Evening star., 1940-08-22
Combat Pilot Traininq
For $4,000 Planes
Seen as 14-Year Task
Gen. Arnold Testifies
On Expected Rote Of
Personnel Production
BY JOSEPH S. EDGERTON.

Under present Army Air Corps
plans for training combat pilots, at
the rate to be attained next year
after present expansion facilities are
completed, approximately IA years
would be required to train the crews
for an air force of $4,000 airplanes,
according to estimates based on
available ofIicial figures.
Only one-tenth of the pilots esti-
mated to be necessary for the So
000-plane air force advocated last
year by President Roosevelt will be
available by October /, l94l, at the
present rate, according to testimony
by Maj. Gen. Henry H. Arnold, chief
of the Army Air Corps. just made
public by the Senate Appropriation
Committee.
Gen. Arnold testified that the Air
Corps now is carrying out program
which calls for reaching a total of
approximately 1000 officers and
about $4,000 enlisted men. including
5,370 flying cadets, by October /,
194l. BY that time, he testified. 1t
is anticipated the Armys airplane
strength will Jump up from $500
airplanes to more than double that
number"
Two Productive Problems.
I'm order to put that program
over" Gen. Arnold said, 1T Is essen
tial for US to do two things. First,
to build up our productive capacity
of personnel; and, second, to build
up the productive capacity OF air
planes"
A force Of 1000 pilots, however,
would not man a force Of 1000 air
planes on a war basis. Perhaps so
per cent Of the total air force would
be composed Of two or four engined
bombardment planes. which require
at least two pilots each. Many Of
the long range reconnaissance
| planes require two pilots.
For war operations, however, 1t Is
generally agreed by military leaders
that at least two full crews should
be available for each airplane. Crews
require longer rest periods than the
planes they operate and modern
warplanes are rugged and durable
enough to keep two crews working
| in shifts. One of the aims of the
German assaults on England, 1t is
believed, was to reduce the efficiency
Of the British Royal Air Force by
exhausting the British pilots. With
two full crews for each airplane this
would have been far less likely to
occur than with but single crews
constantly on duty or on the alert.
More Than Double Crews Wanted.
To care adequately for training
of new personnel and for replace
ments, however, even more than
double crews for combat airplanes
should be available, in the opinion
of many air leaders.
Using these figures, therefore. the
1l,O0O- -airplane force which the
Army expects to have by October
l of next year would require con-
siderably more than the II 900 pilots
which are expected to be available
by that time.
II only $500 Of the planes COM
posinr the air force are bomoers
and long-range reconnaissance
planes. requiring two pilots eacn'
the minimum number OF pilots 70 70
provide single crews for the ll,o0
nlanes would be 14,500. To provide
two full crews for an air force OF
this size would require $4,000 pilots.
In nroyide reserves for this force
would still further increase the total.
Calling for a further expansion
of civilian pilot training to back up
the military program and provide
a pool from which partially trained
men can be drawn for combat
training, the Private Fliers' Assocla-
ton pointed out that present Air
Corps facilities ARE being expanded
to train 1000 yearly"
Needed: 1000 for $4,000 planes,
or IA years at a rate we will not
reach until next spring" the as
sociation said. Cadets for the Army
Air Corps and the Navy are urgently
needed even to fill the present
quotas.
For pilot reserve material, unen-
listed, current training will cover
$1,000 pilots in the next year. At
least 250000 are needed for a 50.-
000- plane force, with proportion