POCKET BATTLESHIPS’ THREAT

Manawatu Times, Volume 64, Issue 174, 26 July 1939, Page 12

POCKET BATTLESHIPS’ THREAT

is this new German Navy going to be used for? That is the question which is agitating the world to-day, writes Lieutenant-Com--1 mander Kenneth Edwards in the Sunday Graphic, London. The Germany of to-day is a Continental rather than a maritime Power, although Germany has also built up in recent years an extensive and efficient mercantile marine. This mercantile marine, however, Cannot be threatened unless Germany herself provokes war, and Germany certainly does not need a navy of the size that she is building for the defence of her short coast lines. Admirals Gladisch. of the German Navy, has made it very clear that Germany believes in the use of air power for attack on trade and the ports at Which cargoes are unloaded for distribut ion. He contends that air attack on merchant ships would not be an infringement of international law because the enemy would be forced to place his merchant ships in convoys protected by warships. This would, he says, at One Purpose Only. If German "pocket battleships" were Bt large on the ocean trade routes in once allow them to be attacked withOut any of the formalities demanded by international law. Another German admiral, referring in a speech to the new aircraft carriers being built for the German Navy, stated that these ships were designed to work not only in the North Sea or the Baltic, but far out on the great trade routes of the Atlantic Ocean. Germany plans to paralyse the trade of Britain. The German "pocket battleships” are vessels particularly suited for war on the great trade routes. Their very large radius of action would make them far less dependent upon supplies than the Germaa trade route raiders of the Greet War the event of war, the complete protec. tion of merchant shipping could only be achieved by placing all merchant ships in convoys and providing all con. voys with escorts stronger than the German "pocket battleships.”

This would mean that every convoy would have to be given a battleship escort.

However, the fact cannot be ignored that the German "pocket battleships” are virtually useless for any other pur. pose.

At present they, with the Scharnhorst and Gneisenau, form Germany's whole capital ship strength; yet they cannot hope to lie in the line of battle against full-sized battleships better protected and with much heavier gun power.

At the same time there is evidence that Germany has such a great belief in her policy of creating threats that

How Raiders Would Be Hunted Down

she does not wish to provoke a general war upon the colonial or any other issue.

In addition, there Is the fact that Germany’s naval power is at present

so much weaker than that of the British Empire that she could only hope for defeat in the event of war. Anti-aircraft gunnery has also mad* great strides, and this, in conjunction with the production of special antiaircraft escort vessels, should be adequate for the protection of merchant ship convoys against air attack. The hunting-down of enemy raiders is also to-day far more simple than it was twenty-five years ago, because practically all ships are now fitted with wireless, and all ships which would be detailed for the protection of the ocean trade routes carry aircraft, which enormously increase their range of vision. Once the position of a raider is known, her movements can be followed while a superior force is being concentrated.