BRITISH NAVAL PROGRAMME

Southland Times, Issue 24368, 24 February 1941, Page 5

BRITISH NAVAL PROGRAMME

Many Ships Built During War

(British Official Wireless)

RUGBY, February 21.

The naval estimates before the war made it clear that Britain would have a rapidly expanding navy from 1938-39 onwards. It is now possible to state that a very large number of ships, especially smaller ships, has already been built during this war. Including many ships built in the Dominions, the naval building programme today is at a higher rate than at the peak period of the last war. It has been said that if a British admiral could sail with all the ships Britain has completed since the beginning of the war he would think he was sailing out “a considerable fleet.”

In the construction of merchant ships, the comparisons suggest that Britain is doing better than in the last war. In 1915 the whole tonnage built was about 650,000 tons and in 1916 the figure was 550,000. The rate of construction is now much higher than either figure quoted. Some idea of the magnified shipbuilding effort may be gathered from the fact that the country’s labour forces have risen by about 60 per cent, since the beginning of the war. When a comparison was made between the limited resources of the present time and the naval forces operated by the Allies in the last war in the five fleets then available, the strength of the effort today can be well appreciated. Then there were as many as 930 destroyers, of which perhaps about 500 would be available at one time for raid protection. Because speed of output is the chief factor Britain is very much in the position of building a standard ship today. The welding of hulls is being carried out as far as expert labour permits.

Today the British Navy is holding its own though facing the additional menace of powerful air attacks. In the whole four and a-half years of the last war the country lost only 8000 tons of shipping by aircraft attacks. Today there is also the sowing of mines from the air. It is learned that the American destroyers have already rendered considerable aid to this country. Many are in regular service and at least one or two have been concerned in the attacks on U-boats.