Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1916-03-12
OLDER WARSHIPS
BRANDED NO GOOD
Americas Pre-Dreadnaught Fleet
Would Go Over Like Ninepins
In Battle.
so DECLARES NAVAL OFFICER

WASHINGTON, March 11.--Amer-
ica's pre-dreadnaught fleet would 90
over like ninepins IL pitted against
British or other craft OF the same
age, Captain w. S. Sims. commander
OF the new super dreadnaught Ne
vada, told the house naval committee
today, because colossal mistakes"
In construction have never been rec
titled. other countries, he said, had
spent millions in redesigning the
older ships to meet changed condi-
lions.
illustrating his point, Captain
Sims, who, as a lieutenant, went over
the heads of his superiors to obtain
President Roosevelt's support in his
campaign to improve methods of
target practice in the navy, said the
old bulldog of the navy, the battle
Ship Oregon, probably was the worst
naval design ever put afloat Its
unbalanced turrets heeled the ship
down on broadside fire, he said, un-
Til its skin below the armor belt, no
thicker than a mans hand, was ex-
posed to gunfire.
No Better Than Paper.
The turrets of the Kentucky and the
Kearsarge were so designed. he declared.
that four 12-inch shells could enter the
gun ports at one time; the sloping roofs
Of the Connecticut class turrets were buiit
TO withstand short-range direct fire ana
were no better than paper against mod
ern plunging fire; the turrets OF the
Illinois class had a gap in the armor AT
the back of the turret six to eight rect
wide. directly in line with the ammunition
hoists inside.
An these defects Captain Sims attrib-
uted to the organization of the depart
ment that prevailed for years. He In
sisted that a general staff would have
rendered them impossible, and told the
committee that with the general board
determining military characteristics OF
ships. modern American battle craft were
we'll built
Describes INSTRUMENTATION.
Under the old system. the captain said
the criticisms Of sea officers came to the
men who designed the ships and were
shelved by them. He described his own
rank INSTRUMENTATION" in obtaining
President Roosevelts ear as to target
practice.
When the short-range target practice
was abandoned in 1909 by the depart
ment. said Captain Sims the gunnery
slumped and continued to go down until
1918. when the individual practice was re-
stored. In 1915 the fleet showed 40 per
cent Improvement, put the Improvement
was from the standing of 30 to 40 in a
possible 100 and the shooting was still
bad. The i'll effects OF the slump were
being slowly but surely overcome, he
added. and he urged that full information
be published as to what the men behind
the guns actually did. He insisted that
nobody was in Ignorance abroad. because
every known power has a definite system
for finding out such matters promptly.
He told of one case In his knowledge
where the naval attache of one power
paid a bride of $4,000 to get information
as to the naval secrets of the country to
which he was accredited.
Submarines NO Defense.
Captain Sims declared submarines could
not defend a coast and that the defense
of New York should he made 1000 miles
at sea. He had positive knowledge. he
said, that the British fleet spent part OF
it's time behind nets in sheltered harbors
and the rest at sea surrounded by screen
fleets and submarine nets when not in
rapid motion. The only German subma-
rine that got through the screens, he
said, had been rammed by a battleship
and sunk. The officer said Il was not
submarines which defended Helgoland,
the great German base on the North Sea,
but shore batteries. mines and surface
torpedo craft.
II do not hesitate 70 say" he added.
that with 100 submarines of the shore
service type concentrated around New
York, hostile fleet could sail in neal
enough to shell New York. provided it
controlled the surface. That is. it ia
necessary to control the surface. II a
fleet does that 1t can keep the subma-
Wis