Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial. (Wilmington, Del.) 1878-1928, 1920-07-27
GREAT GATHERING
OF j. S. WARSH|PS
Reorganized Atlantic ana racine
Fleets TO Concentrate Next
January Near Panama.

n, Associated Press TO Every Evening
Washington, July 27-The greatest
concentration of sea power IN the history
of the American navy Will result from inc
junction of the reorganized Atlantlc anu
Pacific fleets of the Pacific coast next
January under plans now beng prepares
by naval operations. Inc great hana'
spectacle probably Will tee staged LII 1'ie
vicinity Of the gulf of Panama.
Oflicials of the Navy Department say
the nroposed mobilization will IN no sense
result in grand" manGlvres: NO effort
,,,ll bs made To concentrate all OF the ma
TONS naval strength and only ships legu-
l,rlv In commission with trained crews
will participate The exercises and III Ills
will be simple and mainly of a competitive
nature. including unofficial athletic COM
netitiops between representatives OF Tue
Two fleets and Of individual ships. ne
main object of the mobilization VIII be
o. ,r,ve officers and men an opportunity TO
comnarr notes and meet for few weeks oil
rood-natured rivalry.
Admiral Henry Il. Wilson, commander
in-chief of the Atlantic fleet, Will be senior
officer of the combined force, with Adj
mlral Hugh Rodman, chief OF the racine
Fleet. second in command.
The maneuvres will be unique IN many
respects. chiefly in that they Will afford the
6rst actual mobilization of the bulk OF
the new American navy. Before the war
tho forces were always more or less scatter
ed and a shortage of several types OF
vessels particularly of dcstroyerS, sub
marines. light cruisers, aerial forces and
Neet auxiliaries made II impossible TO
concentrates a well rounded out fleet al
though the major portion ot the battle
shin force met each winter at Guantanamo
Cuba. for target practice and drills.
During the war the shortage IN most
tvpes of small vessels, notably destroyerS
ord u,buarines. was overcome, but the
entire feet was never modified, due to
the use az practically all light craft in the
war zone, the detail Of cruisers to escort
duty and the fact that considerable
portion Of the hattleshlp force was on
duty abroad much of the time.
The January manmuvros VIII set
new mark in American naval progress.
For the first time in the history OF the
new navy the hattlcship fleet will be sup
ported 10y a reasonably adequate number
~ destroycrs and other light craft. Sub
marines will lie available In abundance,
together with sufficient naval aircraft for
All tactical purposes and fully rounded
out fleet Of auxiliary vessels. The total
number 81 vessels to participate will
depend on the progress Of recruiting, as
many ships are IN reserve now Tor lack OF
crews. but il Is probable that Admiral
Wilson Will command ut least 500 vessels
Of I'll types.
The most modern OF drcadnaughts to
participate IN the manpuvrcs Will be the
rreat tennessee. The last word in naval
construction. this great floating fortress
displaces 81 900 tons, carries II fourteen
inch guns and IS propelled by electric
turbines The Tennessee is attached to the
Atlantic fleet A sister ship, the California,
probably viii not be completed In time
To JOIN Admiral Rodmans force before
the manmuvres.
A comparison Of the ships available for
next winters mannuvres with the nava
strength available for a similar concentra