The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1928-06-07
CHAPTER XVI.

The tow targets are by far thu
most difficult of the three varieties
and require skillful maneuverins
and excellent Workmanship. The!
consist of a cloth sleeve similar tt
a wind sock, which is towed a few
hundred feet behind a De Havi
land flying at sixty or sixty-five
miles an hour.
When the forward Browning
guns were used, the attacking ship
approached the tow target head-on
firing one or two short bursts as
it passed. In this way there was
no danger of the occupants of the
towing plane being struck by a
wild shot. The De Havilands We're
much too large to use the forward
guns effectively on a tow target.
ANY accurate shooting required the
quick maneuverability of a pur-
suit ship.
The Lewis guns We're used while
flying parallel with the target and
were very effective. When we
were close enough we could often
see the tracers pass directly
through the cloth sleeve.
After returning from Ellington
Field we were given few hours
in each of the various types of
service airplanes. The M. B.-3 and
the S. Els scouts; the Martin
Bombers with their twin Liberty
engines; the T. VS. two-place
transition planes, and the little
Sperry messengers. In this way we
obtained experience in eac h
branch: pursuit, attack, observa-
ton and bombardment. Later we
were given our choice of which
we desired to specialize in. If our
wishes correspondent with the judg-
ment of the instructors, we were
assigned to that branch.
Together with three other cadets
and four student officers, / was
sent to the pursuit stage, where
we spent the few remaining weeks
of our course, plotting the S. E.-5
and the M. B.-3 single seaters.
Pursuit combines little of every
branch of the air corps. In ad-
dition to formation combat, dog
fighting, and ground straffing, the
pursuit pilot is often called upon
to make observations and do light
bombing.
A great deal of our time was
devoted to formation flying. Air
combat of the future will probably
often be between large formations
rather than individual pilots, and
it is accordingly of utmost import
ance for the pursuit pilot to hold
his place in formation instinctively,
so that his entire attention can be
devoted to the enemy rather than
to his own formation.
We often Unanswered our
flights while the individual planes
were less than ten feet apart and
it was not unusual to dive vertical
ly for several thousand feet in a
fairly close formation.
I'VE learned the use of Lufbery
circles, cross over turns, and other
formation tactics. Our formations
were often tight, 1t is true, but
strange as it may seem, very few
accidents occur from too close fly
ing. "A pilot is constantly alert
when his plane is only a short
distance from the one in front
and nothing is allowed to distract
his attention. On the other hand,
when there is quite some distance
separating them he is often more
engrossed in lighting a cigarette
or watching some object on the
ground than in his own formation.
In pursuit flying we came to
. have great confidence in our para
chutes. The planes we were flying
were kept in excellent condition
and none ever failed, notwithstand-
ing the fact that we placed them
under every conceivable strain
imaginable. But the knowledge
that we did not have to concern
ourselves about whether they did
fall apart or not was an inyalu-