The Birmingham age-herald., 1919-04-12
BATTLE FLEET IS
 AUGMENTED BY r
 NEW VESSELS IN THE PAST MONTH
Ten New Destroyers, Sub marine, Superdreadnaught and FiveAuxiIiary Ships Were Completed Dur
 ing March
Bv Associated Press


 Washington, April 1.-The battle fleet of America was augmented last month by 10 new destroyers and one sub marines besides the super dreadnaught Idaho, which will join Admiral Mayo's forces upon their return from Guam tanamo Bay, Cuba, within few days.
 Five auxiliary ships also were com pleted in March and present expectations are that more than l5o additional ships will be delivered before the end of the year
 Vessels commissioned last month in- cuded the destroyers Grdley, Williams, Barney rowell. Maddox, Foote. llalk, HopeweI McDermut and Laub, the sub marine RIA and the minesweeper Seagul. Four hartor tugs also were completed.
 Ships of all classes building now for the navy or authorized number 43S ip- cluding 10 super -dreadnaughts, six bat tie cruisers, 10 scout cruisers, 195 de- stroyers, n submarines, 5 Eagle boats. two gunbpats. 20 mines~eepers and T auxiliariesE These latter take into ac- count 12 oil tankers, three fuelships, two ammunition ships, one hospital ship, 19 seagoing ugs and S4 harbor tugs Six of the super-dreadnaughts have been laid Hown an done, the Tennessee, building at the New York navy yard, will be launched either this month or in May The California, under construc- ton at the Mare Island, California navy yard, and the Maryland building at Newport News, are well advanced and probably will be launched this year. The Colorado and Washington have been laid down at the New York Shipbuilding cor poration's plant at Camden N. J., but work on the other four has not yet been started. Two of these ships will be built at the New York navy yard, one at the Mare Island navy yard and the other at the Norfolk navy yard, THREE ARE NAMED l The namas south Dakota, Montana and North CaEolina. now held by armored cruisers will be assigned to three of the vessels, but the fourth is as yet un- | named.
 Work on the six battle cruisers has been suspended by Secretary Daniels un- til he and his three chief technical ad- visers return from Europe, where they are studying types of capital ships. Nine of the cruisers has been laid down but some mateEial for them has been gotten out.
 only three of the 10 scout cruisers are | under construction, but work on all of them must be started this summer as these vessels were part of the immense programme authorized by Congress in 1916
 Probably 100 of the destroyers now building will me delivered this year with the others due in 1929 Thirty-fau submarines also should be completed be- fore the end of 1919, but thus far only 61 of the 7l authorized have been gotten under way. Most of the s eagle boats and all of the minesweepers should be completed before next January l. Eight of the F oil tankers have been laid down dnd five are expected for de- livery this year, with the date of com pletion of the other seven indefinite The gunboat Ashevile. building at the Charleston, E. C., navy yard. also should 1 be ready tlEis summer, and the Boston | navy yard fxpects to turn out the fua | ship Brazos before the end of 1919