DOMINION DEFENCE

Evening Star, Issue 23950, 30 July 1941, Page 5

DOMINION DEFENCE

' WELLINGTON, July 29. The most complete survey yet given of liaval activities in New Zealand was forthcoming when the Minister of Defence (Mr Jones) spoke in the Budget Debate in the House of Representatives. In the course of his speech Mr Jones paid a high tribute to young New Zealanders who have joined the senior service. The Minister reviewed naval expenditure, as set out in the Budget, and gave details of the protection provided for the Dominion against attacks from the sea. The New Zealand naval forces now consisted of the cruisers Leander and Achilles, the armed merchant cruiser Monowai, the Govern- 1 ment vessel. Matai, and three other vessels—the Gale, the Rata, and the Muritai —which had been convertd to mine sweepers, together with six auxiliary mine sweepers and a largo number of motor launches, for patrol duties, he said. In addition to these, the three specially-designed minesweeping and anti-submarine vessels which had been before the War to be built in Scotland as a training flotilla were nearing completion, and would arrive in New Zealand waters' before the end of the year. Nine steel mine sweepers, which would also be equipped for anti-sub-marine operations, were being built in New Zealand. , Two vessels had been taken up as danlayers (buoy placers) to operate with the mine sweepers, and a flotilla of vessels to counter any menace 'by magnetic mines was being formed. Three composite steel and wood trawlers were also being built, and a number of other additions were planned. A very forward policy of naval defence was being pursued, the Minister said, and the Government was in constant touch with the United Kingdom and other units of the British Commonwealth regarding the measures that would be necessary in the event of the war extending to the Far East and the Pacific.- _ The Government’s principal naval adviser (Commodore W. E. Parry) had paid a number of visits beyond New Zealand to attend conferences, which had given encouragng results. New Zealand also : had :.a.,naval 1 iaison, officer at Singapore, 'and another attached to the New Zealand Supply Mission, in Washington. INCREASED PERSONNEL. Discussing personnel, the Minister gave details of the increases that had taken place, and said that there were now 349 officers and 3,834 ratings serving at home and overseas, compared with 82 officers and 1,257 ratings before the outbreak of war. Forty-six officers And 198 men of,the mercantile marine were included iii the present strength, and 26 officers and 221 ratings of the Royal Navy had been able to return home as they were replaced by New Zealanders. There had _ been a good response to naval recruiting, and there were 2,402 candidates awaiting entry. Recruiting for the Royal Navy bad also been carried out, and under the five schemes 3-3 yatchmasters had been sent Home as probationary temporary sublieutenants, 32 had been recruited for service in Malaya with the same rank, and 194 ordinary seamen, who would have opportunities of advancement, 378 naval airmen, and 80 technical and communication ratings had been enrolled. Encouraging reports had been re-ceived-regarding these men from the naval authorities overseas, and the New Zealand R.N.V.R. had- already been honoured by one officer receiving the D. 5.0., and by two others receiving the D.S.C. - TRAINING BASE. A development in the training of New Zealanders for the Royal Navy was the establishment of H.M.S. Tamaki as a training base, where COO men would be trained annually.

The Three Arms Minister’s Comprehensive Survey At Full War Establishment [From Our Parliamentary Reporter.]

AVhile he could not be expected to give much information about seagoing ships, said the Minister, he could assure the House that the cruisers were occupied in a most effective manner with the protection of shipping, and the minesweepers wore equally busy in ensuring that the entrances to ports were clear. The results had justified the decision to take up certain coastal vessels for naval purposes. Provision had also been made for the laying of defensive minefields.

After giving details of the expansion of the naval base at Auckland, the Minister said that the work done there had enabled H.M.S. Leander to be refitted in New Zealand instead of having to go to Britain, and when the Achilles came hack from the battle of the River Plate with some damage those repairs were also carried.out.

Although the New Zealanders engaged on the work were not as experienced as those in Britain, they had done ft splendid job,' and were entitled to the thanks of the peoples of the country. Oil fuel was still obtained under arrangements made by the Admiralty, and the supplies were satisfactory. The quantity used was, of course, large, and to meet the requirements and provide an adequate reserve additional tankage had been hired at Auckland, and a large new tank was approaching completion at Wellington. In addition to purely naval activities, the naval authorities also superintended the defensive equipment of merchant ships and their repairs and refits. The Minister said this work was growing in magnitude and importance, and consequently the Government had appointed a Ship Building and Repairs Committee, which would attend to this work and also to ship building in New Zealand. 1 ARMY AND AIR FORCES 73,000 MEN TRAINED . Mr Jones then dealt with Army activities, stating that the total number of men in New Zealand who had received at least three months’ training since the outbreak of the war was more than 73,000. Those trained included both the Expeditionary Force and the Territorial Force. More than 7,000 National Reservists had also received training, and courses of instruction for officers and non-commissioned officers had been provided for 6,864 officers and other ranks at the Army schools. Mr Jones explained that only preliminary training was given the members of the Expeditionary Force in Now Zealand, and when the men went to the Near East they were finished off. Our men in Greece and Crete had made a name for themselves, and they could not have done this unless they had been efficiently trained. The Minister also stressed the fact that/the Dominion’s coast defences had been considerably increased since the war began. A very material increase had been made in the output of small arms ammunition by the Colonial Ammunition Company, and since the war began 1 more than six and a-half million rounds had been supplied to the Expeditionary Force and about three and a-half million rounds for the home defence forces for training. Reserves of gun ammunition had also considerably increased, though it was not yet as high as the Government would desire. The supply of field artillery from the United Kingdom and India had also brought this branch almost up to war establishment, and the full war establishment of medium machine guns for Territorials was now in the country. More than 1,800 machine guns of various types bad been added recently to stocks.

Mr .Tones also referred to the manufacture of Bren gun carriers, mortars, etc., locally. Good progress was also made in the establishing of petrol reserves for the Army. The Minister gave a detailed list of other equipment, such as clothing, which had been made in New Zealand. INVALIDED HOME. The number of sick and wounded Army personnel returned to New Zealand from overseas, he said, was 1,220. Of this number 185 were from the United Kingdom, 793 from the Middle East, seven from Australia, seven from Cape Town, and 228 from the Pacific Islands. The hospital ship Maunganui was entirely staffed hy New Zealanders, and there were a number of New Zealanders also on the Oranje. AIR FORCE HONOURS. " The Royal New Zealand Air Force is now a ‘ force ’ in every sense of the word” said Air .Tones, dealing with this branch of the services. Since the outbreak of war applications for enlistment in the R.N.Z.A.F. totalled over 30,000, and the total personnel engaged in the Air Force in the Dominion was now well over 11 times greater than it was at the beginning of the conflict. Tbe effort had not been solely directed to supplying personnel for Canada, the Air Force in Britain, and local requirements, and they had been able to meet requests for the maintenance of a unit at one of the Pacific Islands. Speaking of the accident rate among the training personnel, the Minister said a study of the data showed that many of them were due to errors of judgment, negligence, and low flying, and a large number of the accidents had taken place in the winter, when flying conditions were not of the best. However, the accident rate compared more than favourably with that in other countries. Air .Jones said he could assure the House that no stone had been left unturned to protect New Zealand from invasion, and the air training scheme alone ensured that there would always be a large number of trained personnel available in the Dominion in case of emergency.

The Alinister also paid a tribute to the success of our airmen overseas, stating that to date they had received over 100 awards and honours, including one D. 5.0., three George Aledals three D.F.C.s with bar, 77 D.F.C.s, nine D.F.At.s, and 11 Air Force Crosses.