Evening star., 1925-03-25
CHAPTER L.

Reprint from the Independent.
In the weeks just past the daily
press and magazines have been filled
with statements, articles and in
terviews bearing upon the value Of
aircraft in relation to the Navy. Ter
rible pictures have appeared with
ships apparently lost in the smoke
and gases from the explosion of a
single bomb, and if the theoretical
thinking person" is able to assimt-
late the masses of food thus offered
to his brain with a clear understand
ing of what the correct answer is, his
mental digestion must be in super
lative degree of health. If the ex-
treme view held on one side of the
argument is to be believed, an air
force, properly equipped with planes,
lighter-than- air ships, bombs and gas,
has rendered a navy unnecessary, or
at least relegated it to a very sec
ondary position. Moreover, stress is
laid upon the economy which would
result by this substitution of an
aerial for a water-borne navy.
To support this view the now al
most classic example of the bombing
of the battleship Ostfriesland is cited,
with reference also to the bombing of
the Virginia and New Jersey and to
the sinking of the new battleship
Washington last Fall. The Ostfries-
land was an ex-German battleship,
turned over to the United States un-
der the terms of the armistice. She
was designed in 1908 and completed
in 1911, which makes her of about the
same period as the Florida and Utah,
the Oldest ships of our Navy at the
present time and quite out of date
SO far as protection is concerned. In
IN ON n irS
her the results which could be at
tained by bombing from aircraft.
After being made as water-tight as
possible without too great expense at
the New York Navy Yard, she was
towed to what we know as the South
ern drill grounds, about so miles off
the Capes of the Chesapeake. On the
way down she leaked so badly that
on the first day of the test she al
ready had several hundred tons of
water aboard. Moreover, anticipating
that she would undoubtedly receive
severe underwater damage from the
bombs exploding alongside, doors and
so-called equalizing flooding pipes
running across the ship were opened
to allow any water which might en-
ter from this damage to distribute
itself across the ship. In this way it
was hoped to prevent her capsizing
before the greatest amount of infor-
nation which could be gained from
the experiments should have been
realized.
We, members of the board sent to
witness the tests, had grandstand
seats on the airplane tender Shawmut,
close to the old ship. Half the first
day was spent in waiting. The first
test called for was the dropping of
deck-piercing bombs from an altitude
of 1000 feet on the deck of the Ost-
friesland. 1t was misty and blowing e
moderately, and not only was the sea
too rough for the necessary inspection
trips of the board to the Ostfriesland,
but the airplanes could not have seen
the ship, as the clouds would have
obscured her with the planes at 1000
feet. By noon the sea had gone down,
but the clouds persisted. The deck
piercing bomb attacks were, there
fore, further postponed and high-ex-
plosive bomb attacks proceeded with,
as in dropping these bombs the
planes could fly at lower attitudes
The tests were made first with 230-
pound bombs, then with SEQ and 600
pound, next with 1,000-pound, and
finally with 2,000-pound bombs. 1t
was the intention, after hits on board
the ship had been made, that we
should go aboard to make n thorough
inspection of the damage. Since the
whole idea of the test was to deter
mine the damage done by these
bombs, the airplanes were permitted
to fly just high enough to keep clear
of the effects of the explosions.
Inspections aboard showed the ef-
feet of the bombs in the holes torn in
decks and bulkheads, but torh less
than had the hits been with high
explosive, large caliber shells.
BY the end of the first day of
bombing So planes had attacked the
ship with 60 bombs, ranging in weight
from 230 to 1900 pounds each. The
only effect really noticeable was that
due to the leakage caused, not from
the hits, but from the bombs which
missed the ship and exploded close
alongside. Even this leakage could
have been handled by the pumps had
there been steam up and a crew
aboard.
The next morning the attacks be-
gan again, starting with five 1000
pound and ending with six 1000
pound bombs. Due to the shaking up
received from the misses alongside,
the leakage increased, and finally,
with a 2,000-pound bomb exploding
close under the stern, the ship went
down.
There is no denying that it was
shock. A battleship had been sunk
by airplanes 1t had kept SO of them
busy, flying at low attitudes and
dropping SO bombs of a total weight
of $4,000 pounds to do it, but 1t had
been done! A new and formidable
weapon against ships of the sea had
demonstrated its power.
The next test to which reference is