Midway (CV 41) - Naval Cruise Book

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f f .Q ,V - , 0 -A ' s 1 I - we l n t 1 r - Qp- Q , A n S g g g -wx xl- ' '-S' S S:-Psav., ,J i vif HE beginning of our modern seapower and the devel- opment of the attack aircraft carrier, the world's most power- ful ship, spans back across the horizon of history to the dawn of time. No one knows when man first fought from seacraft. It might well have been an angry Phoenician who threw a fish at a neighbor cutting ill on his' favorite fishing spot. Historians can trace the organization of maritime warfare back to about 500 B.C. Homer tells us i11 his ullliadw of the battle of the ship of Troy. But this was primarily a land battle. There were no fleets or squadrons. Shipping was for transportation of men and freight. UR first knowledge of fighting ships comes into focus around 400 B.C. These first rowing men-of-war displayed a single bank of oars lining both sides of the thin wooden ves- sels. As time passed rowers were placed below decks, protected from the enemy. Later, two banks of oars were added, then three. Maximum speed of rowing ships was not much more than seven knots! Equally as crude during the era of the row- ing vessel were the methods of naval warfare. Hand-to-hand combat for centuries was the only way to fight at sea. As hostile ships came together, crewmen armed with bows, slings, spears and axes swarmed across the gunwales for the kill. At some later period the rowing ships were constructed with rams pro- truding from the bow below the water line. A very moderate speed would suffice to pierce an enemy hull which usually was ll0t more than two and one-half inches thick. Naval tactics, methods of warfare and ship construction changed little dur- ing the next few centuries. The Greeks added their fire bomb - clay pots filled with incendiary material and thrown at hos- tile ships. The Vikings lashed their colorful ships together to form a single battleground. Sailing ships became larger and their sides became higher with poops and forecastles added. IGNIFICANT changes took place in seapower during the 16th and 17th centuries. The principle of these was the adoption of the battery. This consisted of three to five guns mounted forward, all firing directly ahead without any arc of train. The great days of the rowing ship ended in the 17th century. Ships had developed three and four masts. The sail- ing vessel had become king of the sea. 2

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34, QQ 3 is ' 5 ,? . J M A7 up 'Oh M Q ,4 1 ' l be ,gee Q 425 wt E L W to e :ZH 3, w x A X f 'X ' nf . A- , X U . 1, , q, 5: . - gg-w-.qsx .F . kg Y ' c-3? . . , 9 .. ft? W .,, . N May 10, 1797 the U. S. Navy was born when the frigate United States, a 44 gunner, slid down the way at Phila- delphia, Pa. The following September the frigates Constella- tion and Constitution, one of history's most famous fighting ships., were launched. This was the era of the three-masted fri- gate, the new symbol of speed, grace, and power. C' N the 1850's guns were installed on two decks, and later a third deck, which protruded from ports as oars once did. This was cannon-ball firepower at its best. Some ships were armed with as many as 120 guns! The great-gun fire replaced the hand-to-hand combat fighting of boarders. Ships now fought like navies instead of armies. The U. S. frigate could fire a ball of a little less than six inches in diameter, weighing 24 pounds, for about 600 yards. Good range for those days. HEN came steam. The Navy was not impressed with the first side-paddle steam boats under sail. They posed more problems than did sails. As the years passed steam vessels made slow progress against the opposition of the old salts. But these men-of-war were still primarily sailing vessels. Steam assisted only in emergencies. The sail was not to die so easily. Al ,N 1863 American seapower was again revolutionized. The first ironclad vessels appeared on the U. S. Naval scene. Minus sails, and equipped with revolving turrets, these weird looking ships sat deep into the water. The wooden sailing ships were no match for the virtually impregnable iron vessel. Henceforth, every wooden ship was worthless as a fighting vessel. Thus ended the days of the sailing vessel which had written a colorful and dramatic story in the pages of naval SCHPOWCP. ROUND 1889 the first important vessel of the new Navy was launched. The protected cruiser Chicago, with steel armor, weighed 4,500 tons. She could demand respect with her four 8-inch and fourteen 5-inch guns. In 1905 construc- tion began on the Navy's first all-big-gun battleship, the dread- nought to reign king of seapower for some 40 years. Tl16S6 ...f'v., 'n.,,. V A 'f ,, 63,1 1-...Sf '