Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-09-04
HUMP Tales From the Caterpillar Club
Nc. Hunter, the silent
Officer Who Shot Down
Eight German Planes Is
Second Degree Member.
Both Parachute Leaps Were
Made From Curtiss P-1
Pursuit Planes.
BY DON GLASsMAN.


He is captain in the Tactical Units
Section, Training and War Plans Divi-
sion, Army Air Corps, Washington, and
holds as much power there as any one
can WELD in that position.
That we know so little about him is
no ones fault but his. Frank CD.
Hunter is the Army's official yardstick
Tor taciturnity. An officer may be cCil-
Sidered reserved but never so congeni-
tally opposed to palaver as Hunter.
One Gay besought him to talk about
himself He flashed soft eyes at this
surreptitious command, understanding
fully what I wanted to know, but re-
garding me indifferently.
Then his reticence dissolved, for he
pulled steadily through an ivory cigar
cite holder and overhauled his memory.
To describe him merely as man Of
verve Is insufficient. He is body of
plastic energy. He stands about feet
and Is massively designed. His COM
plexion Is burnt lumber, and his head
surmounts square shoulders. He m
merits such wealthy mixture Of hloods
that 1t is difhcult to judge the dominant.
From Wall Street to War.
Even out of uniform he retains the
bearing of a soldier and airman. He
seems to chafe under the weight Of CT
villain clothing. His face shows battle
scars. This is not a man to surround
with Office desks.
Twice a Caterpillar, but that is not all
there is to Capt. Hunter. He is one OF
the few World War aces left In the Air
Corps. Eight German planes plunged
to dust on meeting him in aerial battle,
and he engaged, besides, many other
FokkerS.
Before the war, Hunter clerked in
Wall Street. He enlisted in the Avia-
ton Section of the Signal Corps and re-
ceived training at Chanute Field, Rsn-
told, Ill. In September, 1917, he was
commissioned first lieutenant and sent
to France. Overseas, he resumed train
ing at the Sd Aviation Instruction Gen.
ter and was assigned to the 1880 Aero
Squadron. In ore month his superiors
designated him deputy flight COM
mander. He developed into an air duel
ist and an exemplary leader, serving
seven months with pursuit unit at the
front.
His Distinguished Service Cross with
four oak leaves commends him for Tex
traordtnary bravery in action at YpreS,
Belgium, on June %, 1918" On patrol
he executed lone attack on two BIZ
planes, destroying one and forcing the
other into retirement. In the course Of
fighting, he was wounded In the fore
head. Despite injuries, he new his dam
aged ship back to the airdrome.
Fokker Fighting.
Again, near Champeny, France, on
September Is, Lieut.. Hunter and an
other monoplane ship attacked an en-
envy patrol of six ships. In a decisive
combat, he destroyed one plane, and
with the aid of his companion forced
the others behind their own lines"
For heroism in action near Verneville,
France, September II, 1918: Leading a
patrol Of three ships, Hunter drove
against eight Fokkers, and himself ac-
counted for two out OF four enemy
wrecks.
His next engagement was at Ligny-
Devant-Dun. Separated from his pa
troll, he noticed BrequetS hard pressed
by 10 Fokkers:em Hunter attacked two
ships and in hard dog-fighting van
qufshed one. Meanwhile, five additional
Fokkers dashed from q cloud bank and
blazed broadSide. Needless of su.
periority, he won an offensive position
and crushed second Fokker.
Later, at Bantheville, Hunter met q
German patrol Of six monoplane ships
He initiated the attack, destroying one
HuntGE received an honorable dis
charge @soon after his return to the
United States, but military life in
trigued him and he re-enliSted In the
Air Corps. After attending the Army
Observation School at Fort Sill he wdS
transferred to the LIST Pursuit Group.
In 1928, while returning from q dy-
ing carnival at Mitchell Field, N. Y, he
was enveloped by pea-soup fog and
dense snowstorm. Skirting banked
clouds over the Allegheny Mountains,
mi 1oxa
He tried to effect a 90-degree turn and
find berth in a small clearing. The
ship lunged into a deadly pirouette.
In the crash he wrenched his back.
Happily his injuries were slight and
after brief convalescence he returned
to Selfridge, port of the LIST Pursuit
Group, the Army's flying Cavalry.
An Experimental Job.
Now inquire into his Caterpillar rec
Early in 1926 the Air Corps tested
swift single-seaters, with the intention
Of choosing a standard pursuit ship.
The Curtiss P-l was thrown on the
market for the Army's consideration.
Pilots with tactical school training were
assigned to fly the plane and report on
its airworthiness Lieut.. Hunter was
ordered to Dayton for these expert
meQJS.
The P-1 is a most agile aircraft.
Added to hexibility, she flies 100 to ITO
miles per hour, fast enough to chase
and harass swift attack planes. A
knife-like propeller generates a torren-
tial slipstream. Her wing spread is
fairly small.
You see," Capt. Hunter remarked,
she was an experimental Job.
I'D been flying pursuits more than
f1ve years, but suspected this one as
much as any other experimental
article.
We'll, the first day I took her up
March 19-she behaved well. didn't
fly through any rough stuff-just sailed
easily.
Next day the weather was fine and
clear. hoped Of McCook Field
about IL O'Clock and circled the airport.
Then flew of little way to run her