The Waterbury Democrat., 1942-09-11
NAVY CREDITS
 BL.ANDY FOR ITS sANTl-AIRCRAFT
BY sANDOR s. KLEIN United Press Stan Correspondent

United Press Stan Correspondent
 Washington, Sept. It. -(UP)-The Navy today gave credit to Rear Ad- niiral William Henry Purnell Blandy for the highly efficient anti-aircraft defenses on American naval vessels.
 Blandy at 52 is chief of the Bu- ceau of Ordnance. one of the youngest men to hold that impor- tant post.
 Long. before Germany's invasion of Poland, Blandy saw the vital role that would have to be played by anti-aircraft defenses. He preached his views within the Navy and then went about doing something about 1t.
 It was no mere accident of Navy custom or procedure that Blandy came to head the Bureau of Ord- nance. He specialized in gun and fire control design, studying mai1u- featuring at the Midvale Corp. plant in Nicetown, Pa, design at the Naval gun factory here, and in- terioe ballistics at the Navy proving ground at Dahlgren, Va.
 He is the author of several book lets on various phases of ordnance and developed the formula now used for the design and manufac- ture of heavy guns by what is known as, the "autofrettage" proc ess. No gun made under the Blandy process ever has burst in use.
 Practiced With Utah
 In his present job he oversees production, purchase and installa- ton of output at approximately 10,- 900 plants producing ordnance for the Navy.
 Manufacturers and industrial technicians who stream in and out of Blandy's office in Washington learn quickly that he has an inti- mate knowledge of metallurgy, chemistry, the machining of gun forgings, projectiles, arYnor and a dozen other subjects involved in the manufacture of Navy ordnance ma- terial.
 You can't stump the admiral, ' said one admiring visitor.
 His views on anti-aircraft de- lenses were developed while he was commanding officer of the old bat tiestip Utah, which had bekn con- vert0d into mobile target ship This was one of the vessels sunk by the Japanese at Pearl Harbor.
 The Utah also was used as a basic training ship for anti-aircraft gum nery and as the planes of the fleet bombed here with water filled mis- stiles, Blandy carefully observed the results. He amassed a tremendous amount of factual information or the effectiveness of dive bomb and torpedo plane assaults and this has proved invaluable as guide in the present war.
 Flies to See the BOrfors
 Blandy's experience on the Utat convinced him that an entirely new anti-aircraft defensive system was needed. He became interested ir two guns that had been developed overseas = the Oerlikon, 8 Swiss origin. and the Borfors. Swedish invention. When he heard there was a ship operating out of a Brit. sh port with the Borfors gun, ht flew to the port to see it in opera. sion.
 Tt was 6 thoroughly interna. honal affair."" he recalled. "The shir was Dutch, the gun was Swedish and we were in British port. Int gun had Dutch fire control, Ger, nan electric and optical parts anc was fired by Dutch crSw at sleeve targets lowed by American planes from an American cruiser = anI observed by American and British ofiicers."
 Blandy asked for drawings of tht gun but the rapid evacuation O. Holland followed soon after. Tht drawings were sent to Surabaya, il the Dutch East Indies. They wert turned over to the Americans as thu Japanese moved against Surabaya
 Now the Borfors is the Navy's No anti-dive bomber and anti-torpedt plane weapon. The Oerlikon speci fications which Blandy also ob tained through negotiation, is { smaller caliber weapon of extremel. rapid fire and is standard equip ment on all types of vessels.
 Just before he was made chief o the Bureau of Ordnance. Bland. served as co-ordinator of all anti aircraft defense phases of Maya ordnance.
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