20FOREIGN RELATiONýS,- 19 5501 VLt-JME I


for, in their enthusiasmi, which is an-indispensableoand invauable asset,
I: feel hat they have beeni dawn down a single line of reasoning much

  I now turn to -the Navy, and I am going to ,be equally critical i
do so With :profOund sympathy for -the Na s dilemma, but I cannot
be realistic and be otherwise thana critical. Having defended the
country as its first line of defense: for. generations, sometimes in spite
of itself, having fought a war in which it covered itself With honor,
the Navy entered a period of uneasy peace in which- it was no longer
the first line and in which it faced an antagonist 'which had no Sur-
face navy of moment. "It-would have been strange ha-d therebeen no
divided councils, no searching for glorious paths. -When Strategic
bombing was' regarded as a cure-all, before its unique importance
f aded,ý the Navy sought to participate in -this. Perhaps iit might
have
to advantage; there are technical possibilities here which should not
be ignored; butt it is certainly not the main job of the Navy. Having
reluctantly abandoned the battleship built to fight battleships, it has
clung tenaciously to the carrier With which it won great battles. Now
the carrier is not obsolete. It certainly has a use in carrying force
promptly to remote plac, and insmall sizes it has a use in anti-
submarine warfare. But the great carrier, in my opinion, is now. not
worth the cost of building, maintaining and supporting it. i do0not
ignore the great strides which have been made in means for anti-
aircraft. defense of carriers, but I believe a carrier cannot today suc-
cessfully operate Within:-the range 0f land-based aircraft in the hands
of an enemy which has them in quantity, and would fight them well
and press attacks home. We face such an enemy.
  The primary mission of.'the Navy .is to control the seas, to insure in
time of war the transport of armies and the supply of friendly civilian
populations. I am of the firm opinion that, if war broke out tomorrow,
we 'would not be able to perform that.mission successfully. I realize
that there has been a recent report zon .this matter coming to this con-
elusion, which in the judgment of its authors is preliminary only
and based on intelligence of doubtful validity. I am convinced that
further careful study will bear out its-conclusions...
  There has been much talk of the snorkel and of '.the high-speed
submarine of long underwater endurance.These are truly important,
but they are.not the innovations which leave me appalled when I view
the problem of maintenance of overseas transport. The long range
homing torpedo, 'the modern mine, and the guided bomb are much
worse.
  When a torpedo appeared which could outrange sonar by a wide
margin, which could home on its target by one of several methods,
and which could be launched by submarines having' the snorkel and


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