British Pacific Fleet May Be Reduced to Squadron

Otago Daily Times, Issue 26596, 20 October 1947, Page 5

British Pacific Fleet May Be Reduced to Squadron

0 1* nm LONDON, Oct. 18. Rec. 9.15 p.m. The Sunday Times naval correspondent says that the double demobilisation plan for the navy will involve one battleship, two carriers, four cruisers and 20 small vessels going into the which already contains about 500 warships, including four battleships, one battle-cruiser, four carriers, 12 cruisers and about 100 destroyers Britain’s only modern 10,000 ton cruiser, Belfast, will be withdrawn from the Pacific Fleet, reducing its cruiser strength to two or three ships. It will no longer be worthy of the designation fleet, but merely “ squadron.” It has been confirmed at Portland that the British Home Fleet will be reduced temporarily to one cruiser and four destroyers, which is its lowest strength since its establishment. Official quarters stress that the immobilisation of the remainder of the Home Fleet is only temporary to enable crew adjustments to be made. The battleship training squadron at Portland, consisting of King George V, Anson and the carrier Victorious, are not affected. The speeding up of the navy’s demobilisation programme has accentuated the manpower problem and drafting officers have had great difficulty in finding crews for ships.