Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-07-13
AIR LINER CALLED
EFFICIENT BOMBER
Report to League Promises
Radical Changes in Its
Disarmament Methods.
BY REGINALD WRIGHT KAUFMAN.
BY Radio to The star and New York Tribune.
CopyriRht, 1880, New York Tribune, Inc,

BY RADIO 70 Jns Star ana new YORK tribune.
GENEVA, July 12.-The report of Col.
Gen. P. c. Groves. well known British
government aviation authority, on the
relations between civil and military avia-
ton to the League of Nations Commits
sion now meeting promises to make rad
| ical changes in the methods of air dis
armament adopted by the League.
Contrary to many previous reports,
including that Of civil aviation experts
| who met in Brussels In February, 1927,
| which was accepted by the preparatory
disarmament commission as the basis of
air disarmament, Gen. Groves finds
large transport planes easily convertible
into bombers and their personnel first
| class military airmen. He recommends
that transports be counted as second
| class bombers In computing country's
air strength, and says: Effort should
be directed to reduce the number Of
frst-claSs-that Is, military-bombers.
Lighter and smaller planes, Gen.
Groves believes, are not convertible into
even moderately At fighters, owing es-
pecially to the difference in horsepower
of the motors, which in civil planes are
| 40 to 100, while the fighters often are
500 horsepower. These planes, however,
he believes, might be used for auxiliary
work such as artillery cooperation,
aerial photography and reconnaissance.
Discusses Air Liners.
| After having flown in and examined
| many types of civil and military air.
craft. and discussing the question of
construction with other experts, Gen.
Groves says as regards air liners: The
development Of commercial aviation has
| called for q constantly increased range
l ~
carrying capacity and higher speeds.
These are precisely the requirements
aimed at in the development Of bombers
Day bombers require also high ceilings,
but present ceilings of air liners are
adequate for night bombers.
THE average air liner is q potentially
far more efficient bomber than the liner
| seven years ago. This is easily proved
by comparing the performance of liners
/ OF that period and the performance of
the great passenger carrying machines
which now fly regularly over European
and American air route systems. Can
1t be seriously denied that such ma
| chimes, for example, as the British Ar
gosies and the Handley Page air liners,
the French Farman Goliaths and Ja-
br1us, the German three or four engined
| Junker and the Rohrbach monoplanes,
and the American three-engined, all
metal Fords, to mention but few types,
! could be converted into highly efficient
night bombers? It is evident that com.
, mercial flying will call for even better
performances by the machines employed
and thus automatically improve their
military potentialS as bombers
Already we have for long-distance
work such machine as the De Havi.
land Hercules employed in the Cairo.
Bagdad Karachi service. This air.
planes top speed is 100 miles per hour,
with ceiling Of 1900 feet and endur.
| ance when fully loaded of five hours.
estimate that this machine would have
radius OF 500 miles, carrying two
| thirds OF a ton-the remainder of the
useful load being extra fuel.
Has Radius Of 1900 Miles.
"As an example of a still later type,
consider the Fairy monoplane which
! made a nonstop flight from England
to India last year. This machine was
designed by imperial contract to work
| as express mail carriers. High author
tiles have confirmed my estimate that
this bomber monoplane has a radius of
action, carrying load of one ton, Of
about 1900 miles"
Gen. Groves believes that large flying
boats are also convertible into bombers
and points to the British Calcutta type
which was especially constructed for
commercial purposes and sets q better
al-round performance than most of the
Royal Air Force flying boats. The
German giant, the Dornier "Dox"
which carries so passengers on long
distance flights and powered by twelve
S0O-horsepower motors, he holds, has
great military potentiality as carrier of
bombs or war chemicals.
Referring to the report of the COM
mlttee OF civil aviation experts which
does not recommend military features
such as gun mountingS and bomb racks
to be incorporated in the construction
OF air liners, Gen. Groves replies: THE
lack OF such provisions might entail
conversion which would take several
days instead Of several hours but 1t
would not neutralize the convertibility,
since this, as already mentioned, is in
herent in performance.
To the argument that commercial
craft docs not possess the requisite
ceiling, the reply is that the ceiling i'm
posed by geographical conditions is
ample for night bombing. Moreover,
ceiling can be raised If desired.
AS regards the protection of nom
military constructed craft, Gen. Groves
points out that clouds and darkness are
great protection and If necessary on
ng-distance flight would have the
escort OF bombers. Also simple altera-
lions would permit the installation Of
several gun rings, giving excellent fields
Of fire.
Gen. Groves urges frank recognition
Of this easy convertibility of air liners
into bombers as the only method of
underta hing diSar want