Evening star., 1954-12-06
:RiIed Navy 10 Reply
10 Montgomery on
Future Of Carriers
BY the Assoeiased Press

BY the Assoeiosed Press
Not since the War of 1912 has
a British visit to American
shores nettled the United States
Navy as much as that of Field
Marshal Montgomery.
For nearly a week the Navy
has contemplated, with chill and
austere silence. the latest public
observations by Briton,s famous
warrior on the future of sea
power-particularly aircraft car
riers.
Today the Navy apparently
decided 1t could maintain aloof-
ness no longer. 1t announced
that Assistant Secretary of the
Navy James Smith would hold a
press conference today to answer
questions about the role of car
rier aviation in the modern Navy.
Marshal Montgomery, in a re-
cent West Coast address on mod
ern military power and North
Atlantic Treaty Organization
strategy, mentioned briefly that:
l. The day of the aircraft car
/ rier is drawing to an end.
2 The time will come when
control Of the sea will be from
! the air.
Harsh Words to Hear.
These were harsh words, for
the Navy to hear-especially in
the time and circumstances. Sec
retary of Defense Wilson COM
mented that the British soldier
, was a brave" man to offer the
advice.
On next Saturday at Newport
News. Va, the Navy realizes an
ambition for which it fought BIT
sterly, the launching of the first
supercarrier, the 60,000-ton U.
s. s. Forrestal.
The start Of the supercarrier
program began only after several
years of sharp argument with the
Air Force over the advantages
and disadvantages of big car
rlers versus long-range heavy
bombers like the B36. At one
point Navy hopes were dashed |
when a Secretary of Defense,
Louis Johnson. Cancelled the
building of the carrier United
States after it's keel already was
in place.
Suspicious Continue.
Eventually the row between the
Navy and Air Force subsided and
quiet on the subject returned to
Capitol Hill committee rooms,
public speaking places and
columns in the press. But the
Navy continued to eye the Air
Force suspiciously.
When Marshal Montgomery
came to the United States last
month, the scuttlebutt in the
Navy was that he had come under
auspices of the Air Force-a point
never denied formally.
The views of the deputy su-
preme commander of NATO |
forces about the future of carriers
and of air control of the sea
should have been no surprise to
the American Navy. He al |
ready had expressed them in a
lecture delivered in October to
a military organization at White
hall, London
Neither then nor subsequently, |
did Marshal Montgomery single
out the United States Navy as an
example. Indeed, Britains Navy
is next to the United States in
its number of carriers.
At about the time of Marshal
Montgomery's arrival in the
United States for his visit
which included three speeches
and trip to Georgia with Presi-
dent Eisenhower for Thanks
giving holiday-Assistant Secre-
tary Smith made a speech about
present and future air power in
the Navy.
Mr.. Smith certainly did not
predict the twilight of the car
rier. On the contrary. he looked
into the future and foresaw small
and swift carrier task forces able
to shift position rapidly, hiding
in the remoteness of distant seas
and capable of launching air.
craft to strike with atomic blast
ing power at targets.
Similar praise for carriers came
over the week end from Secre-
tary of the Navy Thomas when
he mentioned them briefly in
CHS radio interview. He said,
in answer to a question. that the
carrier is zone of the most
potent defensive weapons that
we have in our whole arsenal"