AMERICAN AIR FLEET

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 11752, 4 February 1918, Page 2

AMERICAN AIR FLEET

American plans for war 'in the an have hitherto been sf'ther ignored or ridiculed in ih" German press, but on 9tii November the Cologne Gazette 'devoted a more or lass reasoned fron't.. page article to' theV eons deration. Aftru' publishing the details of 'iJhe vote of .£128,000,000 far a fleet of 22,600 aeroplanes and the training and maintenance o" a corresponds ng personnel. the s. mi-official journal says: "Although Americans are past-mas-ter.- .in the propagation of bg figures, it would be wrong to miin) ni'ise- the fact that the American mamita'jtnring industry is now putt' ng fotrh 'the greatest icffotts no produce the largest numbers flying macliin.es for war use in the shortest possible time. I, is tackling the problem i'n the Lvoad-gaug" American fashion. To facilitate; production oil a huge scale buiWers have adopted a standarsed engine while efforts will also bo made to citiuulard'so types as much as possible.

"According to n imported utterance of the general in charge of vhe American fly n«' forces, it is hoped to turn out 22.000 n-'roplfines by the end of June, 1918. This figure s vory cons'; denddy smaller than the jmmeasurab'y exaggerated total 'ooutx'rap.lat--011 l>y tlie Air Bill, bit,- it ,is -''"saggerat«l too. So far not a .sVnjili- Amer;eaii aeroplane lias been observed at the front-. "As a ina-Mer of tact an Atn'Tieaii fleet of 22.000 neronanes wll inve-r appear at the front. A '.'re.it'.- Hying machine, to cxpeii'OiK —, has aw average life of tlir«»e, a.t the outside four, months. At file end .of that tin** k< s nsohvs. If ilie I'n.ifed States want to mahiia-in a. Oct of 22.G00 madi.:mv at tile front, 'it wili. at '.he end of lour months. have 'to substitute an entirely new and eqiial'ly lar<j;e fleet. Therefore !n order to maintain a fleet in the war zone for a year only the Americans wlouhl need not 22,000 much nes, but. something; like 70,000. Th<> producM : -on o- siicli n vast numb r. with everything required in the way of spare parts, will ovi'ifa* even the capacities of the 'land ol unlini'ted paWbiiitics.' Actually 'th'eire will Iv rcquiiiel.i: -such heavy deductions from a 'total of 22,GOO ma.'ji.ines lor tr.imi ny purposes .".lid coast defence that if tlie programme is only to fill th:> Americans' r°q u rements fur one year w'e need J'n[ count on seeing more'than ]."» ot 20 per eient. of the Americans' vaitn-'i-, ed 22,000 machines .at, the front at any one t'Tiie. This perentage will not suffice to 'sweep the heavens dear of Gorman aeroplanes,' or >o lay tin'? industrial disi. IMs <<:' Western Ormiiiiv in. ruins.' v