The Key West citizen. [volume] (Key West, Fla.) 1879-current, 1943-07-15
SEEING IN THE DARK

b. j. McQuaid, writer for the Chi
cago Daily News. Secretary of the Navy
Knox paper or former paper, gives a vivid
account of the battle of Kula Gulf, but ne
leaves the lay mind in darkness about the
efficiency of Uncle Sans naval men to
shoot as accurately at night as during day.
light
He speaks about tracer shells and star
clusters in lighting up the enemy ships. but
does not explain how il was possible, IN
pitchy darkness. for the tracers TO pick out
their detectives. But he does say. as every
other layman would say. 1t was thing Of
utter and incredible PERFECTION eve put
the exclamation point at the end of the
sentence, because we believe il rates dozen
exclamation points,.
II was not only dark but squally also.
so much so that, even after daybreak, the
blackness of night decreased only little
But there. in Kula Gulf. in the dead of night
in squalls and in dungeon blackness. the
American fire was deadly.
I'm five minutes after contact was made
with The enemy, our naval SharpShooters
had sunk three Jap destroyers and two
light cruisers. and the slaughter and the
execution" as McQuaid characterizeS the
destruction of the enemy ships. continued
for % minutes, by which time ii of them
had been sent to the bottom or were burning
hulks IN KOlOmbangara' off-shOre rocks.
And our only loss was the light cruiser
Helena. despite the fact that our ships
were outnumbered and the further fact that
the Jap flOtilla included two heavy cruisers
which were blasted into impotency few
minutes after they entered the fray
Precision instruments, about which we
know nothing. and. if McQuaid is familiar
with them, he purposely said nothing about
them. ere the things that have made our
Navy men masters of the sea and our air
men masters of the air And our men who
go up into the air or out on the sea are
Of these instruments.
We have instruments that can detect
planes before the human ear can hear them
or the human eye can see them. Further,
the instrument indicates from what direc-
ton the planes are coming how high they
are and the exact spot in which they are
flying And our bombsight can pick out
target from a plane at p or 80 thousand
feet up in the air. and our naval men have
instruments that make firing at night as ac-
curate as firing in daylight
The Japs and the Germans have inStrI-
ments too. but, so far as we are aware. they
were invented in this country before we en-
tered tie war and are not nearly aS accurate
as the instruments we have invented since
we entered the war II i due to those ir-
strumeltS that. where we lose a plane the
Germans and Italians lose almost five. and
the Japs more than eight.
A one-sidedly murderous night bat
tie McQuaid says of the fight in kula
Gulf. There have been many one-sided sen
and air battles. too. Stree the United States
entered the war. and there will be other
One-sided battles. with the United States OF
the top side. till Germany Italy and Japan
are crushed.
Inventive genius. put into play by
quick and accurate-thlnking Americans. )
winning the war. with tempo that i in
creasing daily till it finally reaches its de-
vastating climax
Darkness. because of those in~tru-
merits, does not dim the "eyesight" of our
naval men.