Engineering Division

Article summary

The Engineering Division was a division of the Aviation Section, U.S. Signal Corps in the United States Department of War. It was formed on 31 August 1918, under the direction of Lt Col Jesse G. Vincent, to study and design American versions of foreign aircraft. It was later renamed Engineering Division, Air Service and then in 1926 Material Division Air Corps. It was based at McCook Field, and in October 1927 moved to Wright Field.

Key claims

1. date of establishment: 1918-08-31 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
2. date of formation: 1918-08-31 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
3. date of formation: 1919 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95

Discussion questions

1. Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
2. The record states that the date of establishment is "1918-08-31". What evidence would count against this claim?
3. The record states that the date of formation is "1918-08-31". What evidence would count against this claim?
4. The record states that the date of formation is "1919". What evidence would count against this claim?
5. Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
6. If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?

Bibliography

1. Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1370345835