Evening star., 1939-10-29
War Lessons Nav
Prompt u. 5. Navy
To Alter Plans
WeII-Armored Cruisers
Carrying Big Guns
Nay Be Demanded
BY COL. FREDERICK rALMER,
Noted Military Expert.


Following current talk in WASH
ington predicting the rise of our
Army and Navy appropriations to
81 0O,OO0.0O0 next year, we have
the lntlmation of a plan to suspend
some Of our naval building. subject
to the lessons being learned in this
war.
For much information of decisive
value, we must wait until the war
is over, as we h-d TO wait on the
invaluable teachings of the naval
Battle of Julland in the World War.
Limited as is &he present informa-
ton, there is enough to warrant GER
tain tentative general conclusions.
Since war IS the test of peace
time provision. our Navy has been
remarkably justified by this wars
tests. 1t will be recalled that, in
framing the first naval limitation
pact, the British retained their
battle cruisers, bit ours, building
and planned, were eliminated
Deutschland at Large.
At this writing. the pocket battle
ship Deutschland with possibly one
OF her sister SHIPS. is at large on
the high seas outside the British
blockade. We know that only one
British Warship. the battle cruiser
Hood, has both the decisive superior
speed and decisive superior Gun
power to be sure of overhauling and
crushing her. Two other British
battle cruisers and two very fast
French battleships have sufficient
gun power and probably sufficient
speed to end her career.
1t Will also be recalled how. in re-
casting the terms of The limitation
pact, our naval chiefs we're charged
with a literally perversr stubborn
ness in their insistence upon our
having the right to build heavy fast
cruisers with 8-inch guns. The
cruisers were not wanted for raidine
OF the Deutschland kind, Since
merchant ships. which do the
worlds work on the surface Of the
sea, can neither fly nor submerse
we wanted ships fast enough and
powerful enough to outrun and sink
raiders that might prey on { ur mer-
chant marine and yet be able to
SHOW their heels to batI.eships.
Our heaviest cruisers would not be
powerful enough to meet the
Deutschland, Her l1-inch guns
would outrange their guns. She
could stand off out of their reach to
deliver her broadsides.
The Deutschland, which made a
virtue out of necessity under the i'm
posed tonnage limitation of the Ver-
sallles Treaty. may have another
virtue which will recast naval con-
structlon plans. There may be a
call for Well-armored cruisers. as
fast as our present cruisers, with the
speed OF the Deutschland and with
guns Of larger caliber.
Subs Valuable in Many Ways.
Argument that the submarine was
passing out of the picture never won
conviction in our naval councils. We
insisted upon them. too. in the limi-
tation pact conferences. We con-
tlnued to build them not to torpedo
merchant ships, leaving their crews
and passengers to the mercy of the
nigh seas, but as naval weapon.
Nor is their value altogether con-
fined to its demonstration in the
sinking of the British aircraft car
rler Courageous and battleship Royal
Oak. They are useful in the way
the British are now doubtless using
them, to keep watch for the move
ment of enemy Warships. They are
a threat with their torpedo thrusts
to any battle fleet when it sallies
from port, Every kind of ship. from
the vulnerable aircraft carrier and
tanker to the battleShip, must be
protected against them.
The test of bombing planes-with
meager numbers out of keeping with
predicted mass tactics up to the
present Writing-has been against
naval objectiveS. Such Scanty evi-
dence as we have from the admitted
hits, in what have been skirmishes
compared TO the battles that may
come any hour, seems to favor the
dive method, which was employed
IN the German air attack on the
Firth of Forth, over the horizontal,
as used from a high altitude at Scapa
Flow.
1t was the intrepid pioneering
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