MORE CRUISERS

Evening Post, Volume CXXV, Issue 3, 5 January 1938, Page 8

MORE CRUISERS

CHANGE IN OUR NAVY

RESTORATION OF STRENGTH

THE TRADE ROUTES

The task" of restoring the cruiser strength of the British Navy is making good progress, writes Sir Archibald Hurd in the "Sydney Morning Herald." In about three years seventy ships of this class will be available for service with the battle fleets and for [ duty on the trade routes, in addition to forty-nine sloops, ships with light .armour, less powerful guns, and lower speed.' . These'figures include all the men-of-war, whether based on British or Dominion ports, which can be commissioned in an emergency for the defence of the whole Empire, with its traae routes of upwards of 80,000 miles. They reflect a" great, accession of strength in this type of ship of vital importance to the safety of the sea-borne comI merce of the British peoples.

That it will be a difficult task for tne naval authorities to fulfil the varied defensive tasks committed to them with this much larger number of units is generally recognised by naval officers. If the United Kingdom, the Dominions, colonies, and protectorates, which include one-third of iie land surface of the globe, are to remain in oommercial touch jn time of war, merchant shipping must be able to proceed on its lawful, occasions, carrying essential cargoes'.. The trade routes are the jugular veins of the British Empire, and if they were severed by an enemy the war would be over and nothing else would avail. ■ .

It is for that reason that recent events in the Mediterranean arising out of the trouble in Spain have been watched by British Ministers with such anxiety. The future of Spain is a British interest to the extent that the free flow of traffic through the Mediterranean must be assured. The domination of Spanish ports by an unfriendly Power would threaten the most vital line of communication of the British peoples. The danger would not be so great were it not for the development of the submarine and the appearance of the bomb-dropping aeroplane. In the past the possibility of a temporary withdrawal was always, in the minds of the Admiralty, and, indeed. Nelson on one occasion withdrew every man-of-war from thoss waters.

INFLUENCE OF THE CANAL,

At that time inter-Imperial trade was of little importance. The Suez Canal was not even thought of. But now the circumstances have changed. The freedom of the Mediterranean ;s as much the concern of the peoples of Australia, New Zealand, arid India as of the inhabitants of the British Isles. For though the balance of power is shifting eastward to Singapore, which is being converted into a first-class naval and air base, Malta and Gibraltar will continue to be essential links, in the chain of Imperial defence. .It was feared that a scarcity of skilled workmen and a shortage of steel and other materials might cause delay in the completion of the cruisers included in recent naval programmes, especially as re-armament work coincided with a demand by ship owners for new merchant tonnage. The appointment, of a Minister for Co-ordin-ating Defence arid the creation of a department to settle all matters of priority of supply have gone some way to solve the problems of labour and material. By a miracle1 of cooperation naval work has proceeded smoothly according to the Admiralty'3 schedule without a serious hold-up of the building of merchant ships. When the position in relation to cruisers is reviewed, the complexity of the problem arising from the urgency of the naval authorities for quick delivery and the anxiety of ship owners to get their ships becomes apparent. Down to the year, 1932 only 23 cruisers habl been laid down since the end of the Great War, whereas the United States had begun 20, Japan 27, France ■11, Italy 12, and Germany six. Nothing approaching a two-Power standard was being maintained, and the old formula of the Admiralty specified that in respect of cruisers a higher standard should be observed. When it was admitted that unilateral naval disarmament had merely encouraged other countries to forge ahead, the Admiralty was confronted with heavy arrears of construction. So in the succeeding five years (1933-37) provision was made in the Navy Estimates for twenty-three new cruisers, the large number ■ being an index to the anxiety with which1 the Sea Lords, under the leadership of Admiral of the Fleet Lord Chatfield, regarded the .weakness of the British Navy in cruising vessels.

ARMAMENTS WORK

So the co-operation of all the firms which- make armour and guns and provide engines and equipment, as well as the shipbuilders, was enlisted. It is an indication of the efficiency of British shipyard.management that in a remarkably short time good progress was being made. Four of the cruisers—the Sheffield, Glasgow, and Birmingham (9000 tons displacement), each mounting twelve 6-inch guns, and the Aurora (5200 tons) armed with six 6-inch'guns, which figured dn the 1934'programme, have been commissioned, and will bs followed next year by the Liverpool, Manchester, and Gloucester (9000 tons), mounting twelve 6-inch guns/' After them the Belfast and Edinburgh (10,000 tons), and the Dido, Euryalus, Naiad, Phoebe, and Sirius (5300 tons) will pass Into service—it is hoped before the end of 1939. When these cruisers have been completed, the acute danger period will have passed, for by a spurt all the rest of the. ships down to the 1937 programme could, if necessary, be hurried to completion by working overtime. But unless any reason for haste arises, work will proceed according to the Admiralty's schedules.

Under the policy of the National Government, the naval situation is rapidly undergoing a radical change. By the time the new squadron of five battleships of 35,000 tons—the most powerful ships now under construction in any country—is ready, the strength in cruisers, apart from sloops, will have been raised from 50 to 70, but of these ten will be over-age vessels, according to the standard prescribed by the Admiralty. The formula of the Naval Defence Programme is that cruisers which were begun before January 1, 1920, have only sixteen years effective life, since they were designed for the conditions at sea which existed during the Great War, and that cruisers of later construction may be regarded as remaining efficient for another four years, that is, for twenty years.

ISSUE OF PROTECTION.

Provision will have to be made for many more ships of this class if a maximum of sixty under-age and ten over-age cruisers is to be maintained, for cruisers now in service are becoming obsolete. Whether the naval authorities will continue to regard such a standard of cruiser strength (70) as adequate will depend largely on the action of other countries in' adding to their, fleets. Ever since the war, France and Italy in European waters and the United States and Japan with their eyes on the Pacific, have been pursuing an active cruiser policy. When the cruisers now building have been completed, France will have eighteen such men-of-war and Italy nineteen, while the American Navy will possess no fewer than thirty-seven cruisers and Japan thirty-three, But .while the

British strength in relation to that of other Powers is a factor which cannot be ignored, the views of the naval authorities are governed by the number of merchant ships under the Red Ensign to be protected (7264) and the vast milage of the ocean routes. At present, in view of the cost of the measures which are being taken for strengthening the Army and Air Force, they are likely to be content wita seventy cruisers. In view of differences of opinion which exist in some parts of the Empire as to the relative importance of the various arms, it is a matter of interest that the National Government, after a thorough investigation, has come to the conclusion that, in spite of the development of air power, the .Royal Navy remains the first line of defence. That explains the size of the Navy Estimates for the current financial year— £105,000,000. That standard of expenditure will be maintained for several years, as not only have the new ships to be paid for, but a larger number of officers <md men have to be entered. Apart from the cost of shipbuilding, the sums spent on keeping the fleets, squadrons, and flotillas at sea will be an increasing charge on the Treasury in future years. As the Foreign Secretary has stated on several occasions, a strong Navy is necessary in this unrestful world as the support of the peaceful diplomacy of the British peoples.