1937 ESTIMATES

Evening Post, Volume CXXIII, Issue 53, 4 March 1937, Page 9

1937 ESTIMATES

£23,776,000 INCREASE

MANY NEW VESSELS

INCREASED PERSONNEL

(British Official Wireless.)' (Received March 4, 11.30 a.m.)

RUGBY. March 3

The Navy Estimates, issued today, show a total of £105,065,000, an increase of £23,776,000 over last year's estimates and supplementary estimates. However, in accordance with the policy and procedure embodied in the ■ Defence Loans Bill, £27,000,000 will be provided towards' the above total by. issues from the Consolidated Fund, with the result that the net sum for- 1937 to be found from revenue for the Navy will be £78,065,000. The largest increase over last year' 3 provision is for new construction, and amounts to £14,033,215; the increase is due not only to the commencement of an appreciably larger building programme but also to the full annual provision for the 1936 programme, which was itself more than double the programme of the immediately preceding years. Another large increase is £9,081,985 for the maintenance of the Fleet, including the modernisation of capital ships and large repairs, an increase in the personnel, and the making, good of deficiencies in stores and material reserves. In addition, there is an increase of £516,500" for additional aircraft—other than for new construction —and in the maintenance of the. Fleet Air Arm and the automatic increase in the non* effective services of £144,300. Provision is made for-an addition of nearly 11,000 to the personnel of the Fleet, necessitated by the increased programme of new construction for 1936 and 1937, including expansion of the Fleet Air Arm. ■ j CONSTRUCTION PROGRAMME. Details of the new construction prb= gramme, for 1937 are three battleships of the King George V type, two aircraft carriers, five cruisers of about 8000 tons, two cruisers of about 5300 tons, 1(3 destroyers, 7 submarines of the patrol type, three escort vessels, previously known as convoy sloops,' four mine-sweepers, previously, known as sloop mine-sweepers, three patrol vessels, previously known as coastal sloops, and a number of miscellaneous vessels. In the principal categories this programme is larger than that of 1936 by one capital ship and smaller by one destroyer and one submarine. In a statement accompanying the ■Estimates, the First Lord of the Admiralty, Sir Samuel Hoare, observes that as the Washington and London 1930 Naval Treaties expired at the end of December there is no longer any quantitative - limitation on naval construction in any category, but pending ratification" of the London Naval Treaty, 1936, the qualitative limitations contained therein are being observed in the construction of ships now laid down or projected.

The gross estimates for the various naval /.apartments include wages, etc., of officers and men of the Royal Navy and the Royal Marines and. civilians employed on Fleet services, £14,231,000; victualling and clothing, £4,662,580; Fleet Air Arm, £4,200,000; shipbuilding, repairs,l maintenance, etc., £52,180,158; naval' /armaments, £13,382,700; . Admiralty Office, £1,468,470.