New Britain herald., 1925-02-20
Declares He Could De- scend In a Sunbeam And Not Be Seen Until Directly Over War Vessel.
Congressman O'Sullivan Gets Curious and Gen. eral Takes Him Out to Demonstrate This Type of Flying.

Washington, Feb. 20.-The bombs
 Ing which sent to the bottom the hull of the uncompleted battleship
 Washington off the Virginia Capea
 became Q subject of discussion be- fore the house aircraft committee today with Brigadier General Mitch- ell, the assistant army air service
 chief, declaring the facts about the
 tests should be made public to pre-
 vent "deluding our people that big ships can't be sunk" In large measure committee members were left to draw their own conclusions after comparing this statement with the report published yesterday by a special naval board, which described the Washington tests and said the explosion of big bombs against the hull only rocked the vessel in a degree comparable to the reaction of salvo from her own guns. The navy report also declared the battleship remained the back bone of defense, and minimized the likelihood of aircraft ever becoming 9 paramount factor in naval battle. Explosions Too Far Away The charges exploded in the water alongside the Washington, General Mitchell told the committee, were too far away to have great effect" He declined to give distance at which the charges exploded, saying It. was confidential ..s
 The general predicted that if army aviators should be given chance at the battleship North Da- kota, which is to be used in bomb ing tests during the coming summer, they would blow it out of the water" The North Dakota is the oldest of the first line ships retained under the arms treaty.
 The witness said that mo real bombs" were dropped from the air on the Washington, and that those which were released on her deck were sand loaded" This was apart from the explosion of the bombs against her sides. The Washington finally was sunk, he said, by bat tleship broadside of 17 shots from an approximate range of 2,500 yards, II of which took effect.
 No Escape at Sea
 There's no escaping of shipping on the sea from an air attack" Mitchell continued. We have to baby them over the sea. Any ship that floats in the water is absolutely at the mercy of an air attack"
 The general said the best way to bomb ship was to get right down over it' and asserted he could de- scend in Q sunbeam" and not be seen until just above the ship.
 Whats This Sunbeam?
 Representative O'Sullivah. demo- crat, Connecticut, expressed a desire to know more about the sunbeam, flying and General Mitchell offered to show him. The two then left the committee room for Boiling field to fly in a sunbeam"
 Just before he was excused the 7 r4ANl HAl lpiibCb OuL lllul lllt dTfIlN air service now can use no bombs larger than 1000 pounds while the Japanese can Use 3,G00 pound bombs. He was asked about the effects of fire, and replied that he could add nothing 10 his previous testimony in which he held such fire in utter contempt"
 w. A. Tipton of Baltimore, a newspaper man who had served in France under General Mitchell was placed on the stand at the generals suggestion and told the commfttee that fiiers paid no attention to ground fire"
 Lieutenant Commander Holbrook Gibson then testified that experi- ments of the navy have shown that lirpane carrying submarines were not practicable,