The Appeal. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. ;) 1889-19??, 1922-12-02
HOLD !. BIG / STORES /
FOR AIR SERVICE
Uncle Sam Has immense Supply
Of Material for AirpIanes
on Hand. 4
LARGEST DEPOT IS IN TEXAS
Supplies Worth sso, 100000 Stored
Theirs, Willie Machinery and Equip:
'asnt o. -pia1 Represent
Another $1o0ooo 600.

s San Antonio, Tex.-Not much has
been said about It, but 1t is a fact
that the United States government
air intermediate depot, situated on the
outskirts of San Antonio, contains
army aviation materials valued at
$50,O0O,OOO, while the; machinery and
other equipment that 60 to make up
the plant has an additional value of
$1O0,O00O0O. .--...
It is one Of the largest aviation and
repair centers in the United States.
The buildings which comprise the
government property are Of perma-
nent character. The special purpose
Of maintaining the depot is to keep
constantly on hand q complete and
large stock of airplanes and their
parts for supplying the army aviation
service. The warehouses are filled
with hundreds Of airplane wings. and
motors. There are thousands Of mo-
tors. Every three months these mo-
tors must be taken out Of their boxes,
thoroughly sprayed with form Of
grease to prevent rust and then treat
ed to a similar coat of oil on the in
side of the cylinders and other in
ternal parts. They are so delicate
that they must be carefully. handled.
Hundreds on Hand.
Several hundred complete airplanes
are kept on hand in the boxes in
which they come from the factory,
and these must also be opened at
regular intervals, taken out and gone
over completely.
In another part Of the warehouse
is an assortment Of tools that prob
ably surpasses in size and value any
In the Southwest. Its value runs into
millions of dollars. Every tool that
will ever be needed in the air service
is In the supply section. Spare parts
stored in another part of the ware
house represent another huge fortune.
This material goes to- supply all the
army air service in the United States
and, In addition, Panama, Philippine
Islands, Hawaii and formerly the air
forces in the army Of occupation In
Germany. =
,, The engineering branch is charged
with the repair of airplanes used by
the air service in the Eighth corps
area and in flying fields as far east
as Florida. 1t is divided into several
departments. There is the machine
shop, one of the most complete in the
country. Then comes the motor re-
pair, fuselage construction, rigging,
fabric and upholstery, paint shop,
final assembly hangar and the test
hangar. Airplanes are built from the
ground up at the engineering
branch, but for the most part they
take the old ones that are turned in
by the various fields and rebuild
them.
Expert civilian mechanics are en-
ployed to do this work. Raw mate
rails are kept on hand for wing and
body construction, and whenever a
spare part is needed that is not on
hand it can be turned out in the shop.
Wings, rudders and elevators are con-
structed in the shops. After the
framework Is completed 1t Is taken to
the fabric shop, where linen cloth is
stretched over and nailed down, and
then 1t is painted.
The engineering branch was moved
to San Antonio several months ago
from Dallas, and took the buildings
left by the air service mechanics
school. Maj. William 81. Garrison is
in command of both branches of the
depot.
The monthly pay roll at the depot
approximates $4,000, and, there are
about 400 civilians employed as me-
chanics In addition to the IL officers.
The supply branch Is in charge Of
Lieut.. Myron r. Wood and the en-
!, cheering branch is In charge of Capt.
Edward Laughlin.