New Britain herald., 1925-10-01
Pleads for Creation Of AutonO. nous Air Service, Raking
 Present Program
SWIVEL CHAIR COMMANDERS COME UNDER HEAVY ATTACK
Senior Officers Should Be Leaders and Not Less Intelligent Than Juniors, He Declares--Personncl In Service Discouraged Because Progress Is Not Being Made, He Tells Sen. Bingham.
BY GEORGE II. MANNING

Dl SLSIIlJ hhNNl4NS Washington Bureau of x. R. Hernld.)
 Washington. D. C.. Oct. There is no naval air service. The United States navy would find itself at the mercy of almost any other country's naval aircraft. Administration and training of personnel now used by the navy cannot remedy this sltua- tion.
 A Connecticut naval officer--a real flyer-Lleutenant Commander Harold Bartlett of Lyme, made these statements today before the Presi- dents special aircraft Investigating l board.
 Opposing Colonel William Nit chell's plan of air force separate from army and navy, Commander Bartlett strongly urged the creation of an autonomous naval air service similar in organization to the Marine Corps.
 Commander Bartlett is one of the navy's few real officers-aviators. He was born in Lyme, Conn.,, in 1887, graduated from Annapolis in 1911, served two and a half years on the r. s. s. "Connecticut," then flagship of the Atlantic fleet, and saw a years gunboat service. He first flew in 1912 at Bleriot, France, when a member of the Y. s. Rifle team at the Olympic Games in Stockholm.
 In 1914 he began his naval air duty, and both studied and instruct cd at the training schools at Marble head, Mass, and Pensacola, FL. In August, 1917. he was sent overseas and flew with the British army and navy patrol air squadrons and at tended the French air gunnery school.
 Commander Bartlett was head ol the T.. s. Advanced Naval Air Schoo at Moutchln. France, in 1918, anc later saw active service attached tt British squadrons bombing Ger man submarine bases at Ostcnd.
 Now At Newport War College
 Since tho war, Commander Bart lett spent year in the aviation planning division of the navy de partmcnt at Washington, command ed the aviation ordinance school a Pensacola. commanded the Atlantl fleets bombing squadron, was heat of the senior air fleet for three year and is now stationed at the Maya War College at Newport, R. l.
 Eleven years of flying and varie' experience with all activities of tn navy gave authority 10 Commando ' Bartlett's statements before the In = vestigatirg committee.
 f Ut is fundamentally importan | that aviation be retained as on in 7 tcgral part of the naNY.' declare . Commander Bartlett. "Thc succes
 of both Is primarily a question ( Il intimate and harmonious relation .- separate air force that leaves in 'l navy department dependent to u large extent on cooperation is UT ' sound"
 "You have heard the term 'navi
 air scrvicc.' There Is no naval a
 scrvicc," Commander Bartlett sal 'S 'In the different countries, avi' y tion started as small stepchild ~ armics and ndvics and early over, ,, where except in our navy 1t hi ,a been formed into a service or in q separate air force," he continue
 with personnel specializing for III
 Even our enlisted men sp"ctal17
 The navy has pilots and mechani n and planes and air stations, burej m of aeronautics, etc. hut no one agen .is responsible for naval aviation. c m army has an air service; our ma or has none"
 of Commander Bartlett attacked [
 point of view of non-fying naval (
 hcers toward aviation.
 Puts Blame On System - T believe our na' al officers a cd conscientious, skillful, hardworki Id and efficicnt--second to none-a tn we have had some of the best ce
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