THE BLUEJACKET'S MANUAL

[Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] upon the US Navy today rest the responsibility greater and heavier than any Navy in history has ever been called upon to discharge or it shifts and planes must patrol and protect not only the western hemispheres continental coastlines and island bases into ocean but they must keep open the endless lines of communication and supply which connect the u.s. with allied outposts on four continents never before in the annals of war have naval forces been obliged to operate over such staggering distances to do the job demanded of it until new fleet units now building can be put into service necessitates the fullest and most effective use of every available ship of the hundreds already on the Navy list from its own operating bases in the Western Hemisphere and from new faces now being established overseas units of the fleet are paying their indispensable part in the war today among officers and Blue Jackets everywhere morale is high men know their jobs and know their ships [Music] for in the years before war the Navy's growing personnel carrying out an exacting schedule of tactical and gunnery exercises had been developing a high degree of skill and efficiency while the Navy itself was rapidly expanding each new ship joining the fleet took its place with the others of its past to fill particular needs and perform specific missions and in support of its ships at sea the Navy was building upon Shore a vast and widespread organization of supply and repair or without access to sources of fuel and ammunition a man-of-war is of little use today works mental personnel at yards and bases all over the world share the responsibility of keeping the ships of the u.s. and allied fleets at a peak of readiness and effectiveness as a matter of routine before combatant ships put to sea their magazines and storerooms are loaded to capacity and their fuel and freshwater tanks topped off almost to overflowing every time a naval vessel puts into a base full advantage must be taken of every minute of its stage to make needed repairs and take aboard general stores for every ship of the line as a fighting machine which like any other mechanism must have continuous care and service but for the vast distances naval vessels must cover in today's war supply is a grave problem to extend the fleet's range of operations beyond reach of its bases is the job of the Navy's lesser-known ships the faithful and invaluable ships of the Train [Music] these auxiliaries tankers and beef boats transports and ammunition carriers hospital ships and repair vessels form the Navy's mobile and seagoing supply bases with the enemy temporarily in control of most of the sources of petroleum and the Far East all the enormous requirements of the Armed Forces operating in the southwest Pacific must be met by tankers traveling over thousands of miles of dangerous sea route [Music] the Navy's tenders mother ships for submarines destroyers and sea planes are invaluable in today's war of great distances of major importance are the seaplane tenders which enable patrol bombers to double their effective range [Music] making full use of the facilities of nearby yards and bases are scores of miscellaneous naval traps all with special jobs like mine sweepers the odd-shaped net tender whose job it is to open and close the gates of anti-submarine net at naval bases one sees scores of patrol vessels some of them Coast Guard cutters others converted pleasure crafts and some especially built for combat like the spectacular PT boats fast light torpedo carriers [Applause] but all the ships and bases of the Navy merely augment and support the battle line still the measure of a nation sea power most formidable engine of death and destruction and existence the battleship is designed and built to deliver maximum gun power anywhere at anytime on battleships all fire and ship control areas turret guns and magazines are encased in a protective shell of thick armor plating in addition to the main battery of large calibre guns and the secondary batteries battleships have dual-purpose guns for defense against aircraft and light surface attack today every battleship has a complement of planes which are used to scout to observe and spud gun fire and if need be to attack submarines and small torpedo craft battleships bear the names of the states of the union each ship of vast seagoing community with a population numbering over 1,400 officers and men the battleship alone properly screened and with support in the air can carry continued and concentrated destruction to the enemy on his own ground second and importance to battleships our cruisers those with guns greater than six inches are heavy cruisers those with guns six inches or less our light cruisers they have a crew of about 700 officers and men in the square Stearns of modern cruisers is a hangar for scout and observation planes cruisers are heavily armed but lightly armored their principal characteristic is speed combined with tremendous gun power the cruiser whether light or heavy has a speed of over 32 knots its engines can develop the horse power of a modern battleship and its enormous fuel capacity enables it to engage in extreme long-range operations cruisers are named for American cities like New Orleans and Nashville Milwaukee and Marblehead Pensacola and Portland when with the fleet they act as protective screening force for battleships together with planes they are the eyes of the fleet it's shouting four divisions of cruisers are ideal for hit-and-run attacks on enemy bases and individually they are capable of making Swift devastating raids upon enemy lines of communication and supply in battle they are proving themselves fast enough to present a difficult target yet their gunfire is powerful enough to strike hard and effectively at the enemy most numerous of all the Navy ships of the line are its destroyers these vessels are totally unarmored but with their 5-inch dual purpose main batteries their anti-aircraft defences their torpedo tubes and depth charges they packed more destructive power per tonne than any warship afloat because they can attain a speed of about 40 knots 44 lambs miles an hour and can range six thousand or more miles without refueling they are adapted to widely varied activities with the fleet they are used as Scout as an anti-submarine screen or to launch torpedo attacks against the enemy they are called upon to to act as convoy escorts and to protect all larger types of ships from submarines familiarly and affectionately known throughout the Navy as the tin can destroyers carry a crew of about 200 men these ships are named for the Navy's distinguished dead like John Paul Jones Farragut and Dewey Mahan and sim indispensable to the protection of the battle line and a new and necessary factor in any naval offensive our aircraft carriers huge floating airports whose hangars and flight decks can accommodate almost a hundred combat planes of various types flight operations and ship control are centered in a so called island the carrier's superstructure though equipped with batteries for defense against attack either from light surface craft or from the air the aircraft carrier relies heavily upon the protection afforded by her own squadrons of fighter planes these great new ships whose close number about 2,000 officers and men are nicknamed the covered wagons they bear names old and illustrious in US history names of early battles like Lexington Saratoga and Yorktown names of famous ships like Ranger Enterprise and the immortal BONHOMME RICHARD [Music] [Applause] [Music] smallest and most compact of all seagoing war craft the submarine is the guerrilla fighter of the Navy whose effectiveness lies in its ability to launch surprise torpedo attacks the size of the submarine crowberries from less than 40 to more than 60 depending upon the type of the submarine some are relatively small craft with a short closing radius others the fleet submarines are huge vessels able to cruise great distances and remain at sea for weeks at a time called the pig boats submarines are named for deep-sea fish like the stingray and Ford fish Grampus whale and porpoise [Music] with the United States beset by enemies on all the Seas of the world the eventual success of Allied strategy may well depend upon us ability to keep open the vital waterways and supply lines between the Western Hemisphere and the distant theatres of war today the US Navy is realizing in full on the long-range planning and foresight of other generations who a half a century ago saw the need for a short cut between America's two great oceans and built the Panama Canal for example today if a division of first line battleships operating in the Atlantic is needed in the Pacific 8,000 miles and a whole month of precious time is saved by the eight-hour transit of the Panama Canal whose locks are wide enough to permit the passage of the largest man-of-war [Music] panama's locks are also wide enough to accommodate the mighty fault of the battle fleet giant bodyguards the ever-present aircraft carriers only when seen in close relationship to things on shore is it possible to grasp the vast proportions of this newest of naval war craft at sea in time of war its scores of planes are spotted on the flight deck ready to take off at a moment's notice the carrier passing through the canal seems a ponderous and peaceful tracks but concealed beneath its quiet deck saw tons of high explosives armor-piercing bombs for her BSP's gout bombers torpedoes weighing a ton for her beat tv's deadly torpedo bombers and fine - a narrow channel the carrier is out of its natural element the open sea for more than any other ships the covered wagons demand unlimited sea room to maneuver freely at high speed a call to battle stations transforms an aircraft carrier with startling suddenness within seconds the ship's organization is functioning with perfectly calculated speed and precision captain pilots and aviation mechanics all hands know exactly what to do [Music] in the battle formation maybe many types of planes and ships each designed to do the job best suited to it on the surface destroyers in advanced position force training and scouting far in the rear ships of the Train the invaluable services of supply and repair to protect the main battle I'm from submarine and air attack our Cruiser division fast and powerful and assault [Music] aircraft carriers well behind but within easy air range to ensure command of the air to launch aerial offensive finally floating fortresses of enormous offensive power the battleships in battle comes the supreme test of organization the complex relationship between men meant materials upon which depends the fighting effectiveness of every Navy when fighting units of the fleet stand out to sea on battle missions they are fulfilling the one purpose for which the Navy was conceived and built for which the whole organization exists while which every officer and float jacket has been training from the day he joined the service in battle to is finally tested the strength and worth of materials of iron and steel of our plate and ordinance of boilers and turbines of all the great mechanisms devised by man's ingenuity and scientific knowledge and inevitably the day is coming when the mast braking force of the United States Navy it shifts its planes and its men will participate in the final reckoning when the combined navies of the axis animates driven into the open are joined in battle to be finally destroyed [Music] [Applause] [Music] my boy [Music] we fail I break all day [Music] we meet once more [Music] [Music] [Applause] freedom will [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music]