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Row DO
YOU RATE YOUR CHIEFS?
evalu,
Practice of 'semi-annual performance
offi,
ation for chiefs and first class
petty
of it i,'S std* new to the Navy. Officers as C .°^d school” may recollect the problem oflj Slrnple one when they were division ?ivlers ahoard ship. All enlisted men were a simple numerical grade under a few headi
Siven
cjeS1C Readings such as conduct and profi- 'n rate, and that was that. Chiefs, who
then.
°hviously superior to all other enlisted - traditionally deserved a 4.0 rating unless good VVCrc guilty °f the most flagrant abuses of ^ behavior or technical competence, is °day the evaluation sheet for petty officers more closely akin to the officer’s fitness arert than to the old enlisted record. There evid eXcehent reasons for this, but there is Uri(jence that these reasons are not thoroughly arcCrstood at all levels, and that even if they ‘he U,nderst°od, are not necessarily followed to \ degrectpat their importance warrants. pe^ hy is it necessary to evaluate our senior ^ f officers? The reason lies in a basic which has revolutionized the Navy’s If Procurement policies since World War
to Ur*ng that conflict, the Navy was forced jh^’U'mission large numbers of officers from , e enlisted ranks, and in those days the only ()fas- f°r selection was the personal evaluation c°mrnanding officers on the spot. Even had
time permitted, the convening of selection boards would have found little in the enlisted records to use as an acceptable base for choosing potential officer material. The “temporaries” who made their commissions during the war had a tough row to hoe when peace returned. Some were integrated into the line by means of equalization programs of college training, but many others arbitrarily reverted to their permanent enlisted status.
It soon became apparent that the postwar Navy had a number of officer procurement problems on its hands. Despite expanded programs, the input of junior officers from the Naval Academy and the NROTC colleges was, is, and will continue to be inadequate to meet the needs of the permanent corps, both in terms of numbers and of particular skills required. It must now be accepted that a substantial percentage of the career technical officers of the Navy will have to come from enlisted sources. These avenues will be open to
CONTENTS Page
How Do You Rate Your Chiefs? . . . 127
By Cdr. John l). Alden, USN
Classification of Warships......................................................... 129
By Raymond V. B. Blackman
Soviet Education and the Missile Gap . . 132
By Cdr. B. M. Kassell, USN (Ret.)
Why Not Standardize Shipboard Training? 131 By Lt. Cdr. Stuart E. Beyer, USN
By Professor C. P. Lemieux
How It Works—The Naval Hlstorical
Foundation................................................................................................ 139
By Vice Admiral John F. Shajroth, USN (Ret.)
The Notebook........................................................................................... 143
SUP*5’ Y
A CHIEF SONARMAN SUPERVISING HIS OPERATORS DURING PRACTICE ATTACK
The Navy will depend more and more on its senior petty officers for technical leadership. Through the Limited Duty Officer program, many chief and first class petty officers will be selected for promotion to ensign to fiU important electronics, ordnance, and engineering billets. Intelligent selection will only be possible if reporting seniors are conscientious in carefully rating their chief petty officers.
the gifted few, and the bulk of the enlisted selectees for officer status will enter by way of the Limited Duty Officer (LDO) program. I think there can be little argument that this program is here to stay. The brunt of the dirty work of technical leadership—in machinery, ordnance, electronics and so on—in the junior officer grades is going to be carried by the men who have come up through the ranks.
By now the importance of rating one’s chiefs should be apparent. But consider for a moment what qualities we want to evaluate. If the main purpose of evaluation is to assist in the selection of officer candidates, are we not seeking to rate promise and potential more than past performance? If this is agreed to be the case, we must ask ourselves if our evaluations are, in fact, valid and useful for this purpose.
The board which is convened annually to select LDO candidates is called an In-Service Procurement Board. It is a selection board, but it selects individuals for simultaneous promotion and major change in status. Time may have blurred some of the distinctions which formerly separated enlisted men from officers, but there is a basic gulf which will always remain and which cannot be minimized. The board can only select those it feels are the best candidates based on their records. It cannot go back and request commanding officers to fill gaps in the records, explain contradictory entries, or interpret ambiguous statements. Therefore it is incumbent on the reporting seniors to anticipate the needs of the procurement board, perhaps even years in advance. To do this requires that the reporting officers, both junior and senior, be aware of those factors which will assist the board in making valid selections.
It seems to me that the key factors can be rather simply itemized. First, there is the matter of experience. Even though we are looking for future potential, this has to be judged in the framework of experience, because we are attempting to advance people into areas of wide responsibility and more generalized knowledge. The procurement board members will want to know what work the individual did, and how well he did it. It is amazing how difficult it is to find out exactly what a man’s job was from statements such as “performed normal duties of rate” or “assigned to auxiliary gang.” From his marks it is possible to deduce that he did well or not so well, but this is like being told that a child has good grades in his class without knowing what school he is attending or what courses he is being given.
Next is that great intangible question o! whether a man is “officer material” or not. While this is obviously a subjective judgment of the reporting officer and as such is suscept'" ble to human error, I believe that any officer who has served five or six years will have a very clear understanding of what is meant by the phrase. The alternative is for members of the board to form their own subjective opinions under the handicap of incomplete records and complete lack of personal knowledge of the individual. It is unfortunate that some of the forms currently in use no longer require reporting seniors to make this judgment, or permit them to evade the matter. As a typical example, a petty officer may receive high scores in leadership, technical knowledge, and ability to work with others, and may he marked as having outstanding qualifications for promotion to the next higher rating. How is a board to interpret this when it is not evaluating the man for promotion to a higher enlisted rank, but is selecting him for LDO ensign?
Then there is the matter of potential f°r advancement. This too is difficult to pinpoint, but there are a number of specifics which can help. Does the man adapt quickly to new surroundings? Is he stimulated and challenged by unfamiliar tasks? How does he react under pressure of an emergency or a deadline? Can he accept criticism? Is he working to improve his knowledge and qualifications? How? In this respect a mere list of correspondence courses is not much help, nor does merely standing in the upper half of a Class C school constitute the proof of ability which many commanding officers claim it does.
Closely related is motivation, a factor very difficult to evaluate from afar. The presumption that motivation is sufficiently proven by the effort of submitting an application is, I think, open to serious question. I would prefer a solid statement by the commanding officer.
Finally we have a number of miscellaneous items which I will lump together under the heading of “internal inconsistencies.” What does one do when a man’s commanding officer checks him as outstanding, but gives him 3.2
refc CS ConsistentlY? Or when the candidate is erred to in various places on the same set of
^aruT* as„ 'SoocL” “satisfactory,” and “out- wh rT^ H°w does one evaluate the man 0 idn t stay a year on a single job, but whose marks are good?
take° U^’ ^ urSe aM reporting officers to ou I 1Glr Petty officer evaluations most seri- of , to trV to write them from the viewpoint Us(^0raeone sitting on a selection board, and to '''hi h 6 remarks” spaces to clarify points are not specifically mentioned elsewhere on the report form. And don’t forget that leadership sometimes calls for saying a firm “no.” It is surprising how few are willing to do just this, preferring to damn by faint praise or to avoid the issue by circumlocution. Remember that your report will help determine the future of the man you are evaluating, and the future of the Navy, too. You owe it to both to weigh your judgment carefully. Don’t overlook the possibility that you may find one of these men sitting in your own wardroom a year or two from now.
OF WARSHIPS
CLASSIFICATION
If ■
fic navies worked alone these days, the classi- th()tlon of warships would matter only to b Se lntcrested enough to make comparisons v . een the ships of each category in the to I °US nav'es- But navies are not autonomous • ay- Those of the NATO powers are closely Seated strategically, tactically, and opera- ally, and in wartime would presumably do H aS- °ne navy> even more closely than they ^uring periodical exercises in peacetime, air admiral in supreme command of the de ^ nav*es called for a certain number of fa.s;r°yers or frigates he would expect to get a taskV homogeneous squadron allocated for the y ln Prospect, not a heterogeneous collec- to r SL'PS ranging from small gunboats up 6 Cruisers. But frigates now range from
640 ^ t0n ships in the U. S. Navy down to 'ton ships in European navies, and de- >ers range from the new guided missile d^troyers of 5,200 tons in the British Navy ^n to vessels of 1,000 tons in other navies.
. 'e fact is that warship terms have now lost eir meaning, judged either from the criterion of size or function. Battleship meant a ship in the line of battle but Jutlands are not likely to be fought again, and all warships fight battles in a general, limited, or specialized way. Cruiser meant a self-contained ship capable of cruising independently without support from other ships, but many other warships qualify in this respect today. Destroyer meant a destroyer of torpedo boats, but they grew out of their category and became antisubmarine vessels and maids-of-all work. Frigate was a term revived from Nelsonic times to indicate the enlarged type of corvette—a term itself revived from the past—evolved to deal with the submarine menace.
Yet all these terms were handy one-word designations which until the end of World War II denoted ships in their own definite size and function ranges in descending order of importance—battleship, cruiser, destroyer, frigate, and corvette, all fleet or escort types as distinct from the highly specialized types like the aircraft carrier, submarine, minelayer, minesweeper, and landing craft, specifically designed for attack or defensive tasks and requiring hull forms and weapons outside the conventional run of naval architecture.
Today, however, there is no such neat pattern. For example, it has been the custom in recent years, especially in the U. S. Navy, to classify ships according to their type of machinery and the weapons they carry, e.g. nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, guided missile cruiser. But assuming that a nuclear power plant is only a logical advance in the science of marine engineering and that a guided missile launcher is merely a longer range and more accurate gun, still within the sphere of ordnance engineering, why should these features determine the classification of the vessels in which they are installed? Hitherto we have not distinguished between vessels of the same category according to whether they had reciprocating engines, steam turbines, diesels, or gas turbines.
Classifying a ship by her nuclear power plant can only be justified insofar as it makes an underwater craft into a true submarine as distinct from a submersible boat propelled by diesels. Nor have we made a distinction in the category of vessels carrying guns of different marks or calibers (except as required by treaty definition) or in single or multiple mounts, or hand-served, semi-automatic, or fully automatic.
The confusion of thought in applying the criterion of type of propulsion and armament to determine category is still further complicated by the size of ships within the categories, for frigates first overlapped and then overtook destroyers, and have now soared into the light cruiser range.
If the criterion cannot be propulsion, armament, or size, how can the warships of the present and future lie classified to give the standardization so necessary for the unified command of international navies in war? Or for that matter the standardization required for the successful operation of a national fleet? Perhaps the only answer is to go back to first principles and apply the criterion of function or role.
Today we have attack ships, command ships, assault ships, support ships, deterrent ships, commando ships, task ships, antisubmarine warfare ships, amphibious warfare ships, early warning ships, antiaircraft ships, aircraft direction ships, and amphibious force flagships, as well as submarines and submersi- bles of various sub-categories, minelayers, minesweepers, convoy escorts, patrol vessels, and a host of auxiliaries.
How to boil the list down to a few terms recognizable at sight is a problem facing the naval staffs of all the big maritime nations, especially the NATO group. It is to be hoped that long portmanteau terms like “antisubmarine warfare support aircraft carrier,” “guided missile light cruiser,” “radar picket
[September destroyer,” “nuclear-powered fleet ballistic
missile submarine,” “mine countermeasures and support ship,” “internal combustion engine repair ship,” and “drone aircraft catapult control craft” will be dropped in favor of terse one- or two-word terms as simple as the terms “cruiser,” “destroyer,” “frigate,” and “corvette” to which we have become accustomed.
There is a lot to be said for the U. S. system of designation by symbols. There is, for example, no mistaking that a CGN is a cruiser, with guided missiles, and nuclear-powered, or that a DER is a destroyer escort and radar picket.
But naval architects and technical editors in Europe are quite pessimistic that it will be possible to find a form which will be acknowledged by all NATO navies. The European navies tend to believe in and are gradually adopting the one-letter system used in their pennant numbers, leaving the multiple letter designations to the planners and chiefs of naval operations in the major navies who, from their official knowledge of the technical and functional capacities of their ships, are in a position to judge. The single-letter advocates feel it is still premature to base new classifications on nuclear power and rocketry: there is the danger that a system barely introduced would have to be altered in the light of rapidly changing developments. The policy in the European navies seems to be to wait and see what can be adopted as uniform for NATO, British, and U. S. warships alike.
It has been suggested that a bare dozen new classifications would be quite enough to cover all the types of naval vessels in all the fighting fleets of the world. Opinions differ as to the order of importance of these categories and in their designations. One such list might be as follows:
(1) deterrent submarines (Polaris armed and nuclear-powered)
(2) deterrent aircraft carriers (first line vessels operating heavy, medium- range bombers capable of delivering nuclear weapons)
(3) commando carriers (carrying helicopters, landing craft, military vehicles, and troops)
(4) amphibious ships (including all ships adapted for beach warfare)
lHAT The TERM "FRIGATE” applies to both ships makes it meaningless
long Navy designates John S. McCain, {above) shown alongside in Rangoon, a frigate; she is nearly 500 feet
0 > lsPlaces 3,675 tons standard, and is armed with 5-inch guns. Also called a frigate is the Italian Navy’s
• elouj); she is less than 300 feet long, displaces 1,700 tons standard, and carries nothing larger than 40 mm.
131
task force aircraft carriers minesweepers, and support ships)
(10)
(11)
(5)
(6)
(7)
(5) (9)
task force escort ships (12) convoy escorts
submarines (nuclear-powered) With the eclipse of well known and well
submersibles (diesel-powered) defined types of warships which have symbol-
anti-submarine warfare ships (includ- ized sea might since the beginning of the ing frigates, destroyers, and patrol century and the introduction of specialized
vessels such as submarine chasers) types of naval vessels which defy designation
radar picket ships. in any broad category, a new system of classi-
mine warfare vessels (minelayers, fication should be introduced soon.
★
SOVIET EDUCATION AND THE MISSILE GAP
On 22 March, 1960, a slim volume titled Dictionary of the Seven-Year Plan went to press in Leningrad. The event itself was a routine one, but buried in the text was the comment that “Soviet scientists are already considering the problem of sending rockets ... to Mars and Venus.” The Venus shot is, today, en route to its destination, launched by men who have been trained and developed under the Soviet educational system.
Because the Venus shot and the Soviet manned space flights have once again raised the issue of the missile gap, and because we must face up to the problem of education in this country, it is reasonable to take another look at the system of education which has created whatever gap there is.
There is little doubt that the institutions of higher learning play an important part in the life of the Soviet Union. Over two million students are studying in 766 institutions of higher learning in the Soviet Union; in 127 cities in the largest of the republics, the Russian Soviet Federated Socialist Republic (RSFSR), in 39 cities in the Ukraine, in nine cities in White Russia, and in many other cities. The recent output of these institutions has been between 260,000 and 290,000 specialists annually. Since the Soviet government has come to power, over four million of these specialists have been graduated, including over one million engineers.
The current Seven-Year Plan, entering its third year, requires that the institutions of higher learning graduate 2,300,000 specialists, as compared with the 1,700,000 graduated between 1952 and 1958. The annual production of graduates with a university level of training is to be between 300,000 and 350,000, of whom as many as 120,000 are to be engineers. The goal of the plan is to have over 4.5 million specialists with university training by the end of 1965, or one and one- half times the number so trained in 1958.
Obviously, considerable emphasis has been placed on the educational process. This emphasis has, in the past, been reflected in the overwhelming preponderance of opportunity in the European part of the Soviet Union. Today the emphasis is shifting eastward in line with economic planning which calls for the establishment of the Third and Fourth Metallurgical Centers in Siberia and the Far East. The efforts of the Communist party and of the Soviet government to make more, and better, use of the productive capabilities of these areas have resulted in the expansion of existing educational institutions, as well as the founding of new ones.
Soviet writers claim that, in 1914, there were four institutions of higher learning in the eastern areas. By 1958, the number of institutions in the east, including the Urals, Siberia, and the Far East, as well as in the central Asiatic republics and in Kazakhstan, had
•Cached 209. As illiteracy has fallen, the num- er of qualified students has risen, with the result that, today, there are some five times as J?any students in the Turkmen, Kazakh, adzhik, and Uzbek republic institutions as J'ore were in 1940. Growth of the student °dies in these, and other eastern areas, has )een more rapid than in the western and s°uthern areas of the Soviet Union.
Expansion has created problems, however, '|V|th the result that, beginning in September, Jo9, reconstruction of the system of higher otlucation was undertaken.
In its broad outlines, the reconstruction, actually a reform which encompassed the entire Soviet educational system and which '''as ratified by the Supreme Soviet of the y S.S.R. in December 1958, extended to the lnstitutions of higher learning the principle of Gaining students by night and by correspondence courses without the students leaving ^eir employment. In 1958, there were 32 such institutions, as well as 758 night and correspondence-course faculties in the day 'nstitutions, serving 966,000 persons. By 1959, almost 50 per cent of all students enrolled in ]Ee institutions of higher learning were study- lng either at night or by correspondence; the 5r°al over the next few years is a figure of 60 to 65 per cent jn i960, no less than 125,000 sPecialists obtained diplomas from such in- st*tutions.
Thus, the emphasis shifted from what might he termed a “purely educational” process to °ne which is a combination of educational- vpcational training, a process instituted by Nikita Khrushchev against the wishes of 'eachers, parents, theoreticians, and other lr|terested officials, including those connected Vvith the Academy of Pedagogical Sciences of lhe RSFSR. In fact, a form of indentureship has been inaugurated. Although the reform ''as designed to strengthen the ties between the school and life,” by combining study and 'v°rk, what happens in fact is that the student has no choice in what he will study or where he will work, at least not at first.
For it is the law that industrial enterprises, construction projects, and state farms can send their working youth, those who can Qualify, to study in higher and middle special lnstitutions, but the students, upon receiving their diplomas, must return to the plant, factory, project, or farm which sent them to school. In the engineering institutes of higher learning, it is considered advantageous to have the student work in the field for the first two years, completing courses by correspondence, or in night classes, during the period. The Magnitogorsk Metallurgical Institute is one of the first to have embarked on this type of work-study program for its students.
Beyond this indenture-type educational process, there is the “volunteer” assignment program for graduates of the higher educational institutions. This program is designed to provide needed specialists for the remote, and relatively uninhabited, regions of the country. No longer is it any secret that students try every trick in the book to get themselves appointed to relatively well-paid jobs in the large cities. Failing this they refuse to accept jobs in the specialty for which they have been trained, or may not work at all. The government claims that the refusal of many young specialists to work at jobs assigned to them is the result of faulty ideological and political work among the students. Opposition to the “volunteer” program appears to be widespread and spreading, as youth refuses to have its future decided for it.
So, once again, the student of this “riddle wrapped in an enigma,” the Soviet Union, finds himself facing the results of an educational system which have sent probes to outer space, while, at the same time, he must keep in mind at all times that there is a changing outlook on the part of many of the young people who have emerged from this same system, or who will do so shortly.
There is little question that the government is worried about this changing mood on the part of its young people, but it has not yet seen fit to isolate them completely from the outside world, as is evidenced by the presence in Soviet institutions of higher learning of students from 47 countries all over the world. The opening, in 1960, of Friendship University, in Moscow, to help students from countries in Asia, Africa, and Latin America, to obtain an education, Soviet style, is another attempt to spread Soviet internationalism and Communism. Yet, from remarks made by many of the students, both Soviet and foreign, the ideas are not yet rigidly implanted in the minds of the students.
WHY NOT STANDARDIZE SHIPBOARD TRAINING?
There exists in the Navy a gigantic training establishment to teach individuals almost anything that might be useful to the service. 1 here is also an elaborate operational training establishment for ships as units, which includes the Fleet Training Groups, backed up by annual training requirements of the several type commanders.
On top of these formal and effective organizations, we have a shipboard training program to continue what is given such a good beginning in the various shore-based establishments. An inspection of the training program of each ship is made as part of the annual administrative inspection. Since most ships pass this requirement, it might be assumed that this majority of vessels has an effective program for training. As far as the annual exercises go, this probably is true. As far as any other training goes there probably isn’t a really effective training program in more than one ship out of two dozen. This can be uncovered easily by anyone wishing to scratch the surface a bit.
YVe have many training requirements set forth by higher authority which are meant to indoctrinate as well as to train men. These include rate training, military training, first aid, safe driving, the Uniform Code of Military Justice, leadership, moral guidance, etc., etc., etc. With all these requirements superimposed on regular operations, it would seem that there would be no time to carry out a formal training program. Not so! A standardized system is one answer, and fortunately, almost within our grasp. We need only reach out and ask for it, for such a program is already set up for the Naval Reserve. The system utilized for training Naval Reserve enlisted men has gradually been standardized in the past few years and with only minor modifications and a greatly increased printing run, we can have a “pre-canned” program to place into effect immediately.
This program is simple in concept and yet effective in placing training materials in the hands of qualified instructors who have neither the time nor the experience to construct such a program themselves. The basic materials consist of curricula which are made up of outline lesson plans and so constructed that they constitute a complete coverage of the subject matter which is to be assimilated by each trainee. The outline lesson plan lists the objective of the particular assignment, suggestions for the instructor, and a brief of the subject matter. In special sections of the outline, there are listed the practical factors covered in the lesson (if any), the examination .subjects covered, a list of references, and a list of training aids and films which might be of use. Every other lesson has a short quiz and, at longer intervals, there is a prepared review quiz. The lesson plans for each rate are bound together with full instructions for use in the introduction. A trainee may start or stop at any given point in the series because the curricula arc compartmented into single units which stand by themselves without the need for a foundation built on earlier instruction.
There are several types of these curricula. File most useful in practice, however, has been found to be the types which are made up for training personnel for advancement to third class. In practice aboard ship, they have been utilized to train all E-3 and E-4 personnel in a particular field. (There are also seaman and fireman curricula for training E-2’s.) Second class petty officers and above act as instructors—and at the same time improve their own knowledge.
At present these curricula are not perfectly adapted to shipboard use. The adaptation can be made, however, by any petty officer who is teaching a given subject. If these curricula were made available for total fleet use, they could be modified by specialists at the Bureau of Naval Personnel with particular attention to their shipboard use.
Admittedly, these curricula do not cover all subjects listed as required training. By using the outline lesson plan format as the standard starting point, however, any type commander
training curricula.
The curricula material would be of great assistance to ships. The average division officer does not have the background to develop a complete training program, he does Cot know where to locate pertinent references, ar>d in fact would often not even know they exist. Also, merely reviewing training aids and films would take more time than he would have available. Even if we grant this ability of any officer to construct a training program, "'e must also grant, then, that every ship in
''’ho determines a need for a certain type of Gaining, has merely to issue a sheet outline.
all the presently required general train- 'ng, a preliminary manual could be issued. Indeed, this has already been done by at least °ne type command.
There is one final field to mention, military factors. This is the area in which a large percentage of men taking promotion exams are 'v°nt to fail. Suffice it to say there is material covering this field similar in format to that ’Mentioned above, but not included in the rate the fleet would have a different program, (admitting they do at present).
Lest one think the paperwork to administer such a program would be prohibitive, it is suggested that a supply of NavPers Form 1315’s be obtained. The whole program for one shipboard division can be laid out on this form in advance and then, on the same form, a record kept of what has been accomplished. In fact, these forms can be used to administer any type of training program aboard ship with less effort than is now put forth.
In conclusion, having used the above curricula materials in active fleet ships, it can be stated that a tremendous amount of ground can be covered to good effect in about 45 minutes a day, four days a week. The breakdown of time utilization gives two days to the rate training described above, one day to military factors training, and one to the required general lecture series. The improvement in efficiency of personnel in their military and professional performance and the increased percentage of advancement noted
have made the rigid adherence to the program extremely worthwhile to the ships using it. It also soon gains the support of all hands, starting with the petty officers. In fact, one often finds senior petty officers preserving and using old curricula which they have acquired in years past. The advocated curricula, however, have the advantage of being kept current with NavPers 18068 by Bureau of Naval Personnel specialists.
"SPRACHENECKE”
One year after the establishment of the Bundeswehr within the framework of NATO, the Ministry of Defense in Western Germany (Bundesrepublik) initiated the monthly periodical Truppenpraxis, a journal for tactics, technique, and training in all of the armed forces. The gamut of articles presented since that time includes such subjects as map reading, communications, leadership, news briefs, selected bibliography, and digests of military articles. The last page of each issue has included a German-English-Frcnch lesson under the heading “Sprachenecke” (The Language Corner).
The first lesson, in the January 1957 issue, gives us a short telephone message illustrating the usual terms for conducting business by phone. This is as good a beginning as one could wish for conversational usage, since a large portion of oral communication in a foreign country is conducted by phone, and many a learner who has “assimilated” the rules of his target language turns suddenly mute when faced with a telefon. When we add the complications of military phones within military phones inside the German civilian telephone system, and since, at each correct dialing, a recording (schallplatte) tells us to dial further (Wahlen Sie weiter, bitte), many a neophyte-expert will drop the phone out of sheer frustration.
Subsequent issues of Truppenpraxis treated such topics as a tire puncture (Die Reifen- panne, la crevaison), conversation among recruits (Rekruten-Gesprach, conversation de bleus), meeting at a halt (Begegnung wahrend der Rast, recontre au corns Tune halte), and instruction of a patrol (Einweisung eines Spahtrupps, instruction d'une patrouille).
By Lesson 8, the course is moving along rapidly enough to take up: Gedanken z.um Einsatz von Atomwaffen (thoughts concerning the employment of atomic weapons, reflexions sur la mise en oeuvre efarmes atomiques); Im Ver- kehr (in traffic, en route)', Ein Rekrut will ver- reisen (a recruit wants to go on a trip, une recrue va voyager); Die Lagebesprechung (a briefing, le briefing); Der Lkw.-Fahrer (the truck- driver, le conducteur de poids lourd); An der Unfallstelle (At the scene of an accident, un accident). British variants of English words, such as “lorry,” “tattoo,” and “spanner” arc given, but seem to be fewer than might be generally supposed.
The first year’s series thus consisted of dialogues on very basic subject matter as to content, but of a level above that of the beginning course in either of the target languages. It may be assumed that German officers and men would normally have had some years of elementary foreign language training.
Subsequent lessons put the learner in contact with articles from French, British, and American military journals such as the Revue des Forces Frangaises de TEst, Soldier, The Marine Corps Gazette, and The United States Naval Institute Proceedings. A single dialogue, Grades and Insignias oj Rank (Dienstgrade und Rangab- Zeichen, Grades et Insignes de Rang), is included at this more advanced plateau.
By 1959, “Sprachenecke” felt the need to add a new dimension, the home assignment. Each annotated translation lesson bore the promise of a “solution” or “key” in the following issue. By this time, the editor (Captain Walter Hoffmann) was getting a byline. We
had scarcely become acquainted with Hauptmann Hoffmann when he was succeeded by Friedrich Krollmann and Karl Ernst Berner, Who eventually acquired the titles of Regie- rungsrat (State Councilor) and Dipl. Dolmet- scher (Diplomaed Interpreter) respectively, mdicating that the teachers were moving along with the course.
The “Sprachenecke” has apparently performed a useful function during its existence °f nearly five years. Such a course has the °bvious limitation of not providing much for the beginner. However, we do have courses for the beginner, and they must necessarily be conducted under the personal direction of the lr»structor, or at the very least with audio aids.
Most officers will agree that their language skills tend to grow rusty from lack of use. If a “Language Corner” were offered in some of our American military periodicals to supply topical and interesting material in one’s major field, it could acquire a following of languageconscious and increasingly skilled fans. By way of precedent, the Netherlands’ Marineblad. occasionally publishes untranslated articles from foreign periodicals under the assumption that the average Dutch officer can read the original text. This could be set up as a goal for officers of NATO Forces.
[Editor’s Note: Comments regarding the establishment of a “Language Corner” in the Proceedings would be welcome.]
★
How IT WORKS—THE
Naval historical foundation
A little over a quarter of a century ago, the Naval Historical Foundation was established by a group of far-seeing naval officers who had seen sail supplanted by steam, wooden ships supplanted by iron ones, surface ships joined by submarines and aircraft to shape a tri-dimensional Navy of vastly increased power.
These officers were aware that the great importance of the sea to their country was little appreciated by many of their countrymen; they felt that positive steps should be taken to clarify the importance of the Navy and Merchant Marine, to preserve the records of heroic deeds and noble traditions, to foster patriotism, and to salvage the fast vanishing relics of the past.
These objectives have been faithfully sought in the Foundation’s program of disseminating knowledge of the achievements of the Navy. The program has included periodical publications, distribution of naval prints, and a series of annual historical lectures given by eminent historians and by outstanding officers who can speak with personal knowledge and authority on the matter they present.
The Foundation’s Truxtun-Decatur Naval Museum is at 1610 H Street, N. W., Washington, D. C., in part of the structure built by Stephen Decatur. There is a blue and gold placard describing the Museum in these terms:
Here knowledge of the sea is placed before you; to show how Sea Power has influenced our national welfare; to tell of gallant men and ships, the makers of noble traditions, to point out technical progress in nautical affairs.
While this museum is small, it is modern, well lighted, and well equipped, and thousands of visitors pass through its portals each year. The exhibits are changed every few months, and cover many pertinent subjects relating to the profound influence of seapower in shaping the destiny of the United States. The next exhibit will be devoted to naval aviation, during this 50th anniversary year. It will be followed by another in a series of exhibits on seapower in the Civil War, which will continue periodically through 1965.
As a part of the Museum, the Foundation has established a Naval Library where students may work in quiet and comfort with many historical and naval books on the shelves immediately available for their use.
In addition to a manuscript collection on loan to the Library of Congress where it is cared for by expert librarians and is available for research, the Foundation also collects pictures, relics, and memorabilia. These now number several thousands, ranging in time from the American Revolution to the space age. As funds permit, the Foundation also produces historical maps, prints, and books, which are made available to the members at modest cost.
The Foundation’s collection already contains the papers of such distinguished naval officers as John Rodgers, David Porter, Stephen B. Luce, Albert Gleaves, and William S. Sims.
It is, however, desirous of obtaining the original records and papers of officers who took part in the earlier wars in which our country has engaged, as well as in the Spanish American War, World War I, World War II, and the Korean War.
Since aviation has reached its present great position in only 50 years, the Foundation is especially desirous of obtaining the original records and papers of our pioneer aviators, which will be a memorial to those dauntless men who believed that they could fly when
many deemed it an impossibility.
Funds are required to accomplish the above objectives. Money comes from the dues of the members, the income from a small endowment fund, and gifts.
The Naval Historical Foundation is a nonprofit organization. No officer of the Foundation receives any financial remuneration for his services, the only paid employees being one retired officer, who handles most of the clerical work, and two retired chief petty officers, who are the guards and attendants at the Museum.
To do more for the Navy, the Foundation needs many more members. One member recently wrote:
I would like to make a suggestion—it is that American Citizens with Navy blood such as myself be asked to join our Society, not for what they get out of it, but rather what they can contribute. A feeling of pride in our land, a determination to live up to the best ideals of the United States, and a renewed sense of dedication in service as all those who have served, and are now serving, on shore or afloat, have done in the past or are doing in 1961. We know that our Fleets are ready. They are alerted off Laos and Cuba. They keep us in security.
Those who believe in the objectives of the Foundation are eligible to be members regardless of age or sex. The cost is nominal, and they are cordially invited to join.
★
In March 1940, a young Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve Sub-Lieuten- A Lesson ant in the Fleet Air Arm was walking past the private door to the Admiralty in London, when the door opened and out walked a short, square in civilian with a familiar looking face. The young officer stopped and > _ saluted. The civilian growled, “Why do you salute me, young man?”
Humility “Sir, because you are Mr. Winston Churchill, our Prime Minister ” the officer replied.
There was a moment’s silence and Mr. Churchill replied slowly, “No, you arc wrong, it is I who should salute you. God bless you and thank you.” With that, he doffed his hat and got into his car.
--------------------------------- Contributed by Lieutenant Commander (A) Douglas A. Andreali,
Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve (Retired)
(The Naval Institute will pay $5.00 Jor each anecdote accepted for publication in the Proceedings.)
JJ$$ ALACRITY (MSO-520) LIVES UP TO HER NAME IN THE CORINTH CANAL
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THE NOTEBOOK
With the Sixth Fleet in the Mediterranean,
May 17—Nero had a fiddle that he played 'Mule Rome burned. He also had a golden shovel that recently helped to save 200 miles °r Mur Sixth Fleet minesweepers cruising in Mreek Waters.
The four minesweepers saved the miles by Passing through the historic Corinth Canal, ^egun in A.D. 67 by the golden shovel of the tooman emperor, on their way to Athens, reece, from the Ionian Sea.
Without the canal, the Mine Division 45 shiPs Observer (MSO-461), Rival (MSO-468), Nhay (MSO-511) and Alacrity (MSO-520) 'v°uld have had to cruise from the Ionian ea around the Greek Peloponnesus to reach Athens.
Only four miles long, the canal cuts across Me narrow isthmus which once joined the Moponnesus to central Greece.
Little room was left on either side as the 1XM Fleet minesweepers made their transit the 70-foot wide and 26-foot deep canal, broken Roman ruins sometimes could be seen Move the sheer canal walls towering 200 feet Above the four little ships.
The minesweepers are the first Sixth Fleet Mips to have made the trip in several years. 1 hey were en route from Corfu, a Greek island ln Me Ionian Sea that straddles the Greek and Albanian border. (Navy Department release.)
Navy to Retire Its Last Blimps: The Navy today consigned its blimps to the fate of the extinct dodobird.
Writing an end to nearly half a century of l'ghter-than-air flight, it announced that eight of its remaining silver-skinned blimps "'ill be deflated and stored by 30 November.
Two others will be kept aloft until next 30 June for research in anti-submarine warfare techniques. Then they, too, will be hauled down and stored.
The stated reasons for the decision—which "As fought by oldtime balloon men—were: L A shortage of funds and personnel.
2. Helicopters and fixed-wing planes, the Navy said, are better for detecting and hunt- tug submarines and providing early warning °f air attack.
With the end of the program, the Navy said it will transfer 100 officers and 625 men from blimps to other assignments.
Also, it said it will seek other jobs for 489 civilians working at the Lakehurst Naval Air Station, in New Jersey, the only remaining blimp station. The base will stay open, handling other assignments.
It cost $5,792,054 to maintain the blimps in service this year.
The Navy got into the lighter-than-air business in 1915 when the Germans were using their World War I zeppelins to bomb allied cities.
Between the wars, the United States built several huge dirigibles—long cigar-shaped craft whose gas' bags contained 8,000,000 cubic feet of helium. They captured the public’s imagination as they criss-crossed the nation.
But three of the dirigibles—the Shenandoah, the Akron and the Macon—met disaster in storms during the 1920’s and 1930’s. (Baltimore Sun, 27 June 1961.)
Pacific Fleet: A tremendous nuclear wallop was added to the U. S. Pacific Fleet in the last year and the world’s most powerful naval command will become even more so during the next twelve months.
That was the gist of a fiscal year-end report released by Admiral John A. Sides, commander-in-chief of the fleet. He said his 412- ship fleet got eight new missile-firing ships and three nuclear-powered submarines during the year while losing eight less effective vessels to the mothball fleet.
“In fiscal 1962,” coming up, “the Pacific Fleet will become even more powerful,” Admiral Sides said. “The era of nuclear power and missiles has arrived and we must keep pace with it.”
As things stand now, some 250,000 men are serving in the fleet, spearheaded by eight attack aircraft carriers and a growing force of ships and aircraft skilled in anti-submarine warfare. There are about 3,000 fighting planes aboard the carriers. (New York Herald Tribune, 3 July 1961.)
Kitty Hawk Behind Schedule: The Navy removed an uncompleted super aircraft carrier, the Kitty Hawk, from the New York Shipbuilding Corporation yards in Camden, N. J., saying the work lagged far behind schedule and many items were considered “unacceptable.” The Pentagon said correction of the eficiencies will be done by the Navy at the expense of the company, a subsidiary of Merritt-Chapman & Scott. Problems en- c°untered in Kitty Hawk construction stemmed Partly from inability to hire enough skilled porkers, a high Navy official said. (Wall Street Journal, 15 June 1961.)
' Navy Check on Ships Planned: The Aavy will scrutinize with special care nine ,fn°re ships in the New York Shipbuilding °rporation’s yards at Camden, N. J., in Vlevv of its dissatisfaction with the work on ^e super carrier Kitty Hawk, the Secretary of the Navy said today.
Three nuclear submarines, two guided- rnissile frigates and six guided-missile destroyers are under construction at the Camden yards. The Kitty Hawk is in the Navy’s own lard in Philadelphia. It is undergoing “nor- taal fitting-out and correction of some of the 'deficiencies,” the Secretary said. (New York 7lrr>es, 16 June 1961 j
Monob I—Floating Sound Laboratory: One
ttf the busiest vessels afloat today is Monob I . Obile NOise Barge), whose primary mis- S10n is to assist in the Navy’s ship-silencing Program. Originally a harbor water tanker, elass YW-185, from the reserve fleet, she was Converted to a sound barge by Norfolk Naval Shipyard in the fall of 1960. The first practical use of Monob I was made during acoustic trials of a submarine in January 1961. Since then she has had a rather full schedule.
Monob I is approximately 185 feet long, has a beam of 35 feet, and draws a little over 11 feet. Living quarters are provided for eleven unlitary and nineteen scientific personnel. There are three laboratories, which occupy about 1,200 square feet of deck space. The laboratories are air conditioned at all times, the living quarters only when Monob is not functioning as a quiet listening platform.
Monob is under the technical cognizance of the David Taylor Model Basin but is based at the Naval Shipyard, Charleston, South Carolina. Tests are ordinarily performed in ]he Tongue of the Ocean just south of Nassau *u the Bahamas, where a deep-sea mooring has been provided in 800 fathoms of water.
The area is large (roughly 20 by 80 miles) and deep (700 to 1,000 fathoms), and ocean currents are quite weak. It is nearly surrounded by islands or very shallow water, so the seas remain calm a relatively large part of the time. There is virtually no ship traffic (except for ships sent in for test), and interference from fishing boats and yachts is negligible.
Normally, the barge is towed to the operating area by an ATF or other tug of similar size, after which a 220-h.p. outboard unit is used for maneuvering (at about 4 knots). Carefully quieted diesel generators supply 60 kva of 60-cycle . power for operating the measuring equipment and for normal ship’s service functions. A non-quieted diesel generator supplies an additional 300 kw of direct current at 220 volts.
The valuable services of Monob will be available to other Navy activities as needed— to the extent that this can be done without compromising her major mission. Newly constructed or newly converted vessels are expected to keep her fairly busy. A rather heavy workload of tests (particularly with submarines) is anticipated. (Naval Research Review, June, 1961.)
Floating Lab in Navy Service: A floating electromagnetic laboratory to fill the gaps in communications knowledge was commissioned yesterday at the New York Naval Shipyard in Brooklyn. The laboratory is the USS Oxford, a former Liberty ship that has been converted into a technical research ship.
The Oxford, which will be based in Norfolk, Va., as part of the Atlantic Fleet, will have a double-complement. Her regular crew will consist of nine officers and 123 enlisted men. In addition, there will be on board a Research Department of eight officers and 114 enlisted men who are specialists in communications, electronics and hydrographies.
This kind of research ship is necessary, a Navy spokesman said, because many phenomena in electromagnetic propagation are encountered that “are not consistent with current research data.” The gaps in knowledge become more evident as the scope of communications grows with satellites, microwave links and tropospheric scatter techniques.
The Oxford is equipped with antenna systems and measuring devices and will be sent to various parts of the world for research and evaluation experiments. The Navy said most of the ship’s work will be secret.
The Oxford also is equipped to conduct oceanographic and hydrographic research. The Navy said that by adding only a few more men to the crew the Oxford was made capable of carrying out projects that would normally require a regular hydrographic or oceanographic survey ship.
The Oxford is the first ship of its type, but the Navy noted that it is part of a recent trend of converting merchant ships for specialized duties that do not require speed or armament. (New York Herald Tribune, 9 July 1961.)
Tubular Vessel to Study Oceans for Navy as It Drifts with Crew: An unusual oceanographic research vessel—a 355-foot-long tube that will float like a buoy and carry a four- man crew—will be built this year under the sponsorship of the Oflice of Naval Research.
The manned scientific buoy has been given the nickname of Flip, short for floating instrument platform. It is an appropriate nickname, for the tube will be towed to sea in a horizontal position and then flipped into a vertical position by flooding its bottom section with water ballast.
Once the tube has been submerged, only its top fifty-five feet will remain above the surface. This section will contain a four-story compartment for machinery space, living quarters, electronics laboratory and winches.
The vessel will drift with the ocean currents.
Flip is designed primarily for secret research in anti-submarine warfare. The Navy, however, regards it as introducing a novel but potentially highly useful concept for oceanographic research and “detection network against submarines.”
In the future, for example, it is envisioned that vessels patterned after Flip can be used as drifting laboratories for detailed studies of the oceans.
A contract for the construction of Flip is expected to be awarded to a West Coast shipbuilding company late this month following formal approval by the board of regents of the University of California.
The vessel will be built under the direction of the marine physical laboratory of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, with a grant from the Office of Naval Research. The laboratory, which conducts secret research in the generation and detection of acoustical and electromagnetic waves in water, is run for the Navy by the University of California.
It is expected that the vessel will cost about $475,000 and take around six months to corn' plete.
Navy Scientists believe that Flip will be the steadiest, most silent platform ever used for research in the deep oceans. Because of the water ballast in the bottom tanks, the vessel is not expected to roll more than one inch in twenty-five foot waves and to heel almost imperceptibly in 100-knot winds. (New York Times, 7 July 1961.)
DUNC: The first known underwater analyses of the sea’s naturally occurring radioactive sources have been made by the U. S. Navy with a new ultrasensitive radiation measuring device recently tested a mile deep under the Caribbean Sea.
Called DUNC—Deep Underwater Nuclear Counting—the device is so sensitive that it can detect one atom of radium in a billion billion molecules of water.
DUNC is a cylinder approximately 3 feet long and 6 inches in diameter.
It was designed by the Nuclear Physics Division of the U. S. Naval Ordnance Laboratory in Silver Spring, Maryland, to collect detailed data on the presence and intensity of undersea radiation sources. Especially adapted for shipboard operation, DUNC instantaneously renders data formerly obtainable only by collecting samples of the sea and subjecting them to analysis in a laboratory.
Analyses made with DUNC agree with laboratory tests of sea samples in showing that the major contribution of all underwater radiation is made by potassiuin-40. This is most prominent in the ocean due to the concentration of soluble potassium salts. It has been determined that extreme discrimination must be made to detect sources of lesser energy because of potassium-40’s comparatively high energy level.
Two other important sources of underwater radiation were measured in bottom sediments where they tend to concentrate.
These are compounds of radium and thorium 'vhich find their way to the bottom because they are only slightly soluble. DUNC’s more sensitive measurements made in the open °cean have made it possible to investigate the minute concentrations of these compounds which remain in the water.
A detailed knowledge of the sea’s radiation background, which is known to be of an extremely low level, is necessary to evaluate any underwater program in which detection of Radiation is required. Such programs could 'nclude tracer studies of ocean currents or measurements of the effectiveness of radio- uctive waste disposal in the sea. The sea could aho be used as a laboratory for low-level radiation measurement programs which on land would require concrete wall shielding a mile or more thick. (Department of Defense Release, 7 June 1961.) ^rilling Pierces Second Layer of Ocean Floor: The National Academy of Sciences and the National Science Foundation have announced that the experimental drilling ship, I, operating in 12,000 feet of water off the west coast of Mexico, has obtained, for the first time, a sample of the so-called second layer under the softer sediments of the ocean floor. This layer, whose presence had been Previously indicated to scientists only by reflections of seismic soundings, has been revealed as basalt, a hard rock formed by the solidification of molten material in the earth.
The announcement was based upon the following telegram from Willard Bascomb, director of the experimental drilling program for Project Mohole, to Dr. Detlev W. Bronk, president of the Academy:
“On April 1, at 1600, second hole of experimental deep-sea drilling project at Guadalupe island site passed completely through soft sediments into basalt.
“This hole, which was begun at 1930 on March 31, reached a depth of 490 feet by f>630 the following morning. Coring then began and cores of soft, gray-green clay of Miocene age were obtained to a depth of 560 feet. At that depth the drilling rate abruptly decreased and when the core barrel was retrieved, it was found to contain a hard, finegrained basalt.
“This is apparently the upper surface of the
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so-called second layer, which has long puzzled oceanographers, for its depth corresponds to that predicted by seismic surveys.
“The reaching and sampling of these layers was a major scientific objective of the present test and its identification is a milestone in the exploration of the ocean. All aboard Cuss I are jubilant.
“A second core of basalt 10 feet long was then obtained. Drilling continues.
“Wind and waves have been high but in a week on station the drilling ship is not believed to have moved over 350 feet from its intended position.
“The weather now appears to be moderating.”
In making public the contents of the telegram, Dr. Bronk said: “This is history-making news of further progress in drilling through the crust of the earth by which we shall gain new understanding of the earth’s structure and new evidence concerning the history of life.” (Journal of the Franklin Institute, June 1961.)
Looking for Ways to Divert Hurricanes:
New York University has undertaken a three-year study to see if there is a way to do what some consider impossible—divert or weaken hurricanes.
It has been estimated that a fully developed hurricane releases in twenty-four hours energy equivalent to that in 500,000 atomic bombs. Any counter measures that man could muster, the skeptics say, would divert such a storm as much as a mosquito could divert a charging elephant.
Nevertheless, the Federal Government, through the National Science Foundation, has given the university $228,000 to study the feasibility of such measures. In the announcement of the project last night, Dr. Jerome Spar, recipient of the grant, said no approach to the problem should be dismissed merely because it struck some as “fantastic.”
Dr. Spar said that in the last 25 years hurricanes had killed about 2,500 persons and done $3,000,000,000 in property damage in the United States alone. Much additional damage has been done elsewhere, as in the Far East, where such storms are known as typhoons. (New York Times, 20 June 1961.) [September
Ship Model Tests Begun on Largest Indoor "Ocean”: The Navy today began using what it claims is the largest simulated ocean in the world.
A basin, enclosed in a five acre building, will be used for testing ship models under realistic rough sea conditions. Such tests help the Navy predict the performance of full-scale vessels.
The basin, with a capacity of 12 million gallons, is a rectangular concrete structure, 240 feet wide by 360 feet long, with a water depth of 20 to 35 feet. The test basin is equipped with twenty-one devices for creating waves up to twenty-four inches in height.
In the same building is a 260-foot circular basin equipped with a rotating arm. This will help in studies of ship maneuverability and similar problems.
The new “ocean” and pool are at the Navy’s David Taylor Model Basin in Maryland. (New York Herald Tribune, 21 Tune 1961.)
Frogman "Eye” Shown: Navy frogmen put a hand-held underwater sonar set on display at the Amphibious Base Friday for the first time.
They have used the underwater “eye” to find and fish out everything from pistols to planes. The echo-ranging device can detect objects in as much as 150-200 feet of water and has an effective range of 300 yards. It is designed to locate offshore obstacles, manmade and natural, in advance of amphibious landings.
It has been in operational use two years, but only recently was declassified. The first hand-held sonar set was developed at the Naval Electronics Laboratory at San Diego in 1956.
The set showed off Friday weights 28J pounds on land and is buoyant in water. It operates on the principle of a reflected signal, like ordinary radar and sonar, and is designed for underwater use by a two-man team.
One swims the sonar set and the other acts as handyman and monitor. Both have headsets to listen to the returning sound signals.
The sonar is so sensitive almost everything on the bottom of the water—fish, pilings, masses of seaweed, metal objects—gives off
an echo, ranging from a sharp ping to a mushy sound. Frogmen have to be trained to distinguish the echoes. (Norfolk Virginian Pilot, 1 July 1961.)
Navy Demonstrates Lost Pilot Retriever:
Two men were plucked from the ground and water today by a low flying airplane in a demonstration of how astronauts or downed aviators could be rescued from remote areas.
The Navy showed off to visiting foreign uulitary observers and newsmen its “sky- hook-aerotrivcr” system.
A 20-foot balloon, inflated by the men on the ground or on a raft, carries aloft a nylon line. A fork-like device on the nose of a P2V Patrol plane engages the line as the plane flies *nto it. The man, in a harness, fastens to the line, then is reeled up into the plane.
It seems simple. It is. But the conventional nianner of boarding an airplane at an airport promises to remain the more popular one.
The Navy emphasizes the possible high value of this system as a rescue device in bringing back astronauts who have landed far °ut at sea or in some remote desert or mountain area. (Washington Post, 15 June 1961.)
4th Division Set by Marine Corps: The
United States Marine Corps, lately rewarded by an allowance of 15,000 more men than at Present, will be able next year to set up the uucleus of the 4th Marine Division, for the first time in peacetime history.
This and the further strengthening of existing air wings will add appreciably to Marine Corps readiness for its prime mission of reacting quickly to emergency requirements overseas in either big or little wars.
Actually only a handful of the 15,000 men will be employed for that purpose—441 chosen specialists who will constitute the skeleton of a new divisional staff.
The bulk of the division combat personnel will be provided initially by the 6,000 already in the 1st Marine Brigade, stationed in Hawaii.
The remainder (an 18,000 divisional total) will come, in an emergency, from Marine reserve units now in existence. (Baltimore Sun, 16 June 1961.)
Navy Change Approved: Regular Navy officers who are graduates of colleges and universities would stay on duty automatically unless they ask to get out, under a bill passed by the Senate today.
The bill, which now goes to the President, would apply the same rule to this group as to graduates of the Naval Academy at Annapolis, Md.
Present law requires that non-academy graduates who want to continue as regular officers must request such service before they have completed thirty months of duty. Otherwise they are shifted to the Naval Reserve.
Navy Department officers urged the change. They said the original provision resulted from a fear that too many non-academy graduates would seek to remain as regular officers in the Navy or Marine Corps. (New York Times, 8 July 1961.)
Navy Spaceman Class: The Navy’s first class in space navigation will open this summer under the direction of Capt. P. V. H. Weems, a pioneer in air navigation who has developed new theories for the space age. The seventy-two-year-old navigator is being called out of retirement to teach a pilot class of four newly commissioned ensigns described as being “at or near the genius level.” The class will be conducted at the Naval Academy. (New York Herald Tribune, 14 June 1961.)
Space-Flight School Opens First Class.
Four men are beginning the United States toughest space-flight course.
Only one has a chance of making it of actually flying satellites and spaceships now on the drawing boards.
The others are foreordained to remain deskbound—intellectual pioneers of the world’s newest profession: the space pilot.
The four are the first students of the Air Force’s new Aerospace Research Pilots School. They will be their own teachers, and will write the textbooks future spacemen will study. (The Christian Science Monitor, 5 June 1961.)
"Space” School a $65-Million Institution:
The United States Army Ordnance Guided Missile School, a vast assimilation of organized confusion, sometimes amazes even the Army with its accomplishments.
Since 1952, the “space academy” has grown
from an inconsequential “Little Redstone Schoolhouse”' to a $65-million institution unique in plan, purpose and organization.
The campus includes more than 100 buildings spread over some 3,000 acres at Redstone Arsenal here. It has dormitories, laboratories, a soccer team and even school colors—- blue and gold.
The school has trained more than 20,000 officers and enlisted men from the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps, plus 1,393 foreign missilemen. It has a faculty of some 600 professors and instructors.
The classrooms are the envy of any educational institution. They range from modern laboratories, complete with closed-circuit television, to a mammoth outdoor Jupiter missile training center that looks like a space-age airport.
The school originally was established to train troops in handling, launching and maintaining a fast-growing system of missiles.
An agreement with NATO countries in 1957 brought the first foreign troops into the training program.
The international flavor sometimes is amusing, often confusing, and the school must cope with problems far removed from its basic responsibilities.
What does the United States Army do when Turkish soldiers demand roast lamb before dawn?
It gives them roast lamb.
The Turks at first were unable to explain adequately that during their observance of the Mohammedan Ramadan, they eat but twice a day—before sunrise and after sunset.
Now, a Turkish orientation television tape is being prepared which will be shown instructors and GI’s stationed at the school. Orientation classes on customs of the French, Germans, Norwegians and others will follow. (New York Herald Tribune, 18 June 1961.)
U. S. Chalks Up Space First: The first nuclear device ever rocketed into orbit fed a small amount of power to the Transit 4A satellite Thursday and an official predicted operational atomic generators will be used in satellites next year.
The Atomic Energy Commission disclosed earlier that the first working assignment for such power units will be in operational Transit satellites scheduled for launch in 1962 in the Navy’s spaceborne navigation program.
Nuclear generators also are being developed for the Surveyor Project, which will land large packages of instruments on the moon starting in 1963. (Norfolk Virginian Pilot, 30 June 1961.)
Army in Missile Pact: The Army announced today that it had-signed a license agreement with Nord Aviation of Paris under which the United States Government gets the right to manufacture the SS11 French anti-tank guided missile.
The contract also covers all improvements in the missile for the next ten years.
The SS11 remote-control missile is propelled by solid fuel. The Army has installed some in its helicopters. (New York Times, 8 July 1961.)
Defense, Air Officials Seek Reduction in Missile Costs: Over the weekend Defense
Uepartment and Air Force officials have been °n ucting informal conferences with
air-
diu;'1 *nc'ustlaal leaders aimed at sharply ic- lng the rapidly mounting cost of arms
curement, in the missiles industries in particular.
Pentagon’s new “economy” program , lrected, not toward cutbacks injuring total ense, but to eliminating unproductive out- ay and duplication of effort that bring no 1 lve aid to the arms program. (Baltimore Sun> 13 June 1961.)
Unclear Missile Due in Far East v .ls ^ear: Completion of the Mace-B dee °pment program assures that the United , at^f will have long-range nuclear rockets in 'ar East before the end of the year, ne rapidly expanding industrial centers of °mrnunist China will be within striking . an®e °f Mace-B to be deployed on Okinawa to ^art ^le Srow*nS American force designed eter an enemy from starting war. he Air Force plans to station the first issiles on this island 350 miles off the Chinese c°ast by December.
he swept-wing Mace-B ended its research and development phase last week with a successful 1,100-mile flight down the 1 antic range from Cape Canaveral, he Air Force reported the firing “comP eted the development phase of the tactical m>ssile and proved it ready for final performance flights.” These will be evaluation and aining exercises for Air Force troops in the aext few months. Of 26 launchings in the est program, only one failed, p An announcement also disclosed the Air U°rce has accepted the first production model ace-B from the Martin Company, the prime contractor. Martin is expected to turn over httional missiles soon for the troop training Prograrnancj for tpe Okinawa bases.
he rockets will be planted in underground c°ncrete shelters now being built on Okinawa at least four bases. Total number of missiles t0 assigned there is classified.
.he decision to place the 1,500-mile range hussiles on Okinawa was made two years ago •ten American strategic planners recognized at the Red Chinese industrial empire was growing swiftly.
Until then the United States concentrated
its heavy nuclear rockets on targets in Russia. Thor and Jupiter ballistic missiles, with a range of 1,700 miles, were assigned to England, Italy and Turkey. Intercontinental range Atlas missiles stationed in the United States are aimed at Northern Russian installations on a course which would take them over the North Pole if fired in anger.
The small, 500-mile Matador is the only United States nuclear missile now based in the Far East. These Formosa-based rockets have a considerably smaller nuclear load than Mace-B.
Eventually, Polaris missile submarines will operate in Far East waters and the range of Atlas and Titari ICBM’s located in the United States will be increased so they can penetrate that area of the globe if necessary.
Mace-B is a guided missile, essentially a pilotless bomber. It travels about 650 miles an hour, much slower than larger ballistic missiles. But it compensates for lack of speed with amazing deception.
A precise inertial guidance system made by AC Spark Plug enables the missile to alter direction and altitude several times during flight to confuse and avoid enemy countermeasures. The weapon can shift several miles to the left or right and can approach its target on a roller coaster course ranging from an altitude of 1,000 to more than 40,000 feet. (Baltimore Sun, 26 June 1961.)
Jet Transport Strengthens MATS: The first of 30 Boeing C-135 jet transport planes designed to strengthen the strategic airlift force of the Military Air Transport Service has been put into service.
The plane, an intercontinental-range transport, was flown here from Boeing’s Renton, Washington, plant. It will be used to beef up global mobility through a combination of high speed, long range, and large payload. The C-135 can travel up to 530 miles an hour, cover 5,700 miles nonstop, and carry a 20-ton payload. (The Christian Science Monitor, 10 June 1961.)
All-Purpose Warplane Scrapped: The administration has scrapped a three-month-old project to build an “all-purpose” warplane designed to fulfill all the widely varying limited-war needs of all services.
Instead of this ambitious plan—criticized by many air experts as utopian—the Defense Department has decided to develop two “triservice” tactical aircraft.
The Air Force will ask industry to design and build a many-purpose “air superiority” fighter, while the Navy will procure a lighter, slower cheaper attack plane for close support of ground troops. Both would be used by all the services.
Unlike the abandoned “Jack-of-all-trades” plane, the double-barreled approach has wide support, and if successful will represent a major step forward in unification that could produced large savings. Today there are many more types in service, each tailored for a special role. (Washington Post, 15 June 1961.)
Radar Altimeters Fooled by Polar Ice and Snow: Studies of radio communications in the frozen polar regions have had the lifesaving byproduct of yielding new information on the behavior of aircraft radar altimeters. This was disclosed in a paper presented by two U. S. Army Signal Corps engineers at the International Convention of the Institute of Radio Engineers.
Studies of the behavior of radio waves over the very thick ice caps of Antarctica and Greenland showed that at certain frequencies the radio signals “ignore” the ice caps and penetrate to the soil which may be as much as 1,000 feet below the ice.
Two speakers, Amory H. Waite and S. J. Schmidt of the Signal Corps laboratories at Ft. Monmouth, N. J., told an audience of engineers at New York’s Coliseum that planes flying over the poles could have radar altimeters showing safe clearance above the ground, while the aircraft might be actually skimming the ice cap or about to crash into it.
The paper reported the findings of a 5-year study of radar altimeters, summarized their shortcomings and outlined safety precautions for pilots flying polar routes. One of the authors, a veteran of 10 Arctic and 8 Antarctic expeditions pointed out that over one- ninth of the earth’s surface is covered by coatings of ice and snow thick enough to affect radar altimeters. (Journal of the Franklin Institute, June 1961.)
A.E.C. Seeking Cuts in Atomic Weapons; Pentagon Opposed: For the first time since the end of World War II, the Atomic Energy Commission is proposing to cut back the production of nuclear weapons.
The commission’s move was reliably reported to have encountered strong and sometimes heated objections from the Defense Department. It was also believed to have reopened the debate over civilian versus military control over the bomb and about military requirements for nuclear weapons.
Since the civilian commission was established in 1946, year by year it has been generally producing an increasing number of weapons for the military.
The position of the Defense Department has been that it wanted and needed all the weapons the commission could produce. The production schedule was generally determined by the output of weapons material— such as enriched uranium and plutonium— and the commission’s ability to fabricate the materials into weapons.
In recent months, however, the commission has begun to question this method for establishing the production rate of atomic bombs. Its approach has been to attempt to introduce budgetary considerations into the weapons production schedule.
The move to cut the budget for weapons production began late in the Eisenhower Administration, and has been carried on into the Kennedy Administration. In a revision of the Commission’s budget on 28 March, President Kennedy proposed that the sum earmarked for weapons production be reduced to $561,200,000.
While the reduction was small, it was significant because it upset the previous understanding that the Atomic Energy Commission would give the military all the weapons it could produce.
In raising its objections, the Defense Department, according to officials, was “more concerned about the handwriting on the wall” than about the impact of the $29,000,000 reduction on weapons production.
In effect, the commission was beginning to withdraw the “blank check” that it had given the Defense Department since the war on weapons production.
f hile the Defense Department has received the weapons, it has not had to pay for em. The cost has come out of the commis- S1°n s budget. As a result, the Defense Department has been under no budgetary pressures limit its demands and requirements for Weapons.
Furthermore, according to officials, the e ense Department was disturbed by the Uclgetary cut because it came at a time when Weapons were becoming progressively more complex and thus expensive. The Department, therefore, could foresee that between risin§ costs and the commission’s restrictions ?n ^e budget, it would be able to obtain ewer weapons.
Principal objection said to have been raised Y the Defense Department was that the commission was attempting to establish, through Uc>getary measures, the military requirements for atomic weapons.
As seen by some high officials of the commission, this objection is met, at least in part, y ihe legal mandate of the commission. In i qC Passage of the original McMahon Act in o, the great debate was between civilian Versus military control. It was finally decided establish the commission to assert civilian control over the atom.
Under this mandate, therefore, some mem- the commission believe they have an ° mgation to raise questions about the rate at which weapons should be produced.
At the same time, it is conceded by commission officials that the budgetary actions raise questions that go beyond its competency 0r authority to answer.
Involved are such questions as whether the military needs a limited number of atomic Weapons, as argued by the Army and Navy, or an ever-increasing number to offset Soviet strength, as argued by the Air Force. Also mvolved are questions about the ratio of midear and non-nuclear military strength of me nation and the likelihood of “limited atomic wars.” Indirectly, the problem of arms reduction and disarmament is also involved.
Ultimately, these are questions, the commission believes, that only the President can settle. President Kennedy has been briefed at ength on the commission’s action. So far he as endorsed the move, as indicated in the
budget reduction of 28 March. (New York Times, 18 June 1961.)
AEC Planning Desert Tests: The Atomic Energy Commission is planning to build a skyscraper-like device in the Nevada desert for new studies of the radiation effects of nuclear bomb bursts—without actually exploding any bombs.
The AEC reported today it plans to build a 1,500-foot tower—or possibly a 1,200-foot one—at its Nevada test site to support a small nuclear reactor which could be raised and lowered by means of an elevator.
The reactor would release a barrage of neutrons—atomic rays—which would radiate against a number of especially built frame houses placed at varying distances from the reactor experiment tower.
The idea would be to study the burst of a nuclear explosive at relatively high altitude.
The radiation released from the reactor would be at comparatively low levels and would be emitted over comparatively long periods of time—contrasted with very high radiation levels emitted in a very brief time from an actual bomb burst. But the over-all results in terms of radiation exposure would be the same.
The AEC related that at one time it was considering conducting such tests by using a balloon to hold the reactor aloft. But it was decided a tower arrangement would be better because it could be used for tests on very windy days when a balloon could not be lofted. (Baltimore Sun, 6 June 1961.)
Cooler and Cheaper Atom Smasher Seen:
A cool “atom smasher” operating at temperatures more~ than 400 degrees below zero Fahrenheit was foreseen here as a means of reducing initial cost and upkeep on these expensive machines.
Dr. Cyril D. Curtis of Midwestern Universities Research Association, Madison, Wisconsin, said the large magnets used in atom accelerators might be made of such superconducting materials as the nibium-tin alloy recently developed at Bell Telephone Laboratories.
Doing this would considerably reduce the size of the magnets required to achieve a specific energy for the particles being accelerated in the machine, he told the American Physical Society meeting.
One study showed that using magnets made of sodium and operated at a temperature of 432 degrees below zero Fahrenheit would cut costs of construction and power by 35 per cent, or $85,000,000. (New York Times 11 June 1961.)
No Aftermath of Fallout Found: The United States declared today that the general health of Marshall Islanders is satisfactory, and that no aftermath of fallout from the 1954 H-bomb tests is discernible.
M. Wilfred Goding, United States high commissioner for the trust territory of the Pacific islands, made the statement in a report to the United Nations Trusteeship Council, which began examination today of conditions in the former Japanese held islands.
He made no reference to a report from a visiting United Nations mission which had said that residents of Rongelap Island were still complaining they were in poor health as a result of the fallout.
But he noted a medical survey last March
by a team of trust territory medical staff and United States Atomic Energy Commission specialists, which he said, indicated that the general health of the Rongelapese is satisfactory. (Baltimore Sun, 14 June 1961.)
N-Bomb: Tick . . . Tick: Ever heard of the N-bomb? It is today’s biggest unexploded news in the capital—but its fuse is burning fast.
“N” stands for neutron.
^ aIso called, and in effect would be, a death-ray bomb.” The neutron bomb is, unquestionably, the object of the most extensive and possibly bitterest sub rosa debate that postwar Washington has seen.
It is raging in administration, congressional and scientific circles.
The reason it is sub rosa is that the subject matter is top secret. All information about it is classified.
The N-bomb debate involves national security, it is directly related to allied power; it is basic to nuclear testing. It could decide the future of the free world.
Today the N-bomb is a time bomb sitting
°n President Kennedy’s desk ticking away.
He cannot much longer delay deciding " lether the United States is to develop this evolutionary new weapon.
asically, the N-bomb is a small nuclear J°rnb that would explode in a burst of neutrons that would kill everyone in range )Uj not; destroy structures.
ustead of blast and heat, the bomb’s main Product would be neutron radiation with the capacity to kill people, but not destroy objects.
.rooPs would be incapacitated a few ,r|inutes after being exposed.
But the area would not be contaminated Permanently. Forces using the N-bomb could a vance into the area almost immediately.
icy would not find any living enemy. They w«uld find buildings, supplies, equipment intact and undamaged.
Presumably the N-bomb could be tailored t0 s'ze_ for use as a battlefield weapon to dispose of the opposition ahead.
Many Washington officials think the N- JOl?k *s Che ideal weapon.
i he only trouble is, it has not yet been developed or tested, because of the voluntary
nuclear test ban in effect. It is all on paper-
(The Christian Science Monitor, 26 June 1961.)
Find No Cause for Reactor Blast: The
cause of the nation’s first fatal atomic reactor accident, which killed three men at an Idaho test station in January, is still a mystery and may never be known, Atomic Energy Commission investigators concluded. But they hinted mechanical troubles with the reactor, poor training of the crew, and cumbersome A.E.C. organization and procedures might all have been factors.
Five A.E.C. experts reported after four months of work that they could not say “with any certainty what initiated the SL-1 (reactor) explosion, and it is possible that we may never know.” The SL-1 reactor is a prototype atomic power plant the A.E.C. is developing for the Army to use in remote locations.
Intruder:
it “sees” through darkness and foul weather to search, track,
and kill.. . The U. S. Navy now has an ability to command the most effective airborne weapons system known today for waging and winning a limited war . . .
This weapons system is the Grumman A2F-1 Intruder—the first all-weather attack aircraft with extended range and heavy-weapon carrying capacity.
Skimming in low under enemy radar, the Intruder’s 2-man crew can find and destroy a pinpointed target during those critical periods in limited warfare when the enemy moves under cover of darkness or weather.
Their weapons—either air-to-ground missiles, or conventional bombs or nuclear weapons—are delivered with unerring accuracy!
An attack aircraft design based upon combat experience gained in Korea, the Grumman Intruder provides the U.S. Navy with a new capability in close support missions. It provides our nation with another powerful deterrent to prevent war.
GRUMMAN
AIRCRAFT ENGINEERING CORPORATION
It exploded at about 9 p.m. 3 January, killing two of the crew immediately from blast effects and a third two hours later from head injuries, apparently from flying parts. The investigators said the most likely theory,
TEMCO aero systems
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Modification
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Continental Electronics Manufacturing Company Ling Electronics Division The Calidyne Company. Inc Division Electron Corporation
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electronic products and systems
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National Data Processing Corporation
^ Q - ~r^MCO-\/OLJG>t-iT. I rsi c
although there is no firm proof, is that the cause of the accident was the crew’s sudden movement of a vertically mounted control rod which had stuck in the reactor core.
According to this theory, the control rod, one of five, set the reactor off suddenly at a high power rate, generating steam pressure within the reactor of several hundred pounds per square inch. The resulting blast blew out parts of the reactor, fatally injured the crew, released radioactive material and damaged parts of the reactor building itself.
Control rods, composed of material which absorbs the chain-reaction-producing neutrons, are used to slow down, stop and start the reactor operation. In most reactors a number of rods must be used to set off the nuclear reaction, but because of the design of SL-1, the sudden withdrawal of the central one of its five rods was capable of starting the chain reaction. The investigators estimated that this control rod would have had to be drawn out of the core, which contains the uranium fuel, 22 inches to 24 inches in one second or less to have caused the accident.
The crew was reassembling the reactor for operation after a maintenance shutdown of 12 days. The investigators said from the position of the crew members’ bodies it was possible that one or two of them were trying to lift the key control rod at the time of the explosion. The presumption, although there is no certain evidence, is that the control rod for some reason stuck in position and then suddenly came free as the crew yanked on it. The investigators noted that shortly before the accident the central rod had not fallen freely when an attempt was made to shut down.
The investigators said that, assuming their speculation about the chain of events is correct, the immediate responsibility lies with the industrial contractor who was operating the reactor, Combustion Engineering, Inc., because “the contractor was on the site and had immediate responsibility for all reactor operations.” They absolved the military personnel but noted that the men were being trained by Combustion Engineering. They said A. E.C. personnel in the Idaho operations office, which directly supervised Combustion Engineering, and A.E.C. staff members in Washington also had to share responsibility. (Wall Street Journal, 12 June 1961.)
Soviet Science Still Striving to Tame Nuclear Reaction: Soviet scientists, despite years of work, are still “far” from learning how to control thermonuclear reaction.
Academician and leading physicist Lew Artsimovich told a conference of Soviet scientific workers the problem, which promises to give an unlimited and cheap energy, will be solved someday.
Saying the solution was extremely difficult he added:
“We are still far from the set aim just as, incidentally, are our partners studying the problem abroad.”
No progress report on taming the hydrogen reaction was made at the conference which opened yesterday in the Kremlin.
In two days no new dramatic successes in other fields have been announced by any of the series of distinguished speakers led by Mytislav Keldyish, the new Academy of Science president.
Called by the Soviet Government and Communist Party, the conference is the latest in a series of far-reaching steps taken with the full force and backing of Premier Khrushchev to solve the problem of how to get Soviet science working directly for production.
This acute problem has already caused a shake-up in the leadership of the Academy of Science, culminating in the elevation of President Keldyish.
It was responsible for establishment of a new state committee—equal to the rank of a ministry—to coordinate scientific research work for the benefit of industry.
The work of this committee faltered at its inception with the death recently of the new chairman, Mikhail Khrunichev, veteran production specialist.
He has been replaced by Konstantin N- Rudnyevs, who ran the ultra secret state committee on defense techniques. (Baltimore Sun, 14 June 1961.)
Soviet Is Freeing Science Academy: In the
reorganization of Soviet science that began in April, the Academy of Sciences has been stripped of at least thirty of its research institutes. At the same time, however, it has been freed for more concentrated efforts in pure science.
Secret base for Polaris subs: t
other
ne result may be a serious attempt to
atch the ingenuity and imagination of the . r^r*can space program, which to date has a ked off with most scientific prizes. Notable aWong the latter was the discovery of the Van ~,n radiation belts.
his is known to be the goal of some leading gores in the Soviet space effort.
he Soviet reorganization has placed the irection of science and technology on the ^gnest level of government. It also appears U I^riark a turning point in which the Soviet noon will seek to lead, rather than to imitate.
. . Ur*ng the early life of the Academy, jW lch was founded in 1725, its members were rgely concerned with pure science. After 1 ^ rcv°lu'aon, however, the Communist Crship demanded practical achievements 0 a>d the country to industrialize, feed its ongry millions and defend itself.
“e extent of the recent growth has been ch that the academy has become more and . burdened with technological respon- *ties. Under the reorganization, these responsibilities are largely being transferred to agencies.
Furthermore a supreme body has been formed directly under the Council of Ministers. It is known as the State Committee for Coordinating Scientific Research and its chairman is also a deputy premier.
The membership of this committee is strongly oriented toward technology. It is to have cognizance over research activities throughout the Soviet Union. (New York Times, 26 June 1961.)
Gagarin Ship “In Flames” On Re-entry:
Astronaut Yuri Gagarin says his space ship re-entered the earth’s atmosphere enveloped by flames from friction after his flight around the world, Tass reported today.
“It’s outer skin became hot rapidly, and through the blinds covering the port holes I saw the ominous purple reflections of the flame raging around the ship,” the official news agency said Maj. Gagarin reported in the newspaper “Pravda.”
He said the temperature inside the cabin was normal, “although I was in the center of a whirl of flames.” The space ship also began rotating, and he reported it.
: three-fourths of the world
“But the rotation, which somewhat worried me, soon stopped, and the further descent proceeded normally,” he added.
Maj. Gagarin’s comments appeared in the final chapter of his book “Road to Outer Space” published by “Pravda” in serial form. He made his flight April 12.
The “Pravda” account spoke of apprehension experienced by the Russian spaceman as he prepared to return to the earth.
“What is going to happen during the last, final stage of the flight? Will all the systems function normally? Isn’t there some unforeseen danger in store for me?”
Soon, he said, “it was clear that all the systems had functioned perfectly, and the ship was heading precisely to the predetermined area of landing.” Maj. Gagarin said that site, near Engels on the Volga River, was where he had made his first flight six years earlier. (New York Herald Tribune, 19 June 1961.)
First Gas Turbine with Outboard Drive:
The first gas turbine with an outboard drive, and the first stern drive for marine inboards of 125 to 200 horsepower, have been announced.
The turbine engine is Boeing’s new TurboMariner, a lightweight, compact motor claiming many advantages over comparable piston- type engines. The drive is the MerCruiser, specially designed to give high-power inboard engines the flexibility, maneuverability, and hydrodynamic efficiency previously achieved only by outboard motors.
The Turbo-Mariner, called by Boeing “the simplest engine in the world,” drives the conventional propeller of the MerCruiser stern drive through reduction gearing.
The engine itself weighs only 384 pounds, compared to the 700-pound weight of a comparable piston-driven engine. The complete engine is just 43 inches long, two feet wide, and two feet high.
The Turbo-Mariner burns diesel fuel, which is not only less expensive, but far safer, than gasoline.
In production on a limited basis, the turbine, when coupled with the MerCruiser stern drive, will permit faster, more flexible, and more maneuverable cruisers than possible with conventional inboard installations of the same horsepower. (The Christian Science Monitor, 7 July 1961.)