Show President n F Favors vors Battleship As Supreme in Naval Unit WASHINGTON Feb 25 UP President UP-President President Roosevelt indicated today that he regards the battleship as supreme in its field The president asked about of battleships to air attacks attacks at- at tacks acks pointed to his congressional recommendations to show he is convinced convinced convinced con con- vinced of superiority of the super- super The Tho president was questioned about the relative strength of the navy fighting machines while Rear Admiral Arthur B. B Cook chief of naval aeronautics told the house naval affairs committee that the 50 airplanes contemplated in Mr Roosevelt's naval expansion program program program pro pro- gram will cost Added to the which Admiral William Dubose chief of naval construction estimates the battleships and auxiliaries provided In n the program will cost the compete complete complete com com- pete naval expansion program would be brought to a about out 1100 by the fighting planes Cook supported the presidents president's view with the declaration that it would take airplanes to give the he same volume of ot fire in one hour as 15 battle battleships and that the planes would cost Replacement Replacement Re- Re placement requirements of ot the planes he said would make their total otal cost seven times that of battle battle- ships We cannot assume the helplessness helpless helpless- ness of an enemy fleet before an anair anair anair air attack Cook said Mr Roosevelt expressed belief that with the development of every new weapon of warfare some other development usually is found to combat it While he recognizes the of ot airplane as a component part the fighting forces he feels that the antidote to offensive planes al already already already al- al ready has been found in the form of antiaircraft guns and defensive planes Mr Roosevelt was asked whether he le had studied findings of secret tests involving the combat strength of battleships battleships' and airplanes Representative Representative Representative Rep Rep- Maverick D. D Texas has las charged that such tests have been made but their results have not been made public because the administration is committed to a policy of building capital ships The president said he has been seeing such tests since 1913 His answer to them he said is found in his naval recommendations to congress congress con con- gress which called for addition of three new super to Americas America's war fleets |