The Waterbury Democrat. [volume] (Waterbury, Conn.) 1917-1946, 1943-02-23

+. Rear Admiral John ~ Mccain,
chief Of the navy's bureau OF aero
nautics, wrote the following disc
patch for the United Press on che
role Of naval and marine avlation
in the war.
written for the United Press)
BY Rear Admiral John 8. Mccain
Chief, Navy Bureau Of AerOnautics
washington, Feb. 20. CUP)-The
tide Of World War II Is being turned
by the United Nations.
Naval aviation has carried its full
share Of the burden In the monu-
mental Job Of absorbing the FIRST
treacherous blows Of the enemy. It
has rallied to the long, gruelling
task Of fighting back to q more even
footing, and has finally reached the
point where campaigns designed to
lead to final victory may be
planned.
we in the bureau Of aeronautics
are charged with providing highly
trained aviators and highly-devc
oped aircraft to the feet whence
they strike out at the enemy. These
aviators and these aircraft must be
the best. Second best In personnel
and equipment won't even come
close in the grim business Of war.
The story Is told in the balance
sheet, in the columns headed de
struction Of the Enmey" and NAVAL
aviation losses"
The swift tempo Of modern air
warfare makes It impossible to tab
Ulate with any degree Of exactitude
these columns, but from incomplete
reports, these facts stand out:
From Pearl Harbor through 1912
navy and marine corps airmen de-
stroyed at least 1900 enemy planes.
Navy and marine corps avaitors
have been credited with at least
one-half Of the Japanese ships Zap
proximately $3.50, which have been
sunk or damaged by U. 8. naval
forces. /.
Hundreds Of millions Of dollars
worth Of enemy ground installations
have been wrecked by naval and
marine corps airmen.
Scores Of thousands Of Japanese
personnel have been killed or
wounded in these actions.
Balanced against these gains are
very small losses Of naval personnel
and loss In combat Of only'about 800
airplanes.
we might at this time also ask
another question: Is naval aviation
prepared to carry on, with ever-in-
creasing effectiveness, its part Of the
Job Of destroying the Axis?
In answer, I can only say that
we, are constantly developing new
air war weapons which we believe
will surpass anything the enemy
can put into action. The engineer
ing and production genius Of the
aircraft manufacturing industry,
aided by scores Of allied industries,
Is being focused completely on our
objective.
Only last week, our newest fighter,
the Vought Corsair, went into
action. This we believe to be the
most heavily powered, fastest, long
CSVsIHklBS1 4AbskQCDU@4AAOVAkAS navy
fighter In the world. It's introduction
to combat marks the first appear
ance Of the 1000 horsepower air
craft engine In o navy fighter.
However, It Is not to be supposed
that we think we can win our bat
ties with any single type Of air.
plane. We know that the enemy Is
planning something bigger and bet.
ter than the Corsair. Scare we
and not just one new fighter, or two,
or three, but many more.
Similar research Is under way in
connection with every type Of naval
air weapon. New methods to Inn
prove the quality Of our aviatorS
keep on handing over to the fleet
the best warplanes and the best
aviators in the world.