Army. – The large units that make up the United States army today are: 5 infantry divisions (of which 2 are located respectively in the Hawaiian Islands and the Philippine Islands) and 1 cavalry division of the regular army; 18 infantry and 4 cavalry divisions of the National Guard. Neither of these divisions is in peacetime made up of all its elements.
For the organized reserve there have been special groups since peacetime (to be transformed into divisions in the event of war) made up of a certain number of officers and specialists.
The infantry division has: 2 infantry brigades, 1 field artillery brigade (75 mm guns), 1 howitzers regiment (155 mm.), 1 engineering regiment, 1 light tank company, 1 signaling and service company.
The cavalry division includes: 2 brigades, 1 field artillery regiment, 1 armored squadron, 1 light tank company, 1 genius squadron, 1 platoon of signalers and services.
Navy. – New units: Battleships: 2 planned and 2 (Washington and North Carolina) under construction of 35,000 tons. and 27 knots armed with 9/406.
Aircraft carriers: 1 (Wasp) under construction, of 14,500 tons, capable of carrying 50 aircraft; 2 (Gorktown, Enterprise) launched in 1936, from 19,900 t. and 34 knots, armed with 12/127 anti-aircraft and capable of carrying 60 aircraft.
Heavy cruisers: 1 (Wichita) under construction, 10,000 t. and 32.7 knots, armed with 9/203, 8 / 127.2 catapults, 4 aircraft.
Light cruisers: 2 in design, and 2 St. Louis type, under construction, 8500 tons, armed with 152 guns; 7 Savannah type, launched in 1936-37, 10,000 t. and 32.7 knots, armed with 15/152 and 8/127 anti-aircraft, 8 launch tubes, 2 catapults, 4 aircraft.
Destroyer: 8 of 1600 t. under construction; 12 of 1500 t. under construction; 13 McDougal type of 1850 t. and 37 knots, armed with 8 / 127.8 launch tubes of 533 in quadruple systems, autonomy of 6000 miles; 24 under construction, from 1500 t. and 36 knots, armed with 5/127 anti-aircraft and 2 quadruple 533 launch tubes, autonomy 6000 miles; 16 Preston type, launched in 1935-36, similar to the previous ones.
Submarines: 4 of 1500 t. Sealion type under construction; 12 Salmon type, under construction, from 1450 t. and 17.8 knots, armed with 6 launch tubes of 533 and 1/76; 10 type Shark, Porpoise, Plunger, built in 1935-36, from 1320-30 t. and 17.8 knots, armed with 6 tubes of 533 and 1/76.
Gunboat: 2 Charleston type, built in 1935-36, of 2000 t. and 20 knots, armed with 4/152, catapult and planes, range 8000 miles.
Coast Guard Cutter: 7 Campbell type, built in 1936, of 200/220 t. and 20 knots, armed with 2/127, and anti-aircraft weapons, 1 plane, range 8000 miles; 6 minors built in 1934, of 1000 t. and 13 knots. In addition, a number of subsidiary units.
The balanced force ascends to 127,000 men.
Merchant Navy. – In 1936 the Merchant Marine Act 1936 was passed, which declared, as of June 30, 1937, all the conventions in progress relating to ships for oceanic services lapsed, replacing these conventions with an operating and a construction premium, which take into account in construction and operating costs, significantly higher in America compared to foreign competitors. A “United States Maritime Commission”, made up of five members appointed by the president of the republic, was entrusted with the aforementioned program, as well as that of reconstruction of the merchant navy, transferring to it all the rights, tasks and powers of the Shipping Board Bureau of the Ministry of Commerce. and the Merchant Fleet Corporation.
The operating bonus is granted to national shipowners wishing to manage ships on shipping lines with foreign countries, which the Commission considers essential. The construction premium aims to compensate for the higher construction cost quoted on national yards; it is allowed to American companies that propose to set up new ships at home or, in exceptional cases, to repair and transform existing ships; the hulls assisted in this way can only be used for international traffic on lines recognized as essential.
In order to lay the foundations for a comprehensive program for the development of the national navy, the Commission carried out a survey on the maritime needs of the country. Its results were immediately presented to Congress. The investigation confirms that the existence of an efficient national merchant navy is deemed necessary in the United States for the development of the country’s foreign traffic, but even more, perhaps, for its defensive needs.
The studies carried out in agreement between the Commission and military ministries then lead us to believe that for the sole military operations of a conflict with a great power in which the United States is eventually engaged, a minimum of 1000 merchant ships of all types would be needed for six million. tons gross approx. The United States already possesses an impressive ship: as of June 30, 1937, 2840 ships for 9,795,894 tons. gross. But it is of little economic and war value, because it is aged and because it is not very fast: 91.8% of the 1422 ships suitable for ocean navigation (i.e. hulls exceeding 2000 tons per unit) included in the global consistency and 88% of the tonnage total of it (8,407,000 gross tons) will in fact have twenty or more years in 1942. A complete reconstruction program, staggered over the five interceding years up to 1942, the outfitting of 261 ships per year for 1½ million tonnes would be important. gross; total expenditure of 2½ billion dollars. This program is therefore difficult to implement from an economic and also a technical point of view, given the assumption that the constructions must be built at home while the national shipyards (26 with 106 stopovers, of which a part needs improvement) do not have the necessary technical potential. Thus the Commission is in favor of a much less rapid replacement program. It is also studying all possible ways to make the future navy more efficient. In fact, he has prepared a series of projects relating to the ships most suited to American needs (i.e. five types of mixed ships, two of refrigerators, two of tanks; three of cargo liners fast); in addition, negotiations are underway with oil companies for the construction of high-speed tanks. He has called for changes to the Merchant Marine Act 1936. He advocates greater discipline on board, and the professional education of crews and officers. As for state policy, the Commission favors private initiative assisted by the treasury. It predicts that tax assistance to the navy will meanwhile amount to between $ 25 and $ 30 million per year; about twenty to maintain the essential lines for foreign traffic, the rest for construction prizes. As for the reconstruction of the traffic fleet, as early as June 1937 President Roosevelt had asked Congress for an immediate allocation of 10 million dollars and authorization to the Commission to spend another 150 to equip 95 ships for a complex of 835,000 tons within five years; total cost of about $ 256½ million (60 cargo, 24 mixed, 10 tankers, 1 ocean liner on 30,000 tons). That program has begun.
Civil aviation. – The development of civil aviation over the last five years has been important. Currently (March 1938) the following overhead lines are in operation:
a) gestite dalla Pan American Airways:1. Miami-Havana; 2. MiamiSan Juan; 3. San Juan-Rio de Janeiro; 4. Rio de Janeiro-Buenos Aires; 5: Miami-Cristobal; 6. Barranquilla-Port of Spain; 7. Miami-Nassau; 8. Bronsville-Mexico; 9. San Francisco-Hong Kong-Honolulu-Midway Is. Wake-Is. Guam; 10. Avana-Belsize; 11. Belem-Fortaleza; 12. Fortaleza-Rio de Janeiro; 13. Rio de Janeiro-Porto Alegre; 14. MexicoCristobal; 15. Merida-Mexico; 16. San Juan-Kingston; 17. Maracaibo-Port of Spain; I8. Los Angeles-Mexico.
- b) gestite dalla American Air Lines, Inc.:1. New York-Boston; 2. Boston-Cleveland; 3. New York-Chicago; 4. New York-Buffalo; 5. Detroit-Chicago; 6. New York-Albany; 7. Chicago-Fort Worth; 8. Chicago-St Louis; 9. Washington-Nashville; 10. Cleveland-Nashville; 11. Washington-Chicago; 12. New York-Los Angeles; 13. New York-Washington; 14. Savannah-Mobile.
- c) gestite dalla United Airlines & Transport: 1. New York-Chicago; 2. Cleveland-Chicago; 3. Chicago-San Francisco; 4. Chicago-Salt Lake City; 5. Salt Lake City-Seattle; 6. Pendleton-Spokane; 7. San Diego-Seattle; 8. Los Angeles-Seattle; 9. Los Angeles-San Francisco; 10. San Diego-San Francisco; 11. Portland-Seattle.
- d) gestite dalla North American Aviation, Inc.: 1. New York-Washington; 2. New York-Miami; 3. New York-New Orleans; 4. New YorkRichmond; 5. Chicago-Miami; 6. New Orleans-Houston.
e) operated by Northwest Airlines, Inc.: 1. Fargo-Pembina; 2. Chicago-St Paul; 3. Chicago-Fargo; 4. Fargo-Seattle; 5. Spokane-Seattle.
- f) gestite dalla Penna Central Airlines:1. Washington-Detroit; 2. Detroit-Milwaukee; 3. Cleveland-Detroit; 4. Pittsburgh-Charleston; 5. Detroit-Flint.
- g) gestite dalla Transcontinental & Western Air, Inc.: 1. New York-Los Angeles; 2. New York-Chicago; 3. Pittsburgh-Kansas City; 4. New York- Pittsburgh.
h) operated by Braniff Airways, Inc.: 1. Chicago-Dallas; 2. Amarillo-Dallas-Galveston; 3. Dallas-Houston; 4. Dallas-Brownsville; 5. Dallas-San Antonio; 6. Houston-Corpus Christi.
- i) gestite dalla Hanford Air Lines: 1. Tulsa-Omaha; 2. Minneapolis-Kansas City; 3. Huron-Bismarck; 4. Omaha-Kansas City.
- l) gestite dalla Delta Air Lines, Inc.: 1. Charleston-Atlanta; 2. Atlanta-Birmingham; 3. Atlanta-Dallas.
m) operated by Wyoming Air Service: 1. Billings-Cheyenne; 2. Cheyenne-Denver; 3. Cheyenne-Pueblo.
There are also a dozen companies that operate smaller lines.
The federal air network, operated by 23 companies, covers a total of 50,000 kilometers. The air network for communications with foreign countries, on the other hand, extends over 52,000 kilometers.
Particular impulse was given to the organization of the night flight and without visibility. Currently out of a total of 1500 airports, 650 are equipped with lighting systems. Flight assistance radio communications comprise a complex of 580 radio telegraph stations.
At the end of 1937, there were 16,250 licensed pilots in the United States, of whom 940 were in airline service, with 9,000 specialists also serving with airlines.
The total number of aircraft existing in the United States at the end of 1937 was 94,000.
