Shepherdstown register. [volume] (Shepherdstown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1849-1955, 1920-11-18
which 81 were classified as obsolete
and the other 4 "a obsolescent.

able TO us and before the end Of the
hostilties furnished US from their own
manufacture $500 service planes.
Aviation training schools in the
United States graduated $500 men
from elementary courses and 4,02S
from advanced courses. More than
5000 pilots and observers were sent
overseas.
The total personnel Of the air SER
vice, officers, students and enlisted
men, increased from 1900 at the out
break of the war to nearly 100000
at its close.
There were produced in the United
States to November 80, 1918, more than
5000 training planes and more than
10000 training engines.
The De- Haviland-4, observation and
day bombing plane was the only
plane the United States put into
quantity production. Before the sign
ing of the armistce 1927 had been
completed and 1885 shipped overseas.
The plane was successfully used at the
front FOR three months.
The production of the l2-cylinder
liberty engine was Americas chief
contribution TO aviation. Before the
armistice 1884 had been completed,
4,435 shipped to the expeditionary
forces, and 1,025 delivered to the
Allies.
The American air force at the front
grew from three squadrons in April to
As in November, 1918 On November
II the as squadrons had an equipment
of 74O planes.
OF 2,69S planes sent to the zone of
the advance for American aviators CO..,
or nearly one-fourth, we're of American
manufacture
American air sQuadrons played inn
portant roles in the battles of Cha
teau-Thierry, St. Mihiel, and the Meuse-
Argonne. They brought down in COM
bat 755 enemy planes, while their own
losses of planes numbered only 357.
When war was declared the United
States had sufficient light artillery to
equip an army of 100000 men, and
shortly found itself confronted with
the problem of preparing to equip s.
100000 men.
To meet the situation it was decided
in June, 1917, to allot our guns to
training purposes and to equip our
forces in France with artillery con-
forming to the French and British
standard calibers.
IT was arranged that we should pur-
chase from the French and British the
artillery needed for our first divisions
and ship them in return equivalent
amounts of steel, copper and other raw
materials, so that they could either
manufacture guns for us in their own
factories or give us guns out of their
stocks and replace them by new ones
made from our materials.
| Up to the end Of April, 1919, the
number of complete artillery units
| produced in American plants was
more than 5000, or equal to all those
purchased from the French and British
during the war.
The number of rounds of complete
artillery ammunition produced in Amer
lean plants was in excess of 10000, 600
as compared with 100000 rounds Sc
cured from the French and British.
In the first 20 months after the
declaration Of war by each country the
British did better than we did in the
production of light artillery, and we ex-
celled them in producing heavy ar
tillery and both light and heavy am
munition.
So far as the Allies were concerned,
the European war was in large measure
| fought with American powder and high
explosives.
AT the end of the war American
| production of smokeless powder was
As per cent greater than the French
and British production combined.
| At the end of the war the American
production of high explosives was 40
per cent greater than Great Britain's
and nearly double that of France.
During the war America produced
| 10000 tons of gas, much of which was
sold to the French and British.
| In round numbers, we had in France
$500 pieces of artillery, of which near
! ly 500 were made in America, and we
used on the firing line 2,250 pieces, of
which over 100 were made in America.
The problems of feeding and cloth
ing the army were difficult because of
the immense quantities involved rath-
er than because of the difficulty of
manufacturing the articles needed