The Press THURSDAY, DECEMBER 11, 1958. Anti-Submarine Defences

Press, Volume XCVII, Issue 28766, 11 December 1958, Page 16

The Press THURSDAY, DECEMBER 11, 1958. Anti-Submarine Defences

We print today a plea by ViceAdmiral Sir Maxwell Richmond, of Whangarei—a New Zealander who achieved great distinction in the Royal Navy—for “ balanced ” defences against the submarine threat to the Dominion. Admiral Richmond criticises a suggestion that the New Zealand Government should buy long-range maritime aircraft instead of two more Whitby-class frigates. The aircraft, he says, would be a valuable acquisition, but they would supplement rather than displace frigates, which retain a key operational role. Admiral Richmond thus draws attention to one of the most controversial aspects of the Government’s defence planning. No-one has disputed the wisdom of intensified precautions against submarine attacks on the Dominion’s shipping and ports; but there is still much uncertainty about the methods to be adopted and the moneys to be spent. Last April Captain T. S. Marchington, president of the New Zealand Navy League, predicted that the Dominion would be a “weak sister” in the Commonwealth defence of the Pacific and South-east Asia unless the Government ordered two Whitby-class antisubmarine frigates in addition to the two expected to arrive in 1961. In proportion to its population, said Captain Marchington, New Zealand was doing less to maintain effective naval strength than Canada,

Australia, or South Africa. Since April, by the expedient of drawing on the Defence Fund for current expenditure, the Government has reduced the Navy vote by £1.5 million. It has also deferred, perhaps indefinitely, the ordering of the two additional frigates, though the delay seems bound to entail extra costs. On October 22, the Minister of Defence (Mr Connolly) hinted at Burnham that New Zealand might buy four Canadian-built Argus long-range ' maritime aircraft instead of the two additional frigates. Later the Government was reported to be considering buying eight Shackleton reconnaissance aircraft instead of the frigates; but an early announcement was not expected. The Government says, reasonably, that economics must influence its decisions on defence equipment; and it considers that the formation and equipment of the Regular Army brigade group must have first priority. But the economy axe can be a very damaging thing when unwisely applied; its cuts often go deeper than intended. 111-advised economies in one arm of the defence forces could weaken other arms as well. Admiral Richmond obviously had this in mind when he warned that “we should not “imbalance our forces on the “ ground of financial ex“pediency”. Such a warning from an acknowledged authority on submarine warfare should hot go unheeded.