In these circumstances sound strategy dictated the formation of a single battle fleet to be stationed either in the Atlantic or the Pacific and after some years of hesitation the American authorities decided to adopt this course.

The Raleigh. The Stars and Stripes in British waters. This photograph of the United States cruiser Raleigh was taken at Gravesend, on the River Thames. The Raleigh is one of the ten cruisers of the Omaha class, built in 1923-25. Of 7,050 tons displacement these vessels have a length of 550 feet on the water-Iine, a beam of 55 ft. 4 in. and a maximum draught of 14 ft. 4 in. The Raleigh is armed with ten 6-in. and four 3-in. anti-aircraft guns.

The Texas. Steaming up the East River, on her way to Brooklyn Navy Yard, the United States battleship Texas. Commpleted in 1914, the Texas – with her sister ship, the New York – has a displacement of 27,000 tons. Her reciprocating engines have a designed horse-power of 28,100 and give her a speed of 19.7 knots. She has a length on the water-line of 566 feet, a beam of 106 feet and a mean draught of 26 feet.

The lndianapolis. A white wake far astern is left by the cruiser lndianapolis at speed. Her four screws are driven by 107,000-horse-power turbines, which give her a speed of nearly 33 knots. The lndianapolis completed in 1932, has a displacement of 9,950 tons. Her overall length Is 610 feet, her beam 66 feet and her draught 17 ft. 6 in. She is equipped with two catapults and carries four aircraft.

The Saratoga. One of the largest aircraft carriers in the world, the Saratoga has a capacity of 79 seaplanes. Laid down in 1920 and completed in 1927, the Saratoga has a displacement of about 33,000 tons. She has an overall length of 898 feet. a beam of 106 feet and a mean draught of 24 ft. 1 in.

The Pacific was chosen as the normal cruising and practice ground tor the newly constituted “United States Fleet,” which is now based on the Pacific coast, with its headquarters at San Francisco and subsidiary bases at San Diego (California), San Pedro (California), Bremerton (Washington) and Hawaii, 2,100 miles south-west of San Francisco.

From time to time the fleet visits the Atlantic for short periods, but that ocean is for the greater part of the year denuded of warships other than small local flotillas. Without unduly stressing the inferences suggested by this fact, it does seem to indicate that the United States does not regard the Atlantic as a potential danger zone, as it might become if the balance of naval power in Europe were upset by a sudden collapse of British naval strength.

Despite the increased mobility conferred upon it by the Panama Canal, the United States Navy, as with the British is essentially an oceanic force which has to visualize the possibility of waging a campaign in areas remote from its home bases. This serves to explain why American naval officers have always preferred their ships to be of large dimensions and endowed with the greatest possible radius of action. Ship for ship, American men-of-war carry more fuel and stores than the vessels of other navies, not excluding the British. Both the current shipbuilding programme and the system of administration and supply now in force are designed to make the United States Fleet a self-contained unit which could remain at sea in a state of full efficiency and be entirely independent of shore bases for weeks, if not months, at a stretch.

The officers of the United States Navy are thoroughly trained and exhibit marked professional keenness. The American naval officer is trained in deck and in engineering duties.

The quality of the lower-deck personnel has vastly improved in recent years. Desertion, once the scourge of the service, is nowadays a rare offence. Thanks to geneerous rates of pay, living quarters which are almost luxurious compared with those in ships of certain older navies, every possible form of entertainment and a system of discipline carefully adapted to the national temperament, the navy has no difficulty in attracting a sufficient number of the best type of recruits.

The United Slates Marines form a corps as old as the navy itself. As with the British Royal Marines, they are “soldiers and sailors, too,” and although their principal duty is to provide garrisons for the naval bases and colonial dependencies, marine contingents serve on board most of the larger ships of the navy. Marines formed the vanguard of the American Expeditionary Force which came to France in 1917.

In recent years the United States Navy has intensified its training programme, and now spends as much time at sea as any other navy. Grand manoeuvres lasting several weeks are held every year, and during these periods every ship on commission is engaged in realistic war training. From all accounts, American naval gunnery stands at a high level, and marked progress is reported in torpedo and mining work. Thanks to its huge air force, the U.S. Navy has been able to develop the collaboration of ships with aircraft on a scale not yet approached by any foreign service.

Today, for the first time in its history, the United States has a navy of the first rank in size and quality and, barring some drastic reversal of domestic policy, the future maintenance of this formidable fleet appears to be assured.

The Maryland. An early United States cruiser, the Maryland, was laid down in 1901 and completed in 1906. The Maryland had a displacement of 13,680 tons, a length of 502 feet, a beam of 69 ft. 6 in. and a maximum draught of 26 ft. 6 in. Her normal complement was 878 or 921 as a flagship.

[Originally published in Shipping Wonders of the World in 1937]

Further information

For more information on the history of the United States Navy, visit http://www.history.navy.mil/history/history1.htm

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