The Ogden standard. [volume], April 28, 1917, 4 P.M. CITY EDITION, MAGAZINE SECTION, Image 24

About The Ogden standard. [volume] (Ogden City, Utah) 1913-1920

Image provided by: University of Utah, Marriott Library

                
I THE STANDARD MAGAZINE SECTIONOGDEN, UTAH, v jj
H D nii - "" i ' i " ""M" , ! Fl
H ft -'J F A war with Germany should
H H be oponcd, as It not lmprob-
M s 1 ahy wl,, by a confilct bo
H J tween Bomo Gorman subma-
H rlno, torpedo-boat destrover
H or light cruiser and ono of
H r- . our own torpedo craft, don't
H f make the mistake of rofor-
H ring to "fleet" of torpedo dostrovors.
H Thero is no such thing thore can only be
H a "flotilla" of torpedo vessels of any kind.
M General Order No 21S. Issued by the Navy
H Dopartmcnt on June 5. 1916, took this point Into
H consideration In the effort to avoid aonfusloiv
H In any conflict that may arise.
H War reports from Europe frequently contain
j ! terms that make them appear laughable to the
H follower of naval tactics. On account, how-
H ever, of the possibility of such reports making
H confusion the nav has Issued a special order
H requiring certain terms to be used in defining
Hj any division or class of our ships
H It was announced that the naval forcos of
Hj the United States should bo organized under
H certa'n definitions, and that they should bo
Hj referred to accordingly.
H Of course, the first torn taken was that of
H the "fleet " A fleet Is an organized body of
H ships under the control of a commander In
H chief. A "force" Is the major subdivision of a
H fleet. It Is usually composed of all the ves-
H Eels of the fleet that are of the same type or
fl class and assigned to the samo duty.So It
H would be proper to refer to the "cruiser force
H a
H A "squadron" Is the "major division" of a
B force of vessels other than torpedo vessels, for
torpedo craft can only work under ths term of j
Hl ' fiotHla,' unless they are operating Indlvld-
H usllj A "division," , however, can bo made
H of either a "squadron" or a "llotilla." A sec-
H tlon Is one-half of a "division "
"Aked hy EDWARD B.lTERVORTH
r . -- : : r ?, ----- " ' ' r"Tl Vv'-rWrf
I 11 i &SWl
bbbbbbbH tela ni yi , iu&E . v iU vSa
BBBBBB f.fffrffiIjjnTrfiZiS'nii vi?' Ajtr
H The Navy Department went farther and or-
H panised a scheme by which a working order
H of allotment of easels could be made In case
H of war- Xt was planned that normally there
H bhall be two ships in each section of battle-
H fenips, battle cruisers and armored cruisers, and
H l,mt normally 'thore shall be three ships in oth-
BBl ' '
1 Tleet in Three Farts.
Hj This, of course, refers largcl to destroy-
Hl crfI- torpedo boats and light cruisers, and it
H is ordered there shall be three "dUIslons" in
Hl II waa albc. decided that normally there shall
H be three ' divisions" in each "squadron" of
Bl esMs other than our capital ships. The
1 number of "squadrons" or "flotillas" In a force
HJ s not' limited
B In order to set all doubts at rest, our fleet
Hl i has been divided into throe parts like Gaul
!as divided In the daa of Caesar.
"We have the United States Atlantic fleet,
the United States Pacific fleet and the United
f- rates Asiatic HocL TorceB of the fleet are tj
be named as follows. "Battleship force, '
' scout force," "cruiser force," "destroyer
force," "submarine force." "mine force" and
Hg 'train" this last title having a special sig-
B) niflcance, as it relates to the, supply force of
Hl tllc navl anU corresponds, In a distant sort of
B a, to the "waon train" of tho arm.
H This classification is one of the little technical
H j points that has to bo remembered by eery
H l seaman, and has to be learned in a recruit
H j camp before a mar. Is sent aboird ship Onl
H recently a well-known actor, with the best In-
H tcntiong in the world, came before tho foot
H lights in response to a curtain call and mads
H an ardent plea, for aid to the country in its
I Ho meant well, but unfortunately his audi
ence contained a large sprinkling of .ca'.alry.
men. When he referred to raising a "battalion
H of cavalry'i-an audlblo.enicker-paoaed arounA
B.B11H
the theater and the applause was mingled with
lauchter
There lr no such thing as a "battalion of
caalr." Had be referred to the quostlon of
raising a "squadron of cavalrj" and suggested
that foui troops bo raised to compose such a
"squadron" he would have been greeted with
the warmest applause.
This point Is of some Importance, as late de
velopments make it appear as If the first attack
on this country maj come from across tno Mexi
can border, especially If the German element
has been successful in stirring up trouble as it
has been in other sections of the world
It is announced that the Naal Department
shall assign vessels tp fleets, forces, squadrons,
flotillas and divisions.
The reBorve forces, howover, are to bo named.
It will bo recalled that many of our older bat
tleships are held in reserve as a "second lino
of defense." At one time, when tho Kronprlnx
Wilholm, tho commerce raider, entered Norfolk
harbor in tho summer of 1015, It was doclded
that a battleship from the reeorve fleets at
Philadelphia should be sont thore.
.
Alabama Plays Her Part.
Secretary Josephus Daniels ordered tho battle
ship Alabama, then In resorvo at Philadelphia,
to move down to Norfolk. The Alabama ful
filled her part admirably. She came down to
the entrance of Chesapeake Bay. passerl be
tween tho two British cruisers that were guard
ing th entrance to one of our greatest harbors,
and stood guard. The British cruisers dipped
their flags as the Alabama pabscd Into the
harbor and tho American Hag was courteously
lo Acred In return.
At the samo time, It was noticed that tho
Alabama had oomc of the best gunners of tho
niy aboard. She had tho old type of 13-inch
guns in her main turrets, but also carrltd in
array of modem 0-lnch guns. She could easily
have dofcated tho t-o BrltlBh crulBorn on guaid
outuldo the entrance to Chesapeake Ba.
The Alabama was holdoff Hampton Boaflo jfor
a time and there was no Indication that cither
the Interned Gorman vessols for the Prlnz EiUl
Frledrlch had been Interned a short time be
foreor the British cruisers had the slightest
disposition to tamper with her
The Al tbama hah plaj cd her part already
The Koarsaigo, her sister ship, was laid down
at the samo time during the Spanlsh-Amoi lean
war. It will bo recalled that tho noted battle
of tho older Alabama and the original Kcar
sargo oft tho coast of Franco was between
vessels which ropiescntcd conflicting interest
during the civil war das It was a graceful
act of Congress to name tho two battleships
laid down in Spanish-American war troubloua
times after tho two former battlers of civil
war days
. Tho Kearsarge, ono ot-tho famoua fighting
BBBnT- 'SiilU "'' '" r " '
vessels of tho United Slates navy In the civil
war das, had Its name porpetuatcd when tho
original vessol fought tho battle with the Ala
bama. Tho later vessel, howover, on account
of Its largo coaling capacity. 13 being used aa a
cruiser and acompinlcs tho cruiser squadron
Although Its speed is not what It should be, the
old battleship keeps up Its standing remark
ably well
Ono point that is of interest to those who
belong to shipB not in tho olassilled lists may
be mentioned In paragraph No 9 of general
order 218 it says thero 'Tleots made up of
vessels not suitable for tactical grouping may
he organized so as best to meet their special
situation."
This may affect our own vessel, Huntress, so
long used for 'a naval training ship.. It Is qulia
possible sho will bo used bb a patrol vossel, and,
In spite of hor slow speed, sho may be useful
In the Guir of Mexico, whero it socms possible
sho will bo sent.
England's Reply to Kiel Canal
Ono word frequently used in connection with
our battleships Is tho term "dreadnaught." In
reality, the droadnaught typo of ship is a dis
tinct pattern of vessel, and such ships ng our
Pennsylvania, New York and Texas are known
as "supordroadnaughts" because they are of a
moro pew erf ul typo Our older battleship
such aa tho Connecticut, Vermont, Louisiana
Rhode Island and Now Hampshire, arc all pre
dreadnaughts The "dreadnaughf'-the original vessel from
which tho term .was orawn-is said, Jo hav
1
The top photograph shows United
States battleships in line. They are
ready for torpedo practice. Most ves
sels illustrated are of our older type,
but they are still effective for coast
defense.
The middle picture shows Troops F
and H of the Fourteenth Cavalry about L
to break camp in Mexico. This regi
ment is under command of Ool. Sibley,
whose father was the well-known In
dian fighter during the civil war period
and who invented the Sibley tent, now
in universal service throughout the ,
War Department. The Fourteenth
Cavalry has done magnificent service
on border duty. fg
The bottom picture shows a typical if
"Sibley" tent, used by American
border guards, looking across the Rio I
Grande at Laredo.
been Ei gland's answer to the completion of j-
the Kiel CanaL Germany was boasting thit
It could control both the North Sea and the
Balllo b means of this canal. England
promptly constructed what was then the most
powerful fighting ship afloat and named it the
Dreadnaught.
Shipfl of this sl&e could easily d of eat the
older pattorn vessels capable of going through
the Kloi Canal The Germans Immediate y
widened tho canal to accommodate larger ves- I.
solo, but England had quite a start on them I
in bulldlnc such vessels .
The Droadnaught of the British navy today
is not nearly as poworful as tho huge fighting
ships of many other navies a striking example
of how naval construction has progressed, for
her keol was laid In 190S and she was In com
mission In the latter part of 1908. She is
armed with ten 12-inch g-uns and twenty-four '
12-pounders
This battery is another indication of how
rapid has been the change In armament Our
cwn two pioneer ships of the typ the Michl-
gan and the South Carolinn w ere also laid -T
down in 1906, and wore launched about 1"09 t
They carrv eight 12-Inch rifles and a secondary j
battery of twenty-two 3-inch rapld-flro guns , ,j
Today both snips are regarded as "second
line" ships, simply because the rango of tho
torpedo has Increased so enormously in tei
3 ears that the 3-lnch secondary battery Is no i
longer thought sufllclcnt to protect a ship of ;
the "first line." whore tho brunt of attack must t
t borne, from tho assaults of torpedo-boat J
deatrovere It takes at least a 6-inch gun to 1
got the proper range and deliver the ncces- I i!
sary smashing power to boats of tho type, ' t
many of which exceed 1100 tons in burden. 3
These destroyers thomsolves carrv 4 and 5 $
inch guns, and a favorite trick In the European - $
war-notably In the battle of tho Skaggerack- , 3
has been to fire shells containing a portion of
back povder in addition to the heavv charge
of smokeless powder a shell loaded with black J: t
powder, exploding near an enomy vossel causes j Cj
a heavy cloud of white smoke Under this I i,i
screen a destroyer can mako Its attack, witn I Ui
probably better chances of success. . I Tl
. . 'f
How to Talk Like a Sailor. f
Wnen wo refer to tho Springflold rlllo. car- J:
rled by our soldiers In army and marine corps. ?
o speak of n as bolng of "30 caliber." In f ft?
referring to tho larger guns aboard a shlo. $
T?w th0 proper torm to Uao Js "t0-" To v Mv
sa that a 12-lnch gun was of 50 calibers would M
?ph thft8Uch a n was DO feet long Tho fife
J?tWeon th0 damter of tho bore and It
the length of the gun is known as tho "caliber' E$
in navnl circles. ; j wi
nhT0 bG a stJUQd"n of vessels and thore I S
nliHnSl, !.a dron of cavalry. Just who s A
uncertain But our present form of regi- 2
100 L? d0V0lPcrt y Napoleon more than f! 3
cavaWf' Th0r6 arG thro squadrons of I &
reJiri?', t'T troop ch n an American f B
In Napoleon's day there were sis of T Sn
two troops each. g J
Napoleon waa tho first man to arm his car-
di?B wh a Wh10' lth carbines. In thoae gS
trar rhtrrer a? prval,ed-it was cur l
tlon of nm e troPsand storm a posl- f .
er of mllery.at tho cot terrific slaugh- S
hav?n thor"8hly was this Idea of '.A1
mSSL ? .ChUrSe "en ma3" lmbuod ln th0 - 4
S havli; n that C0U,d ha en effected
olonn r8 hem harge ,n Bk,IBh rormatloa. jl
wen, lwl neceB8ary when the onemy-s lines jftjg
if"