New-York tribune., 1921-06-22
Air Bornbers
Get L Boat
I'm l0 Minutes

air. Several times the hulk disap-
again for an instant, wallowing help
lcssly in the trough OF the long At
lantic rollers.
Finally the coming tower slipped
beneath the surface and, as if in last
oespainng cIIort. the wounded vessel
lifted her stern high into the air and
dlved straight for the bottom.
Only one mishap, and that not seri-
Gus, occurred during the test An
SE-5 tyne Sopwith single scatter army
plane, piloted by Colonel C. C. Culver,
chief of the radio section of the Army
All Service, and said to be one of the
the surface of the ocean shortly after
the attack was concluded.
When his machine struck the water
Colonel Culver was thrown clear. The
machine remained afoat and the Of
fcer made his way back to it, assisted
BY one of the crew of big seaplane
that was idling on the water near by,
and calmly climbed up on the fusilage
to await Developments Boats were
Immediately rushed to the scene from
several nearby ships and a destroyer
and mine sweeper stood by to pick
Colonel Culver up should the plane
sink under him.
An F5-L seaplane and launches from
the transport Henderson and the air
force tender Shawmut reached the scene
almost at the same instant and the
Shawmut's boat took the officer aboard,
made a line fast to the plane and towed
it to the Shawmut, where it was lifted
aboard, little damaged. Colonel Culver
was uninjured and apparently enjoyed
his experience.
Ideal weather conditions prevailed,
only a slight breeze ruffiing the surface
of the sea. Anchored in long arch
that half encircled the U-11, the bulk
of the battleship force of the Atlantic
feet took station to give naval officers
an opportunity to witness the demon
stration.
vice-Admiral H. P, Jones, acting in
command of the Atlantic feet. was at
the head of the battleship line in
the flagship Pennsylvania. The other
dreadnaughts present were the Nevada,
Oklahoma, Arizona, Delaware, North
Dakota and Utah. On the other side
of the U11 and slightly closer to it
were the air force tender Shawmut.
the transport Henderson and a mum mber
OF destroyers and mine sweepers with
observing and camera parties on board.
Overhead several army and navy dirigi-
planes in order, while long line of
destroyers, spaced at ten-mile inter
walls to Cape Charles, was ready to 90
to the rescue of any planes forced
down during the attack.
The former U-boat, condemned To
destruction at Scapa Flow with the
bulk of the German fleet, presented a
sorry spectacle in contrast to the trim
vessels of the Atlantic fleet as she
lay tugging at her anchor chain help
lessly awaiting the attack. Her decks.
rusty and battered, were stripped of
the gear with which she planted mines
along the Atlantic coast in 1918, and
her coming tower was only a rust
stained peak in Uttered deck. Pa
tiently and uncomplainingly the vessel
seemed to await the blow from above
that was to send her to the bottom and
finish her checkered career.
representative f. C. Hicks, of New
York, a member of the House Naval
Committee, who witnessed the sinking
of the U-117 from the Henderson. was
much impressed with the result.
The initial test was eminently sat
isfactory," he said. "The bombers
showed surprising accuracy. In NV
opinion, # a modern battleship had
been used as a target, instead of a sub
marine, it would have been seriously
damaged.
''Of course, actual war conditions did
not prevail to-day-the submarine was
like lion in a cage and could not fight
back. But these tests have impressed
me more and more with the ultimate
dependence we must place on aircraft
in naval warfare. | am great believer
in perfecting the three-plane navy.
under water, over water and surface