Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1949-04-29
NaWBIocked by Gag
From Stating Carrier
Case, Writer Says
Essential Points Listed
Which Have Never Been
Given to the Public
By David Laurence

By David Laurence
The Nays case for the build
ing of a carrier larger than pre-
yiousiy built has never been given
to the public due TO the gag
enforced against the Navy and
not against the other services
Here are the essential points In
that case:
|. The new carrier known al
the United States" Is not
"supercarrier" or a new weapon
but logical development OF ar
existing one.
q. The difference in size bes
tween previous carriers and the
new one is actually only 100 feet
in length and 80 feet in width
The large carriers hitherto have
measured $50 feet long and 10s
wide. The new one was to nave
been 1000 feet long and 1875 feet
wide.
8. The new carrier would l'er-
NIT it's planes to fly l,700 miles
out and 1,700 miles back, whereas
the planes of present carriers have
q range of only 900 miles.
A. In accordance with the unan-
imous agreement Of the Joint
Chiefs of Staff reached at Key
West recently. the mission OF
naval aviation was described not
as a primary instrument for stra-
tegic bombing but only as means
OF assisting in that mission.
Primary Purpose.
: 5. The primary purpose Of car
sriers Is to obtain and retain CON-
plete control of the seas against
any threat from land or sea. II
is to meet any menace against
ships at sea. including those trans
porting fuel to supply land-based
strategic bombers Of the other
armed services.
8. Included in this primary
purpose Is the attack upon shore
installations from which SUBJ
marines are sent out to prey on
commerce.
IL. The chief function Of carrier
planes in operations near land
bases is to drop mines so as to
block the egress OF submarines
through straits and narrow chan
nels that lead to the sea.
8. The use of smaller carriers
to hunt and fight submarines
would be diminished, and the
burden of antisubmarine warfare
is increased unless a carrier task
force can be depended upon to
demolish shore installations where
submarines are concentrated.
8. Jet planes were to be flown
from the new carrier. It has
been enormously stated that jet
planes could not return to the
deck of the United States" Not
only could Jet planes land on
the deck of the proposed new
carrier but they can land also on
carriers of smaller size stationed
at other locations at sea.
Safer Than Any Ship.
10. The new carrier would be
safer and less vulnerable than
any ship of any kind ever built.
It's construction is Of such a
nature that nothing In the way
of submarine operations, as
known today, could sink the car
rier. To ward off attack from
the air, 1t has Its own radar and
fighter planes, which successfully
kept every large carrier in the
Pacific from being sunk from the
air. No fast or large-sized
American carrier was ever sunk
by q submarine. either.
II. The reason for the increase
of 100 feet in length and 80 feet
in width in the new carrier is
that the Navy no longer is lin
tied by the necessity of going
through the Panama Canal. 1t
is assumed that any future con-
fiict will be a seven-ocean war
and that America will have
enough carriers in every ocean
to keep control of the seas. The
new big carrier, with task force
around it, could be placed at a
strategic point in the Indian
Ocean near the Persian Gulf or
In the North Atlantic. 1t could
ptotect commerce in the Mediter-
ranean as well as in any ocean
I'd would cost less to build than
it would have cost to build two
battleships five years ago.
IL. The Navy has led the whole
wbrld in carrier aviation and now
has been frustrated in the nat
uial development of a weapon
which it alone understands and
has used to advantage in actual
combat.
The real question at issue is
whether each armed service shall
be- the judge of what improve
ments shall be made on its own
weapons. assuming that 1t can
keep within its budget.
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