The Cordova daily times., 1920-08-05
BOTH FLEETS MEET PACIFIC
 IN JANUARY


 tration of sea power ill the hisory of the American navy will result from the junction of the reorganized At lantic and Pacific fleets off the Pa cific coast during next January under extensive plans now being pre- pared by naval operations. The great naval spectacle probably will be staged ill the vicinity of the gulf of Panama
 Officials of the navy department say the proposed mobilization will in no sense result in grand maneuvers. No effort will be made to concentrate all the nations naval strength, only ships regularly in commission with trained crews will participate. The exercises and drills will be simple and mainly of competitive nature, includ- ing unofficial athletic competitions be- tween representatives of the two fleets and of individual ships. The main object of the mobilization will be to give officers and men an cppor- tunity to compare notes and meet for a few weeks of good-natured rivalry.
 Admiral Henry B. Wilson, comman- der-in-chief of the Atlantic fleet, will be senior officer of the combined force, with Admiral Hugh Rodman, chief of the Pacific fleet, second in command.
 The maneuvers will be unique in many respects, chiefly in that they will afford the first actual mobiliza- tion of the bulk of the new American navy. Before the war the forces were always more or less scattered and a shortage of several types of vessels, particularly of destroyers, submarines, light cruisers, aerial forces and fleet auxiliaries made it impossible to concentrate a well rounded out fleet although the major portion of the battleship force met each winter at Guantanamo, Cuba, for
 
 During the war the shortage in most types of small vessels, was over come, but the entire fleet was never mobiliZed, due to the use of practi- cally all light craft in the war zone the detail of cruisers to escort duty abroad much of the time
 The January maneuvers will set new mark in American naval pro- gress. For the first time in the his tory of the new navy the battleship fleet will be supported by a reason ably adequate number of destroyers and other light craft. Submarines will be available in abundance, to- gether with sufficient naval aircraft for all tactical purposes and a fully rounded out fleet of auxiliary ves- sels. The total number of vessels to participate will depend on the pro- gress of recruiting, as many ships are in reserve now for lack of crews, but it is probable that Admiral Will son will command at least 300 ves- sels of all types.
 The most modern dreadnaughts to participate in the maneuvers will be the great Tennessee. The last word in naval construction, this great floating fortress displaces 32,Go0 tons, carries 12 fourteen inch guns and is propelled by electric turbines. The Tennessee is attached to the Atlan- tic fleet. A sister ship, the Califor- mia, probably will not be completed in time to join Admiral Rodman's big force before the maneuvers.
 A comparison of the ships available for next winters maneuvers with the naval strength available for similar concentration ten years ago affords some striking contrasts. January 1, 1910, the latest battleship in the navy was the New Hampshire, author ized by congress in 1904, construction started in 1905 and completed in 1908.
 a SOlli DdIlSO OI IIIC NGW f1dnl D. shire and the Tennessee follows:
 New Hampshire: Length, 45O feet; breadth, 76 feet; draft, 27 feet; dis placement, 17,700 tons; speed, IS knots; main battery, 4 twelve inch guns and 8 eight inch guns; secon- diary battery 12 three inch; four submerged torpedo tubes; nine inch armor. Propelled by triple expan- sion steam engines developing 1S,000 horsepower; crew, 1250, including the marines.
 Tennessee: 1920. Length, 500 feet; breadth 97 feet; draft, 31 feet; dis placement, 32,300 tons; speed (con- tract) 21 knots; main battery, 12