NAVAL DEFENCE

Evening Post, Volume CXXVIII, Issue 145, 16 December 1939, Page 14

NAVAL DEFENCE

DOMINION'S EFFORT

PROTECTION OF SHIPS

MINISTER'S REVIEW

An outline of what had been done in New Zealand in the matter of naval defence was given in an address last night by the Minister of Defence (the Hon. F. Jones). The Minister, in a reference to the protection of merchant shipping, revealed that the Naval Base at Auckland had equipped twenty merchant ships with guns of 4in or j higher calibre,' and gun crews, the I nucleus of which had been young imen drawn from the Royal Naval | Volunteer Reserve. "The work of i arming merchant ships and manning their guns is continuing steadily," said Mr. Jones. V In August last . thei;e were on the New Zealand Station, said Mr. Jones, the two cruisers, Leander and Achilles, j of the New Zealand Naval Forces, and J two escort vessels, H.M. ships Leith and Wellington, and the surveying ship Endeavour belonging to the Imperial Navy. During the latter days of August ;the Achilles, at the request of the Government of the United Kingdom, jwas dispatched for service, first in the [eastern Pacific, and later in the South Atlantic, with the result that she had taken part in the first cruiser engagement of the war. The Imperial ships Leith, Wellington, and Endeavour were also sent at the request of the Admiralty to serve on other stations, leaving H.M.S. Leander, the flagship of the New Zealand Squadron, to operate in the waters surrounding New Zealand. ! Shortly before the outbreak of war the Leander left Auckland to convoy the first reinforcements to Pacific Island garrisons, and since her return from that duty she had been employed patrolling and searching for raiders or their bases around the coasts of the Dominion. "In addition to the ships I have mentioned, New Zealand also possessed one trawler, the Wakakura, which is normally used principally for the duty of training the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve," continued the Minister. "This little ship is fitted as a minesweeper, but, of course, one minesweeper is quite inadequate by herself so the New Zealand Governiment have taken up three of the j trawlers which fish from Auckland, the I James Cosgrove, Humphrey, and j Thomas Currell, and they have been [reconditioned and fitted up. as mineI sweepers and are now in commission. [After a period of training they have ! taken up their duty of searching the approaches to our ports for mines which may have been laid, or may be laid, by the enemy. Other trawlers are also being fitted to act as minesweepers should the need arise for this branch of naval activity to be reinforced. ARMED MERCHANT CRUISER. "Another contribution which New Zealand is making to the seagoing side of naval defence is the provision of an armed merchant cruiser, and the Monowai, well known as a ship of the Union Steam Ship Company, is now at the Naval Base being armed and fitted out. "A further and most valuable reinforcement to New Zealand's naval forces is under way in the shape of three small training vessels, not unlike trawlers, which are being specially built in Scotland and will be armed with a 4in gun and smaller weapons and equipped for minesweeping and anti-submarine work. These three ships, which will be called the Moa, the Kiwi, and the Tui, will, it is hoped, be ready for service in about eighteen months' time, and will prove a most valuable, efficient, and up-to-date unit. "Ships of the New Zealand Squadron are manned by about 60 per cent. New Zealand ratings and about 40 per cent, ratings lent from the Royal Navy. In this early stage of the development of our Naval Forces there are, of course, few New Zealand-born officers serving in our ships, but as time goes on the proportion of New Zealand to Imperial officers and men will steadily increase. In the meantime, on account of the war the complements of the seagoing ships have been brought up to war strength by the mobilisation of officers and men of the New Zealand Royal Naval Reserve and Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve, and officers and men of these Reserve forces are also serving in the minesweepers alongside personnel who have volunteered from the Mercantile Marine. "There will be in the New Zealand Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve a considerable number of officers and men who will not be needed for the manning of our own ships and the Government have recently informed the Government in the United Kingdom that they will be placed at the disposal of the Admiralty for service in the Royal Navy wherever they may be required. The training of the officers and men who have not yet been mobilised for actual service is being continued to the greatest possible extent. PREPARING FOR THE WAR. "As soon as war seemed to be imminent, and actually before the outbreak of hostilities, the Navy established signal stations, and examination service, and a naval control service at the three defended ports, which are Wellington, Auckland, and Lyttelton. The signal stations are manned by signalmen of the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve, and these men have done and are doing very good work which at the beginning was under conditions of considerable hardship, because the signal stations are in very exposed positions and in' many cases the men were accommodated only in tents. Now, however, buildings have been erected or are in course of construction in which they will be able to live in comfortable conditions. "It is the duty of the examination service, in co-operation with the military defences, to ensure that no enemy vessel can possibly enter harbour. This service, which is often very arduous and continues day and night, is maintained partly by men of the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve and partly by harbour board pilots, and the ships engaged in the work are manned by the Mercantile Marine. The function of the naval control service is to ensure that merchant ships shall, so far as possible, proceed upon their lawful occasions in safety, for which purpose each ship is given a special secret route to follow. By this means the shipping is kept away from the main trade routes and spread over the sea in such a manner that the bag of a raider would be reduced to the smallest possible proportions. Most of this work is being performed by personnel of the Now Zealand Naval Reserves. COAST WATCHING STATIONS. "Although not a naval service, I would Jike to take this opportunity of ■< paying tribute also to the work of the 1 men who man the coast watching i stations, over forty of which were 1 established at the beginning of the war i around the coasts. These men, many (