The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1921-10-04
PLANE TO GUST
 SHIPS, SAYS INVENTOR
Air Fleet Will Be Used For Defensive Military Action
 Effectively Sperry Says

!, NsW 1ork, oct. 4-Batt1eships will
 be driven from the seas by aircraft
 according to Elmer A. Sperry. in, VenN,r Of the gyroscope, who asserts aeroplanes will be used for defensive
 lnilirary action as effectively as they are aow used for offensive
 Describing for the official journal
 or tae American Society of Mechani- cal engineers the conflict between the al ar pom ping squadron and the ex- Ger nan battleship Ostfriesland re-
 censly staged off the Virginia. Capes as "an epoch-moking incident in the eVes-present conflict between the old ana weii-estahlished and the new and
 untrled, MT. Sperry says this event 1ndscafed the future for aircraft development"
 Assuming Leadership.
 Inr- Sperry claims that "aircraft. tho natural American heritage, is
 cothing not only into into it's own. but assuming nothing short of sovereign Tea teIe1p Gershlp in direct offensive action
 When the United States entered
 thu World War in 1917 it did not
 pc ssess a single military flying ma
 chine and of the two score training Nslvy there were barely a bakers
 dozen capable of very high perform anees judged from present-day agsoda5dT, ssot adife foir MT: . sperry declares; bftween the real foundation of herican military aeronautics and the slnding out of the unprotected David Gt the air with a few bombs to do protected with armament represent nsg forty years of sustained develop plent costing billions of dollars The aochored battleship went to the bot ! sm Of the ocean in less than twenty Fe minutes Still the aircraft en- a ineers responsible for the remarka- fe performance thoroughly realize
 re crudeness of the airplane, espec- rd hn S,1+ nd bomb-dropping devices.
 Drive Ship from Sea.
 The battleshlp can be made 1arg- and faster, but this will not make 1 he airplane, however, is only at the hreshold of its development. From bme aspects the question seems to be
 he of time when the ,battIeship will e driven from the sea.
 American engineers have particu- IT reasons to glory in the success of | ! Hr flyers The planes used were
 hiefy Of American design, driven bv
 |. typical American motor. The bold Inception of the test was on a par lth the big things done every day " our engineers, and the daring of l he mon who flew for over a hundred
 tiles out to sea in planes which had D facilities on the water is something l IT which the nation may well feel
 l h9pd.
 "Great honor must be given to the %sistent and marvellous organiza- bn of the Air Service, which carried luis difficult task to fsuch successful Completion This is due in large
 easure to the enthusiasm and lead ship of General Mitchell and his l : nremefE able corps of assistants Colonel Zane. Chief of the Engineer 1yg Division of the Air Service is an- | cther who should receive no small
 mount of praise and congratulations New Methods Developing
 :, In early bombing days from the
 ! lights to which anti-aircraft guns dfove the aircraft. it was lucky if the bomb was able to hit the township i 2 ntaining the target. The precision ] tained since that time in the yari- 1 oAs elements of the bombing equip 1 r1ent is due in no small measure to
 t. man who is 100 per cent mathe-
 nsatician and also 100 per cent. en-
 Sfheer in being able to point out a | rkActical and physical. as well as sEhple, solution of otherwise very | 5krplexing and abstruse formulas. Ifns. together with the new method
 dt stabilizing, finding and being able tg hold the exact vertical reference lH>e, and recision flight due to grea tAbortant ments; but in the last
 a9sEsis. the level head and horse
 siAtse of the man behind the gun c.Hfstitute no small part of the an she Aeronautic Division of the | IAEfer1can Society of Mechanical En- gtheerS. whose members include Or We Wright and other leaders in aM Ation, is making a close study of tts, increased activities in aircraft so
 ttft it may be of assistance to the 0eternment