Beyond Anything Imagined

The Army Air Forces are getting ready for the last phase of World War II--the concentration of power against Japan. Last week Lieut. General Barney M. Giles, Chief of Staff of the A.F.F., gave the world an idea of what that power will be.

Aircraft production will be cut back 40% after V-E day, but the planes will be bigger by weight, production will still be close to its alltime high. The "numbers racket"--production of many models, causing bitterness particularly among maintenance men--will be curtailed.

The heavy bombers:

P:The B-29 Superfortress. P:Its companion piece, the B32, which may be ready for combat "in the next few months." The A.A.F.'s excuse for two models with approximately the same performance: Consolidated (B32) will keep Boeing (B29) on its toes.

P: Boeing's B-17 Fortress and Consolidated's B-24 Liberator (now medium bombers compared to the new heavies).

Most probable mediums (now light bombers by comparison): P: North American's B-25 Mitchell--apparently a nose ahead of Martin's B-26 Marauder.

P: Douglas' A26 Invader, an improved version of the reliable A20 Havoc.

The fighters, probably three:

P: North American's PSI Mustang, which probably has the longest tactical range (some 600 miles) of any U.S. fighter, so far as any official announcement has been made, mounts six .50-cal. machine guns, can carry at least a 1,000-lb. bomb load.

P: Republic's P47 Thunderbolt, which mounts eight .50-cal. machine guns, can also carry at least a 1,000-lb. load.

P: The P-38 Lightning, which Lockheed will continue to build--but on a reduced schedule, to permit a shift to a new, secret Lockheed fighter.

Production of Curtiss' P-40 Warhawk, a version of the old P-40 with which the U.S. started the war, will be cut back, terminated by year's end. The P-61 Black Widow will keep its job as a night fighter. Bell's P-63 Kingcobra, which has a 37-mm. cannon among its armament, will be made principally for shipment to Russia.

Said Barney Giles: "Our detailed plans cannot of course be disclosed but . . . are carefully laid to bring down on Japan the full weight of air power on a scale beyond anything they have imagined." The one limiting factor: land bases in the Pacific to accommodate the A.A.F.'s abundance of planes.

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