Los Angeles herald., 1909-06-27
WARSHIPS MEET
FOR MANEUVERS
VESSELS ASSEMBLE AGAIN AT
HAMPTON ROADS
GREAT SHAM BATTLE WILL BE
FEATURE OF PRACTICE ~
Unusually interesting Naval Program
Arranged to Test and Prepare
Fiuhters-Drills Also
Planned
CBy Associated Press,

WASHINGTON, June 26.-With two
months of hard work before it. the At
lantic battleship fleet is assembling
in Hampton Roads, Va, for the sum-
mer maneuvers, which will be eXten-
sive and exhaustive.
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
parent ships, are attached to the fleet.
Under Rear Admiral Seaton Schroe-
der commander in chief of the At
lantic fleet, will be nearly half nun
dred ships of war ranging in size from
the big 16,000-ton flagship Connecticut
to the little 17-ton submarine Taran-
tula.
Fleet drills and exercises involving
tactical problems and battle evolutions
will be held in New England waters
during the latter part of July and the
early part of August.
Then the fleet will proceed TO the
southern drill grounds, south of the
Virginia capes, for record and battle
target practice.
This shooting will occupy about two
weeks, beginning August /. At It's
close the vessels will return to Hamp-
ton Roads and go thence to their home
wards for anv repairs necessary before
the winter maneuVers in West indian
waters.
Four New Vessels
Only twelve of the ships of the pres
ent fleet made the trip around the
world: the other four in the command
are new vessels. The older ships have
been thoroughly repaired and the new
" adopted fire control mast, which has
been called the inverted waste basket,
installed.
This summers maneuvers will af-
ford the first opportunity for crucial
test of these masts.
Most of the ships will proceed from
Hampton Roads next Tuesday for va
rious New England ports, where they
will spend Independence day.
With the reassembling of the battle
ships at Rockport July Z will begin the
work of the summer Together they
will Droceed to ProVincetoWn, which
viii be headquarters until August
From Provincetown the feet will pro
ceed to sea each week, returning Sat
urday nights.
on these trips the time will be oc-
cupied with fleet drills and evolutions,
and by courtesy of the navy depart
ment the citizen sailors of the naval
militias of several eastern states viii
be taken out for week for instruc-
tion on the big ships.
Will Join Warships
At Provincetown the Atlantic torpe-
do fleet. consisting of a torpedo flotilla
of twelve boats, with the cruiser Dixie
as parent ship and a submarine fleet
of four new boats, with the gunboat
Castine as parent ship, will join the
At the conclusion Of the
exercises the big fleet will proceed to
Hampton Roads to coal, preparatory
to target practice.
For the first time in the history of
the navy the firing will be done on the
open sea and in every condition of
weather. so as to attain practice at as
nearly battle conditions as possible.
Night firing under the same conditions
will be carried on.
For the target practice the two old
torpedo boats Nicholson and O'Brten
have been dismantled and prepared as
targets. Their hulls have been filled
with cork and this, it is expected, will
keep them afoat after they have been
riddled with projectiles. They will be
towed al different speeds and will be
fired a by the battleships running at
various speeds. Results of the prac-
tice will be kept secret.
While at Rockport, Mass. July or
later at ProvinCetown President Taft
may find it convenient to review Ad-
miral Schroeder's fleet from either his
small yacht Sylph or from his big
yacht Mayflower.