Show Our Navys Navy's Destroyers as Good as Any Says Roose Rooe Roosevelt Roo- Roo e velt v lt but We Have Less Than Half Number We Vie Need v. v Y Wf 7 MM 4 A h. h MM t 4 1 11 1 cy i T. T P 1 J jI It j I Ill pi if M x f d 1 i. i r t 1 f of fJ r 4 t l w This is the Erickson as she appeared on her trial spin this summer She can make thirty knots an hour Note the high flare bows for cutting through the water Assistant Secretary Roosevelt says the destroyers of the United States navy compare well with those of any other fleet in the world The Erickson is the newest destroyer in the navy This Is the third of a series of six sK articles articles' written for THE TELEGRAM TELE GRAM by the assistant se secretary r tary of the United States navy By FRANKLIN D. D ROOSEVELT Assistant Secretary Secretary of the United States Navy Copyright 1915 by the Newspaper Enterprise Association n. n I must confess a particular love for and Interest in the craft known as the tori edo boat destroyers or more briefly brielly as simply destroyers To the man on the battleship they seem small but a a length of over feet makes makes them staunch craft The high flared up bow bow of a a. destroyer de destroyer de- de gives It seaworthy qualities not possessed by the the old fashioned torpedo boat and the narrow narrow beam of only 30 feet together with turbine engines of from to to horsepower horsepower provides a speed of thirty knots an hour With the advent of the self seU prop propellIng propelling ll- ll ing torpedo twenty-five twenty or thirty years ago the torpedo boat became a factor in naval warfare The object was purely offensive offensive to to t take ke advantage advantage advantage tage of the smoke of battle or of hazy weather or 01 darkness to make mak a dash Cash Cashat at high speed against the battle line of the enemy and to launch a. a a torpedo from close range But the torpedo boat was not seagoing seagoing seagoing sea sea- going and the torpedo boat destroyer was devised as ns an answer answer to it for with an increase in size and in speed and h i the a ability to mount mont mO a few effective ef et- et guns the destroyer could easly ly Jy offset the torpedo boat and at tl the same time take and maintain her place with the battle fleet The ne- ne for these ships ships' is is' is now well recognized in all navies The place of the destroyers is with out question with the battleships JI I have previously spoken of the scoutIng scout scout- Ipg Ing and protecting rings which should surround the fleet The inner Ting ring ingi i ib is that of the destroyers and i is In Intended Intended intended in- in tended to give warning especially at night or in case the outer screen of scouts cout has failed to give adequate notice of a hostile approach This ring would be of course in fairly close proximity to the battleships themselves In the event of an action taking place the duty of the destroyers is twofold First to prevent any at attack attack at- at tack tacIt on their own battleships by the destroyers of the enemy and secondly secondly secondly sec sec- under cover of the smoke and confusion of battle to launch an at attack attack attack at- at tack on the main ships of the en enemy my This attack against heavy ships is is of course carried on by torpedoes These torpedoes torpedoes' on destroyers are I fred not from an underwater tube as in the case of the battleships but from tubes pla placed ed along the deck In actual battle destroyers burning oil can throw a heavy smoke screen In such a way as either to blind the enemy nemy or to protect their own ships In 1903 the general board of the navy stated that four destroyers should be provided for every battleship battleship battleship battle battle- ship built The navy has lias two forty-two battleships built and building and only seventy-four seventy destroyers Naval experts expert are still of the opinion there should be four to every battleship As for the destroyers in the United States navy I have no hesitation n in saying there are no finer ships ship of this class In in any service The fourth article will deal with with battleships the main line of tho the fleet |