Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1910-06-09
KEY WEST A G|BRAL TAR
Commodore BeehIer's Plan to Use
Old Battle Ships as Perma-
nent Forts.
DEFENSES ARE INADEQUATE.
With Small Expense and by Utiliz-
ing Discarded Ships Harbor Could
Be Made Impregnable.

The transformation of Key West into
a great naval and military station
which shall rival in Importance the
fortress of Gibraltar, is advocated at
considerable length in an article by
Commodore W. H. Beehler, Z. 5. n,
commandant Of the Seventh Naval
District, which appears in the journal
Of the military service institution. The
first part of the commodore's paper is
devoted to an urgent plea for the more
complete cooperation of the army and
navy forces. Their cooperation in
the defense of any particular naval
base should be definitely arranged in
time OF peace, and they should man
euver and drill, now under the COM
mand of designated officer of the
coast defense service, whether he be
an army or naval officer" says the
writer.
In his proposal to make of Key
West an impregnable Gibraltar it is
pointed out that the present defenses
at Fort Taylor are inadequate, for the
reason that battle ships can lie at
the entrance buoy, seven miles south
Of Fort Taylor, beyond the range of
the twelve-inch rifle mortars, and de-
stroy Key West from that point with
out being exposed to any danger, the
remaining velocities of projectiles from
the direct firing ten-inch and twelve
inch guns being insufficient to pene-
trate the armor of any battle ship,
whereas these same caliber guns on A
battle ship could she'll the city of Key
West and completely destroy it.
This consideration brings the COM
modore to the novel proposal for rem
dering Key West impregnable. He
points out that in place of high hills
or huge rock as at Gibraltar for the
mounting of coast defense guns, Key
West harbor, twenty-five miles in
length, is sheltered on the north by
line of low reefs and shoals which
form complete protection on that
side, while seven miles to the south
Of this line there is a parallel line of
eastern shoals, some of which are
scarcely awash at low tide and none
more than eight feet above high water.
Commodore Beehler proposes to take
our monitors and older battle ships
which have passed their period of use
fulness on the high seas, mount them
in selected positions upon these reefs
and utilize them as permanent turret
forts. Thus, for instance, selecting
the shoal known as Rock Key, where
there is a small natural harbor, he
would tighten the old monitor Amphi-
trite by the removal of her propel-
ling engines, haul her into the harbor,
build around the vessel a dyke of pill
ing, rock and riprap, and then fill in
the space between the inner face of the
dyke and the ship with material n.y.
draulically dredged and deposited. He
more than $4,000.
The ship as thus imbeded would fur
nish, says the commodore, complete,
modern double-turreted fort, with
every necessary feature to operate the
guns, and with quarters for the Off
GERS and men of the garrison. The
monitors Miantonomoh, Terror and
Puritan could be installed upon the ad-
jacent reefs, and the range of the six
teen ten-inch and twelye-inch guns of
these forts would command large
part of the straits of Florida, and espe-
cially that part which is used by west
bound vessels entering the Gulf of
Mexico, which navigate close to the
Florida reefs to avoid the strong cur
rent of the gulf stream. incidentally
it may be mentioned that the dyke
would be extended in each case to form
boats and submarines.
1t is a question of great interest and
of unquestio1able moment whether
this very novel proposal of the COM
modore does not provide an opportuni-