Naval power

Press, 3 May 1984, Page 20

Naval power

Sir,—Congratulations to Mr Breach on his letter on naval power. At last we have someone who finds out his facts before he writes on the subject. Nuclear war is an emotional subject and obviously something must be done to stop the madness; but continual misinformed criticism of the United

States is not'going to solve the problem. Those who make out that the Russians are peaceful pacifists might be interested to know the Soviet Union has nine different intercontinental ballistic missiles, the latest with a 27-megaton warhead having been introduced in 1974. The United States has only three types, including MX, which has not been built yet and Titan, about to be retired. Minuteman has a 1.2-megaton warhead and was introduced in 1958-60. So which power is hell-bent on nuclear superiority? — Yours, etc., GEOFFREY STROTHER. May 1, 1984. Sir,—S. M. Breach disagrees with my statement that the Soviet Kiev ships are comparable in size and capability to the five United States Tarawa-class amphibious assault ships (“The Press,” May 1). Ship-mounted weaponry is only one basis for comparison. The Kiev ship, according to “Jane’s Fighting Ships, 1983-84,” has 43,000 displacement tons with a full load, while the Tarawa has 39,300. Kievs have a range of 13,500 miles at 18 knots compared with 10,000 miles at 20 knots for Tara was. An important role for aircraft carriers relates to their capability for intervention. Tarawas can carry troops, equipment and four L.C.U. 1610-type landing craft while all but one vessel can replace some helicopters with Harrier AV-BA/C V/STOL aircraft. The Centre for Defence Information cites its research on the declining number of Soviet submarines in Defence Monitor, Vol. XI, Number 6, 1982. - Yours, etc.,

D. K. SMALL. May 1, 1984.