Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-06-09
UNCLE SAM BUSY
MODERN|z|NG NAVY
Disabled Ships Being Scrap
ped and Others Shifted
in Service.

have been resting in reserve on the
East and West Coasts since the sign
ing of the armistice.
In a further effort to keep his fight
ing ships up to scratch. the Navy ha:
directed the assignment OF the new
lo,O0O-ton cruiser u. S. S. Salt Lake
City. which has just successfully passed
the rigorous tests OF the engineers, &c
operate with Light Cruiser Division 2
of the scouting fleet. Her sister ship
the u. S. S. Pensacola, slated to I'M
dergo her final acceptance trials today
at Rockland, Me, has been tentatively
assigned to Light Cruiser Division OF
the scouting feet
The u. S. S. Northampton, now on
a Mediterranean "shakedown" cruise
is scheduled to become flagship OF
light cruiser divisions and Light Cruiser
Division 5. scouting fleet. Another OF
the 1O.000-ton light cruisers, the U
s S. chester, which is to be placed
in commission at Philadelphia about
the end of this week, will likewise De
sent on a "Shakedown" cruise TO the
Mediterranean and later is to join
Light Cruiser Division 5. The U. 5. 5
Louisville being constructed at inc
Puget Sound Navy Yard, is to JOIN TINS
division following her commissioning
and "shakedown" cruise.
To Relieve Pittsburgh.
Yet another of the 10,o0O-ton light
cruisers the u. S. S. Houston will re-
lieye the U. S. S. Pittsburgh as flagship
of the commander in chief, Asiatic fleet,
in the early Summer, year from now.
The Houston has just completed ner
preliminary acceptance trials. 49,,
Navy Department officials are stu
undecided on the assignments for the
Augusta, now under construction at the
Newport News, Va, Shipbuildlng o.
Drydock Co., and the Chicago, which Is
being built at the Mare Island, CAN'T,
NAVY Yard. These vessels are in the
group of eight authorized by congress
on December Is, 1924.
In addition to putting these ships,
the last word in American naval con-
struction, into the fleet, the Navy pro-
poses to scrap, eventually, its ships that
saw service in the Spanish American
War and those that are from % to 80
years Of age. A dozen Of these hoary
craft have already been sold and more
are to be put on the auction block.
Further, the Navy has its eye on a
quartet of ancient vessels that 1t wants
to strike from the Navy register, when
1t can do so.
Sold for scrap iron have been the
Albany. New Orleans. Salem, Charleston,
Frederick, Huron, Chattanooga, Cleve-
land, Des Moines. Topeka, Birmingham
and York-vessels of honored names
that bore a part in the stirring history
of the opening chapter in twentieth
century life. Soon to be sold are the
Huntington, Pueblo, st. Louis, Charlotte,
Missoula and Seattle.
Two to Be Disposed OF.
The Navy proposes to dispose OF the
q. s. S. Denver and Galveston, when
their services can be spared" Both
these vessels are now with the Special
Service Squadron In Central American
waters The U. S. S. Rochester and
Pittsburgh are to be disposed Of "as
soon as suitable reliefs can be provided"
Proposed legislation is pending in
Congress to preserve the. U. s. 8.
Olympia, flagship of Admiral Dewey
as naval relic. 1t is proposed to
bring this famous vessel to Washing
ton, and tentative plans of Lieut.. Col
U. s. Grant, Sd. director of public
buildings and public parks, provide
that it would be placed on public dis
play at the foot Of B street. A marine
museum of famous vessels has been
proposed for Washington and the
Olympia would form the first unit in
this collection.
OF the 81 destroyers and light mine
layers that replaced a similar number
of vessels with defective boilers, 10 de-
stroyers at Philadelphia and "a destroy
ers at San Diego have just been placed
in commission. Two light mine layers
at Philadelphia and two destroyers at
San Diego were commissioned to re-
/. place the four light mine layers thai
were put out OF active service due *
faulty engine rooms.
The Navy Department, announced
yesterday that the 81 vessels that have
Just been placed out of commission
will be surveyed for disposal by scrap
ping Bids will likely be called FOL
at an early date and the Bureau o
Supplies and Accounts, Navy Depart
ment, and the Secretary Of the Nav
will decide on the successful bidders.
The reconditioning of the ships tina
were tied up to docks at San Diego
and at Philadelphia was accomplished
solely by naval personnel, with a min
imum of delay, the Navy Department
said. The department did not consider
1t advisable to spend money on reha
bilitating the destroyers that were
found to have defective boilers, so theS'
war-built craft will be sent to the scraI
heap.
Tons to Be Strapped.
The Navy Department. in an officia
statement, explained that the SO ship
to be scrapped (the u. S. S. HazlewooC
from the twelfth naval district beinl
decommissioned after July - compris
O total tonnage of 60,862.
With the completion OF the scrappini
OF these So ships, the Nays destroys
and light mine layer force Is disposed
in this wise: In commission, deStroyers
Isrl,N .{NSn Inry ne
stoned destroyers, Ill, and light min
layers, 6, representing 226 vessels will
an aggregate tonnage of 229, 442. Thi
tonnage, the department explained, in
cluded 10 Coast Guard destroyerS o
$500 tons Under the terms of thu
London naval treaty, it added, tn
United States is allowed TO retain $50,
900 tons of deStroyers.
The department announced the name
of the 81 destroyers recently decom
missioned and to be listed for surve
and disposal, as follows:
From the Battle Fleet-McCawley
Moody, Henshaw, Doyen, Percival, Johi
Francis Burnes, Farragut, Sommers
William Jones, Zeilin, Stoddert, Reno
Farquhar, Thompson, Kennedy, Pau
Hamilton, Marlborough, Lavallette, Sloai
Wood, Shirk, Kidder, Selfridge, Marcus
Mervine Chase, Robert Smith, Null
lany, Hull, Marlborough, Farenholi
Sumner, Cory and Melvin.
From the Scouting Fleet-Sharke!
Toucey, Breck, sherwood, Case, Lard
ner, Putnam, Worden. Flusser, DALE
Reid, Biilingsley, Charles Ausburn, Os
, borne, Coghlan, Preston, Lamsor
Bruce and Converse.
Hardwood from 18th naval distric
to be decommissioned after July
total standard treaty tonnage, 56,754.
The four light mine layers to be SUI
veyed are the Mahan, Maury, Ludlo
and Burns; total standard treaty ton
mage, 4,l08.