Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1956-03-07
House Group
Finds JET Plan
Too Expensive
Competition Hurt
Demon Program,
Committee Says
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BY ROBERT X. WALSH

ALC 4NuNy VOOO 4)NA1bOlA
Jet fighter program was plagued
by excessive spending, over
optimism and inadequate plan
ming. a House committee
charged today.
The Government Operations
Committee approved the report
of q subcommittee which said 1t
senses a costly and overzealous
competition between the Air
Force and Navy for the control
of aircraft production resources.
The report urged the Secretary
Of Defense to set up a system of
allocating engine production pri-
critics. 1t also recommended
better coordination of Navy and
Air Force procurement to make
fullest possible use of aircraft
industry research and resources.
Hearings in October
The subcommittee. headed by
Representative Holifield, Demo-
crat of California, held public
hearings last October on the
Nays project for development
of the Demon jet plane. These
centered on Navy contracts with
the Westinghouse Electric Co.
for production of the jet engines
and with the Mcdonnell Aircraft
Corp. Of st. Louis for manufac-
ture Of the airframes.
The Navy terminated the pro-
gram last July after several fatal
crashes and numerous revisins.
delays and mishaps since the
project was undertaken in 1947.
The subcommittee noted that
1.-The Navy never go. the engine
it wanted, nor did the engines it
got have any but secondary uses
for testing and training"
The investigation disclosed no
evidence of dishonesty or i'm
proper influence in the awarding
or termination of the contracts,
the report announced. But the
report went on to say:
1.-THE Navy expended more
than $500 million for $50 air.
craft in the Demon fighter pro-
gram. The first so Of these.
costing at least 1854 million will
be limited (four excepted to-
non-fiying uses. The other 200
have not yet been tested in fleet
use and now or soon may be
obsolete. The expenditures in
the aggregate were excessive
when judged by the end results.
errors in Judgment
1.-THE excessive expenditures
and the numerous difficulties en-
countered in the program were
due in part to the compromising
OF errors OF Judgment and in
part to factors beyond the i'm
mediate control OF. the parties
concerned. !.
THE Navy. Westinghouse and
Mcdonnell must share the re-
sponsibility for errors of judg-
ment and waste of public funds.
The final responsibility rests
with the Navy as the Govern
ment procurement agency"
The investigators said the
Demon fighter probably never
will be an important addition to
the feet. 1t based this belief on
"the rapid obsolescence which
overtakes such aircraft and the
unrelenting competitive demand
for new and better aircraft to
match or excel Soviet Russian
performance"
Much of the difficulty. the
report explained. developed from
changes in design and because
the original J40-10 jet engine
lacked sufficient power for the
airframes., The report criticized
the Navy for relying too much
on Westinghouse as single
source of engines. 1t also COM
planned that the Navy has not
been aggressive in developing
techniques to reduce chances
and costs of failure in perform
ance on aircraft and engine con-
tracts" 1t said the Navy's pre-
vailing attitude is one of
resignation to the inevitability of
frequent failures in development
and slippages in production and
a fear that the enforcement of
penalty clauses in contracts will
discourage chronological prog
ress."
Besides suggesting that the
Secretary of Defense order a
study of the competence and
caliber" of Navy procurement
officers. the report recommended
a number of changes in naval
procurement procedure. 1t also
urged that in view of the pre-
dominance of Government flnan-
cial support Of the aircraft
manufacturing industry, the Sec
rotary of Defense should make
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