The Daytona daily news. [volume] (Daytona, Fla.) 1903-1926, 1915-02-05
United States Warships in for
Month Of Hardest Kind
Of Drilling.
COMMANDED BY FLETCHER
Largest and Most Powerful Fleet Ever
Assembled Under the Stars and
Strpes-May Solve Efficiency
Of Our Navy.

Cuba, for a month of the hardest klno
of drilling. 1t will be great spectacle
for the few civilians who will see 1t,
but for the more than one thousand
officers and $4,000 enlisted men 1t
means work, unceasing labor, to mt the
American navy for battle.
Yet every Jack Tar is glad he is
there. Great fascination surrounds the
maneuvers, the orderly marching and
counter-marching over the parade
ground of the ocean, dreadnaughts and
cruisers taking the place of individual
soldiers, but obeying the orders sent
by wireless and wigwag just as I'M
plicitly and readily as squadron of
well-drlled cavalry.
The firing Of the great guns is fun
for officer and man, too. Target prac-
tice is a great game. Every nerve is
strained to make the enormous rifles
do their best, and hot rivalry Is exhib-
tied by the gun crews. Business is
pleasure when the heart is in it.
The eyes of the whole United States
are directed to Rear Admiral Frank
Friday Fletcher and his ships today
A great wave Of criticism has swept
over the country. The European war
has created interest in the army and
navy; and every patriot feels that if
not the greatest we should have the
best navy in the world.
Is the navy up to scratch'
This is the question the maneuvers
may solve and at the same time do a
great deal toward making it possible
to answer in the affirmative. The navy
needs maneuvers, Just as an army
needs drills. A fleet will be awkward
in forming in battle line in time OF
war IL the superior officers have not
performed all the evolutions often In
time of peace.
Much Practicing Necessary.
Partly due to the use of the big
ships off the coast of Mexico. the
maneuvers have been neglected. This
is the first time in three years that the
entire fleet will be assembled for bat
tie practice. Three years means a
long while when one considers how
fast the art Of naval warfare is de-
veloping Just to mention one item:
Naval guns of 14-inch caliber were car
ried on no ship in the world three
years ago. Now the Texas and the
New York carry these mammoth
rifles. and it is currently reported
that Great Britains new Queen Eliza.
beth class, now building, will have 15-
inch guns.
When one considers that the fleets
of Great Britain, Germany, France,
Austria Russia and Japan are now
engaged in actual war work every
day in the year, 1t is easy to see that
the United States must do a lot of
practicing even to approximate the de-
gree of efficiency to which the lighting
navies of the world are arriving.
The Guantanamo maneuvers will be
the most extensive target and fleet
practice the American navy has ever
gone through. They will last through
the greater part of the month, and
will be followed by the Panama canal
opening exercises, which may involve
some maneuvers of value, too.
The armored fleet (the biggest
ships) will be in four divisions of 81
vessels. Ten will be of the so-called
"dreadnaught" class and IL of the pre-
dreadnaught type. Besides these, two
of the four armored cruisers of the
heet ana all of the torpedo flotillas,
except those in reserve, will be pres
ent.
Never before did the fleet contain
practically two complete divisions of
the dreadnaught class. The first divi-
sion consists of dreadnaughts of the
most powerful type and the second
division is made up of these powerful
vessels except one battleship.
In addition to the battleships, five
of the seven divisions of torpedo
boat destroyers will have a part in
the exercises. This means q more
craft. There will be ten auxiliaries
and the scout cruiser Birmingham,
which is the flagship of the torpedo
flotilla
Directs 1903 Vessels.
This does not mean that all the
vessels under Admiral rletcners COM
mand will be at Guantanamo There
Will be missing all the submarines,
as well as all the smaller cruisers
and gunboats and two divisions of the
destroyer flotilla. Admiral Fletcher
directs 1903 vessels. of which So will
be at Guantanamo.
1t was figured by naval officer
here that the Pinch guns of the feet
can fire broadside of 105,40O pounds
and the 1i-inch guns bring this up to
133,40O pounds. There are l24 -.
inch guns in the reorganized fleet.
all OF which are placed so that they
can be fired in single broadside.
The New York and the Taxas aooh