DISARMAMENT

Hawera Star, Volume XLVI, 5 July 1927, Page 5

DISARMAMENT

DEALING WITH SUBMARINES.

WHAT IS PROPOSED. SIZE AND GUN POWER. (British Official Wireless.) RUGBY, July 2. Questions relating to submarines, or which the United States at present has 129 built or building, Britain 74, and Japan 95, were further examined at the Geneva Naval Conference by the technical committee to-day. The British standpoint, which is shared by the United States, is that it would be better for the world if submarines could be definitely barred as a weapon of war. The submarine, however, has proved its power as a menace to surface craft, and is looked to by the smaller naval Powers as their chief weapon of defence. Britain, in these circumstances, proooses to apply to submarines her fixed policy of general reduction in the size of ships and guns and the lengthening of their life. Two classes of submarines are proposed, one limited to 1600 tons for use overseas, and the other, limited to 600 tons for coastal defence work. It is proposed that the life of all submarines should lie extended to 15 years, and that the heaviest gun to be carried in these craft should he 5-inch. It would appear that on the basis of these proposals provisional agreements, subject of course to confirmation by the plenary sessions of the conference, are being sought. The newspapers report that an agreement regarding the calibre of the guns has been reached, and that there are good prospects of settling the differences concerning the tonnage of the ocean-going class of submarine. It is reported that the delegation are in agreement as to 600 ton submarines for coastal defence. The technical committee of the Is aval limitation Conference at Geneva continued its discussion yesterday on the characteristics of submarines. A communique states that a provisional agreement on some points left untouched at the previous meeting was reached. Newspapers state that the armament of 5-inch guns for submarines had already been accepted when the committee met, and the questions of tonnage and age periods of large and small vessels were considered. As already stated, there was little opposition to the British proposal for limiting the tonnage of coastal defen'e submarines to 600 tons, but some of the delegates doubted whether 1600 tons for foreign vessels was large enough in the case of Powers unprovided with distant bases. ’ The “Sunda-v Times” says it would appear that the technical committee, after close examination, fixed 1800 tons as the maximum tonnage, and laid down 13 years as against the British proposal of 15 years for the life of submarines.

The “Observer” says that the British proposal for dividing cruisers into two categories, large and small, is now being examined, and is facilitated by the fact that Britain has supported her proposal with detailed reasons.