Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-04-20
AVIATION
BY JOSEPH S. EDGERTON.

fornia do not reveal much
of what the Army Air Corp!
is doing in its "open-air labora.
tory" experiments in connection
with the Spring maneuverS, they
have indicated enough of what
is going on to convince officers OF
the service here that the fighting
Squadrons are casting tradition
pages in the history of military
aviation.
One of the most startling de-
velopments since the maneuverS
began, on April /, has been the
experimental use of the two-plac:
attack planes for pursuit pur-
poses. This is revolutionary
Since the beginning of military
aviation all pursuit planes have
been single-seaters. The naval
fighting plane, equivalent of the
Army pursuits, also has been
single-seater type since the be-
ginning.
The dispatches do not tell what
has been the result of the tests
and Air Corps officers here are
eagerly awaiting official reports
Ordinarily the attack squadrons
operate at the lowest possible alti-
tudes, taking advantage of hills
and trees as screens to cover their
approach on the enemy.
Operate at $4,000 Feet.
During the past week, however,
squadronS of the Sd Attack Group
were ordered to function as pur-
suit planes, operating at an alti-
tude of $4,000 feet, or nearly three
miles above the ground, and to
support an attack by lombard
ment planes. This is the sort of
work for which two-Seater pursuit
planes would be best fitted, since
they possess fire power not only to
the front, as does the Single-Seat-
er, but also to the rear, lack of
which is a vital weakness in the
ordinary pursuit plane.
Having fire power to the rear,
the two-Seater pursuit when at
tackled by enemy pursuit may
be able to continue its mission of
protecting bombardment or OBJ
servation planes without being
forced in Self-defenSe to break
formation and engage in dog
fig ting tactics, as must the
single scatter.
The Army Air Corps has ordered
an experimental two-seater pur-
suit plane, which now is being
constructed at the Berliner-
Joyce plant in Baltimore. The
employment of attack planes for
pursuit purposes may be regarded
as a preliminary step, under
service conditions, toward the
strengthening of the pursuit arms
of the air service, if this can be
done by the addition of pursuit
planes carrying gunner in addi-
ton to the pilot.
The Berliner Joyce expert
mental plane has reached the
''mock-up" stage-that is, a frame
work of the fuSelage has been
constructed to actual dimensions
prior to the actual construction of
the plane. On the wooden frame,
or "mock-up," as it is called tech
nically, changes may be made as
they are found necessary without
the expense of junking permanent
construction.
Ready in Three Months.
It is not believed that the plane
itself will be ready for testing for
at least three months. In the
meantime, not only the civilian
designers and engineers, but OFF,
GERS of the Army Air Corps are
lowering over the embryo plane
like mother hens over a lone chick
in a hawk-infeSted yard. The
day this plane energies from the
factory ready for flight tests
promises to be a most important
one for the Air Corps.
The Air Corps now uses two
standard types of pursuit planes
the Boeing P-12, equipped with
an air-cooled radial engine, and
the CurtisS P-1B, better known as
the Hawk" powered by a water
cooled 12-cylinder Curtiss engine.
The P-12 has been adopted for
high altitude work and remark
able results are being achieved
with this plane by pilots of the
95th Pursuit Squadron, Rockwell
Field, San Diego, now participant
ing in the California maneuverS
The PIP is equipped with a Pratt
81 Whitney Wasp" motor OF 42O
horsepower, supercharged Tor
flight at extreme attitudes. The
Pig has a cruising speed of lao
miles per hour and high speed
of 172 miles per hour, with full
military load, including guns and
ammunition, oxygen equipment
for the pilot and full fuel and oil
supply. The service ceiling with
load is 26,300 feet, but one OF
these fast little ships recently
climbed to 31,700. feet over Rock
we'll Field, an altitude of slightly
more than six miles.
The P-1B has a rated cruising
speed of 1870 miles per hour and
q high speed of 100 miles per hour
Army and Curtiss engineers have
been hard at work on a glycol-
cooled version of the D-12 engine
which will permit better stream
lining and reduction OF weight
with material increases in both
cruising and top speeds. Difficult
ties have been experienced with
the new cooling system in action
however. and the water-coolec
type still remains the standard
The chemical cooled type Will
come into use as soon as the last
of the bugs" are worked out. II
is anticipated.
Boeing Weighs Less.
The better speed of the P-12
as compared with the P-1B, is due
DELAY GLIDER CARNIVAL