The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1920-07-27
PLAN MAN0UvERS FOR PACIFIC AND
 ATLANTIC FLEETS
Vessels To Concentrate on Pacific Coast Next
 ! January.

concentration of sea power in the history of the American navy will re- suit from the junction of the re- organized Atlantic and Pacific fleets off the Pacific coast next January under plans now being prepared by naval operations. The great naval spectacle will be staged in the vt- cfnity of the gulf of Panama.
 Officials of the Navy Department say the proposed mobilization will in no sense result in grand" maneu- vers No effort will be made to con-
 centrate all of the nations naval strength and only ships regularly in
 commission with trained crews will participate. The exercises and drills will be simple and mainly of a com petitive nature, including unofficial athletic competitions between repre- sentatives of the two fleets and of individual ships. The main object of the mobilization will be to give officers and men an opportunity to compare notes and meet for a few weeks of good-natured rivalry.
 Admiral Henry B. Wilson, com
 mander-in-c 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 mane1vers will be unique in
 many respects, chiefly in that they will afford the first actual nobiliza- ton of the bulk of the new Am erican 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 1 forces and fleet auxiliaries made it | impossible to concentrate a well 1 rounded out fleet although the major portion of the battleship force met 1 each winter at Guantanamo, Cuba, i for target practice and drills.
 l During the Swar the shortage in 1 most types of small vessels, notably 1 destroyers and submarines, was over come, but the entire fleet was never l mobiIized due to the use of prac-
 tically all light craft in the war 1 zone, the detail of cruisers to escort
 duty and the fact that a considerable ! portion of the battlesh1p force was 1 on duty abroad much of the time.
 The January manuevers will set ! a new mark in American naval pro- | gress. For the first time in the his 1 tory of the new navy the batt1eship 1 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
  l 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 800 vessels | of all types.
 i The most modern of deadnoughts to participate in the manuevers will be the great Tennessee. The last word in naval construction, this great floating fortress displaces 32,000 tons, carries 12 fourteen inch guns and is propelled by electric turbines.
 The Tennessee is attached to the At
 lantic fleet. A sister ship, the Cali
 fornia, probably will not be com
 pleted in time to join Admiral Rod
 mans force before the maneu- 1 verS.
 A comparison of the ships avail able for next winters maneuvers with the naval strength available for a similar concentration ten years ago affords some striking contrasts. January l, 1910, the latest battle ship in the navy was the New Hamp- shire, authorized by Congress in 1904, construction started in 1905 and completed in 1908. A compari- son of the New Hampshire and the Tennessee follows:
 ! New Hampshire: Length 450 feet; breadth 76 feet; draft 27 feet; dis placement 17,7o0 tons; speed IS knots; main battery 4 twelve inch guns and eight inch; secondary battery 12 three inch; four sub- merged torpedo tubes; nine inch 1 armor. Propelled by triple expen- sion steam engines developing IS 900 horsepower; crew 1250 including marines.
 r- breadth 97 feet; draft 31 feet; dis s placement 32300 tons; speed (con- S tracD 21 knots: main battery 12 four teen inch guns; secondary battery IA five inch guns; two submerged tor pedo tubes; propelled by electric tur- a pines developing 2S,500 horsepower; 5 crew 1900 men, including marines s Eighteen single calibre gun ships ! classed as dreadnoughts will be avail able for the January rnaneuvers that