Evening star., 1943-11-17
mo. 4 OF a Series.)
By CARTER BROOKE JONES.

by CAkIEH BROOKE JONES.
Gee. that's swell" said the ensign,
leaning over the captains shoulder.
They were looking at a model-a
three-dimensional map of a coast
line and hinterland.
Where was it made, sir?"
Somewhere back home,' said the
captain. Flown over here on a
bomber-one for each ship"
TELLS you everything you want to
know, sir"
"Jllst about. Good job"
This maginary conversation
might have taken place aboard any
transport. warship or ocean, going
landing ship that had part in
Gen. Mark w. Clark's landing at
Salerno, Italy. Or it might have
happened before the Sicilian inva-
sion
Newspapermen taken on a tour of
the amphibious training bases
around Norfolk, Va, saw where
these models are made. There is
one shop at Camp Bradford, where
soldiers ano sailors in virtually equal
numbers are mastering the complex
tiles of water-borne invasions.
SalernO Model Viewed.
Looking at a copy of the Salerno
model, which guided all the ships
to the area selected for beachhead,
the reporters could realize what a
tough job the American 5th Army
had, There was only one passable
stretch of shore, f1anked by high
cliffs. Back of the beachhead the
mountains lowered as far as one
could see. The Sicilian models were
equally explicit in their informa-
ton.
This shop at Bradford, directed
by Ensign Robert S. Zeidman, an
expert at the art, turned out many
of the Salerno models in two weeks:
1t rushed out some of the relief
maps of the south shores of Sicily in
almost equal time.
The models, based on the latest
information compiled by Naval In
telligence, show, through military
SYMBOLS, every primary and second
ary road, almost every path-rail-
roads. bridges, hills, passes, forests,
towns.
A major difficulty, at first. was
the weight of the raised maps. Plas-
ter of paris and other materials were
too heavy. Not enough models could
be shipped in plane. So Ensign
Zeidman devised way of modelling
in lateX rubber which solved the
problem. This substance is light and
unbreakable. Large numbers of
models constructed of this substance
may be carried in single plane.
All Invasions Mounted"
The map section of the Amphib-
ious Training Command Of the At
lantic Fleet is tipped off by the War
Department when an amphibious
operation in some region is immi-
nent.
The training command has
mounted" all the invasions in the
European theater - North Africa,
Sicily, the Italian mainland.
All the assault troops, their sup
ports and beach parties and the
crews that carried them ashore were
trained by the command for these
three advances Even 1t Gen
Alexander A. Vandegrifts marines
were trained here for their invasion
of Guadalcanal
The forces commanded by Com
modore Lee P. johnson thus play
vital role in the far-oft borne
attacks.
Camp Bradford has several schools
Of great importance in amphibious
training. There is the command and
staff school, where the higher Army
officers learn how TO direct their
troops in landing operations.
The quartermastef school teaches
combat officers to act as quarter
masters in the loading and unload
ing of their equipment. This may
sound like simple matter of book
keeping-if any bookkeeping is SIM
ple-but it's far more than that. In
fact, it's one of the most compl-
Gated and important jobs facing an
outfit when it embarks on a trans
port for some enemy-held shore. If
the troops storming the beachhead
can't get supplies they need at the
moment they're required, the as
sault will be failure. There must
be additional ammunition, at once,
and medical supplies, food and We
hiclos, perhaps tanks-whatever the
strategic situation calls for.
Transports Combat Loaded.
Transports sailing for amphibious
attacks are what they call combat
loaded" The equipment is packed
in Sllch wav that tho thipoS