AMERICAN NAVY

Greymouth Evening Star, 27 February 1917, Page 7

AMERICAN NAVY

SOME BIfiTwARSHIPS,

UNITED STATES DREADNOUGHTS.

The two const'lines\ of the United Scares, form a tremendous responsibility for any authority charged with the problem of national defence, not only by reason of their great extent, but because of the numerous groat ports which form the gateways of tlie country, and as the United Slates lias bordered upon no formidable eaemy 'by land, but has faced across the s?a Hie menace of a perhaps, unrecognised, hut certainly formidable danger, its army has been comparatively small, but its navy never large enough to satisfy those who wgre not ‘anti-pte-paradnes.t cranks.” It lias' taken the European war to shake the nation from its sleep; and with characteristically violent read ion it has late tv em. barked upon.the greatest naval construe! ion programme ever devised for :i nation not at war. As the work contemplated in this programme has scarcely, if at all. been broached, none of it is likely to figure in the present war if the United States is forced to take up the role of belligerent. If that should happen, it is very probable that for some time at least the available, energy of the. country’s yards and.arsenals will he concentrated upon existing ships completed or being completed, to the exclusion of new units (save the smaller types and auxiliaries). For the purposes of a review, having regard to the present war, it is therefore necessary only to consider rhe United States* fleet as it now exists. AME R ICA'S PROBLEMS.

A modern navy is. a peculiar organic structure. Although it inherits many traditions from the days of wooden walls and muzzle-loading guns, it retains nothing of the old and stable structure of the sailing fleets. • The adoption of steam, of armor, and of ■rifled guns brought in an era of rapid and increasing change, which affects size, type, and tactics; and even strategy has been deeply modi fled. In only two ways can a navy develop—by following up experiences of war, either of its own or of another Power, or by the application of theory. Both methods' usually operate: but theory has had the greatest influence for some generations up till the present, though such historical events as the Busao-Japanese war have left enduring marks upon the fleets, of the world. The navy of the United States, has developed strongly on the theoretical side; a!nd those who examine its proportions by European standards, and note it a deficiencies in certain anus, especially in the swifter classes, such as battle-cruisers and light cruisers, have to bear in mind that the American naval mind is occupied with problems differing widely from those of the great . European naval Powers. The best way to survey a navy i s first to number its classes, making these fairly, broad. Thus we find fn the United States navy the following groups; Two battleships with twelve 14-inclv and tyenty-two 5-inch guns; five with ten 14-inch and twenty-one 5-inch guns. Two battleships with twelve 12-inch and twenty-one 5-inch gunsFour with t ?ia 12-inch and fourteen or sixteen 5-inch guns* Two with eight 12-inch: and twenty-two 3-inch guns. The above ships are all of the Dreadnought era, and the two lastnamed eight-gun ships were actually designed before the epoch-making Bri_ f ish ship. Moreover, all the American Dreadnoughts, have had their guns on the cenfre-line, and s,o began the system which every other'navy, after ex. perimenting with other arrangements, hap since adopted. Eleven battleships: with four 12-inch eight* 8-inch and twelve 7-inch or flinch and numerous smaller guns. Throe with four 12-inch and sixteen fl-inch guns. Nine other battleships, all over twenty years old since laying down, armed with 12-i'nch or 13-inch (old type) guns, with numerous other guns up to 8-inch, but of comparative, ly small fighting value. Eight -const defence monitors; car tying two or four 10-inch or 12-inch gun si

Four large armored, cruisers, with four 12-inch, sixteen G-inch end about thirty smaller puns. Six with four 8inch. fourteen G-inch and 1 numerous smaller rfuns.

Three large lightly-armbred cruisers, with fourteen G-inch and numerous smaller guns. Two others, .with

puma up to 8-inch. All of those armored cruisers', are over ten years: old. Twelve protected cruiser/?, with 5* fceli. 6-inch, nr 7-incli guns, all old ships. Three scout,; (2-1 knots:), lightly armed. About seventy destroyers of various types, including- a. considerable number of fast craft of 750 to 1000 tons;, about twenty torpedo beats. About forty submarines, of which only three are understood to'be ocean., going craft. WHAT AN ANALYSIS WOULD SHOW.

The above are the fighting units of the fleet, hut an analysis would show that many of the pre-Dreadnoughr battleships, the cruisers, and probably some of the. .torpedo boats and submarines, have seen their best days. The fleet is singularly lacking in fast cruisers, aind has no battle-cruisers at all. The battle-cruiser was long an unpopular type in America, and only reached any place in popular or official esteem when the British and German ships of that kind had greatly distinguished themselves. But among the later heavy ships, the United States possesses ome very fine fighting ran* chines, which, are extremely heavily armored, and cany a new gun (14inch) of remarkable power, at least equal to that of the British 13.5-inch and perhaps greater.

THE SHIPS TO COME. The Upired States has always had a tendency to pride itself upon having "the biggest’) of everything; and publicly is very proud vf its newest ships, and possibly even prouder of those’ to come. It is forecasted that the new-battle-cruisers designed to be built under the new programme will heat anything whicirhas yet shown its teeth in war. These ships will be 874 feet long, displace nearly 35,000 tons, and have a speed of thirty-five knots, and they'will carry ten 14-inch guns of the latest and most powerful type. In the words of the “Scientific American,'’ these ships,v some of which should be finished in about three years, will “have the length of the largest trans-Atlantic liner,’, the speed of the fastest destroyers, and the gunpower of a modem battleship.”