Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-05-26
DOOM Of INFANTRY
SEEN IN AIR RAIDS
Fighting Planes Riddle Tar
gets With Bullets and
Bombs i'm Demonstration.
BY y. 8. EDGERTON.

BY j. 8. EDGERTON,
STAT Correspondent Of The Star.
FAIRFIELD ARR DEPOT. Fairfield,
Ohio, May 25.-f the lot Of the IN
fantryman was hard during the last
war It will be horrible during the next
Terrific aerial attacks before which
ground troops wgaId be almost help
less. developing too rapidly for defense
or retaliation. will be the rule.
The tactics Of the aerial fighting
forces were demonstrated with graphic
and awe-inspirtng realism here this aft
ernoon, when go roaring, diving fighting
planes, splitting streams Of bullets and
loosing showers OF augmentation bombs
attacked a group Of more than 1890
lifesize targets, representing an Army
supply train and It's troop convoy and
wiped out the column.
More than $4,000 spectators watched
from grassy knobs forming an amphi-
theater along the south side Of the huge
flying field here as the attack forma-
tons swept down out Of the sky bath
ing the targets in a fiery food of Shrek
ing steel and smoke.
Deadly War Machines.
The demonstration revealed the new
ly developed Army attack plane q one
of the deadliest war machines eveS de-
vtsed. Flying In formations at extren7e-
~ low attitudes and at great speed, ti1eSe
planes swoop down ON their targets with
not more than few seconds warning.
splitting bullets ana bombs in an over
wheln1ing storm and m less than nIir1-
ute have passed beyond rsags.
The din Of the attack is frtgfrtfuly the
howl Of the propellers and motors vytng
with the hard chatter Of the machine
guns and the DUH roar Of the 25-pn1nd
bombs. The effect Of such an attack,
air Corps officers believe. would be over
wf1elming and one or two SUCH expert
ences would sitatter the morale OF the
ssoutest troops.
Although 90 planes participates in
the afternoons demonstration, only a
actually employed live ammunition IN
the attack upon the ground targetS.. the
others being used to lay smoke screens
or to ward of attacks from enemy air.
craft.
Attack Overwhelming.
Thorough examination of the targets
could not be made last night for fear OF
beIated explosions Of "dlld' bombs.
Preliminary examination by ordinance
officers, however, revealed that the at
tack had been overwhelming franI the
point Of view Of the ground targets.
one Of the IL wooden canvas tar-
gets representing Army transport trucks
m the column was wiped OUT by di-
I~sA 81 fTer ~
was torn and riddled by the flying frag-
ments and machine gun bullets. OF
the 1000 man-sized targets, represent
ing the infantry guard, an overwhelm-
illaly large proportion had been struck,
some many times, the preliminary ex-
animation revealed.
Fifteen twin-motored bombsrdment
planes, carrying practice bomtss OF small
calibre, representing the 100-pounderS
which normally would be used for such
an attack, Bombed a 50Lfoot canvas
dump.
Target "Bracketed."
The target was ''hracReted' on the
first fight of bombs, few falling short.
and the others just over the Target IN
term" The 10a-pouafd bonnbs haVe a.
normal scatter over q 1,20G-foot circle
and the majority ct Hits were within
this radius, which meant complete de-
struction Of the dump.
Thousands Of automobiles bearing
Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky and Illinois
Fiaeenses, with . scattering OF other
raas fron1 half the States in the country,
were TANNED into an available parking
places long before the attack began ac
3 o'clock
The demonstration actually opened
when IS giant bombarclne11t planes OF
the Id Bomba rdinent Grnaip. langley
Field, va, took or in formation 2t
2 80 o'clock. climbing rapidly to an
altitude OF one mile, where they con-
centrared in close formation. They
were followed five minutes later by the
s5th Pursuit. Gsroup from Rockwell
Field, Calf, which was Joined at an
Attitude of 1900 feet & FER FAIRFIELD by
The LIST Pursuit cz'o;pr. Of SeiffddE
Field. Mich, which has bysn based at
Norton Field, Columbus. during the.
Ohio raneuvers. The 81 pursuit planes
Of the combined forces circles mile
and a half slsove the field during the
attack. to demonstrate the aerial pro-
lection against enemy pursuit planes.
= At 1;45 three attack plates or the
shfrd attack group Fort Crockett Tex,
equipped with smoke screen apparatus,
took of. followed immediately by ~
attack planes In nine S1ship formations
TARGETS Scattered '''"--- RoaSE
The targets ressr- he troor1,
convoy were sesSr-r luSO = actual
,roops would scatCer along the -idef. or
The road upon the arpruactI Of attack
ing planes.
The frst attack was launched from
D I1eigfIt Of 500 feet by tf1s 81 attack
olanes. corning in at Speed OF 10
miles per hour with the four forward
runs In each plane squirting bullets at
/ rate of 1890 rounds per r1irIute. AT
zoo feet the planes lereled or and
cropped ten s5-pound augmentation
bombs each. In 10 seconds the attack !
vas over and the planes had cleared
sway During that brief period IS, GOO
ounds of machine gun ammunition and
nearly 1000 pounds OF ammunition had
been hurled into the targets.
The bombardrmeut planes flying a |
nile overhead then dropped their saivo
If bombs and as they passed on over
he three smoke screen planes laid a
tense cloud Of thick white smoke over |
he shattered targets.
During the attack the demonstration |
planes were commanded by Mas. john
5. Jouett. the bombarriment planes by
N0J- anu tiAC RuSShAN PtdAtt~N
oy Mai. Ralph Royce and Capt, P. NJ. |
Resume Mimic War.
At dawn tomorrow the mimic war be- |
tween the FIRST Red army, defending |
Columbus, and the first Blue army, az
,acking from the west, will be resumed
along . theoretical front Of 400 miles
rom Lake Erie to the Ohio River. The
actual attack Is to be made along IT,
nile front by skeleton forces represent |
ng opposing armies totaling nearly /
600, 600 men. supported by actual air |
orrns fnfS1ina more than 1nN pIaTes