PLANES FROM PLANET TO PLANET

Chronicle (Levin), 23 April 1946, Page 5

PLANES FROM PLANET TO PLANET

^ research imagination in united statesNEW YORK, Aprii 21. j The Ar'my Air Force announced an imaginative research plan, which contemplates seemingly fantastic projects, states the Washington correspondent . of the New York Times. Scientists and engineers would endeavour to harness light rays for destruc tive purposes and create ' ' pian- i ets" which could he projected to the! heavens hy atomic power and anchored i by gravity to serve as "space bases" j for inter-planetary aeroplanes. j The Deputy Chief of the Army Air j Eorce research development staffrj Major-General Curtis Lemay, detailingi the plan, stated tnat Congress would- ! be asked to vote 300,000,000 dollars td ' establish an air engineering develop-' ment centre, hut the final cost could exceed 1,000,000,000 dollars. Construc- : tion of the contemplated research equipment would take at least teri. years. j General Lemay said, that immediate J planning must proceed beyond the j present known possibilities of pilotless j aircraft, winged missiles, jet propul- 1 sion and radar. The centre would re- 1 quire upwards of 1,000,000 horse- j power and wotild consume at least ^0,000 gallons of very cold water a j minute. There would be five wind tun i nels, one of which wouid test large'- j scale model planes at speeds of up'- j wards of 7500 miles an hour. The ; centre would he administered by a ; military and civiliah board.