09/09/2022
U.S.N. Ships-Bases-Men
Richard Edes Harrison,
1938; New York City
FORTUNE magazine, March 1938
13 .5 x 22.5, full color offset press
An early more traditional style map by Harrison, who is considered one of the premier cartographers of the 20th Century ["Google" him !]. Outlined here is the Navy’s worldwide presence in the years preceding WW II. Of note is the relative weakness of the “Asiatic Fleet” compared with the Atlantic (though 3 of the 4 Aircraft Carriers are with the Pacific Fleet, most of which is based on the West Coast. The Navy has 597 ships, 200 of which were “Decommissioned”. 252,000 personnel were serving, almost half of which were reserves or civilians. And there were only 1.000 planes, 300 of which were assigned to Carriers. Most interesting was the depiction of a “fence” in the NW Pacific which, by “courtesy “separated the maneuvers of the Japanese and American Navies.
