Word: combatants
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...Newfoundland, the Navy chose a long-range patrol officer, Commander Gail Morgan, who now commands a unit (Patrol Wing I) of big flying boats. Along with their flying watchmen, these planes can also carry bombs or torpedoes for attacking enemy ships. Assigned to Bermuda was a close-in combat flier (Lieut. Commander Robert F. Hickey), who now heads a group on the aircraft carrier Ranger (fighters, torpedo planes, scout bombers...
There is an urgent awareness in the Navy that the fleets must have more air power, and soon. Of the planes on order last February, 1,221 combat aircraft for Fleet duty had priority over all others-whether for Army or Navy-except those earmarked for the British. The Navy is now getting a little more than half the U.S. production of naval aircraft-a considerably higher proportion than the Army gets of Army plane production...
...Fighting Now. If the Navy had to go to war-all-out war-this week, it would of course have to fight with the 1,800-odd combat planes it has. Today the fleets have their full complements of men and planes. That is, each of Admiral Towers' six carriers has a squadron of fighters, two squadrons of scouts, one squadron of torpedo planes (which can also serve as bombers, carry either an 1,800-lb. torpedo or three 500-lb. bombs). Battleships and cruisers have their normal numbers of catapulted scout observation and bomber planes...
...planes in service, too large a number still are old types which would be better withdrawn from combat units, to put in schools for advanced trainers. Even so, Admiral Towers insists, most of them would be as good as any naval aircraft they might go up against...
...ground crews to maintain them will soon be scattered over southwest China from the Burma border to Chungking. These pilots were not just a crew of barnstormers turned warstormers. They had been, until recently, crack U.S. Army Air Corps pilots. To take on this combat job they had been allowed to resign their Air Corps posts, enlist in the Chinese Air Force on the understanding that their U.S. Army seniorities would not be affected. Another somewhat whimsical technical understanding is that they will not "take the offensive" against the Japanese Air Force, but will merely defend the Road...