Show THE FLEE FLEETS ON GUARD A N A ak t ko al I 1 1 4 uncle sam s battlewagons Battle Baffle wagons leave west coast bases for Grea greatest iest maneuvers in nation s history with hawaii serving as focal point by JOSEPH W labine its movements shrouded with secrecy the strongest battle fleet the united states has ever seen is sailing from home bases at san pedro and san diego this month to compete in the most intensive and strenuous naval maneuvers in the nations history this will b be no childs play under a warm tropical sun instead the battle chiefs are sending their ironclad iron clad monsters as far north as the aleutian islands that drip off the frigid west coast of alaska here some ships will work under the most unfavorable wartime conditions possible meanwhile others will fight as faras 1500 miles below Honolu honolulu lq announced last december when america was worrying strenuously over japans aggressive attitude the maneuvers may well be considered a stage show for Nip pons benefit though official washington has denied it and intentional or otherwise the war games will focus national attention on the navy just when congress is considering president Roosevel ts recent armament appropriations bill the casual layman witnessing this display of maritime power will probably be moved to stick out his chest with pride not so the navys commanders however who will probably view the results res alts of the war games as very tangible evidence that america needs more battleships with other nations developing long range cruisers and airplanes the vast pacific becomes more difficult to defend fewer refueling islands are needed by an approaching enemy they can take a long end run around hawaii and unless americas first line of defense is close at hand theres apt to be trouble almost men of war about planes and to men are viv 4 4 tat i U WN X V 44 Z i quietly uncle sam has been expanding his territory in the pacific through colonization he has annexed howland baker and jarvis islands none ot of great commercial value but important as military landing fields participating in this gigantic affair all under the command 0 of admiral claude C bloch recent successor to admiral arthur J hepburn as CINCUS of the fleet aircraft carriers help three aircraft carriers saratoga lexington and ranger are carrying their brood of war birds to americas first line of defense mighty battleships slim destroyers and cunning submarines will play vital roles in this make believe conquest and protection of the pacific the 1938 defense problem centers around pearl harbor in the territory of hawaii known as the navys largest base this beauty spot of the pacific has been the focal point of annual maneuvers for several years but this spring for the first time the navys show will be diffused over the entire eastern pa cefic piling even higher the evidence that hawaii is tremendously important in protecting our west coast without it our first line of defense would be the mainland california oregon and washington if foreign nations have strengthened ene d their position in the pacific with long range cruisers and planes america is helping its position by developing several strategic islands as refueling points and refuges for bombers these include such barren spots as remote howland island 1500 miles southwest of hawaii recently a navy bomber flew this distance and return the feat attracted little attention yet it was tremendously important A few years ago the flight range of army and navy planes was miles that is a plane could carry only sufficient fuel to fly out from its base miles and return therefore aviation patrols were limited to circles of miles around hawaii the panama canal alaska and the west coast of the mainland the new long distance bombers have plugged the holes this system left in our defense riet net no sieve nere here when that navy bomber made the trip from honolulu to howland it announced to the world that uncle sams pacific defense was a wall not a sieve it meant that observation planes the eyes of the fleet could scout from hawaii to the aleu fians from hawaii to howland from hawaii to midway it also meant that bombers could carry their deadly cargoes between any of these points and get safely back to the hawaiian base with howland baker and jarvis islands now american possessions being developed for refueling and aviation purposes the united states government holds a strong position in the south pacific ic america also owns palmyra island in that vicinity which has a quiet lagoon suitable for seaplane landings kiska in the aleutians Aleut ians is one of the six american ports closed to foreign shipping and over which no civilian aircraft is permitted to fly without approval by the government meanwhile the military establishment in hawaii been neglected it has become the most important defense center of the nation it is estimated that approximately has been spent on fortifications alone more troops are concentrated there than in any other section of the nation the worlds greatest military air airport p ort hickam field is under construction on the outskirts of honolulu many a world power is now angry with itself tor for not having annexed more of the several hundred small islands that dot the pacific and which are now looming more important for naval purposes today for the first time it is apparent that the nations which control the islands are those which control the pacific itself japans pacific power france portugal germany and the netherlands have disappeared as strong contenders for pacific power powe r the last to leave was germany and its place was taken by japan which was given most german possessions under mandate at the treaty of versailles under this mandate japan took virtual possession of a strip of the pacific 2500 miles long from east to west and 1200 miles wide she acquired islands including the Maii anas group with the exception of guam the marshall islands the tha caroline islands and the palau islands since japan is probably the only nation from which the united slates h has a s anything to fear in the pacific the versailles mandate now looms highly important japan can establish naval bases almost halfway half ivay across the ocean from her acme he me shores and within 2500 miles of hawaii within easy striking distance but she has not yet established these bases and uncle sam has made his hawaiian island so impregnable as to discourage the most optimistic would be attacks attack tr which once again emphasizes the islands importance since an enemy from the west would almost have to gain possession of hawaii before attacking the united states state oahu bahu the island on which honolulu is located is circled by a coast railway on which guns can be moved quickly to stave off any attack latest antiaircraft anti aircraft weapons are ready for the enemy including huge horns capable of picking up the sound of aircraft miles away this sound is transferred to candle power searchlights once the enemy plane is bathed in light range finding devices automatically mati cally aim the guns on the target indeed hawaii has become the malta of the pacific U S joins the race talk of guns and battleships and fleet maneuvers may sound strange to american ears today and more than one slow awakening individual will wonder why all this bustle about defending the pacific but in washington where congress is building a program that will give the united states a navy second to none the matter is of vital importance actually our navy is not in the best of shape and we are entering the rearmament race five years behind the leaders the impossibility of americas continued abstinence from this mil tary program is a growing conviction with more americans every day though a peace loving nation may rebel at the thought of building for war As we turn our eyes west to the sinking sun though well be assured that no trouble will come from that direction before dawn again lifts the pacifica night shroud the fleets on guard 0 western newspaper union |