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J.B.No.349
(Serial No. 159)

THE JOINT BOARD
Washington

MMM

August 18, 1921.

To: The Secretary of War
The Secretary of the Navy.

SUBJECT: Report on results of aviation and ordnance tests held during June and July 1921, and conclusions reached. 

The Joint Board submits the following report on the results of the aviation and ordnance experiments held during June and July, 1921, and its conclusions based thereon. 

[[underline]] Nature of experiments and the results. [[underline]]

2. Certain ex-German war vessels having been turned over to the United States Government in accordance with the decision of the Supreme Council as to their allocation, the Navy Department decided to comply with the provision requiring their destruction by conducting a series of experiments in which these vessels were to be sunk by gunfire or by bombs dropped from aircraft. In order that both branches of the national defense might gain the maximum benefit the Secretary of the Navy invited the Army to participate in these experiments.

3. In addition to the experiments with the ex-German vessels as targets, one was conducted with the ex-IOWA steaming under radio control as a hypothetical enemy. Search was conducted by aircraft and attacks made using dummy bombs from 4,000 feet altitude.  This experiment was conducted with a view to obtaining information as to the effectiveness of aircraft in search operations, the ability of aircraft to concentrate for effective attack on a vessel at sea, and the percentage of hits which could be made by dropping bombs from this altitude under the most favorable conditions against a slow moving target capable of changing course at will to decrease the accuracy of bombing.