Pot o' Gold

In fiscal 1949 and 1950, said Air Force Secretary W. Stuart Symington, the Air Force would spend $1,345,165,000 for new planes. New Navy orders swelled the total to nearly $2 billion for 3,366 planes. It was much more than the industry had expected. About half the business went to airframe manufacturers, half to engine and equipment makers.

The biggest chunk--upwards of $200 million--went to Boeing, which got the bulk of the bomber orders. Orders for 162 more of its huge B50 Superforts will bring its total backlog close to $500 million. Expanding to get out the planes, Boeing had reopened its vast Wichita plant No. 2; and housewives and farmers were going back to their wartime jobs to help modernize B-29s and make B50 parts.

Next in line was North American, with orders for 768 jet fighters, trainers and bombers. North American, which recently leased the million-square-foot Vultee plant at Downey, Calif., would now have a $400 million backlog to work on. So far, it has turned out only five of its F-86 swept-back-wing fighters (see SCIENCE), but it hopes to produce them soon at a good clip. A production line has already been set up for the B-45, a four-jet medium bomber (see cut).

Most of the other major planemakers got from $40 million to $70 million apiece. Lockheed will build 585 more F80 Shooting Stars and trainers, plus 82 Navy patrol planes; Republic another 409 F-84 Thunderjets; Curtiss-Wright 88 F87 multiple-jet fighters and reconnaissance planes. Despite the crash of a Flying Wing model last fortnight, Northrop got an order for 30 Wings. Douglas and Grumman walked off with the lion's share of the Navy orders, around $50 million apiece for fighters and attack planes.

Planemakers figure that the orders will keep most of them busy until well into 1951. There may even be more orders soon: some $197 million has yet to be allotted.

To no one's surprise, Consolidated Vultee got no more orders for its B-36 "flying cigar" (it is building 95). The Air Force has decided that the faster B-5O is better for its purposes.

With last week's good news, Secretary Symington added a word of warning: all contracts will be given a searching review in September and again in December. They may be revised if production isn't up to snuff, or if better ships are developed faster than expected.

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