Evening star., 1948-10-27
Thousands Visit
Naval Exhibits
ndInstaIIations
Children Predominant
In Early Crowds;
$4,000 Expected


Thousands of curious visitors
with children predominating, began
an early trek to Navy Day exhibits
and Naval installations in the Dis
trict area today as the Navy put its
best foot forward in its annual
public showing.
More than $4,000 persons were ex-
pected at the 13 installations in the
District area which were thrown
open.
E. Cortlandt Parker, president OF
the District Council of the Navy
League. estimated that $4,000 per-
sons would visit naval installa-
tiops and take part in the various
activities here which will culminate
at 8 pm. tonight at a banquet at
the Mayflower Hotel with Undersec-
retary of the Navy w. John Kenney
as principal speaker.
Between 1000 and 5000 persons
attended the ceremony at the John
Paul Jones Monument. Rear Ad-
mlral Thorton C. Miller, assistant
chief CT Navy chaplains, pronounced
the invocation and Brig. Gen. Mer-
ritt B. Curtis, general chairman,
presided. The Navy Band furnished
the music and the Washington High
School Cadet Corps took part.
At the Naval Gun Factory, where
more than 5000 persons entered
the gates in the first two hours,
children had a field day operating
the various weapons on display and
going aboard the several ships tied
up at the docks.
Helicopter Drops Souvenirs.
There were diving exercises and
displays of captured enemy equip
ment, including a japanese kami-
kaze plane. Jet planes made a SIM
ulated attack and a helicopter
dropped souvenir ping-pong balls
labeled Navy Day. 1948' on the
crowds, while another helicopter
from the Marine Corps Air Sta
ton at Quantico, Va, demonstrated
air-sea rescue tactics. Every hour
on the hour there were plane cata-
pult launchings.
At the Naval Ordnance Plant at
Alexandria, where visitors were al
lowed to go aboard a destroyer
there were torpedo firings and music
by the Marine Corps Band. The
occasion also marked the 30th an
niversary of that installation.
On the Monument Grounds two
helicopters and a mobile radar unit
in operation were open to visitors
Meanwhile, emphasizing recent
changes in the Nations warships
the Navy announced that an entirely
new class of heavy cruisers would be
commissioned next month at the
Fore River shipyard in Quincy
Mass. The department said the
l7,000-ton Des Moines-the heaviest
heavy" cruiser in the world-would
be the first fighting ship to have q
fully automatic main battery OF
nine 8-inch rifles. Mounted three
to turret, they will be loaded
aimed and fired four times faster
than ever before and without O
single gunner near them.
Greater Things to Come.
Naval aviation proudly reported
progress and predicted greater
things to come. The depart
ment said jet planes had come
aboard carriers for keeps, work on
the new 65,000-ton supercarrier had
started, the full authorized strength
OF 14,500 planes would be reached
by next July and a twin-jet, high
speed. tailiess fighter was under
going tests at Patuxent River, Md.
More than $50 admirals were
joined by fellow officers from the
Army and Air Force in reporting
latest naval developments in
speeches throughout the Nation to-
day and tonight.
Ninety high school boys here re-
ported in yesterday afternoon at
the Naval Receiving Station at Ana
costa and 90 high school girls ar
rived at the WAVES Barracks in
West Potomac Park for 24-hour
tours of duty as honorary blue
jackets and WAVES in the Navy.
Thirteen naval installations are
open to the public. At the Naval
Gun Factory several shops as we'll
as seven ships can be seen. This
afternoon 10000 ping pong balls
labeled Navy Day, 1948," were to
be dropped from a helicopter on
the visitors at the factory.
At the Navy Ordnance Labora-
tory. White Oak, Md, visitors may
see a re-assembled German-built
wind tunnel. which the Nazis used
for testing W. rockets during the
war, and a huge 10000, ,O00-volt gen.
orator, the rays of which are capa-
BILE of penetrating l6 inches of steel.
Other Installations Open.
The latest type naval aircraft
and mobile radar units in actual
operation are on view at the Monu-
ment Grounds.
In addition to the Gun Factory
and Ordnance Laboratory, the fol-
lowing installations are open to the
public:
Anacostia Naval Air Station,
Naval Barracks, West Potomac
Park; Naval Radio Station, Arling-
ton; photographic Office, Suitland,
Md; Naval Research Laboratory,
Bellevue; Naval Medical Center,
Bethesda; David Taylor Model
Basin, Carderock, Md; Naval OBJ
servatory, Massachusetts, avenue
NV; Naval Ordnance Plant, Alex
Naval Proving Ground,
Dahlgren, Va, and Naval Receiving
Station, Anacostia. The destroyer
r. L. Wilson is tied up at the Alex
andria Ordnance Plant for the
benefit of visitors.
The Navy League annually spon-
sors the Navy Day observance which
takes place on the anniversary of
the founding Of the Navy in IT'S,
anG also Is the birthday of President
Theodore Roosevelt, who is cred
tied with starting the program that
built the sea arm into the force
it Is today.