Admiral Ernest J. King, stiff-necked, closemouthed boss of the U.S. Navy, promised last week that in 1945 the Navy would speak for itself in deeds, not words. This was King's way of marking the third year of his command, in which he had seen the Navy become the world's mightiest. King had the power to back his promise:
The Navy today has 61,045 vessels—1,167 of them combat ships, more than 54,000 of them landing craft and assault ships. Its air arm has some 37,000 planes. Its first-line fighting ships include 23 battleships, some 100 aircraft carriers, 59 cruisers, 425 destroyers,...
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