Omaha daily bee., 1921-07-31
Bon1bTests
Show Needs
Planes With More Carrying
Capacity, Larger Bombs
And Better Armored Ships
Necessary for Warfare.
Change Urged at Once
BY ARTHUR SEARS HENNING.
Chicaxo Tribune Omaha Bee Leased Wire.

kiAhS Shotia W ASSt 'Ai SNA 80 sAA>f'''- .
the navy for aerial offense and de-
fense is the general conclusion of
the officers who witnessed the sink
ing of the former German battleship
Oestfriesland with the one-ton bomb
loosed by General Mitchells army
aviators.
The remarkable series OF bombing
tests which all the powers were
closely watching is regarded as in
dicating conclusively the trend of fu-
ture development in naval warfare.
Gigantic bomb-hurling planes capa-
Bile of sinking battleships will be
perfected, it is believed, while capi-
tai ships will be strengthened and
equipped to resist and ward off aeri
al attacks.
Here is summary of the projects
being considered as a result of the
observations of the experts at the
bombing tests:
/. Building of eight airplane car
riers for the navy, for one OF which
Secretary Denby is to ask congress
at once, despite the recent refusal of
congress to appropriate for any. The
collier Jupiter is being transformed
into an airplane carrier, but its speed
is only IS knots, compared with the
80 knots of the British carriers.
Gas and Smoke Bombs.
2. The adoption by the chemical
warfare service of poisonous gases
and the smoke screen effect to light
weight bombs which can be dropped
by speedy pursuit planes upon the
enemy and thus prepare the way for
the slower going bomb planes with
their destructive freight.
3. The urgent speeding up of ex-
perimental production by the air
craft industry of still heavier planes
which would carry at least two OF
the one-ton bombs at trip, with
possibly reaching out as far as
mammoth plane that could carry
lotion bomb, able to destroy the
modern battle ship, such as the
enssylvania, at one blow.
The navy already has in the N. I.
type of bombing plane which can
carry twice as heavy a load as the
Martin bombers which destroyed the
Oestfriesland and they will build an
other type, the Giant" which will
be twice as powerful as the N. c.
and four times as powerful as the
Martin bomber. On July IL the army
air service issued call for new de-
signs of extremely powerful and
speedy bombing types which will
stimulate the best work the country
can produce.
Heavily Ar1nored ships.
4. Rush production of battle
ship type with heavily armored pro-
tective decks, and possibly an armor-
ed belt extending from main deck line
to keel. i
S. Experimental development of
some device for battleship ventila-
tions which would eliminate mus
tard and poison gases from the in
take air, thus safeguarding all in
terror compartments which are ven
tilated by forced draft. Il
6. Development of anti-aircratt
gunfire which would be highly ef-
fective up to high attitudes. The 80
caliber machine gun used during the
war for low flying aircraft will prob
ably be replaced by so caliber
gun of the same type, using tracer,
armor-piercing and explosive bullets
in alienation fer ranges up to 3,0OO
feet. And AZ anti-aircraft type
will probably be rushed through /
production to replace the 3-inch gun
used chiefly during wartime (for
ranges up. to $4,000 feet) and pro-
duced in large numbers for the
trained "archy" personnel, which
must now be developed. Ordnance
officials also will probably develop
a 81 millimeter machine gun type
which can discharge one-pound
in a steady automatic
stream against armored aircraft.
Development of Bombs.
7. Development of a 4,000-pound
bomb in the immediate future and
experimental work on still larger
types (up to the lotion size) in the |
course of the fiscal year. Especially |
will experiments be directed toward
the perfecting of an armor piercing
aerial bomb, one of which was all
ready for test on the Oestfriesland.
8. Rapid increase and organiza-
ton of larger air service to sup
slement the coast defense organiza-
ton and protect our great length of
sea coast from all kinds of attack.
9. Production of anphibious air
craft, which can land either on land |
or sea with equal ease and safety.