85 NEW VESSELS FOR NAVY

Southland Times, Issue 23389, 22 December 1937, Page 5

85 NEW VESSELS FOR NAVY

BRITISH PROGRAMME THIS YEAR ITALY AIMS AT SUBMARINE DOMINANCE (United Press Assn.—Telegraph Copyright) LONDON, December 20. The latest edition of Janes’s Fighting Ships indicates that 85 British vessels will be added to the Navy by the 1937 programme. There are now five aircraft carriers and 17 cruisers under construction. It is expected that five additional battleships will be included in the 1938-39 estimates.

Japan contemplates building four battleships with 16in guns, but so far no news has been received that the keels have been laid.

Although two Italian 35,000-ton battleships were laid down in 1937 it is doubtful if they will be ready before 1940. Italy wil 1 soon have more submarines than any other fleet except Russia, which is aiming at first place in submarines and motor torpedo-boats. It was announced in the House of Commons that an order for one 8000ton cruiser was being placed with each of the following firms: Swan, Hunter and Wigham Richardson, Wallsend-on~ Tyne; John Brown, Clydebank; A. Stephen and Sons, Govan; and VickersArmstrong. It was explained that the ships represented the conclusion of the 1937 programme. The First Lord of the Admiralty (Major A. Duff Cooper) assured Mr Winston Churchill (Conservative) that the cruisers were certainly the equal of contemporary vessels being built in other countries.

140 NEW SHIPS IN FOUR YEARS FORECAST OF STRENGTH IN 1940 The frequent announcements of the launching of new warships are a reminder of the rapidity and the extent of the additions that are being made to the Navy, but in themselves are apt to be confusing, because the time taken to complete a ship after launching varies so much, says the naval correspondent of The Manchester Guardian in a recent article. The small river-gunboat may be ready for service within a few weeks of being put into the water. The battleship* will require several months for fitting out after the hull is afloat.

It may clarify the position to present a forecast (based partly on officially announced dates and partly on the period known to be allowed for building) of the principal ships that will be joining the fleet between now and 1940. Big numbers of small ships such as boom defence vessels, training establishment tenders and the like, which are not included in the official Return of the Strength of Fleets, are omitted from consideration, but .it must not be forgotten that the building of these vessels involves labour and material (and cost) as does the building of the fighting ship. 1 During the present year, up to December 31, some thirty-two ships will have been completed and put into commission. They are:

Cruisers (6): Birmingham, Newcastle, Sheffield, Southampton, Glasgow, Aurora. Destroyers (9): Inglefield, Icarus, Ilex, Imogen, Imperial, Intrepid, Impulsive, Isis, Ivanhoe. Submarines (3): Sterlet, Cachalot, Triton. Minesweepers and Smail Craft (14): Hebe, Sharpshooter, Bittern, Gleaner, Hazard, Sheldrake, Kittlwake, and seven motor torpedo-boats.

The year 193 c will see a considerable addition to the number of ships in the Navy; many of the vessels ordered under the emergency programme of 1936 will come into commission during the twelve months. It appears probable that sixty new ships will be put into service during the twelve months beginning next January. They are: Aircraft-carrier (1): Ark Royal. Cruisers (4): Belfast, Edinburgh, Liverpool, Manchester. Destroyers (32): Afridi, Cossack, Ghurka, Maori, Mashona, Nubian, Zulu, Ashanti, Bedouin, Eskimo, Mohawk, Matabele, Punjabi, Sikh, Somali, Tartar, Jervis, and seven other “J” class, Kelly, and seven other “K” class. Submarines (7): Thetis, Trident, Tribune, Triumph, Undine, Unity, Ursula. Minesweepers, & etc. (16): Leda, Seagull, Gossamer, Jason, Widgeon, Scorpion, and 10 motor torpedo-boats. Some time during 1939 we shall get the first new battleships built for the Navy for thirteen years. The King George V and the Prince of Wales are, it is understood, to be ready for service within about 30 months of the laying of the keel plates, which took place on January 1 of this year. Also during 1939 four new aircraft-carriers will be completed. The total of ships joining the fleet during that year will not be less than forty, and it must be remembered that some small craft to be proposed under next year’s programme ought also to be finished before the end of 1939, and consequently the total may be higher than can at present be foreseen. The ships now building and due for completion in that year, however, are: Battleships (2): King George V and Prince of Wales. Aircraft-carriers (4): Indomitable, Formidable, Illustrious, Victorious. Cruisers (8): Gloucester, Bonaventure, Hermione, Dido, Euryalus, Naiad, Phoebe, and Sirius. Destroyers (8): Laforey and seven other “L" class. Submarines (7): Taku, Tarpon, Thistle, Tigris, Triad, Truant, Tuna. Minesweepers, & etc. (11): Bramble, Britomart. Speedy, Sphinx, Black Swan, Flamingo, Pelican, Guillemot, Pintail, Shearwater, Forth. The additions in 1940 will, of course, be governed by the programmes of the next two years, and at present it can only be said that ships now under construction or shortly to be ordered will certainly join the fleet in that year. These include three battleships and five cruisers of the current programme. The battleships are the Anson, Jellicoe, and Beatty and the cruisers Fiji, Kenya, Mauritius, Nigeria, and Trinidad.

The following table summarizes the information given above, but it must be read with the reservation that the figures for 1939 and 1940 will be affected by future programmes which have yet to be announced and accepted by Parliament:—

1937 1938 1939 1940 Battleships •— — 2 3 Aircraft-carriers 1 4 — Cruisers 6 4 8 5 Destroyers 9 32 8 ? Submarines 3 7 7 ? Minesweepers and other small craft 14 16 11 ?