Project B rules reveal two competing experiments

The agreed news blackout was meant to last until the results had been analyzed, but Mitchell feared the Navy would bury unfavorable findings. The target area lay about fifty miles off Chesapeake Bay, in water deep enough to keep wrecks from becoming navigation hazards. Aerial torpedoes were excluded because their ability to sink ships was already accepted. Smaller ships could not be attacked with bombs exceeding 600 pounds, and use of the heaviest bombs against battleships was limited. Pauses between hits allowed inspectors to board and assess damage. The Navy wanted a sequence of observations, while the Air Service wanted to demonstrate that aircraft could sink the targets.