Evening star., 1943-02-19
Fort Bennjng Troops
Taught TO Repe|
Strafing Aircraft
Miniature Rodio-Guided
Plane Used os Target
Of Infantry Rifle Fire
BY WALTER McCALLUM,

FORT BENNING, Ga, Feb. 19.-
Ground troops of the Army of the
United States. using rifles against
attacking and strafing enemy air.
craft, will not go into battle cold
or lacking training to repel such at
tacks. Part of the infantry training
includes dispersal of troops in case
of strafing from the air, and eff
fective countermeasures by individ-
ual rife fire.
Troops are taught to march wide
ly dispersed, if there is possibility of
attack from the air. They are taught
to take cover quickly and to avoid
the bitches.
Plane pilots know how to run up
and down the bitches, pasting them
with machine-gun fire." said an in
fantry colonel. The best places for
foot soldiers in case of aerial straf-
ing Is in the fields or under cover
of woods, well dispersed"
And foot soldiers are not just
helpless targets. Concentrated rife
fire from fast-shooting weapons
such as the Garand rife, can be
more than annoying to plane.
Shot Down in Pearl Harbor.
Rife fire from the ground brought
down some planes in the Pearl Har-
Dor attack, where soldiers quickly
learned the technique of shooting
from the rear at receding plane,
rocketing overhead at $50 miles an
hour.
But something new in training the
individual soldier to protect him.
self from strafing planes is being
developed. A miniature radio-con-
trolled plane, propelled by an air
cooled motor, is in use at many
places for troop rife fire training
against low-flying air attack.
Buzzing like a super-charged bum
BILE bee high in the air, the little
plane dips and dives, does wing
overs and complicated aerial stunts
in instant response to radio control
No pilot sits in the cockpit of this
miniature job, with a Widespread
Of about feet. 1t is entirely con-
trolled by radio.
After the war these miniature
airplanes probably will come into
wide use by youngsters. To the re-
search and careful planning of
young air-minded miniature plane
engineers is credited much of the
development of this training facility
for the American Army.
Naturally, rife fire directed
against a speedy plane is not too
accurate" said a lieutenant But
it has one advantage 1t keeps the
plane high. The firepower of COM
pany of infantry is pretty intense
Probably few strafing pilots would
care to face the firepower OF any
considerable number Of ground
troops.
Percentage of Hits.
The percentage Of hits by rife
fire will step up as the troops learn
to lead the plane. This little plane
is no easy mark, however. 1t travels
fast and its size makes it hard to
hit" The little humble bee, high
overhead dipped and dove in simu-
lated dive bomber tactics, You can
see il is very maneuverable," SAID
the lieutenant.
Machine gun training against
plane attack usually utilizes an air
/ filed sleeve toWed many hundred,
Of feet behind an airplane. But ma
chine guns. with their rapid rate OF
] fire. are different from rifles. Also
they use tracer bullets with which
mistakes in fire can be corrected al
I once. Ground troops are equipped
with tracers for use in Garand. but
not perhaps in as large proportion
as the machine guns.
/ A stating plane moves pretty fast
and with considerable maneuverabil-
/ ity. But American Army grounc
troops, equipped only with hanc
weapons, are going TO be pretty dan.
gerous customers to be tackled BY
4 strahng enemy plane.