The Washington herald., 1922-08-07
U.S.. PLANS BIG AIR
FLEET AS NATIONS
SEEK SUPREMACY
Project Doubles Number
Of Planes and
Personnel.
is PROBLEM
Competition Among Powers Is
Transferred from Water
To the Sky.

An international fight for su-
premacy of the air has begun in
the wake of failure by the WASH
ington arms conference to impose
limits upon machines operating in
this potential war zone of the fu-
ture.
While reports received by officials
here have acquainted this govern
ment with the activities of Japan In
aircraft construction, and while
Great Britain has just officially an
nounced her intention of creating
a 500-plane feet for home defense,
a definite and comprehensive pro-
gram to provide an adequate air
defense for the United States has
been quietly worked out by the air
experts of the army and navy.
The activity of the three leading
naval powers toward aircraft con-
struction indicates that, both in the
matter of money and craft, COM
petition already has been trans
ferred from the water to the air.
The American program Is now
ready in tentative form for sub
mission to Congress when II is
finally approved-expected by the
time Congress reconvenes for the
snort session.
Decide on Program.
Realizing. however. that expen-
diture at this time of huge sums
for war machines of any kind. while
the nation is still demanding econ
omy to relieve the tax burden,
would prove unpopular, officials
virtually have decided that the air
craft program shall be q. progress
sive one, extending over a period
of years, like the navy's 1916 build
ing program.
over whatever term of years the
program extends, the present plan
is to have it ultimately contem-
plate:
/. Construction of sufficient planes
for the army Air Service to assure
500 on either coast and approx
mately 1000 planes at strategic
points in the interior. j..
2. Detail of $500 officers and
40, 900 men to the Air Service.
3. Construction of between ESQ
and 800 new airplanes for the two
huge aircraft carriers into which
two of the treaty-doomed battle
cruisers are being converted.
4. Equipment of every fighting
ship and many of the auxiliaries
with an airplane. catapult, and
whenever possible, landing gear.
something like 300 planes being
needed for this.
Torpedo Plane Production.
5. Quantity production of the
deadly torpedo plans, all metal
type, as soon as experiments now
being carried out demonstrate the
most suitable type for use on ships.
6. Systematic development Of
landing fields at sea ports for the
fleet fiiers and OF landing fields laid
out along definite aerial lines all
over the country.
The plan approximately would
double the number of serviceable
planes now in service or building
and more than double the officers
and men now in service.
The big difficulty Is money. The
program would mean an initial out
lay OF many millions of dollars and
the upkeep and replacement cost
would run into large figures. Avia-
ton proponents. however, both in
the United States and in England.
where a spectacular campaign has
been launched on behalf of a great
aircraft building program. contend
that whatever the cost. II would be
Insignificant compared to the ex-
penditures for $4,000. 900 battle-
ships definitely checked by the arms
conference.