Project Gutenberg 2009-09-18 Public domain in the USA. 142 Harrison, Harry 1925 2012 Dempsey, Henry Maxwell Harrison, Henry Maxwell Freas, Kelly 1922 2005 Freas, Frank Kelly Navy Day Produced from If Worlds of Science Fiction January 1954. Produced by Greg Weeks, Stephen Blundell and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net "Navy Day" by Harry Harrison is a science fiction short story published in the mid-20th century. The plot centers around a satirical conflict between the U.S. Army and Navy as the Army pushes for the abolition of the Navy, declaring its own superior technological advancements that allow military vehicles to traverse both land and water. This humorous narrative reflects on themes of military rivalry and bureaucratic absurdity, set against a backdrop of political maneuvering in a fictionalized version of Washington, D.C. The story follows General Wingrove, who proposes to Congress that the Navy be disbanded, claiming that the Army's new innovation—the ability to use vehicles on water by manipulating surface tension—renders naval forces obsolete. In response, Admiral Fitzjames reveals a counter-invention that allows Navy ships to sail on land, igniting a comedic battle of technological prowess between the two armed services. The narrative culminates in a farcical showdown as each side presents their conflicting innovations to Congress, showcasing the absurdity of their rivalry. Ultimately, it serves as an entertaining critique of military priorities and the nature of institutional competition. (This is an automatically generated summary.) Reading ease score: 72.4 (7th grade). Fairly easy to read. en Science fiction Short stories PS Text Science Fiction Category: Short Stories Category: Science-Fiction & Fantasy Category: Humour Category: American Literature 38899 2025-08-12T10:14:08.926415 text/html 14740 2024-10-24T20:21:31 text/html 334109 2025-08-12T10:14:12.977392 application/epub+zip 332453 2025-08-12T10:14:10.672432 application/epub+zip 79590 2025-08-12T10:14:09.520403 application/epub+zip 451420 2025-08-12T10:14:14.543383 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 443538 2025-08-12T10:14:12.171441 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 124307 2022-09-14T04:05:00.109837 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 31819 2025-08-12T10:14:08.682407 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 12085 2024-10-24T20:21:31 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 18029 2025-08-12T10:14:14.686457 application/rdf+xml 11423 2025-08-12T10:14:10.000405 image/jpeg 3089 2025-08-12T10:14:09.762414 image/jpeg 334932 2025-08-12T10:14:08.938435 application/octet-stream application/zip Archives containing the RDF files for *all* our books can be downloaded at https://book.klll.cc/wiki/Gutenberg:Feeds#The_Complete_Project_Gutenberg_Catalog en.wikipedia en.wikipedia