New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1916-09-08
WINES DESTROY
WAR GAME FLEET
Civilians in Motor Boats
Are Unable to Find
Field in HarbOr.

Officers of inward bound steamships
passing up the bay yesterday were
astonished to meet two United States
torpedo boat destroyers-the Flusser
and the rrington-coming down the
Ambrose Channel at full speed. They
were accompanied by fast flying
hydroaeroplane, performing what might
be easily interpreted as suspicious
stunts above the warships, which were
followed by three yachts. Thomas w.
Slocum's Ranger. William Ziegler, ir. 5
Gem and Harold |. Prstt's Dodger II,
all hying the flag of the New York
Yacht Club.
There was no cause for alarm wher
the facts were known. for while the en-
tire fleet of warships and yachts was
theoretically destroyed by passing over
a dangerous" mine field, which IT
had been sent TO find, it was all part
Of the peaceful war game that the navy
had planned for the instruction of the
civilians who own and operate motor
boats in this harbor.
Vessels Can't Find Mines.
Beneath Il sky Of azure blue. banked
to the northeast with great white
clouds, the flying boat, operated BY NJ.
c. Mccullough and an assistant OF the
Manhasset Bay Flying Corps, made ar
impressive picture cutting figure Fights
above the vessels whose duty it was to
find and destroy the mines previously
planted five feet under water by the
Flusser. This they failed TO do. but Il
further attempt is TO be made to-day.
At a conference between the motor
boat owners and Captain l.. A. Kaiser,
of the New Jersey, held on board that
battleship in the morning the boats
were regrouped. There are now four
groups Of two boats each, and one OF
six boats. The groups are numbered
from one 10 six and the first boat OF
each group is its flagship.
As now arranged the groups are as
follows: No. / the Sunbeam II, K. b.
Roosevelt, owner, and the Lillian II.
F. T. Rothschild; No. the Atlantis
l.. II. Dyer, and the Mustang, II. ;.
Beardsley; No. 3 the Florence, Ma
thew Rock, and the Rosa. Sigmund
Cohen: No. the Zita. Horace F..
Boucher, and the Altrurian ii, w. ".
Brown; No. the Kalevala, II. j.
Thompson; the Psyche ", X. II. lnger
soil; the Psyche Y. NJ s. Bentham; the
Barracuda. August Belmont, ir.; the
Priscilla, +. s. Fisher. and the Dawn,
w. X. Donnelly. The Mustang and the
Priscilla Joined the feet yesterday, in
creasing the squadron to fourteen
boats.
New System Of Signals.
These were put through tactical ma
npuvres Yesterday By Lieutenant j. W.
Wilcox, L. s. n, under a new synthetic
system of signals, easy to memoriZe,
devised by Captain Kaiser. l.. II. Dyer,
commander of Group No. 2, on board
the Atlantis. said after the drill the
new system was great improvement
Signalling while at anchor was the
drill last night for the motorboats. To-
day they will do scout work in daylight
and attempt to locate a dummy peri
scope representing an attacking sub
marine. The area for this work will
be north of Romer Shoal and east Of
the West Bank. At night the motor
boats stationed in the Ambrose. Swash
and Main channels are TO be attacked
tv the destrOyers. The vessels will
run without lights.
II the motorboats discover the de-
stroyers red rocket will be sent up
signifying that the dcstroyers arc cap
tured. A green rocket will mean that
the motorboats have been discovered
and taken.