Catoctin clarion., 1919-09-04
VOICE ORDERS
RULE AIR war
DEVELOPMENT Of Radio Telephone
Permits Personal Direction
of Fleets.
PREVENTS MANY ACCIDENTS
At Signing Of Armistice Training In
Voice. Commanded Flying Was
Well Under Way-PiIots d.
rected From Ground.

Washington. to the entry
of the United States into the war, the
problem of airplane radio development
had received attention from the army.
In August, 1910, the first wireless
transmission from airplanes was made.
In the years following the development
of the airplane radio was carried on
through series of accomplishments.
These may be summed as follows:
1912-Messnge transmitted from air:
plane to ground by wireless telegraph
over Il distance of % miles.
1915-Fan type of driving the wire
less power plant on the airplane de-
veloped and adopted.
1916-RadO telegraph transmission
from airpane successful over 14O
miles Of distance; radio messages
transmitted between airplanes In
flight: airplane radio tsiephone con-
structed.
1917-The human voice transmitted
by radio telephone from airplane to
ground.
Talk Thousands Of Miles.
Contemporaneous with this was the
commercial development Of the radio
telephone for ground and ship use by
engineers of the American Telephone
and Telegraph company. This culLli.
mated in a successful transmission
from the naval radio station at Arling-
ton to stations thousands Of miles
away.
In May, 1917, steps were taken to
combine the experience of the engi.
neers and of the army in developing
the airplane wireless.
Six weeks Inter the airplane tele.
phone was fact, and in October, 1917,
long-range test was made. Tele-
phonic communication was carried on
between airplanes in flight up to 25
miles apart ANA from airplane to
ground up to distance of 40 miles.
The development of voice command.
ed flying was definitely begun at Gerst-
ner field, La. in May, 1918. On June
an aerial review was given by an air
fleet of two Squadrons of Is planes
each, followed by close order drill
by section Of six airplanes.
Throughout the review and the drill
command was exercised by the voice
of the commander flying with the fleet.
In September following, voice com
manded flying was instituted at sew.
eral other fields.
Avoids Many Accidents.
BY using the alrplane radio tele-
phone in instructing ayiators in aerial
gunnery it was found possible to reach
the same efficiency with Il saving of
One-third of the time. BY exercising
control over pilots in the air, accidents
were practically eliminated.
At the signing of the armistice, de-
velnpment and training in voice com
manded flying was well under way.
Numerous demonstrations were held
during November and December and o
fleet Of 204 airplanes was maneuvered
in the air nt San Diego by voice COM
mand.
In the practical application Of the
uirplane radio telephone to airplanes,
over 5000 flights have been made with
this apparatus in this country. In the
last 1000 flights there have been only
"a cases of airplane trouble and only
25 cases of radio trouble.
Shipments Of the apparatus to
France in quantities began August and
September, 1918, and of trained air
service radio personnel in October.
Had the war continued the voice-com-
manded military air unit would un-
doubtedlY have made itself felt.