The White Pine news. [volume] (Ely, Nev.) 1906-1910, 1909-07-14
FLEET GATHERS
FOR WAR GAME
ELABORATE MANEUvERs PLAN
NED FOR BATTLESHIPS AND
CRUISERS THIS sUMMER-MAY
DIVIDE AND FIGHT.

WASHINGTON, July Is. The
most elaborate program of maneu-
yers ever made up for the American
Navy will be executed by the North
Atlantic Fleet this summer. With
two months of hard work before it
the battleship fleet is now assemble
ing in Hampton Roads, for the sum-
mer m%aneuvers, which will be ex-
haustive. The fleet may be divided
into two squadrons and fight against
each other, and a dozen torpedo
boats will make attacks on the big
~battleships whose officers and men
will be required to exert extreme
vigilance also to guard against the
stealthy little submarine torpedo
boats four of which, with a parent
ship are attached to the feet.
Uuder Rear Admiral Seaton'
Schroeder, commander-in-chief of the
Atlantic fleet, will be nearly half a
hundreds ships of war varying in
size from the 16, OOO-ton flagship
Connecticut to the little 170-ton SUBJ
marine Tarantula.
Fleet drills and exercises invol-
evolutions, will be held In New Eng
land waters during the latter part
of July and the early part of August
Then the feet will proceed to the
Southern drill grounds at the
south of the Virginia capes, for rec
ord and battle target practice. This
shooting will occupy about two weeks
beginning August 10. At its close
the vessels will return to Hampton
Roads and go thence to their home
yards, for repairs necessary before
the winter maneuve in West In
dian waters.
Only twelve Of the b~attleships of
the present fleet made the trip
around the world; the other four
in the command are new vessels.
The older ships have been thor
oughly repaired and the newly adopt
ed fire control mast which has been
called the inverted waste basket"
installed. This summers maneuvers
will afford the first opportunity for
a crucial test of those masts.
Four of the vessels will not be
able to leave the navy yards for a
week or more. The other twelve
I ships will PROCEED from Hampton
Roads next Tuesday for New England
ports, where the sailors and officers
will be granted liberty from July 2
to- 6. Four ships will be at Boston
for Independence Day, two at Pen
obscot Bay, two at Portland, Me-, and
each at M~arblehead, Mass, Ports
mouth, N. H., Eastport, Me-, Rock
port, MSS, G~louchester, Mass, and
Booth Bay, Maine, the other two
ships going where designated by the
division commander.
With the reassembling of the bat
tleships at Rockport, Mass, July Z,
will begin the work of the summer.
Together they will proceed to Prov
incetown, which will be headquar-
tiers until August 5. From Province
town the fleet will proceed to sea
each week, returning Saturday night
On these trips will occur the fleet
drills and evolutions, and by court
esy of the Navy Department the
citizen sailors of the naval militias
of several Eastern States will be
taken out for a week for instruction
on the big ships.
At Provincetown the Atlantic tor
iDtuO llCCI Will JOiu Tx DdItiColIpo
consisting of a flotilla of twelve
boats with the cruiser Dixie as par
ent ship, and a submarine fleet of
four new submarine torpedo boats
with the gunboat Castine as parent
ship.
For the first time in the history
of the nav the firing will be done
on the open sea and in every con-
dition of weather, so as to attain
practice at as nearly battle con
ditions as possible. Night firing
under the same conditions will be
carried on. lFor the target pract-
ice the two old torpedo boats Mich
olson and O'Brien have been dis
mantled and prepared as targets.
Their bulls have been filled with
cork, and this is expected, will keep
them afloat after they have been rid
died with projectiles. They will be
lowed at different speeds and be fired
at by the battleships running at var
ing speeds. Results of the practice
will be kept secret.
1t is probable that the scout
cruisers Chester, Salem and Birm-
ingham, and the armored cruisers
North Carolina, Montana and New
York will join the fleet at Province
town. The cruiser Montgomery,
which has been fitted up as a tor
pedo experimental ship, will also be
with the fleet.
Secretary of the Navy Meyer has
been considering going TO sea with
the fleet during the maneuvers to
watch the work of the ships, but
has not yet come to a final de-
cision in the matter,
While at Rockport, Mass, July Z,
or later at P~rovincetown, President
Taft may find it convenient to re-
view Admiral Schroeder's fleet from
either his small yacht or his bigger
yacht Mayflower.
LIGHTWEIGHT PUGILIST