The Waterbury Democrat., 1942-06-22
VITAL TEccIAN BEING NssPRoDUcED 25ooo
Ny MA Barvioe

MY HEA Service
 Midland Army Flying School, Texas. June 22-BltslErieg .. .. Tokyo Cologne i, Essen The Mediterranean the Coral Sea Midway .. Rumania
 -yes, and even Pearl Harbor. If all these have one thing in common 1t is that they are signposts on the rcad to one conclusion: this is the day Of the bombardier.
 Uncle Sam knows it--and that's why he has here the worlds larg- est bombardier training center, with . program that calls for a minimum production of 25,O00 skilled bombardiers in one year.
 On the broad plains of vest Texas, he is turning out traineN | "egg layers" on Q misrepresentation basis, with new class graduating every three weeks and heading for tactical units.
 THEY GET PLENTY
 OF BOMB PRACTICE
 For months now cadets, flying in relays on practice bombing mis- sions, have maintained ceaseleSs day and night barrage over target rangers greater in combined area than the entire state of New Jer- sey.
 Lieutenant Colonel Richard w. Smith, director of training here, has estimated that in this contin- ous aerial blitZ the daily average number of bombs dropped rivals that which the Luftwaffe was able to keep up for only three weeks during the devastating raids on London in the fall of 1940.
 United States military leaders are taking great pains in choosing just the right men for the exacting task of dropping bombs. Obvi- otsly not everybody can be a bombardier. The man who will have the personal satisfaction of blasting Q Berlin rail center, 8 T'okio munitions dump or soften- ing up German coastal fortifica- tions for the long-awaited inva- sion of Europe must have special qualifications. He is chosen as carefully as the British pick their famed Commandos.
 To understand the necessity for such careful selection, visualize the bombardier in action.
 He sits in the glass-walled nose of the bombing plane in front of the pilot Between his knees is the mysterious bombsight, with its maze of dails and knobs. He is bundled in fleece-lined clothing, fur-lined boots on his feet, fur lined cap on his head and an oxy- gen mask clamped on his nose, for his mlission takes him miles above the earth in the freezing sub- stratosphere.
 HIS COORDINATION
 MUST BE TOPS
 Yet encountered as he is by this heavy clothing, he must be able to. execute delicate manipulations with the bombsight controls swift ly and precisely. He must have perfect muscular control for this exaCting job. His mind must be cleax, and his attention must not falter for an instant aS he ap- breaches the target
 To maintain perfect health, the hombardier's diet is supervised carefully. They cannot afford to be airsick. They cannot become logy or drowsy while on the job.
 But in addition to his physical attributes, the bombardier must also possess certain mental and emotional traits.
 Tn probably no other branch of the service" says Brigadier Gen. eral Isaiah Davies, commander of the Midland school, 'is greater emphasis placed upon personal integrity and moral character. For to the bQmbardier the United States intrusts one of its most precious secrets the famous honbsight."
 when . man enters the AAF as au aircrew cadet, he first takes a series of tests which determine the type of work to which he will be assigned. These examinations, prepared by a group of eminent Dsychiatrists, serve as a sort of screening process.
 The amazing accuracy with which these examinations can sim gle out potential bombardiers from any group of youths, regard less of previous experience or background, Is attested by the training records of cadets at this field.
 In these preliminary tests the emphasis Is again on fundamental character traits rather than spe- cial education for former occupa- ton.