The Waterbury Democrat., 1942-08-18

EAanm aerial warfare to- day. Admir- Ernest J. King, commander chief of the U. s. fleet, is entitled to wear the pilots wings. But on the staff of CINCUS and in the Office of Ma. val Operations, only about one off, cers in 12 has come up through na- val aviation. Contrast that with the general staff of the Army, where one-half of the officers are airmen.
 Makeup of the Navy's General Board may in one manner of speak | ing be considered unimportant. It IS group of advisers to the secretary of the navy, a kind of board of di- rectors, council of elder states men. But the Navy regulations pre- scribe for this board some rather important responsibilities. Regulations say the board shall be made up of not less than five line officers, none below the rank of captain. A Marine general may be named, but nothing is said about an airman. None of the officers may have other executive or administra- tive duties.
 VETO POWER
 The board shall recommend to the secretary of the navy the number and types of ships and aircraft proper to constitute the fleet, and the building program that shall be recommended to Congress each year not only for ships and planes but also for naval yards, stations and bases. The duty with regard to aviation is elaborated upon:
 "The General Board shall con- sider and recommend to the sec- retary of the navy the general military characteristics which should be embodied in the design for new service classes (types) of aircraft"
 There you have the crux. This is the board that, even if 1t does not originate the designs and or ganization for the Bureau of Aeronautics, at least has the veto power over such matters as far as making recommendations to the secretary and to Congress is con- cerned.
 Who has been appointed to the board? Three full admirals. Hep burn, Hart and Bloch, all of whom were retired and called back to active duty by the war emer- gency; two rear admirals. Sexton and Rowcliff, of whom the former was retired; two captains. Pence and Mahoney, of whom the for mer was retired and the latter is secretary. Only the two captains are under 60. Five of the seven officers are retired, men who may have been considered great stuff back in World War One, but who are now called upon to determine naval policy for the somewhat different World War Two.
 1.-THE
 UNPROBABILITY"
 There is another recent instance of how this Navy hangs onto its traditions and it has a bearing on this subject of reluctance to give the air arm its full and proper rec ognition. This may be unfair to the extent that the ideas of lot of people have changed considerably in the last 20 years.
 In the Navy Department files there. is a report on the experi- mental bombing of the old battle ship Indiana, in October, 1920. This was before the famous Gen. eral Billy Mitchell bombings of battleships off the Virginia capes in 1921, but 1t was none the less important.
 The report from the director of gunnery. in charge of the experi- ments, concluded with this perti- nent paragraph of memorandum to the secretary of the Navy:
 Tn a general way, it was found that the damage to material from aerial bombs was local, that per- sonnel in unprotected positions within the blast area would be destroyed. that personnel in closed and armored turretS would prob ably not me incapacitated, and considering the probable effect of defense gunfire against aircraft at the low altitude necessary in order to be accurate with heavy aerial bombs against a rapidly moving target at sea, the entire experi- ment pointed to the unprobability of modern battleship being either destroyed or completely put out of action by aerial bombs."
 The report is signed by Cap tain w. D. Leahy, then director of the gunnery exercises, now Admiral w. D. Leahy, retired, recently ap- pointed chief of staff, to President Roosevelt.