Evening star., 1941-07-05
Army Now Receiving
New Dive-Bombers:;
Field Tests Planned
Six Squodrons to Be
, Ready for Moneuver
With Troops in Fall
S5 the Associated Press.

81 the Associated Press.
The Army Air Force has started
to receive regular deliveries of dive
bombers, 1t was learned today, and
plans have been completed for
organizing by November at least
six squadrons of these improved
American counterparts of Ger
fnany's famed Stukas.
Authoritative indications were
that approximately 100 dive bomb
ers would be available for use in
fall maneuvers when American
troops will receive their first large
scale training in the co-ordinated
employment of air and ground
forces
In addition to these new Army
planes, flight of Navy dive bomb
ers will participate in the maneuvers,
but the Army has not yet indicated
the number of Navy planes involved.
Army Now Has a Dozen.
Initial deliveries of the Army's
new specialized dive bombing planes
began last month and the Air Force
combat command now has about
a dozen on hand.
AS the number in service in
creases, SQuadrons will be organized
until the first air group Of 81 planes
l.
and three combat squadronS--is
completed. In addition, it was
learned, there will be at least two
or three other squadrons and an
unspecif1ed number of planes in
reserve
In maneuyers it is expected the
dive bombers will be employed in
connection with armored divisions
to form task forces of the kind
which the Germans used with spec
tacular success in Poland and in
the big break-through in the Low
Countries and France a year ago.
"A task force Is fighting unit
developed for some specific type OF
military operationD
Army Followed Navy.
In fact. it was the Nazls eXtraor-
dinary success in smashing Allied
defenses with Stukas which first
raised widespread demands among
military experts in this country for
the addition of diye-bombers to the
air force, and precipitated debate as
to the merits of those ships in COM
parison with two and four -englned
level borr.Sers.
The Navy had used dive -bombers
for several years, but Army ex-
ponentS of level bombing argued the
Navy airmans problem in hitting
moving battleship called for that
type of weapon whereas the Army
bombardier normally would have a
fixed target such as fortiflcation or
troop concentration.
Army dive-bomber advocates con-
tended, on the other hand that even
with this countrys secret bombsight
level bombing from comparatively
high attitudes could never be as ac-
curate as that of planes which dived
to within few hundred feet of the
targets before releasing their ex-
plosives In support of their argu-
ment they cited the accomplish
ments of the Germans.
New Plane Developed.
The discussions resulted in War
Department decision to order some
of the flying artillery, as the dive
bombers are called, and the present
plane. a single-motor craft much |
like those used by the Navy, was |
developed. Its diving speed is be-
lieved to be about that of the Ger
man Stukas-slightly under $50 |
miles an hour, while it is repre-
sented as having higher level |
flight speed than the 300 miles per |
hour of the Stukas, and also greater |
maneuverability.
Informed persons said the Army |
Air Force was not going all out" |
for dive bombers and that the en- !
phasis would remain where it al |
ways has been-on medium and |
heavy bombers. The former were |
described as especially suited to |
low-flying straf1ng of enemy troop |
columns or concentrations, while the |
big four-engine ships, now sched- |
uled for production at a rate of 500 |
a month, are designed for attacking |
distant centers of operation and in |
dustrial objectives.