The Daily Alaska empire., 1935-07-23
JUNEAU AIRMEN FAMILIAR WITH
 NAVY BIPLANES
Gene Meyring and Fran k
 Knight Both Have Flown Vought Corair Ships

The vought pontoon biplanes,
 four of which form part of the
 equipment of the U. s. s. Indian
 apolis, are well known to at least
 two local airmen.
 Gene Meyring, Airport Manager
 of the PA, who is a Naval Re-
 serve Officer, Lieutenant Jg), has
 flown similar ships while attached
 to the Pursuit Squadron at San
 Diego, Cal, and also while on duty
 at the Naval Air Station at Sand
 Point near Seattle. Meyring stated that the Fought Corsair is designed for general utility and observation
 and is highly suitable for that pur-
 pose aboard battleships. He also said that regular equipment of that type of plane usually includes a pair of machine guns synchronizeo through the propeller, pair Of free machine guns in the rear cock pit, and bomb racks.
 High Class Plane
 Frank Knight, pilot of the Gorst Boeing flying boat, considers the Vought Corsair very high class plane. Knight, who was an army instructor at the Air Station in Pensacola, Fla, and who was also assigned to active duty in China, as an army pilot, reported that the Vought Corsair ships have long cruising radius and are very high in maneuyerability. They are used | in advance training, Knight said and were standard equipment with the Marine Corps expeditionary force in Nicaragua. Knight stated
 that the Marine fighting technique includes diving at the target with
 the forward machine guns in &C.,
 tion, release of at least two bombs while coming out of the dive, and final burst of machine gun fire from the rear cockpit after passing
 the target. Knight said that the Marine ships carried ten bombs on the bomb rack, which were released in pairs-one from each wing. Relates Experience
 In connection with the Marine expeditionary force, Illustrating the extreme effectiveness of the Vought planes, Knight related an incident of the fighting in Nicaragua, in which five of the planes went to the rescue of a force of 20 Marines and 20 native Nicaraguan soldiers besieged by 500 insurrectionists After the first maneuver of the planes, trained to attack from ,00t feet, Marines checked 300 dead in-
 surrectionists, treated 100 wounded and seemed to regret the necessity of reporting the escape of 100 oi the attacking insurrectionists. A force of four of the voupat planes and four pilots are regularly assigned to the U. s. s. Indian apolis, but only three pilots-C. w H a m n, Lieutenant (jg), s. w Betts, Lieutenant (jg), and J. G Donaho, Lieutenant (jg) - were aboard during the cruisers visit te Juneau.
 Lieutenant Donaho stated that an aviation unit-a crew of 18 men are regularly assigned to the air plane section The planes are radio equipped and require checking and servicing by highly skilled me- chanics. The planes are ordinarily swung over the side by an airplane crane for launching while the cruiser is at anchor, and are shot from a catapult while the shiI [ is under way.
 Four of the Vought Corsair planes
 are carried as regular equipment or the U. S. s. New Orleans, at an
 chor in Gastineau Channel since
 last night. All four planes were ir the air today.