The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1920-07-30
BIG FLEETS0F
NATION TO MEET
GRAND NAVAL SPECTACLE is
PLANNED FOR NEXT JANUARY
OFF THE PACIFIC COAST.

| concentration of sea power in the his
| tory of the American navy will re-
| suit from the junction of the re-or-
| ganized Atlantic and Pacific fleets off
| the Pacific coast next January under
plans now being prepared by naval
! operations. The great naval spectacle
| probably will be staged in 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 concen-
! trate all of the nations strength and
only ships regularly in commission
| with trained crews will participate.
! The exercises and drills will be simple
and mainly of a competitive nature,
| including unofficial athletic competi-
! tons between representatives 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-na-
| tured rivalry
| Admiral Henry B. Wilson, comman-
Rim 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-
| ton 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,
1rrI,f 81
auxiliaries made it impossible to con-
centrate a we'll rounded out fleet al
| though the major portion of the bat
tleship force met each winter at Guam
| tanamo Cuba, for target practice and
drills.
During the war the shortage in most
types of small vessels, notably de-
stroyers and submarines, was over
come, but the entire fleet was never
modified, due to the use of practi-
cally all light craft in the war zone,
| the detail of cruisers to escort duty
and the fact that a considerable por-
tion of the battleship force was on
duty abroad much of the time.
The January manuevers will set a
new mark in American naval progress.
For the first time in the history of
the new navy the battleship fleet will
be supported by a reasonably ade-
quate number of destroyers and other
light craft. Submarines will be avail |
able in abundance, together with suf-
ficient naval aircraft for all tactical
purposes and fully rounded out fleet |
of auxiliary vessels The total, num- |
Der of vessels to participate will de- |
pend on the progress of recruiting, as |
many ships are in reserve now for |
lack of crews, but it is probable that !
Admiral Wilson will command at least |
800 vessels of all types.
The most modern of dreadnoughts to |
participate in the manuevers will be |
the great Tennessee. The last work in |
naval construction, this great floating |
fortress displaces $4,000 tons carries |
II fourteen inch guns and is propelled |
by electric turbines. The Tennessee is |
attached to the ATLANTIC fleet. sis
ter ship the California. probably will |
not be completed in time to join Ad-
miral Rodman's force before the man
euvers. r..
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.
NSAN' NAAS AefSSoA bdtiiCSlllp All tliC navy
was the New Hampshire, authorized
by Congress in 1904 construction
started in 1905 and completed in 1908.
A comparison of the New Hampshire
and the Tennessee follows:
New Hampshire: Length $50 feet;
breadth 76 feet; draft 81 feet: dis
placement 1900 tons: speed Is knots: |
main battery 10 twelve inch guns and
eight inch: second battery IL three
inch: four submerged torpedo tubes; |
nine inch armor Propelled by triple
expansion steam engines developing
$4,000 horsepower: crew 1850 including
marines.
Tennessee: 1920. Length 600 feet: