Paratroopers At Burlington
They put on a great show as part of the
program which was carried out In connec¬
tion with the recent first flight of Fair¬
child's new “Gunner.”
THE 15,000 people who wont out to
Fairchild Field the other day to
see the state’* first war plane tlv,
got an unexpected thrill.
Forty hard-bitten paratroopers
from Camp Mncknll descended on the
airfield, quickly formed into battle
ranks, and with full equipment
stormed and “captured” the field’s
hangar.
It was a rare sight — a preview to
invasion, perhaps— beca use the Army
doesn’t care much to put its para¬
troopers on public exhibition.
The men descended from three large
transports which appeared over the
field. The men, led by Lt. J. P.
Foley, bailed out so quickly that they
were all out of the planes in the short
space of the field. Only two of them
overshot the field, landing in trees
nearby.
The men gathered quickly, set up
machine guns and mortars, and with
blank ammunition, drove on to the
hangar across the field. The last ges¬
ture was a charge with tommy-guns
and grenades and hand-knives against
_
the mythical inhabitants. Later, the
men double-quicked back to their
transport* which meantime hud
landed.
The paratroopers land with two
parachutes, one of them for emer¬
gency. They come down with plenty of
stuff weapon* and munitions — and
hit the ground at a speed of about IS
miles per hour, a pretty stiff rate.
Not a one of them hit the forbidden
hard-surfaced runway on the field.
Burlington's show was. of course,
chiefly remarkable because the Fair-
child Uunnrr — the Army's name for
the new ship— flew for the first time.
Colonel (ieorge Hatcher, of Wright
Field, said in his speech that it was
the first time in his memory that a
military plane had flown on the date
originally sot for its flight.
Chief credit for the achievement
belongs to General Manager Lee 11.
Smith, who came to Burlington only
a few months ago to whip a brand-
new machine out of a green plant. A
veteran transport and Army flier, he
ia one of the few so-called “hot
pilot*” who has been successful also
a* a manufacturer of aircraft. He or¬
ganized the first transport line to tra¬
verse the Philippines, and Inter repre¬
sented Vultee in Europe and the near
East.
Already a confirmed Tar Heel, he
thinks his plant and personnel in
Burlington are going to make an ex¬
cellent mark in aviation. “I wouldn't
swap 'em for any people and any plant
anywhere." he says.
The test flight was conducted bv
Chief Test Pilot Dick Henson, ac¬
companied by Might Mechanic A. B.
Beauchamp. Otherwise the twin-
engined. six-place trainer was un¬
loaded. It made an extremely short
run, and climbed rapidly, making
wide sweeps over Alamance.
Among the 15,000 who stood in a
broiling sun to see the flight were
notables in aviation, state and Army
circles. The chief speaker of the day
was Colonel Charles O'Connor, of
Atlanta, and the plane was accepted
for the Air Forces by Colonel George
Hodge of New York. Shermau S. Fair-
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