300 COMBAT SHIPS

Grey River Argus, 22 September 1945, Page 5

300 COMBAT SHIPS

USA NAVY POST WAR FLEET clc ATOMIC BOMBS TO BE USED WASHINGTON. September 19. Mr. Fbrrestal, Navy Secretary, testifying before the House Naval Affairs Committee on the size of the peace-time fleet, said the fleet should include 11 battleships. 15 aircraftcarriers, 21 escort carriers, 20 heavy and light cruisers, 176 destroyers, 40 destrover escorts and 90 submarines, in addition to supporting craft. All should be new ships completed since 1940. America, should have an active navy ready for battle of 300 modern combat There should be laid up in reserve seven old battleships. 22 new carriers, 58 escort carriers, 14 heavy cruisers. 19 light cruisers, 191 submarines and also supporting craft, with a “ready” reserve of 100 major ships. He said: “The key- to future victory and the freedom of this country'will be in control of the seas and the skies above them.” “We must have a naw capable of delivering an atomic bomb attack. Nobody knows how ihe atomic bomb,will affect the modelling of navies, but we intend to adapt it to carr ; er-based nlanes. The atomic bomb wh’le immeasurably destructive, is still a bomb reowring land or carrier-based planes to deliver it. The best, defence against it is intercepting air power. If we were to give awav our fleet and rely whollv on the bomb we would lose control of the sea.” Mr. Forrestal • said that while the active fleet would be numerically smaller than the pre-war fleet of 19M. it would be faster and incomparably stronger in firepower and aviation. He suggested the navy should have about 12.000 nlanes and a total p n ’’- sonnel of 500.000 to 600,000 men. He urged the establishment, o the following Pacific bases: Kodiak, Udak, Hawaii. Balboa. Guam. Saipan, Tinian. Bonin and Vo’camc Islands, and perhaps the Ryukyus. Philippines and Manus. He suggested the following Atlantic bases: Newfoundland, Bermuda, San Juan. Guantanamo Bay, Cocos Island and Trinidad.