The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1916-1920, 1919-02-06
LIBERTY MOTOR AN
ALL ROUND ENGINE
Gave Do Haviland Fighting
Planes Speed Of 1870 Miles
an Hour.

BY some means or other which engi-
neers are unable to fathom the under
standing Is rather general that the Lib
erty motor proved especially valuable as
motive power for daylight bombing
planes and was limited to that purpose.
Tho truth about this great war engine, a
specimen OF which is on view In tho
Packard Motor Car Company OF New
York Is that for fighting. bombing. OBJ
eervation and other military require
ments Il was the greatest all around
aviation engine that appeared on the
western front.
In the De Haviland fighting planes, In
which II appeared In greatest numbers
during the last two months OF the war,
the Liberty engine developed a speed OF
100 miles an hour. In planes especially
fashioned for daylight bombing OF enemy
lines and stores, and carrying full mill
tary load OF crew and armament and
missiles. II went skyhooting through the
air at 125 miles an hour.
Too Heavy for One sentcrs.
The fact is. say the American aircraft
engineers. there was only one type of
service plane to WHICH the Liberty was
not adaptable, and that was the one
scatter fighter. II was too heavy for
that or at least for those one scatter
fighting planes that had been developed.
But in the De Havilands 1t went over
the German lines for the American forces
for the first time in August. 1918. just
about year from the day the first Lib
erty few in tests at Mneola. l.. I. a
few weeks later squadrons OF Liberty
motored planes preceded Pershing's
doughboys and lowered over them during
the quick operation that is known as the
snuffng out Of the ST Mihiel salient.
What was coming In the way OF a
Liberty motored fighter Just when the
armistice was signed still Is partly a
secret. but the part that Is known In
cluded this Information: In January
OF 1917 the French aviation mission to
America, composed of dozen expert
pilots. all OF them specialists In the fine
arts OF plane design. all OF them vet
Grams of from six to thirty months
service In the great war. arrived at the
Packard plant In Detroit. Special Ia
cllities were created for their work. and
n corps OF Packard's best craftsmen
trained body builders In time of peace.
marshalled to execute designs under
their guidance.
LIE Pere Breaks Record.
BY midsummer the French mission
AHu llc udu kurueu
out beautiful two scatter fighting plane.
called the lie Pere, after its principle
designer Captain lie Pere OF the French
army. This plane was built especially
for the Liberty motor Its every detail
designed to bring out the full advan-
tages OF the great engine. In tests |,
proved the fastest two scatter fighter
ever built. Two Of these were on the
ocean. bound for the front when the
war ended. and twenty-five more. gl!s-
tsnlng in their camoufiage paint. were
undergoing finishing touches at the
Packard plant
What the plane built precisely for the
Liberty motor would have revealed In
the way Of lighting must remain, like
Foch's plan OF the great battle which
he says he still had to fight, matter
for conjecture. Certain It Is that the
Frenchmen, who had flown and fought
nearly everything that the war had
brought out. celebrated their great vic
tory with Just touch Of feeling that the
Germans in quitting had cheated then
out Of a chance to spring the bigges
surprise In aerial warfare.