Arizona republican., 1921-08-22
THOUSAND
 J. {. WAR PLANES
 IN STORAGE WILL NEVER BE USED
Of the 1O,78O Planes on Hand Only 2200 in Shape for Service; Majority Will Never Be Overhauled.
By HARRY HUNT

WASHINGTON, Aug. 2f. = Con- gress has appropriated for the de- veiopment of army and navy air ser vices, since we declared war on Ger many in May, 1917. a total of ss2s,- s63, ,0o0.
 The tangible assets from these ap- propriations, as they stand today, in- clude 10.7S0 planes of all sorts and descriptions. in all shapes and con- ditions: one rigid dirigible balloon, one seimi-rigid dirigible and 27 non rigid dirigbles. and a present air force. including fliers, mechanics and supporting personnel of 22.491.
 Of the 1o.7so planes on hand. how ever, only about 22o0 are in present shape for service.
 Nearly 5000 planes, including train- ing planes and planes completed on contracts existing at the time of the armistice, are in storage. The ma- jority of them probably will never see service.
 Like the wooden ships of the ship ping board, most of these 5000 planes constitute a liability instead of an asset. as they would require thorough overhauling or rebuilding before fly ing and even then would be inef- ficient, dangerous. second class Present Strength In the main-except for the ex- perience gained in our efforts at war; time airplane production = our strength in the air may be rated as the strength developed since the ar- mistice.
 In that period congress has pro- I'vided $1S5.s13.000 for the air services And it is from these approximations in aircraft designed and built since 1918. that Uncle Sam's present avia- tion forces have been developed. | Of all the varied types of arm, l planes attempted during our wa period, only one is> retained today a. of any value. That is the De Havi land 4. But even that has beer radically changed in construction and is now listed as DH-4B. In tn, navy the chief strength lies in F-5Ls s1Ss, HSBs, NCs and Bartin bombers
 Navy Leads Army I Of modern, dependable types rate, fit for immediate service the nav outstrips the army. The army has
 
 storage, in unknown and question able condition.
 or the 5000 planes now owned b l the army, more than 1000 are stored Of the thousand odd planes in ser vice or ready for service, 245 are 0 the most modern types of pursui scouting, bombing and combat plane. Orders are now outstanding for 34 others.
 The navy has total of 145o air
 planes and flying boats, of some 2 different types.
 In addition to these heavier than
 air craft, she has the great $2,o00 Ot
 ZR-2, Uncle Sam's first riaid diria bls. which is ready for her fiioI [ home from England, where she ws built. A sister ship, the ZR-1, under construction at Lakehurs
 N. J.
 ), Against the army's one non-rigi F dirigible, the Roma, the navy has 2 non-rigfd dirigibles. 22 free balloon l and so observation balloons. IT army has 10 non-rigid blimps. Marinss' Planes 7 Supplementing these air forces ' the Marine Corps flying force, wi
 III planes. They're all over the ma with II planes in Guam, Is in Ss s Domingo. If in Haiti, Is in the Phi < fppines. and the remaining 56. il |, cluding the larger number of trai ing planes, in the United State
 mostly al Quantico, Va. , And back of these, as commur . cations aid in time of trouble, a . the 220 planes of the air mail SC 7 vice. of which, however, only 65 a in commission.
 Summarized, Uncle Sam's air for
 shows a total of 10.7S1 planes; 15 flying officers and pilots and POS