Up to 1936 twenty-seven ships have been built or laid down, ranging in size from 9,000 to 10,000 tons, and divided into two groups. The first group contains eighteen ships similar in design, with a speed of nearly 33 knots and a main armament of nine 8-in guns, though the Pensacola and the Salt Late City mount ten of these guns. In most instances eight 5-in. anti-aircraft guns are carried, and the equipment includes four to six aircraft. The later vessels differ from their predecessors in having robust armour protection. In the second group are nineships of 10,000 tons and 33 knots speed, mounting the impressive armament of fifteen 6-in. guns in triple turrets. As this terrific broadside can be discharged at least six times a minute, the volume of fire developed will far exceed that of any previous cruising ship.

The Nantucket. A state training ship built at Chester, Delaware County, Pa, in 1876, as the United States screw sloop Ranger. She was armed with one 11-in. and two 9-in. muzzle-loader as well as with one 60-pounder. She had a tonnage of about 1000 and a speed of 10.4 knots. She was extensively repaired in 1881 and in 1909 replaced the wooden sloop Enterprise at the Massachusetts Nautical School Ship. In 1918 she was given the name Nantucket.

Besides the twenty-seven new vessels mentioned above there are ten older but still effective cruisers which were launched in 1923-25. They are sister ships of 7,050 tons, with a speed of 34 knots, mounting ten or twelve 6-in. guns. Altogether, therefore, the U.S. Navy has thirty-seven modern cruisers built and building, and it is proposed eventually to raise this total to fifty.

If the British Navy can claim the distinction of having built the first aircraft carrier. America has had her full share in the later development of this type of vessel. In the Lexington and the Saratoga she has two carriers which are unique in size, speed and aircraft capacity. Laid down in 1920 as battle cruisers, they were shortly afterwards redesigned as carriers, in which role they have proved most successful. Either ship displaces about 33,000 tons, and is propelled by turbo-electric drive at a speed of nearly 34 knots. The full capacity of the Lexington is ninety aircraft and that of the Saratoga seventy-nine, but it would clearly be impossible to operate anything approaching this number of machines simultaneously. The flight deck is 880 feet long, 85 to 90 feet in width, and 60 feet above the water-line. All the boiler uptakes are led into a single enormous funnel casing which is placed on the extreme starboard side of the ship, where the bridges and gun turrets also are situated. The main armament consists of eight 8-in. guns, supplemented by twelve 5-in. anti-aircraft and four smaller guns.

The drawback of these magnificent ships is the enormous target they offer to every form of attack, not least to air bombardment. Moreover, each cost more than £9,000,000 a figure calculated to stagger the taxpayers of even the wealthiest country. For these reasons the two carriers of the Lexington type are never likely to be repeated. A new carrier, the Ranger, of 14,500 tons, with a speed of 29¼ knots and a capacity tor seventy-five machines, was completed in 1934. Three more, the Yorktown, Enterprise, and Wasp, were laid down in 1934-1936 the first two ships being of 19,900 tons and the third of 14,700 tons.

Even to-day the U.S. Navy controls by far the largest sea-going air force in the world, and when the new carriers and other ships are in service it will be able to take to sea as many as 600 aircraft with more than twice that number operating from shore bases. Reference is made above to the large programme of destroyer construction on which the United States embarked during the war of 1914-18. No fewer than 267 boats were ordered and although many contracts were cancelled after the Armistice, the great majority of these boats were completed. Known as the “flush deck” class, they average 1,190 tons, with a designed speed of 35 knots and an armament of four 4-in. guns and twelve torpedo tubes. Many of these destroyers are still in service, but they are gradually being replaced by new vessels.

Strategic Effect of Panama Canal

Between 1932 and 1936 seventy-three destroyers were built or authorized, the smallest displacing 1,500 tons and the largest 1,850 tons, with an armament of 5-in. guns. As in all modern American men-of-war, the living quarters for officers and men are remarkably roomy and well-equipped. An innovation in this class of vessel is the provision of a special lower-deck mess in the stern, distinct from the forecastle where the men sling their hammocks.

The American Navy has always been partial to submarines. The total completed and under construction during 1936 was 106. The majority of these, however, were old boats laid down during or immediately after the war. Among the newer boats are two of the largest in the world, the Nautilus and Narwhal, whose tonnage when submerged is 3,960. Their armament is two 6-in. guns and six torpedo tubes. The American Navy has always observed a certain secrecy about its submarines, and to this day withholds the speed of these craft.

In modern times the development of the American Navy has been largely influenced by the geographical factors which invariably determine national strategy. Before the opening of the Panama Canal, American warships in the Atlantic could reach the Pacific only by rounding Cape Horn, the voyage from New York to San Francisco involving a run of 13,300 miles. While these conditions prevailed the United States found it expedient to maintain separate fleets in the Atlantic and the Pacific, because in an emergency it would have been impossible to effect a concentration for several weeks.

This division of force made the United States Navy weak at all points, though it derived a certain security from the great ocean distances which separate North America from Europe on the one hand and from Asia on the other. The opening of the Panama CanaI in 1914, however, completely altered and simplified the strategic picture. The sea route from New York to California was cut from 13,300 mi!es to 5,260, which meant that fast ships could be transferred from one ocean to the other at comparatively short notice.