Evening star., 1928-12-09

ton of those had done no flying for tht
previous two years-the Army and Navy
| later could muster $4,000 pilots.
X x X X
THE war had many effects on aero
nautical development, too. Some of
them took years to manifest them
selves. but one needed only few weeks.
| HoStilitieS had no more than started
when it became fully. finally and un-
challengably evident that the airplane
was to take leading place among the
instrumentalitieS of war. That is
clearer now than it was in 1915 or In
1918. 1t is an accepted fact which
shapes the national defense policies of
the nations of the world. When rela-
tions are strained between neighbor-
ing states it is the fear of air attack,
swift ard terrible, that haunts the sleep
of premiers and war ministers.
Recognition of the indispensability of
the airplane as scout and as an aux
iliary to naval and military forces and
of its terrible potentialities as an indie
pendent weapon of attack would have
come sooner or later in any case, but it
was the war that tremendously accel-
Grated its coming.
Military men, charged with great re-
sponsibilities for national safety, are
traditionally slow to espouSe panaceas
reposing only on theoretical arguments
or on peace-time maneuvers. Until 1914
the airplane fell in that class, and prog
reSs was relatively slow, especially IN
the United States. even though 1t was
in this country that the first military
airplane was acquired and put into Serv-
ice. In 1914 military air operations
were submitted to the ordeal by flre ana
emerged triumphant.
In 1918 the aggregate direct eXpendl-
ture on American naval aviation was
less than $4,000. In 1915 this had in
creased to 81 100000. For the current
fiscal year the figure is approximately
33OO0,O0O. We have increased our
expenditures thirtyfold in a dozen
years, but the usefulness Of the result
has been augmented in an even larger
proportion, and we are getting more
for our money now than ever before.
with 600 qualified pilots in the naval
service and with up-to-date planes OF
many types for them to use.
During the current year alone 300
planes will be purchased and naval
machines will cover some 20,000,000
miles. In the period of intensive opera
tions between July l and october l of
last Summer the service planes did an
amount of flying equivalent to circum-
navigating the earth two and a half
times each day. The completion of
the program authorized by Congress
will bring naval aviation by 1882 into
a proper relation with the remainder
of the Navy.
Z The air forces of other countries are
embarked upon similar programs OF
balancing and development, and in
each case the air arm is steadily in
creasing its relative weight in the
general scheme of national defense.
\
THE growing place of aircraft in
military operations is due in part to
the steady improvement in airplane
performance-but only in part. Much
is due also to the development of ac-
cessories, making new fields of en-
ployment possible, and to the innumer-
able ideas for further use of aircraft
which have proceeded from ingenious
minds in and out Of the service and
have been given the acid test for ap-
proval or rejection by trial in war or
in recent years in maneuvers Stimulating |
war conditions.
The progress OF military and COM
mercial aviation has been affected by
the evolution of auxiliary equipment
and the introduction Of new methods