AMERICAN NAVAL CRUISE

Hokitika Guardian, 19 December 1924, Page 4

AMERICAN NAVAL CRUISE

SEASON'S FI'I.LY STATED. WASHINGTON, December Id. Complete details of reasons for the Pacific maiHKiivres and the visit to Australia and New Zealand were contained in the recent tetimony given by .Mr. C. Wilbur. Secretary for the Navy, and Admiral Eherlc, Chief of Naval Operations, before the House Appropriations, Committee which granted the necessary appropriation. These details have now been published. Mr Wilbur said the advantages of manoeuvres off Honolulu and the visit to tho South Pacific were, to the navy, purely tactical. “There is tho training of the men in actual management of the slops. There is the advantage to personnel in a foreign cruise in matters such as recruiting, and there is the? added advantage of contact with people of Australia and New Zealand. They are eager to have us come, hut, from the naval standpoint, while the desireahlcness of cementing friendship with foreign nations is to be considered, our primary purpose is licet training. My conclusions have been reached after discussing the situation with my officers, but the problem of extending the trip to Australia and New Zealand lias been considered in council, and is the result of the combined judgment of the officers of the fleet.” -

Admiral Eberlo said: “ The projected cruise is the culmination of a fourvenr programme that was laid out for the operations of the Heel, in order to give long cruises for training and manoeuvres, and io see if the licet could he self-supporting away from its home bases ; tliat is, hy its own supply ships, hi order to ascertain that wo had to make a rather extensive cruise. It will also he very beneficial to the morale of the men to take a cruise away from their home ports. Four years ago we made a cruise to the west coast ol South America ; then in February, 102.1. wo had joint manoeuvres olf Panama, and, later, in the West Indies. Ihe plan for Ibis year was for all to have combined operations olf the coast of California. The problem was to discover how to proceed against the Hawaiian Islands with the army defending. That was very important because the nrmv there had not had exorcises with the fleet since 1920. Then they are lo test particularly the anchorages lor the licet which are very limited. “On the outward trip the licet will lunch at Pago Pago, and afterwards, all the battleships will go to Sydney. All destroyers, with tenders and four light cruisers, will go to Melbourne. Then all destroyers and tenders and four light cruisers will go to Wellington and the battleships from Sydney to Auckland, where all the vessels will assemble for the return trip. All vessels, during the cruise, will test material and steaming radius and determine whether the ships can he sellsupporting and whether they can he maintained in all kinds of weather.” Asked bv members ol the committee how "the programme compared with Britain's. Admiral Eberlo said: “Britain has combined manoeuvres, either in the Atlantic. Pacific or Mcditorniidhh. She has not held such extensive manoeuvres recently, but this yeai lias sent a special squadron round the world.”

Admiral Eherlc said the mileage ol the proposed trip was 1 8,090, ns compared with 12,000 miles covered in the Panama trio hist year.