Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1936-11-01

]uCTedSeO 10 the pursuit ranges, ana
their range and carrying capacity also
has increased. Pursuit has been forced
into a position Of secondary impor-
lance, with bombardment as the back
bone Of air power. The whole air
force has taken on a new conception
Of duties and powers and observation
has felt the effect Of new times and
new conditions to a marked degree.
1t now is principle Of Air Corps
tactics that bombardment aviation
should not be required to conduct an
original search for its targets. but that
so that the attack can be planned In
detail. In order that the bombers
may take of with just the right sizes
and types of bombs, with fuses set,
with full knowledge of the target and
the courses they are to fly, a great
deal of information is necessary. Lo-
cation of landmarks, anti-aircraft
units and hostile airdromes must be
known. Weather conditions must be
known, since they are likely to have
q marked bearing on the success Of
the mission. II the target be at sea.
its exact location at a given time, its
course and speed must be known. and
constant surveillance must be main
tanned so that changes in course may
be reported.
The task Of obtaining the informa-
ton necessary for the intelligent
planning and execution Of the bonn
bardment missions falls upon . new
type of observation aviation known as
the Air Force Reconnaissance Squad
ron. These squadrons conduct distant
| reconnaissance service for the Gen.
eral Headquarters Air Force COM
mander and the bombardment and
attack units of the force. The recon-
naissance squadrons are equipped with
the latest development in long-range
airplanes, manned by crews of highly
trained specialists.
These squadrons must be constantly
ready for immediate service, since they
| will be the first units of the military
machine to 60 into action, possibly
before the actual start Of hostilities.
They must patrol the land and sea
areas within their radius Of operation
and when contact is established with
| a hostile target it must be maintained
constantly until that target has been
destroyed or its importance has
| ceased.
Up to now, observation aviation
has been q thing apart from the
G. H. @. Air Force. 1t has been q
separate branch Of aviation. attached
to ground armies. There still Is dif-
ference of opinion as to whether the
new air force reconnaissance squad
rons should be attached to lombard
ment groups as an integral part OF
their organization, or whether they
should be permanently attached to
base headquarters for the service OF
any bombardment units operating In
their area. Experience must deter
mine which of the two will be adopted
or whether a combination of the two
will be employed.
The service which would be re-
| quired of such long-range recon-
| Nuisance squadrons calls for airplanes
of outstanding performance. These
airplanes, it was pointed out, should
have approximately double the range
of the bombardment aviation which
they serve in order to permit patrol,
search and surveillance at the ex-
| treme radius of action of the bombers.
Such long range would require that
the airplane provide accommodations
for a combat crew large enough to
provide reliefs for the pilot, navigator,
radio operator and flight mechanic.
Members of the off-duty crew would
serve as gunners In defense of the
airplane. A ship commander, with
no assigned flight duties, would COM
plete the crew. Dependable radio
communication at all times ana all
round defense equipment, OF course,
would be required.
Standards Of personnel require
ments of such an organization OBJ
viously would be high.
pilots should be graduated to this
service via other big ship types and
then must learn that nice corpora
ton with the navigator which makes
possible accurate navigation" 1t was
explained. "Navigators understand
ing the theory and practice Of the
various means Of navigation must
perfect themselves by repeated mis-
sions accurately to locate and report
distant. bombardmen objectives. Radio
operators and flight mechanics, each
in their own sphere, must obtain q
standard Of proficiency not now re-
quired In other classes Of aviation
and finally, by constant association
in the air, the entire crew must be
welded into q harmonious unit urder
the ship commander, instantly re-
sponsive to his commands and. In
most cases, anticipating his desires
THE Washington Soaring societ,
= made its debut q flying orsani'
zation recently, when II took d.