Evening star., 1955-10-26
Fought voiding
JET Contracts,
Admiral Says
Later Took Job
With Firm Milking
PIones. He Testifies
BY ROBERT X. WALSH

81
A former Navy Bureau Of Aero
nautics deputy chief who became
q vice president Of the McDon-
nell Aircraft Corp. three months
ago admitted to a House snb-
committee today that while In
the service he opposed early.
termination Of controversial Jet
plane and engine contracts with
that firm and the Westinghouse
Electric Corp.
The witness was Rear Ad-i
miral Lloyd Harrison, who Joined.
the st, Louis Rirplane manufac-l
turing concern last August /, the
day after he retired from the
Navy. He defended his accept
ance Of the job as having been
proper. legal and In the
best interests Of the Govern
ment itself. He related that to1
his surprise the job was first
offered last March by j. 8. Me-
Donnell. company president.
Mr.. Mcdonnell was promised
an opportunity to return this
afternoon as q witness and toI
offer a statement concerning the
appointment Of Admiral Harri-l
son.
Planes Proved Faulty
The subcommittee is in its
third day Of hearings to deter
mine responsibility for costly
difficulties that developed be-
tween 1854 and early this year
In Navy buying Of Fish Demon
planes with J-40 Jet engines
which later proved inadequate.
Mr.. Mcdonnell declared. in
continuing testimony he began
late yesterday, that the original
J-40 engine type apparently was
suitable for the interceptor Jet
planes specified by the Navy just
prior to the outbreak Of the Ko-
rean fighting. But the Navy re-
yised its specifications and called
for an all-purpose, heavier fight
er jet plane. The subsequent
J-40 engine changes did not
prove strong enough for the
purposes Of the bigger plane.
At one point, MIR. Mcdonnell
severely criticized "our friends
Of the great American free
press, who. he said, have been
many inaccurate things
about the Demon plane and the
J-40 engines.
Doing Their Best
They have been doing the
best they could with the limited
time and knowledge they have" !"
he asserted, "but they have
thoroughly clobbered the scien-
tific and technical aspects OF the
situation. /"
Representative Hoffman, Re-
publican Of Michigan. q member
OF the House Government OPP
erations Subcommittee inves-
tigating the matter. observed that
some newspapers may have
loosely" described the problem
as involving planes that wouldn't
dy !" He remarked that per
haps they have to say some-
thing to attract attention just
like congressman do running
for once"
Mr.. Mcdonnell apparently was
not amused. He insisted that
Of the 80 Fish planes his COM
pany manufactures for the
Navy. 23 did fiy, He insisted.
however. that because OF engine
difficulties the planes were not
deemed adequate for day-in and
day-oit flight. especially In COM
bat. He predicted that the In
staIlation Of J-7i engines. be-
ing made by the Allison Divi-
sion of the General Motors Corp.
Ia the new model Of the Demon
jet. would prove thoroughly
satisfactory,
Questioning Is Pointed
The questioning Of Admiral
Harrison was far more pointed
and insistent than that Of any
previous witness during the last
three days. Herbert Roback.
subcommittee chief investigator.
seemed irked when the witness
several times said he could not
remember particular discussions
with other Navy officials con-
cerning the Mcdonnell and
Westinghouse contracts in re-
cent years.
Admiral Harrison said he was
deputy or assistant chief OF the
Bureau OF Aeronautics from 1852
until his retirement last July.
During that time he had no di-
rect relations with the McDon-
nell or Westinghouse companies,
he said. He added. however. that
contract termination matters
concerning those Arms occasion
ally came to him for review or
approval as routine.
He testified that he discussed
with the late Admiral Apollo
Soucek, then chief of the bu-
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