Arms for the Ships

The Navy completed—with the opening of a new ordnance plant last week—a new group of factories which will add a modest 100% to the output of those types of war goods produced at the Navy’s main ordnance plant in Washington. The new group consists of three plants (which will give the Navy nine ordnance centers):

> The plant opened last week—a little $20,000,000 job, consisting of 15 enormous buildings completed in seven months on a 140-acre tract at Centerline (on Detroit’s outskirts). Managed by Hudson Motor Car Co., it will turn out everything in the small ordnance line, from gun-mount parts to 20-mm. Oerlikon antiaircraft machine guns.

> A plant at Canton, Ohio, already operating, where Westinghouse will supervise the building of gun mounts and turrets.

> A plant at Louisville (also operating and under Westinghouse supervision) where parts from the other two plants will be assembled.

On hand last week to wish Centerline Godspeed, Secretary of the Navy Frank Knox and Rear Admiral William Henry Purnell (“Spike”) Blandy, chief of Navy Ordnance, had good reason to rub their hands with satisfaction. Navy Ordnance is in good shape, although it is faced with 1) the monumental job of fitting out a two-ocean navy; 2) supplying ordnance to Great Britain and her allies; 3) arming Coast Guard vessels and Army transports; 4) preparing to arm U.S. merchant ships.

The list of products that come under the head of ordnance is virtually endless. But the progress of the Navy’s program can be indicated by a box score on a few prime items:

> 16-in. guns, slides and turrets: ahead of schedule, thanks to a fine job of forced-draft expansion and production on the part of steelmakers.

> 5-in., 38-caliber guns: slightly behind schedule. Reason: the original require ments were jacked up so many times, as need for more and better anti-aircraft was demonstrated, that requirements soon exceeded facilities.

> Torpedoes : on schedule. The British have not dipped heavily into the supply.

> Armor plate: running 14% behind schedule, but picking up fast.

> Steel forgings: about on schedule.

> 8-to 16-in. projectiles: way behind schedule, due to the difficulty of obtaining machine tools and exploding charges. Expected to pick up when the new Army ordnance plants—whose munitions output is shared with the Navy—go to work.

The man behind the Navy’s ordnance program is tall, spruce, 51-year-old Rear Admiral Blandy, whose consuming passions are ordnance and gunnery. When he was gunnery officer on the U.S.S. New Mexico from 1927 to 1929, the battleship twice won the Battle-Efficiency Pennant (“Meatball” to the sailors) as well as a pair of gunnery trophies and two turret Es. Says a pal: “Spike’s idea of a perfect target practice was to shoot the masts off the target ship from 8,000 yards, starting with the top and working down. Throwing shells into the hull was shooting fish in a bucket for him.”

Before he took over Naval Ordnance in February 1941, Admiral Blandy spent several years specializing in anti-aircraft defense for warships, is now rated the Navy’s outstanding expert on the subject. His last command at sea was the battleship Utah, which was converted into a mobile target and floating laboratory for testing anti-aircraft guns. “To learn about anti-aircraft fire,” remarks Admiral Blandy, “there is nothing like being on both ends of the target.”

Last week, while Burt Wheeler quoted the Navy to the effect that there was no armament available for merchant ships, Admiral Blandy was quietly preparing to supply them. The equipment available ranges from 5-in. guns down through 1.1-in. pom-poms and 20-mm. Oerlikons. Fitting out ships a few at a time, the Navy expects to have over 1,000 armed within four or five months. Armament will depend on the size of the ship: the largest will mount 5-in. guns fore & aft, two 20-mm. guns amidships, 1.1s topside wherever possible; the smallest will mount a 3-incher and pompoms. All will carry depth charges.

Although no U.S. merchantmen, however wellarmed, bagged anything during the last war, their armament helped to keep subs at a distance. This time, with improved weapons, the Navy expects them to do better than that. Since a fully armed merchant marine would require 10,000 men to serve its guns (crews range in size from eight to 24), it is unlikely that Navy personnel will take over the whole job.

More probably, a great many noncommissioned reservists will be drafted as gunners, will be commanded by chief petty officers or cram-course officers from reserve schools.

Admiral Blandy’s chief worry is about fire-control and optical instruments. High up on the Bureau of Ordnance’s list of companies which rate a production E (for Excellence) is Bausch & Lomb. But, although it is working at top speed, it cannot supply all that the Ordnance Bureau needs. Says Admiral Blandy: “Consider that a single fire-control unit may weigh up to a ton, and that tolerances in that unit will scale down to .0005 of an inch, about half the thickness of a cigaret paper, and you’ll see why we’d like a few more Bausch & Lombs.”