Cancellation of USS United States
The first Secretary of Defense, former Secretary of the Navy James Forrestal, supported the navy position and authorized construction of United States with a production run of five ships. However, he was asked to resign by President Truman following a series of budgetary disagreements on March 28, 1949, and was replaced by Louis A. Johnson, who supported Truman's budget limits and the air force's argument as superior.
On April 23—less than a month after taking office, and without consulting Congress—Johnson ordered cancellation of United States. Secretary of the Navy John L. Sullivan and a number of high-ranking admirals resigned in protest. A few days later, Johnson announced that the aviation assets of the United States Marine Corps would be transferred to the air force; this plan was quietly dropped in response to an uproar in Congress. The navy's aircraft carriers were roundly disliked by the air force, as they were an aviation asset which the air force could not control and which the air force planners considered obsolete in the age of nuclear weapons. Johnson, who was a staunch proponent of the new nuclear bomber force, consequently sought to limit as much as possible the navy's procurement of the new large carriers to conserve funds in the markedly reduced post-war military budget.
A research group, Op-23, headed by Captain Arleigh A. Burke, began to gather material critical of the B-36's performance and capabilities. An "anonymous document" soon appeared, claiming that the B-36 was a "billion-dollar blunder" and alleging fraud on the part of B-36 contractors. The document stated that Johnson, who had been on the board of directors of Convair, manufacturer of the bomber, had a personal interest in its production.
The situation was further exacerbated by a series of articles for popular consumption written by Rear Admiral Daniel V. Gallery for The Saturday Evening Post. The final article, "Don't Let Them Scuttle the Navy!" was so inflammatory that Johnson wanted Gallery court-martialed for gross insubordination. Gallery barely escaped court-martial, but the articles cost him his promotion to vice admiral and ultimately ended his career.
The debate that caused the "Revolt" had been building for several years, but climaxed in late 1949 when many of those officers, including Chief of Naval Operations Louis E. Denfeld, were either fired or forced to resign.
Read more about this topic: Revolt Of The Admirals