CARGO PLANES PLAN

Dominion, Volume 35, Issue 291, 7 September 1942, Page 5

CARGO PLANES PLAN

Attitude In Washington (Received September 6, 7 p.m.)

NEW YORK, September 5. The Washington correspondent of the New York “Herald-Tribune” says the War Production Board’s special conimittee investigating Mr. Henry J. Kaiser’s plan, for the mass-production of giant cargo-carrying planes has submitted an unfavourable report to the chairman, Mr. Donald Nelson. Mr. Kaiser and his associate, Mr. Howard Hughes, had furnished the committee with only rough sketches ot the cargo plane which they plan, to build. Mr. Kaiser was also very vague as to where he would obtain the aluminium, steel, and machine t°®* B for the scheme without interfering with the current war production programme. Mr. Kaiser is expected here on M ednesday to confer with Mr. Nelson ami high army and navy officers, but unless he brings new evidence to convince the sceptical officials he will probably •be firmly turned down, the correspondent says. Government officials pointed out that the present aircraft programme includes a large proportion or cargo planes, which the air chief, Lieut-enant-General Arnold has estimated will be 21 per cent, of the total output in the last half of 1942. In August the aircraft industry built 15,000,000 dollars’ worth of cargo planes, some of. which were converted heavy bombers. A Chicago message says that the aviation magnate and former ace, Mr. “Eddie” Rickenbacker, said that Mr. Kaiser’s cargo-plane programme would not solve the shipping problem. He asserted that the aircraft industry was now building cargo planes, but it was. handicapped by the shortage of materials. If the industry had the materials it would increase the output 50 per cent. “You cannot build enough planes to replace ships on the high seas,” he added. “Furthermore, there is not enough harbour space available for the proposed 5000 cargo planes.”