Evening star., 1925-03-07

across unattached, Capt. Duncan. in
accordance with instructions, flew
across the machine gun batteries at a
lower altitude and eight .30-caliber
Browning machine guns attacked the
target. The single hit found by in
spectors when the target was examined
proved to be that of .30-caliber bull
let, though .50-caliber machine guns
joined in the attack after 1t had got
ten under way.
The shrapnel attacks on the targets
were from two anti-aircraft 3-inch
guns, manned by men of the 61st
Anti-Aircraft Battalion. In all, they
fired 80 times at the sleeve. In each
bomber was a Coast Artillery officer,
who plotted the bursts, and they re-
ported on landing that 3 of the
SO shots were estimated hits''-that
is, they were close enough to have
their scattering bursts strike a plane.
In the evening, after most of the
official party had returned to Wash
ington, anti-aircraft illumination de-
vices failed to pick up any of the
aircraft flying in the darkness over
head until the machines had revealed
their positions by dropping parachute
flares.
The problem behind this maneuver
reached the position they desired to
bomb they were to drop their flares.
Five powerful searchlights were
switched on the planes, but they
were unable to find the aircraft, as
they flew at attitudes of about 1000
feet.
During the gunnery tests a Curtiss
| Jenny airplane, piloted by Lieut..
William J. McKiernan, jr., released a
q rl1s ~, a.
have been shot at from the ground.
| The wind, however, took the glider
off to sea and observers never saw it,
not even learning it had been swept
away until they had waited half an
hour for a plane to deliver it as a
| target.
The demonstration yesterday was
an outgrowth of a controversy that
developed before the House aircraft
! investigating committee, which heard
! testimony of utter contempt" held by
war pilots for anti-afrcraft fire. The
statement also was made by a war
pilot that he would defy" a search
| light to hold a plane in it's beam
| for a fraction of a second" Refutation
| of this testimony, which was from
many war pilots, was offered by Capt.
| Aaron Bradshaw, jr., of the office of
chief of Coast Artillery, who told the
| committee That Tor every bUo anu
aircraft shots fired during the war a
plane was brought down. The COM
mittee had about made up its mind
| that anti-aircraft fire was of little
value in warding off an enemy plane
attack when the War Department in
| yited it to see for itself. All the
mem bers could not attend yesterday
| but Representative Patrick B. OSulli-
| van of Connecticut was designated to
| represent the committee.
Pitiful, Says Mitchell.
| Brig Gen. William Mitchell, as
sistant chief of the Air Service. wit
messed the demonstration from the
batteries yesterday, and declared the
exhibition was ''pitiful." To properly
| organize an attack against enemy
| aircraft, he said, there must be listen
ing posts and pursuit aviation
These people don't know anything
about it. That's why 1t should be
under one organized head. ANY
plane could get through battery
| like that" The general had testified
| before the House aircraft committed
4 that only one in $4,000 nti-aircraf
shots during the war were effective