This is to take care of the third increment of the five-year program at that field in addition to those planes that are stationed there now. There is not any photographic building at Crissy Field at the present time, and we need one there very badly. We have a photographic section there which is not properly taken care of at the present time.

Mr. JAMES. Will that build everything required in the way of technical construction at Crissy Field?

Mr. DAVISON. That will complete the technical construction at Crissy Field.

Mr. JAMES. That is quite a small field.

Mr. DAVISON. Yes; it is. The runway is plenty long enough in one direction, and, of course, that is in the direction of the prevailing wind. It is a narrow field, but there could be certain work done there to make it wider. There is plenty of room one way, because I took off there in a big plane with a very heavy load and had no difficulty.

Mr. JAMES. It is pretty foggy there, is it not?

Mr. DAVISON. Yes.

Mr. JAMES. Are you still having negotiations with people at Oakland with regard to their transferring to us some land at Oakland for Air Corps activities?

Mr. DAVISON. Yes, sir; that question is pending right now.

Mr. JAMES. When I was out there the matter was taken up with me and I suggested that if they make us a proposition they ought to also have a provision by which we have the use of the municipal air field for a dollar a year or something like that, in addition to the land they are going to turn over to us, because I understand that the land that they propose turning over to us is land that would have to be filled in. The Oakland airport is one of the best airports in the country.

Mr. DAVISON. Yes; it is a marvelous airport.

Mr. JAMES. There is a big field there that you could use for our planes as well as the other fields, and they stated that if the request was made, with an offer of a dollar a year, or something like that. we could have the use of that field in the case of an emergency, that is, the big city field as well as the land. If they make that proposi tion to you I suggest that you take it up.

Mr. DAVISON. That has been taken up and is pending right now, but no decision has been reached.

The next item is for Duncan Field, Tex. That is our intermediate air depot.

At the present time the repair branch is housed in very temporary inadequate buildings. The fire hazard is terrific, and it is very uneconomical to operate from a good many standpoints, especially from the standpoint of the mechanics. The hangar facilities are also inadequate. I was down there last year and was particularly impressed with that fact.

These two items will take care of that and will complete the technical construction at Duncan Field.

Major KENNEDY. General Gilmore estimated for three hangars but we estimated for two, because we believe that will be enough.

Mr. JAMES. Why do you not move Duncan Field out to where the new primary flying field is and have all those air activities together? General FECHET. The principal reason is that there is not enough ir room. We are going to have so many flying activities there that ve have decided it would be unsafe to move that depot. If we did hat we would also have to abandon a half-million-dollar building. The air room at the training center will be filled up with the two or probably three training activities. We are not sure we want to nove Kelly Field to that center.

Mr. JAMES. About how many acres are you going to have in the new primary flying field?

Mr. DAVISON. It will be a very large field.

Mr. JAMES. The site you have now is not site No. 1 that I flew over when I was down there in September.

General FECHET. No, sir; you flew over the one with the hill in it, called Calf Hill.

Mr. JAMES. I flew over six of them. This could not have been under consideration.

General FECHET. I do not believe it was. I think it is one they found after you were down there.

Mr. JAMES. In what direction from the city is this one?

General FECHET. It is northeast.

Mr. JAMES. That is in the opposite direction from where I was. General FECHET. Yes, sir. Calf Hill is on the other side of the

own.

Mr. JAMES. The sites I saw when I was down there were all on he same side of the town.

General FECHET. This is on the other side, on the opposite side. Those other positions were to the southwest. In addition to that, if we move that depot we have one very fine building there worth at east $500,000 that we would have to abandon.

Mr. JAMES. That is the big warehouse?

General FECHET. Yes. There would be no particular advantage, and it would complicate the control. Under the law those intermeliate depots are not under the command of the commanding officer of he post. They are under the corps area commander, under the control of the chief of the supply group. It is put in there on that basis, and the commanding officer immediately wants to run the thing. All he has now is an allocation of a certain number of hours of work.

Mr. JAMES. I went all through that warehouse and it is a magnificent building, and the officer in charge knew his business. He was a very competent officer.

I went into the matter of moving it and asked him whether there was any disadvantage in keeping the depot where it was because of it being 14 or 15 miles from the field. He said in view of the railroad facilities and everything else it would not be much of a disadvantage. His chief argument was what you say: That this $500,000 warehouse would have to be abandoned, because it could not be used for anything else.

General FECHET. You would not get anything for that building and the land would have to be disposed of. The building would have to be given away, practically.

Mr. DAVISON. The next item is for the Fairfield air depot at Dayton, Ohio. The same considerations that applied to the other depots apply here. It is vitally important to keep up the maintenance and overhaul end of our material. If we do not do that we are going to cripple the five-year program and the day-by-day operations of the Air Corps.

Again, our supply branch uses this depot and it is in very good shape.

We are very proud of the warehouse system we have in the Air Corps. I think it is considered as fine as any in the Army or anywhere else. That applies to the Fairfield depot as well as to other depots.

The repair shops at the Fairfield depot are very inadequate and very dangerous on account of the fire hazard, which is terrific. One bad fire there would wipe out the whole thing, and if that happened it would cripple operations in the whole zone of that particular depot service. So I think it is very important that

situation be corrected.

Mr. JAMES. Will this amount complete everything at Fairfield! Mr. DAVISON. This amount will complete everything at Fairfield. as far as technical construction is concerned.

Major KENNEDY. Except for another hangar they will need there, but we are letting that go over now.

Mr. JAMES. You must be losing a good deal of money at Fairfield because of the men having to work in the cold buildings you have there. I was there in December and I had my overcoat on in the building and I noticed that these men could not work on account of the cold.

Mr. DAVISON. They spend most of the time in warming their hands in cold weather. There is no question but what it impairs the efficiency of the men terrifically.

Mr. JAMES. That not only applied to the Fairfield depot but also to some of the buildings at Wright Field. Then you have some rather bad buildings there where the men can not work in the wintertime. But that has been taken care of by an authorization.

Mr. DAVISON. Yes; that is true. The next item is for Fort Sam Houston, Tex. That is the field for the Air Service observation squadron and the photographic section that works with the second division. All of their facilities are temporary and the field is in bad shape. This item is contemplated to put that in shape so they can work effectively with the second division in their day-by-day work and also in the maneuvers.

Mr. JAMES. Does that complete the technical construction on that field?

Mr. DAVISON. Yes.

Mr. JAMES. Have you been on that field?

Mr. DAVISON. I have; I have landed on it several time.

Mr. JAMES. There are some bad quarters there.

Mr. DAVISON. The quarters are bad, the field is bad; everything

is bad.

General FECHET. There are some quarters on the field that are good. That was an old remount depot that we took over. It was at

first an aviation field, and then we moved to Kelly Field when the remount depot went in there, and then we took it back again.

Mr. JAMES. I was in error about that. Where we have the bad quarters is referred to in the item for Post Field, Okla. You have some bad quarters there. I think your men at Post Field are in worse quarters than they are at any other field I saw.

General FECHET. The temporary post there has deteriorated more than any other we have. Why that is I do not know. It was probably because the maintenance has not been kept up; there has been no maintenance money spent on it.

Mr. JAMES. Are you figuring on asking for any housing at Post Field in 1931?

Major KENNEDY. No, sir; we were not going to put anything in for housing.

Mr. JAMES. That is the worst place you have.

Major BARZYNSKI. I would like to say that the construction originally intended for Post Field has been transferred to Fort Bragg. Mr. JAMES. For the Air Corps activities there?

Major BARZYNSKI. Yes, sir; because, as I understand it, a squadron of the Air Corps that is at Post Field in connection with the Fort Sill Artillery School will necessarily have to follow the Artilery School to Fort Bragg.

Mr. JAMES. Does that mean that the money in this bill for Post Field is going there?

Mr. DAVISON. That is a possibility, but it is not a question that has been finally determined. It seems to me, if I may suggest it, that it should be left as it is for the present, and if any other decision is made, that could be taken care of at a later time.

Mr. FROTHINGHAM. The money here authorized is for repair work only. If you are thinking of abandoning the place, why spend that money? I wonder why you put anything in there under those

circumstances.

Mr. DAVISON. We would need the money for new construction at Post Field, in the event that the other fields were abandoned. Mr. FROTHINGHAM. This is for Post Field.

Mr. DAVISON. This is for Post Field, and, as I say, at the present time this construction is needed to take care of the units that will operate there under present plans.

There is consideration being given to the question of moving that, in the event that the Artillery School should be moved, but that is a question that has not been definitely determined.

Mr. JAMES. If it is moved, we would have to amend the bill like we did when we provided for the transfer from Kelly Field to the new flying field.

Mr. FROTHINGHAM. There has been nothing done at Fort Sill since the war, has there-that is, no construction work?

General FECHET. Nothing has been put up, but something has been burned down. There have been changes.

Mr. DAVISON. The next item is for Marshall Field, Kans., which is at Fort Riley. The present field is not very satisfactory, with only four small temporary hangars, which are unheated and have not suitable doors.

Mr. JAMES. That is used for a golf course, is it not? Mr. DAVISON. I do not know; I have never been there. General FECHET. The golf course is out in the other direction. There is a polo field there, and that is the ground which the commanding officer wants to use for a new flying field. This new field is a very fine piece of ground. I looked over it the last time I was down there.

Mr. DAVISON. The new field is now owned by the Government. It is on the reservation, and these items here would permit the necessary technical construction there, with about $15,000 for grading the new field.

That will make possible the development of a site that will be very satisfactory for the purpose we have in mind.

That is all we will need for this field to complete the technical construction there.

The next item is for Maxwell Field, at Montgomery, Ala. These items complete, in so far as the present plans are concerned, the technical construction at Maxwell Field. The items, you will notice, are very small in amount.

The field itself needs some improving and there is $13,000 provided for that purpose. The other items will take care of the gasoline and oil storage system which is unsatisfactory at the present time.

Mr. JAMES. When I was down there they spoke to me about pur chasing some additional land to round out that field. Has anything been done on that lately? I think there were two small pieces they spoke about and said they would need those pieces to round out the field.

Mr. DAVISON. Maxwell Field is one of the sites that is being considered for the location of the åttack wing, and I know that the people in Montgomery have offered to make a large contribution in the way of land in the event that the city is selected for the location of the attack wing. I am not familiar with all of the negotiations that have been carried on in connection with the location of the site, but if the attack wing is located there the people in Montgomery will make that contribution.

Major LINCOLN. There is no question in regard to a small purchase that has not been determined.

General FECHET. Any piece of land we need down there will be given, when we need it.

Mr. JAMES. When do you expect to get a report on the location of the attack wing?

Mr. DAVISON. The board is still working on their report. I imagine the report will probably be available within a few weeks.

The next item is for Mitchel Feld, at Garden City, N. Y. The total amount asked for there is $131,000, and this technical construetion is necessary in addition to the items authorized in the former bill. H. R. 7009.

We have two photographic sections at Mitchel Field and the temporary photographic building was razed to make room for the new permanent barracks, and as a result of that a new photographie building is necessary.

Also, we require two additional hangars there, which are provided for in this item.