NAVY 



4098 



NAVY 



sary- While the .<hips and armament of the 

 navy have been allowed to decline from time 

 to time, this has never been true of the per- 

 sonnel of the American navy. From the organi- 

 zation of the navy to the present time thor- 

 ough and systematic training has been required 

 of both officers and men. 



Naval Guns. The illustration shows the dif- 

 ferent sizes of guns in use in modern navies, 

 together with their respective projectiles. The 

 size of guns for battleships increases in propor- 

 tion to the size of the ship, and now guns six- 

 teen inches in diameter are employed on the 

 dreadnaughts. All large guns are mounted 

 on carriages which are operated by electric or 

 hydraulic power. They are breech-loading and 

 are fired by electric percussion. These guns and 

 all mechanism connected with them have been 

 brought to such a degree of perfection that 

 they are fired with incredible rapidity. A 16- 

 inch gun can fire two shots a minute ; a 15-inch, 

 two and one-half per minute, and a 14-inch, 

 three shots per minute. Smaller guns are fired 

 still more rapidly. For a description of large 

 guns, see ARTILLERY. 



Navy Yards. Navy yards for the construc- 

 tion and repair of vessels are maintained at 

 New York (Brooklyn); Boston; Portsmouth, 

 X.H.; Norfolk, Va.; Philadelphia; Marc Island 

 near San Francisco; Washington, D. C.; Brem- 

 erton, Wash.; Charleston, S. C., and New Or- 

 leans. There are naval stations at Key West, 

 Fla., and in our outlying possessions at Samoa, 

 Guam, the Philippines, Honolulu and Guan- 

 tiinamo, Cuba. These stations serve as naval 

 bases for supplies and making minor repairs. 



Organization. Under the Constitution the 

 President is commander-in-chief of the navy, 

 but the administration of its affairs are in the 

 hands of the Secretary of the Navy, who is at 

 the head of the department of the navy. The 

 office of Chief of Naval Operations was created 

 in 1915, and is filled by appointment by the 

 President with the concurrence of the Senate, 

 from the officers of the navy not below the rank 

 of captain. This officer, under the direction of 

 the Secretary of the Navy, has charge of the 

 operations of the fleet and with the preparation 

 of plans for its use in war. (See NAVY, DEPART- 

 MENT OF THE, page 4099.) 



Other Powers 



After the War of the Nations began, the 

 powers engaged took special care that no naval 

 secrets were disclosed, and even in 1919, ten 

 months after the close of the struggle, definite 

 information as to the exact strength of the 

 world's navies was not available. However, one 

 outstanding fact was the destruction of German 

 sea power in the war. Nearly all of its great 

 navy was surrendered in December, 1918, and 

 Germany, hitherto holding second place among 

 the nations in naval strength, was reduced to a 



position of impotence on the sea, and the 

 United States became the second sea power. 

 The navy of Austria-Hungary also was taken, 

 and neither Austria nor Hungary was given a 

 mile of seacoast. 



The surrendered German navy lay at anchor 

 north of Scotland awaiting destruction or di- 

 vision among the victor nations. In June, 1919, 

 German crews left in charge of the vessels, over 

 seventy in number, treacherously sank over 

 half of them. 



COMPARATIVE STRENGTH OF THE NAVIES OF THE WORLD, 1916 



