PLEASE FOLLOW OUR E BAY STORE. SALE SEE OUR STORE. PLEASE READ WHOLE ADD. Further information: Washington Naval Conference. And USS Panay incident. At the end of World War I, the United States Navy had almost 500,000 officers and enlisted men and women and in terms of personnel was the largest in the world. Younger officers were enthusiastic about the potential of land-based naval aviation as well as the potential roles of aircraft carriers. Chief of Naval Operations Benson was not among them. He tried to abolish aviation in 1919 because he could not conceive of any use the fleet will ever have for aviation. However Roosevelt listened to the visionaries and reversed Benson’s decision. The US Navy’s first aircraft carrier. American isolationist feeling and the economic concerns of the others led to the Washington Naval Conference. The outcome of the conference included the Washington Naval Treaty. (also known as the Five-Power treaty), and limitations on the use of submarines. The treaty recognized the U. One consequence was to encourage the development of light cruisers. The United States’s first carrier, a converted collier. Was commissioned in 1922, and soon joined by USS Lexington. Which had been designed as battlecruisers. Until the treaty forbade it. Organizationally, the Bureau of Aeronautics. Was formed in 1921; naval aviators would become referred to as members of the United States Naval Air Corps. Army airman Billy Mitchell. Challenged the Navy by trying to demonstrate that warships could be destroyed by land-based bombers. He destroyed his career in 1925 by publicly attacking senior leaders in the Army and Navy for incompetence for their almost treasonable administration of the national defense. Chief of Naval Operations William V. Emphasis on disarmament and went along with postponement of new construction and cutting the fleet. Other naval officers disagreed sharply with Hoover’s policies. Had been in effect in civilian control of the Navy during World War I, knew many senior officers, and strongly supported naval expansion. The Navy’s preparation was helped along by another Navy assistant secretary turned president, Franklin D. The naval limitation treaties also applied to bases, but Congress only approved building seaplane bases on Wake Island. And rejected any additional funds for bases on Guam and the Philippines. The Navy had a presence in the Far East with a naval base in the US-owned Philippines and river gunboats in China on the Yangtze River. The gunboat USS Panay. Was bombed and machine-gunned by Japanese airplanes. Washington quickly accepted Japan’s apologies and compensation. African-Americans were enlisted during World War I, but this was halted in 1919 and they were mustered out of the Navy. Starting in the 1930s a few were recruited to serve as stewards in the officers mess. African-Americans were recruited in larger numbers only after Roosevelt insisted in 1942. The Naval Act of 1936. Authorized the first new battleship since 1921, and USS North Carolina. Was laid down in October 1937. The Second Vinson Act. Authorized a 20% increase in the size of the Navy, and in June 1940 the Two-Ocean Navy Act. Authorized an 11% expansion in the Navy. Chief of Naval Operations. In September 1940, the Destroyers for Bases Agreement. In 1941, the Atlantic Fleet. The Navy’s first shot in anger came on April 9, when the destroyer USS Niblack. Dropped depth charges on a U-boat detected while Niblack was rescuing survivors from a torpedoed Dutch freighter. In October, the destroyers Kearny. Were torpedoed, and Reuben James was lost. Submarines were the “silent service”-in terms of operating characteristics and the closed-mouth preferences of the submariners. Strategists had, however, been looking into this new type of warship, influenced in large part by Germany’s nearly successful U-boat campaign. As early as 1912, Lieutenant Chester Nimitz had argued for long-range submarines to accompany the fleet to scout the enemy’s location. The new head of the Submarine Section in 1919 was Captain Thomas Hart, who argued that submarines could win the next war: There is no quicker or more effective method of defeating Japan than the cutting of her sea communications. However Hart was astonished to discover how backward American submarines were compared to captured German U-boats, and how unready they were for their mission. The public supported submarines for their coastal protection mission; they would presumably intercept enemy fleets approaching San Francisco or New York. The Navy realized it was a mission that isolationists in Congress would fund, but it was not actually serious. Old-line admirals said the mission of the subs ought to be as eyes of the battle fleet, and as assistants in battle. That was unfeasible since even on the surface submarines could not move faster than 20 knots, far slower than the 30 knot main warships. The young commanders were organized into a “Submarine Officers’ Conference” in 1926. They argued they were best suited for the commerce raiding that had been the forte of the U-boats. They therefore redesigned their new boats along German lines, and added the new requirement that they be capable of sailing alone for 7,500 miles on a 75-day mission. Unrestricted submarine warfare had led to war with Germany in 1917, and was still vigorously condemned both by public opinion and by treaties, including the London Treaty of 1930. The Navy kept its plans secret from civilians. The challenge of designing appropriate new boats became a high priority by 1934, and was solved in 1936 as the first new long-range, all welded submarines were launched. Even better were the S-class Salmon class. (launched in 1937), and its successors the T-class or Tambor submarines. Of 1939 and the Gato class of 1940. At 300 feet in length and 1500 tons, they were twice as big as the German U-boats, but still highly maneuverable. In only 35 seconds they could crash dive to 60 feet. The superb Mark 3 TDC Torpedo Data Computer (an analog computer) took data from periscope or sonar readings on the target’s bearing, range and angle on the bow, and continuously set the course and proper gyroscope angle for a salvo of torpedoes until the moment of firing. Six forward tubes and 4 aft were ready for the 24 Mk-14 “fish” the subs carried. New steels and welding techniques strengthened the hull, enabling the subs to dive as deep as 400 feet in order to avoid depth charges. Expecting long cruises the 65 crewmen enjoyed good living conditions, complete with frozen steaks and air conditioning to handle the hot waters of the Pacific. The new subs could remain at sea for 75 days, and cover 10,000 miles, without resupply. The submariners thought they were ready-but they had two hidden flaws. The penny-pinching atmosphere of the 1930s produced hypercautious commanders and defective torpedoes. Both would have to be replaced in World War II.