Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1919-05-15
ADMITS
ERROR MADE in
AIR PROGRAM
I a k Of Producing $4,000
Planes in Twelve Months
Said to be Impossible

Washington, May 15.-Admission
that both military and civilian ex-
perts over estimated the country's
capabilities in setting out in 1917
to accomplish the impossible task"
of producing $4,000 airplanes in IL
months is made in the official his
tory of the Governments efforts to
build up the industry made public
to-day by the War Department.
Realization of this error resulted
almost Immediately in the placing
of contracts in France for 5,S75
planes of the Spad. Nieuport and
Breguet types.
The report shows that by May 2S,
1918, American factories had deliv-
cred 5,270 planes, or "a per cent of
the ambitious program, while the
Trench had delivered 81 per cent of
the number promised on that date.
Up to November II, total of 11,364
airplanes had been produced in
America. but these were largely
training machines, fighting planes
completed during the war period
totalling only 1928.
Broadly stated" the history says,
'the United States produced for her
army alone IN ner second year Of
manufacture, as many airplanes as
England produced for her army and
navy in her third year."
Problems Overcome
Organization of the manufactur-
t,,1r f,N6 Cf,.tr ie.
been the smallest of the air SER
vices problems, an alarming short
age of cloth and varnish, or dope"
for the wings developing at the very
start. Lack of an adequate supply
of linen was overcome quickly
through the assistance of the United
States Bureau of Standards, which
evolved a special cotton fabric with
tensile strength of 90 pounds to
the square inch. Production of this
material was soon at the rate of
100000 yards per month.
Cotton proved to be not only an
admirable substitute for linen, but
even a better fabric than the orig
inal CLOTH" the report says. mo
matter how abundant the supply of
flax may be, it is unlikely that linen
will even again be used in large
quantities for airplanes wings"
New Chemical Plants
Search for a varnish to protect
airplane wings resulted in the estab-
lishment OF ten large chemical
plants to produce acetone, the prin-
ciple ingredient.
Had the war continued" says
the history, these new plants would
have taken care of all American and
Allied military needs, allowing the
production of private plants to go
exclusively to fill commercial needs
Development of aircraft was so
rapid that frequent changes in
models and designs were before the
service experts for consideration
At the time of the armistice, the
whole production machinery had
been, or was about to be, turned
over to putting out new De Havi-
land, known as ga; the Lepere, a
two-seater built around the Liberty
engine, and the great Handley-Page
machine for bombing work. Expert
ments were under way with the
italian Caproni, to be driven by
three Liberty engines.
| But American invention was able
to bring out a. strictly American
bombing plane that promised to
superecede all other types in exis-
/ tence," says the report. This was
the Martin plane, which with a wing
spread of rs feet attained speed
of 11S miles per hour against 100
for the Handley-Page and Caproni.
Where the foreigners required 46
minutes to climb $4,000 feet, the
Martin craft took 80 minutes"
One entire chapter of the history
is given to the evolution and prepar-
ations for the production of the Lib
| erty engine. First drawing were
made May 90, 1917, and the first s.
cylinder engine was delivered July 4,
1917. On August 25, the first Liber-
ty twelve" successfully passed a
50-hour test.