Evening star., 1934-03-04
AIRMAIL FUROR REVIVES
SEPARATEAIR
Discomfort With War Departments De-
velopment of Army Air Corps
Widespread in Congress.

ments Of airplane engines, such as
the British olls-Royce. the French
Hispano-Suiza and the Italian Fiat.
Pursuit Planes Inferior.
Mr.. Collins has collected figures
which convince him that our pursuit
planes, for instance, are usually at
least two years behind their foreign
counterparts in capacity for speed.
The British pursuit plane called the
Hawker Fury" can do 238 miles an
hour. The corresponding French
type can do 215. The corresponding
American type can do 1s5.
Such figures are surprising in view
of the fact that the British candidly
admit that our commercial planes are
faster than theirs Why then should
our military planes be slower than
theirs? If the British do not exceed
us in the air speed for commercial
travel, why should they exceed us in
air speed for fighting?
Mr.. Collins, like numerous other
members of Congress, is convinced
that the reason is to be found in
faulty organization within the admin
istrative branch Of the Government.
He maintains that this organization
prevents the Army Air Corps from
taking experimental chances. For ex-
ample:
The Army Air Corps now has an
amphibian plane, for sea service, with
a cruising radius of 600 miles. 1t
projected a new amphibian plane with
cruising radius of 1000 miles. The
War Department supreme authorities
intervened and prevented the con-
summation of the project.
Action Brings Clash.
It is surely to be admitted that the
Army in its operations might some
day encounter some water somewhere
and that this water might be exten-
sive and that the Navy might not be
Immediately at hand. Nevertheless
the perpetual colloquy between the
Army Air Corps and the Army in this
matter might be paraphrased to read:
Mother, may fly out to sea?"
Yes, my darling daughter.
But keep your eye on the land and me,
And hurry away from the water"
The truth would seem to be that
the general staff is well within its
rights in wanting an air force CO.
operating directly with the strategy
and tactics of our land forces; but
the truth would also seem to be that
the country could well allow our gen.
uine military air enthusiasts to try to
conduct some experimentation of
their own toward airplane capacities
and airplane uses beyond the needs OF
our land forces and beyond the SYM
pathies of our general staff.
Certain it is that the separate air
forces" of Britain and France and
Italy are admirably audacious and
progressive in airplane technique. The
Royal Air Force of Britain last year
adopted a new type of Hawker pursuit
plane 1t was not content with the
Hawker Fury" 1t developed the
Hawker ''Super-Fury." This Super
Fury" which is a one-seat fighter, has
officially recorded flying speed of
$50 miles an hour. 1t is regarded by
international timing authorities as
"the fastest military airplane in the
world"
Mr.. Collins contends that the Euro
peans are equally ahead Of us in the
matter of heavy-duty military air
planes with high horsepower. The in
formation reaching him is to the ef-
feet that France, for instance, is al
ready operating type of military air
plane with an Hispano-Suiza engine of
more than 1000 horsepower.
Air Corps Lacks Engine.
Our Army Air Corps meanwhile is
expecting to get an engine equally
powerful, but has not yet got it. Mr.
Collins maintains that in military air
plane technique there is nowadays al
most always this sort Of lag between
the best European performance and
the subsequent American success in
coming abreast of it. He attributes
our lack Of leadership in this matter
nowadays not to our air officers, but
to their immersion in departments not
primarily concerned with the air.
He remarks that the War Depart
ment, in its suggestions for appropria-
tions for the next fiscal year, 1885, did
not this Winter include any appro-
priation whatsoever for the formerly
established post Of Assistant Secre-
tary of War for Air" The War De-
partment seemed to be willing to let
that post disappear. Mr.. Collins is
determined that it shall not disappear
He is also determined-this writer
surmises-that some day a separate
air force" shall come into existence in
the United States.
We then, however, would have three
Independent and essentially unco-
ordinated national defense organiza-
tions-one for land, one for water and
one for air. This would represent an
increasing departure from the prin-
ciple that war should be conducted in
an intimate unison, even if not fusion,
of all armed forces. This writer,
therefore, ventures to express a Ger
tain general conclusion.
If we get separate air force" we
will ultimately get unified Depart
ment of National Defense" in which
there will be Secretary for Land and
Secretary for Water and Secretary
for Air. Above them there will be an
Oversecretary and an overstaf charged
with the task Of co-ordinating them
for defense and for attack. Thus we
shall strive to get both the requisite
degree of separateness and the requi-
site degree Of unity. We surely
should not either press unity to the
point of ossification or press separate
ness to the point of chaos.
SHANGHAI Has Cn1or