The Washington times., 1921-01-23
NAVAL PLANES
TO 'cATAPULT'
Will Be Hurled From Decks BY
New PIan-SuccessfuI
/ Tests at Local Yard.

Naval sirplsnes. instead OF taking
on from the decks OF ships at sea,
will be hurled from cstapults. fol-
lowing successful laboratory tests
now being made at the Washington
Navy Yard. Capt. T. T. Craven, direc-
tor OF naval aviation, declared today.
USE DUMMIES IN TESTS.
Experiments with dummies" have
pIowbd so successful that regular
seaplanes will shortly be used In
testing the catapult method of
launching planes from the decks Of
warships, he said.
An appropriation of S35. 100000 has
been requested OF Congress for naval
aviation during the next fiscal year,
and part of this money will be used
In developing the idea OF catapulting
seaplanes from the decks of war
ships.
The idea Of applying the catapult
for use In the navy was first sug-
gested In 1911 by Capt. Washington
I. Chambers. then In charge OF naval
aviation. Assisted by Lieut.. T. q.
Ellyson. u. s. ~, the. first naval
aviator; Naval Constructor il. c.
Richardson, and Admiral N. G.
4 X
and built at the Washington Navy
Yard. The FIRST attempt to launch,
plane was made at Annapolis.
and was a failure.
DEFECTs CORRECTED.
As result OF this test, however,
certain defects were discovered and
corrected in a second catapult, which
was also built at the Washington
Navy Yard out of scrap material,
and two successful flights were
made from this catapult by Lieuteo-
ant ElIyson. The first flight was
made on November IL, 1912, In a
Curtis hydro-airplane, and the sec
ond in Curtis flying boat.
Due to lack OF funds. al well as
the beginning of the world war, no
further actual experiments were
carried out until 1918, when a new
and larger catapuit was designed by
Naval Constructor Richardson, which
further eliminated some of the faults
of the first catapult. This was in
stalled on barge at Pensacola, Fla.
from which a number OF successful
launchingAjwerc made.
AS a result of these successful
tests. authority was obtained to in
stall this catapuIt on the North Car
olina. an armored cruiser. This was
done hurriediy under the direction o,
Capt. H. G. Muslin. and several sue.
cessful launchings were made from
that ship. Captain Muslin being the
officer to make the first flight. The
Navy Department, in 1916, installed
| catapults on the arn.ored cruisers
| Seattle, Huntington, and North Car
| olina. from which successful flights
| were made.
REMOVED FROM CRUISERS.
At the time the United States en-
| tered the war guns were thought to
be Of far more Importance to the
armored cruisers than the catapults
and aircraft with which they were
equipped. and they were removed
from the cruisers.
In the first navy catapault, the car
upon which the plane rested was per-
mitted to leave the track and fall
into the water at the end of the run.
In the latter design. attempts were
made to stop the car after its run by
means Of brakes and buffers, that II
might be used again. This was not
at first successful, and in the cata-
paults installed on the Seattle.
Huntington and North Carolina the
cars were again permitted to leave
the track and fall into the water. In
order that they might not be lost.
means were provided whereby the
car automatically picked up rope
at the end of the run. which per-
mitted it being hauled aboard after
II fell into the water.
Naval Constructor Richardson, who
assisted in the design of all cata-
pults for the navy. continued . to
search for practical means of
stopping the car at the end of it's run.
and he has perfected this in recent
experiments at the Washington
Navy Yard.