440 : The Atlantic 



Among these was the use of a carrier task force as an element in an 

 amphibious landing; the use of the Construction Battalions, or "Sea 

 Bees," as a part of such operation. Their task was to create or improve 

 harbor facilities, construct emergency landing strips and larger air- 

 ports, etc., and finally, of course, the handling, transport and delivery 

 of the atomic bomb. 



The schnorkel submarine is a development that originated with the 

 the Germans but has since passed both to Russia and to the United 

 States. However effective the development of the schnorkel subma- 

 rine may be it will undoubtedly be replaced by the atomic submarine. 

 It seems sure that an atomic submarine would participate in any 

 future Atlantic wars. 



The use of atomic power for carriers and for aircraft is already 

 under discussion and may shortly be under development and con- 

 struction. Beyond this, what effects new inventions might have on 

 some future Atlantic war we can only conjecture. Much is shrouded 

 in necessary national secrecy and much will depend on the timing of 

 the event. 



Instruments of war are often developed and put into use for a 

 number of years and then neglected in favor of some newer develop- 

 ment only to find a place in some later war. Apparently there are 

 fashions in arms as well as in clothes. Rocket propulsion seems to 

 have figured in some of these fashions. The principle of rocket pro- 

 pulsion was first discovered in China, then passed to India where in 

 the eighteenth century it was used against the British. A British army 

 officer improved the design and brought it to Europe and then to 

 America where it appeared in the War of 1812. After lying idle for the 

 better part of a century it came into use again in World War II. 



Small rockets fired in salvos were extensively and effectively used 

 by the United States Navy in support of amphibious landing opera- 

 tions. The very large-size long-range military rocket was, however, 

 first developed and used by the Germans. Rockets of a type called the 

 "V2" were used in the bombardment of the British Isles. 



Since then some of the German rocketeers have passed under Rus- 

 sian control. Dr. Wernher von Braun and some of the others have 

 come to America and become a part of the American Rocket Re- 

 search Program. Guided missiles and long-ranged rockets have devel- 

 oped to such a degree that they would almost certainly form a part 

 of any present war in the Atlantic and would have an effect on the 

 character of its development and operation. 



For obvious and good reasons we do not know the exact present 



