Evening star., 1941-08-11
j. ). and Britain Due
To Turn Out 10000
Plane Crews a Year
Training Is Expected
To Reach Its Stride
Sometime in 1912
Ry CAI.TER FIELD.


BY the end of the year the British
Empire will be turning out trained
airplane crews at the rate of $4,000
a year. The actual number of men
in $4,000 crews can be only esti-
mated. The British are not telling
that because it would show the most
casual German the precise division
as between fighters and bombers
planned by the British. But the
minimum. of course, is one man for
a small fighter plane and the pres
ent maximum is nine men for the
big bombers.
This training is going on through
out the British Empire. Much of it
Is in Britain, more is in Canada.
AS has been published, much of the
training of British and Canadian
pilots is being conducted in the
United States.
The amazing fact about this is not
that it is being done. but the mag
nitude of the program. 1t is Brit
sin's answer to the question often
propounded here-whether the
British will be able to man all the
planes this country will be sending
them after production really gets
into its stride.
U. S. Stepping Up Training.
But if one regards the United
States as the ally-eventually-of
Britain against Adolf Hitler, the
picture becomes even more impoS-
ing. The Army and Navy have
separate programs. Already the
Army has reached the rate of 10000
crews a year, while the Navy has
almost reached its maximum of
10000 crews year. But by next
year. the Army figures. it will be
turning out well-trained airplane
crews at the rate of 10000 year!
Adding the Army and Navy totals,
we can expect this country to be pro-
ducing 10000 airplane crews a year,
starting in 1912. This does not
count the C. P. T. or Civilian Pilots
Training organization, nor the
training of young men by the pri-
vate airplane lines to pilot their
commercial planes.
Excluding this civilian training,
British and American airplane
crews will be coming off the line"
at the rate of 10000 a year some
time early in 1912, which might be
calculated to give Hitler and Mar
shal Goering a little pause!
Experts in Many Lines.
This program. both the British
and our own. includes not only the
training of pilots. but of all other
experts who will be in the crews of
fighting planes. 1t includes machine
gunners. of course, and men skilled
in using the small cannon which
fighting planes now carry. actually
most of the one-man fighting planes
also carry a cannon as well as ma
chine guns. 1t includes the bonn
bardiers. trained in the use of the
crack new bomb sight 1t includes
navigators and the course involves
a lot of weather forecasting, for
weather is of the essence in all. air.
plane movements, whether the
planes be fighting or bombing or
merely spying out the land.
The British division as to men
trained primarily for naval work is
not given. but obviously there must
be special training in work other
than mere navigation for such oper-
ations. For example. the business
of spotting submarines beneath the
surface by their shadows, and a
working knowledge of ship types. so
that the scouting plane can report
to fighting ships or to other planes
the presence and strength of enemy
surface craft.
The effective part played by a
torpedo launched from a plane in
crippling the Bismarck indicates
that some of these crews will be
given training in firing torpedoes
from planes. It's big program,
bigger than many of us realize.
tReleased by the Bell Syndicate. Inc.)