The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1941-05-30
A[liaQo|a,
Washington, ID. G.
BOMBER OUTPUT

tional letter to Secretary Stimson
asking for an immediate, increase In
the monthly output of bombers.
One was the obvious need of pro-
viding Britain with more and big
ger planes to carry the offensive to
Germany. Second, known only to
inside authorities, was Intelligence
information that the Nazis are in
creasing the bomber force of their
Luftwaffe. The reports are that the
German air force now consists Of
the following:
Six main air fleets, each compris-
ing 1000 bombers, 825 fighters and
rs reconnaissance planes, q total Of
10000. Also there is an independent
air unit of 2,750 planes, naval air
service of 1000, an operational train
ing unit of $50, and transport or
ganization Of $500 planes. In addi-
ton to these first-line ships, is a
reserve of $4,000 others, plus 5000
trainers and transports.
Grand total: About $4,000 planes.
German airplane production ca
pacity is estimated at 5000 planes a
month, including about 500 bombers.
However, except for bombers, Ger
many is not now using her full pro-
duction capacity as she doesn't need
that many new planes month.
Nazi March production is estimat-
ed at 1900 ships of all types, but
only 1000 in April. In May, how
ever, Intelligence reports are that
Nazi plane production is being
stepped up to replace Balkan and
North African losses.
Reports are vague about what the
Nazis are doing with the nine gov
eminent and eleven private aircraft
plants in France, most of them To-
Gated in the occupied zone; also re-
garding the eight Dutch factories,
including the Fokker works, and the
seventeen Belgian plants.
These plants have large potential
producing capacity, but best infor-
nation is that the Nazis are strip
ping them of their machine tools
and other equipment. How much
this will boost the Nazis' 5000 planes
a month is only guess.
u. s. Goal.
Weakest link in German plane
production is aluminium. From cap
tured planes, the British estimate
| that the Nazis use about 500 pounds
of this vital metal per ship. The
American average is 5000 pounds.
The undisclosed bomber goal of
1941 to which Roosevelt referred in
his letter to Stimson, is 600 month.
| The four new assembly plants in
Omaha, Tulsa, Kansas City and
Fort Worth should produce about
300 bombers a month. To double
their output it will be necessary to
build and equip at least as many
new plants, plus taking over an in
creased ratio of automobile and 9TH
er plant facilities to turn out the nec-
essary parts.
The letter which OPM Director
General Knudsen sent auto makers
that they will have to hold down
their 1912 car production to 1875 per
cent of this years output, is con-
sidered only beginning. Insiders
predict that there will be another
big cut soon.
LATIN ADMIRALS
The state department scored a
ten-strike when it finally persuaded
the navy to invite the chiefs of
Latin American navies to visit the
United States. The junket definitely
carried weight. For the United
States navy, without any ifs, ands
or butts, is the most powerful in the
world, and the thing that counts in
South America today is the belief
that this country can really ward
off Nazi invasion.
| Behind the scenes, the man who
helped most to dress the stage for
Latin American admirals was John
ny Thomson, better known for his
prolific pen portraits of the marines
(Red Pants, Fix Bayonets, Jeb
Stuart, Salt Winds and Cobb Dust) !.
Thomason, now colonel in the
marines, had served in Latin Amer
lea, knew the importance of the adj
mirals' visit. Other U. S. brass hats
didn't. Admiral Harold Stark, chief
of naval operations, fumed and fret
ted, only wanted to show the Good
Neighbors few East coast stations.
At this point Johnny Thomson re-
marked: "This visit is giving you a
pain in the neck. How about letting
me take it over?"
Thomson insisted that the trip
was important enough to do it right,
demanded more enter tainment
money from the White House and
got it. At first he worked on the
| idea of meeting the admirals with
u. S. cruisers at Barranquilla, Co
lombia, taking them out to the mid
Atlantic to view the U. S. naval pa
troll at work. This was given up
as too long, and coast-to-coast in
spection of U. S. naval stations was
substituted.
MERRY-GO-ROUND
The COP. controlled Kansas
legislature hit Rep. Jack Houston,
/