Captain CHEW. And the big carriers; the Forrestal and Midway carrier cannot go in now, sir. Senator STENNIS. You want to bring them in there? Captain CHEW. Yes, sir; particularly to off-load damaged aircraft. You see, they would have to barge them off, and here you have got a harbor facility with the piers constructed for 40 feet and unable to get your bigger ships in. Senator STENNIS. All right. SUPPLY FACILITIES (The project sheet is as follows:) NAVAL SUPPLY CENTER, PEARL HARBOR, OAHU, T.H. Location.-Nearest city, Honolulu, 6 miles southeast. PERMANENT STATION Mission. To provide support for fleet units and assigned oversea activities in terms of general stores, specified technical materials and specified services. Line item.-Conversion of POL storage facilities, alterations for EDP machine installation, $4,796,000 (total cost). CONVERSION OF POL STORAGE FACILITIES The Navy has no underground storage for required aviation fuels at NSC, Pearl Harbor. Above-ground tankage is insufficient and does not meet protection criteria. Due to repositioning of Navy POL stocks in forward areas, existing underground tanks in Red Hill, NSC, Pearl Harbor, which now store Navy special fuel oil, will be available to meet Navy requirements for adequate aviation fuels storage. Unless the conversion is accomplished, it will be necessary to construct 1,200,000 barrels of new tankage at far greater cost to provide the required aviation fuels storage. ALTERATIONS FOR EDP MACHINE INSTALLATION The installation of an electronic data processing system is required to provide increased effectiveness and efficiency in the maintenance of stock control, financial inventory control and related recordkeeping functions. The computation speed, flexibility, and accuracy of the electronic data processing system will provide the additional data-processing requirements essential to the functions and operations at the center. Further, installation of the electronic data processing system will provide assurance that the activity will have sufficient capacity for the ever-increasing data-processing workload. Captain CHEW. The next items were the two supply facilities overseas, both of which were mentioned, Senator. One is the aviation fuel storage which is a modification of that underground storage at Pearl Harbor to aviation storage, and the second one was for another electronic processing machine, the same as the continental supply activities. Those were the only two overseas supply activities. Senator STENNIS. I thought we had pretty well fixed up our POL storage, but you have got to have this one now? Captain CHEW. This is an original POL storage. It is a big underground storage being modified for aviation storage converting some of the existing tanks from black oil to aviation storage. Senator STENNIS. All right. Senator CASE. Mr. Chairman, I spent some time, both at CINCPAC and also at the headquarters for the fleet, and also in Honolulu Navy Yard when I was there. The last day I was in Hawaii, either the last day or the next to the last day, I went over to Pearl Harbor and spent an hour or so taking a trip through the harbor there, and I came away feeling rather blue. I remembered that in 1945 when I was in Honolulu, we had a briefing by General Richardson and some naval people, and they said at the time you would never do again what we had done, which made it possible for the destruction of the large number of ships, the fleet, that was in Pearl Harbor. But as I had traveled there over a week going from Honolulu up through the island and the various military installations up the command center, and so forth, visited Schofield, and also Hickam Field and all, it seemed to me we had created a perfect setting there for an atomic Pearl Harbor. What would happen if a hydrogen bomb hit in that very highly concentrated area that you have set up there with all three services for CINCPAC? Admiral WILSON. It would certainly be very severe destruction. Senator CASE. The guide there in Pearl Harbor pointed out where the various ships had been. I stood on the Arizona and talked-he explained how-was it the Nevada that blocked the Admiral WILSON. The Arizona was the one. Senator CASE. Yes. But wasn't it the Nevada that blocked the entrance to the Harbor? Captain CHEW. Yes. The Nevada got underway and grounded. Senator CASE. Yes, and effectively stopped anybody from getting out, that is if they would be able to get out. It seems to me that in an atomic age a hydrogen bomb planted in there could regard the whole area as a bowl, about like the harbor was, and when I thought of the way in which so many operations are keyed into it, I was just sick about it. Now, I realize that POL storage is essential to operations, of course, but any augmentation of the concentration that you have there, it seems to me, should be avoided. Admiral WILSON. Senator, I do not know whether you saw this particular storage, that this applies to, or not. This is probably the best protected storage we have anywhere in the world, and it is not the kind you would see in traveling around Pearl Harbor. Senator CASE. Some reference was made to this, but your supply lines, your lines running to this would be disrupted. Admiral WILSON. All protected reasonably well underground. Captain CHEW. If the harbor would be usable, sir, the POL facilities would probably be usable. I am sure it would take a direct blast or ground zero of a hydrogen bomb or any reasonable areaif not, it should be safe. Senator CASE. Just to be specific, I went over to the Island of Maori rather accidentally. I had a letter from some people over there who wanted me as a member of the Senate Committee on Public Works to take a look at the breakwater there. I do not know whether any of you have seen that recently or not, but obviously some work on the breakwater could greatly improve the usability of the harbor there in Maori. But there was a place where right there they had some Marines; I think they said they had 40,000 Marines there at one time. There is nothing there now except the buildings that were left from that, and I cannot see why in our planning we had abandoned the dispersal, and why the continuation there would not have provided some use, and to put everything over there right out of Honolulu with a city of 200,000 people would make one of the most attractive targets that could possibly be created. Admiral WILSON. I think the answer, Senator, is the dollar sign. It would be a tremendous bill to move, to relocate, the facilities that exist in Pearl Harbor, the shops, the drydocks, the air stations, all of that. Senator CASE. The Marine station is over on the other side of the island. Admiral WILSON. Yes, sir. Senator CASE. All of the aviation out there uses Hickam Field, that is all of the big planes. Admiral WILSON. We have naval air at Barbers Point, which is across from Hickam. Senator CASE. MATS and the Air Force and the National Guard Admiral WILSON. The naval air station is pretty well removed from Hickam. It is on the other side of the harbor entrance. Senator CASE. I do not want to take time on it, but I do hope you do not do anything to increase the concentration there. Senator STENNIS. All right. If we may see if we can handle this next item here rather quickly, six items here, and one for Turkey, North Ireland, and so forth, $3.5 million. If we may handle that rapidly, not because they are unimportant, but they are scattered around differently in six or eight different places. Captain CHEW. Yes, sir. They are security communication facilities. Senator STENNIS. Well, you have to have them, do you not? Senator STENNIS. There is no question of duplication there, is there? Captain CHEW. No; none whatsoever, sir. Senator STENNIS. All right. Anything special you want to say about any particular item? Captain CHEW. No, sir. Senator STENNIS. They are all relatively small, there is one for $2 million. Captain CHEW. Yes, sir. Senator STENNIS. You cannot use anything you already have? Captain CHEW. No, sir. COMMUNICATION FACILITIES (The project sheet is as follows:) NAVAL SECURITY GROUP ACTIVITY, KARAMURSEL, TURKEY Location.-Nearest city, Istanbul, 37 miles northeast. PERMANENT STATION Mission. To perform naval security group functions as directed by the Chief of Naval Operations. Line item.-Air conditioning plant, $105,000. The requirement is to provide dehumidification and temperature control in the terminal and receiver buildings. If not provided the electronic equipment will be deteriorate rapidly, and will not function properly owing to poor humidity and temperature conditions. Senator STENNIS. All right. plant over there in Turkey? What about the air conditioning Captain CHEW. Karamursel, Turkey, sir. Admiral VIRDEN. That is for naval security group function, primarily as a means of preserving equipment and cutting down maintenance costs to take care of the very extreme heat down there at Karamursel. Senator STENNIS. You do not want it for the Turks? Captain CHEW. No, sir; for the equipment. Senator STENNIS. All right. Captain CHEW. Next are these five communication facilities. (The project sheets are as follows:) NAVAL RADIO FACILITY, LONDONDERRY, NORTH IRELAND Location.-Within city of Londonderry. PERMANENT STATION Mission. As an activity of the Naval Communication System, to manage, operate and maintain those facilities, equipments, devices and systems, necessary to render requisite communication support for the Naval Establishment ashore and afloat, and for such other communication support as may be directed by the Chief of Naval Operations. Line item.-Barracks with mess, $267,000. This item is required to promote human efficiency by providing adequate berthing and messing facilities for enlisted personnel at this strategic overseas radio receiving and transmitting facility. The existing barracks is a quonset hut housing 26 men. This hut is substandard for a Navy barracks and does not include a mess. The men currently buy meals in a restaurant supported with nonappropriated funds as part of the enlisted men's club. A Commodity Credit Corporation housing program will provide 27 sets of married enlisted men's quarters; these added to the 6 existing sets of public quarters will provide accommodations for 33 men. The resulting deficiency of berthing for 94 men includes the 26 now berthed in the substandard quonset hut. NAVAL RADIO STATION, LUALUALEI, OAHU, T.H. Location.-Nearest city, Honolulu, 20 miles west. PERMANENT STATION Mission. As an activity of the Naval Communication System, to manage, operate and maintain those facilities, equipments, devices and systems, necessary to render requisite communication support for the Naval Establishment ashore and afloat, and for such other communication support as may be directed by the Chief of Naval Operations. Line item.-Ground drainage facilities, $781,000. This item provides for adequate drainage and runoff of heavy rainfall which has at times been of cloudburst proportions. This frequently floods the operating transmitter buildings with resultant shutdown of operations. Antenna fields become inundated, thus preventing antenna repairs and maintenance for months at a time. In addition, the force of the runoff has become so great due to changes in the terrain that erosion of the land, washing away of sections of roadway and fencing, and flooding of conduit manholes has threatened to stop operations at this strategic radio station. Agreement has been reached locally with the appropriate authorities of the Territory to the effect that the drainage system to control runoff from the radio station, Lualualei, will be connected into the off station similar drainage system to be completed by the Territory. NAVAL SECURITY GROUP ACTIVITY, OKINAWA, Location.-Nearest city, Naha, 13 miles south. PERMANENT STATION Mission. To perform naval security group functions as directed by the Chief of Naval Operations. Line item.-Radio direction finder facility, $2,038,000. The present direction finder installed on Okinawa is improperly located, inaccurate and incompatible with the modern control techniques employed elsewhere throughout the Pacific theater. It is essential to the functions of the naval security group and the antisubmarine warfare effort that a modern direction finder which is compatible with the fast control procedures, be constructed in Okinawa at the earliest possible time. The Wullenweber direction finder is more accurate, more sensitive, and has faster response than any other equipment now installed. It is also compatible with the modern fast control techniques presently employed throughout the Pacific theater. This type equipment is one of the few direction finders capable of accurate satellite tracking at extreme ranges (in excess of 5,000 miles). NAVAL RADIO STATION, SABANA SECA, P.R. Location.-Nearest city, Bayamon, 4 miles northwest. PERMANENT STATION Mission. As an activity of the Naval Communication System, to manage, operate and maintain those facilities, equipments, devices and systems, necessary to render requisite communication support for the Naval Establishment ashore and afloat, and for such other communication support as may be directed by the Chief of Naval Operations. Line item.-Standby generator plant, $86,000. This item will insure continuous operation of this radio station by providing adequate electric service during emergencies. The existing 75-kilowatt dieselelectric generator is inadequate in view of the immediate programed additional service load of 77 kilowatts. The present service load is 75 kilowatts. Allowing for an additional 48-kilowatt load requirement for other future requirements there is a need for a 200-kilowatt generating unit. |