for a number of years as a maintenance and modification shop for old torpedoes.

Commercial production was considered also but that, too, would require buildings and tools and the Government would have to prove and range the torpedoes.

It might be possible to interest commercial companies, but in view of the secret nature of the design, it is believed that this is one type of ordnance that should be manufactured exclusively in Government plants.

The Alexandria shop will add only two torpedoes for every five made at Newport and even this will not meet demands of new construction. If any great increase were required by a greatly accelerated building program, then a West coast site would be desirable in addition to Newport. But to meet this temporary demand Alexandria will suffice and Newport will remain our primary source of torpedo manufacture and the center of torpedo research, design. and development.

CAUSE OF DEMAND FOR MANUFACTURE OF TORPEDOES

Mr. UMSTEAD. Admiral, the need for torpedoes at present in greater numbers than heretofore is occasioned by the ship construction program, is it not?

Admiral FURLONG. Yes, sir; it is occasioned by the destroyers that use torpedoes and the submarines in the new ship construction program that use torpedoes and by the aircraft that fire torpedoes.

Mr. UMSTEAD. As to the first two items, destroyers and submarines, when the present replacement program has been completed, the demand arising from those two items will necessarily decrease, wili it not?

Admiral FURLONG. Yes, sir; it will decrease if we keep up with our production of torpedoes.

Mr. UMSTEAD. Admiral, I believe that the majority of the replacement destroyers and submarines have already been laid down, have they not!

Admiral FURLONG. That is correct only if you disregard the 40,00 tons of destroyers and 15,598 tons of submarines that Britain ard Japan have added to the London Treaty figures by invoking th escalator clause. And even disregarding that, the United States is still 19,175 tons short of destroyer tonnage under the original 19 London Treaty.

Mr. UMSTEAD. And the majority of those laid down will actually join up with the fleet during the fiscal years of 1938 and 1939? Admiral FURLONG. Some of them are due in 1940, according to the construction program.

Mr. UMSTEAD. Yes; a small number of them are due in 1940. Admiral FURLONG. Yes; six destroyers and four submarines. Mr. UMSTEAD. When the new vessels are equipped with torpedoes, then the demand for the manufacture of torpedoes will decrease? Admiral FURLONG. That is right.

STATUS OF ALEXANDRIA STATION WHEN TORPEDO REQUIRMENTS ARE MET

Mr. UMSTEAD. If the station at Alexandria is reopened in order to meet the present abnormal peacetime demand, what will be the situation when the demand ceases, or when the demand lessens!

Admiral FURLONG. With Newport and Alexandria both working capacity and not another destroyer or submarine laid down after 939, our present requirements for new vessels will not be met until 1 1944. At that time Newport would go back to its normal employent of 1,000 men in 1 day shift as existed between 1924 and 933; and Alexandria would drop from 1,000 men to 600. All of is data is in reply to your question on the requirements for deroyers and submarines and does not take into consideration the quirements for planes which would postpone for a year or more fter 1944 the return to normal production as it existed before the uilding program started in 1933.

TONNAGE OF DESTROYERS WHEN PRESENT REPLACEMENT PROGRAM IS COMPLETED

Mr. UMSTEAD. As a matter of fact, the actual tonnage of destroyers hich we shall have when the present replacement program has een completed will be much less than the tonnage of destroyers hat we had after the World War, will it not?

Admiral FURLONG. Yes, sir. On July 1, 1919, we had 176,504 tons uilt and 197,463 tons building, which is a total of 373,967 tons. The imitation treaty came in 1922. The total tonnage allowed now under he treaties is 190,000, of which we have to date 130,825 under way, uilt, building, and appropriated for.

USE OF TORPEDOES OF DECOMMISSIONED VESSELS

Mг. THOм. In projecting your torpedo needs, what consideration o you give to destroyers and submarines that are decommissioned? Admiral FURLONG. We use every torpedo of the decommissioned essels, and we have them in stock and in store. For instance, of the ld submarines, we are converting their torpedoes to be used in later essels. Then, of course, improvements are being made in torpedoes, he new torpedoes being vastly improved over the ones that we made in 1920 and 1919.

Mг. THOм. Exactly. Now, do all of the decommissioned submarines and destroyers have the necessary torpedoes for their operaion?

We

Admiral FURLONG. The decommissioned ones would; yes. maintain torpedoes for decommissioned ships as a war reserve so ong as those ships are kept on the Navy list. When old ships are crapped, we retain the torpedoes for possible use in other vessels. Mr. THOM. That is, each one has its complement of torpedoes? Admiral FURLONG. Yes, sir.

Mг. THOM. Do I understand that all the destroyers and submarines hat are decommissioned now and that will be decommissioned as ime comes along are now fully equipped and will be fully equipped with torpedoes?

Admiral FURLONG. When ships are decommissioned, we reserve heir torpedoes for them. We have some shortages but do not atempt to make up shortages for all ships.

Mr. THOM. That is what I am trying to get at, whether these demands being made on you include demands for torpedoes for deommissioned submarines and decommissioned destroyers, or have hey been supplied, are they fully equipped at all times?

36929-38 23

Admiral FURLONG. They have been supplied, but a lot of e destroyers that are in commission have not been supplied w: torpedoes that are required for them.

Mr. THOм. Those are the new ones?

Admiral FURLONG. No, sir; not the new ones, the others.

Mr. THOM. When you use a torpedo for practice purposes, 25. understand it, you recover the torpedo and refill it for another as charge, is that correct?

Admiral FURLONG. Yes, sir.

Mr. THOM. How many discharges can a single torpedo stand wit out being put out of commission entirely?

Admiral FURLONG. Oh, they last the life of the vessel.

Mr. THOм. It is practically a permanent thing?

Admiral FURLONG. We send them back, and if any parts are w out, we fix them up again.

Mr. THOм. Does the recharging of a torpedo take place on the b or do you send it back to the factory?

Admiral FURLONG. On the vessel.

Mr. THOм. So you continuously have repairs being made on t pedoes, either aboard ship or at the torpedo plant?

Admiral FURLONG. Yes, sir; on the ships, on the tenders, or s the torpedo stations.

NUMBER OF MEN TO BE EMPLOYED AT ALEXANDRIA PLANT, IF REOPENED

Mr. THOм. How many men will you employ at this torpedo pla in Alexandria if it is reopened?

Admiral FURLONG. About a thousand men, normal capacity.
Mr. THOM. Will you work three shifts?

Admiral FURLONG. We would not work the Alexandria shop th shifts.

EMPLOYMENT AT NEWPORT TORPEDO STATION

Mr. THOM. What is the nature of the skill of these men employ at the torpedo plant?

Admiral FURLONG. It is a very high skill. They are very excelle mechanics, machinists.

Mr. THOM. Largely machinists?

Admiral FURLONG. Largely machinists. The men at Newport a very skilled men.

Mr. THOM. I noticed in the newspapers some time ago that t private factories at Newport were complaining because your pla:" there was exhausting their personnel, their skilled personnel.

Admiral FURLONG. Of course, that comes about in this way. As y go through the Newport plant and look at the men working on t benches and on the machines, and notice the character and the ty of the men, their faces, their intelligence, you realize that it is a litt more than the wage that has drawn them there.

I have often thought about what it would be, and partly it is s matter of security, working in a Government plant, where they know that the job is going on and going on, that they have 30 days' leav and 15 days sick leave, and Uncle Sam pays his wages on time.

Mr. THOM. You try, then, to get the cream of the mechanics?

Admiral FURLONG. The reason why the men come away from some ther plants, may be because of better working conditions. They tre good men.

CAUSE FOR REOPENING OF ALEXANDRIA PLANT

Mr. DITTER. Admiral, is your request for the reopening of this plant predicated entirely on the matter of expedition?

Admiral FURLONG. No; not entirely. But, of course, that is a great thing now; it is principally on expedition and cost but also on the fact that it is unwise to have all of the manufacture of our torpedoes at one place, with no other locality in the whole country where they could be manufactured.

PRODUCTION OF TORPEDOES BY PRIVATE INDUSTRY

Mr. DITTER. Does private industry provide any means of production?

Admiral FURLONG. No; they do not. Years ago the Bliss Co. produced some.

Mr. DITTER. Did any private plants produce any during the war days for you?

Admiral FURLONG. Bliss produced about 5,000, that is E. W. Bliss. That is the only company that has ever produced torpedoes in this country for us. They have been out of production since 1922.

Mr. DITTER. Has private industry offered to produce any torpedoes for you?

Admiral FURLONG. Yes; Bliss Co.

Mr. DITTER. Have any efforts been made to get private industry to produce them for you?

Admiral FURLONG. We would like very much to get private industry to do it. But there are several things that operate against it. It is a very highly specialized and intricate product and, of course, the orders placed are not regular. It would cost a private plant a lot of money to put in that kind of machines and tools that we put into it to start such an industry.

Mr. DITTER. Have you made any approaches or any overtures to private plants to take over this construction work?

Admiral FURLONG. Not directly; no.

Mr. DITTER. You have made no overtures?

Admiral FURLONG. No; they know that we need them.

Mr. DITTER. Does Link Belt have a plant that might be adaptable

to such purpose?

Admiral FURLONG. Not that I know of.

Mr. DITTER. Does Carnegie?

Admiral FURLONG. No; not that I know of.

Mr. DITTER. Do any of the plants that provided ammunition during the war days have anything that might be adaptable to your needs?

Admiral FURLONG. Not for the manufacture of this kind of thing.

REARMAMENT OF FLEET MARINE FORCE

Mr. UMSTEAD. Will you proceed with your statement, Admiral? Admiral FURLONG (continuing). Twenty: $250,000, which is $16,000 more than 1938. It covers rearmament of Fleet Marine Force as

Over-all cost of program, $3,758,000; allocated in 1936, $800,000; in 1937, nothing; in 1938, $234,000; requested herein, $250,000; required to complete, $2,474,000. The $234,000 appropriated for 1938 was obligated for five light fighting tanks and four 3-inch antiaircraft guns on mobile mounts, army type.

Mr. UMSTEAD. With reference to the five sound locators, are they a type of your own development?

Admiral FURLONG. We work with the Army and these sound locators are a type that has been developed by the Sperry Co. and tested by the Army.

Mr. UMSTEAD. They are not of the Navy's development?

Admiral FURLONG. No, sir; except as our specifications indicated what we wanted and the Sperry type met these specifications.

BOMBS, ETC., FOR AIRCRAFT EXPANSION PROGRAM

Mr. UMSTEAD. Proceed.

Admiral FURLONG (continuing). Twenty-one: $181,100 to cover cost of bombs, bomb details, and fuses for 1939 aircraft expansion program is as follows:

12 VPB_ 12 VSB

3 VJ.

Total

$79, 800 100, 6

700

--- 181,100

Mr. UMSTEAD. That entire item is occasioned by the increase in the number of airplanes which you expect to have in service in 1939? Admiral FURLONG. Yes, sir. These represent the increase.

CONTINUATION OF MAJOR CALIBER PROJECTILE PROGRAM

Mr. UMSTEAD. Proceed.

Admiral FURLONG. Twenty-two: $2,821,100 for continuing project of special major caliber projectiles; total estimated cost of program. $25,000,000; allocated in 1936, $5.000.000; in 1937, $2.780,000; in 1955, $2,000,000; requested herein, $2,821,100; required to complete, $12,398,900.

Mr. UMSTEAD. I believe for this purpose, for the present fiscal year. $2,000.000 was provided. What part, if any, of the $2,000,000 has been set aside in the so-called administrative reserve?

Admiral FURLONG. $500,000.

Mr. UMSTEAD. Have you made a request that any of that amont be released?

Admiral FURLONG. Yes, sir; we requested all of that.