Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-05-12

- TARTLING development of
Army attack aviation to a
point where a single flight
~ of recently developed attack
planes are able to deliver against
hostile ground forces a brief
assault of terrific intensity, equal
ing the fire attack of an entire
Army division of 10000 men, with
divisional artillery, will be de-
monstrated to the American
people by the Army Air Corps
during the annual Spring ma
neuvers beginning this week in
Ohio.
This new aviation arm, accord
ing to Air Corps officers, has been
so developed that during the 90
seconds to 2 minutes required for
a single diving attack a flight of
10 attack planes, manned by SO
men under command of a second
lieutenant, can get off 1890
rounds of 80 and so caliber ma
chine gun bullets and IA Is
pound augmentation bombs.
The third attack group, COM
posed of the 9th and Goth Attack
SouadronS, which will take part
in the maneuvers, is capable of
delivering a machine gun attack
on ground troops with 70 per cent
of the machine gun strength of
an entire army, composed of
three Army Corps of three divi-
SionS each, or 270,000 men. &C
cording to the figures of Air Corps
experts.
View of Tacticians Quoted.
What such an attack, made
upon the key points of an enemy
line at the critical point Of
battle, actually would mean in
practice scarcely can be imagined,
the Air Corps tacticianS say. Not
only would the terrific hail of ma
chine gun bullets and bombs
exact their heavy toll, but the ire
mendous spectacle of formation
upon formation of planes diving
like meteorS upon an enemy line
should prove exceedingly de-
moralizing to the ground forces.
Attack aviation is a develop
ment of recent years. The germ
of the idea was born during the
World War when fighting pilots
lines would sWoop low over the
enemy trenches or columns OF
troops and fire away the re-
mainder of their ammunition.
This form of ground Straf1ng"
was just beginning to develop de-
finitely when. the war ended. The
attacks were made, however, with
pursuit and observation planes
which never were intended for
that purpose. The creation of a
type of plane intended to be used
almost exclusively for attacks
upon enemy ground elements has
come as one of the important
postwar developments.
Wartime Planes Destructive.
Though the old wartime planes
were not designed for the pur-
pose of ground strafing, they were
used at times with horrible effect.
Army Air Corps officers tell of an
attack made by a German OBJ
Servation plane upon a detach-
men of 80 American engineers
who were caught in an exposed
position. When the plane finished
its attack with two machine guns
there were only two of the 80 men
who had not been hit, according
to the story.
The attack plane is designed to
deliver an overwhelming burst OF
fire and get away before the
enemy can retaliate. The attack
is over and the planes out of
range within two minutes after
they come in sight of the hostile
ground forces, according to the
theory behind their development.
So rapidly does the aerial attack
develop and so tremendous are
its consequences upon the hap
less ground forces that before any
sort of effective return fire can
be brought to bear the planes are
away.
The Army attack plane of to-
day is high-powered, two-place
plane somewhat similar in ap-
pearance to the Army observation
plane. It carries a pilot and a
gunner. Each plane carries three
.50-cabiler- armor-piercing ma
chine guns and three .30-caliber
guns arranged in tandemS. The
pilot fires four of the guns, two
through the propeller and two
mounted in the lower wing outside
the sweep of the blades. The gun
ner has two guns on the conven-
tional type of mounting. Under its
wings the plane has racks for
eight 25-pound bombs. The planes
are fast and highly maneuver-
able. At low attitudes they pre-
sent almost impossible targets.
Attack Planes Due for Test.
The use of attack planes in
modern warfare is only one Of
the phases of modern aviation
which will be demonstrated by the
Army Air Corps in Ohio during
the next two weeks. For the first
time ground forces will cooperate
with the air forces, which are to
be divided into equal opposing
armies. Conditions approximate
ing those found in actual war
fare will obtain.
The Air Corps will concentrate
It's fighting forces from various
parts of the country, as follows:
Langley Field, Va, I'd Bombard-
ment Group, composed of the
goth, 49th and Goth Bombard-
ment SquadronS; Rockwell Field,
Calf, 95th Pursuit Squadron and
18th Bombardment Squadron;
Mitchell Field, N. Y; the 9Th OBJ
servation Group, composed of
group headquarters and the 1st
and 5th Observation Squadrons;
Selfridge Field, Mich, the 1st
Pursuit Group and the 18th OBJ
Servation Squadron; Fort Crock
EFT, KanS., the Sd Attack Group,