BRITISH NAVY

Hokitika Guardian, 10 July 1937, Page 6

BRITISH NAVY

REVIEW AT SPITHEAD, OF 150 VESSELS. •LONDON; Juntf 29. At Spithead on May. 20, King Gborgu VI. reviewed his Fleet. Nearly 150 men-of-war and auxiliaries, representing every type of vessel in the Navy, were there to greet His Majesty with the thunder of .saluting guns and, the full-throated cheers of, 50,0.00 officers and seamen, writes Hector O.' 1 Bywater in the Daily Telegraph, London. In its strictly naval aspect the Coronation review was both, a pageant and a portent., Behind the lines of existing fighting ships the mind’s eye perceived the , shgdpwy ;• forms of a hundred other men-of-war now taking shape in building yards all round the coast of Britain.

With all truth it can Jbe sgid that the Coronation review foreshadowed rather -than depicted the, full naval might of the British Commonwealth, for the Fleet now under construction will he little inferior -in combatant power to tne entire force assembled at Spithead. Even three years hence, when the first stage of the rearmament programme is completed the strength of the Navy will have been increased by at least 50 per cent. Within a few years the King would have seen the following in their, places: Five battleships, five giant aircrafl carriers, 21 cruisers, 48 destroyers and 19 submarines, totalling 98 vessels of nearly 550,d00 tons, all of .which are now building or about to be laid down.

Excepting certain units of the Reserve Fleet, .all the armed vessels present were in full fighting trim and ready for action. It is betraying no secret to say that the Navy’s preparedness for any emergency, is far greater to-day than it was even two years ago. Events which occurred abroad in the interval have nad a tonic effect on all branches of the. service, whose ancient watchword, “Ready, aye, ready!” has acquired a new meaning. ' " Economy Axe More, perhaps, than any other national institution did the > Navy feel the edge of the economy ' axe during the post-war era of retrenchment. Under the Washington Treaty of 1922 scores of still effective fighting ships were scrapped without replacement; Eight years later the Loudon Treaty swept yet another batch ol fine ships into the discard. It must have seemed to the Navy, as it did to. foreign onlookers, that we were wantonly demolishing the foundatioiis of that sea power upon which the whole structure of the British Commonwealth was based,

Only those, however, who; have been in, close touch with the Service since the war. can appreciate the disheartening . conditions which prevailed until recently.- %

, .That the spirit of the..Navyshould have emerged triumphant fPatti- this long and searching test —far;- more severe than ordeal by, battler-speaks volumes for the high sense of discipline. and devotion to * duty exhibited by all ranks and ratings.- -,4- v . The most imposing ships in the Fleet are still the twin- sisters Nelson and Rodney, with their, ponderous armament of nine I6in. guns, and the huge, but graceful battle cruiser HqoiJ, 8000 tons, larger than any other warship afloat. Veteran Battleships It is difficult to realise that, thin magnificent vessel was laid down during the war and is now in her seventeenth year of service with-the ; : Older yet is the Queen Elizabeth, which carried out her first battle prac-. tice against, the Dardanelles forts over 22 years ago. This veteran battleship, with others of her class,, is shortly to be taken in hand for rejuvenation, including the fitting of a complete sot oi new machinery. Mot many weeks prior to the review, the Hood was maintaining the freedom of the seas off the northern coast of Spain, a duty in which she was relieved by the Bjn. -cruiser Shropshire, which was also present at Spithead. Spectators of the older generation experienced a thrill as they saw the gaunt outline of the Iron Duke, Jellicoe’s famous flagship at Jutland, which, although bereft of her former glory, is still performing useful service as a. gunnery training ship. Astern of the Hood was the Repulse, sister ship to the Renown. It was in the Renown that the present King and Queen, as Duke and Duchess of York, made their Empire cruise round the world in 1927, covering a distance of over 28,000 miles. In the Australian Bight the ship encountered a full hurricane and mountainous seas, while some weeks 1 later a fire iri one of . the oil bunkers _ caused momentary anxiety, though the Royal passengers maintained an admirable sangfroid. small and old though they be, promise to become historic. During the Mediterranean emergency they were converted into anti-aircraft ships by the substitution of ten 4in. high-angle guns for the original armament of five din. guns, and the fitting of a complete system of high-angle fire control. t They are anti-aircraft ships to be developed by any navy, and their success in this role has promoted the Admiralty to retain five other ships of their class for similar conversion. Further, a group of escort vessels, now under construction, and to have a uniform armament of six 4in. high- ..

angle guns has been expressly designed to protect merchantmen convoys trout hostile aircraft. Mention must be made of the new cruisers Southampton and Newcastle, the firslT of a group of ten ships j planned for the protection of the ocean trade routes. In appearance these splendid vessels —which range fcom 9000 to 10,000 tons, have a speed of 32 knots, mount ■a battery of twelve 6in. guns in triple turrets, besides numerous anti-aircraft guns, and carry three aircraft—are utterly' unlike previous British cruisers. Tlibir rakish funnels and masts strike a new and refreshing note in man-of-war design. Submarine Force Modern destroyers were well represented in the Fleet at Spithead, the latest unit being the Icarus, completed only last April. The Intrepid class to which she belongs, are- the last of the. medium-size destroyers now building. All their successors will be large vessels of 1650 to 1850 tons, this increase in tonnage having been made necessary by the abnormal growth of foreign torpedo craft. •

The submarine force at the review included veterans of the war and boats fresh from the builder’s hands. Among them were the undersea cruisers Thames, Seyerji, and Clyde, . whose speed of 22} knots makes them the fastest submarines in the world.

Although many of the ships seen. at Spithead are past their prime the Sleet as a whole constituted a well-balanced and efficient foyce foy the defence of the Empire, a force of \vhich the King and his peoples may. well be proud. Its Imperial character was exemplified by the presence of warships from Canada, New Zealand and India. Statements have recently been made that the designs of certain of the warships to be built under recent naval programmes leave much to be desire,!. The criticisms, as a rule, have been based upon insufficient knowledge, states another British naval expert in the London Observer.

The five new British battleships, it. has been said ,will be smaller, and weaker in gun-power, than- those of certain .foreign Powers: As regards size, the, new vessels will approximate to the old treaty limit of 35,000 tons, and so far, no other nation is known to he exceeding this limit. The- designed speed of these ships has not yet been disclosed. Guns and Tons ’ It is true that 16-ineh guns will probably be mounted in the battleships about to be laid down , in Japan and America. ■ Fourteen-inch weapons afe provided for the King George V. and Prince of Wales, because-it was nec.es-' sary to start building them as -.spoil as possible after the expiry of the Washington and London Naval Treaties on December 31 last, and the, guns and mountings had to be ordered long beforehand.

At this time it was hoped that Japan would fall into line with other nations in agreeing to the 14-inch being the maximum calibre gun for future capital ships. Fourteen-incli weapons are to be mounted in the three other battleships. tohe built under this year’s programme, in order to produce a homogeneous squadron of five vessels. -

It may be reiterated that the 14-in?h gun is the largest that can be mounted in sufficient numbers in a ship of 35,000 tons ; that it. is not markedly inferior in range or hitting power to the 16-incli, and that the naval advisers to the British Government, with a wealth of experience behind them, are satisfied that our new battleships cannot be outclassed by any vessel of the same tonnage. , ■ It been said also that the British aircraft-carriers are fifteen, years out of date. It is true that most of our present ships of this , type are . all old vessels originally converted from other uses. The use of ship-born aircraft, however, has only developed since the war, so that our present “carriers” are experimental. Aircraft Carriers The . day of huge aircraft-carriers of 33,000 and 27,500, tons is definitely past, and the nations that possess them wish they did not. Vessels of more moderate dimensions are now favoured, and ,the new 22,000-ton Ark Royal, Illustrious and Victorious, and two others to be bn.ilt under this year’s programme, will embody everything that has been learnt as the result of nearly nineteen years’ intensive work and experiment on the part of what is|ksK>wn as the Fleet Air Arm. 7sTlie seven 5300 cruisers of the Dido type have been criticised because it is said "they'are outclassed by new foreign cruisers, being slower and more lightly armed.

The preceding Arethusa class of four small cruisers has designed speeds of 32j knots and carry six 6-inch - guns. They are definitely intended for work with the Fleet by night, and \yitli destroyers by day, the 10,000-ton 8inch gun ships being too large for this purpose.

■ Except for their tonnage, no details of the Dido class have yet been divulged, though it is known that they will have an altogether different armament to the Arethusa, and, ship for ship, will be fully capable of dealing Hath others of their own size. - More than this can hardly be expected. Italy's Latest Cruisers The latest Italian cruisers, of 30 knots 7874 tins—2soo ibtil lkgft

tlian the, AfethussU .and -j l)idQ-~C&ity 4 ten 6-inch guns- The newest Japanese cruisers' of the ...Mogami' typh~-8599, tons and 33 knots—were designed': for fifteen 6 A-inch Weaponslt is .said that they are fsiilures, to be re-armbd witlr teWer guiis, lii any case, these Italian aiid Japanese ships are comparable with oiiri Smithainptofi .class-of. teig, ships, are round: about •.9000 tons and. armed ( with twfilve •6-inch.'jipart from smaller ~

■guns. ... •: , • -*, . ' A • ■- As regards submarines, the Admir- ■ alty, after great -eitperienca with a variety of different ij>yp es j have come to. favour general;.seryice patrol submarines'’ bf. round-about, 100).■* - terns surface displacement.-These yesshjs can keep the sea for weeks. Small submarines mgy he useful for local defafi©© by other Powers. They are not-needed :hy Britain except for training purposes. It is true ■ that certain /foreign cruisers arid destroyers are faster 'tha-ti the British. To a certain exteptVfJjis extra speed is.»obtained by rupnijig trials in artificial conditions, and by forcing the machinery, It .is alsb. obtained by the sacrifice of other qualities to which we - attach ; the-greatest;-imni portance robustness, seaworthiness, habitability, protection, gun and torpedo armament, and a large fuel supply. • ••- . •• •> • British' cruisers and destroyers are designed to accompany the Fleet all over the world .and in all weathers. Nations whose navies are intended for more restricted use, - and- do , not'dfe pend for their existence upon sea power, can afford to: run;, risks, with .. their designs.' - ' j It suffices to say that British ve.?sp r s stood the test of over four years of strenuous service during the Great War with a success that was surpr.siqg even to those who manned them.' ;Their robustness and general seaworthiness ! were second to none. . : , ’ > •S. >. *-*. ' - >v