WEEDING OUT THE FLEETS

Otago Witness, Issue 3488, 18 January 1921, Page 55

WEEDING OUT THE FLEETS

DISPOSAL OF SHIPS. ONLY THE MOST MODERN VESSELS KEPT. The British Navy acts promptly, if it does not talk much. When told to “cut down" after the war it set- about the work with a thoroughness that some other State “spending’' departments might copy with great benefit to the sorely harassed taxpayer (says “Jac-kstaff” in the Daily Mail). Already 15 battleships, 20 cruisers, about 200 destroyers, and a whole host of other craft have been weeded out of the fleet. Ol these, some have been sold to foreign countries, 16 were given to Australia, some have been “auctioned off,” others are still on the sale list, one or two are to be used as targets for big guns, and a number of ex-ruine-swee-piny trawlers has been provided for a fishermen's co-operative society. Only the most modern types of capital ship, light cruiser, destroyer, and submarine are being retained as “effectives.” And as there is no programme -of new construction in hand it appears to be the intention to make what j we have in the way of warships last us a [ long time. From a war strength of over 400,060, the r,c . so:otc-l o: til- navy is being brought down to a peace establishment of 136,000, which is 15,000 less than it was in 1914. So drastically has this part of the “reducing” been done that barely enough men are left for the fleet to “carry on” with. "When manning a warship a proportionate number of “rati:: vs" u: -: trained in different duties have to be provided. In order to prevent a big dearth of these, free discharges and “purchas-.r: g out” have now practically been stopped. 'Hie navy has got rid of every man it can spare—“more than it can spare"' some of the drafting staffs will tell you. For the navy has a great deal of important work to do. The shifting of the balance of -sea power as an outcome of the war has resulted in our fleet being once again scattered over all the world's seas. To put the matter another way: before 1914 we were obliged to concentrate our naval strength in home waters because the challenge lay there. Now it lies elsewhere, and a new distribution ol our fighting ships has become necessary. In addition to the Atlantic and Mediterranean fleets we have squadrons ill the South Atlantic, China, Africa, the Indies, and, temporarily, one in the Baltic. Probably we shall soon have a distinct Pacific squadron as well. In fact, under stress of circumstances, we are getting back to a time when naval service will largely mean foreign service, and the bluejacket will have been two or three times round the world before he takes up his pension.