The Wilmington morning star., 1947-03-02

suit of practically 100 per cent CONVEX
sion of a third of a $35, 000, 900 surplus
Army training comp into a permanent
peace-time facility.
This rare feat was accomplished so
ouietly few are aware of the Importance
of the new installation.
After nine months work, a good
part of Camp Davis, 80 miles northeast
of Wilmington at Holly Ridge, has been
saved from the desolate fate OF scores
of contemporary environments. Now 1t
is a Naval Ordnance Test station we'll
on the way to becoming one of the ma
|tion's best equipped fields for short
range missile examination. And this
was accomplished, by taking wide adj
vantage of the posts idle facilities and
little new construction, at a tremendous
saving to the federal taxpayer.
To get an idea of the motivation be-
hind Davis partial rejuvination, it is
necessary to go back to 1913, before the
majority of the tens of thousands who
trained there in its busy days as a
great Anti-Aircraft Artillery center
were born. It was that year that a
French scientist named Lorin originated
the idea of an engine without moving
parts capable of speeds greater than
those of sound. Subsequent discoveries
in supersonic aerodynamics enabled
modern scientists to see in his theory the
fast engine of the future. But, up to
January, 1915, it was still highly doubt
full whether it could be successfully
flown.
It was a matter of great speculation
whether the Germans had achieved
success and were preparing a new v
weapon on this principle. But non had
been launched by the Allied nations.
However, a new supersonic guided-mis-
sile was needed to combat Japan's
Kamikaze planes and expected attacks
by Baka bombs.
The Navy assigned the problem to
a group of contractors under the
technical direction Of the Applied Ply
sizes laboratory of John Hopkins univer-
sity.
Less than a month later, the first
models were launched without fuel.
Within six months a model of the newest
engine was flown successfully for the
first time in history. Name dthe ram
jet, the apparatus consists essentially
of an open pipe. Oxygen is scooped
into the front opening from the air dur
ing flight and compressed by the speed
of the jet, fuel is injected and burned
and the exhaust streams out the real
opening.
But science still has much to learn
in perfecting performance and reliability
of propulsion units and aerodynamic
design features for missiles.
Hence the necessity for a permanent
test range.
The search for a site was begun early
last year and extended up the Atlantic
coast from the Florida Everglades to
Long Island. Then one day the Navy
found Camp Davis and it was, from
first glance, apparently what it wanted.
1t had availability of facilities which
could be converted easily and inexpen-
sively, the possibilities for a range on
Topsail island were good and it was
quite accessible to the development
laboratory, at Silver Springs, Md, and
the Bureau of Ordance.
So, Davis was selected in Nav and
on June l the Kellex corporation, which
will operate the facility, took over the
engineering and architectural tasks of
preparing the station and it's ange.
What it has done is amazing.
The former post headquarters build
ing has become the center of admin
stratlon activities. Here, everything the
Army and later Marines left, from paper
clips on up, is being used. The old Of
ficers' club has been converted into
a well-furnished recreation center and
cafeteria whose china, bearing the Army
Medical corps Insignia, came out of the
Station hospital; At attractive apart
ments have been built in the former
hospital structure. Some fire stations