The Coolidge examiner., 1942-11-13

with the present. Major William
i Horton. can draw from his
experience in World War / q,
aid him in his present position
as base operations officer at Day-
isMonfhan Field From the con
troll tower OF a streamlined mod
ern airbase ne views with de-
light the advance OF aerial mill.
tary development He can wildly
recall 1917 in Issoudon. France,
where American ayiators first
went aloft 10 meet the enemy
and inscribe their deeds in his
tory.
Issoudon. France. in the first
World War. was the home OF the
Bird Aviation Intruction Base.
Here the function of the ayia-
tion division Of the army was
merely 10 aid the Signal Corps
in communication and reconnais-
ance. The role OF bombing sup
ply bases. strafing the enemy.
blowing up ammunition dumps.
paralIzing the means OF trans
portation was not yet conceived.
But the possibility of such utility
for the air arm OF the army was
considered a possibility.
After being commissioned in
the Signal Corps as a Lieutenant,
Major Horton was sent TO France
as an instructor at IssOudon.
From his close connection with
English. French and American
air men he noted the step by
step development OF the role thar
was hing assumed by the ayia-
tion section OF the air corps.
Major Horton points out that
in the beginning the pilots Of
the opposing forces would greet
one another when they were sent
on observation flights. Then.
he said. someone conceived OF
the happy faculty. or otherwise,
OF supplying aviators with small
arms. and orders 90 shoot After
the Allies and the Central Pow
ers outdid one another in trying
to equip their air ships with
deadly weapons.
In the early stages of aerial
warfare. pilots would take bricks
and stones and drop them on
the soldiers in the trenches be
low. They did this more out of
mischief than with a purpose of
attaining any military objective.
The soldiers upon whom the mis-
siles were thrown would raise
their fists al the aerial pranksters
and shout their invectives. After
the hand grenade demonstrated
it's potency the aviators would
drop these explosive shells in any
hit or miss fashion. They had
no Norden bombsight TO aid their
marksmanship.
In those days the planes We're
made of wood and fabric. the
Major recalled. The aviators
weren't permitted TO carry para
chutes. lest they would abandon
their ships on the slightest pro
vocation Most OF the fliers in
that period OF aviation history
were a happy go lucky group of
daredevils who swashbuckled
their way across the skys. Were
not their enthusiasm tempered by
stringent military discipline Ber-
lin would have tasted blood way
back in 1917.
The present B-24 Liberators
and the Flying Fortresses that
are armorplated. had that origin
with the English Sopwith Dol
phin. which had its fuselage con
structed in this manner. This. in
effect. is as remarkable in the
history of military aviation as
was the steel plating of the bat
tleships. Monitor and Merrimac
during the Civil War. Whereas
the flying speed OF this plane
was no more than hundred
miles an hour. the present day
bombers. carrying hundred
times as much weight, and weigh
ing over twenty tons maintain a
speed of over three hundred miles
per hour.
Todayis British ''Spitfire", is
comparable with the "Sopwith
Camel. of 1865 The British
S-E-5. another fighter type. was
the best pursuit ship of that per