JAPANESE NAVY.

Hawera Star, Volume XLVIII, 12 July 1924, Page 11

JAPANESE NAVY.

BIG POST-TREATY BUILDING. REMARKABLE LIGHT CRUISER INCREASE. Information has recently boon received in Englnd respecting "the Japanese cruiser programme. This scheme, as amended soon alter the Washington Conference, provides for eight ships—four of 7500 tons and four of 111,GOO tons. Of these, the first, four are already under construction, and two ships °fihe 10,000 ton class will be laid down this year. Kinugasa, 7500 tons, building at Kawasaki yard. Kobe. Kako, 7500 tons, at Kawasaki yard, Kobe. v Aoba, v 500 tons, at Mitsubishi vard, Nagasaki. Furutaka, 7500 tons, at Uraga Dock Co. Myoko, 10,000 tons, at Kure. Naehi, 10,000 tons, at- Y'okosuka (to he kid down in June). Nos. 7 and 8; each of 10,000 tons (to be laid down in 1925).

Since 1917 a large number of light cruisers have been built in Japan, says the author of current naval notes in The Navy (British Navy League’s organ), and the most numerous group is the Kunia class, of 14 units, all identical. They are about 5500 ’ tons of a speed of 33 knots, and mount 5.5-ineh guns. With the completion of the above-mentioned programme in 1925 Jaiian will have 25 modern light cruisers, capable of steaming 33 knots. The British strength—as the Army, Navy and Air Force Gazette recently showed—will he not more than 28 light cruisers under 15 years old (or 30 including the two projected Australian ships), and some of these will he under 5000 tons. Of the 46 light cruisers in the British Navy to-day, only 12 are over 5000 tons, -and only two are over 8000 tons. The well-known naval writer, Mr H. C. Bywater, also refers to Japan's enerl getic naval construction in "the May issue of The. Navy. He quotes the Japanese Foreign Minister’s recent comment on the abandonment of the Singapore base as-' something “needless,” which “would have caused among some of us (Japanese) a feeling of regret and disaooointment.” The Japanese press had declared Singaoore to be in conflict with the soirit of* the naval treaty, and the Japanese Foreign Minister, in the mess interview quoted dropped a hint to the same effect. ' • Mr By water. insists l that Singauore is not m conflict with the spirit or the letter of the treaty, and then savs the, Japanese interpretation of the spirit of ' 1 u Hsatv is distinctly one-sided. “There could he no clearer proof of J apan s resolve to maintain, *at all costs, her command of the - Western 1 aeific than the strenuous effort she is making to restore such damage as her navy suffered in the earthquake disaster. Undaunted -by the tremendous bill tor reconstructing her devastated cities, she is SDending millions on the repair of the naval base at Yokosuka For a month or two after, the disaster w ork on the warship programme aopears to have been in abeyance. It was speedily resumed, however, and a whole series of cruisers, destroyers, submarines, and auxiliary vessels are now under construction. In their comments on Singapore, Japanese writers repeatedly invoke ‘the spirit of the treaty,’ for which they prdfess a touching solicitude. It does not seem to have occurred to them that the wholesale construction of such types of fighting craft as are not restricted by the letter of the treaty is even more W]!r lianC f it; ? sph'it than the tm “dmg of a defensive naval base. The volume of Japanese warship construction since the treaty was signed has been large, especially when compaied with the meagre output of other signatory Powers, in little more than two years Japan has built,or prepared to build, 12 cruisers, including four oi tne largest dimensions permissible- 24 destroyers, and at least 22 submarine.-. all. of which are additional to the emit she had in hand when the Washington Conference met. In an Admiralty return published in March, Japan is credited with the following new construction: iwo aircraft carriers, 12 light-cruisers, 28 destroyers, and do submarines. No ether Power has anything like this quantity of fighting tonnage on the stocks. Since the date ol the treaty Great Britain has begun or projected six lightcruisers (including a minelayer), two destroyers, fnd one submarine—say, 58,000 tons in the aggregate, against Japan’s total of 150,000 tons. We do not see how anv impartial judge could hesitate if he* were asked to say which country has shown the leas| regard for the sp*irit of naval disarmament, which th e treaty was designed to foster.

•■Save* in respect of capital ships ana aircraft carriers, Japan now has at her disposal more fighting vessels of postwar construction tiian any other 1 ower, and, for the time being, even G’reat Britain has no battleships comparable with the Nagato and the Mutsu. Of the 25 modern light cruisers built or in hand for the Japanese Navy, 21 were designed subsequent to the Armistice. and may therefore be supposed to embody the technical improvements suggested by war experience. The speed cl the slowest ship in this magnificent cruiser fleet is 32 knots. Three of the vessels are small, displacing from 3100 to 3500 tons; 14 are ships of 5500 to 55/0 tons; four of 7500, and lour of 10.000 tons. Ln the. smaller cruisers the mam armamenl consists of 5.5-inch guns, but the heavier ships will c-arrv 6-inch and 8-inch guns. "No fewer than -15 of the Japanese destroyers are of post-war design. Tjic\ ale large boats, very -strong" v built, last, and powerfully aimed. But it is the submarine arm. which, next to the light cruiser, has been most tapidlv developed of late years. Japan ha~ probably begun or oidered 'SO sub mannes since the war. They are now built with astonishing speed’ boats of IUOO ions going afloat in six to eight after .their keels have been laid. J lie small coastal tvpe is no longer built ; all the post-war boats arcdesigned lor ocean service and a wide radius ol action. Some of them are believed to be submersible cruisers of very imposing tonnage. Japan was the first of the five contracting Powers to remodel her navy within the somewhat elastic framework of the Washington Treaty. Scarcely a month after its signature she had drafted a new progiamnio of ‘auxiliary' construction, and quickly got to work upon it. This programmer it is true, showed a -reduction of nearly 14,000 tons compared wi’iTi the former one; but while.several vessels wore cancelled, those left over were all re-designed to a much higher standard of displacement and fighting value/’ The writer concludes by stating the fact that no capital shops are included in this programme- has concealed thcimportnnee of it from public opinion in other countries, and that the Japanese naval tonnage now building is equivalent to that of five. Dreadnought battleships.