Evening star., 1923-03-03
BY THE MARaUIsE DE FoNTENoY.

-
Certain officers OF the air force of
the American Army have been spend
ing q few weeks in England for the
purpose OF. being made acquainted
/ by their British comrades with the
very latest developments that have
been withheld until now from pub
licity. They are most astonishing
almost of revolutionary char
acter. steel of a quite new kind.
much lighter than wood, and yet OF
exceptional strength. is taking the
place Of wood In the construction or
| the airplanes. Indeed, the new steel
airplanes that are being turned out
are shown to be 900 per cent lighter
than corresponding aircraft of the
wood heretofore employed. Natu-
rally this means that their weight
carrying power has been vastly In
creased. Little has been heard thus
/! far about the matter in the press
! In fact, there seems to be an impress
sion among the public abroad. and
! even in Great Britain. that she IS
ineglecting the development of her
military and civil aviation and allow
| ing other nationalities to outstrlp
her. Quite the contrary Is the case.
! y Is Y
Among those who have taken a
=, leading part in its development have
| been the Master Of Semphill. He re-
turned not long ago from Japan,
where, at the personal instance of
the crown prince, he had been en-
gagged in organizing and in training
| the now admirable Japanese air serv-
lice; finding it's officers wonderfully
quick to learn and ingenious in
idevising improvements. Moreover,
their absolute fearlessness and indif-
ference to death and to bodily injury,
which has been one of their most
notable characteristics in war. rem
der them peculiarly fitted for service
lin the air, where fatalities occasion
+; ally occur through the sudden ana
Understandable failure of the nerves.
The remarkable thing about the
Japanese aviators. and one of the
things which struck the Master OF
Semphill most forcibly, was their eX-
| iceptional immunity from accidents.
| Col. the Master of Semphill, although
barely thirty years of age, Is remem-
lbered in America as head of a special
technical aviation mission to the
limited States in the summer of the
Hast year of the great war. Many OF
1.-THE inventions in connection with the
newest type of all-steel airplanes OF
the British army are of his own de-
yisIng, and it is not astonishing. un-
ider the circumstances. that he should
be the moving spirit and the principal
director of the All-Steel Aircraft, Ltd.
\ He has always been interested in
mechanics and meteorology, and, on
tIeaying Eton, instead OF going to the
University he served an engineering
apprenticeship in the principal air
piane and motor works In England,
remaining there until the outbreak of
the war, when. by reason of his un-
usual knowledge Of everything re-
IIating to aircraft, he was at once
commissioned a flight commander Of
the air service at the front in France.
!; x y
To what an extent he was an adept
| in all. these branches of engrneeS ing
science is shown by the fact that IN
Hume. 1914, he had been accepted as
, the officer in charge of the me-
iteorological department, of the cleo
ttric plant. of the motorboat and OF
the two airplanes Of the antarctic
lexpedition of ]. Foster Stackhouse
(which was scheduled to sail for the
south polsr. seas in july. 1918, or