The ingenious way that the United States solved the problem of drafting into the fleet 100 years ago

During World War I, the US was in dire need of an increase in the number of new recruits who wanted to go to serve in the Navy. Then the Navy came up with a very original propaganda move. In 1917, they built a full-sized warship right in the middle of Union Square in New York. The vessel was intended for recruiting and training trainees from the Newport Training Center. Inside it were equipped with a wireless station, officers' rooms, training classes, as well as special examination rooms in which doctors assessed the health of potential candidates.

In addition, on a wooden ship, the USS Recruit, the military installed two copies of one-pound salute guns, six copies of 360-mm guns and 10 copies of 130-mm guns to deal with torpedo boats. All weapons were also made of wood.

The ship, although it was on land, but at the same time lived a normal marine life. Sailors got up at 6 in the morning and proceeded to wash the decks, washed their clothes and went to class. After all the work, they conducted excursions and answered questions from interested visitors. In addition, Recruit hosted various social receptions and patriotic performances.

The ship has become an excellent recruitment tool and has done its job completely. Thanks to him, over three years the ranks of the US Navy replenished by 25 thousand people. However, with the end of the war, the need for a vessel also disappeared, so in 1920 it was dismantled and planned to move to Luna Park on Coney Island. But later the plans changed, and the further fate of the land ship remained unknown.