San Antonio light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1911-1993, 1923-10-21
If War Should Come, 1t
Would Be Two Years Be-
fore Aerial Wing Could
Be Put on Proper Basis;
Short in Personnel and
Ships Are Obsolete.

II
The recent report of military com
mittee appointed by the War Depart
ment TO investigate the present condi
! ton of the United States Army All
Service shows that branch of the ser
vice TO be in an alarming need Of
| both men and equipment, and that un
| less steps are taken TO improve con
| ditions in the air service that arm
will in effect be practically demobil'
| lied within two years. The committed
also investigated the aircraft indus
try in the United States and reported
| that it would fall far short of meeting
war time requirements. and that
planes in sufficient quantities could
not be delivered under present condi-
tons until nearly two years after war
had begun. In other words. the re-
port states that under present condi-
tons. if a national emergency should
confront the country within the next
two years, the air service would not
be able TO play its part in meeting it.
The personnel of the committee
was: Mai. Gen. William Lassiter,
Brig. Gen. Briant II. Wells, Brig.
Gen. Hugh A. Drum Brig. Gen.
Stuart Heintzelman. Col. Irwin L.
Hunt, Lieut.. Col. John W. Gulick.
Lieut.. Col. Frank p. Lahm and Maj.
II. \. DaESue.
The committee reported that the
failure of the aircraft industry TO de-
velop commercially has resulted in
many aircraft manufacturers being
solely dependent on government or
ders for existence. Government orders
have been very limited because of the
lack of appropriations. and because
all aircraft manufactured during the
war must be used up before any large
new purchasers can be made. This war
equipment is rapidly deteriorating and
becoming unsafe 10 fly.
Ships Are Obsolete.
The committee found the air service
to be greatly below its authorized
strength both in men and equipment.
The authorized peace strength of the
air service = 1061 officers and S164
men including 100 flying cadets. Fig
ures taken last February show that
there were then in the air service only
$50 officers, $500 enlisted men. and
that oily 81 flying cadets were avail
able.
The equipment situation is so
critical" the report stated, that with
a continuance of appropriations at the
present rate, by July 1926 there will
be available less than 800 serviceable
airplanes TO meet a requirement of
over five times that number for the
present small air service. Further
more, so per cent of the planes now
on hand are obsolete training types
and unsuitable for combat USE"
The committee report further states
that present conditions in the air ser.
vice, both as to men and equipment.
offers little or no foundation upon
which war requirements can be built.
In making remedial suggestions. the
committee in its report proposes that
the most practicable way in which the
peace requirements in material can
be met is to adopt continuing pro-
duction program extending through n
period of approximately ten years,
with adequate annual appropriations
to make the program effective. 1t is
estimated that the annual appropria-
tons necessary to make this program
effective, exclusive of pay, upkeep
and housing of personnel, will be APP
proximately $25,000.000, of which APP
proximately $10,000,000 should be for
operating expenses and S15,000.00
for purchase of new aircraft, the first
amount increasing and the second
amount decreasing as the program de-
yelops.
A Critical Situation.
With regard to the acute shortage
of personnel in the air service, the
committee suggests that a continuing
personnel program extending over a
period of about ten years should
parallel the production program.
The entire equipment and personnel
situation in the air service was sum-
married. by the military committee in
the following language:
The committe finds our air SER
vice to be in very unfortunate and
critical situation. Since the World
War aviation has come to play an in
creasingly important part in military
operations, but measures have not
been taken in our country to keen
step with this evolution. Due to the
reduction of the army the personnel
of the air force has been diminished.
Moreover, aircraft have not been
manufactured to replace the types pro-
duced during the WOrldWar. For lack
OF business our aircraft industry is
languishing and may disappear. 1t
requires time to begin production of
airplanes and it takes time to train
personnel. We cannot improvise an
air service, and yet it is indispen-
sable to be strong in the air at the
very outset Of n war rrharnforo ~ ic