ITALY’S NAVY BUILDING

Taranaki Daily News, 14 January 1931, Page 7

ITALY’S NAVY BUILDING

YARDS AT HIGH PRESSURE MEDITERRANEAN SUPREMACY FURTHER ORDERS PLACED UNPARALLELED ACTIVITY By Telegraph—Press Assn.—Copyright. Rec. 7.30 p.m. London, Jan. 12. Italy’s naval building confirms the idea that she is aiming at supremacy in the Mediterranean rather than at parity With France, states the Daily Telegraph’s naval contributor. Practically every shipyard is working on naval contracts, and further huge orders have just been placed. Italy last year launched seven cruisers, against one by France and none by Britain. ’Sixteen warships were completed during the year and an order for 22 submarines just placed is the largest by any Power since the war. Government and private arsenals arq working at high pressure to supply armaments, munitions and equipment. “Such scenes of activity in naval armament centres are unparalleled in peace time,” the correspondent adds. A reporter on the naval budget recently declared that “Italy leads the world in naval technique. Her warships are designed more efficiently, built more rapidly and achieve higher speeds than those of other Powers. Certainly there is no denying the phenomenal development in Italian naval power since the war.”