1940-12-28 — Page 7

Second Section

Longkong Telegraph.

Magazine Features

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 28, 1940.

SEA POWER

I have been seeing for myself the story behind the increasing strength of Britain's sea power, writes A, J. McWhinnío, the famous naval correspondent.

Around the coasts in our biggest shipyards|| | men are clanging and banging, swaying in high cradles, welding and painting warships, battle- ships, cruisers. submarines, tankers and| trawlers.

One of our latest cruisers has just slid down the slipway followed by the rousing cheers of the skilled men who built her at her northern birthplace.

"Another nail, in Adolf's coffin," they shouted as the bottle of champagne, suspended by red, white and blue cords, smacked the clean_lines_of_the_ship's grey_side_with_a_tink-. ling crash.

An admiral's wife performed the launch-! ing coromony, But she only whispered the name of the ship, so that, none could hear it.||

"God bless this ship and all who sail in her." she said, and as the cheering started

she whispered, "I name her—.”

Because these days we are not announcing the names and classes of

our warships when they are launched.

Day after day for months men of all ages from veterans of the shipyard to lads who have only just left school have been bringing that cruiser to

life on the stocks.

They came from all parts of Britain. They speak their scores of accents. But they have only ono' united detor- mination,

There are man who left the yard for other jobs and camo back when Britain went to war, There are those who have nover worked on ships in their life, but came here for special training.

· Around this particular yard in the North I mot a former window-cleanor, a grocor's as- sistant, the proprietor of a general shop, clarks, navvies| and bus conductors who are building ships.

But they all look the same in their oily paint-smeared over- alls.

If you could see behind the high guarded gates of the big shipyards you would be well satisfied with the progress wo are making towards the com- plation of a million tons of warships on the stocks.

Standing on the launching platform here you would see 2 single shipyard full of every type of vessel in varying stagos of completion,

And there is nobody keenor to see those ships complete than the shipbuilders thom- | salvos.

The in

creasing naval

might of Great Britain is a weigh-

ty factor which will

bring victory. In. the

prosent war. In hir dos- cription on this page of a rocont launching, A. McWhinnie gives you an idea of

how important work of construction

is being carried on in the shipyards, and the pictures hero shown supply visual illustration of growing strength.

Top left picturo shows men sponging the guns of a battleship after a recent bombardment of Bardia, which is figuring so largoly in the news. Below that, members of the crew of a destroyòr flotilla say "Thumbs Up!" The lower loft-hand picture shows a few of the 50 American destroyers recently transforrod to

Britain.

Immediately above is soon an officer's training class on parade in the traditional garb of gunnars. The middle pictura shows a member of the gun crow of a warship in action, and below, a new British cruiser just before the launching.