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FRIDAY MORNING.
Los Angeles

NEW FACTOR IN WAR TOLD

Doolittle Cities Blind Flying

Importance of Development Described by Pioneer in This Field

A picture of aviation's future and a glimpse at what warring nations can expect in the next conflict between major powers were given yesterday by Maj. James (Jimmy) Doolittle, outstanding American flyer who has held every important speed flight record and whose experiments made advancement in blind flying possible.
The former army ace, several times decorated by his government for daring experimental flying in development of fighting aircraft and the first aviator to take off, fly and land an airplane by the use of instruments alone, had just arrived in Los Angeles for a stay of several days when he aired his views.
NEW AERIAL WEAPON
"A new weapon in warfare has been perfected," said Maj. Doolittle. "It is blind flight. Development of instruments and training of pilots in instrument flying have created a new and vastly important threat. A warring force now can send up bombing planes in weather permitting no visibility whatever-and the thicker the weather the more successful will be the bomb raid.
"The bombing flyers, piloting their ships by means of instruments, unable to see the ground-and unseen by those on the ground-will take off, gain a given objective, drop their explosives out of the murk above and return to their base without ever having given the enemy a target at which to send anti-aircraft shells. Such raiding is possible in the Army Air Force of this nation right now."
STRATOSPHERE FLYING
Maj. Doolittle then corroborated the assertion of Wiley Post as printed exclusively in The Times a week ago that stratosphere flying is still in the dream stage.
"We are going higher, of course, but not into the stratosphere for a long time to come. Within two years sealed airplane cabins or compression chambers within present types of transport cabins will be perfected, so that passengers and pilots can by supercharged to breathe comfortably at high altitudes. Speeds of 400 miles an hour can be reached then, and the continent will be spanned in less than ten hours."
TASK FOR GOVERNMENT
"It is really necessary for the government to conduct extensive experiments, though, if commercial aviation is to advance," he continued. "The airlines are not making enough money to do the experimental development work. The government must subsidize such work or do it for the airlines.
"I am gratified at the progress made in our military aviation, but we need more ships and pilots-need them badly."
Maj. Doolittle, in charge of the aviation division of Shell Union, a combination of the three Shell Oil companies in the United States, is having his Lockheed Orion monoplane overhauled at the Lockheed plant in Burbank. He expects to be a monthly visitor to Los Angeles from now on, in discharge of his duties with the oil concern.

Former Army Ace Makes Predictions
[[picture]]
[[caption]] Maj. James(Jimmy) Doolittle, shown at the controls of a speed plane, stresses importance of blind flying as war weapon, and declares it will be a long time before stratosphere flights are practical. [[/caption]]

LINES ADDED TO AIR MAIL

WASHINGTON, Nov. 21. (AP)-Addition of 3,083,520 miles annually of flying to the domestic airmail system was announced today by Postmaster-General Farley.
The new schedules include a trip between Los Angeles and Fort Worth, which the Postoffice Department said will result in another through schedule over the southern transcontinental route between Los Angeles and New York.
New trips scheduled include: Los Angeles and Fort Worth, 1324 miles; Chicago and New Orleans, 903 miles; Fargo and Seattle, 1274 miles; St. Paul and Fargo, 226 miles.
The new schedules will bring the total annual scheduled mileage of the air-mail service to 35,120,792 miles. The additions will cost the department $857,813, bringing the total annual cost to $9,572,413.

FILM STUNT WOMAN DEAD

As a film "stunt girl," she dared death in ways spectacular, bizarre, foolhardy.
Yet yesterday, 35-year-old Mary L. Wiggins, most famed of Hollywood's daredevil women, was dead-by her own hand.
In the back yard of her home at 10855 Hesby avenue, North Hollywood, she fired one bullet into her head. 
That was late, Wednesday afternoon, after a day of despondency. For two hours she lay dying before her parents-Mr. and Mrs. Edward A. Hodge-found her. She died in an ambulance on the way to Hollywood Hospital.
DOUBLED FOR STARS
In her more than 15 years of stunt-acting in Hollywood, she had doubled in dangerous scenes as Claudette Colbert, Sally Eilers, Loretta Young, Norma Shearer, Joan Blondell, Annabella, Ruth Chatterton, Carole Lombard, Rochelle Hudson and others.
Three years ago, Miss Wiggins gave up screen stunting to become a Ferry Command pilot.
"She loved it," said her mother. "Since she came back a year ago, she's never been happy."
The actress-flyer left no notes, no word to explain why she sought the death.
"She just wasn't happy anymore," was her mother's way of putting it.
The funeral is to be held tomorrow afternoon, at 3, at Steen's Mortuary in North Hollywood.

Los Angeles Examiner *
Fri., Dec. 21, 1945  Part I-3
[[picture]]
[[caption]] SUCCUMBS-Mary L. Wiggins, most famed of Hollywood's stunt women, who took her life by shooting. She was 35. [[/caption]]