Evening star. [volume], June 30, 1940, Page A-17, Image 17

About Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972

Image provided by: Library of Congress, Washington, DC

                
Aviation Plants Eager
To Start 'Full Speed'
On Defense Planes
Industry Irked by Delay
In Congress; 'Mass
Production' Doubted
•r th« Associated Press.
The aviation industry, tooling to
turn out an ever-increasing number
of airplanes for defense and com
merce. still is waiting for "full speed
ahead” orders from the Federal
Government, industry leaders de
clared yesterday.
Spokesmen for the industry en
visioned further delay in drawing
»p contracts. They declared care
must be taken to avoid “milking”
aviation companies financially and
leaving them “dry” at the end of a
few hectic years of defense effort.
While America’s capacity for
turning out airplanes has doubled in
the last year, Army engineers say
that there should be no talk of
“mass production” in aviation.
"We are hoping for machine pro
duction to replace hand production
in aviation,” one officer said, “but
certainly not for mass production.”
‘Would you expect mass produc
tion of automobiles if the industry
planned to turn out less than 50,000
cars—and those of 10 or 12 dif
ferent models?”
President Roosevelt has set 50,000
planes as the ultimate goal of the
American air defense effort.
Delay Blamed on Congress.
The spokesmen of the aviation
Industry laid the blame for delay,
not on the Army and Navy, but on
Congress, which they declared had
taken almost six weeks to put into
law President Roosevelt's latest
defense proposals.
Nub of the contract problem, they
declared, is the 7 per cent limita
tion on profits imposed by Congress
in a bill intended to speed up de
fense works.
While members of Congress de
, fended the limitation as a necessary
guarantee against "war million
aires,” industry spokesmen declared
it made necessary careful study of
•'amortization” schedules in all con
tracts.
‘'Amortization” means the gradual
writing-off, in the price of planes,
of the capital investment necessary
to expand plants -to meet the needs
of national defense.
Aviation leaders are looking ahead
V the time when the sudden boom
of defense orders—both at home and
abroad—will collapse. They recalled
that some aviation companies “went
under” financially when plane or
ders stopped short after the World
War.
300-Plane Orders Desired.
To assure their stockholders
against losses on the costly expan
sion of plant and tooling of ma
chines for the defense effort, they
declared, the cost of the plants must
be provided for.
One official of an aeronautical
trade group said the 7 per cent limit
on profits—unless carefully handled
—might stifle research and experi
ment, which he termed basic neces
sities for the continued progress of
American aviation.
Airplane engineers and Govern
ment officials alike are hopeful that
bulk orders in the new defense drive
will make a change from “hand- !
jibb II MiniHmBai^nnn
CORNER STONE IS LAID—The Rev. Oliver J. Hart (right) is shown yesterday as he officiated at
the corner stone-laying ceremonies at the new Resurrection Chapel, 701 Fifteenth street N.E.,
while the Rev. Enoch M. Thompson, rector, looks on. —Star Staff Photo.
sewed” planes to “machine-sewed” j
planes in many plants. This would I
speed up the country’s plane pro
duction.
Wide use of machines to do the
jobs now done by hand requires an
ordrr for at least 300 planes of a
single type from a single manu
facturer. A smaller order will not
pay the cost of installing machines
and tooling for the job. First “ma
chine job" for the Army was a
300-plane order completed this year.
Every time a model is changed, or
an order for pursuit ships is fol
lowed by an order for reconnaisance
planes (for instance) the machines
must be re-tooled at considerable
expense, it was explained.
Must Make Changes.
American aviation experts are not
willing, either, to “freeze” present
models and limit themselves to
known gadgets. At the rate of aero
nautical progress, a military airplane
model often is obsolete within a year
or so after production.
Col. John H. Jouett, president of
the Aeronautical Chamber of Com
merce. has indicated the size of the
task by citing the fact that only
48.000 airplanes had been built in
America since 1903.
A national survey shows that,
while many major airplane com
panies are working two and three
shifts in all available plant space,
several companies are not yet at
“full speed ahead.”
In Los Angeles, a major center of
aircraft production, manufacturers
voiced agreement that production
cannot be brought to maximum ca
pacity until Army orders start mov
ing. The orders will come princi
pally from monies voted by Congress
a week ago. They expressed con
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new airplane engines was frustrated
by Henry Ford’s refusal to supply
part of his output to Great Britain.
He had discussed going into machine
production of the British Rolls
Royce engine, but refused to sell
outside the United States.
Commissioner Knudsen since has
been discussing the Rolls-Royce
proposition with Packard and other
motor car producers*
While the big rush of plane-build
ing waits partly on the gigantic or
ganizing task of Commissioner
Knudsen in Washington, large new
works are going up all over the
country.
This mushroom growth of air
plane plants was stimulated partly
by the purchases of Great Britain
and Prance in this country, partly
by the expectation of new contracts
from the Government, both for
fighter planes and for slower train
ing ships.
Boeing Airplane Co. at Seattle,
already working three shifts of men,
is building 600,000 square feet of
additional plant to handle $23,000,
000 worth of foreign orders. The
plant also is turning out $16,000,000
worth of bombers for the American
Army, and officials declare long
range plans are ready to expand the
plant further as fast as orders war
rant.
Plants at Full Capacity.
Detroit plane and engine factor
ies report they are' working to the
hilt of present capacity, but add
that capacity is increasing daily as
new plants go up.
The Glenn Martin plant in Balti
more is working at full capacity.
At Nashville, the Stinson Division
of the Aviation Manufacturing Corp.
expects to hit peak production on
military planes in November and
December. Half their output goes
to the Army'
Douglas, at Los Angeles, is work
ing 80 per cent of capacity at its
present plant; officials declare pro
duction can be increased 50 per
cent when new plants are built.
North American is operating about
60 to 70 per cent of capacity in Los
Angeles, but Vultee has men turn
ing out fighting planes in two 10
hour shifts.
United Aircraft’s Pratt & Whitney
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Division at Hartford, Conn., is mak
ing airplane motors at the rate of
850,000 horsepower a month, ex
pects to step this up to 1.200,000
horsepower by the year's end.
Doubling Plant Space.
Bell Aircraft, doubling its plant
space at Buffalo, expects to reach
‘‘peak production” by midsummer,
with 4,000 men working on inter
ceptor pursuit ships for armies at
home and abroad.
Budd Manufacturing Co., turning i
out motors for planes and tanks
in Chicago, is working its present'
plant to the limit. Expansion de
pends on getting machine tools.
In Indianapolis, Allison Engineer
ing Corp. is Just completing a $2,
000,000 addition to its main pro
duction units.
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