attacks accredited
TO it. No case is recorded of whore
il was known a submarine was sunk
but even with its very efficcnt sea-
plane patrol the Royal Air Force vas
given credit for sinking only one sub
marine during four Years and Il half
of war. A verdict OF probably s-.ri
ously damaged was accrclited to
American pilots Of Killi:asholmc by
the British Admiralty.