New-York tribune., 1921-06-05
FLYERS Will Try to Destroy
Battleship, Cruiser and
Destroyers TO Determine
Effectiveness of Attack
First Test Set for June 2l
q. S. S. Iowa Will Be Used
i'm Effort to Evade Air Pa
trolls in Army Blimps

value of air forces in naval war
fare. The outstanding features arc the
stack with dummy bombs on the
Z. S. S. Iowa, which will be controlled
BIZ radio, and the attack with live bombs
on surrendered German warships.
The details of the official scouting
plan agreed upon by the army and
navy air forces to locate the IT, S. S.
Iowa as she approaches the coast will
rot be made known. but the scouting
chart" shown in this article will give
an idea of the general plan that would
be followed in all such cases.
The sea area for go to 100 miles off
the coast between the latitudes of Cape
May and Cape Hstteras will be marked
off in lanes and numbered squares.
The U. S. S. Shawmut mother ship of
the navy planes, will anchor inside
Cape Charles and act as the base for
the naval operations.
langley Field. on Chesapeake Bay,
will be the main base for the army,
and sub-bases may be established
north and south of Cape Charles. These
sub-bases would be very necessary in
case the army used land planes, which
cannot safely alight upon the water in
the event of a forced landing.
Biimps To Be Used for
Distance Scouting on Water
Army and navy blimps will be
utilized for the distant scouting be-
cause of their endurance in air cruis-
ing over the water. They will be as
signed to observe in the different sea
lsnes and squares and will be so dis
tributed that the Iowa cannot pass
them without being discovered. They
will Immediately and constantly send
broadcast information by radio as to
the location Of the Iowa, giving the
number of the square in which she is
located from time to time.
certain number of army and navy
planes may also radiate and scout from
their bases in accordance with care
fully devised plan, and when the Iowa
is definitely located the total, air force
signal as outlined in the battle orders
Dummy bombs only are to be used
against the Iowa. This experiment is
simply to test the air forces in scout
ing, in communicating by radio, and
to prove their ability to hit moving
target at sea.
Bombing Tests VIII Show
Effectiveness of Weapons
The bombing of the German ships
with live bombs will give important in
formation as to the effect of such ex-
plosions on the upper decks in the case
of direct hits, and the effect against
the underwater hull when the bombs
explode in the water near the ship.
There is great difference of opinion
as to the damage that will result in the
case of the battleship, owing to her
armor protection and heavy decks. But
it is anticipated that the cruiser, the
suffer greatly, owing to their light con-
struction and vulnerability to heavy
explosives.
Bombs ranging in weight from 200
to 1000 pounds will be used. The light
weight bombs will be first employed
and the effect carefully noted If
200-pound bomb, striking amidships,
will sink or put destroyer out of &C
tion it would manifestly be a waste Of
ammunition to use heavier charges
against such craft.
The naval air forces will be under
command of Captain A. W. Johnson,
commanding, the, Atlantic Fleet air
forces, his flag on the Shaw1nut. The
army air force will be under command
Of Brigadier General Mitchell, direc-
tor of training and operations Of army
aviation.
The shore base operations will be
under command of Captain S. H. r.
Doyle, base commander at Hampton
Roads, Va. General supervision of the
bombing experiments is in charge OF
Admiral H B. Wilson, commander in
chief of the Atlantic Fleet.
The result of these experiments will
be awaited With ;rfansa jnteyeSt