Navy Plan for Tall Ship Scuttled

Faster than Navy Secretary John F. Lehman Jr. could cry, “All hands on deck,” Defense Secretary Caspar W. Weinberger Tuesday ended Lehman’s plan to build a tall ship for the Navy to sail on training and public relations missions and to race in international competition.

On July 16, Lehman sent a memorandum to Adm. Carlisle Trost, the chief of naval operations, directing him to accelerate efforts to build the square-rigged sailing vessel. Navy News & Undersea Technology, a publication that covers naval matters, estimated that the ship would cost $20 million.

An aide to Lehman, although stating that the Navy had made no cost estimates, said the project would be financed “only from savings achieved from other parts of the Navy budget.”

As word of Lehman’s plans circulated in Washington, Pentagon spokesman Robert B. Sims quickly made clear that Weinberger expected Lehman to abandon the plan.

“The secretary of defense has heard nothing about the idea. The fact is, it is not approved and would not be approved. Any savings from any programs would be applied better elsewhere,” Sims said.

In urging the chief of naval operations to speed the tall ship program, Lehman wrote that the vessel could serve as a recruiting tool and as “a public symbol of the traditions and heritage of our naval service to enhance our relations with the American people.”