The Charlotte Observer from Charlotte, North Carolina • 22

PAGE EIGHT THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER The Foremost Newspaper of The Two Carolinas SATURDAY MAY 29 1943 SECTION TWO Staff Officers Do Chart Work CAP Accomplishment Almost Unbelievable Says Director Landis yty' NEW YORK CAP PILOTS FLY 2201 MISSIONS Pilots of the Civil Air Patrol in New York State flew 2201 missions for ths public in the year which ended February 28 MaJ Stuart Ciry Welch New York State wing commander reported these missions being in addition to the regular patrols of the Atlantic coast The missions included blackout observations flights for the spotter service forest patrol Ice patrol search for nuising aircraft practice maneuvers Avith the state guard search for scrap survey for unlicensed air fields search for illegal markers and flights for such purposes ts war bond drives Major Welch estimated that the missions represented a "minimum of $2564165 donated to the citizens of New York State" bringing In their quota of pelts according to the South Dakota Wing Bulletin Ranch men have made such complaints about losses from coyotes that CAA is still issuing permits for shooting them from planes under certain conditions as restrictions to conserve" the livestock supply BEACON AT AIR FIELD FOUND DISCONNECTED When returning home one night early this month Squadron Commander McAdoo 272-2 St Joseph Mo noticed that the beacon at the Osborne auxiliary field was not in operation He notified the caretaker and went with him They found that the wires had been torn loose apparently deliberately Commander McAdoo an electrical engineer soon put the beacon back into operation tours call for a three-months minimum of active duty on antisubmarine and southern frontier liaison patrol and a minimum of two weeka on courier service and miscellaneous missions requested by the armed forces Once they have embarked on a tour of active service the members of the organization cannot be excused from it until properly relieved However it has been recognized that many members of the CAP have civil responsibilities which they cannot ignore and they have been permitted for valid cause to postpone their tours of duty to meet these obligations The Army Air Forces expects to continue this same flexible policy AERIAL COYOTE HUNTERS STILL BRING IN QUOTA The aerial coyote hunters are still i Jr lui STAFF OFFICERS of Charlotte Squadron 441-4 CAP chart a flight training mission to bo flown by CAP pilots and observers Left to right are: Lt Jim Connell operations officer Lt Bill Jennings transportation officer Lt Guerrant photographic officer Lt Don Cameron squadron commander Lt Betty Hamilton adjutant Lt Stafford intelligence officer and Lt Jack Robbins engineering officer (Official CAP photo) We Congratulate The CIVIL AIR PATROL OCDCivesUp Civil Patrol To War Unit which many felt could not done-the wedding of a group of civilian volunteers with civilian equipment into a force of military usefulness and effectiveness PLANES LOST achievement was not with out sacrifice Dozens of CAP pilots have seen their virtually in replaceable for the duration of the lost or seriously damaged during CAP operations No less than 20 CAP pilots have given their lives in performance of their voluntary duty Seventeen of these were lost In over-water flight which have totalled more than 16000000 miles" Although highly successful antisubmarine patrol over coastal waters has been one of Its most dramtic operations Mr Landis said it is only one of a number of valuable activities "For the Army CAP has operated In addition to the antisubmarine patrol a liaison patrol along the Mexican border a courier service for the Second Air Force in the Northwest and a similar service for the First Air Force in the Northeast searches for lost planes or ground parties and a Dumber of similar assignments State and local governments and governmental agencies CAP has patrolled forests levees utility lines and war production areas and carried out Civilian Defense observa' tion and courier assignments and other missions War plants have used CAP ex tenslvely for emergency service to rush replacements for vital machine parts which have broken down In emergencies it has carried blood plasma and medical supplies to stricken areas carried out exten sive flood patrols searched for lost boats and planes and dropped food and equipment to parties marooned in inaccessible spots In addition to all these activities the CAP has been a great reservoir of pilots of varying ability and experience for the varying needs of war It has kept this ability alive and improved flying experience by careful training "Through the CAP Cadet Corps high school students have been interested In flying and helped to acquire the early experience which will add them to the potential supply of pilots and observers above all Mr Landis said what might be spoken of as the soul of the Civil Air Patrol the civilian incentive and ingenunity which has conquered obstacle after obstacle in the development of its organization and the performance of its missions SPENT OWN MONET think for example of the way which men have expended tbeir own money to set up CAP bases and provide for some of the simplest necessary equipment that bases had have I think of their ingenuity devising their own home-made WASHINGTON "Substantial Increase In the already acknowledged military effectiveness of the Civil Air should result from transfer of CAP to the War Department from the Office of Civilian Defense Director James Landis' said in expressing full agreement with the change Referring to the development of CAP as part of the Office of Civilian Defense Mr Landis expressed great Satisfaction at unprecedented accomplishment of building in a little more than one year a volunteer civilian organization of such value to the Army that it has been made a part of the na tion's military GET FARTS EASIER One of the primary advantages to be derived from operation of CAP by the Army Air Forces Mr Landis said will be greater ease with which Its pilots may obtain repair and re placement parts For the past sev era I months he disclosed CAP has bad difficulty in obtaining these necessary articles It will also simplify the problem of providing adequate safety or life-saving equip ment Because CAP was a civilian or ganization operating under a civilian agency it was not eligible to purchase materials or supplies from War Department depots At the same time military orders were absorbing virtually the entire production of airplane and equipment plants so that source too was closed to civilian purchasers In agreeing to the transfer of the Civil Air Patrol from the Office of Civilian Defense to the War De Mr Landis said in OCD feel that we have satisfied the criterion of good workmanship so succinctly described by General Goethals builder of the Panama Canal when he said that the job of every good workman is to dig himself out of a job -PROUD" OF TRANSFER -We are proud of the fact that the decision to transfer Cap to the War Department was not because of anything CAP had failed to do but on the contrary is recognition of the very real achievement of devel oping in a little more than 17 months an organization composed of more than 73000 civilian volunteers which Is of such military value that the Army wants to make It a part of Its own organization the CAP was established by the Office of Civilian Defense just one week before Pearl Harbor there were a good many people among them some of private best who were skeptical about the possibility of private civilian flyers and aircraft bong of any real assistance to the military forces -Those doubts have been answered by deeds The loyalty courage and devotion of CAP members plus a sound nation-wide organizational structure have done the job in to to announced that it contemplates no critical materials from more immedi- WASHINGTON-The Civil Air Patrol created by the Office of Civilian Defense in December 1941 was transferred April 29 by executive order to the War Department The War Department immediately that it would continue as such oper- on their past splendid performance and extend best wishes in their new and broader service MS change in the administrative and operating methods of the Patrol and ating as an auxiliary to the Army Air Forces under direct control of the Commanding General Army Air Forces At the same time OCD Director Landis expressed full agreement with the change and predicted it would bring increase in the already acknowledged effectiveness of the Civil Air PatroL The OCD heretofore has paid the administrative expenses of the CAP Per diem of pilots and casts of operation maintenance and depreciation of their planes for missions requested by the armed services have been supplied by funds of the AAF The Army Air Forces will now assume all administrative costs as well as operating expenses and per diem for pilots on military missions The rate of $8 per diem for CAP pilots and hourly allowances ranging from $5 to $58 for operation maintenance and depreciation of their aircraft on military missions will continue Size horsepower and equipment of the planes determines the hourly allowances CONTINUE ASSISTANCE Assistance of the AAF in operation and maintenance of CAP planes based at Air Forces Installations will be continued Use of CAP planes la expected to continue so long as the supply of replacement parts does not divert ate needs Most CAP missions have been undertaken at the request of the armed services which will continue to avail themselves of these activities whenever the occasion arises The antisubmarine patrol is the CAP'S principal military activity No reduction in the extent of this service is anticipated at the present time OTHER MILITARY SERVICES Other chief military services of the CAP also are expected to continue unchanged These are the Southern Frontier Liaison Patrol along the Mexican border a courier service for the Second Air Force in the Northwest! a courier service on a smaller scale for the First Air Force in the Northeast and local searches from time to time for miss ing military aircraft Certain nonmilitary activities of the CAP also are expected to continue Among these services are forest fire patrols for various states The states which receive this aid or the United States Forestry Service pay for this work The states of Louisiana Arkansas and Mississippi pay for flights undertaken as a levee patrol during flood season War plants in industrial areas of the Middle West pay for a courier service which performs such activities ss rushing replacements for vital machine parts which have broken down The AAF anticipates no changes in the tours of active service under which the CAP has operated These' facilities for keeping their planes repaired and in operating condition are the activities that are the Civil Air Patrol And it is the sum and substance of all these ac tivities which 1 hope to see preserved whatever disposition may be made of the The War Department has assured him Mr Landis said that these activities of CAP will bo continued In a letter to Mr Landis Robert A Lovett Assistant Secretary of War for Air said: indicate that you would like to get assurance so far as reasonable assurance can bo given that various aspects of the Civil Air Patrol will be fostered and cared for by the Army I can answer this by saying that it is our intention to continue to make use of the CAP in every field where the expense In men money and materials is justified as a part of the over-all war effort including in that objective the importance of Increasing the flying experience of a large number of civilians and stimulating and developing interest in aviation among all our citizens particularly the younger AVRETT and LEDBETTER Roofing and Heating Company 419 East Seventh St Nv bomb sights their medical facilities their routines of operation and the First in America 1U llil vL 61 yj iu A FAST FLYING SERVICE LONG before Pearl Harbor THE AMERICAN PILOT had 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