“UTMOST DISPATCH.”
FEVERISH PREPARATIONS
NEW YORK, April 15,
Norfolk (Virginia), was transformed from carnival gaiety to feverish preparations when 47.000 men had their leave cancelled and began making over the hundred warships lying in Hampton Roads ready for sea with “the utmost dispatch,” as ordered from Washington. Repairs on the docked vessels were ordered to be cut short, and tlie loading of ammunition and fuel was commenced immediately. Patrols at New Affirk combed the streets rounding up the ratings, enabling three ships to clear port before nightfall. The newspapers and naval offices were swamped with inquiries from relatives, many of whom travelled from the Pacific coast as the fleet was scheduled to remain in the Atlantic until June.
Officers were startled at the change of plans as a peacetime fleet movement of such magnitude at such short notice is unprecedented.
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https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/MS19390417.2.86
Bibliographic details
Manawatu Standard, Volume LIX, Issue 116, 17 April 1939, Page 7
Word Count
140“UTMOST DISPATCH.” Manawatu Standard, Volume LIX, Issue 116, 17 April 1939, Page 7
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