BATTLESHIPS FOR U.S.

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 86, Issue 111, 14 May 1942, Page 5

BATTLESHIPS FOR U.S.

TWELVE BEING BUILT New York, May 12. Interesting disclosures about the United States' battleship building programme are made by the New York Times’ Washington correspondent, Mr. Arthur Krock. He says that 12 battleships are being built in Government yards—the Alabama. lowa. New Jersey. Missouri. Wisconsin, Illinois. Kentucky, Montana, Ohio, Maine, New Hampshire and Louisiana. Three built in private yards were all launched last summer—the South Dakota, of 45,000 tons, and the Indiana and the Massachusetts, of 35,000 tons each. Except for the Missouri, Wisconsin and Kentucky, all the keels were laid before 1941. The largest will cost 135,000,000 dollars each, the mediumsized 92,000,000 dollars each, and the smallest 77,000,000 dollars each, the total for 17, including the North Carolina and the Washington already in commission, being estimated at 1,700,000,000 dollars. Mr. Krock says: “Our battleships have not been in action since Pearl Harbour. The American plane ship heavy naval arm, which lent additional strength to those military exteam has done very well without its perts who for some years opposed a great diversion of material and money to our battleship programme.” The South Dakota. Alabama, Indiana, and Massachusetts are ships of 35,000 tons, with nine 16in. and twenty sin. guns, and complete a class of six ships. The lowa, Missouri, New Jersey and Wisconsin are of 45,000 tons, and also carry nine 16in. guns. Brassey’s Naval Annual for 1941 has no information about the rest of the ships, except that they are of 52,000 tons—by far the largest warships officially listed.