The Washington times., 1937-11-10
Can Planes Ruin Our Cities?

defense money into apanes have often Mortified their
readers with word and pencil pictures of airplanes
levelng our cities in the next Subways gashed
open the Empire State Building beheaded, Brooklyn
Bridge chopped neatly in two thousands of people
crushed like ants in topping skyscrapers-remember
the stories and the pictures that went with them?
These fears have been debated somewhat by the fact
that life goes in Madrid after than year of
persistent air raids by the rebels though Madrid has
been puncured in many places Shanghai has suffered
more in shorter time than Madrid has, but the bulk of
Shangha's population is still holding on and swearing
vengeance against the japanese airmen day.
somehow.
Further reinsurance is offered by striking article
recently published in the United States Naval Inst
tue Proceedings-"A Aerial Attacks Fleets at An
n,,z. chor," by Lieut. Comdr. Logan c.
Ramsey, U. S. N. Reinsurance for
@1' z1''''''' Americans, that is, with wide oceans
on both sides of them.
Commander Ramsey believes that the airplane is
threat to the batteship in the next major war-WHEN
the bateshp is lying at anchor and unable to move
freely and quickly lot of ships drawn up in neat
straight lines in a harbor, for example, should be
ideal target for fleet of suddenly attacking planes.
To counteract such possibility in next war; Com
mander Ramsey recommends ample patrol planes to
swoop out INCREASINGLY in wide circles from anchored
naval units.
He also wonders in print whether it wouldn't be wise
for naval authorities to drop the od-time liking for
anchoring ships in exact straght-line formation and
take to scattering them about so to break up the
targets they will present to enemy airplanes overhead
It is this arpiane threat to battleships caught
at anchor that we have to fear, according to Com
mander Ramseys article, than any airplane
.A4., 1... attack on New York Boston
~ o.. on.-. . Los Angeles or San Francisco
An enemy hoping to raid any of
ports by plane would have to bring his planes within
striking distance of u.s. the Pacific the Atlantic
the case ght be. And hen because airplane car
rers carry relatively few planes the enemy would
be smart to concentrate fighting ships and leave
cities alone.
If he could sink ships, he could move his own
ships in and lombard the desired city from the water
doing much damage than he could do with all the
bombing planes he could hope to bring within strk-
ing distance of under present foreseeabe ava-
ton conditions.
Specuations like these are just speculations. The
aiplane battleship debate will only be settled by
showdown in the next major war.
49,. o1. But Commander Ramsey's specula
o.. tons, based on his studies and expert
Navy man, seem to US a good
deal more logical and likely to true than the specu
latons of wishfulthinker armchair strategists
What they boil down to is this: That we cannot af-
ford to gamble any defense weapon used by any
other misunderstanding, arpanes, submarines tanks
gas and so
We must keep ourselves always provided with plenty
of weapons of every kind to be ready with what
ever the next may prove to be the most effective