Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1921-06-20
PLANES VS.. DREADNOUGHTS;
THE GREAT TEST THIS WEEK
" Aircraft Proves Superior TO Battle.
ships It viii oisplace Them. Whether
Naval officers Like Il or Not

INiih further development ot aircraft as
l. an implement of war cannot hc pre-.
vented by the opposition Of the officers of
the army and the navy.
mere has been no radical revolution in
methods of warfare which has not been
CRITICIZED by the men who were brought up
under tho old traditions
hut the club gave way to the spear and
the spear 10 the bow and arrow and the
bow and arrow to the gun. The boat pro-
pcilcd with oars was superseded by the shin
with sails and sails have given way to steam
II it shall prove that aircraft Is supcrior
10 the battcShip it will ultimately vindicatc
liS"It. and even the pullbaCks will have TO
accept tn" situation.
For som" 'r"aSon tn" development of the
atr wing of III" national defense has Jagged
IN III" | nitcd states since the war. Other
nations which learned what could be done
with it have been Cnargiug their air force
and putting il on n permanent basis They
hav" been experimenting with various forms
Of flying machines for use over land and
over the sea, and they are acCumulating
vast mass Of valuable information
Yet. i'll spite of the lack of enthusiasm
for aircraft in tho attitude of the naval and
military authorities in Washington. a series
Of experiments begins today which may prove
much or little
The first test is TO discover the relative
"th"i"ncy of aircraft and sunfirC in destroy
ing submarines. OnC former German under.
sea boat has been assigned to the airmcn
ana two TO III" crows of torpedoboat de-
Stroy"rS. This may be because tho aircraft
demonstrated its efficiency during tho war
IN this sort Of work. II could detect n sub
merged boat which would he invisible to
boat on the surface.
week from today thc aircraft is to make
an attempt to find the old battlcshp Iowa
and to bomb IT, The ship will be somewhere
within a hundred miles Of the coast between
cape Hattoras and Cape Honlopcu.
Two weeks later tho aircraft will be sent
out to sink an old German destroyer. and
gunhre from ships will bc used to destroy
iW" other German boats. aud the week after
this test an attack will bc made on an old
German battleship from the air and frou
batrlPships
The aircraft will he required 70 remain
1000 feet above thc surface of the water in
order to meet I'll" conditions which prudence
would require they should observe in actual
combat. Vet in the war daring nviatorS
approached much nearer tho surface than
this and dropped their bombs and escaped
in safety.
The conditions Of the tests. however
ar" such as to put the airmen on their mettc.
IT they can hit the targets under tho cir.
"umStan"es the critics of tho air forces will
lose on" or their arguments against the OK.
panSion of the new branch Of the service.
Tho public is not deeply interested in rho
LOYALTY Of the officers Of the army and the
navy to tho old methods. What the people
wish is tho most efficient machinery for ma
tional defense that can br Devised
Tn" submarine has not driven rho battle
Elnt FrIf 4
thinks that II can do this They nearly all
insist that the great floating fort will still
be serviceablC. What most Of us would like
Is tho development of aircraft MS supple
m"nt to the floating sea forces and ms an
auxiliary Of tho land forces II seems to
have qualified itself for such service II II
snail prove to be useful in more extended
range. even the conservatives will accent il
Just as they hav" accepted tho turbine engine
and the use of oil in place Of coal for making
steam.
Hospitality toward progress is the proper
atttud" Of mind. an attltunc characteristic
of most Of the men in the army and tho navy.
But th"y wish 10 be convinced that any new
device means progress before they will com.
mir themselves to its adoption
Their" arc exceptions for General Mitchell
Of tn" army aircraft bureau is so cnthusi
aStt" that hc irritatos the men who arc still
waiting 70 be convinced. This cxccss Of zeal
has got him into troublo with his superior.
and Secretary Weeks has had 10 read
SI"ctur" 70 tho two mon in order 10 induce
them To work harmonIouslv together.
TIL" hopes Of the advocates of diSarma
. mont that the series Of cxrorimpnts will
demonstrate III" futiity Of spending moro
money on battleShipS is not likely 10 b.,
realized, for II will take more than a single
success Of aircraft to break down the force
"f III" arguments in support Of armorcd ships
carrying heavy guns with long range
What Srch ships can do in securing tho seq
for hostile vessels was demonstrated by tho
British Navy convincingly that 50 long A.
nations find II necessary to have o navy they
will be likely to insist on having vessels that
can do what rho British ships did 10 tho
German Vessels of tho Falkland Islands. a
thing that aircraft could not very well have
done