Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-03-16

roar OF $50 f1ghtlng planes OF the
Army Air Corps next month ir
what promises to be one Of the
most fruitful concentrations Of
Army aircraft in peace times.
Sacramento Valley and some
10000 square miles Of Northern
California, between San Francisco
and Placerville, will become q
mammoth open-air laboratory, in
which the Air Corps and Army
field commands will work out the
latest problems of aerial warfare
The maneuverS will prove q
crucial test of the aerial defenses
of the Nation. For the first time
there is to be an actual demon
Stration of the effectiveness OF
Army aircraft, unsupported, in
protecting the United States sea
coast against enemy naval attack.
The close of the month should
find the country with a clearer
picture of what it may expect
from Army aviation as an Often
sive and defensive weapon.
The value of maneuverS OF this
type for disclosing weakness in
operations methods, training and
material is too we'll known to re-
ouire any elaboration. The Ohio
maneuvers of the Air Corps and
ground forces last year proved Of
great value to the Air Corps and
the Army as a whole. The les
sons of the California maneuverS
may. in some respects, prove even
more valuable, since much new
ground is to be covered.
Proved New Craft Needed.
Last years maneuvers demon
strated the necessity for two revo-
lutionary new types of air craft,
which now are being produced.
New types of aerial bombs were
found desirable, and this need is
being met. Changes in aerial bat
tie tactics, demanded in part be-
cause of the development of at
tack aviation, have been studied
and some of the suggested rene
dies for tactical ailments will be
put to the test next month in
California.
The California maneuverS are
to go beyond the needs Of mill
tary aviation alone. Some of the
problems which must be solved
by commercial aviation during the
next few years will be tackled by
the gentlemen of the Air Corps
at Sacramento.
Traffic control at large airpOrts
now is becoming necessary. It
will become one of the major
problems of airport managers in
the near future. The Air Corps
is planning to operate $50 planes
from a single field. The traf11c-
control system which must be
worked out to handle the pres
sure of military departures and
landings should be very interest
ing to the operators of CONNER
cial and municipal airportS, who
are beginning to worry about
keeping incoming and outgoing
airplaneS unScrambled.
The atmosphere over California
positively is going to become
fuzzy with radio messages between
squadron leaders and ground sta
lions, squadron and squadron and
individual planes Of the squad
rons. Commercial aviation radio
engineers who think they have
troubles should receive many
crumbs Of comfort from the Army
Air Corps.
Plan Provisional Wing.
The SQuadrons which will carry
the turmoil of modern aerial war
fare to California will be organ
lied into a provisional wing, un-
der command of Brig. Gen. Will
liam e. Gilmore, assistant chief
Of the Army Air Corps, whose
staff will be composed of Air
Corps officers from the National
Capital.
The exodus of staff officers from
this city began during the past
week, when Maj. Willis Hale, who
will have charge of operations &C
tivitieS, and Lieut.. Guy KirkSey
took Off from Boiling Field, west
ward bound. Capt. Harold Nc
Clellan left Washington by rail to
pick up a plane waiting for him
at Wright Field, Dayton, Ohio,
from where he will fly to the West
Coast. With Mai. Hale is Hans j.
AdamSon, secretary to F. Trubee
Dawson, Assistant Secretary of
War for AeronauticS.
Gen. Gilmore and Lieut.. Col.
Frank Andrews, chief OF Staff Of
the provisional wing, will leave for
Sacramento next Saturday. Other
staff officers of the wing are
Maj. M. F. Davis, personnel; Mai.
TFHAVa0ac AH7llfVan and tnVrfC
Guy KirkSey and Roland Birnn,
intelligence; Maj. Hale and CaptS.
Mcclellan and Frank Old. Hunter,
operations, and Maj. H. H. Arnold
and Capt Elmer Adler, supply.
In addition to its internal prob
lens, the wing is going to have
many natural obstacles to over
come. The imaginary battlefield
over which it will operate covers
more than 10000 square miles OF
forest, farm land, mountains and
coast line. The fighting will be
carried above any limits hitherto
possible. Pursuit planes of the
95th Pursuit Squadron, Rockwell
Field, Calf, equipped for high
attitudes and manned by pilots
who have been operating at alti-
tudeS of five miles above the earth
in training, will take part for the
first time in major maneuver in
operations at extreme altitude
ranges.
These pursuit pilots, encounter
ing winds in excess of 100 miles
per hour and temperatures of Is
and 80 degrees below zero, rely
ing upon oxygen tanks for every