FLEET SEIZED

Waikato Times, Volume 127, Issue 21157, 5 July 1940, Page 9

FLEET SEIZED

BOLD BRITISH STROKE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE MOVE SHIPS THAT WE TAKE OVER In a dramatic move, without precedent even among the boldest deeds o t the British Navy, Britain has seized the major portion of the French Fleet and thus countered the most | distressing phase of the German j armistice terms imposed upon our j former ally. Never before in history has a fleet of such magnitude as the French been seized by another power during the actual time of hostilities, but in the news of the taking over of that fighting force there are aspects far more important than just the drama and history involved. While Germany had given an undertaking not to use the French warships against Britain, the Empire has learned to disregard the Nazi word and, therefore, the seizure of the French Fleet became a matter of strategic importance. Even if the French Fleet had passed into the hands of the enemy Great Britain would still have had a numerical advantage but the use of French ships by the enemy in the Mediterranean would have been likely to have upset the balance of sea power in that zone to the disadvantage of the British. The fear of French naval guns being turned on the British Fleet has now been eliminated by the latest and most important British naval coup of the war. Shipyard Destruction It has already been reported that the French blew up the uncompleted 35,000-ton battleships Clemenceau and Richelieu on the stocks before the French evacuated the naval base at Brest following the German occupation of the greater portion of France. It has also been stated that the recently completed battleship Jean Bart had been towed to Britain. If those reports are correct the striking power of the French fleet has now been taken completely from enemy hands. The battleship Richelieu was launched in January, 1939, and the Clemenceau was only laid down in that month. Even during the twelve days that the fate of the French Fleet has been in doubt, there have been various indications in the news that Britain had taken every precaution to prevent Germany and Italy securing the fleet. France suffered only minor losses to her fleet during the period of the war in which she was active against Germany and Italy. She had eight battleships and two building; one aircraft carrier, and two under construction of which nothing has yet been heard; 19 cruisers; 58 destroyers. 12 torpedo boats, two motor torpedo boats, and at least 79 submarines, although that number is probably an under-estimate. One of the French submarines, the Surcouf, is the largest in the world, having a submerged displacement of 4300 ton 5. With the exception of the cruiser La Tour d’Auvergne, which caught fire and blew up at Cassablanca on September 18, no large warship has been lost, though several auxiliary patrol craft have become casualties Ships That Were French No pains have been spared by France to modernise naval material and to keep in touch with the latest developments abroad. Not only is a very high proportion of the ships now in service of up-to-date design, but in the originality of their conceptions French naval architects have excelled themselves. Beginning with the big destroyers of the Chacal class, built under the 1922 programme, a new hull form was produced, which, it is claimed, offers the minimum of resistance at high speeds. Certainly the results obtained at sea with various warships constructed on these lines go far to support the claim. A whole series of super-destroyers followed the Chacal type. Though the hull form remained virtually the same in size, speed and armament, there was a steady rise until in the latest ships the displacement approaches 3000 tons, with a main armament of eight 5.5in. guns and a designed horse-power of 90,000. All these vessels have proved themselves capable of considerably greater speeds than the nominal ones for which they were designed. For example, the figure reached on trials by Le Terrible, of 2569 tons, launched in 1933, was 45 knots, the highest speed ever attained by a destroyer. Up-to-Date Cruisers Cruiser design has advanced on equally progressive lines from the Duguay-Trouin, laid down in 1922, to the De Grasse, now building, while the two battleships, Dunkerque, and Strasbourg, completed in 1937 and 1938 respectively, have been remarkably successful. Designed with the avowed purpose of being able to hunt down and destroy the Nazi “pocket battleships,” these fine ships have a displacement of 26,500 tons, and mount eight 13in and 16 s.lin. guns. Their turbine engines of 100,000 shaft horse-power were designed for a speed of 29.5 knots, but on trials this was exceeded by a couple of knots. The Jean-Bart, a battleship of the new 35,000-ton class, was laid down in January. 1937. She was launched in April, 1940. Originally she was to have been ready by the spring or slimmer of 1941, but she is now actually approaching readiness for service. France's brand new “fleet” of capital ships should be capable, if desired, of operating in a homogeneous squadron not only with its own Dunkerque class ships but also with the new British battleships of the King George V. class. Big Guns During recent years particular attention has been paid to gunnery in the French Navy* Not only have training methods been improved, but the weapons mounted in the latest

ships are exceptional in their range, power and accuracy. Thus the 13in. guns of the Dunkerque and Strasbourg have a range of over 20 miles and can fire 12001 b shells at the rate of three a minute.

The 5.1 in. guns which constitute the secondary armament of these ships are what is known as “dual purpose” weapons, capable of being used with equal efficacy against either aircraft or surface targets. They possess an effective range of 11,000 yards. In the latest destroyers the 5.5in. guns are semi-automatic and are credited with a range of 25,000 yards and a maximum rate of fire of 16 rounds a minute.