FUTURE ROLE OF NAVY

Timaru Herald, Volume CLVII, Issue 23112, 29 January 1945, Page 4

FUTURE ROLE OF NAVY

Combined Sea And Air Power

Small Carrier Suggested For Dominion

“If you wish for peace, prepare for war,’’ said Admiral of the Fleet Lord Keyes in concluding a broadcast address last night from Auckland, when he quoted the motto of H.M.S. Exeter, a famous British naval school. Lord Keyes urged that New Zealand should do its utmost after the war to maintain a small aircraft-carrier and sufficient training ships to train boys for the Royal New Zealand Navy and for the training of members of the Royal New Zealand Naval Reserve.

Lord Keyes said that he and Lady Keyes greatly appreciated the warm welcome and kindness and hospitality extended to them during their tour of the Dominion. They had been greatly impressed by the tremendous strides which had been taken in the development of Hew Zealand since the days of the early settlers about 100 years ago.

Lord Keyes continued that he had been asked to suggest what New Zealand could do to contribute to the defence of the British Empire in the years to come, but he could not. say what a small country like the Dominion could afford to do. It was the second time in a generation in which an aggressor nation had struck at the British Empire, believing that it was too weak to defend itself. The flower cf our youth had been sacrificed and the manhood of the race was being trained to arms. The end of the European war was in sight, and Russia was advancing in an overwhelming flood with the aid of equipment provided by Britain and the United States. Britain had foueht alone until Germany had attacked Russia and the United States had entered the war. It had been fortunate that the Japanese had struck in their treacherous attack on Pearl Harbour, which had had the effect of unitinc the American neonle in a wave of anger and galvanised them into immediate action.

The United States had not nnlv come to the aid of Australia and New Zealand but had been able to establish great naval and military bases from which to launch their attacks on the -Tananese. Meanwhile, in the Fnronepn theatre every effort bad been m a d n to break down the morale of the British neonlo bi’ bombing and to sever our '”orld-wide command of the ocean. rT ’he landings in .Tun° end the subsequent driving back of the Germane had been d orv 'n<l-n t on sea newer and naval air newer until landbased air newer could t«ke over on the establishment of airfields.

Use of Sea Power

In the Pacific it had been a difficult problem, but the United States Navy had established such a fleet of aircraft carriers, with adequate battleship support, that it had been able to command the Pacific. Huge numbers of soldiers and vast quantities of equipment had been transported to the scene of their successful attacks on various islands. The capture of Luzon resulting from attacks bv a huge array of aircraft-carriers, protected by a powerful fleet, had been an outstanding example of the proper use of sea power. A powerful British fleet had now been released for service in the Pacific and would join the American forces.

In the years between the Great War and the present war, Lord Keyes continued, the development of aircraft had led to the belief in certain quarters that an army and a navy were redundant and that all that was required was an adequate air force. That contention and propaganda on those lines, not only in Britain but throughout the Empire, had had a very serious effect. Without a powerful fleet of United States battleships and naval planes the attacks against the Philippines could never have succeeded. American battleships would have suffered the fate of H.M.S. Prince of Wales and H.M.S. Repulse if they had not had powerful air cover. A modern battleship was a mobile fortress on which all the other units of a fleet depended.

Naval Cadet Corps

Australia and New Zealand, with their limited resources, could not stand alone. Their very existence depended on adequate naval protection. A'navai air screen was of vital importance and must be an integral part of a navy. Young New Zealanders had made fine naval airmen, and Lord Keyes hoped that they would continue to give their support to this branch of the service. Members of the Returned Services’ Association could do valuable work in assisting the naval cadet corps, which not only provided valuable training, but were of great benefit from a physical and mental aspect. He hoped that the New Zealand Government would give the same support to naval cadet corps as was the case in Britain. In proportion to its size, New Zealand had been second to none in its contribution to the war effort, “Many thousands of your young men are fighting overseas,” he concluded, ‘and men with a comparatively short period of training are standing up to the highly trained men of the aggressor nations who have grown up in the belief that they would rule the world. There will be an even greater struggle in the future, with even more fiendish weapons, unless the enemy nations realise that you are well trained and that you are prepared to defy their challenge. Unless you are prepared to accept universal training for both men and women, and unless the young men are prepared to fight, we will deserve to lose all the freedom which we are at present fighting to maintain.”