Evening star., 1927-06-01
TO GET
HUGE AIR ESCORT
Tentative Plans Made for
Planes to Meet Flyer so
Miles at Sea.

An escort of nearly two score mill.
tary planes, the largest body Of air.
craft that ever accompanied a distin-
guished visitor to the National Capt.
tai, and beginning at a point about
,50 miles out to sea, where the cruiser
Memphis will be picked up and con-
voyed to Washington, are among the
plans being discussed today by Army
and Navy airmen here for the recep-
ton Of Capt. Charles A. Lindbergh.
While neither service has been call.
ed upon as yet by the committee OF
four cabinet officers for part in the
national reception, the airmen went
ahead with their own plans in order
to have them available for official ap.
proval at moments notice. The two
military services, however, have not
vet co-ordinated their activities, and
until they are brought together. Ill
plans now being made must be con-
sidered as tentative.
Planes to Greet Cruiser.
When the Memphis, bearing its
noted passenger, approaches the At.
lantic coast at point about SO miles
from shore, it would be met by nine
Navy torpedo, bombing and scouting
planes, whose pilots would fly about
the ship until it. reached Chesapeake
Bay. Then more than u score OF
Army pursuit, bombardment and Oh.
servation planes, based at Langley
Field, Hampton, Va, would pick up
the Memphis and fly up the Potomac
River toward the Capital.
Other seaplanes, both large and
small, from the Naval Air Station at
Hampton Roads, Va, also would join
in the aerial escort and as the cruiser
nears Washington, at point probably
opposite Mount Vernon, Army and
Navy planes, here augmented by the
Marine Corps pursuit group at Guam
tico, would fly out to bring the air.
man home.
AS the exploit of Capt. Lindbergh
was aviation in character from Begin
ming to end, the airmen here today in.
dividually expressed the hope that the
preponderance Of the welcoming ex-
ercises likewise would be aeronautical
| in character.
AS the brunt of the aerial escort
would be borne by the planes from
| the Virginia bases, the way would be
! open for the majority of Army, Navy
| and Marine Corps airmen here to be
lined up at the navy yard dock in
7 uniform and with glistening wings on
| their breasts.
Hailed as Zone of U.s."
''He is one of u.s." said one Army
airman today, land we all know him.
1t would make us happy to be able to
| put forth everything at our command
! to show our appreciation for Lind.
bergh's wonderful flight" At the
same time, however, the airmen did
not lose sight of the fact that the wei.
coming ceremonies are being planned
in the name of the United States and
that everybody is entitled to an op'
! portunity to uncork their enthusiasm
over the exploit, which has been bot
tied up awaiting the return Of the
noted airman.
Serious consideration was being
given the problem of having planes
above the cruiser the entire distance
and this gave rise to the belief that
the escort probably would have to be
split, the Army planes conveying the
ship part of the distance and the
Navy planes the remainder. This i:
made necessary by the fact that g
speed range of from 60 to 80 miles
an hour separates the planes and the
cruiser, and the cruising range of the
planes, averaging about six hours on
one charge of fuel. would hardly be
sufficient to provide for a NONSTOP
escort from the Virginia capes tc
| Washington.
1t therefore was thought by some
: airmen that either service could begir
the escort and continue on duty, flying
: wide circles above the comparatively
slow-moving cruiser until enough fue
remains to get them back to the Nor
: folk base or Washington, and tina
the other branch could pick up where
the first left off.
Time Another Factor.
The question of daylight and dark
ness also enters into tentative plan
for the escort, it being pointed ou
: that if the journey UP the river j.
made at night the number of planes
in the air would. for safetys sake
! Continued on Page ., Column s.