When hostilities were declared Turkey had a navy consisting of 2 first-class battleships, 3 battleships of an older type, 2 first-class cruisers, 2 second-class cruisers, 4 third-class cruisers, 8 gunboats, 2 monitors, 10 destroyers and 8 torpedo boats. The officers and men in the Turkish navy numbered 30,000. THE UNITED STATES NAVY. The United States navy, which has made an enviable reputation for itself wherever and whenever the boats and men have been engaged, ranked third at the beginning of the war. While not of the heaviest type, the boats were of the most improved models, and maintained on a basis that justified the belief that they would stand up in the face of the severest opposition. There were 12 modern battleships, 30 of an older type, 10 armored cruisers, 5 first-class cruisers, 4 second-class cruisers, 16 third-class cruisers, 30 gunboats, 9 monitors, 74 destroyers, 19 torpedo boats and 73 submarines, manned by 55,389 officers and men. The California, Idaho, Arizona, Mississippi and Pennsylvania are the latest battleships of the navy, and are of the super-dreadnought type. All of these battleships have a displacement of more than 31,000 tons, and have the most complete equipment that it is possible to command. The batteries consist of 4 13-inch and 14 6-inch guns, 4 6-pounders, together with 4 21-inch torpedo tubes. There is a variation in the batteries, but all have approximately the same kind of armament. One of these huge vessels is about 625 feet long, and has a speed of from 21 to 23 knots. The Pennsylvania, one of the largest, is of 31,500 horsepower, and cost approximately $7,250,000. In addition to this, Congress had authorized the construction of what is designed to be the supreme type of fighting vessel. The plans for these vessels call for the construction of vessels approximately 875 feet long and nearly 90 feet wide. Some idea of what enormous vessels these must be may be gained when it is seen that the cruisers are 250 feet longer than the super-dreadnought. The battle cruisers have six decks, extending from end to end, and are so extensive that they almost constitute a battlefront. This comparison to a battlefront on land becomes interesting when consideration of it is further pursued. There are even railroads to fetch ammunition to the guns, though they run vertically instead of horizontally. The general headquarters is in the conning tower, to which all lines of "field communication" lead--telegraphs, telephones, etc. The "observation posts," for directing and correcting the range and aim of artillery, are at the tops of the two wire "bird-cage" masts. This work is helped (as on land) by kite balloons and aeroplanes, which, as part of its fighting equipment, the battle cruiser carries. To blind the enemy ships, under suitable circumstances, the big guns create a "barrage" of water, by directing their fire at the sea in front of the hostile vessels, throwing over them a mass of spray.