The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1941-06-12
rM1l{yaQba,
Washington, D. C.
NEW TYPE CONVOYS

NEW TYPE CONVOYS
Behind all the guessing and specu-
lation over conveys aroused by the
Presidents fireside chat is this one
basic fact. The old-fashioned form
OF convoy already is outmoded, and,
as Roosevelt indicated at recent
press conference, it will notbe used.
But the new-fashioned form of con-
voy already is in use and will be
intensified.
This is convoy by airplane patrol,
using airplane carriers and nearby
islands for bases. The destruction
of the Bismarck showed how effec-
tive this airplane convoy could be.
Airplanes flying above the water
can sight the submarine below the
water miles away, whereas sur
face vessel cannot sight submarine
more than a mile or so away.
Therefore you can expect to see a
network of United States airplanes
criss-crossing back and forth across
the north Atlantic, assisted in part
by surface warships, but extending
all the way to Ireland.
The Pacific Fleet.
With this settled, the most impor-
tant strategic problem being dis
cussed in backstage navy circles
is that of bringing the mighty Pacific
fleet from that ocean into the At
lantic to prevent Nazi seizure of the
mid-Atlantic islands and to be ready
for other major eventualities.
Every detail in connection with
such shift has been discussed.
And while there have been some
hot acknowledgements arguments,
the one thing upon which the adj
mirals all agree is that the fleet
must be kept together. To split
it into small units and send some
of them to the Atlantic, in their opin-
ion, would be disastrous. Battleships
must have their accompanying
cruisers, destroyers, etc., and they
cannot be divided.
Naturally, the idea of the fleet
withdrawing from the Pacific is
enough to raise the hair on the heads
of most people on the West coast.
However, the navy has worked out
a plan whereby it is confident that
the West coast would be in no real
danger.
The plan is extremely important,
because it illustrates the new type
of warfare made possible by the
long distance bomber. Also it gives
the key to Roosevelt's convoy plans.
Finally it illustrates what the Nazis
could do to the United States if the
plan were reversed in the Atlantic.
Key to the plan is Hawaii and the
Aleutian islands. The admirals are
reasonably confident that long dis
lance patrol planes ranging out
from Hawaii in the mid-Pacific and
from the Aleutians in the north
Pacific would be sufficient to spot
any Japanese ship approaching
American waters. And air torpe-
does of the type which crippled the
Bismarck could do the rest. In fact,
the entire Bismarck incident has
been a striking demonstration that
long-distance bombers plus island
bases have revolutionized warfare in
both oceans.
Azores and Canaries.
Now if you transpose the map of
the Pacific onto the map of the At
lantic, you will also get an idea of
why Roosevelt bore down so heavily
on the importance of the Azores, the
Canary and Cape Verde islands in
his fireside chat. For the Azores
are the Hawaii of the mid-Atlantic,
while the Canaries and Cape Verdes
might be compared to the Aleutians
in reverse position.
Whoever holds these stepping
stones across the Atlantic can sweep
that ocean with naval patrol planes
and bombers, just as the U. S. fleet
can sweep the Pacific from Hawaii
and the Aleutians.
If we hold these Atlantic islands,
then we hold the gateway to the
Atlantic. If Hitler holds them, he
controls the first step toward Brazil
and the rest of the way is easy.
These were some of the things
Roosevelt studied on the large-scale
maps of the navy department be-
fore he made his broadcast.
Another vital point he studied was
not mentioned in his broadcast; be-
cause no one is talking publicly
about the fact that the British may
have to withdraw from Gibraltar,
even from the Mediterranean al
together. But in case of such a
withdrawal, glance at the map will
show that these three sets of islands
the Azores, Canaries and Cape
Verdes-could help to replace Gil
braltar.
They sit astride the entrance to
the Mediterranean, and long-range
bombing planes based on those is
lands could make it hot for any ex-
peditionary force heading out of the
Mediterranean for the Americas.
All of these are reasons why you
can expect vital action regarding
the Atlantic islands.
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