The Navy's Ladies

The proud U.S. Navy, which used to be exclusively masculine, made a startling boast last week. At its headquarters in Washington, the Navy said, almost half the uniformed personnel are now women.

Three hundred, the invading wedge, sailed into the Navy Department's rambling buildings in December 1942 to release deskbound sailormen for more active missions. Since then officers and enlisted personnel of the WAVES have been arriving in blue-clad droves, sometimes at the rate of 1,000 a month, while blue-clad men have been shoving off for sea or overseas duty.

By March of this year enlisted women outnumbered enlisted men by more than 2-to-1; in two departments by 3-to-1. Male officers, who outnumbered WAVE officers 7-to-1 a year ago, now maintain their numerical superiority at the Navy Department by only 3-to-1. The Navy admitted without comment that in one bureau 158 eager WAVES had taken over the jobs of 163 men.

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