Evening star., 1940-06-05
u. ). Planes Needed
For Training Pilots
Estimated at 5000
Army to Keep Policy
Of Primary Instruction
In Civilian Schools
BY JOSEPH S. EDGERTON,

BY JOSEPH S. EDGERTON.
Fleets of military training air.
planes larger in number than the
total strength of the Army air force
legally authorized a year ago will
be required to train the pilots re-
quired under existing expansion
plans for the Army and Navy.
The Navy alone has estimated its
training plane requirements at 1890
airplanes and the Army Air Corps,
with a far larger training task con-
fronting it under the emergency
expansion program, is expected to
require a considerably larger num-
Der before its expansion effort
reaches its peak.
Nearly 5000 training airplanes. 1t
is estimated. will be required, nearly
as rapidly as they can be made, to
meet the requirements of the mill
tary services for emergency pilot
training. A limit of $500 airplanes
was put on the Army Air Corps
under the initial expansion program
authorized at the request of Presi-
dent Roosevelt following the Mu-
mich pact of September, 1898, which
first put the world on it's guard
against Nazi ambitions.
Details Emerging.
Although plans for the training
programs of both Army and Navy
are in the formative period and can
not be launched definitely until
President Roosevelt has signed
pending appropriation bills for mill
tary purposes, some details of the
training task ahead of the two serv-
Ices are beginning to emerge.
The Army Air Corps will adhere
to its policy-proved and found sue
cessful during the past year-of CIV
ing primary training to it's military
pilots in civilian air training schools.
Congressional sanction for liberal
izatlon of this policy is being sought.
After three months in the civilian
schools, under Army supervision. six
months of training will follow at
the Air Corps training center, San
Antonio, Tex. or total of nine
months Of training.
The Navy expects to continue its
training along present lines, with
necessary major expansion of its
facilities. To speed up its training
activities. however, the Navy is
working out final details of a pro-
gram which will provide only seven
months of training for new pilots
before they 60 into the Navy and
Marine Corps squadrons.
Primary training will be given
naval candidates at 13 naval avia-
tion reserve bases, one of them the
Anacostia station. The Navy now
has but one base for the advanced
training of pilots-the Naval Air
Station, Pensacola, Fla, where ap-
proximately 500 training planes now
are in operation.
Base Planned in Texas.
1t is planned to create a new
naval aviation training base which is
expected to duplicate the Pensacola
plant, at Corpus Christi, Tex. In
case of emergency the Navy also
may transfer the new $1,000, 900
naval aviation base now under con-
struction at Jacksonville, Fla, to
its school establishment. Although
Congress has not yet appropriated
for the Corpus Christi station, it
is believed this new base probably
will be in opeation for training pur-
poses before the Jacksonville base
can be completed, about November
l, 1912.
The Army Air Corps now is send
ing its flying cadets to nine civilian
schools for primary training This
number will be increased to any
necessary total in keeping with funds
allocated by Congress for Army
pilot training. The Army, like the
Navy, also must increase its facili-
ties for advanced pilot training and
proposes to do so by transferring
operating posts of the general head
quarters air force, such as Hamilton
Field and March Field, Calf;
Barksdale Field, La, and Mitchell
Field, N. Y. or Selfridge Field, Mich,
to the Air Corps training center
for conversion into schools.
Scott Field, Ill. and Lowry Field,
Colo, already have been converted
into schools for mechanic training
purposes to supplement the made
quate facilities at Chanute Field,
III.
The Air Corps program for the
current fiscal year provides for a
total Of 1853 officers, Regular and
Reserve. and for $4,000 enlisted men,
including 1900 flying cadets. Grad
uation of this whole number of
cadets would provide a grand total
of less than 5000 Air Corps pilots;
attrition considered, the number
would be $500 or less. This total is
far short of the total required even
for the air force of $500 airplanes
authorized for the Air Corps under
the current regular and emergency
appropriations, since bombers carry
at least two pilots and the necessity
for relief crews to keep modern