r the "Soul of the American Airplane" was not
accomplished until February, 1918. Yet within eight months more than
15,000 Liberty engines, each of them fully tested and of the highest
quality, were delivered.

The United States did not follow European types of engines, but in a
wonderfully short time developed an engine standardized in the most
recent efficiency of American industries.

According to Secretary of War Baker, an inspiring feature of this work
was the aid rendered by consulting engineers and motor manufacturers,
who gave up their trade secrets under the emergency of war needs.
Realizing that the new design would be a government design and no firm
or individual would reap selfish benefit because of its making, the
motor manufacturers, nevertheless, patriotically revealed their trade
secrets and made available trade processes of great commercial value.
These industries also contributed the services of approximately two
hundred of their best draftsmen. Parts of the first engine were turned
out at twelve different factories, located all the way from Connecticut
to California. When the parts were assembled the adjustment was perfect
and the performance of the engine was wonderfully gratifying.

Thirty days after the assembling of the first engine preliminary tests
justified the government in formally accepting the engine as the best
aircraft engine produced in any country. The final tests confirmed the
faith in the new motor.

British and French machines as a rule were not adapted to American
manufacturing methods. They were highly specialized machines, requiring
much hand work from mechanics, who were, in fact, artisans.

The standardized United States aviation engine, produced under
government supervision, said Secretary of War Baker, was expected "to
solve the problem of building first-class, powerful and yet
comparatively delicate aviation engines by American machine methods--the
same standardized methods which revolutionized the automobile industry
in this country."

The manufacture of De Haviland airplanes equipped with Liberty motors
was a factor in the war. One of these De Havilands without tuning up,
made a non-stop trip on November 11, 1918, from Dayton, Ohio, to
Washington, D. C., a distance of 430 miles, in three hours and fifty
minutes. Great battle squadrons of these De Haviland planes equipped
with Liberty motors made bombing raids over the German lines in the
Verdun sector. Others operated