The New York herald., 1921-05-12
WARSH|PS TO FACE
POISONOUS GASES
IN BOMBING TESTS
Chemical Warfare Service
to Launch an Attack
From Airplanes.
MASKS FOR SAILORS
Officers Will Try to Prove
That All New Battleships
Must Be Alright.
EXPERIMENTS GOING ON
Results Obtained Will Be Used
to Help Build Up Adequate
Protection for Navy.
EXPERIMENTS GOING ON
BIZ the Associated Press.

WASHINGTON, May l1-Ihe use or
poisonous gases against naval vessels
under simulated battle conditions will
be tested for the first time during
bombing experiments to be conducted
off the Atlantic coast beginning on
Juno 81.
While army and navy aerial forces
are cooperating in an effort to demon
strate the effectiveness of aerial bombs
against modern naval vessels, the
chemical warfare service of the army
will be launching a poison gas attack
from the air against one or more war
ships in an attempt to show that the
navy must Immediately build up de-
fences against a new and terrible men,
ace-asphyxiation.
Under present plans the ship to be
gassed will have a crew aboard. Nom
explosive bombs filled with tear gas"
will be dropped and every man on
board the vessel win be required to
keep within the protected area and
wear a gas mask.
vice believe that by using a gas of in
tolereble concentration, that Is of suffi-
cient strength to incapacitate but not to
KILL the service can prove its conten-
tion that in the next war battleships
must be made literally airtight to pro-
tect the crews.
Seek Adequate Protection.
The chemical warfare service and
the War Department are cooperating In
conducting experiments in the use Of
adequate defences 10 protect American
sailors In the next war.
The tear gas which the chemical
warfare service purposes to use in the
tests is known To chemists as brom-
benzylcy The mixture Is intol-
erable to the eyes but Is not dangerous.
The significance OF Its effect on the bat
tleship personnel army officers assert
will lie in the fact that it is OF con-
centration and persistency exactly SINH
lar to the instantly fatal gases which
the chemical warfare service is pre-
pared to use against hostile navy in
war.
1t was pointed out to-day by army
officers that the ventilating system OF
all warships was based on a suction
system drawing air through tubes TO
every part of the vessel. This system,
they declared. would be the chief ally OF
an enemy gas attack, sucking into every
nook and corner Of the vessel the deadly
gases introduced into the ship by deck
piercing shells dropped from aircraft.
Gases already prepared and In stock
are of such deadly mixture. the officers
declare that one Whit will kill almost
instantly.
Toxic Smoke Developed.
The chemical warfare service also
has developed a toxic smoke" called
phenylchlorarsine. IL IL designed to be
used In place of the smoke screen here
tofore laid down by destroyers.
This toxic smoke" consists OF dense
poisonous dust clouds designed to be lib
Grated on the surface Of the sea through
bombs and smoke boxes placed to wind
ward of the enemy force. The poison
dust will be drawn into the ventilating
system OF the hostile ships. the officers
assert. with particularly deadly effect
A third innovation IL placing a smoke
screen over a feet by the use of smoke
bombs attached to parachutes and
dropped from aircraft or similar bombs
fred into the air from guns on the YES
sells.
The first of the bombing tests against
naval vessels will he conducted Jointly
by army and navy aircraft June Il.
against one of the ex-German sub
marines. IL was announced at the Navy
Department to-day
After the aerial attack on the sub
marine, the flyers OF the two services
will bomb the ex-German cruiser Frank
furt. the ex-Gerrnan battleship Ostfries-
land and number OF former German
submarines and destroyers Live bombs