News Letter 1941 Jul-Dec - Air Force Historical Studies Office

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AIR CORPS DEVELOPMENT
The library at Wright Field was born amid
the confusion and bustle of the first World
War. At that time however Wright Field
and the Materiel DIvision, ot which it is a
part, were not in existence. We were situated
at McCook Field and were known as the
Engineering DiVision, On October ?, 1918,
the first entry was made in the accession
book, and by the time the Armistice was
signed 1 350 entries had been made. At the
end of 1~40, in the midst of again strengt.hening
our defenses, we have over 13,000 books
and almost 70,000 documents. At first the
document file and the library were two separate
units, but in 1926 they were combined
and have so remained ever since.
By 1927, MoCook Field had become too small
for the engineering activities in progress
there and the move was made to Wright Field.
By th l s time the library was a lusty youngster,
growing in importance to the officers
and engineers eng8&ed in research and development
work.
Although essentially an aeronautical library,
it is surprising how many fields of
science that includes; and of course, in
order to answer all questions, books and
magazines on these subjects must b4 OD.hand.
About one-third of the over 100 magazines
on the subscription list are foreign publications.
One will find on the shelves books
on p~sics and mechanics, radio and electrical
engineering, thermodynamics, optics,
chemistry, strengtn of materials and metallurgy,
engines--internal combustion as well
as Diesel, photography and naVigation. The
books on mathematics are pretty well worn
through constant use. There are now being
added medical books for the workers in the
physiological research laboratory who stQdy
the effects on pilots of flying eapecial~
at high altitudes. These are sutjects which
most people do not even associate with the
subject of aeronautics. There are on hand,
of course, thOle books most often thought
of when aeronautics is mentioned! covering
aerodynamics, aircraft construct on, propellers,
etc. These are only part of the
subjects covered in the library, for aeronautical
engineering embodies many fields
of science and Materiel Division engineers
come to the library to supplement their
knowledge and to ascertain what has been
done in a given field.
Many times we are asked for "everything
you have' on a certain subject and, after
hours of searchin£, we are forced to admit:
'nothing at all w--for the idea is a new
one. At other tImes, data is collected to
enable the engineers to select such as are
of importance to them. Their possession of
such aata obviates the possibill ty of undertaking
tests, inTolving both time and money,
which had already been carried out by aomeone
else. By following the trend of requests
from thes~ engineers and the growth of the
library, one can follow the growth and development
of aeronautics. One day, requests
started coming in for data on pressure ves-
.els and an intensive search was in&U8Ul'ated
who has not heard of sub-stratosphere flying'
Aerod~mic characterls ticsllUst be tested
in a wind tunnel, and when the new 2D-foot
wind tunnel was proposed it was to the 11-
brart that the engineers came for data. What
kind ot tuDnel. did Tariau. oountries have?
.And 80, anoth.r intend". seuch was started,
which resulted in unearthing descriptions of
wind tunnels all over the world. what they
can do and how they operate. .
What kind of bombs are in use abroad and
how offective are they' Our reports which
come from allover the world keep the men
in touch with what is going on.
The parachute which has saved so IIIaZl7
lives, was devel~ped at Wri~t Field: and
so our reports on strength of Bilk and testing
of silk were consulted as were the re-
~~rts of rates of descent of falling bodies.
The parachute has pl~ed a dramatic role in
this latest War, and our own Army Air Corps
is developing equipment for the Infantry
parachute troop units. And so, in its small
and roundabout way the library has also
played its part in this element of military
activity.
In practically every phase of research
the Army Air Corps has conducted, the engineers
have at some stage in its development
had recourse to the library.
A staff of five in the library circulates
about 4,000 books~ magaZines, and documents
each month to 1,lu3 borrowers. And so this
infant of the fust World War has grown up
to take its place in aiding our national
defense.
- Hope Thomas
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ENLIS!JiID MD' TRAIN FOR COMMISSIONS
Four men from Scott F.ield~ Ill., were accepted
into the Army's ofdeer cand.idate
schools to receive training entitling thea
to commissions as second lieutenants in the
Officers' Reserve Corps. They were chosen
from an original claes of 21 selected for
officer training as a reward for excellent
performance of their duties D thus typifT1ng
the A1'm;yt 8 system of opportimi ty for promotion
based on merit.
Of the four men,Tech.Sgt. Richard Stricklin,
Staff Sgts. Rich8.rd JI. Tankersley.
George J•Ford and Pvt. Xenne th O. Wallender ~
the first-named will attend classes in th8
Infantry School at Fort Benning, Ga. L for
training in modern and mechanized warrare,
while the remaining three will undergo training
in 8i~ communications at 70rt Monmouth,
H. J.
-000--
.APPROXIMATE STRENGTH OF THE .ARMY AIR FORCES
(Me.\'31, 1941)
on t~t subject. Not long thereafter,TUmors Officers. Regular •••••.•.••.••••..•. 2,380
vere heard of a stratosphere plane with a Officers, Reserve on active duty.... 8,300
pressurized cabin, and sometime later the Aviation Cadets in training •••••.•.. 8,700
Lockheed Xe-Z5 was an actual fact. And now Enlisted Men ••••..•.••.............. 126.700
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