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

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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.

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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

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The ground officers must have at least two, and sometimes more years of college training behind them. The physical test is not as hrrd as ' It is for: ' the flying officers, ahd pay upon commission is 4 $183 instead of $245 per month. There are five classes of ground officers. The armament officers care for armament, machine guns, bomb racks, flares, etc. The communications officers have charge of radio, telegraph, teletype, etc. The engineers keep the planes in condition while they are on the ground. The meteorological of- ficers have the exacting and interesting Job of weather fbrecastlng. This training period is 30 weeks, compared with variations of 12-19 weeks for other ground officers. The final ground officers are the photographiQ officer; who have charge of the photographic labora tories. Thus, we see that the Air Corps is ever advancing in quality and quantity, making itself far superior to any other air force in Robert Martin ‘42 SENIORS BID FAREWELL Now goodby to our school days In dear old Hamilton High, ‘11 remember each happy hour As the years go fleeting by. To our classmates and cur teachers V ho were all so kind and true, And dear old Alma Mater We bid you a fond adieu. Farewell to cur contests And the good old green and white We have fought into the finish And have always come out right. We will do so in the future That we hope will bring us bliss. Keeping cherished in our memory Our days of H. H. S. Rita Pooler ‘42 the world.