NAVAL MYSTERY

Manawatu Standard, Volume LXII, Issue 98, 25 March 1942, Page 2

NAVAL MYSTERY

QUESTION IN THE LORDS. LONDON, Mar. 3. In four startling sentences Admiral of the - Fleet Lord Chutiield, former First. Sea- Lord, has provided a naval mystery which is being widely discussed. Addressing the House of Lords, lie said :—- “Three and a-hali years ago I left under construction seven battleships and five aircraft-carriers. As tar as L know, only three battleships have been completed. Where are the others? Surely we should be told, so that the nation can have some confidence in our naval position.” Presumably the capital ships to which Lord Chatlield referred were King George V., Prince of Wales, Anson, Howe, Duke of \ork, Lion, and Temeraire. Of these, the Prttice of Wales lias l>een sunk, the King George V. and Duke ot f ork are in service, and the others have not been commissioned. Recently Mr Winston Churchill, in the House of Commons, referring to the Channel escape of the German warships, said that by the time the German ships were ready for service Britain would have further formidable units. Presumably he was referring tn the Anson and Howe, which should be near commission. No information is available about the position of the 45 000-ton battleships Lion and Temeraire.