In time, the use of the two-engine bomber led to the development of attack aviation. This was built around very fast, two-engined planes which could carry both bombs and guns. These medium bombers were to be used to attack targets of medium range with both bombs and guns. They were to be used to destroy enemy troops, transports, and gun emplacements. In the few years of World War II, attack bombers were developed from comparatively slow planes to ships with the speed of fighters. They are capable of carrying more than a ton of bombs, and of mounting cannon and as many as fifteen machine guns.
With the establishment of a definite policy of air strategy, plans were worked out for the training of personnel to man and service our fighting planes. The training plans set up in the early twenties are essentially the same as those in effect at the present. The system consisted of two training schools, Primary and Advanced. In the Primary School cadets received their preliminary flight training and studied construction of planes, radio, weather observation, and other technical problems concerning flight. The qualities shown by the cadets in the primary training helped to determine the branch of combat aviation for which they were best fitted.
At the Advanced School, cadets were trained in larger and more powerful airplanes and received instruction in gunnery, formation flying, cross-country flying, and night flying. Graduates of the Advanced School received their wings and, by joining tactical units, completed their training as members of regular service squadrons. In 1928 all Army air training activities were consolidated at one great training center at San Antonio, Texas. This great headquarters for the training of United States Army airmen was dedicated in June, 1930, as Randolph Field, in memory of Captain William M. Randolph. Captain Randolph, a native of Texas, had lost his life in an airplane crash a few years before. It was fitting that the first great Army aviation training program was under the direction of Brigadier General Frank P. Lahm, the Army’s pioneer aviator.
SUPER-FIGHTER
In the Pacific American fighters dropped down from 25,000 feet, screamed across an enemy airfield, guns blasting, and indicators showing a speed of over eight miles a minute. If the Japanese had not been “dug in,” they probably would have been sucked into the planes’ airscoops. Later one of the pilots expressed the sentiments of the entire raiding group when he said, “It’s a wonderful feeling to watch that air speed indicator climb. It makes you feel that nothing on this earth can catch you.”
That pilot was talking about the North American P-51 Mustang. He was not exaggerating when he made his remark, for there has been no fighter in action that could equal its speed. In the Mustang we see streamlining at its best. Its in-line, liquid-cooled engine offers only a very small frontal area and allows the Mustang to have the narrow fuselage of the fastest racing plane. This narrow fuselage and the high-speed wing practically eliminate all drag that reduces speed. The landing gear retracts completely into the fuselage and also eliminates drag. Even the airscoop is placed far back under the fuselage where it offers practically no resistance. The reduction of drag to a minimum eliminates vibration to such an extent that the pilot of a Mustang flies at terrific speeds with no ill effects.