The Washington times., 1924-01-10
By REAR ADMIRAL WILLIAM
A. MOFFETT. U. 8. n,
Chief OF the Bureau OF AeFOnAutlcBD
Navy Department.
Copyright, 1924, by Cosmopolitan Il
News Servica.1

<As HA0G ~ Ne ANsS
Chief Of the Bureau Of Aeronautics,
Navy Department.
Copyright. 1924. by Cosmopolitan #
News Service.1
Supremacy in the air depends
primarily upon the ability to keep
the enemy's planes out Of the air,
and to do this it is necessary to
have an adequate number Of
fighting planes. These are fast
planes usually carrying only one
man and armed with machine
guns. The modern fighting plane,
such as carried on board ships,
has a speed of ITO miles per hour
or more and has the ability of
maneuvering developed to high
degree.
Two General Classes.
Fighting planes are of two general
classes, those fitted to land on the
ground, and those fitted to alight on
the water. Fighting planes accom-
pany the fleet either on aircraft
carriers or on board the vessels of
the fleet themselves, and are of
either class, or Of both. The fight
ing planes that accompany the fleet
have a three-fold purpose, TO pro.
tect our planes from attacks by the
enemy's fighting planes, to defend
the vessels of the fleet against at
tack by the enemy's torpedo and
bombing planes. and to force down
the enemy's scouting planes.
The value of the fighting planes
with the fleet depends upon their
being present in numbers sufficient
ly large to enable them to perform
all of these functions. Should any
one be left undone a serious handi.
cap would be present against the ef-
fectiveness of our own forces. Air
craft at sea with the fleet form as
much a part of its strepgth as the
fighting ships themselves. It is
case of mutual dependence. The
ships depend on the planes to harass
the enemy scout for the fleet, and
furnish defense against the enemy's
aircraft.
Based On Ships.
The planes, on the other hand,
are based on the ships themselves
or on aircraft carriers with the
fighting ships. The aircraft car
riers are defended from attack by
enemy surface ships by the fight.
ing vessels. The effectiveness of
the aircraft with the fleet is abso.
lutely dependent upon the control
of the air. This control of the air
is in the hands of the fighting
planes, so that while they neither
scout for the fleet under ordinary
circumstances nor attack the sur
face vessels of the enemy's forma.
tions, they form the support for all
scouting and attack by aircraft and
make 1t possible and at the same
time prevent the enemy's planes
from accomplishing their missions.
The development of fig ghti ing
planes, in the navy has been the
story of the fast planes that have
won racing honOrs for the navy in
recent years. The winner of the
Curtiss Marine Trophy, in Detroit
in October, 1922, forms the basis
for the fighting planes that are
now being assigned to the fleets.
Engines Near Perfection.
In the engines that carried the
navy planes to victory I'M the
Schneider Cup Seaplane race and
in the Pulitzer Land-plane Trophy
race, both held this year, the navy
has developed an engine that will
go far towards insuring that the
fighting planes Of the navy will
continue to be second to none. But
the development of fast types Of
planes alone will not insure the
safety of our air forces at sea If
these types are not constructed in
sufficient numbers to meet the
needs of the service.
To provide for the requisite num-
bers Of planes funds are necessary,
and these funds popular support
alone can furnish, through the ac-
tiOn of Congress-