Hamilton High School - Hamiltonian Yearbook (South Hamilton, MA)

Page 31 text:

Eexoh mcrtca ' ic Hin.nri9d by a. five man crew. The shell is dropped in- to the barrel where it strikes a pin on the bottom that sets off a charge in the shell. The shell is thrown to its target by this charge on the principle of the rocket, and explodes on contact. The rapid-fire, air-cooled .50 caliber machine gun is very ef- fective against tanks and armored cars because of its terrific hit- ting power. The thirty-seven millimeter anti-tank gun is light and easily handled by two men. A mainstay in the infantry, it fires a bullet; which will penetrate one and a half inches of hard steel on a direct hit. The scout car or “Jeep is a small, lovj, one quarter ton truck used for rapid transporting of troops. It replaces, to a great de- gree, the functions of the cavalry. The motorcycle scout is the modern cavalryman. He has a heavy- duty motorcycle equipped with a .45 caliber sub-machine gun. He op- erates in advance of the main body of troops and feels out the strength and disposition of the enemy. High speed and quick maneu- ver ability are his only protection. The Ski and Parachute ' troopers are used mostly for surprise at- tacks. Each one is a dangerous and exciting branch. The parachu- tist tries to gain control of air fields so that other troops can be landed; while the skL trooper ' s purpose is to report enemy positions and harass his communications. The tank division rounds out the many branches cf the army. The heavy tanks crash their way throu gh all kinds of obstacles and are equipped with cannon and machine guns. Only a direct hit with armor piercing shells has any effect on these tanks. The new trackless tank is equipped with eight huge, knee-action wheels sc that it can travel over rough country at great speed. These independent spring sheels help steady the tank and make it easier for the gunners with- in to take better aim. The t eels are big and deeply Indented and can maintain traction in deep mud and sand. Thus we find that our country is very much on the move in mak- ing preparations for our defense, and that it possesses some of the most powerful weapons in the world. Our army is rrpidly boconlng mechanized and our weapons are continually being turned off the ' as- sembly line. This being a war of prod.uction, the development of new weapons causes our future to be at stake until our weapons prove their superiority in competition v ' ith those cf our enemies, v

Page 30 text:

Another type of naval bomber is thewturpodo bonbing; plonp, ’Of which there is a squadron of 18 on each aircraft carrier Their mission is to search for enemy ships, dive to within 100 feet of them, drop a torpedo in line with the ship, and climb rapidly to avoid collision v ith the exploding ship. As they are proving very effective, the importance of this type of plane is rapidly increas-- ing. The bomb sight is another very complicated mechanism. The U. S. has a famous sight which, after being set by the bombardier, guides the plane itself to the proper place, and automatically re- leases the bomb Great accuracy is obtained in this way. Photography from planes, as a part of scouting, is very im- portant in modern warfare. Flying Cadets choosing this line of v;ork are especially trained in a course of aerial photography. The success of bombing raids is completely dependent upon the maps which are made from the photographar taken on these scouting trips, for the bombers have to fly over strange territory after dcirlci Those photographers, in order to be successful, must fly low over Y ell fortified targets in the broad daylight. Thus, aerial photo- graphy is a difficult and dangerous job, but no cos say for successful bombing raids. The wing mountings of .50 calibur machine guns arc very in- teresting and complicated. They arc air cooled, and fully auto- matic and arc usually electrically controlled by a button on the stick v hich the pilot presses. They permit great firing range and pov cr for the fev seconds in which the pilot can use them. An especially interesting gun is mounted in the Airacebra in- terceptor plane. The motor is behind the pilot, and the propeller is drive n by a shaft, passing under the pilot to the nose of the ship. This shaft is hollov , and a 37 m.m. cannon sheets through it, Now we shall be concerned v ith the individual in the air corpa The Army Air Corps has a nev system for deferred service. The prospective cadet signs up while ho is still in school or college and is not taken intil he has completed his scholastic odnoation unless an emergency arises to necessitate his being taken. This eliminates the prospect from the draft. Cadets arc from 18-26 years of ago when taken. They must pass a physical test of high stand- ing, and be of about average hoiglit s.nd weight. The flying officers arc divided into throe groups. The bom- bardier is the one v ho is responsible for the bombing ‘operations. The navigator’s training period as a cadet is 29 v ccks; 3 weeks longer than that of the bombardier. The pilot’s job is well Imovm to all. He goes through 36 weeks of intensified training. These three groups receive {|p75 per month during training, and $245.00 p r month upon being granted a commission.

Page 32 text:

The effectiveness and importance of our air force is constant- ly increasing. In this a5.r force we find many different types of planes, including: bombers, fighters.,, dive bombers, interceptors, trainers, night fjghtcrs.and photographers e Other types also exist, each type having 3ts ovm characteristics, which make it useful for the job for which it is madeo The bombers long type of wing, for instance, would be quite a hinderance in maneuverability to the fighter; and can yon iniogine a nan learning to fi’.y In a heavy bomb- er, or fighter, ei tho;‘‘ of which has jfbvj complicated controls, com.- pared with those of trainer? All of those different i pes are joined together y-lzYi bJ.ghly trained ground units 1:0 raahe an air force of the greatest efficiency for our nation. Let us now take a look at some of these different types of planes, their purpose, and equipmentc The pursuit ships are the first to meet consideratioiir They must bo able to turn back enemy bombers, on ships of arq orher type, and keep the air in tlioir con- trol, In order to do this, the pursuit shirs must have a large and powerful motor to give then great speed and power; whereas a snail ship is Setter suited for easy maneuverability. The bnited States pursuit ships all can do 40C ra pyh. or better, but rapid consump- tion of gas allov s rhera to stay up only a short while • Light and heavy machine guns give them deadly fire, but these guns can fire steadily for only about 15 seconds. This may seem, to m.ake the ship comparatively weak, but when we consider that this firing is being done at 400 raapoh© or more, we realize that there is hardly time for oven this amount of gunnery. Pilots for such ships must be able to fire in a split second at a target which is liable to be diving and turning at possibly the sane speed as the attacker. Most of those pursuit ships aro small single motor ships, ' al- though the P-3v3 Ts a bi-motor plane v hich has a speed of more than 500 n«p,h«, and a 57 mom, cannon to increase its deadlines. These shins generally hove self scaling gas tanks, liquid cooled motors of 1000 h,p. or more, slight armor plato, and other such improve- ments to increase speed and efficiency. Now improvements are con- tinually being added to these important nonbers of our air force.