Evening Star Newspaper, April 27, 1930, Page 58

AVIA TION BY JOSEPH S. EDGERTON. HOUGH the great annual Spring maneuvers of the Army Air Corps and of the aviation units of the Navy have been held this year thou- sands of miles away from the Na- tional Capital, the East Coast is to get a taste of the latest ad- vances in military aviation battle methods next month. Local “War” Planned. The National Capital is to get its share of simulated aerial war- fare when the area between Bol- ling Field and Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md., is turned into a “battlefield” for one week begin- ning May 12. The aviation units participating will be fresh from the Pacific Coast, where they have been for the past four weeks en- gaged in the annual Spring maneuvers of the Army Air Corps. The sinfulated battle will be waged for the possession of Phil- lips Field, Aberdeen, which will be defended by the crack 1st Pursuit Group, Selfridge Field, Mich., and the 62d Coast Artillery Anti-Air- craft Regiment, which is regularly stationed at Fort Totten, N. Y. but which. now is in camp at Aberdeen. * The attacking force, which is to be based at Bolling Field, will be composed of nine bombardment planes from the 2d Bombardment Group, Langley Field, Va., and nine attack planes from the 3d Attack Group, Fort Crockett, Gal- veston, Tex. Night Bombing Raids. Night bombing attacks are to be a feature of the exercises, the defending forces resorting to the use of searchlight batteries and “robot”-directed anti-aircraft guns, aimed automatically by sonic pointers trained on the sound from the airplane propellers and motors. Extensive use of radio is to be made during these operations. The defense of Aberdeen will be directed by Lieut. Col. Gerald C. Brant, Army Air Corps, of Mitchel Field, N. ¥. The attack- ing forces will be commanded by Maj. Hugh J. Knerr, commanding the 2d Bombardment Group. All of the officers and planes articipating in these exercises gave been making military avia- tion history during the past month in California, wheré the Army Air Corps has just completed the most extensive peace-time maneuvers in its history. The 1st Pursuit Group will send to Aberdeen 20 pursuit and three transport planes, with 23 officers and 21 enlisted men. The 3d At- tack Group is sending 9 officers and 9 enlisted men here from Texas and the bombardment group will be represented by 18 officers and 18 enlisted men. The greatest concentration of naval planes ever held on the At- lantic Coast is scheduled as a re- sult of the coming visit of all three aircraft carriers to Hamp- ton Roads and New York. The fighting squadrons from the car- riers, totaling approximately 160 planes, are to visit the National Capital, landing at Bolling Field and the Anacostia Naval Air Sta- tion on May 24, according to the’ present plans of the Navy Depart- backbone of the force will be the light cruiser divisions, composed of the nine light cruisers which have been commissioned under the new building programs. These are the Trenton, Marblehead, Richmond, Memphis, Detroit, Cin- cinnati, Milwaukee, Raleigh and Salt Lake City, and each cruiser carries its own complement of ob- servation planes, which are launched by catapulting. The destroyer squadrons will participate, led by the -cruiser Concord, and comprising three di- visions of six destroyers each, or 19 vessels in all. The aircraft squadrons partici- pating will be accompanied by the aircraft tender U. S. S. Wright, flagship of the squadrons and will include VT-98 torpedo and bom- bardment plane squadron from the Wright, VP-85 partol plane squadron from the Wright, VO-2S observation plane squadron from battleship division No. 2, VJ-2S utility plane division No. 2 from the Wright, VS-58 scouting plane squadron from light cruiser divi- sion No. 2, VS-6S scouting plane squadron from light cruiser divi- sion No. 3, and VS-7S8 scouting plane squadron from the cruiser Concord. Picked Squadrons to Go. Against this force the Army Air Corps will send a squadron from the first g rsuit group, Selfridge Field, Mich.; a squadron from the second bombardment group, Langley Field, Va., and a squad- ron from the ninth observation group, Mitchel Field, N. Y. These three squadrons are to be based at Trumbull Field from May 24 to May 28. The Army will concern itself only with defending Long Island Sound’s coast line and will work in co-operation with the fixed coast defense es- tablishments under direct com- mand of the commanding gen- eral of the 1st Corps Area. The exercises are expected to defense for observation purposes and to call attention again to the Army’s need for & new type of long-range reconnoissance plane. Two experimental planes of a type designed to meet this need now are under construction and may be completed during the Summer. They will be of revolu- tionary design and may open a new phase of military tactics in the air. The Army and Navy also are expected to put on a tactical of- fensive against New York City during the course of the New York Air Show May 3 to 10, approxi- mately 70 planes of various types and the Navy dirigible Los An- geles and the new all-metal Navy dirigible . ZMC-2, sometimes re- ferred to affectionately as the “tin bubble” or the “flying tomato can.” New York Show. The brunt of the mission is to full on the Mitchel Field observa- tion group, which will send three squadrons of 40 Curtiss Falcon These squadrons will be_the. 5th Observation, Capt. Edwin J. House; 99th Observation, Lieut. Frederick W. Evans, and 1st Observation, ment. The squadrons will fly a review in connection with the Curtiss Marine Trophy races, to be held at Anacostia on the afternoon of May 24. This will be the largest aerial review in the history of aviation on the Atlantic Coast and will be the greatest aeronau- tical spectacle the National Capi- tal ever has seen. Picked pilots from the Battle and Scouting Fleets and from naval air sta- tions are to compete in the races. which are the annual seaplane and flying boat classics in the United States, and which this year promise to be better con- tested than ever before. Formation Flights Planned. The Navy fighting plane squad- rons are fresh from the annual Spring battle exercises of the combined fleets, held in the Carib- bean Sea, and it is expected that the results of their arduous train- ing will be reflected in their fly- ing here. It is likely that a spe- cial demonstration of formation flying will be put on by the fa- mous Navy “High Hat” fighter squadron, which specializes for demonstration purposes in th flight of three sections of three planes each, with the planes of each section tied together by 50- foot lengths of rope. So tied together, the sections take off and fly an intricate pro- gram of maneuvers, including nine-plane loops. It is a hair- raising spectacle for the layman, as thousands found at the Na- tional air races last Fall, and is an example of what consistent and thorough training will do for ilots who must fly close forma- ions regularly. . The Navy “High Hats” 30 named because all the planes of the squadron bear painted on the side of the fuselage a high, gleam- ing silk hat, the squadron insig- nia, are an aggregation of very sweet flyers, and any show they may put on will be well worth watching. Two of the High Hats formed a section led by Col. Charles A. Lindbergh at Cleve- land during the races and they stuck to him like leeches through thick and thin. The High Hats may be splendid flyers, but so are the pilots of the other Navy squadrons, and when the 160 planes pass in review it probably will be a demonstration of formation flying which will lin- ger long in the minds of those who attend the races as the guests of Comdr. A. H. Douglas, com- mandant of the Anacostia Naval Air Station. Army-Navy Exercises. Following the races here many of the planes are to go to Narra- gansett Bay and the Cape Cod area, where exercises are to be held during the period from May 26 to June 1 to test the Eastern de- fenses of the New England-New York area. The first two days of the maneuvers are to be devoted to joint Army and Navy exercises sround Long Island Sound, with the Army Air Corps forces based &t Trumbull Field, Groton, Conn. Lieut. John A. Kasse. The Navy will send 18 Boeing fighters to New York on an 800- mile flight from the aircraft car- rier U. S. S. Saratoga, which will be stationed at Hampton Roads at the time, according to plans announced in New York. A program honoring Army and Navy aviation pioneers is to be held as a part of the New York show and will bring together ranking Government officials in military aviation. Among the group going from the National Capital will be Rear Admiral Wil- liam A. Moffett, chief of the Navy Bureau of Aeronautics, who has just returned from three months in London as a member of the United States «delegation to the London Conference for the Limita- tion of Naval Armaments; F. Tru- bee Davison, Assistant Secretary of War for Aeronautics; David S. Ingalls, Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Aeronautics, and Brig. Gen. Benjamin D. Foulois, first Army pilot, and now chief of the Army Air Corps material division. 25 AIR STUDENTS ATTEND GRADUATION Aviation 8chool Exercises at City Club Followed by Steps for Additional Organization. Graduation exercises for 25 students of classes of the Aviation School of America were held di the past week at the City Club and these gradu- ates now are meeting with earlier graduates of the school to arrange a anent organization. for the fur- ering of aeronautical education. ‘The uation certificates were Ehr:nn following & dinner, at which speakers were Maj. Harry M. Hor- ton and Maj. James G. L. Howard, Army e. Members of the regular school class graduated this week are J. P. Bowers, Andre J. Blancke, C. H. Blackwell, Raymond Carter, A. B. Covington, B. ‘W. Graves, W. M. Howard, Miss Marian C. Hall, Earl Lohr, John McVerry, George M. McLeoron, Jack Popowsky, E. H. Pugh, Lewis A. Quirk, Lester A. Sliter, Ralph P. White, William L. Wilson and Norman A. Baldwin. In addition, the class in welding gradu- ated Albert J. Smith and Prederick E. Beck and the class in navigation Clark Conway, R. P. White, B. H. Merchan! Dalton E. Erwin and Lester A. Sliter. Retains lubricating qualities at high tem- peratures. ures correct and dependable lubrication in all seasons and at “all speeds. Try Autocrat and learn the vast superior- ltly it has over the reg- ular run of motor oils. The Navy is planning to send a # formidable force l;llnlt the New d- coastal defenses, stress the use of aircraft in coast | tes observation planes over the city. | g THE SUNDAY AHEAD AS AIR BAGE Station to Be Host in May to Greatest Review Ever Held in East. The Anacostia Naval Air Station, which is to be the scene next month of the greatest aeronautical event yet held in the Eastern United States, has forged ahead steadily in importance as & Navy aviation base since its establishment, during the last year of the World War. The station has been the scene of the Curtiss marine trophy race, annual sea- plane and flying boat classic, for sev- eral years. On May 24, in addition to the races, which will be flown with & larger entry list than ever before, the station will be the scene of the great- est aerial review ever held on the At- lantic seaboard, according to present plans of the Navy. ‘The three Navy airplane carriers, Lexington, Saratoga and Langley, are to be in Hampton Roads next month, and the Navy is planning to send all the squadron from the carriers, totaling approximately 160 planes, to this city for the races. This will be more than three times as great as the largest number of planes ever seen in review here, and will be one of the largest reviews ever flown in the United States. The local station will act as host to the general public during the races, and it is anticipated that sentin{ ar- rangements will be made available Established 12 Years Ago. The Anacostia station was born in 1918, when the War Department granted the Navy Department permission to construct a landing beach for seaplanes at the lower end of Bolling Field, which had then just been established on ground partially filled by dredging from the Potomac River for park purposes. At that time the present site of the naval station was nothing but a marsh, and was used by the Army as a target range for small arms practice. In 1819 Lieut. Comdr. George Murray, U. 8. N., became the first comman officer of the station, with a comple- ment of about 250 men. A single sea- glnne hangar was constructed, and it oused the then standard types of Navy seaplanes—HS-1, H-16 and N-9 types. No land planes are used there, except one or two experimental types under t. From this small beginning the sta- tion has grown into a splendidly equipped establishment for both land and sea planes, with complete weather, radio and night-lighting equipment. The radio test section was organized in December, 1918, to permit the test- ing of experimental and service type aircraft radio material under actual flight conditions. This type of work has been continued without interrup- tion, and is regarded as of ever-increas- ing importance. The first radio broadcasting, in the light of present-day standards, to be conducted here was done through the Anacostia station. ‘The first presi- dential message ever to be broadcast was sent out from this station, according to the records. Flight Test Section in 1927. In January, 1927, the Navy flight test section was- established at the local station, and the work of this section today is regarded as one of the most important functions of the station. The flight test section is charged with all flight testing, including the interpreta- tion and reduction of all data and the) publication of reports thereon. The work requires the maintenance of a. large amount of equipment especially constructed for the accurate determina- tion of data concerning airplane per- lormance. It is the duty of the flight test sec- tion to determine the maximum an minimum speeds of aircraft, their ceil- ing (or maximum) altitude range, other flight performance data which determine their general suitability for use by the Navy. ‘The station also includes an aerologi- cal laboratory, especially equipped for obtaining weather information by local observation and communication from other points as a basis for dis- semination of weather information over all airways out of the National Capital. ‘Transmission of information now is ac- complished by means of a teletype sys- tem which gives instanfaneous commu- nication to all points brought in on the circuit. This service is of value not only to the Navy but to all aviators fiying in the territory covered by the system. Commanding Officers. Commanding officers of the station since Comdr. Murray, Who served dur- ing 1919, have been Lieut. Rufus H. Busch, who served from 1919 to 1922; Lieut. Comdr. Cecil Y. Johnston, 1922; Lieut. Comdr. Marc .A. Mitscher, 1922; Lieut. Willlam D. Thomas, 1922-25; Lieut. Comdr. Homer C. Wick, 1925-28; :3& lzéeuc. Comdr. DeWitt C. Watson, ‘The present commanding officer is Comdr. Archibald H. Douglas, who as- sumed command last Summer. Comdr. Douglas was graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1908, and en- tered naval aviation in 1918. During the World War he was attached to the naval bombardment up in France. He then commanded the Naval Air Sta- tion at Rockaway, N. Y, and later the U. B. 8. Aroostook, naval aircraft ten- der, He was captain of the at the Naval Air Station, Pensacola, Fila., for five years, and for two years was operations officer and aide to Com- airons, the aircraft tion of the scouting fleet. He spent a vear in the Naval War College at Newport, R. I, before assuming command at Anacostia on July 3 last. Comdr. Douglas is a noted athlete, starring in foot ball and base ball while at Annapolis. He was awarded the Thompson Trophy for gen- eral excellence in athletics during his Naval Academy career. —_— MAKES SAFETY RECORD Stout Air Lines, operating scheduled passenger services between Detroit, Cleveland and Chicago, have completed their millionth mile of scheduled opera= tions without injury to & passenger, ac- cording to reports received here. The line has been in operation since August, 1926, and more than 107,000 passengers have been flown. “BEST OiL IN THE WORLD" Four daily round trips are made be- tween Detroit and Cleveland and three between Detroit and CI . Traffic has gcr::ud regularly 0:ml on one occasion it was necessary to run 11 sec- tions to handle the demand. i Nothing is more important than thorough lubrication. AUTOCEAT—THE OIL THAT IS DIFFERENT FROM ALL OTHERS Beware of Substitutes Try Autocrat the next time you need oil, and judge its advantages for yourself. At the Better Dealers BAYERSON OIL WORKS, COLUMBIA 5228 AR, WASHINGTON, D. C, APRIL 27, 1930—PART FOUR. ANACDSTIAFORGES | C__—covee am ovr son conms macss | Over this 20-mile course, with the start and finish line at the Anacostia Naval Air Station, the largest field of Navy % geaplanes ever entered in the Curtiss marine trophy races, annual seaplane and flying boat classic, will compete on May the station for nearly 10,000 spectators: 24, On the right, below, is Comdr. A. H. Douglas, commandfhg officer of the station, who will act as host to the public at the station during the races. On the left is Lieut. J. J. Clark, executive officer and second in command at the sta- tion. The races promise to be the greatest aeronautical event which has occurred in the Eastern United States. NEW SERVICE OPENS ‘Daily Passenger Sightseeing Start- ed From Alexandria Airport. Passenger aerial sightseeing service was inaugurated by Mount Vernon Airways from the Alexandria Afrport, just below Alexandria, Va., on the Richmond road, this morning, and will continue daily in the future, it was announced yesterday. Three planes will be available for this service and flights will be made over Mount Ver- %’;{l other points of interest in the Lieut, A. H. Mettee, Army Alr Corps TRy ute jump af n mmeflmem!zuwnwn‘ It will be his 235th jump in two years. Pilots’ Ability Is Tested. Trial lessons for prospective vilots, to determine whether visable for them to continue, are by a flying club at Cape Town, Africa. The trial costs the student about $5. ‘The system is said to work very well, with a saving to students and the club. airplane it is ad- —=Star Staff Photos. RUMANIAN TO STUDY OCEAN AIR ROUTES Meteorological and Topographical Conditions Off Greenland Will Be Plumbed. Studies looking toward establishment of future transatlantic air lines will be made this Summer by Dr. Constantin Dumbrava, Rumanian scientist and ex- plorer, who will establish headquarters at Scoresby Sound, on the east coast of Greenland, about July 15, to observe meteorological and topographical con- ditions on the proposed air route, the +| Department of Commerce has been ad- vised. An experimental flight will be spon- sored by the Fast Air Service Transport iven | Co. of Montreal, which is constructing an assembly plant and airport at Cap de la Madeleine, Three Rivers, Quebec, with an eye to establishment of service between Canada and Europe. SEEKS ADDED PRESTIGE St. Louis Maps Extensive Program of Aviation Activity. ST. LOUIS (#).—Increased prestige as an aviation center is the goal of St. Louis this year. ‘To_attain this end the Air Board of the Chamber of Commerce has mapped n? le;(;%nsive program for the remainder o . Activities will include a study of the present airmail service to devise ways of extending the mail routes both east and southwest from this city; a con- certed movement to develop plans for a downtown airport; a campaign in the public schools to create greater interest in aviation, and a drive to obtain new aviation industries. Safety in Air Demonstrated. LOS: ANGELES, Calif. (#)—Flying more than 1,000,000 miles between Seat- tle, Wash,, and Los Angeles with mail and passengers, four mechanical land- ings have been made by Pacific Air Transport pilots. They were not forced landings, officials say, but were made at regular emergency flelds. TRIBUTE O BE PAID AIRMAIL PIONEERS NATIONAL GUARD SOON IN FIELD OF AVIATION First Step in Development Made in Combination of Units at Newark, N. J. Postmaster General to Give tional Gusrd aviatior Address at Celebration in New York. Tribute will be paid to the airmail ploneers who laid the foundation for commercial air transport development in this country at a celebration on May 5 in connection with the New York Air Show. Postmaster General Walter F. Brown will head a delegation from this city, several of the pioneers, including the first mail pilot, being residents of the National Capital. The airmail ploneet celebration is to be one of the most colorful events in lon with the show. More than 100 veterans of the airmail have ac- cepted invitations to participate. ‘The Postmaster General will deliver an address, which will be broadcast over a national radio chain, at 8:30 pm. May 5 in the arena at Madison Square Garden. He will discuss the building of the airmail system on a sound basis for future development as an integral factor in modern life. The address is expected to be of vital im- portance in view of the pending Watres bill to reorganize the contract airmail system and the effect which its antici- pated passage will have on the growth of this service and its relationship with other forms of air transport. W. Irving Glover, Second Assistant Postmaster General in charge of air- mail, and James C. Edgerton of this city, first airmail pilot and first chief of flying operations of the Post Office Department airmail system, will talk on the pioneering days of the service at an afternoon program in Madison Square Garden May 5. Glover will trace the history of the airmail since its inception by the Army Air Service in 1918. Edgerton will tell the story of the first airmail flight, made between New York and Washington May 15, 1918, and will tell of the hardships met and overcome in establishing the early airmail service, which was operated by the Post Office Department for a time after being taken over from the War Degnn:nhenz. i n the evening program with Mr. Brown will be E. Hamilton Lee, picked as the dean of all airmail pilots after a canvass of veteran pilots conducted by the Aeronautical Chamber of Com- merce. During his 12 years of continu- ous service Lee has flown 1,309,900 miles, representing a total flying time of 13,099 hours. Among the other leading pilots of the Nation in point of service who will be present are Wesley E. Smith, division manager of National Air ‘Transport; W. D. Willlams, N. A. T., and Frank Yager, Harry W. Hauking and Clare K. Vance, Boeing Air Trans- port. All five have had more than 5,000 hours each, and have flown more than a half million miles apiece. ‘While the program is being arranged by the Aeronautical Chamber of Com- merce, a reunion of pilots is to be held ark, N. J, the War Department has an- n nounced. ‘The 119th Squadron is the nineteenth observation squadron to be organized in the National Guard of the various States, making one for each of the 18 Infantry divisions and the 154th Ob- servation Squadron, Little Rock, Ark., which is assigned to Army aviation. In o | the local area National Guard aviation activity is in the hands of the 104th Obseryation 29th Division, stationed at Baltimore, Md. ‘The next efforts in de: it of National Guard aviation be di- rected toward fecting training and completing the equipment of the present squadrons, the War Department announced. under auspices of the National Airmal Pilots’ Association, and a dinner for the pilots will be given by Carl P. 3 former superintendent of contract mail of the Post Offi nt. - in the ice ‘This is to be the first time history of aviation that the fiyers of the Oovehrnmznt airmail have been n; Pprogram is expected to bring to- gether men who form the backbone of commercial aviation in this country. Among the veteran mail pilots from the National Capital who have been in- vited are Gilbert G. Budwig, director of air regulation of the Department of Commerce, aeronautics branch; Lowell s ‘l"zlrdlnx. (:trmer cm;tlgum at Wash- n Airport, now field manager at Atlanta for Eastern Air 3 Merrill K. Riddick, son of former Rep- resentative Carl Riddick, and Charles I Stanton, airways division, Bureau of Lighthouses, Department of Legion Plane Coming Here. l;rnhe “New Arabella,” :mmcfim plane g m to mayors an nml in 21 nfl‘"uu-. will visit the National Capital, 3, arriv- ing here at about 4:30 p.m. is pflmdm by Russell and Legion representa~ tive, radio operator and mechanic. The ?gmubelngmmmmmh national convention Legion in Boston next Ogfir. S AVIATION NEEDS AIRCRAFT, DRAFTSMEN COLUMBIA SCHOOL OF DRAFTING Enroll any time—Day. and Classes. Continued "'”&' year., Send for Free Catalogune 13th and E Sts. NW. Metre. 5636 et QUALITY - IS : THE : BEST * POLICY - Performance-Value and Quality-Value Found Nowhere Else at g The generous size and the beautiful design of the Graham Six Four-door Town Sedan lead you to expect extraordinarily fine performance. 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