vessels, averaging about 700 tons displacement, that are intended to
dash at enemy ships at night, or under other favorable conditions,
launch their torpedoes, and hurry away. The torpedo is "a weapon
of opportunity." It has had a long, slow fight for its existence;
but its success during the present war has established it firmly
in naval warfare.
The submarine has followed the destroyer, and some people think
will supplant it; though its relatively slow speed prevents those
dashes that are the destroyer's role. The submarine is, however,
a kind of destroyer that is submersible, in which the necessities
of submersibility preclude great speed. The submarine was designed
to accomplish a clear and definite purpose--a secret under-water
attack on an enemy's ship in the vicinity. It has succeeded so well
in its limited mission that some intelligent people declare that
we need submarines only--ignoring the fact that, even if submarines
could successfully prevent actual invasion, they could not carry
on operations at a distance from their base of supplies. It is
true that submarines may be made so large that they can steam at
great speed from place to place, as capital ships steam now, carry
large supplies of fuel and food, house their crews hygienically,
and need no "mother ship" or tender. But if submarines achieve
such size, they will be more expensive to build and run than
battleships--and will be, in fact, submersible battleships. In
other words, the submarine cannot displace the battleship, but may
be developed and evolved into a new and highly specialized type
of battleship.
The necessity for operating at long distances from a base carries
with it the necessity for supplying more fuel than even a battleship
can carry; and this means that colliers must be provided. In most
countries, the merchant service is so large that colliers can be
taken from it, but in the United States no adequate merchant marine
exists, and so it is found necessary to build navy colliers and
have them in the fleet. The necessity for continuously supplying
food and ammunition to the fleet necessitates supply ships and
ammunition ships; but the problem of supplying food and ammunition
is not so difficult as that of supplying fuel, for the reason that
they are consumed more slowly.
In order to take care of the sick and wounded, and prevent them from
hampering the activities of the well, hospital ships are needed.
Hospital ships should, of c
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