SEA POWER

Otago Witness, Issue 3511, 28 June 1921, Page 14

SEA POWER

BIG FLEET IN THE PACIFIC. WASHINGTON, June 22. Mr Denby (Secretary for the Navy) has announced the reorganisation of the Atlantic and Pacific licet;, bv which, a preponderance of super-dreadnoughts wilt be located in tiie Pacific. Ail the oil burning capital chips will be sent there, the ccalburners being transferred to the Atlantic. On ilic surface, the Navy Department’s* reason for the change is economy by saving in coal expense, but it is believed that the real reason is the decision to maintain the strongest ha'f of the fleet in tho Pacific. The Atlantic fleet, however, will still include several super-dreadnoughts. AM ERICA N E Y PERIMENIS. NEW YORK, June 22. At Hampton Roads American naval planes sank the former German submarine Ui 17 in a test air raid, the submarine was sunk after tu o attacks, m which 12 bombs were dropped. Three machines attacked., the first- dropping bomb-i and scoring on. direct hit. Nine bombs were dropped in the second attack, one hitting direct, whereupon the U boat disappeared. Ihe tests will Lv continued. To settle the controversy over the usefulness of planes versus capital ships, an electrically-controlled, battleship is being used as the object, the planes using dummy bombs. The naval air authorities claim that capital chips were useless became of the advance in air title k methods, but this claim Mr Denby and other supporters of capital ships deny.