THE CHINA MAIL DECEMBER
BIG GUNS OF BRITAIN'S NEWEST
RITI naral rearmament
Breda on a scale never
before approached in this or any
sion?
BATTLESHIPS
the pressure of public opinion rather than the desire of the Navy itself may impel the Admiralty to adopt
the
other country in time of peace. At step, and it has been condemned as alternatively, the engine power would the 16in. zm. References have been the close of the current financial year such in Parliament and elsewhere. have had to be drastically reduced, heard to the moral effect on
however, has not forgotten the les there will be under construction and what, then, were the reasons making the ships very much slower personnel of knowing that their ships
bers."
soas of the last. war; and I have in varying stages of completion 146 prompting the Admiralty's deci- than their foreign "opposite num- mount the biggest guns The Navy,
Since exceptionally strong pro-
found in its ranks an overwhelming vessels of all types, and substantial
In the first place, the present additions to this vast programme are expected to be made under the Board whose professional head tection and adequate speed were
Adml of the Fleet Lord Chatfield, deemed essential, the decision was preference for as strong a measure as is consistent with adequate arma- Navy Estimates for 1938.
discharging projectile man now although The date unofficially specified for knows more about big ship tactics in favour of the new 14in gun, which, of protection in all new capital ships
than any other the completion of the naval rearma-
les capable of piercing thick armour ment plan, as at present envisaged, alive-appears to have accepted the perhaps 500 to 600lb lighter ment adequate signifying accuracy dictum of the late Admi. Tirpitz than that of the 16in, has proved at all practicall ranges and projecti a itself to possess qualities of range,
in every circumstance likely to be Both con- is 1942. In that year we should pos- sess 25 capital ships, including 10 that "the first requirement of
for all rational requirements. More encountered in action. of the largest and most powerful fighting ship is that it should re- accuracy and penetration sufficient
the 14in. gun. Before the war built capital over the 14in gun has a slightly ditions, it is claimed, are fulfilled by type 60 modern and 10 over-age main afloat." cruisers, nine large aircraft riers with a collective capacity of ships with a very heavy armament 320 aeroplanes; 150 modern des combined with great speed, but in- troyers, with a large reserve of old- er vessels, and 65 to 70 modern sub- marines
This establishment may be accepted as the irreducible minimura, for any modification that may be made is likely to be in an upward direction.
Basis For Criticism
car
>
der rate of fire. If, as is anticipated, the
King
By Hector C. Bywater
`The Navy still regards the gun as warfare, the decisive arm in
and therefore desires its new capital
ships to be designed primarily ..
well-protected platforms for heavy artillery. This, however, does not mear that the air menace is being ignored.
“Daily Telegraph and Morning Post Natal Correspondent
When details of the King George differently protected At Jutland George V. mounts more than nine three of these ships blew up after heavy guns-which would be the V. class are released it will pro- receiving only moderately severe outside number of 16in possible on bably be found that these ships are a aircraft bombs as they are against punishment. Following that painful the displacement the total weight not only as well protected against The necessity for making this pro- experience the Navy "went protec- of metal she could discharge in digious effort to restore our armed tionist," in the sense that it de- given period would be not greatly gunfire, but that their powers of Those who are conversant with the measurably superior to those of our power at sea has been explained at manded adequate armour defence in inferior to that of a 16in gun ship, counter-attacking aircraft are im- length in successive White Papers its capital ships, even if this meant on Defence, all of which emphasise sacrificing some weight of broadside salient features of the design are existing battleships. They promise, "the overwhelming importance of and a few knots of speed. the Navy in preserving our sea.com-
munications and thus ensuring to Merits of The 14-Inch
this country the supplies of sea-
confident that the King George V. indeed, to be singularly uninviting will prove on completion to be the targets for aircraft. most efficient battleship of her day. Some foreign ships may be slightly Cruisers faster, and others may carry bigger
borne food and raw materials on- When the time came to designs, but in none, it is believed will
which its existence depends.”
In
power.
the five ships of the King George,
so just a balance between spite of the extraordinary develop v. type, now building, the Admiralty protection and mobility be achieved. ment of aviation since the Great
had to keep strictly within the War nothing has yet occurred to 35,000-ton limit. Had a 16in, arma Need of Protection indicate that strategical control of the sea routes could be secured by within air power, either now or the foreseeable future.
But if the nation as a whole is satisfied that the rebuilding of the
ment been chosen, the weight avail- able for protection might have been cut by as much as 4,000 tons,
Navy is an inescapable necessity, THE
however formidable the cost, · Ad- miralty policy is still being subjected to sharp criticism on importantį points of detail
In particular the construction of battleships up to the Treaty dis- placement limit of 35,000 tons is
In the next group of battleships, or, probably to be laid down next year,
GOES BY WORLD
By "ULYSSES"
This reported that a Birmingham comment "unconstitutional you d—
condemned by certain naval critics, I
who advocate ships of much smaller dimensions and more of them.
man is trying to train dogs d fool"
on the talk. Many women, other hand, are trying to husbands not to growl.
*
That a reduction in the tonnage, and therefore in the first cost and maintenance charges, of all types of tall man warships is eminently desirable is drinks than a short man, says generally acknowledged, and would doctor.
can
stand
train Peterborough, writing
in
And Aircraft
Turning to cruisers, the 20 now under construction fall into three groups: The Southampton class, 9,000 to 10,000 tons, with 12 6in guns the Fiji class, 8,000 tons, with, it is understood, nine 6in guns; and the Dido class, 5,300 tons, the armament of which is not yet known. The Southampton and Fiji-types are ocean cruisers whose main function in war would be the policing of the trade routes. They could, if neces- sary, be formed into "flying squads” to hunt down enemy raiders. The Dido units are intended to operate with the battle fleet as leaders of destroyer flotillas.
The simultaneous building of five great aircraft carriers, 22,000 to |23,000 tons each, is a sufficient ans- the Ad- thewer to the charge that London "Daily Telegraph," has miralty is not airminded. As the kind things to say of the famed Fleet Air Arm expands, the Navy's more Sapajou of the "North China Dafty long-cherished plan of full tactical in and strategical co-operation between re-ships and aircraft will be put into News" and his collaborator crime, In Parenthesis, who cently produced a record in book practice. form of the Shanghai hostilities.
canny Scot has been
cannc nowhere be welcomed more warmly heard of who apparently than at the Admiralty. For at least stand any
at all
15 years the British naval authori
ties have been doing everything pos- It is pointed o
out that are given sible to effect such a reduction on racehorses an international basis, but without'names. Especially if they much success. Since the principal finish in the first three. maritime Powers have agreed on
certain maxima of tonnage and ar- That Handwriting
the
car-
While it is more than likely that "The news in Mr. Pembroke a powerful air arm will simplify many Stephens's despatch to "The Daily problems of trade protection, there peculiar Telegraph" and "Morning Post" that appear to be no grounds for don't a shell had struck the offices of the assumption that the aircraft
"North China Daily News" and in-rier is intended to supersede the jured three members of its staff is cruiser as the cardinal factor în the penalty it pays for having a trade defence.
An album There will shortly be under con- war on its doorstep. In case another chestnut has I have recently received proves struction 40 destroyers, with
come As the 70 earlier destroyers built surely be folly for Britain, of all lost currency here is the story of that the editorial staff realises average displacement of 1,750 tons. since the war averaged 1,350 tons, nations, to adopt inferior standards the Editor whose handwriting was journalistic luck which and build-ships which could not face so appalling that a special composi- its way.
"The book consists of cartoons it will be observed that a mach their foreign contemporaries on tor was engaged to set his copy. equal terms. Such, at least, is the Irreverent subs finding a pair of by Sapajon with letterpress by "In more powerful standard has recent
Here is one of hy been adopted for this class. consensus of opinior in the serving chicken in the office dipped their Parenthesis." Navy.
mament, and in most cases are actu- ally building up to them, it would
Must Remain Afloat'
to shorter news items."
凛
has
an
a The truth is that the current ship- building programme clearly reflects
de the vigorous and enterprising spirit
feet in ink and allowed them fight on a sheet of copy paper. "We should dearly like to know Weakness of Sloops
tagger They then handed the sheet to the the name of the man wh compositor who placidly started to ed into the bar and called for He found himself bin-and-jitters. Bat while our five new battleships deal with it, are to be vessels of 35,000 tons, their stuck and made his way to the Sapajon also refuses to be main armament is to consist of 14in editorial den. With due apology pressed, savage or even disconcer- that now, animates British naval
His cartoon entitled Emer-policy. The new fleet under odu-struction will be in all essen guns instead of 16in, although the he drew the great man's attention, ted. larger calibre is permissible under to one passage and said that he gency Millinery,” which I
word was ce, is in the best vein of our native spects a first-class could not make out what
oking on the ligh-leve the London Treaty
The editor looked and philosophy for quickly returned the sheet with the ter side of things."
"At first sight the selection of the there. lighter gun may seem
retrog
componer
action with ful
ficiency.