# The New Student's Reference Work/Navy

See also Navy on Wikipedia, and the disclaimer.
​Na′vy. The navy of any county is its fighting force on the sea, and bears the same relation thereto as does the army as a land-force. The ancient method of naval warfare was in great part the practice of driving a beaked vessel against another with great force. This survives to the present day in the use of rams. The ancient boats were propelled with force and precision by oars, arranged in one, two or three tiers and manned by either standing or sitting sailors. A three-banked vessel was called a trireme. The Persians, Carthaginians, Phoenicians and Greeks are known to have had such fleets as early as the 7th century B.C.
The modern navy dates from the 16th century, when, in 1588, the English fleet destroyed the Spanish Armada, and by slow steps in conquering the French and Dutch became the foremost maritime power of the world. The first naval ship to be protected by iron was launched at Toulon in 1859 and named La Gloire. From this were patterned the subsequent armor-clad vessels, with improvements from time to time. The construction of the American navy dates from the war of independence, and in 1812 and 1814 it proved a worthy foe of England on the seas. Thereafter it was in a measure neglected until the Civil War, when the construction of the armored Monitor changed the type of the warships of the future. Since 1887 a new navy has been built. In place of the old wooden vessels it is composed of powerful steel steamers, capable of high speed and mounted with batteries of powerful modern guns. The fleet comprises the battleships, which practically are floating forts, heavily armored but capable of high speed; the cruisers, less heavily armored but of greater speed; the double-turreted monitors for harbor defense, single-turreted monitors, gunboats, torpedo-boats, torpedo-boat destroyers and submarines, besides transports, supply ships, hospital ships and colliers. The effective navy of the United States in 1910 consisted of 29 battleships, besides 11 second class battleships and coast defense ships, 10 monitors, 39 cruisers, 34 gunboats, 32 torpedo boats, 8 submarines and 23 torpedo-boat destroyers, in addition to a number, in the different classes, in the shipyards under construction. The most formidable battleships are of the Delaware type, having a displacement of 20,000 tons, a speed of 22 knots, and armed with 10 twelve-inch and 14 five-inch guns.
The Secretary of the Navy, in his annual report, Dec. 1, 1910, made the following statement of the relative efficiency of the principal nations of the world:
AT PRESENT
| Nation. | Tonnage. |
| Great Britain | 1,633,116 |
| United States | 611,616 |
| France | 609,079 |
| Germany | 529,032 |
| Japan | 374,701 |
| Russia | 232,943 |
| Italy | 207,623 |
WHEN VESSELS NOW BUILDING ARE COMPLETED
| Nation. | Tonnage. |
| Great Britain | 1,821,610 |
| France | 836,112 |
| United States | 771,758 |
| Germany | 680,602 |
| Japan | 451,320 |
| Russia | 320,040 |
| Italy | 288,433 |
The Secretary made the following comments: It is true that our Navy at the present time is the second in efficiency. Our position, however, is largely due to the fact that during the last fiscal year our sea strength and fighting efficiency have been increased by the completion and delivery of a number of new battleships and ​cruisers of the largest and most approved type, but we will not maintain this position very long unless Congress shall authorize the building of additional ships. It is of the highest importance that old and practically obsolete ships shall be replaced by ships of the newest type. It is pretty generally conceded that the battleship is the fighting machine, and it is also pretty generally conceded that the most effective battleship is the all-big-gun ship of the Delaware type. As compared with other naval powers, we are deficient in destroyers and submarines, and also in colliers.
The expenditure on the naval establishment of the United States for the year 1911 was nearly $130,000,000. This sum includes expenditures for the construction and armament of battleships and other vessels authorized by Congress besides disbursements in the maintenance of the fleet and the national defense. In 1910 the navy numbered 2,921 officers and 45,076 enlisted men; the marine corps 334 officers and 9,152 men. The pay of naval officers is as follows: Admiral $13,500 per year; rear-admirals, first nine $8,000; second nine $6,000; captains $4,000; commanders $3,500; lieutenant-commanders $3,000; lieutenants $2,400; ensigns $1,700; midshipmen at sea $1,400; petty officers and chief petty officers get from $33 to $77 per month; first class seamen $26; ordinary seamen $21; firemen $33 to $35. The term of enlistment in the United States navy is four years.
The cruise around the world of the American fleet of 16 battleships, which occurred in 1908, was perhaps the most notable feat in naval annals. Leaving Norfolk on Dec. 16, 1907, the fleet sailed around South America, visited the chief ports of that continent and arrived at San Francisco without mishap and in condition ready for any service. Proceeding on its itinerary it visited Hawaii, the Philippines, Australia and Japan, and returned by way of the Suez Canal and the Mediterranean. This wonderful cruise attracted the attention of the world; the fleet was welcomed and féted by every nation it visited; and the efficiency of ships, officers and crews was fully demonstrated by this long and severe test. See J. W. King's Warships and Navies of the World; Lieut. F. H. Vesey's (U. S. N.) Navies of the World; and Mahan on Sea Power.