Evening Republican, Volume 23, Number 218, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 9 September 1920 — Navy to Stage Big Maneuvers [ARTICLE]

Navy to Stage Big Maneuvers

Atlantic and Pacific Fleets to Be Combined in Great Sea Spectacle. ADMIRAL WILSON IN COMMAND Not Intended to Concentrate All of Nation's War Strength and Only Vessels Regularly in Commission Will Participate. — Washington greatest concentration of sea power in the history of the American navy will result from the Junction of the reorganized Atlantic and Pacific fleets off the Pacific coast next January under plans now being prepared by naval officers. The great naval spectacle probably will be staged in the vicinity of the Gulf of Panama. Officials of the navy department say the proposed mobilization will In no sense result In “grand” maneuvers. No effort will be made to concentrate all of the nation’s naval strength and only ships regularly in commission with trained crews will participate. The exercises and drills will be simple and mainly of a competitive nature, including unofficial athletic competitions between representatives of the two fleets and of individual ships. Admiral Wilson Senior Officer. Admiral Henry B. Wilson, command-er-in-chief of the Atlantic fleet, will be senior officer of the combined force, with Admiral Hugh Rodman, chief of the Pacific fleet, second in command. The maneuvers will be unique in many respects, chiefly in that they will afford the first actual mobilization of the bulk of the new American navy. Before the war the forces were always more or less scattered and a shortage of several types of vessels, particularly of destroyers, submarines, light cruisers, aerial forces and fleet auxiliaries, made it impossible to concentrate a well rounded out fleet, although the major portion of the battleship force met each winter at Guantanamo, Cuba, for target practice and drills. During the war the shortage In most types of small vessels, notably destroyers and submarines, was overcome, but the entire fleet was never mobilized, due to the use of practically all light craft In the war zone, the detail of cruisers to escort duty and the fact that a considerable portion of the battleship force was on duty abroad much of the time.

Will Set New Mark. The .Tnnnuary maneuvers will set a new mark in American naval progress. For the first time in the history of the new navy the battleship fleet will be supported by a reasonably adequate number of destroyers and other light craft. Submarines will be available in abundance, together with sufficient naval aircraft for all tactical purposes and a fully rounded out fleet of auxiliary vessels. The total number of vessels to participate will depend on the progress of recruiting, as many ships are in reserve now for lack of crews, but it Is probable that Admiral Wilson will command «rt least 300 vessels of all types. The most modem of dreadnaughts to participate in the maneuvers will be the great Tennessee. The last word In naval construction, this great floating fortress displaces 32,000 tons, carries 12 14-inch guns and is propelled by electric turbines. The Tennessee Is attached to the Atlantic fleet. A sister ship, the California, probably will not be completed in time to Join Admiral Rodman’s forces before the maneuvers. A comparison of the ships available for next winter’s maneuvers with the naval strength available for a similar concentration ten years ago affords some striking contrasts. January X, 1910, the flatest battleship in the navy was the New Hampshire, authorized Sy congress In 1004, and completed in 1008. A comparison of the New Hampshire and the Tennessee follows: New ITampahlre—Length, 450 feet; breadth, 79 feet; draft, 27 feat: die-

placement, 17,700 tons; speed, 18 knots; main battery, four 12-lnch guns and eight 8-inch; second battery, 12 3-inch, four submerged torpedo tubes, 9-lnch armor. Propelled by triple expansion steam engines, developing 18,000 horsepower; crew, 1,250, including marines. Tennessee —Nlnteen hundred and twenty. Length, 600 feet; breadth, 97 feet; draft, 31 feet; displacement, 32,300 tons; speed (contract), 21 knots; main batter}’, twelve 14-inch guns; two submerged torpedo tubes; propelled by electric turbines, developing 28,000 horsepower; crew, 1,600 men, including marines. Eighteen Dreadnaughts Available. Eighteen single caliber gun ships classed as dreadnaughts will be available for the January maneuvers that were not completed In 1910. They have a combined displacement of 445,000 tons and a combined gun power of 112 14-ibch guns, eighty twelves, 226 5-lnch and twenty-eight 3-inch. A comparison of total battleship forces available In 1920 with 1910 shows that this year there are 18 dreadnaughts and 19 predreadnaughts, excluding the Oregon class, against 23 predreadnaughts In 1910, including the Oregon class. Most of the battleships listed as available in 1910 are now considered obsolete. Ten years ago the navy destroyer force consisted of about 38 vessels, including 17 torpedo boats, even then practically obsolete. This year Admirals Wilson and Rodman command destroyer forces aggregating more than

200 vessels, with over 100 more in reserve or under construction. In 1910 16 submarines were carried on the active list of the navy. This year nearly 100 of the submersibles are attached to the two fleets, with about 75 more under construction. Little Change in Cruiser Strength. The cruiser strength of the navy has shown little change in the last ten years. In 1910 the backbone of the cruiser force was the ‘‘big eight” armored cruisers, now reduced to six by the loss of the San Diego and the Memphis. No light cruisers of importance have been launched ln the last decade. One of the most striking increases In American naval strength In the last ten years has been in auxiliary vessels. Both the Atlantic and Pacific fleets now have well-organized and complete “trains” of hospital ships, supply boats, repair vessels, refrigerating ships, ammunition and fuel, ships, in addition to motor patrol vessels, submarine chasers, mine sweepers nnd mine layers, converted yachts, submarine and destroyer tenders and troop transports, practically undreamed of a decade ago.