Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-08-03
ARMY BOMB PLANES
: IN CRUCIAL TEST
Twin otored Craft on
"Rush Order" Flight, Lang
ley to San Diego.

II
EnipA have been enjoying the limelight.
\ has come into It's own in two epochal
+, flights which have just been under
/, taken by the Army Air Corps.
/ Nine LB-7 twin-motored bomoers
will take off at am. tomorrow on
rush order" flight from Langley Field,
Hampton. Va. to Rockville Field, San
Diego, Calf, to learn whether 1t would
he possible to concentrate a heavy bonn
bardment squadron on point across
the Nation in case OF emergency on less
tnan two days notice.
Maj Knerr in Command.
| The big planes, commanded by Maj.
Hugh J. Knerr. commandant OF the
Second Bomba rdment Group, will leave
under orders to press straight through
to the Pacific Coast without stopping
except for fuel. 1t is expected that the
flight will be completed Monday. con-
siderably under the two-day allowance.
The second flight in which the bonn
bardment plane is setting out to
establish precedents is a "ferrying'
fight of four new LBS Cyclops
bombers from the Keystone factory
at Bristol, Pa, where they were built,
to France Field. Panama Canal Zone,
where they will be stationed per-
manently. This flight represents the
! first attempt in the history of the
Army Air Corps to transport forma-
ton of planes under their own power
from a factory in this country to one
| Of the Nations territorial possessions.
The four Cyclops planes were tioWn
+. from Bristol to Langley Field Thurs
! day by four officers and four enlisted
: men, sent to this country for that pur-
[ nose from the 25th Bombardment
| squadron, stationed at France Field.
At Langley Field, four co-puots were
: picked up from the I'd lombard
= ment Group. The four planes few
T Yesterday from Langley Field to Wright
} Field. Dayton. Ohio, with brief re-
| fueling stop in this city at Boiling Field.
Following New Route.
From Wright Field the bombers will
follow a new route South through the
) United States and Latin America, which
/ is likely to become a beaten military
: highway of The air between the United
States and Panama. This route VIII
! carry the great ships to their new sta
tions by way of Scott Field. Belleville
ILL.,: Muskogee, Okla: Dallas, San An
tonia and Brownsville, Tex; Tampico
and Minatitlan, Mexico; Guatemala
City, Guatemala: Puntarenas. Costa
Rica and David. Republic of Panama
The distance from the National Capt.
tai to Brownsville, far down in the
southern tip of Texas, is l $50 miles
and from Brownsville to France Field
1900 miles, or a total distance of $3.50
i miles.
No attempt will be made to break
sneed records over the route and the
fight probably will require IS days, the
War Department announced. The trip
will be thorough cross-country test for
pilots and planes. Ferrying OF the
pianes rather than Grating and shining
!. them is expected to result m a great
saving to the Government.
The cost of Grating an LB-type plane
for shipment is from $500 to $500
and each plane requires three railroad
fiat cars for transportation to the point
Of embarkation. after which the steam
ship bills must be paid. 1t Is estimated
that the total cost of the flight to
France Field will be less than the cost
of merely Grating the planes.
IS Planes Ordered.
The LBS plane is identical with the
Older LB-7 Panther" plane except for
he motors which are 550-horsepower
Wright Cyclones. The Panther is pow
cred with Pratt 81 Whitney Wasp mo-
tors. The Army Air Corps has ordered
IS bombardment planes of this type,
half to be equipped with the Wasps and
half with the cyclones. All of the
Wasp mOtored planes have been deliv-
cred and the four Cyclone motored
planes now on the way to Panama are
the first of this type to be delivered.
The formation of four planes is
commanded by First Lieut.. Ward F.
is pilot of Plane No. in the forma-
ton. His co-pilot is Lieut.. Donald w.
Buchanan, with Technical Sergt. Arvin
B. Jewell completing the crew as crew
chief.
Plane No. 2 is piloted by Lieut..
&anest E. Harmon, with Lieut.. William
!. Coleman as co-pilot and Corp. j. F..
Bull sS crew chief. In plane No.
are Lieut.. John NJ. Davies, pilot: Lieut..
Reginald F. Vance, co-pilot, and Sergt.
Milton H. Hawkins, crew chief. Plane
No. carries Lieut.. Dwaight j. Can
field, pilot: Lieut.. William A. Matheny,
Wright. crew chief
Lieuts. Robinson, Harmon. Davies
and Garfield and the four non com
missioned officers came to this country
by Army transport to take charge of
the planes. The four co-pilots, placed
on temporary duty with the fight, will
return to Langley Field aboard an
Army transport steamer.
Three Stops for Fuel Scheduled.
The flight schedule of the transcon-
tinental planes commanded by Mai.
Knerr contemplated stops for fuel at
Belleville, ILL.,. st. Louis and Albu-
querque, with possible emergency re-
fuelings between these points depend
ing upon weather conditions. They are
to reach st. Louis by dark tomorrow
night, flying by night to Albuquerque
and completing the flight over the
desert and mountain country to San
Diego Monday
The nine bombers are to remain at
San Diego for some time and the re-
turn flight will be made In leisurely
fashion, with stops at all the military
posts en- route for tactical demonstra-
ton purposes.
Except for the emergency" char
acter of the flight West the mission
will. not be a novelty for Maj. Knerr
and his pilots of the I'd Bombard-
ment Group. Last year Maj. Knerr
led a formation of LBS bombers
from Langley Field to Mines Field,
Los Angeles. to participate in the ma
tional air races there. Approximately
week was consumed, however, in
the Westward trip on that occasion
end the return trip also was unhurried
The two missions are regarded as of
major Importance for the bombardment
forces and should do much, in the
opinion of Air Corps officers, to lift
the big bombers out of the position of
Ia tive nhSnrrrifxy int r,Iai