Evening star., 1942-07-21
Air Transport

proposed that we begin at once to
| construct a fleet of thousands of
| huge air freighters. There is Moth
| ing fantastic or visionary about that
proposal. We can do it If we want
to do it.
Mr. Kaiser has advanced his plan
as being the only adequate answer to
the submarine menace. There has
been great deal of talk to the
effect that we are overcoming the
submarine threat But the record
speaks to the contrary. Ships-with
their cargoes of precious war mate
rials-still are being sunk faster than
we can replace them, and the unoff1-
cial total of losses now stands at 1886
vessels in about six months. Fur
ther underscoring the gravity of this
picture is the fact that our ship
yards are beginning to feel the
pinch of shortage of steel plate
and other critical materials. We
have reached the point where we
can no longer expand shipyard IA
cilities and, in fact, where we have
been forced to abandon at least one
major expansion project which had
already been started. Yet the toll
of sinkings continues to rise, un-
checked and apparently uneheck-
able.
To cope with the disastrous impli-
cations, both present and potential
of this state of affairs, Mr.. Kaiser
would take to the air. AS he cor
rectly sees the picture, our produc-
ton already is outstripping our
transport capacity, and this gulf
will grow wider in the future. What
are we to do? Shall we continue
to pour our resources into shipbuild-
ing, hoping ultimately to have so
many ships that we can absorb the
staggering losses and still get our
war supplies across the oceans, or
shall we start now on a tremendous
program of cargo plane construction
so that we may supply our troops
and our Allies, wherever they may
be, without further fear of the
eneny's submarines? The first
course is a hazardous and wasteful
gamble. The second is feasible, rela-
lively safe and brings the great prob
lem of military transport within the
reach of talent which is peculiarly
ours and with which our enemies
cannot hope to compete.
Specifically, Mr.. Kaiser wants to
build 5000 of the huge Mars flying
boats, with which, he says, we could
transport half a million fully
equipped soldiers or 350,000 tons Of
freight to the British Isles every
other day. He would do this by
diverting nine shipyards to the plane
program, employing their skilled
labor and facilities, but using much
smaller quantity of critical materials
than would 60 into merchant ships
built in the same yards This is not
some dream that might come true in
the future; we can do it now If
We will
Nor need we concentrate on flying
boats alone. They have their limita-
tions, since they cannot take cargo
to the interior of continents, nor can
they operate in those northern
regions where so much Of this war
is being fought, but where ice would
prevent the use Of flying boats many
months out Of the year.
If we can build 70-ton flying
boats, as we can, we can also build
land air freighters as large, or larger.
And there is no slightest doubt that
we can send them around the world
in any season of the year. All of
the pioneering work has been COM
pleted by our own Air Transport
Command, formerly known as the
Ferrying Command. There is no
guesswork about this. The routes
have been laid out and are in service,
the problems of weather have been
overcome and the bases-big enough
to accommodate any plane-have
been built and are in use. All we
have to do is provide the cargo planes
and they will be put Immediately
into service.
Let us remember that plane can
make fifteen or more trips while
boat is making one. If a 10OO0-ton
ship is sunk the cargo loss is a most
serious matter. But to lose the cargo
| aboard a plane or two-and losses
have been very small-is a relatively
minor matter. Certainly, there is
strong reason to believe that the only
answer to the problem of military
transport-and that is the problem
of winning the war-lies in the
prompt construction Of a great air
freighter feet to be used in conjunc-
ton with seagoing vessels. But it
will avail us nothing to have the
solution of our greatest problem in
our own hands if we fail to make full
and timely use of it.