Evening star., 1941-04-24
Nearby Plane Factory
Designed With Eye
ToAirAttacks
TeII-TuIe SiIhouettes
Eliminated in New
Plant at Hogerstown
BY JOSEPH S. EDGERTON,
Star Aviation Editor.

EAGERSTOWN, Md, April "a
The possibility of enemy air raids
on this peaceful valley community
and its queerly assorted system of
new air defense factories has been
anticipated in the design of the
new main factory of the Fairchild
Engine & Airplane Corp, now near
ing completion under emergency
schedule on farmland adjoining the
municipal airport.
European experience shows that
enemy bombers hunt out airplane
factories under cover of night or
bad weather to avoid defending
pursuit planes and anti-aircraft
guns. A bomber or reconnaissance
plane preceding the bomber attack
drops to very low altitude to hunt
the factory. It's pilot and observer
look for such telltale silhouettes
against the skyline as water tanks
or chimneys. They also look for
the gleam of reflected light from
factory windows.
All of these things have been
taken into consideration in build
ing the new aircraft factory here.
There are no chimneys. The water
supply is underground in pressure
tanks instead of overhead in tanks.
The windows are patterned after
those new shop windows which
show no reflections and give the
illusion to passerSby of unglasSed,
open space This is done by toe
ing In" the whole window frame at
the bottom so that light is re-
fected into the ground.
Automatic "BlackOut."
A system of steel shutters con-
trolled by single switch from an
emergency air raid station is being
Installed. At the first alarm sim
gle man can draw a curtain OF
steel instantly across every window
In the factory, completely "blacking
out" the whole structure. The build
ing is designed with view to be-
ing quickly camouf1aged to blend
with the surrounding valley farms
and orchards.
Fairchild, holding contracts in
the amount of S9,7l0,500 for Army
training planes, with others in
process of negotiation, has taken
over eight buildings in and around
HagerStoWn. among them an old
button factory and the exhibition
hall in the fair grounds. Wings
for British bombers built by Glenn
L. Martin Co. at Baltimore are be-
ing built in the high-ceilinged |
wooden exhibition hall. Wings for
the training planes are being built
by the new "duramold" process OF
wood and plastic binder in build
ing erected by a group Of Hagers-
town citizens. Half of the build
ings are leased for warehouse space.
125 Planes a Month.
The new factory building will be
closed in by May l and will be
tooled by May Is and ready for
production. Ground was broken for
this structure in January. The fac
tory is being constructed under a
Government emergency plant facili-
ty contract. Title to building and
tools will remain with the Federal
Government, which has given the
company an option to purchase the
plant and equipment later.
Other Federal and local agencies
are assisting in a program which is
turning Hagerstown in little more
than a year into defense center,
producing 125 military training
planes a month. The Hagerstown
municipal airport is being convert
ed with Works Projects Admins
tration assistance into fully
equipped, modern field, capable of
handling large transport and mill
tary planes. County authorities are
providing an ample water supply
for fire protection and a four-lane
highway to serve the plant. The
city of Hagerstown established a
training school which made it pos
sibls for Fairchild to boost its en-
ployment from less than 500 to
nearly 1900 in IS months.
What is happening in Hagers-
town, 1t was pointed out by Will
liam Preston Lane, jr., Democratic
national committeeman and presi-
dent of the Hagerstown Herald
Mail, Is indicative of what Is going
on throughout the United States
without fanfare.
Local governments" he said,
sars co-ordinating their contribu-
tions to national defense effort with
those OF official Washington"