1939-01-24 — Page 2

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THE CHINA MAIL, JANUARY 24, 1939.

WHEN LORD FISHER HOAXED VON TIRPITZ

German Admission After Thirty Years

BLUFFED OVER WARSHIPS' SIZE

A dramatic admission that Germany was hoaxed into building second-rate warships on the strength of bogus information from Britain, in- spired by the late Lord Fisher when First Sea Lord of the Admiralty, has just been made in an official Berlin publication.

Lord Fisher always maintained that by cir- culating misleading news about the Invincible class, our first battle cruisers, he bluffed his "op-| posite number," Adml. von Tirpitz, into building at least two ships which were, in fact, wholly inferior in fighting power to the British type.

After consistently denying this statement for 30 years, Germany has at length admitted its truth.

Prof. Hans Hallmann, the semi- official naval historian who makes the disclosure, recalls that while

the British Admiralty allowed fair- ly accurate details of the Dread- nought, the first "all big gun" ship, ab- to be published, it observed solute secrecy about the three arm- oured cruisers of the 1905 pro- gramme-Invincible, Inflexible and Indomitable.

FALSE İNFORMATION

ap-

"The Admiralty, however, pears to have deliberately furnish- ed false information to the Press," writes Prof. Hallmann, "on the basis of which the German authori- ties assumed the ships to be of about 16,000 tons, with an arma- ment of eight 9.2in guns. Since this appeared to be a logical develop-| ment of the preceding British class, how were the German authorities to know that they were the victims of a deception?

"Adml. Tirpitz cannot, therefore, be blamed for deciding to build the armoured cruiser Gneisenau, 11,600 tons and eight 8.2in guns, and, a year later, the Blucher, 15,800 tons

and 12 8.2in.

-BRITAIN

OUTSTRIPS THE WORLD

London, To-day. Speaking on the subject of gun-turrets for military air- craft at a factory in Surrey he visited yesterday, the Secretary for Air said that British manufacturers had suc- ceeded in solving the pro- blems connected with the operation of guns in high speed aircraft, and Britain had outstripped all other countries in the design of mechanically- operated gun-turrets.—British Wireless.

MORE R.A.F. OBSERVERS WANTED.-At the R.A.F. Flying Training School at Desford. Photo shows a future air observer be ing put through his paces by an instructor in the cockpit of an R.A.F. machine.

IMPEACHMENT OF MISS FRANCES PERKINS

SOUGHT IN BRIDGES CASE

Washington, To-day. Impeachment of Miss Frances Perkins, Secretary of Labour in the Roosevelt Administration, is threatened by a member of Congress, alleging Communist leanings.

The instigator of the movement is a member of the House of Representatives, Mr. Thomas, who has announced that he is introducing a resolu- tion in the House to-day calling for impeach- ment of Miss Perkins.

at-

investi- The Committee which The specific ground for the tack on the Secretary of Labour is gated Bridges' alleged "un-Ameri- his de- her alleged stand in deferring de- can activities" demands

Com- the portation on the ground of was plain that they would be ob-portation proceedings against solete even before

labour leader, Harry munism.-Reuter. they were Australian

in launched.

Bridges, who has been active Not until 1907 was the first Ger-connection with the seamen's man battle cruiser authorised, but ions, and who is now the leader of

un-

this vessel, Von der Tann, was a the C.IO. on the West Coast. FLIGHT CAPTAIN

"Only when the Blucher was on better all-round fighting ship than Bridges has been the centre of the stocks did the British Admiralty the Invincible.

bitter controversy over a period of spring its great secret on the world.

That Britain gained any-real, or some months. Germany then learned that the In-lasting, advantage from her Dread- vincible design was a revolutionary nought policy may well be doubt break with tradition, and repreed.

sented an absolutely novel type: By rendering obsolete the whole 17,500 tons, with very high speed British pre-Dreadnought fleet it en-

CHINESE RAID

and, above all, a main armament of abled Germany to start building on PAKHOI FLEET

eight 12in guns, all of which could fire on either broadside:

· OBSOLETE BEFORE LAUNCH

equal terms.

Before the policy was introduced, we had three times as many battle- ships as Germany.

CONCENTRATION

Macao, To-day.

RESIGNS AS A PROTEST

London, Today. Flight Captain L. L. Maclean, group leader in the Royal Air Force, resigned his commission yes- terday as protest against the inade Iquate aerial defence of the British

Isles.

an

press,

In 1909 our superiority over Ger- "There 'battle cruisers,' as they many in Dreadnought units was 350

A report received last night,

He represented England as were called, were thus armed-like per cent,, but by. August, 1914, it which cannot be confirmed here, battleships. They opened up an en-had shrunk to 56.5 per cent.

claims that Chinese aircraft from air delegate at Geneva during the tirely new epoch, and their..can.

Kwangsi, presumably from Kwei disarmament negotiations... In a statement to the' struction was, perhaps, the supreme

lin, bombed the Japanese fleet at miracle of naval technique in the

that the crisis of September last pre-war period. Despite the inade-

terday. quate armour and magazine protec-

Three Japanese vessels, includ-had shown grave deficiencies, to ex- tion of these ships, it was clear that

ing one transport, are stated to ist in the organisation and train- ing of the British Air Force. Those the new type had, a big future.”.,

have been hit and damaged. The Prime Minister.. and Mrs.

The situation in the Pakhoi, deficiencies have not yet been re- he This information did not reach the German Admiralty till the sum-Chamberlain, who had been staying Weichow Island, and Hainan Is-medied. By his resignation mer of 1906; even then it was not at Chequers since Thursday last, re- land area is unchanged. Yester-wishes to call the attention of. Par- at first believed. Meanwhile, the turned to Downing Street just be-day further Japanese troops were liament and public to the inade- British landed on Weichow Island. quacy of British air policy.-Trans- Gneisenau and the Blucher were too fore lunch yesterday.

Ocean. Our Own Correspondent. far advanced to be altered, yet it'Wireless.

PREMIER BACK IN Pakhor and Weichow Island yes-Flight Captain Maclean declares

LONDON

London, To-day.

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