The New York herald., 1922-09-22

In the theater of imaginary warfare
that centered yesterday over Mitchell
Field. l.. L., the scout airplane again
proved its utility as a vital factor in
both offense and defense. The war
game staged there jointly by the air
service, the engineers and the artillery
for the benefit of men of the officers
Reserve Corps got off literally TO a
flying start.
lery before the post bugles had
sounded reveille had stolen away TO a
we'll screened spot near the Meadow
Brook Club house. about mile and n
half from Mitchell Field headquarters.
There tho artillerymen dug in
With the aid of tree boughs and
other screening the battery's position
was well masked, Major Aymar En-
bury I'd and Capt. Homer ST. Gaudens
of the Camou1age Post of the Ameri-
can Legion, playing an artistic part in
this job. Battery p was the ostensible
enemy which had effected a landing
on the Long Island approach to New
York.
II now becomes the duty of the scout
airplanes to unmask the menacng guns
and report their positions accurately
This task was essayed by three army
pilots in scout ships of the Curtiss and
Thomas Morse types. They were Major
Junius w. Jones. Lieut.. Newton w.
Longfellow and Lieut.. J. Conuell. In
sweeping circles they secured the whole
terrain until. not long before noon. they
had spotted accurately every camou-
flaged gun of the enemy battery.
BY radio the information then was
sent through the air to Lieut.. Tvers
Abbey. who. accompanied by Private
Sidney w. Fox, was trailing the air
scouts equipped with cameras and pre-
pared 10 photograph the gun cirplace-
ments as speedily as they were located.
Abbey's ship scared above the masked
battery and the cameras did their work
as accurately and as speedily as the
scout planes had done theirs. The lieu
tenant said afterward that "the results
were most gratifying demonstrating. as
they did. the mastery of the scout plane
over the menace OF the masked battery"
Lieut.. Abbey was aid to Brig Gen.
william Mitchell Of the Air Service.
when the German and American war
ships were bombed and sunk off the
Virginia Capes last year.
AirpIanes Bombard Targets.
Next came a startling demonstration
OF what would be likely TO happen to
an enemy battery thus located. A
white cloth target was stretched on the
ground. II was a parallelogram only
about by feet and supposed to rep
resent a field gun.
Above Il now sailed the deadly Martin
bombers. the same skilled pilots at their
steering sticks. With smoke bombs they
bombarded the mark from attitudes rang
ing from one-haif TO one and one-half
miles. The actual scores registered were
not disclosed. but there was a surprising
number OF potential hits. Observers on
the ground informed each pilot of a sue
cessful shot by lighting n puff bomb.
Major Jones later IN the afternoon
demonstrated In his "shimmying" plane
his own method OF correcting shell or
ghrapncl fire BY side or forward or back
ward dips OF his aircraft executed by the
aerial observer.
At nightfall there was new and spec
tacuIar feature or the war problem. The
three scout planes now we're 10 simulate
enemy aircraft seeking 10 approach the
metropolis by the Sound gateway near
Whitestone Landing.
Fort Totten, with it's great battery Of
scarchlights. two Of which were brand
new and were tried out on actual air.
planes last night for the first time. was
charged with the duty Of spotting these
night cavalrymen Of the sky In time
FOR the anti-aircraft guns OF the fort
10 put them out OF action or at least
drive them back.
According to unofficial reports one OF
the trio OF invaders was spotted. but
the other two succeeded IN penetrating
within the prescribed area without being
detected.
Gen. Patrick on Hand.
Major-Gcn Mason NJ Patrick. COM
manding the army air service. arrived
on the field by automobile at III a. NJ.
and was received With the thirteen gun
salute and the other honors due his
rank. lie reviewed tho command,
watched the maneuvres. and at 80
j.. NJ started back 20 Washington as a
passenger In the Curtiss Heron. piloted
by Major Dangue.
Escortng tho General ia another
plane was Capt st. Clair Street COM
mander Of the flight from Mitchell Field
to Alaska
Another famous flier who arrived on
the field was Lieut.. Fonda =. John
son. lie came III from Kelley Field. San
Antonio. Texas, to tune M his racing
army plano. which Is 70 be one Of the
now contestants In the air races next
month III Dayton. The army is TO be
represented there by several entries Of
unique type. each of which Mitchell
~ The air service expects 70 u. - a
pace OF 200 miles ain hour.
The ten ton owl. pilotcd by Lieut..
y. Melville. and the navy racer. fooled
BY Ensign Al Williams. again gave ex-
hibition flights. The military problems
involving the air service. the artillery
and the engineers win proceed to-day.
Major W. n. McClearv Of the Coast
Artillery command. who Is In general
charge. says the public will be welcomed
IA rpcrfators