Evening star., 1933-03-28
NEW WAR PLANES
TO Join IN TRIALS
Sensational Fighting Craft
to Be Used in Combat
ManeuVerS.

Some of the most sensational new
fighting planes the world has seen will
be involved in field combat trials or
dered yesterday by the War Depart
ment to be held at Camp Knox. KY,
May 1927 to assist in the determina-
tion of future policies and training
programs necessary to meet the require
mentS of recent advances in military
aviation and anti-aircraft weapons.
The Air Corps will employ total
of about l13 airplanes in the exercises,
including % bombardment, 18 attack,
81 observation, As pursuit and trans
port. calling upon fields from Virginia to
California and from Texas to Michigan
to furnish the cream of the Nations
fighting ar force.
Defense to Be Improved.
The purposes Of the exercises will be
to develop the tactics and technique Of
anti-aircraft artillery defense against
aerial attack, with and without the CO.
operation of pursuit aviation; to inves-
tigate the use of distant intelligence
net in cooperation with Air Corps
units assigned to defense mission; to
test and develop tactics technique and
equipment of the Air Corps. and to test
and develop tactics and technique of
the use of smoke in the attack on
ground forces and targets by aircraft.
In addition to the great air force in
volved. the War Department will en-
ploy in these exercises three anti-air-
craft Coast Artillery regiments from
New York, Illinois and Alabama, sig
nal company, troops of the 5th Corps
Area and Reserve aviation units. All
Reserve officers from all parts Of the
United States have been invited to
witness the exercises, though they will
be required to pay their own expenses.
Maj. Gen. George Van Horn MoSeley,
commanding the 5th Corps Area, has
been placed in charge of the exercises.
For the purposes of the exercises the
air and ground combat forces involved
will be divided into two opposing forces,
one composed of attacking aviation
under command of Brig. Gen. Henry
c. Pratt, assistant chief Of the Army
Air Corps. and the other, under COM
mand of Brig. Gen. Julian r. Lindsey.
Fort Knox. composed of defending
aviation, the anti-aircraft forces, and
other ground troops.
Meeting Set April 5.
The first force is to assemble April
at Patterson Field, Ohio, for training,
and the other about April "a at Fort
Knox.
The exercises are to bring into play
all the modern weapons of aerial Of
fense ard anti-aircraft defense, includ-
ing the chemical warfare service. A
radio. telephone and telegraph intelli-
gence net extending from Louisville to
Cincinnati and spreading for many
miles north and south of the Ohio
River will be established as part of the
anti-aircraft defenses and will presage
the use which must be made of the
communications facilities of the Nation
in time Of war
The exercises are to be conducted in
the regular training time of the troops
involved and On regularly allotted funds,
it was explained. The results are ex-
pected to be of great Importance to
the chiefs CT all branches of the Army
and may have far-reaching conse-
queces in the future development of air
and ground equipment and training.
the War Department explained. They
will be among the greatest joint air and
ground combat exercises in world avia-
tion peace-tima history.