U.S.A. NAVAL STRENGTH

Greymouth Evening Star, 15 May 1943, Page 5

U.S.A. NAVAL STRENGTH

RECORD APPROPRIATIONS BATTLESHIPSNECESSARY (Recd. 11.30 p.m.) T _ WASHINGTON, May 14. The largest Naval Appropriation Bill in history, requesting almost 30,000,000,000 dollars, was submitted to the House of Representatives by the Appropriations Committee, which released evidence of high Naval officers who detailed the growth of America’s rapidly expanding Navy. Vice-Admiral Horne, Vice-Chief of Naval Operations, revealed that the Navy’s strength on July 1, 1944, is expected to be 5,100 ships with a total personnel of 2,500,000 men, and 225,000 officers. Six 35,000-ton battleships are already in service and two are nearly ready. . The highlights of Vice-Admiral Horne’s evidence are: Firstly, that the Navy’s greatest need is escort vessels for combating submarines, the building of which is outstripping the sinkings. Secondly, our battleships at the time of Pearl Harbour lacked speed and flexibility. However, the, battleship has proved that the day of the battleship is far extended. Thirdly, aircraft carriers, around which the ideal task force is built, become the backbone of the fleet. Whether otir Pacific strategy becomes a step-by-step re-investment of the islands or a flank approach to Japan we are going to need carriers in quantity. The traditional naval battle —battleship against battleship and big fleet against big fleet—is out of the picture. I Fourthly, expenditure for ammum- . lion after the defeat of Hitler will • increase instead of decrease. Fifthly, contracts for 27,642 nayal planes are expected in 1944, including one hundred four-engined transports, twenty of which will be similar to the seventv-ton Martin Mars flying boat. Sixthly, the Navy is acquiring considerable numbers of auxiliary carriers—flying decks mounted on merchant ships and hulls. Seventhly, the Normandie requires fifteen more months before salvaging. The completed total cost will be twenty million, or twenty per cent, of the cost to reproduce the ship from hull to superstructure. Several officials emphasised the importance of landing craft as requisite for amphibious operations. Admiral Horne said: We must get to the Axis on the Continent of Europe, regain the islands of Melanesia ••and Micronesia, and make a final assault against Japan by amphibious operations, utilising landing craft. Rear Admiral Cochrane asked for a million tons of small amphibious craft, seventy per cent, of which would be landing craft. He predict--led the losses in some cases would ’exceed fifty per cent. The losses in the North African landings were very heavy. They were not violently opposed but the weather was bad. AEROPLANE PRODUCTION

RUGBY, May 14. The Appropriations Committee of the House of Representatives approved the largest naval appropriations in United States history totalling 29,463,687,198 dollars, says a Washington message. The appropriation includes 6,583,725,000 dollars for naval aviation, and 7,918,120,000 for increasing and replacing surface vessels. The aviation appropriation provides 4,847,725,000 for 27,642 planes, seventy-five million for special types of planes, and twenty-one million for production facilities. " The Committee reported that the aeroplane production objective, for which provision had previously been made, was 185,000 planes by the end of 1942, but there will be six months’ delay in complete realisation of the programme. At the same time, the United States shipping has grown from a total of 907 vessels of all kinds in 1941 to 3183 in 1943, and by July 1, 1944, it is expected to be about 5,100 ships.