1. The reduction of estimates for flight pay for officers, which was made by the Budget, will result in a set-back in the progress of naval aviation incomparably greater than would result from the elimination of a like sum from any of the other estimates.

2. To adequately man all naval billets in the aeronautic organization based on estimates for 1935 requires 1,010 naval aviators and 320 enlisted pilots.

3. On September 30, 1933, there was a total of 821 naval aviators on aviation duty. For the current year 1,005 naval aviators are required, indicating a shortage of 184. The effect of this shortage will become acute when the new squadrons for the Ranger are organized next spring and as long-range operations of patrol planes are increased.

4. With reference to the total of 941 flight orders approved by the Budget, under the existing training schedule, the following condition will exist on July 1, 1934:

Thus, at the beginning of the year there will be 45 flight orders in excess of those authorized. It will be necessary to withdraw 45 students from Pensacola, and no new students can be sent there except to fill vacancies due to attrition.

5. During the year 1935, it is estimated there will be available 158 Naval Academy graduates suitable for training at Pensacola. With the output from current classes, we will have an average of 890 naval aviators during 1935. The 890 naval aviators, plus 158 students, plus 8 flight orders comprise the 1,056 flight orders submitted to the Bureau of the Budget by the Bureau of Navigation.

6. Even with this intensive training effort, which can only be carried out if the necessary flight orders (1,056) are authorized, there will still be a shortage of 164 at the commencement of the fiscal year 1935, and a shortage of 61 at the end of the year. To meet this shortage, until such time as sufficient naval aviators are trained, there is need that a further additional sum be appropriated to allow flight orders for 1 percent of the commissioned personnel of the Navy, to be used primarily for gunnery observers. Such an authorization was in effect until recent years. Gunnery observers were formerly employed with satisfactory results, to relieve shortages of naval aviators. Each gunnery observer releases a naval aviator from VO squadrons (that is, battleship and cruiser squadrons) for other duty.

7. Attention is invited to the fact that even utilizing all officer material available will scarcely meet existing requirements and makes no provision for the Yorktown and Enterprise to be completed in 1936.

That is, we need to train every officer who is capable of being trained and we are reduced to the situation that I described before. There is the operating-force plan; aviation is an integral and essential part of the fleet, and if we have got to cut down the number of students, the situation will get progressively worse, because we cannot even make up attrition.

TOTAL EXPENDITURES FOR AVIATION FOR ALL FEDERAL SERVICES

:

Mr. AYRES. I shall insert at this point a statement that has been supplied to the committee by the War Department showing the total expended for or on account of aviation by all branches of the Federal service for the fiscal years 1929 to 1933, both inclusive. The Navy figure for 1933 is given as $52,718,113.70. For all services, the total for 1933 is given as $146,357,850.05.

The statement referred to is as follows:)

COMPARATIVE BREAKDOWN OF ESTIMATE 1935, APPROPRIATIONS 1934, AND EXPENDITURES 1933

Mr. AYRES. Now, Admiral, will you insert the comparative breakdown of your estimate with the current appropriation, current estimated obligations, and 1933 expenditures? Admiral KING. I will do so."

(The statement referred to is as follows:)

*}}}

Estimate for 1935 and the appropriation for 1934 with analysis of differences, the estimated obligations for 1934 with analysis of differences between such obligations and the 1935 estimates, and the actual expenditures for 1933

1

RECONCILING STATEMENT OF DIFFERENCE BETWEEN CURRENT APPROPRIATION AND AMOUNT AVAILABLE FOR OBLIGATION, FISCAL, YEAR 1934

Project

In order to procure as many airplanes as possible, the Bureau of Aeronautics, in reallocating the limited amount of funds made available for obligation in 1934, reduced all projects except new construction of aircraft and the item of navigational instruments (which is practically a part of new aircraft). In fact, the shortage of airplanes has become so acute that it was felt necessary to devote $6,615,000 to new construction of aircraft instead of the $6,115,000 appropriated. As shown in the above table, this increase was made up by proportionate further decreases in the other projects.