NEW TYPES.

Auckland Star, Volume LX, Issue 292, 10 December 1929, Page 7

NEW TYPES.

FIGHTING SHIPS. Developments By Foreign Powers. NO MYSTERY VESSELS. (United P.A.—Electric Telegraph—Copyright! (Received 11 a.m.) LONDON, December 9. The naval correspondent of the "Daily Telegraph," commenting on the latest edition of "Jane's Fighting Ships," says no mystery ships are revealed this year, although there has been rapid .progress in certain foreign navies. It is striking that the French Navy presents by far the mo6t formidable array of new vessels, says the correspondent. She already possesses 93 submarines, and many more are projected. Italy has only 55 submarines, some of which are becoming obsolete. No doubt France will eventually become tlie premier submarine Power in the world. The newspaper emphasises that the new types of vessels being constructed are tending to throw the treaty cruisers into disfavour and to minimise. the chances of their use ten years hence. The foremost among the new designs is the German Preusson, the most remarkable post-war warship, but there is evidence that the smaller Powers are showing remarkable ingenuity in invention, notably in the case of the Japanese cruiser Nachi, the first of a class with five turrets each containing two Sin guns, six 4.7 in guns amidships and two sets of triple torpedo tubes. The castlelike bridgework presents a truly menacing appearance and is a strange contrast to the prim looking British, Kent and London classes. The Nachi also carries an aeroplane-launching catapult. Another novel warship is the Japanese net-layer, Sliirataka, designed to catch submarines. Fetish of Speed. An example of the developing peacetime war vessels, capable of quick multiplication when needed, is the Japanese destroyer, Fubiki, which has gas-proof gun houses, instead of open shields which must ultimately be incorporated in all such vessels. Other types show that the fetish of speed at the expense of protection is being questioned. Notably is this the case in the plans of the Italian cruiser Zara, while the Bandanare and her five' sister ships, instead of being glorified destroyers, will be reduced editions of the Zara with Gin guns and capable of steaming at 37 knots an hour. With many possibilities for work with the ileet in the Mediterranean, the French aircraft tender, Commandant Teste, has undergone many modifications in armament. Her catapult equipment is like the Australia's and that of the Albatross, and belongs to the class required as a second line to the larger fioating aerodromes. (United P.A.—Electric Telegraph—Copyright)