BUY BATTLESHIP

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXV, Issue 23184, 2 November 1938, Page 13

BUY BATTLESHIP

AUSTRALIAN PLANS TOTAL COST £15,0G0,000 LAND DEFENCE FORCES EXPANSION OF PERSONNEL By Telegraph—Press Association—Copyright (Received November 1, 0.10 p.m.) SYDNEY. Nov. 1 Plans for strengthening the Royal Australian Navy with a battleship armed with lGin. guns and costing £11,000,000 are before the Federal Cabinet and will probably be approved, says the Canberra correspondent of the Sydney Sun.

fho correspondent adds that with the necessary escort craft and docking for such a vessel the total cost would he not less than £15,000,000. The Federal Government has been assured that such, a ship could be turned out from British yards in four years.

The Minister of Defence, Mr. H. V. Thorbv, announced to-day the enlistment of a special defence auxiliary of former Air Force Officers and men, at least Itoo of whom will perform instructional work. It is also intended to form garrison militia units in all industrial areas, while members of rifle clubs will be trained in the use of machine-guns to protect bridges, oil tanks, and munition dumps. In Addition, about 2000 officers and men will bo added to the naval strength, and 3000 to the Air Force. Mr. Thorby said that of the 10,000 men the Government planned to add to the permanent force, thus bringing its strength up to 20,000, 50 per cent would be allotted to the Army, 20 to the Navv and 30 to the Air Force.

Australia at present could mobilise a force of nearly 100,000 men, comprising a permanent force of 10,170, a citizen force of 38,000 and 50,000 members of rifle clubs.

NEW BRITISH GUN ANTI-AIRCRAFT DEFENCE OFFICIAL SECRET OUT R EVOLUTIONARY DESIGN Independent Cable Service (Received November 3, 11.30 p.m.) LONDON, Nov. 1 Tho Daily Express, under the heading "Big Defence Secret Out: Britain has "World's Most Powerful Anti-aircraft Gun," says the report of the .Select Committee on the Estimates reveals the existence of a 4.oin. anti-aircraft gun. Military circles were surprised to find it mentioned as they regarded it as an official secret. Field Marshal Goering's newspaper National-Zeitung recently stated that Germany's 3.46 in. anti-aireraft gun, with a ceiling of 26,000 ft., and capable of firing""2o shots a minute, was "a which foreigners paid special attention." Britain's fun is now known to be of revolutionary design and performance far surpassing that of the recent 3.Tin. gun, which has a 30,000 ft. ceiling and is capable of firing 12 rounds a minute.

in a cablegram published on October 20 regarding the manufacture of guns in Australia, it was stated that the War Office .was agreeable to the manufacture in Australia for New Zealand of a 4.5 in gun, which was a considerable advance on the 3.7 in. The details were being closely guarded. The • gun was not yet standard equipment in Britain.