Submarine Defence

Dominion, Volume 26, Issue 289, 1 September 1933, Page 11

Submarine Defence

agree with. Mr. Drewitt that submarines in New Zealand would keep all hostile fleets at a distance. In the event of war, if the main British fleet were defeated, submarines could not prevent these islands being invaded by a large fleet and army, and if our main fleet were not defeated, submarines could .not prevent raids and bombardments such as Papeete suffered from the Scharnhorse and Gneisenau in 1914.

During the 1914-18 war, our submarines could not prevent German raids on the English coast, and German submarines could not prevent an army from arriving at . and leaving the Dardanelles, nor could. they prevent large British Colonial. and American armies from reaching France; and since then antisubmarine devices have been improved. It may be, however, that some smallish, handy, submarines at Wellington and Auckland would be useful against large enemy submarines lurking in, or near, Cook Strait and the Hauraki Gulf, to pounce on our outward-bound produce ‘ships, which would be heavily attacked for a certainty. In 1914-18 our submarines did well against enemy submarines, so no doubt the Home Government would be grateful if we could maintain some for trade protection. They would need the help of aircraft.—l am, etc,, R. H. FITZHERBERT. Havelock- North, August 30.