in the news 1948
PART ELEVEN
Above: Cover for November, 1948, issue of Science Illustrated magazine. Story below.
OCTOBER 25, 1948 THROUGH OCTOBER 31, 1948:
Los Angeles, California Times - 25 Oct 48
Reaction Research Society technicians believe space travel of the future will require "space stations" such as shown in drawing by Nick Stasinos. Such a station would be assembled piece by piece in space with parts brought from earth by cargo rockets. At 24,000 miles above earth, they believe it would remain permanently above a certain spot and each large city could have one. Space stations could be used as transfer points on rocket trips to the moon -- or by the military in case of war. Space ships which are pictured would use atomic energy for power.
Wouldn't Need An Anchor?
Space Station 24,000 Miles Up Envisioned for Flights to Moon
Rocket trips to the moon may be made easier through the use of a "space station" en route.
This theory and others relating to rockets and trips to the moon will be aired tonight at a public meeting of the Reaction Research Society at 7:30 p.m. in the Glendale Public Library, 319 E Harvard St., Glendale.
Arthur Louis Joquel II, vice-president, outlined the "space station" theory. Society technicians, he said, believe a space station could be constructed 24,000 miles from the earth with material hauled up by cargo rockets. If set at 24,000 miles it would stay put, he said, because its rotation around the earth would exactly match the 24-hour revolution of the earth on its axis.
A space station would give an atomic-powered rocket a second take-off point for the remaining 214,000 miles to the moon.
Roquel [sic, should be Joquel] added that rocket research is moving ahead so rapidly that trips to the moon may be made "in a very few years." A display of rocket photographs and parts will be opened at the library at 6 p.m., and a rocket film will be shown.
Minneapolis, Minnesota Star - 25 Oct 48
Wanted: Proof Earth Is Round
ZION, ILL. -- (INS) -- Members of the Zion Christian Catholic church still are looking for evidence that the earth is round.
Belief that the globe is flat is based by members of the sect on what they term a "literal translation" of the Old Testament.
Church overseer, M.J. Mintern, studied photographs made from a rocket launched at the White Sands proving grounds and said the earth still appeared flat. He said:
"When you have something really worth whole [sic] in the way of proof that the earth is spherical, let me know."
Winnipeg, Manitoba Free Press - 25 Oct 48
Winkler Man Claims Flying Saucer Seen
Is the flying saucer making a return engagement? H.R. Dickens of Winkler, Man., telephoned the Free Press Monday morning to report a ball of fire he'd seen zooming through the skies on Sunday. He sighted the ball of flame around 5.45 p.m. near his home. It was about 3,000 to 5,000 feet up in the air, was ball-shaped with a tail of fire about two feet streaming behind. When last seen, it was travelling westward.
Portsmouth, New Hampshire Herald - 25 Oct 48
Out Hog, Up Wash
... Interest would be keener in the flying saucer over Dakota, if descriptions did not indicate that no improvements have been made on the 1947 model ...
Salem, Ohio News - 26 Oct 48
[No headline.]
On our rocket trip to the moon, when we reach the place where gravitational pull of the earth and moon are equal we will be able to rest suspended in mid-air in our rocket ship.
Winnipeg, Manitoba Tribune - 26 Oct 48
'Bright Object' rides West Manitoba sky
'Flying Saucer' Back
"Flying saucers" are back in Manitoba -- bigger and brighter than ever.
Reports of a strange bright object hurtling through the sky Sunday in two widely separated sections of western Manitoba were given today to The Tribune.
From the Ninette district came a report of a greenish-white object, like "a very bright meteor", seen about 5.30 or 5.35 p.m.
Eyewitness reports in the Grandview area, about 150 miles to the north of Ninette, told of a greenish white light being seen in brilliant spectacle. The time: half an hour later.
The Grandview report said four men, Allan Saunders, Arthur Taylor, Bert Harkness and his son, saw the object about 20 miles southwest of town as it appeared in the eastern sky.
It travelled due west, they said, and they saw it for 30 or 40 seconds before it disappeared.
It looked about the size and shape of a rugby ball, they said and resented a brilliant spectacle of greenish-white light trailed by a visible wake.
It appeared to be travelling the normal height of a plane in a clear sky.
Several Grandview residents also reported seeing the object for a few seconds.
"Bright Meteor"
F.H.H. Lowe, Broadlands Farm, 3-1/2 miles northwest of Ninette, wrote The Tribune:
"Sunday at 5.30 or 5.35 p.m. in broad daylight, while going for the cows, I saw a peculiar spectacle."
It was, he thought, "a very bright meteor travelling from the east toward the west and about one degree to the north.
"It was very bright and had it been dark it would have been a real blinder. It was about 100 feet up and slanting earthward ... almost low enough to have hit my barn."
Mr. Lowe described it as having "a bright front end and body, like an arc welder, with a tail of greenish-white, and in all about the length of an airplane of the jet type. It made no noise."
Sees It Fall
Mr. Lowe said, "About a mile west of me it snuffed out, and whatever composed it fell earthward. It did not break up into fragments as I have seen other meteors do, and I've seen a lot, but always at night.
"I wondered after if it was a burning plane.
"Surely I was not the only person to see this. It must have come quite a long way."
Winnipeg, Manitoba Tribune - 27 Oct 48
Saucers 'Not Ours,' Say Services Here
R.C.A.F. and army officials said today they had no explanation for [sic] "flying saucer" reported Sunday over Manitoba.
The bright aerial object reported seen from widely scattered areas at 5.30 p.m. Sunday today is as complete a mystery as the "saucer" invasion of last year.
SL. J. Hudson, operations officer, No. 11 Group, said the bright light was not caused by jet planes as they were not allowed to fly at night. As far as he knew it wasn't a rocket, he said.
Major L.R. Crue, assistant adjutant and quartermaster-general of Prairie Command said he could not explain it, and it was nothing to do with any army exercise.
A weather bureau spokesman said there were no reports from observers of a bright object hurtling through the sky.
Meanwhile several other persons reported seeing the "flying saucer."
James Birkett, 1655 Alexander Ave. told The Tribune today he and his wife had seen the strange object about 5.35 p.m. Sunday.
They were standing at the corner of Sargent Ave. and Arlington, facing west, when the "object hurtled through the sky.
"It could have been a meteor," Mr. Birkett said. "It was greenish-white and brilliant, made no noise."
It was in the western sky, he said.
Albert Chapman, 382 St. John's Ave., said he and his family saw a strange silvery object at dusk Sunday while on their way to Winnipeg from Clandeboye.
Flaming Tail
The object was round, with flame coming from the tail end and was going south to west, he said.
D.G. Ritchie, an ex-R.C.A.F. pilot, now a student at the University of Manitoba, wrote:
I was quite interested in your "Flying Saucer" article in Tuesday's Tribune as I was wondering just what it was I saw Sunday evening. I was on the corner of Simcoe and Portage about 5:40 p.m. when I saw this flare-like object dash across the sky towards the west.
My first impression was that it was a jet plane but I realized immediately that it travelled much too quickly and was soundless.
It seemed to me like a flare which we used in the air force, for night operations, being, as you said, greenish-white in color. I did not, however, notice any tail or wake trailing behind.
It did not seem too high and this led me to believe it was a flare. However since it was seen so far from Winnipeg, that belief is unfounded."
First reports were made to The Tribune Tuesday from residents of the Ninette and Grandview districts.
Winnipeg, Manitoba Free Press - 27 Oct 48
Tail Of A Tail
Morris-Elye Explains 'Saucers'
"Flying saucers" have been reported over Winnipeg again, in the wake of fresh reports from the country, but you might as well get used to them. You'll be seeing lots more if you keep your eyes on the skies.
That, at any rate, is the opinion of L.T.S. Norris-Elye, director of the Manitoba museum and a member, of the council of the Astronomical society of Canada.
The latest "saucers", Mr. Norris-Elye explains, are undoubtedly ordinary meteorites, particles of meteoric dust which range in size from the pinhead variety to larger ones about as big as a pea. Some come even larger, and all look much larger than they really are.
"At certain seasons we pass through meteoric dust as the earth travels around the sun," he says "When these particles pass through our atmosphere, their speed may be as high as 60 miles a second, many times faster than a rifle bullet, which goes about one-half mile per second.
Asked about one "saucer" reported Sunday by Mrs. W.A. MacQuarrie, of 80 Essex avenue, St. Vital, as "about; the shape of a football, with a red glow at the front and a long tail," Mr. Norris-Elye declared: "There's nothing remarkable about a tail behind a meteor. It is merely incandescent particles which follow the main body through the sky." A reddish glow would indicate some metal in the particle, he said; a greenish glow, for example, might indicate the presence of copper.
"In ordinary times," he added, "people report them for what they are. They're commonly seen in August, September and October, and they do give off a lot of light.
"One I saw," he said, "came from behind me and cast so much light that I saw my shadow in front of me and thought an auto mobile was approaching."
They're not much of a threat to human life, either. Very few get to earth before being burned out by the friction of the earth's atmosphere, Mr. Norris-Elye says.
Grandview, Manitoba Exponent - 28 Oct 48
Flying Saucer Seen Here
Eyewitnesses report appearance of a flying saucer in this district Sunday evening at dusk, around 6 pm. Four men, Allan Saunders. Arthur Taylor, Bert Harkness and son, viewed the object from the district 20 miles south-west of town, as it appeared in the eastern sky to the south. Travelling due west they were able to observe it for 30 to 40 seconds before it disappeared. Stating it appeared about the size and shape of a rugby ball it presented a brilliant spectacle of greenish-white light trailed by a visible wake. It appeared to be travelling the normal height of a plane in a clear sky. It was also reported seen from town but only for a few seconds.
Winnipeg, Manitoba Tribune - 28 Oct 48
Eight In Dauphin See 'Flying Saucer'
Eight Dauphinites have reported seeing the strange "flying saucer" object seen in Manitoba Sunday.
All agreed the object was seen about 5.30 p.m., as first reported to The Tribune from the Grandview and Ninette areas. All agreed it was brilliant, greenish-white and silent.
Those who saw it were Mr. and Mrs. A.D. Smith, Mr. and Mrs. F.J. Myers, Mr. and Mrs. H.W. Perry and J. Shand, of Dauphin, and Mrs. W. Hurry, who lives two miles from the town.
Ernie Stefanson, of Oak Point, told The Tribune today he had also seen the object about 5.30 p.m. Sunday. Several Winnipeg residents have reported the "flying saucer."
Minneapolis, Minnesota Star - 28 Oct 48
Guided Missiles Called Basis for 'Saucer' Stories
Guided missiles undoubtedly were the basis for wide-spread stories of "flying saucers" a year ago last summer, Dr. John D. Akerman, head of the University of Minnesota aeronautical engineering department, said today.
"Someone probably observed experimental flying objects which were either guided or not guided," he said.
"After the story was spread, newspapers attached the label of flying saucers.
"I don't think objects observed later were guided missiles, however, but the public continued calling any fast moving object seen in the sky a flying saucer. [sic, no end quote]
Dr. Akerman went to Europe in the summer of 1945 to study guided missiles.
Winnipeg, Manitoba Free Press - 29 Oct 48
'Saucer' Tour Extensive Reports Show
No doubt, about, it; the big meteorite that visited Manitoba Sunday made a lengthy tour.
Friday, new 'reports 'told of it; passing over Sandy Lake, Angusville, Margaret and Killarney. All agreed it had been travelling towards the west, as earlier reports had indicated, trailing a bright tail and travelling at a high speed.
At. Sandy Lake, the meteorite was spotted by Mrs. S. Storzuk and Leonard Krenkewich and many other, residents. Mrs. T Maluk, of Sandy Lake, saw the bright meteor -- which gave rise to fresh "flying saucer" rumors -- at Angusville while visiting Sunday afternoon. Mr. and Mrs. Archie Mustard, of Killarney, watched it flash overhead at about 5.45 p.m. Sunday and Mrs. Madge Lyons, of Margaret, observed it around the same time.
How far it travelled, reports have hot yet indicated. It was believed, however, to be burning out as it passed Sandy Lake. "The saucer was visible for only a matter of seconds and it seemed to be crumbling as it shot across the sky," Mrs. Storzuk said.
Minneapolis, Minnesota Star - 28 Oct 48
A-Bomb Carriers
Globe-Circling Guided Missile Seen in Decade
This is the first of two articles on guided missile developments. The author gathered material on these new weapons during a recent air survey tour of Europe and missile experimental centers in the United States.
By ANSEL E. TALBERT
Aviation Editor of New York Herald Tribune
Reprinted by Special Arrangement
NEW YORK -- IN BRITAIN today scientific men are carrying out along the lonely coasts of Wales intensive secret tests of rocket-propelled torpedoes with wings.
Out over the vast expanse of the Barents sea and the Arctic ocean adjoining the northwestern part of Soviet Russia other missiles with meteor-like speeds are being dispatched.
In Alaska, at Point Mugu on the Pacific coast, in the deserts of Utah and New Mexico, at Eglin Field, Fla., and at other testing stations in the United States, missiles of various shapes and sizes are being tested by America's armed services.
Many of these missiles, designed ultimately to carry the atomic bomb, obey instantly in flight every direction of their earth-bound operator.
A number of British and American scientists working in the guided missile field are certain that within a decade guided-missiles launched here or in the United Kingdom can find any target area on the earth with accuracy approximating that of the present long-range bomber -- provided that the missile program is not neglected.
Dr. Werner von Braun, former technical head of the secret German laboratories at Peenemunde, where the giant V-2 rocket originated, and now working in the United States, believes that guided missile development today is equivalent to that of the piloted airplane at the close of World war [sic] 1.
According to Dr. C.F. Green, missile specialist for the General Electric corporation and a member of the nation's upper atmosphere research panel, "ground-to-ground, ground-to air, air-to-ground and air-to-air missiles are coming into being in this country."
Some of these are rockets using for fuel such substances a alcohol, liquid oxygen, fuming nitric acid and monoethylaniline.
Others, powered by ram-jets, simplest of all engines, have the appearance of huge milk bottles without bottoms.
After being rocket launched, these bottle-shaped missiles equipped with stubby wings speed through the sky small end forward at supersonic speeds above 1,600 miles an hour.
In a typical missile of the ram-jet type air enters the small end at 1,500 miles an hour and is slowed down to 200 miles an hour as it passes along the expanding neck.
At a point where air temperature is about 400 degrees Fahrenheit and the pressure is 90 pounds to the square inch, fuel is injected and ignited.
Fierce combustion sends hot gases of approximately 4,000 degrees Fahrenheit roaring out of the large end of the flying milk bottle.
The faster the missile goes the more efficient its ram-jet becomes. Many scientists as yet have not made up their minds whether the long-range missile of the future will be a true rocket or a ram-jet.
In Britain, several outstanding air strategists of the royal air force are predicting that within a decade the long-range rocket or some other pilotless missile combined with the atomic bomb will be their nation's "primary striking weapon."
The strategists are equally emphatic that Britain's only hope of future defense against similar weapons lies in developing counter-guided missiles which can zero in on enemy rockets and destroy them.
These scientists include Sir Arthur Harris, known as Air Marshal "Bomber" Harris of World War II, and Group Capt. W.E. Oulton, a brilliant young air officer whose writings about guided missiles in military journals abroad are being compared with predictions made 30 years ago about future military use of the airplane by Gen. Billy Mitchell.
Oulton, while stressing that Britain must keep in existence a highly efficient orthodox air force of the current pattern, points out that the piloted airplane actually is "a means of transport and a mobile launching platform for bombs and rockets" rather than a primary weapon.
The airplane, according to Oulton, will have great military value "only for so long as it continues to be the most accurate, effective and economic means of delivering the bomb or bullet to the required target.
In a plea for an immediate start on planning the requirements and air staff policy for the royal air force in the era of guided missiles, Oulton notes that in 1931 elementary rockets had reached heights of only about 3,000 feet.
Ten years later they had grown to 40-ton weapons ascending to 100 times the 1931 altitude and possessing ranges of over 100 miles, he points out.
"Little more than half this progress in the next 10 years would produce rockets capable of ascending to a height of nearly 500 miles, at which height they could circle the earth without any further fuel expenditure as planets until redirected earthwards," Oulton states.
"There seems to be no reasonable doubt that within 10 to 15 years, long-range rockets can be produced to be launched from the United Kingdom to fall on any spot on the earth within the accuracy of the weapon -- which should approximate the present strategic bomber."
Sir Arthur, now retired, declared:
"The most efficient way of delivering the atomic bomb in the future will be the pilotless guided missile. The long range bomber had its day in World War II."
Already the British have organized a special directorate of guided missiles in their defense structure and have put some of the nation's outstanding scientists to work on such still-experimental phases as guidance and production of new metal alloys.
The United States produced crude short-ranged guided missile types during the final stages of World War II, and recently interest here in long-range inter-continental missiles has intensified.
According to Dr. Harold K. Skramstad, of the national bureau of standards, work on guided missiles already constitutes one of the bureau's major activities.
Gen. Carl A. Spaatz, wartime commander of the American air forces in Europe, not many months ago dismissed guided missiles as auxiliary weapons which some day might be a "valuable adjunct to the airplane."
More recently he asserted that America must be the first nation in the world to possess a 5,000-mile guided missile capable of carrying an atomic warhead to enemy targets.
The nation's top navy strategists are not willing to wait for the 5,000-mile missile.
Already the navy possesses the capability of moving launching sites -- in the shape of high-speed submarines and possibly fast carriers -- to within striking distance of strategic targets.
The launching of missiles from submarines on the surface has become almost a routine operation and the navy now is seeking a missile which can be launched while its undersea craft are beneath the ocean.
The converted seaplane tender Norton Sound is now on its way from Norfolk, Va., for further tests in areas which will include the arctic.
So far advanced are the navy experiments that the creation of guided-missile ratings for combat personnel is being planned.
The navy's pre-eminent position in the guided-missile field to a large extent is due to the fact that for years it employed the late Dr. Robert H. Goddard, America's pioneer in the field of rocketry.
NEXT: Russian Experiments
Minneapolis, Minnesota Star - 29 Oct 48
Started in 1903
Russ Still May Have Lead in Rocket Race
This is the second of two articles on guided missile developments. The author gathered material on these new weapons during a recent air survey tour of Europe and missile experimental centers in the United States.
By ANSEL E. TALBERT
Aviation Editor of New York Herald Tribune
Reprinted by Special Arrangement
SOVIET STRATEGISTS, like those of the United States and Great Britain, today are reacting to the impact of two tremendously significant military developments.
These are causing them to reshape many basic ideas on warfare.
The developments are:
GERMANY'S SUCCESSFUL USE on a limited scale during World War II of elementary long-range rockets and crude guided missiles.
AMERICA'S SUCCESSFUL PRODUCTION and use in collaboration with Great Britain of the atomic bomb.
The chiefs of the Kremlin recently have been giving strong evidence of realizing that a combination of these two developments can deliver against an enemy industrial area or a thickly populated island such as Britain a blow of tremendous power.
British experts say that a single rocket similar to the German V2 and fitted with an atomic warhead would kill 50,000 persons outright, destroy 35,000 houses and make 400,000 persons homeless if it exploded in an urban area of the United Kingdom.
These figures are based on exhaustive studies conducted by a British mission in Hiroshima following the Japanese surrender.
During the last two years entire centers of German rocket and guided-missile research have been moved with all equipment and as much personnel as could be recruited, to Soviet territory, according to one of America's top three military commanders in Europe.
* * * * *
Russia as yet does not possess the atom bomb for use as a warhead in long-range rockets and guided missiles, or in bombs dropped from conventional aircraft. But of the rocket alone, James H. Doolittle, former lieutenant general commanding the Eighth Air force in Britain during the war. asserts:
"Had the Germans been able to accelerate their rocket program and to employ them earlier the whole course of the war might have been changed."
Sir Arthur Harris, who as air marshal of the royal air force directed the British bomber command's sledge-hammer blows against German industry, has pointed out that Germany originally planned to launch 6,000 V1 flying bombs a day. This volume, he notes, would have made this crude missile "a weapon of vast strategic importance."
By concentrating a large section of the total American and British long-range bomber force in attacks on V1 sites and on the communications system serving them, Sir Arthur recalls the launchings were reduced to about 6 a day.
Of these less than one-third reached Greater London after encountering the fighters and antiaircraft defenses of southern England," Sir Arthur says. "But everyone knows how serious a trial these weapons were and can judge for himself what a bombardment more than 60 times as heavy would have been like."
* * * * *
DURING world War II the Red army, which many Allied strategists fear might be able to sweep across Europe to the English channel in a few days in the event of war, was the first of the major fighting forces to make large-scale use of rocket artillery.
This rocket-gun, called Katusha by the Russians, was highly effective in fighting on the eastern front and certainly has since been improved in range and accuracy.
The Red air force armed its ground-support attack bombers with anti-tank rockets nearly a year before the plane-launched rocket made its appearance on the western front in the fall of 1943 as a German weapon against American heavy-bomber formations.
Allied intelligence sources now have absolute evidence that the Soviet Union is experimenting with arming its new long-range schnorkel [sic, throughout] submarines with rocket missiles.
These are being turned out by Russian factories with the aid of German scientists.
To date Russia has commissioned 90 Type XXI schnorkel submarines -- the German type capable of cruising for long periods completely submerged.
The Red navy shortly will have in commission at least three of the German Type XXVI very high speed undersea craft capable of making 26 knots submerged. These still were in a blue-print stage in Germany at the close of the war.
Several Russian missiles presumably launched during tests from the northwestern part of the Soviet Union have fallen in neutral territory.
Fragments of these indicate they were giant rockets similar to the German V2 missiles which bombarded London.
* * * * *
WORK with huge rockets is by no means a recent development in Russia even though the Germans first used them in combat.
The success Soviet forces had during World War II with short and medium-ranged rockets becomes more understandable when considered against its scientific background.
In 1903 -- the year of the first flights of the Wright brothers in powered airplanes -- Dr. Konstantin E. Ziolkovsky, a Russian scientist, published an exhaustive thesis on the theoretical potentialities of large rockets for various uses, including space travel.
During and after the revolution, Dr. Ziolkovsky continued his studies, and in the 1920s groups of his students in Moscow and Leningrad formed societies to develop long-range rockets.
Meanwhile, similar studies were being conducted outside Russia by Dr. Robert H. Goddard, of America's Smithsonian institution, the first person to send rockets faster than the speed of sound; Dr. Hermann Oberth, of Germany, and others.
In 1936 an experienced observer wrote that the Soviet Union was the most active country in the world in the field of rocket experimentation.
This statement may still be true despite intensive work in Britain and the United States since World War II.
* * * * *
FEW Allied strategists dispute that guided missiles now under development in Russia would be a major factor in a future war unless sources of production were immediately destroyed.
Chiefs of the United States air force believe they could do this through use of the B36 and atom-bomb-carrying B50 bomber.
Other strategists recall, however, that the German air force in the fall of 1943 almost halted America's daylight bombing offensive by putting crude rocket projectiles on twin-engined fighter aircraft and lobbing volleys of rockets into Flying Fortress formations each time the bombers went beyond escorting fighter range.
The American bomber offensive had to shift to targets close to base until long-range fighter aircraft capable of destroying on sight the lumbering German rocket planes were rushed to Europe.
In the ultimate these strategists believe that there is one sure way to counter Russian long-range rocket development:
America must be the first nation in the world to develop a long-range capable of carrying the atomic bomb and hitting any target area on the globe.
Sedalia, Missouri Democrat - 29 Oct 48
If War Should Come: 'Instant Retaliation' by Air
By Douglas Larsen
NEA Staff Correspondent
WASHINGTON -- (NEA) -- In the air, if war should come:
Within hours after war was officially declared, B-29s would be headed for the enemy, probably loaded with atomic bombs. Targets would be key industrial and military points. The goal of this initial action would be a quick knockout. Some Air Force experts believe this could end the war in a hurry. At least, they believe, it would give the U.S. a chance to get on a more complete military footing.
If this "instant retaliation" doesn't end the war immediately, however, the phase of air warfare which would follow would be considerably different from what it was during World War II, as a result of scientific progress made in the development of weapons since then.
In the air: B-29s like these would still be our "instant relation" weapon, aided by improved Superfort version.
The 600-mile-an-hour jet fighters -- the F-80, F-84 and F-86 -- might eliminate the aerial "dogfight" as a part of sky fighting. They fly too fast to get a shot at each other. Their turns are so wide because of the speed that it has been found in mock combat the planes lose each other. It is planned to use them as interceptors against enemy bombers, for reconnaissance and against ground targets.
Jets like the P-84 would intercept rather than "dog fight."
It wouldn't take long for "instant retaliation" to use up America's present supply of B-29s. The improved version of that plane, the B-50, would probably become the main long-range punch of the Air Force. It is predicted the giant B-36 soon expected to have a 12,000-mile range, would be used for extremely distant missions.
The most-publicized jet bombers would probably have limited use in supporting ground movements. The B-45 would be the first type to see action. Its extremely short range prohibits use for long-range strategic bombing.
If the A-bomb were used, last war's mass raids probably would not be necessary. Fewer bombers -- maybe only one -- with A-bombs would constitute a raid. Each strike would be much more carefully planned, with feints and diversionary tactics preceding them. Maximum fighter protection would accompany each bomber.
Refuelling bombers in the air to give them longer range would also become a new part of the standard air operations.
In spite of billions spent on guided missile research, the air force hasn't uncovered one that could be used against the enemy in a war in the near future. New weapons which are by-products of this research, however, would make the next war a big step closer to so-called push-button warfare.
Radio-controlled drones, pilotless planes, were used to a minor degree during the last war. They have been vastly improved since then. A B-29 drone loaded with an A bomb could be dived into a target. A half-dozen mother planes -- each with the power to control the drone's flight in case one or the other should be knocked out -- would raise the odds of laying an A bomb dead into a target.
New types of bombs have also been developed recently which give the bombardier limited control over its flight after the bomb is dropped. One has a tiny television transmitter in the nose. The bombardier can watch its direction all during the drop, see where it is headed, and guide it by remote control from the plane. In addition, a bomb has been invented which will automatically veer in the direction of concentrations of light, heat or sound. An open hearth furnace, a lighted city or a booming artillery battery would attract it.
Guided missile research still hasn't proved [sic] usable weapon.
But television bomb, guided by man in plane, is ready to use.
There have been improvements in anti-aircraft guns, but it is believed that the increased altitude at which the newest model planes can fly and their increased speed at least balance these refinements and perhaps outweigh them. Generally it is felt that an air offense in the next war would be deadlier than it was during the last war, in comparison to the effectiveness of a defense.
Supersonic speed planes which the Air Force has developed would not figure in an immediate war. It is doubtful whether supersonic speeds will figure in air warfare much before five or ten years. By that time the whole supersonic program might be within the guided missile concept of fighting.
In the Air Force, as with the other services, a higher percentage of the troops will have to be electronics experts. The increased use of radio, the introduction of television to bombing, the use of drones and the use of radio-controlled bombs make this necessary.
It is believed possible that these steps toward actual push-button warfare might reduce casualties among the men who are fighting the war. It means that in any next war, however, the civilians can expect more casualties.
Mason City, Iowa Globe-Gazette - 29 Oct 48
Science, It's Wonderful
SCIENCE, according to the chief engineer of the Lockheed Aircraft corporation, has solved the problems of building a rocket that can travel into outer space.
The scientists even could fix you up for a rocket trip to the moon, but thus far they haven't figured out how anyone could get back.
Well, perhaps there's something to be said for a one-way trip.
First, the scientists give us an atom-bomb which makes the expression "out of this world" sound almost hopeful.
Then comes rocket-to-the-moon ... one way.
The latter the only defense against the former, perhaps?
Valparaiso, Indiana Vidette Messenger - 30 Oct 48
- - - - -
Experiments today center around rockets rather Than space ships like artist's conception above. This one would carry passengers and be able to return.
NEXT STOP -- THE MOON!
A FEW YEARS AGO, travel to the moon was still a fantasy. Today, scientists in closely-guarded laboratories not only believe it possible but are working on the necessary techniques, fuel and heat-resistant metals. Nuclear fission pointed the way and the resultant atomic energy may be the fuel to power a rocket space ship.
A screen of silence has been set up around the government's "Rand Project," but a contract reportedly has been signed to place a rocket on the moon within three years. The moon trip would be only the end-result of the project, which is said to be concerned primarily with "high altitude research and intercontinental warfare."
The copyrighted photographs and illustrations on this page represent a study by Science Illustrated on the possibilities of space travel, and are from the November issue of that magazine.
To better understand what would happen to a space traveler, scientists scoured the area around Norton, Kans., last February for unburned portions of a meteoroid which plunged to earth.
Were the fragments radioactive? Had cosmic radiations of space changed them? These, and other questions must be answered before a rocket can be shot to the moon, traveling at 25,000 miles an hour to counteract earth's gravity.
HIGH ALTITUDE research goes on constantly, with delicate instruments and cameras installed in V-2 rockets. Above, missile makes a vertical take-off.
PROOF that science is progressing rapidly is this photo made by an automatic camera in rocket 57 miles over Wyoming, showing earth's curvature.
A GROUP of searchers locate meteorite particles which landed on farm near Norton, Kans. The substance of the space traveler was extremely fragile and had to be handled carefully.
THE SCIENTIFIC value of the meteorite pieces was so great that residents of Norton county even brought ordinary rocks for examinations. Literally, no stone was left unturned in search.
HEATED BY an atomic pile, liquid hydrogen would be motive power for this space ship, designed by K. Gatland, Fellow of Royal Interplanetary Society. It would be manned by a crew.
Kingston, Jamaica Gleaner - 31 Oct 48
Flying Saucers Appear Again
NEW YORK. October 30 (Radio): "Flying saucers" are in the skies again. Five United States pilots saw the round silvery objects hanging over their base at Munich for more than 30 minutes, after which the objects disappeared at a terrific speed.
Austin, Texas American-Statesman - 31 Oct 48
Flying Saucers Shift 'Operations' to Reich
MUNICH, Oct. 30. -- (INS) -- The migratory flying saucers shifted their base of operations once again. Five Air Force pilots at an air base near Munich said they saw round silvery objects similar to flying saucers hanging over the base for more than 30 minutes. Then, the pilots added, they disappeared at terrific speed.
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