CRUISE IN PACIFIC.

Taranaki Daily News, 17 December 1924, Page 7

CRUISE IN PACIFIC.

AMERICAN FLEET'S VISIT. REASON FOR MANOEUVRES. TACTICAL OPERATIONS. THOROUGH TESTS PLANNED. By Telegraph.— Press Assn.—Copyright-, Received Dee. 16, 7.40 p.m. Washington, Dec. 15. Complete details of the reasons for the Pacific and the visit to Australia and New Zealand are contained in recent testimony by Mr. Wilbur (Secretary for the Navy) and Admiral Eberle, chief of naval operations, before the appropriations committee of the House of Representatives which granted the necessary appropriation. These details have now been published. Mr. Wilbur said the advantages of the manoeuvres off Honolulu and the .visit to Australia and New Zealand “are to the navy purely tactical. There is the training of the men in the actual management of the ships; there is the advantage to rhe personnel in a foreign cruise in matters such as recruiting; and there is the added advantage of contact with Australians and New Zealanders. They are eager to have us tome.

VALUE OF THE CRUISE. 4 Trom the naval standpoint, however, while the desirableness of cementfig friendship with foreign nation© is to !>e considered, our primary purpose is the training of the fleet. My conclusions have been reached after discussing the situation with my officers, but the problem of extending the trip to Australia and New Zealand ha© been considered in council, and is the result of the combined judgment of officers of the fleet/’ Admiral Eberle ©aid: “The Australian cruise is the culmination of a four year programme that was laid out for the operations of the fleet in order to give Jong cruise© for training arid manoeuvres, and see if the fleet could be self-support-ing away from home bases, i.e., by its own supply ships. In order to ascertain that,.we had to make a rather extensive cruise.

“It will be very beneficial to the morale of the men to take a cruise away from home ports. Four fears ago we made a cruise to the west coast of South America. Then in February, 1923, we had joint manoeuvres off Panama, and later in the West Indies. The plan for this year Was for all to have combined operations off the coast of California. The problem was to discover how to pioeeed against the Hawaiian (islands with an army defending. That was very important because the army there had not had exercises with the fleet ©ince 1920. Then they are to test particularly the anchorages for the fleet, which are very limited. Then on the outward trip the fleet will touch Pago Pago. VISIT TO NEW ZEALAND. “Afterwards all the battleships will go to Sydney. and all destroyers with tenders and four light cruisers to Melbourne. ail the destroyers, tenders and four light cruisers will go to Wcllingtoi, and the battleships from Sydney to Auckland, where all the vessels will a-semble for. the return trip. Throughout the cruise they will test their material and steaming radius, and determine whether the ships can be selfsupporting, and whether they can be maintained in all kind© of weather.*’ Asked by members of the committee low the programme compared with Britain’s, Admiral Eberle said: “Britain has had combined manoeuvres, either in the Atlantic, the Pacific or the Mediterranean. She has not held such extensive manoeuvres recently, but this year she sent a special squadron round the hor Id.” Admir.il Eberle said the mileage of the proposed trip wa© compared with 12.0 C) miles covered in the Panama trip last year.