The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1927-12-22
Buck Up. NavvI

This newspaper yields to none as hacker of the
American navy or as a plugger for its officers and
men. Our navy must be second to none. Its person.
mel already is.
Nevertheless there is something wrong. Somewhere
there too many accidents In the last few years
batteship aircraft carrier, five destroyers, four
submarines and other craft have figured in serious
accidents involving heavy loss Of life.
This ought not to be- We say this knowing full
well that the navy was not designed as a pleasure
craft built for safety first 1t was built for war to
shoot and sink and fight and kill.
1t carries cargo of high explosives and man-kling
munitions and machinery rs business at times is to
navigate dangerously. BY the very nature of things
safety must be of secondary consideration Neverthe
less every single safety precauton possible should and
must be taken.
And such is not the case. For instance, when an
18-inch gun is tested range is staked out carefully
and if water all craft are kept at distance
Peace-time undersea boat navigation save when
necessary maneuvers in war games prevent should
follow some such rule
No submarine should be required, or allowed, in
ordinary times to dive and risk coming to the surface
as the Sd seems to have DONE directly in front Of an
oncoming ship.
Also, what has become Of the listening gear about
which we heard so much during the WARP The COM
mander of submarine, we are told, while far below
the surface, could hear and locate other vessels as
they came and went
Was the s-4 so equipped2 II not. why notP And if
1t was, then it would be very useful to find out why
the gear failed at the crucial moment
The Germans equip their U-boats with telephone
buoys. If one goes down by accident the buoy rises
marks the location and provides instant telephone
connection with any living men cooped Up below
This gear is simple. 1t overcomes the logical OBJ
lection to adding cumbersome machinery to an al
ready over-crowded hold. 1t is small. Several such
devices have been offered the navy.
Graphing rings welded to the sides of submarines
are in with several of the fleets of the world Why
aren't ours equipped? 1t is argued that the modern
submarine is large that graphing rings can not be
made heavy enough to hold. Which, no doubt is true
If all the compartments flooded and the entire
weight Of the ship must be lifted by the rings.
But not nfrequently-and always when living men
remain inside-one or more Of the compartments re-
main free Of water In such cases, graphing rings
might prove invaluable.
These details however, are technical and beside the
mark. Just what is wrong we do not pretend to
know. Perhaps no one knows For the navy numbers
many critics and these do not always agree among
themselves. Some say it is over-oflcered Some say
it is undetermined. Some say fear of reprimand
seals the mouths of many, or that its morale is low.
affecting efficiency.
Still others charge that the navy has become too
bureaucratic for new ideas to break in. We do not
know Perhaps it is combination of several of or all
these things.
Steps should be taken to ascertain the truth and
the quicker it is done the better. We are about to
embark $SOOOOOOOO building schedule the great
est peacetme program in the history of the nation
and it behooVes to do all we possibly can, and at
once, to prevent starting wrong.