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CHAPTER TWO

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THEORY OF THE MEANS--
THE CONSTITUTION OF FLEETS

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In all eras of naval warfare fighting ships have exhibited a tendency to
differentiate into groups in accordance with the primary function each
class was designed to serve. These groupings or classifications are what is
meant by the constitution of a fleet. A threefold differentiation into
battleships, cruisers, and flotilla has so long dominated naval thought
that we have come to regard it as normal, and even essential. It may be so,
but such a classification has been by no means constant. Other ideas of
fleet constitution have not only existed, but have stood the test of war
for long periods, and it is unscientific and unsafe to ignore such facts if
we wish to arrive at sound doctrine.

The truth is, that the classes of ships which constitute a fleet are, or
ought to be, the expression in material of the strategical and tactical
ideas that prevail at any given time, and consequently they have varied not
only with the ideas, but also with the material in vogue. It may also be
said more broadly that they have varied with the theory of war, by which
more or less consciously naval thought was dominated. It is true that few
ages have formulated a theory of war, or even been clearly aware of its
influence; but nevertheless such theories have always existed, and even in