Evening star., 1939-04-27

Record Peacetime
Orders for Planes
Placed by U. 5.
Five Aircraft Factories
Started to Work on
57l Army Ships

Fifteen weeks after President
Roosevelt asked Congress to expand
the Nations air defenses to meet
threats of European expansion pro-
grams, the War Department today
started five airplane factories to
work on initial orders which will to-
tai more than 5000 military air
planes during the next two fiscal
years.
While Assistant Secretary of War
johnson was signing orders for the
new airplanes yesterday afternoon,
President Roosevelt asked Congress
for $3l ,62l 900 to start work on IL
naval air bases in Alaska, on the
Pacific Islands. Puerto Rico and in
the United States. These bases are
expected to reach a total cost of
$66 100000. -
Despite urgent pleas from the mill
itary services and the President for
increased aeronautical research IA
cilities to bolster the air program,
however. Senate and House con-
ferees eliminated from the deficiency
appropriation bill an item of $4,0O0,-
600 to establish a second aviation
research center for the National Ad-
visory Committee for Aeronautics at
Sunnyvale, Calf.
All five orders were given to air.
craft manufacturers now holding
War Department airplane contracts
and are in effect only orders for in
creased deliveries under the exist
ing contracts. This method was re-
sorted to as means of preventing
delay of nearly four months which
would have resulted from advertis-
ing for bids, as is required by law IN
the case OF new contract awards.
571 Planes Ordered.
With $50 900. 600 available for Army
Air Corps purchases, the contracts
awarded yesterday call for ST.
planes at total cost of Sl9.535.32O.
by far the largest order ever placed
in peacetime.
The orders were awarded to the
Consolidated Aircraft Corp, San
Diego. Calf. for an undesignated
number of heavy four-engine bom-
bardment airplanes, Type B-24,
costing $2,8s0,0OO; the Curtiss-
Wright Corp, New York City, for
single-engine P-40 pursuit planes,
sl2,872 1898; the Lockheed Aircraft
Corp, Burbank, Calf, for two-en-
gine WP-38 pursuit interceptor
planes, s2,l80,728; the Bell Aircraft
Corp. Buffalo, for ngle-engine
xP-39 pursuit interceptor planes,
s1,073,445, and to the Beech Air
craft Corp, Wichita, Kans.. for
Photographic airplanes. s528,749.
The remainder of the $4,000, 900
Will be used to purchase engines
propellors. instruments and acces-
sories to be furnished to the air.
plane contractors for installation in
these alrplanes.
In addition, approximately $l9,-
600, 900 will be expended within the
next few days for procurement of
attack bombers, new-type combat
alrplane for which design competi-
tlons have just been completed at
Wright Field, Dayton, Ohio.
Distribution of $3.50, 900 900.
The War Department announced
that plans for distribution of $780,
600, 900 to be made available July /
for expansion OF the Army Air
Corps have been made and will be
submitted to Congress within a few
days.
One OF the ajor surprises in the
airplane awards was the order for
B-24 bombers from Consolidated.
Hitherto the only four-engine
bombers purchased by the Army
were constructed by the Boeing Air
craft Corp. of Seattle. Consolidated,
however. has built number of large
patrol planes for the Navy and has
been engaged in experimental de-
velopment of the four-engine type
for the Air Corps.
Addition to Naval Bill.
The $3l, ,62l 900 requested by the
President for new naval air bases
will be added to the regular Navy
Department appropriation bill, now
pending before the House Appro-
priations Committee, according to
present plans. This would increase
the total amount carried in the bill
to approximately $500 ,000,O 900, a new
peacetime total.
The sl60,0OO,000 deficiency bill,
from which the Sunnyvale research
base item was stricken. carries more
than $7,000000 for the training OF
$4,000 civilian pilots during the COM
ing fiscal year in colleges and uni
versities.