Evening star., 1925-02-19

| on the ordnance tests Of the battle
ship Washington also is included In
| the findings of the board.
Th" conclusions Of the board in
brief are: That sea power is neces-
sary to the commercial life and pros
perity of a nation that is engaged in
overseas commerce: that the suprem-
| acy of the battlesrip remains over
apparent threats against it: that the
influence OF aviation on naval warfare
| undoubtedly will increase in the fu-
ture. but the prediction that 1t will
assume paramount Importance in sea
warfare will not be realized, the
airplane is inherently limited In
performance by physical laws;
the airshfp has some valuable char
acteristics, but. due to great vulner-
| ability. is of doubtful value In war:
aircraft cannot operate from territory
that Is not controlled by the military
or naval forces OF their own country;
airplanes cannot occupy territory nor
can they exercise control Of the sea;
within a distance Of $50 miles from
their bases or carriers airplanes may
constitute serious threat to surface
ships, land forces, cities and indus
trial centers. for the reason that they
can transport heavy bombs of 1000
pounds in weight at present, which
may reach 1000 pounds in the future:
from the result of the tests on the
battleship Washington 1T cannot be
said, therefore, that air attack has
rendered the battleship obsolete;
aviation has taken it's place as an ele-
ment of the fleet and cannot be sep
arated from it; the separation Of
aviation from the Navy and its in
corporation in a separate department
of the Government would be most in
furious to the continued efficiency of
the feet in the performance Of its
mission; the development of COM
mercial aviation in this country will
prove of very great value to the
Army and Navy by stimulating fur
ther development of aircraft and ex-
panding the industry: cruisers are In
dispensable to the fleet in war for
scouting and screening. attack on
enemy commerce, defense of our COM
merce, patrolling trade routes and
participating in major engagements by
operating against enemy light forces,
as well as for many other duties; the
destroyer Is designed to use its tor
pedo against larger vessels and is of
great value in the screen; the sub
marines radius of action and sur
face speed have been so increased
that it will be of great value in dis
tant scouting, mine laying and Of
rensive operations with the fleet, and
finally "our national policies are
all defensive and are we'll known
to the world. Foreign powers
! are embarked on building programs
designed to augment their fleets
materially in types not limit ed
by the treaty limiting naval arma-
ment. AS long as foreign powers
continue such policy the United
States is forced to do likewise"
Recommendation Made.
The recommendations submitted by
the board on the foregoing conclu-
sions are: "Batt1eshlps - Maintain
the treaty strength: keep modern
lied under the treaty; apply, under
the treaty. every device or change
that will increase effectiveness of
weapons; keep in high state of or
ganization and training. Cruisers,
destroyer leaders and destroyers-
Maintain a tonnage strength based
on a 5-5-3 ratio. Fleet submarines
Maintain a tonnage strength based
on 5-5-3 ratio. Aircraft carriers
Maintain at the strength allowed by
treaty. Aircraft-Maintaini in num-
bers, in performance and in person
mel as required to insure a $50
ratio in naval air strength. Ten
ders and auxiliaries Provide and
maintain as required to support the
| combatant forces"
Against Air Unity.
Detailing its discussions OF a sep
arate air force, the board says: ut
is assumed by some that because
the Army operates on land and the
Navy operates on the sea the air
force can operate independently of
either. 1t is believed that this as
sumption is fallacious.
Aircraft, comparatively new
factor in warfare, were utilized on
an enormous scale and with great
effectiveness in the military opera
tions on all fronts, but were not
utilized to anything like the same
extent in naval warfare. Highly ex-
travagant statements and predic-
tions have been made on this subject.
1t has been predicted that the future
battles of the world will be fought
in the air, but at present this for.-
cast appears fanciful"
Declaring that the maximum per-
formance claimed for an air force
would be it's raids into the enemy
country, the board believes it 'illog.
ical to elevate a force of such lin
tied offensive qualities to the i'm
portance of separate service.
Clnims Discounted.
1T has been claimed by certain
witnesses who appeared before the
board that separate United States
air force, if aided by submarines.
could, by Selling bases at proper
distances, carry on an offensive cam
paign against European or Asiattc
powers" continues the report. while
to -
and opinions of such witnesses, the
board is unable to regard such
claims seriously"
Experience, says the board, has
demonstrated that neither the tor
pedo nor the mine has been able to
achieve the role of the principal wea-
pom in war. with the Information
now available, it is reasonably cer-
tain that the aerial bomb will also
be unable to do So" it declared.
The battleship of the future, the
board continues, $50 far as can now
be foreseen, will, at most, be a modi-
flcation Of the existing type" Neither
aircraft nor subsurface craft alone
can control sea communication and
protect commerce, it is added
Published photographs, which show
the fearful wreckage wrought by
bombs dropped on battleships and
which leave in the minds of the pub
lie the impression that the ship is a
helpless hulk as a consequence of the
bombardment,' says the board, are
responsible for points outlined as to
structure and effectiveness while
damaged by explosions. "Of course"
continues the report, "a bomb might
destroy a turret, and that would leave
us but rs per cent of the main bat
terry. The smokestacks may be shot
away, with the result that the work
Of some Of the guns would be inn