16. The Army continued to evaluate the Bug after the war
When World War I ended in November, about two dozen completed Bugs were on hand, with sufficient parts available to assemble several more. Though several tests had been completed, only one had generated results in which all components of the aircraft performed as designed. The Army decided to use the remaining Bugs for further evaluation of the concept and its potential. Officially the existence of the aircraft – indeed the entire project – was still secret. Unofficially it was known throughout the army that the weapon had been developed, and its use was the subject of debate among professional officers.
In the Dayton community, it was also the subject of rumor and conjecture. The crash in the farmer’s field near Xenia was the source of much speculation among the community. Kettering was also ready to wash his hands of the whole project, since the end of the war meant the large profits anticipated from supplying completed Bugs to the Army would not materialize. Without Kettering’s involvement, there was no longer the need to perform the testing in Dayton, and more rural sites were considered to complete the program. While they were sought, four Bugs were sent to the Navy’s test site at Amityville, New York.