riDL in in
Senate Committee Completes Investi
gation Into This Department of War
Work and Files Majority and Mi
nority Report*.
In the senate’s investigation of the
war work, the military committee,
headed by Senator Chamberlain, sub
mitted two reports—a majority and a
minority—with respect to the air
craft production part of the war pro
gram. In the April 15 number of the
“Aerial Age.” these two reports are
published verbatim, as is also a state
ment from W. A. Morgan, late vice
president of the Curtiss company,
manufacturers of airplanes. Due to
the general interest in this matter,
brought about by charges that there
has been mismanagement and incom
petency displayed by those in imme
diate control of aircraft production,
the Times will reproduce the two re
ports, and also the Morgan statement.
It will not be possible to publish the
lengthy matter in one issue, so it will
be continued from day to day until
completed,
Majority Report.
The committee on military affairs
of the senate, on April 10, submitted
the following report on the aircraft
situation:
“The committee on military affairs,
being engaged under authority of the
senate in an investigation of the war
department, and having taken much
testimony, herewith submits the fol
lowing report in the matter of aircraft
production, together with certain rec
ommendations:
Training School.
“The signal corps has established
and is now conducting 20 aviation
training schools in the United States.
Four additional schools are in process
of construction and are expected to
he iinished in June next.
“The aggregate capacity of the
schools now in operation is something
overJB.000 cadets. One thousand nine
hundred and twenty-six have thus far
been graduated from this primary
training course and commissioned as
reserve military aviators. Very few
of these have received their advanced
training in this country.
“In addition to the above, the sig
nal corps, acting upon the invitation
of the several entente governments,
dispatched some 1,200 cadets to Eng
land, France and Italy last year, who
were to receive primary and advanced
training in aviation schools of those
countries. The experience of a great
many of these men has been most un
fortunate in that at some of the
schools a very serious delay has occur
red in providing th an with the train
ing planes, which it was expected
would be manufactured in foreign
factories in sufficient number. As a
result, sc vend hundred of the Ameri
can cadets have been practically idle
and have made no progress. About
450 of them are reported as having
completed the primary training after
long delay. The signal corps is giving
serious consideration to the advisabil
ity of bringing the remainder back to
the United States to be trained. With
the exception of this severe disap
pointment, the primary training of
our aviators, according to the testi
mony of the aviation officials, ap
pears to be progressing favorably.
The health record of the schools is ex
cellent and the fatalities arising from
aviation accidents, while always dis
tressing, appear to be less frequent
than in the schools of our allies, ac
cording to the testimony of the chief
signal officer.
Training Planes.
“For some time after the inception
of the work the output of primary
training planes in this country for use
in our schools gave ground for grave
concern. In recent weeks, however,
the output has been greatly increased
and there seems to be no doubt of the
signal corps having an amply suffi
cient number in the future. On April
1, 1918, 3,518 primary training planes
have been completed. The planes are
of two standard types developed for
the purpose and are equipped with
| spectively. The advanced training
| planes are being turned out in accord
: ance with the schedule and estimates
1 laid down at the inception of their
| manufacture. In advanced training
! planes four types are being made, the
1 total number of to date manufactured
being 342. In these planes three types
of engines will be used, of which 965
have been completed. These include
Gnome, Le Rhone, and Hispano Suiza,
| all of foreign design but American
j manufacture. The Liberty motor is
not suitable for use in these planes.
The Liberty Motor.
“It is apparent from the evidence
! that the 12-cylinder Liberty motor is
1 just emerging from the development
■ or experimental stage. Since the orig
; inal design and the setting up of the
first completed motor in July, 1917,
a large number of changes have been
found necessary, many of them caus
ing delay in reaching quantity pro
duction. Within the last two months
changes of considerable importance
have been made which, it is hoped,
will make the motor serviceable for
1 combat planes of the defensive type,
and for bombing and observation
planes. It is not designed for and can
not be used in the swift, single-seater
fighting machines. These reports, as
recited to the committee, indicate
that with the latest changes the motor
will be satisfactory for the character
of work expected of it and that it
bids fair to hold its own with foreign
motors of similar power, weight, and
purpose. For the campaign of 1919,
the Liberty motor must undoubtedly
be further improved in order to keep
up with the evolution constantly go
ing on along the front. The motor as
now manufactured is of the direct
driven type, a type which has limits
of usefulness in heavy machines.
“Steps are being taken in the de
signing of a geared drive in order that
the usefulness of the motor may be
further extended and further im
provements attained. Twenty-two
thousand five hundred Liberty motors
have been ordered, 122 have been com
pleted for the army, and 142 for the
navy. Four have been shipped over-*
seas. Some of those already delivered
are being altered to overcome the de
fects ascertained during the last few
weeks. It is understood, however,
that these alterations will consume
but a very short time. The produc
tion of Liberty motors to date is, of
course, gravely disappointing. The
testimony shows that experts of the
highest reputation and experience
have, since last July, repeatedly warn
ed the officials of our government that
the perfecting of a newly designed
motor must inevitably involve many
months of painstaking experiment ac
companied by many setbacks and dis
appointments. In spite of the unani
mous testimony of motor experts
along this line, the government offici
als having the manufacture of the
Liberty motor in charge have made
the mistake of leading the public and
the allied nations to the belief that
many thousands of these motors
would be completed in the spring of
l'J 18. information of this sort, not
borne out by the facts, has been in
jurious, and its constant dissemina
tion the committee regards as mis
leading and detrimental to our cause.
Combat Fianes.
“The production of combat planes in
the United States for use in actual
warfare has thus far been a substan
tial failure and constitutes a most se
rious disappointment in our war prep
arations. We had no design of our
own; neither did we adopt any one of
the European designs until months af
ter we entered the war. Much time
was consumed in discussion as to
types. Innumerable changes in de
signs and specifications of the types
finally decided upon have cost further
delay. In all, five types have, at one
! time or another, been adopted. Two
of them have been abandoned after
the expenditure of much time and
money. rlhe three remaining types
still left upon our program are nowr in
1 the course of manufacture. Of these,
the largest and most powerful is the
Handley Page heavy bombing ma
chine, designed to carry as many as
six men, eight machine guns, and a
heavy load of bombs, and to bs driven
by two Liberty motors. The history
of the negotiations for the adoption
| and manufacture of this plane afford
| a remarkable illustration of procras
cite. Sufli
signs and sp .. m.
which had been used \ Lo
cess by the British and pia. n ;>
duction by that governmen ere
fercd to our officials as early as !i;.y
1917. The testimony before youi
committee shows that the signal corps
finally decided upon the manufactur
of a number of sets of parts of this
machine about January 1, 1918. Even
tually the finished and tested parts
will be shipped to England, where
they are to be finally assembled ir
factories now7 being prepared for this
work. Officials of the aviation sec
tion of the signal corps testify thal
they do not expect the completion oi
the first sets of parts in this country
before the month of June, 1918.
"Another type of combat plane
knou7n as the De Haviland, is includec
in our program. This machine habit
ually carries two men, four machine
guns, a moderate load of bombs, ane
other apparatus and is to be driven b>
one Liberty motor. Fifteen have beer
completed; one has been shipped tc
France; the remaining 14 have beer
very recently completed in this coun
try. Some of these have been tested
propelled by a Liberty engine, ant
appear to have given satisfaction. The
third type upon the program is knowr
as the Bristol fighter. This machine
is lighter and faster than the DeHavi
land. Its speed is expected to be ir
the neighborhood of 125 miles pei
hour. It is what is known as a recon
noissance machine. Another tern
which might be properly applied to i1
is "defensive fighter.” It carries twe
men, four machine guns, and is driver
by one Liberty motor. The decisior
to make this type was reached on No
vember 7, 1917. The manufacturers
completed the first of these machines
during the v7eek ending March 30
1918. The machine was tested oner
during that week with a Liberty mo
tor, and, according to the te^timom
of the aviation officials, met its pre
liminury test successfully. This ma
chine, a few7 hours after its flight
caught fire while standing upon tin
aviation ground and was entirely de
stroyed. The officials of the signa
corps assured the committee that an
other machine would soon be finishee
by the manufacturer and that if it mei
the tests satisactorily quantity pro
duction might he expected within i
reasonable period. The testimony a^
to this machine was given on April 2
1918. This completes the list of ma
chines now under manufacture ant
constitutes a correct statement of tin
situation in this country as of Apri
1, 1918. In addition to the Americar
production of engines and aeroplane.'
as herein set forth, considerable
orders for combat aeroplanes
and for engines were last sum
mer placed with European manufac
turers by Gen. Pershing, and we have
furnished quantities of material anc
numbers of mechanics to aid in theii
construction.
“Your committee has full informa
tion as to the number and quantity ol
machines and engines ordered here
and abroad but does not feel justifiec
in stating the number in this public
report. The facts contained in this re
port are drawn from the testimony o:
the chief signal officer, Gen. Squier
Co!. Deeds, and Mr. Potter, the chie!
of the equipment division of the avi
ation section of the signal corps, anr
are confirmed from other sources of
ficial and otherwise.
“Your committee, being devoid ol
technical knowledge of motors* ant
aeroplanes, does not undertake tc
point out in detail engineering ant
manufacturing errors which may have
been committed and which, in part
may account for this gravely disap
pointing situation. Your committee
however, is convinced that much ol
the delay in producing completed com
bat aeroplanes is due to ignorance o1
the art and failure to organize the ef
fort in such a way as to centralize
authority and bring about quick de
cision. A certain aloofness in dealing
with persons possessing informatior
based upon experience, an apparenl
intention of confining the actual pro
duction to a restricted number of con
cerns, and a failure of the officials ir
charge of the work to grasp the situa
tion in a broader way and seize upor
the best approved foreign engines anc
planes and proceed promptly to builc
as many as possible for the campaigr
1 '
' d I
cog. a n f e
■ formance rf it;:, da y :d ' o
; the senate.
“Youh committee believes that pro
, duction of aircraft should be control
led by one executive officer, appointed
i by the president and responsible to
: him. He should be assisted by a corps
of the best aircraft engineers and de
signers possible to obtain, both Euro
pean and American. 'I he matter of
production should be taken out of the
hands of the signal corps entirely, and
no man who has any near or remote
interest in a company manufacturing
airplanes or engines should be per
j mitted to act as adviser or be in au
thority. While we are developing
American aircraft and American en
gines we should temporarily, at least,
; procure an abundant supply of ap
proved types of aircraft and engines
of European design.
“Further, it seems to the commit
tee that e^ery encouragement should
be given to the development of air
craft and that any action which re
itards progress, such as trust agree
■ ments or the prevention of those de
veloping machines from flying, under
proper restrictions, should be re
. moved.
| “The committee also believes it to
be its duty to point out that thus far
no broad plan looking to future de
;jvelopment has been laid down by the
i i uthorities. Warfare in the air is still
in its infancy and it is inevitable that
: rapid changes will take place in both
engines and planes. It is essential to
; our success that those in charge of the
i American aviation development shall
, be constantly looking ahead and de
1 vising plans for a continued expansion
of the program, as well as the devel
opment of new types of engines and
The Minority Report.
, The minority report follows:
i “We do not believe that the report
of the majority of the senate military
i| affairs committee on the aviation sit
■ j uation shows a proper estimate of
l what is being accomplished or that it
: is sufficiently complete to give an ac
curate impression of the facts.
“Soon after the war began the sig
i nal corps arranged with the French
, government for the making of 6,100
combat planes at a total cost of $127,
l 000,000, the planes to be produced as
■ rapidly as American fliers could be
trained to operate them. As the Araer
i ican aero squadrons reach the front
i ready for duty, battle planes are be
1 ing supplied them under this arrange
i ment. To aid in this foreign manu
facture of planes for American fliers,
the signal corps has shipped to France
■ 11,000 tons of various materials and
! has sent 7,000 mechanics to release for
■ French factories making planes for
our American fliers the French work
ers on motor transports. The signal
corps then arranged for the making of
! about 11,500 combat planes in the
! United States, the term combat plane
: being here used to embrace all kinds
of planes, both offensive and defen
r sive, except training planes. The Cur
, tiss Aeroplane corporation, the Day
ton Wright Aeroplane company, the
■ Fisher Body company, the Standard
1 Aero corporation, the Grand Rapids
Aeroplane company, W. H. Mullen &
v.o., ana aoout nineteen otner compa
' nies throughout the country were en
[ gaged for the production either of
i completed machines or of spare parts.
! “Let it be said here that when the
i war began the United States govem
, ment had purchased altogether less
than 200 aeroplanes in its entire his
, tory, and that of the few aeroplanes
factories in this country probably not
one was making over five or six a
' | month. It is hardly possible to grasp
| the magnitude of the task the factor
ies contracting to make the 71,500
combat planes found before them.
■ New plants had to be constructed, old
ones fundamentally changed. Special
; tools for the making of the planes had
to be trained to make the tools and
also to make the planes after the tools
had been completed. An aeroplane,
especially the battle aeroplane, is one
of the most highly technical, delicate,
and complicated machines known to
man. In no other form of machinery
. is absolute and painstaking accuracy
t 1,000 parts, and
t id ) to 2,800 different
gs i. e preparation for its
iacture—almost as many draw
s are required for a battleship.
Every part is strained to the utmost
wjjile the machine is in the air, and
the slightest break almost anywhere
means instant disaster.
Perfection Necessary to Safety.
“When it is remembered how often
the wheels of railway trains, due to hot
boxes, etc., parts of railway and au
tomobiles, etc., go wrong, necessitat
ing immediate repair, and that any
similar breakdown in an aeroplane!
would mean, as a rule, death to its j
occupants, some pai-t of the responsi
bility and difficulty involved in mak
ing a finished plane may be under
stood.
“Remember further that every
fighting plane must have machine
guns, synchronizing devices, special
telescope aeroplane sights, wireless
apparatus, cameras of special type,
electric heating devices for clothing,
oxygen apparatus, speed indicators,
special gauges, barometers, compas
ses, altometers, etc. To say that this
complicated equipment is in steady
and adequate production, and that the
factories are now about in shape for
quantity production of combat planes,
and have about completed the founda
tion for what is as difficult and re
; sponsible a task as has ever fallen to
‘the hand and brain of man, is to state
the truth and at the same time to re
cite an achievement unparalleled in
all history for so short a time.
“Remember again that when these
combat planes were contracted for the
only lubricating oil adapted to their
delicate parts was an oil made from
the castor bean. There were not
onnnrrll Honnc ill tVll'« tfl mnlfp
anywhere near the amount of oil re
quired. Neither were there enough
seeds with which to grow the needed
quantity of beans. The signal corps
1 had to search the globe for seeds, and
i finally secured a shipload from distant
India. Then the corps had to contract
for the planting of ihe seeds in this
country, and has succeeded in having
about 110,000 acres planted. It is now
claimed that a orm of petroleum has
been developed that will answen the
same purpose. This, however, is still
in the experimental stage, while the
oil from the castor bean is known to
be entirely adequate and reliable.
“Remember again that the cloth
used in the wings of the aeroplanes of
all types hadxto be treated with ace
tone, a liquid substance which makes
the cloth as fireproof as possible, and
also strengthens it for the immense
strain to which it is subjected in the
air. The signal corps is having this
acetone distilled from wood under its
own supervision on an enormous scale,
and at a cost of about $20,000,000.
“The corps has had to find a substi
tute for Irish linen, as the material
for wing cloths on training planes,
and has succeeded in adapting a cer
tain form of long staple cotton to this
need.
“Coming to the training plane, it
may well be said that the completion
of 3,500 to date and the fact that they
are now on quantity production, prac
tically according to program, consti
tute a remarkable achievement when
the nature of the task is fairly weigh
ed. The training plane is simpler than
the battle plane, and for that reason
could be produced sooner, but the
I making of the tiaining planes on a
| quantity scale is in itself a task of un
precedented difficulty and magnitude.
| “Let it be remembered further that
the signal corps had to put regiments
, of workers in the forests to find the
spruce needed in the making of aero
planes. The spruce trees are found
among fir and other trees, and of each
100 feet cut only about 15 per cent is
found good enough for aeroplane con
struction. Approximately 1,000,000,
000 feet of lumber had to be cut and
inspected and tested before the neces
sary 100,000,000 feet of spruce could
be obtained.
“Propellers are made from mahoga
ny and other highly durable woods,
and three or four must be made for
each machine. This mahogany comes
from the tropics, and whether and
when it can be brought to seaport de
pends- on tropical rains, which swell
the rivers so as to permit transporta
tion.
“Let us now consider the Liberty
fairly have been called an experiment
al and untried device. It represented
a combination of what had been dem
onstrated to be best in all motor con
struction. The signal corps, with its
trained and skilled engineers, under
stood that a foreign motor could not
be adapted to American manufacture
and turned out in sufficient quantity
in anywhere near the time in which
the Liberty motor could be produced.
Foreign motors are based on the
metric system of measurements, etc.,
American practice and American man
ufacture are not adapted to this sys
tem. All parts made under the met
ric system must be conveted into inch
es and fractions of inches under our
system. The foreign motor is so ex
tensively the result of hand work that
it is with great difficulty adapted to
the machine work that dominates
American factories.
“Furthermore, the Liberty motor is
capable of one hundred more horse
power than any foreign motor except
a few of one single type, the Rolls
Royce. The Liberty motor develops
400-horsepower ordinarily and is cap
able of 465. The. foreign limit, with
the one exception above mentioned, is
300.
“The Liberty motor has become so
well established that the British gov
ernment has asked for a large num
ber. Sir William Weir, head of Brit
ish aircraft production, stated recent
ly in London that he considered the
Liberty motor the greatest single fac
tor in the world’s aviation program;
that it was the most important single
thing in the air program of England
in 1918.
“As soon as the Liberty motor had
been designed, arrangements were
made for the manufacture of a very
large number before the close of 101S.
The exact figures are withheld for
military reasons. Henry Ford agreed
to produce a substantial number of
the total, the Packard another por
tion, the Lincoln Motor company, Nor
dyke & Marmon, General Motors, and
the Trego company still another por
tion. These companies were notified
to get ready last summer and the ac
tual contracts were signed later, h hey
have spent the intervening time pre
paring plants, tools, and workmen
for this unprecedented work and are
now on the eve of quantity production.
The very names of those manufactur
ers are sufficient assurance that they
would not take a day longer than ne
cessary to lay proper and efficient
foundations.
“The foreign planes which were ac
cepted by the Signal Corps, known as
light battle planes or single seaters,
for which the Liberty motor is too
heavy in horsepower, were none of
those offered by foreign concerns that
came to America soon after the war
began to sell their wares, except the
Handley-Page, and that was not the
plane which the Handley-Page people
first offered our government on this
side. Indeed, when the Handley-Page
plane was first offered here it was un
tried and undeveloped, and had not
been accepted by the British govern
ment. The Signal Corps sent a com
mission abroad to study foreign planes
on the ground, and accepted certain
ones only after careful and personal
study. «.
“On the whole^he record of the Sig
nal Corps is one of which every Amer
ican can be justly proud. In the face
of unparalleled difficulty it is accom
plishing an unparalleled task with
characteristic American energy, ca
pacity, patriotism and enthusiasm.”
The*Vote in the Senate Committee.
The majority report was signed by
Senators Chamberlain, chairman of
the committee; Hitchcock, Reed, and
Thomas, democrats, and Weeks, Wads
worth, New, Frelinghuysen. and Suth
erland, republicans.
Senators Sheppard of Texas, Myers
of Montana, and Kirby of Arkansas,
all democrats, put in the minority re
port defending the administration and
insisting that it has faced extraordi
nary difficulties that were not easily
overcome.
Senators Fletcher, McKellar, and
Beckman signed neither report.
In a special interview with a repre
sentative of the New York World, Mr.
W. A. Morgan, late vice-president of
the Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Cor
poration, discussed the conditions
(Continued on page 10)