Evening star., 1939-03-01
|fBi||ionFund
For Army Is
Approved
House Group o. KS
Bill Carrying Money
For Plane Increases
8y the Associated Press,

The House Appropriations Com
mittee approved today a s499,857 ,936
appropriation for the War Depart
ment. It included the first funds
to carry out President Roosevelt S
proposed $3O00OO,O0O expansion OF
the Army Air Corps.
Purchase of 1874 additional planes
would be made possible by the
measure, the total of which was
$39,656,682 greater than the sum
provided to operate the department
for the current ifs al year.
Most of the new planes would be
combat types. The department said
it intended to use the funds to
acquire 400 single-engine pursuit
ships, 248 attack bombers-a new
type for the Army; 13 four-engine
bombers, 13 intercepters, SIS primary
training planes, IA photograph
planes, 10 basic training ships for
the National Guard and % basic
combat types for the organized
Reserves.
S94,737 ,2s1 for Air Corps.
The bill carried a total of $94,-
737,281 for the Air Corps, including
$50 ,494,012 of the S5O,0G0,O0O which
President Roosevelt asked be made
available Immediately from the
s300.00O,00O emergency program for
the Air Corps to take up the lag in
aircraft production due to idle
plants. The committee recommend
ed that the department be author
lied to let contracts for the balance
Of the s50,000,OOO
Along with the appropriation bill,
the committee made public detailed
information about present arma-
ments. Hearings on the bill con-
tanned this testimony:
/. Maj. Gen Henry H. Arnold,
chief of the Air Corps. said the
Army has only 879 fighting planes
in actual service.
2, The Army has worked out plans
with private industry to make bombs
by new methods which promise
greatly increased production.
3. The Budget Bureau believes
s25000 should be added to the an
nual outlay for the Military Intelli-
gence Service.
4. The War Department has ap-
proved plans for complete reorganl-
ration Of the infantry regiment to
give it more powerful and mobile
armament.
S. The Army believes its planes
should stand out in the open-to
save $11 $4,000 annually in the cost
of hangers and to offer less attrac-
tive targets to enemy bombers.
Armaments Stressed.
AS to the appropriation bill itself,
the committee said that in its
preparation maintenance and per-
sonnel items had been subordinated
to augmenting ornaments. equip
ment and facilities required in an
emergency.
For this purpose. the committee
said. the by carried S42,273, 100,
most of viii II would 60 for purchase
Of semi-automatic rifles, anti-tank
guns. mortars, mechanization of ar
tillery, mobile anti-aircraft artil-
lery and ammunition.
Although it described the item for
so-called critical" equipment as
"abnormally large the committee
said it fell far short of the amount
required completely to wipe out
deficiencies and would, in fact,
eliminate only about 30 per cent of
the present shortage.
The bill also would provide ST.
250,523 for seacoast defenses of
which $5,630,36O would 60 for new
installations and the balance for
maintenance. Although it said de-
tails of the entire item were conf
dental: the committee disclosed that
81 1886 1903 was earmarked for addi-
tional fortification of the West
Coast, s2,212,299 for the Panama
Canal Zone and $1,432,758 for Ha-
waii.
A total of s44,8O3. .3O5 was recon-
mended for the National Guard, an
increase of $1,O28,000 over the sum
requested by the Budget Bureau.
Gen. Arnold explained the S79
fighting planes include the bombers.
attack AND pursuit planes that in
wartime would be called on to
(see APPROPRIATIONS, Page A-l2}