Browning chief. [volume] (Browning, Mont.) 1941-1953, 1943-05-21
Wing Talk
By Robert Mccormick
(WNU Feature-Through special arrangement
with Golfers Weekly


feet in a twin-engined bomber. The
general was looking down distaste-
fully at the 30-foot waves, when he
thought he saw two impudent little
yellow-winged planes sitting on the
water beneath him. He made his
pilot circle and came down to iu-
vestigate. He discovered that the
planes weren't actually on the water.
They were low over it, looking for
submarines. They were units of the
Civil Air patrol.
''How far is it to land?" the hor-
rified general asked the pilot.
"Seventy-one miles the shortest
way" the pilot said.
CLANCY wrote Maj. Earle
johnson, national commander Of
the CAP. 81 just wanted you
to know" he said, "that you
have no draft dodgers in that
bunch"
incidentally, CAP men are not de-
ferred from the draft. Most of them
have dependents or are average or
physically unfit for regular military
duty.
CAP Part of OCD.
The CAP was started a week be-
fore Pearl Harbor as part of the
Office of Civilian Defense. Plans
were worked over for a month be-
fore that, by committee of air.
conscious people who refused to be
skeptical. The main idea was to
use the thousands of private pilots,
planes and air enthusiasts, in work
which could be done by men and
equipment somewhat less high
powered than that used by the army
air force.
Since then, the CAP has flown
more than IA million miles-top
average is $1,000 miles month.
A wing was set up in each state,
under wing commander.
The boys and girls (several CAP
groups are all women) meet three
nights a week, usually, and study
navigation, radio, meteorology, mill
tary drill and military courtesy.
Those who bring their own planes
get paid around SIS an hour, depend
ing upon its horsepower, when it's
actually in the air. But only the
depreciation on the plane goes to
the owner; the rest goes into kitty
from which al! owners buy paris,
tools and similar essentials, when
they can get what they need.
Volunteers Mus: Go Anywhere.
There are 81 CAP bases from
Mexico to Maine, and a volunteer is
just as likely as not to find himself
sent for 80 days to forsaken hole
miles from the nearest civilization,
where he has to live by his wits and
courage.
One southern base, more than a
hundred miles from the nearest hos
pital, has among its active workers
well-knoWn doctor. who serves one
month each year instead of taking
a vacation. Out over the ocean one
day, he was notified by radio that
another man at the base was sick
The doc tore back to find a
young mechanic with ruptured
appendix. A workshop bench
was made into an operating ia
BILE, and with the few unspecial-
lied surgeons tools at hand, the
doctor went to work. The young
man is doing nicely today at
the same old stand, and the doc
tor is still pIacidIy flying the
submarine patrol on his time off.
When the CAP first got the idea
that its little outputs could be death
on subs, all even family orthodox
military minds were properly skep-
teal. Finally Major johnson, who
throws off enthusiasm for the project
in all directions, wangled $4,000 for
a 30-day trial at base near one of
the worst ship graveyards on the
East coast. The usual complement
of a base commander and 76 men
took over, with their customary
collection of odds and ends for equip
ment, and went to sea in the aerial
equivalent of pea-green boats.
Within ten days, General Bradley
of the army air force came up to
inspect the base. Ten days is scarce
ly time to set new apartment in
order, but he found the little air
planes buzzing over the ocean with
such effectiveness that sinkings had
dropped off IS per cent.
Yet the planes carried no
bombs, and could only radio the
army or navy for help when
they found a sub. Another base
was set up, and another and an
other, and at each one, the sink
ings went down.
One day two CAP planes found a
sub. They badgered it until it
rammed into mudbank, but they
didn't have as much as a rock to
drop. No help came and the sub
got away. When Gen. Hap Arnold,
chief of the air force, heard of the
incident, he blew up. The patro'
nlaneS would carry bombs he said