Evening star., 1945-06-01

nave occurred until much later.
The Japanese merchant marine,
in spite of large program of build
ing, has now been reduced to less
than quarter of its prewar size.
In fact We have sunk more Japanese
merchant tonnage than they had at
the time of Pearl Harbor.
For this and for the reduction of
the Japanese Navy we can thank
our submarines, our Army and Navy
shore-based aircraft and our fast
carrier task forces. Today no enemy
ship can proceed between Japan
and her southern conquests without
running the most serious risk.
The outstanding feature Of the
Pacific war-the one which sets it
apart from all previous wars-has
been the number of the amphibious
operations.
Great Fleet Now Ready
For Powerful Blows.
| We have constructed a great fleet
of special vessels for this purpose !:
Attack transports, attack cargo
ships, landing ships and landing
craft. These ships make it pos
sible to put troops and equipment
ashore on open beaches in the mini
mum of time.
| The Navy has a great share in
every amphibious attack. For in
stance, one attack which involved
| landing $4,000 troops required the
use of l25,000 naval personnel. In
general it may be said it takes two
to three sailors to put one soldier
or Marine ashore. 1t takes half a
million tons of naval shipping for
each division in an amphibious op-
Grafton.
The Navy is now engaged in
series of grim tasks A battle of
attrition with the Japanese Air
Force in the waters around Japan
and Okinawa; tightening of the
blockade of Japan; redeploying its
own forces from Europe: aiding the
Army to redeploy and preparing
for the climactic operations yet to
come
AS We approach the enemy's
homeland, the density of his air
power naturally becomes greater
| and greater. A year and a half
ago. the enemy had more than
5000 operating airplanes to guard
perhaps 100000 square miles of
area. We could attack wherever we
saw that the defense was thinly
spread. Since then, we have re-
duced his total air power very
much, but the area he is now
forced to defend has been shrunk
so much more quickly by our rapid
advance, that the density of his air
power is four or five times as great
as it was.
Tough Fighting in Air
And More Loss of Ships.
This means tough fighting in the
air. 1t means the loss of ships. 1T
means damaged ships that must be
replaced or brought back thousands
OF miles for repair.
We at home can hardly imagine
either the delirium Of japanese
suicide attacks on our troops, air.
fields and ships, or the heroism of
our men in meeting them. AS we
approach the main islands of the
enemy the damage to our ships and
the loss of our men are becoming
more severe. In the future we shall
have to expect more damage rather
than less.
In carrying out its future tasks
the Navy will need not only all of
its present great fleets. it will need
additional vessels. These vessels
are now being built-partly to re-
place anticipated losses in future
operations and partly to reinforce
the fleet for the final operations
it will have to conduct in enemy
home waters.
The Navy is deploying all but a
handful of its men from Europe to
the Pacific. But unlike the Army,
the Navy, after the collapse of Ger
many, did not have a surplus of
personnel. There can not be even
a partial naval demobilization-u
til the japanese are defeated.
The Navy still needs civilian
laborers, particularly in the yards
where ships are repaired. Working
continuously under the concentrated
air effort of the enemy, the fleet
suffers daily damage. Many vessels
have come back wounded in VARYING
degree. To tell the number would
give information to the enemy but
the number is substantial. The
Navy must get these ships back into
the fight with the least possible
delay.
Civilian Workers Needed
In Increasing Numbers.
We have in our Navy Yards the
machinery and mechanical equip
ment to deal with the mounting
load OF battle damage. But civilian
workers are needed now in ever
increasing numbers. I know that
the patriotic workers of the Nation
will rally to the aid of the Navy in
this emergency as they have rallied
IN past emergencies. For they know
that every day saved in getting a
damaged ship back into service
shortens the war and saves Amer
lean lives.
In the air, we have shown what
America can do with land based
planes and with carrier-based
planes-in strategic bombing and in
tactical bombing.
We are now able in Germany to
investigate and examine the results
of our strategic bombing. In spite
of the most desperate resistance of
the Luftwaffe and in spite of mur-
derous barrages from antiaircraft
guns, the American and British Air
Forces smashed at German indus
try day after day and night after
night until its support of the Ger
man armies caved in.
Our strategic bombardment did a
complete and mastery job Of de-
stroying the sources of strength of
the German Air Eoroo ord the Hn~