Evening star., 1925-10-18
A|RP[ANE ATTACK
MERIT IS SHOWN
Kelly Field Group Proves Ac'
curaCy in List at Aber-
deem, Md.

| Attack aviation. about which sc
| much has been heard and 50 little
| seen. had its day in court yesterday
| afternoon at the Aberdeen, Md, prov
ing grounds, and acquitted itself sat
! iSfaCtorily.
| On transforming tour of the East
! from its base at Kelly Field, Tex, the
| Third Attack Group the only one of
| its kind numbering - airplaneS, has
| been parading about the skies with
I its numerous machine guns silent
| While adherentS of this new branch
/ of military aeronauticS have been
| preaching loudly on the ground what
| j. could do.
! With the notation Of perfect on
| its report card, the group now will
! sail back to that little aviation en-
! pire in the Southwest with another
victory added to the long string
Two Problems Given.
! Its debut in the East was held
| under modest and rather adverse cir
/ Cumstances, but the idea was put
over. Two problems were presented:
| The first was an attack on a truck
| train represented by five frames, SXSx
% feet with $50 3-foot silhouette tar
gets scattered in the immediate vi
cinity representing personnel. Second,
| attack on a company of infantry III
| column of squads represented by 700
! similar targets.
There were four flights of three
DeHavilland planes in the first prob
| lem. The leading flight employed only
machine guns, five on each plane,
while the remaining three flights car
ried 25-pound augmentation bombs,
10 to each airplane. The guns on the
first flight We're mounted on the low
er wings on either side of the fuselage
and just out Of the radius Of the pro
pellor, two to shoot through the pro-
pellor and one on a tourelle operated
from the back seat. Each gun was
allowed 200 rounds of ammunition OF
80 caliber.
Patrick i'm Audience.
Led by Maj. Gen. Mason NJ. Patrick,
chief of the Air Service, a little group
of Air Service and ordnance officers
took a position several hundred yards
from the targets and waited. With
out warming there suddenly appeared
from the left three DIS, flying low,
and about one-half mile away from
the truck train they opened fire with
their total of Is machine guns. The
volume of fire was so heavy that the
noise produced by the guns was more
of a hum than the familiar rat -tat-tat.
In an instant they had zoomed the
target and disappeared over the trees.
Following on their tails was the
bombing division of three flights and,
although in Il bumpy air. plainly Wis
ible from the spectators stand, they
discharged their bombs in a perfect
pattern. one flight after another.
And. like the first flight, they were
gone.
Returning TO the airdrome at the
Proving Grounds, known as Phillips
Field, the planes took aboard more
ammunition and prepared for problem
two. Only nine planes, or three
flights, participated in this, one OF the
bombing unit being left behind. Fly
ing scarcely over the tree tops, the
planes again descended upon the tar
gets without warning and repeated
their previous maneuyer, only this
time their fire and bombs were direct
ed against the company OF troops.
And in q flash, almost, it was over.
Bombing Accurate.
While the planes were reloading
with ammunition, a Martin bomber
circling high overhead, maneuVered
into position and dropped 6O0-pouud
bomb on a surface target 200 feet
square. indicated by panels and near
the truck train and troops. Although
handicapped by high wind, Whlch
also hindered the attack planes, the
plane dropped its sole charge from
4 600 feet and landed close enough
10 the target to convince those pres
ent that il more bombers were in the
air. better results would have been
obtained The bomb exploded with a
mild detonatfon, and dug crater
about 20 feet in diameter and 10 feet
deep.
The party later inspected the field
of operations and found fragments
from the small bombs and machine
gun bullets had landed in the majority
OF the silhouette targets. ut was a
satisfactory demonstration OF aerial
gunnery." Gen. Patrick said after the
INSPECTION. 1T shows what accuracy
can be obtained from the air If de
sired
, The enlisted men who erected the
pasteboard targets reaped the best re-
ward of the day. Here and there
scattered throughout the company of
infantry were words scrawled on the
targets such as captain" medical
officer" ..Y. NJ G. A. worker" and nu.
nlerous names. They took great de-
light in examining the wounds
these targets had received.
After the exhibition Gen. Patrick
returned to Washington by plane.
Four other craft accompanied him to
Aberdeen and back, piloted by Maj.
w. G.. kilner, executive officer of the
Air Service: Maj. NJ. +. Harmon, Air
Service. assigned to the general staff;
Mai. l.. II. Brainard, chief Marine
Corps aviation; and Lieut.. l.. J. Carr
of Kelly Field. Lieut.. Carr flew one
of the new Douglas transports with a
capacity Of six passengers plus pilot
and mechanic. He carried The Stars
representative and several officers.
The personnel participating in the
maneuver follows:
Pilots-Lieuts. F. o. Carroll. r. C.
Zettel, N u. Frost, III. G.. Crocker,
l.. f. Booth. r. T.. Partridge, J. Fl.
Davidson, II. 5. Nandenberg, /. b.
Greene and X. +. Cole and SerSts
p f. Johnson and b. r. Ertwine
Gunners-Sergts. G. w. Manning, J. c.
Laza. Harry Mooney, r. j. Simmons
A. J. Hill. John Chowanioc, r. Z. Peck
r J. Reres s. c. Ward. L. s Nc.