Evening star., 1932-05-08

Will NClfCIy Vi lilC lCN pidIlcS
the picture is due to change. The new
Coast Guard flying boat. which now is
undergoing flight tests at the Anacostia
Naval Air Station, is the latest word in
seagoing aviation equipment. 1t is built
for landings and take-offs from seas
rougher than any normally encoun-
tered in flying boat operations, not ex-
cluding the operation Of the Navy's big
patrol planes
The Coast Guard plane, the result of
two years Of unceasing effort, Is de-
signed. from nose to tail, for the work
of saving Of lives at sea. She Is in
tended to pick up the crews OF small
boats in distress, to rescue personnel
from disabled planes forced down at sea
and to serve as an ambulance plane,
either for the carrying Of medical aid
to ships at sea or carrying patients from
ship to shore in case of emergency.
Necessarily the plane carries the most
complete equipment for navigation and
communication it is possible to obtain.
Her radio equipment is said to be the
most complete ever built into an air
plane. She has radio direction finding
equipment and both long and short
wave radio telegraph and radio tele-
phone sending and receiving apparatus.
The planes radioman can communicate
in fight with any shore, ship or air
plane station within range Of 1000 to
5000 miles by key or 200 miles by tele-
phone. Radio communication can be
continued even after>the plane lands.
Range Is 1000 Miles.
The new ship is a twin-motored
monoplane For safety in running seas,
the wing is mounted high and the en-
oarriod ahpyo
the wing Two Wasp motors are en-
ployed and they drive pusher propellers.
The plane has range of approximately
1000 miles and carries fuel for IL hours
of flying.
A crew of four is normally carried
including two pilots, radio operator and
mechanic. One bunk is provided aboard
and litter or stretcher also Is part OF
the equipment. The planes will be sta
toned at Cape May, N. j., and Miami.
Fla, and will patrol the full length OF
the Atlantic Coast from these stations.
The increasing airplane traffic up and
down the coast makes the use of rescue
planes imperative and their use un-
doubtedly will be the means Of saving
many lives now lost in marine disasters
because of time saved in getting to the
scene OF trouble. The number Of planes
now operating up and down the Atlantic
Coast runs into thousands year, ac-
cording to Coast Guard reports, and
occasionally one of them gets into
trouble which necessitates emergency
relief work
For economy of operation, the Coast
Guard has built a "one-man hangar" /
at Miami 1t is so arranged that the
care retaker unaided, can open the hangar
doors, run the IL pound plane out
onto the beach, start and warm up the
motors in advance of the arrival of the
crew. SO the plane is ready to go when
the crew arrives.
Flight tests of the new ship are being
flown at Anacostia by a Coast Guard
trial board composed of Comdr. Hall,
Lieut.. Comdr. Stone, Lieut. Comdr. c.
c. Won Paulson and Lieut.. Luke Chris
topher Christopher is known as one
of the country's foremost test pilots
He formerly was chief test pilot for the
National Advisory Committee for Aero
nauticS and in addition to his Coast
Guard Commission, holds a majors
commission in the Army Air Corps Re-
serve.
Upon delivery of its four other flying
boats, the Coast Guard, after long striv-
ing, finally will have the equipment to
which 1t is entitled by its splendid rec
oAN Va oCANASC W AulIidIllJy dt sea-
Army-Navy Merger Opposed.
Congressional efforts to combine the
Army and Navy or to consolidate Army
and Navy aviation, either as q part of
the larger consolidation plan or as an
independent arrangement are opposed
bitterly by those In the military service.
Some Of the obstacles standing in
the way OF effective merger of Army
and Navy aviation are discussed by
the Navy in the latest issue of the
Navy Bureau Of Aeronautics news let
ter. prepard for distribution among
naval aviation personnel
The air forces of the Army and the
Navy differ from one another in their
operations, their training and their
material. almost as widely as do the
ground forces" 1t is declared 1t is
contended by naval oficials that at
points which the two air services do
have in common there Is the fullest
possible degree Of cooperation. q de-