Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1940-09-13
Outline of Modern Naval Battle
Shows Need of Efficient NAVY
Hundreds Of Special Crofts Are Called Into
PIoy When Big Ships Meet in Combat

lar torpedoes dropped from the
planes. These speed through the
water, driven by compressed air en-
gines, like torpedoes from a sub
marine to blast the enemy ships
with thousand pounds Of INT.
Dives at Ship.
The dive bombers, which, Incl
IDENTIFY, were first developed by the
United States Navy, climb out of
range of the anti-aircraft guns.
The pilot takes a deep breath,
pushes the planes nose straight
down, aiming himself like a projec-
tile straight for the enemy battle
ship. At the end of his dive, he
will be screaming through the air
at 500 or more miles an houry II
he is successful in ducking the anti
aircraft shells. he pulls the trigger,
laying the bombs rights on the
enemy ship. and pulls out of the
dive in an up-swinging zoom. Gen.
trifugal force shoves him down in
his seat at six times his normal
weight, like stone in a sling.
Even If he plants a 1.0OO-pound
bomb directly on his target, he
may not sink battleship. He
hopes to force the ship to drop out
Of line, or stop the action of one
big gun turret, reducing the enemys
fire.
While the planes are busy in the
air. on shipboard every man has
taken his battle station. The Ma
rines man the anti-aircraft guns.
The dentists are assigned to the
DECIDING rooms, for no battleship
speaks to another in plain English
during the battle Cooks serve the
ammunition hoists. elevators carry
ing powder from the bowels of the
ship to the turrets. The dishwash-
ers stand ready to seal bulkhead
if the side OF the ship Is blown
open. Inside the turrets-covers
Of steel that house two or three
big guns-the crews wait for their
range data.
One third Man Guns.
The aiming Of the guns repre-
sents the highest mathematical
achievement of the fleet. On a bat
tleship carrying 1900 men, one
third Of these are assigned to man
the guns, and 100 Of these men op-
crate the fire control system. which
Is the business Of aiming the
mighty guns. The observations
are made in fire control stations
placed high in the masts. If the
first mast is shot away, there is a
duplicate apparatus In the second
mast. If this. too. goes. the fire
control is switched to squat. oval
structure that rises only a few feet
above the deck. This fire control
tower Is the most heavily armored
part Of the ship. Here. the tele-
scopic sights of the fire control
supplement the exact information
coming in from the planes. All
this material goes to the plotting
room. far below decks. Here, with
machine-like precision, all the vari-
ables-the temperature of the pow-
der. the barometric pressure. the
atmospheric temperature, the age
OF the gun "a 16-inch gun may be
fired no more than $50 times. the
wind velocity, the enemy's direc-
ton, speed and position-all are
integrated in a matter Of seconds
and the aiming orders are wired
constantly to the gun turrets.
The fleets are drawing near each
other.
The work Of years, designing and
building our fleet, is coming to a
test The iron mined in Minnesota,
worked into steel at Chicago, fabri-
Gated in Pennsylvania, forged into
ship at the building yards. is
ready. The search of the National
Defense Advisory Commission to
supply the Navy with every last
article a battle fleet needs for such
an action has been undertaken and
supplies are rapidly accommodating.