Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1919-05-27
ADMITS OVEREST|MAT|NC
PRODUCTION CAPAB|L|TY
War Department. Makes Public Diff.
Guilty Faced In 22,OOO.a-Year
Plane Program.
FRENCH CALLED TO HELP OUT
Search for Earnish Results In Build.
ing of Ten Large Chemical Plants,
Able to Fill Needs OF Every
Ally.

WASHINGTON, May 2s,,-Admissior
mat both military and civilian experts
1 ties is the Gountrys eapabiii
plish the impossible task" OF produc
ing 1000 airpianes In twelve months
is made in the official history OF the
governments efforts to build up tho
industry. made public today by the
War Department Realization of this
lhc placing of contracts in France for
9:SI5 planes OF the Spad, Nieuport and
BrcEcut types.
The report shows that by May %
l?iS; american factories had delivered
5.2!o planes. or 81 per cent of the
ambitious program, while the French
promised on that date Up to Novem-
Der II Il total of 1866 airplanes had
been produced in America. but these
were largely training machines. fight
ing planes completed during the war
period t0talins only S.3@S
Broadly stated" the history says.
army alone in her second year of manu- :
facturc rs many airplancS as England
produced for her army and navy In her
third year"
Shortage OF Cloth.
Organization OF the MANUFACTURER z
industry is declared TO have been the
smallest of the air services problems.
an alarming shortage OF cloth and
velopinr at the very start Lack OF
an adequate supply Of linen was over
come quickly through the assistance of
the United States Bureau Of Standards.
which evolved special cotton fabric
with tensile strength Of ninety
pounds TO the square inch. Production
Of this material wa3 soon at the ra te
OF 200, 600 yards ner month
Cotton proved 10 he not only an
admirable substitute for linen. but even
Il better fabric than the ORIG inal cloth
the report says NO matter how
abundant tho supply of flax may he,
il is unlikely that linen viii ever again
Ii toe s.,. Nln,
wings.
Search for varnish TO protect air
plane wings resulted IN tho establish
ment Of ton large chemical plants Ia
produce acetone. the principal ingrc-
dent.
Had tho war continued" says tho
taken care Of all American and allied
military needs. allo" ing the production
Of private plants to 60 cAclusrely
To FIJI commercial needs.
thnnSc in Models Frequent.
Development of aircraft was SO rapid
that frequent changes in models and
designs were before the service cN-
pcrts for consideration. At tho timo
Of tho arinsticc the whole production
ma Chincry had been. or was abou, 70
nc. turned over TO putting out 4 new 10
lIaviland, known as "a tho l.opcre
a two-scatcr built around the Liberty
engine. and the great Haudloy PA &C
machine Tor bombing work. Expert.
ncutS also were under way with the
Italian. Caproni to he driven by three
Liberty engines.
But Amc rican invention Was able 10
bring out q strictly American bomb
ing plano that promised to supercede
all other types III existence" says the
report. This was tho Martin plane.
which. with q Widespread OF seventy
five feet. attained speed Of us miles
per hour. against loo for the Handley-
UaSe and taproni. Where tho fnrcig
crS required foriv-Siy minutes m climb
$4,000 feet, the Martin Graf, took Thirty
minutes"
one entire chapter OF the history IS
given TO the evolution and prepa r a i.