Our Navy Arms American Merchant Vessels--Death of our First Bluejacket
on Service in the War Zone--Vice-Admiral Sims--We Take Over Patrol of
Waters of Western Hemisphere--The Naval Advisory Board of
Inventions--Work of this Body--Our Battleships the Largest in the
World--Widespread Operations
Announcement was made on March 12, 1917, that American merchantmen would
be armed for protection against submarine attacks, and hundreds of guns
of proper calibers were required for the purpose. These were taken from
the vessels of the fleet and, of course, had to be replaced as soon as
possible. Work was expeditiously carried forward, and hardly had the
order for armed guards been issued than the American freighter _Campana_
was sent to Europe well-laden with cargo and prepared to make matters
interesting for any submarine that saw fit to attack by the then
prevailing method of shell-fire. Other vessels soon followed, and the
country witnessed the anomalous condition of the navy in war service in
the European war zone before war was declared.
The navy, in fact, had its first death in service before we went to war,
when on April 1, John Espolucci, of Washington, D.C., one of the armed
guard of the steamship _Aztec_, was killed in the course of events
attending the destruction of that vessel by a submarine. By this time
active hostilities had seemed inevitable and before the sinking of the
_Aztec_ the Navy Department had sent Admiral William S. Sims abroad to
get in touch with the British and French Admiralties for the purpose of
discussing the most effective participation of our war-ships in the
conflict. Later, when war was actually declared, Sims was promoted to
vice-admiral, and made commander of the United States naval forces
operating in European waters.
No better man for this post could have been selected. A graduate of the
Naval Academy in the class of 1880, his career in the navy had been one
sequence of brilliant achievement. As naval attaché at Paris and
Petrograd, in the course of his distinguished service he had ample
opportunities for the study of European naval conditions, and later he
was intrusted with the important duty of developing gunnery practice and
marksmanship in our battle-fleet. The immense value of his work in this
respect is an open book. His instincts were wholly scientific, and with
neither fear nor favor he carried forward our record for marksmanship
until it was second to that of no navy in the world. The one mark upon
his record is an indiscreet speech made in London, before the European
War occurred, in which he stated that blood was thicker than water, and
that at the necessary moment the navies of the United States and of
Great Britain would be found joined in brotherly co-operation. England
liked that speech a lot, but Germany did not, and Washington was rather
embarrassed. Beginning, however, with April of 1917, that speech
delivered several years previously was recalled as perfectly proper,
pat, and apropos. There can be no doubt that his constructive advice,
suggestion, and criticism were of enormous benefit to the British and
the French, and by the same token exceedingly harmful to the murderous
submarine campaign of Germany, As evidence of the regard in which the
admiralty of Great Britain held this American officer, witness the fact
that upon one occasion when the British commander-in-chief of naval
operations on the Irish coast was compelled to leave his command for a
period, Admiral Sims was nominated by the admiralty to serve as chief of
the combined forces until the British commander returned.
But this mission of Admiral Sims, and the eventual despatch of submarine
flotillas to the war zone, were but two phases of the enormous problem
which confronted the Navy Department upon the outbreak of hostilities.
There was first of all the task of organizing and operating the large
transport system required to carry our share of troops overseas for
foreign service. Within a month after the President had announced that
troops would be sent to Europe the first contingent had been organized,
and all its units were safely landed in France before the 4th of July.
These included a force of marines under Colonel (now Brigadier-General)
Charles A. Doyen, which is serving in the army under Major-General
Pershing. Since that time a constant stream of troops and supplies has
poured across the Atlantic under naval control and supervision, the
presiding officer in charge of transport being Rear-Admiral Albert
Gleaves.
Then, again, the United States took over control of most of the patrol
of the western Atlantic. Our thousands of miles of coast had to be
guarded against enemy attack and protected against German raiders. A
squadron under command of Admiral William B. Caperton was sent to South
America and received with the utmost enthusiasm at Rio de Janeiro, at
Montevideo and Buenos Aires, which cities were visited on invitation
from the governments of Brazil, Uruguay, and Argentina. After Brazil's
entrance into the war the Brazilian Navy co-operated with our vessels in
the patrol of South American waters.
The taking over of some 800 craft of various kinds, and their conversion
into types needed, provided the navy with the large number of vessels
required for transports, patrol service, submarine-chasers,
mine-sweepers, mine-layers, tugs, and other auxiliaries. The repair of
the 109 German ships whose machinery had been damaged by their
crews--details of which will be treated in a subsequent chapter--added
more than 700,000 tons to our available naval and merchant tonnage, and
provided for the navy a number of huge transports which have been in
service for nearly a year. Hundreds of submarine-chasers have now been
built, and a number of destroyers and other craft completed and placed
in service. The first merchant ship to be armed was the oil-tanker
_Campana_; guns manned by navy men were on board when she sailed for
Europe, March 12, 1917. The big American passenger-liners _St. Paul_ and
_New York_ were armed on March 16 of that year, and the Red Star liner
_Kroonland_ and the _Mongolia_ on March 19. And continuously up to the
present writing merchant ships as they have become available have been
armed and provided with navy gun crews. Since the arming of the
_Campana_ more than 1,300 vessels have been furnished with batteries,
ammunition, spare parts, and auxiliaries.
But of equal importance, greater importance history may decree it, was
Secretary Daniels's action in 1915 of appointing the Naval Advisory
Board of Inventions. That was looking ahead with a vengeance. The idea
was to make available the latent inventive genius of the country to
improve the navy. The plan adopted by Secretary Daniels for selecting
this extraordinary board included a request to the eleven great
engineering and scientific societies of the country to select by popular
election two members to represent their society on the board. Results
were immediately gratifying. Nominations were forthcoming at once, and
in September of 1915 the board, which came popularly to be known as the
Inventions Board, met in Washington for organization. Thomas A. Edison
was selected by the Secretary of the Navy as chairman of the board, and
the other members were elected as follows:
From the American Chemical Society: W. R. Whitney, director of Research
Laboratory, General Electric Company, where he has been the moving
spirit in the perfection of metallic electric-lamp filaments and the
development of wrought tungsten. L. H. Baekeland, founder of the Nepera
Chemical Company and inventor of photographic paper.
From the American Institute of Electrical Engineers: Frank Julian
Sprague, consulting engineer for Sprague, Otis, and General Electric
Companies and concerned in the establishment of the first electrical
trolley systems in this country. B. G. Lamme, chief engineer of the
Westinghouse Electric and Manufacturing Company and a prolific inventor.
From the American Mathematical Society: Robert Simpson Woodward,
president of the Carnegie Institution and an authority on astronomy,
geography, and mathematical physics. Arthur Gordon Webster, professor of
physics at Clark University and an authority on sound, its production
and measurement.
From the American Society of Civil Engineers: Andrew Murray Hunt,
consulting engineer, experienced in the development of hydro-electric,
steam, and gas plants. Alfred Craven, chief engineer of Public Service
Commission, New York, and formerly division engineer in charge of
construction work on Croton aqueduct and reservoirs.
From the American Aeronautical Society: Mathew Bacon Sellers, director
of Technical Board of the American Aeronautical Society and the first to
determine dynamic wind-pressure on arched surfaces by means of "wind
funnel." Hudson Maxim, ordnance and explosive expert, maker of the first
smokeless powder adopted by the United States Government.
The Inventors' Guild: Peter Cooper Hewitt, inventor of electric lamp,
appliances to enable direct-current apparatus to be used with
alternating-current circuits, and devices for telephones and aircraft.
Thomas Robbins, president of Robbins Conveying Belt Company and inventor
of many devices for conveying coal and ore.
From American Society of Automobile Engineers: Andrew L. Riker,
vice-president of Locomobile Company, electrical and mechanical engineer
and inventor of many automobile devices. Howard E. Coffin,
vice-president of Hudson Motor Car Company and active in the development
of internal-combustion engines.
From the American Institute of Mining Engineers: William Laurence
Saunders, chairman of the Board of Directors of the Ingersoll-Rand
Company and inventor of many devices for subaqueous and rock drilling.
Benjamin Bowditch Thayer, president of the Anaconda Copper Mining
Company and an authority on explosives.
From the American Electro Chemical Society: Joseph William Richards,
professor of Electro-Chemistry at Lehigh and author of numerous works on
electrometallurgy. Lawrence Addicks, consulting engineer for Phelps,
Dodge and Company and authority on the metallurgy of copper.
American Society of Mechanical Engineers: William Leroy Emmet, engineer
with the General Electric Company. He designed and perfected the
development of the Curtis Turbine and was the first serious promoter of
electric propulsion for ships. Spencer Miller, inventor of ship-coaling
apparatus and the breeches-buoy device used in rescues from shipwrecks.
From the American Society of Aeronautic Engineers: Henry Alexander Wise
Wood, engineer and manufacturer of printing-machinery and student of
naval aeronautics. Elmer Ambrose Sperry, founder of Sperry Electric
Company, designer of electric appliances and gyroscope stabilizer for
ships and airplanes.
Just what service this board has performed is in the keeping of the
government. But that it has been a distinguished service we may not
doubt. Seated in their headquarters at Washington, their minds centred
upon the various problems of the sea which the war brought forth, they
have unquestionably exerted a constructive influence no less vital than
that played by the officers and men of the navy on the fighting front.
Only one announcement ever came from this board, and that was when
William L. Saunders gave forth the statement that a means of combating
the submarine had been devised. This early in the war. Doubt as to the
strict accuracy of the statement came from other members of the
Inventions Board, and then the whole matter was hushed. Mr. Saunders
said nothing more and neither did his colleagues.
But whether emanating from the lucubrations of Mr. Edison's board, or
wherever devised, we know that the American Navy has applied many
inventions to the work of combating the under-sea pirate. A type of
depth-bomb was developed and applied. This is one of the most efficient
methods of beating the submarine that has yet been found. Explosive
charges are fitted with a mechanism designed to explode the charge at a
predetermined depth below the surface of the sea. The force of the
explosion of a depth charge dropped close to a submarine is sufficient
to disable if not sink it, and American boats have been fitted with
various interesting means of getting these bombs into the water.
Smoke-producing apparatus was developed to enable a vessel to conceal
herself behind a smoke-screen when attacked by submarines and thus
escape. Several types of screen have been invented and applied in
accordance with the character of the vessel. After a study of the
various types of mines in existence, there was produced an American mine
believed to involve all the excellent points of mines of whatever
nationality, while another extraordinary invention was the non-ricochet
projectile. The ordinary pointed projectile striking the water almost
horizontally is deflected and ricochets. A special type of shell which
did not glance off the surface of the ocean was developed early in 1917
and supplied to all vessels sailing in the war zone.
The first year of the war saw also the development of the seaplane, with
the adaption to this vehicle of the air a nonrecoil gun, which permits
the use of comparatively large calibers, and of the Lewis gun. This year
saw also the completion of the latest type of naval 16-inch gun,
throwing a projectile weighing 2,100 pounds. Our newest battleships will
mount them. In this connection it is interesting to note that broadside
weights have tripled in the short space of twenty years; that the total
weight of steel thrown by a single broadside of the _Pennsylvania_
to-day is 17,508 pounds, while the total weight thrown from the
broadside of the _Oregon_ of Spanish-American War fame was 5,600 pounds.
The navy also went in vigorously for aviation and has done exceedingly
well. After the expansion of private plants had been provided for, the
navy decided to operate a factory of its own, and a great building 400
by 400 feet was erected in Philadelphia in 110 days at a cost of
$700,000. Contracts involving approximately $1,600,000 have been made
which will more than treble the capacity of this plant.
In addition to work of this sort and services including scores of
specialized activities, such as medical development, ordnance and
munitions manufacture, building of yards, docks, and all sorts of
accessory facilities, the navy before the war had been a month under way
had given contracts for the construction of several hundred
submarine-chasers, having a length of 110 feet and driven by three
220-horse-power gasoline-engines, to thirty-one private firms and six
navy-yards. All of these craft are now in service, and have done
splendidly both in meeting stormy seas and in running down the
submarines. While the British prefer a smaller type of submarine-chaser,
they have no criticism of ours. Many of these 110-footers, built of
wood, crossed the ocean in weather which did considerable damage to
larger craft, and yet were practically unscathed. The French are using
many of them.
Another larger type of chaser, corresponding to the destroyer, is the
patrol-boat of the _Eagle_ class built at the plant of Henry Ford in
Detroit.
The most recent battleships laid down by the navy are the largest ever
attempted. The biggest British battleship of which we have knowledge
displaces 27,500 tons; the largest German, 28,448 metric tons (28,000
American tons), while the largest Japanese battleship displaces 30,600
tons. These may be compared with our _Arizona_ and _Pennsylvania_,
31,400 tons; _Idaho_, _Mississippi_, and _New Mexico_, 32,000 tons;
_California_ and _Tennessee_ 32,300 tons, _Colorado_, _Washington_,
_Maryland_, and _West Virginia_, 32,600 tons, while six new battleships
authorized early in the present year are designed to be 41,500 tons. Our
new battle-cruisers of 35,000 tons and 35 knots speed will be the
swiftest in the world, having a speed equal to the latest and fastest
destroyers. They will also be the largest in the world with the
exception of the four British battle-cruisers of the _Hood_ class, which
are 41,200 tons.
On April 1, 1917, the total number of civilian employees in the nine
principal navy-yards was 29,708. On March 1, 1918, the total number of
employees in the same yards was 58,026. The total number of mechanics
now employed at all navy yards and stations throughout the country is
more than 66,000.
The Navy Powder Factory at Indianapolis, Ind., manufactures powder of
the highest grade for use in the big guns; it employs 1,000 men and
covers a square mile. Additional buildings and machinery, together with
a new generating-plant, are now being installed. The torpedo-station at
Newport, a large plant where torpedoes are manufactured, has been
greatly enlarged and its facilities in the way of production radically
increased. Numerous ammunition-plants throughout the country prepare the
powder charge, load and fuse the shell, handle high explosives, and ship
the ammunition to vessels in the naval service. Among recent additions
to facilities is an automatic mine-loading plant of great capacity and
new design.
Schools of various sorts, ranging from those devoted to the teaching of
wireless telegraphy to cooking, were established in various parts of the
country, and from them a constant grist of highly specialized men are
being sent to the ships and to stations.
In these, and in numerous ways not here mentioned, the Navy Department
signalized its entrance into the war. While many new fields had to be
entered--with sequential results in way of mistakes and delays--there
were more fields, all important, wherein constructive preparation before
we entered the war were revealed when the time came to look for
practical results.