STRONGEST FORCE IN NAVAL HISTORY

Auckland Star, Volume LXXIII, Issue 174, 25 July 1942, Page 5

STRONGEST FORCE IN NAVAL HISTORY

AMERICA BUILDING

360 Per Cent Increase In

Construction

United Press Association.—Copyright Rec. noon. WASHINGTON, July 24

The House of Representatives Naval Committee reports a 360 per cent increase in naval ship construction compared with last year, and the development of the air arm furnishing the strongest offensive force in naval history. American industry is sending vessels down the ways far sooner than was anticipated and showing ingenuity in turning out improved models of all types of planes. The report declared that the Midway and Coral Sea engagements demonstrated that aviation constitutes the determining factor in such conflicts. The Navy, with full realisation of the efficiency of multiengined land planes for patrols in certain areas is using them against submarines with outstanding success.

There were 3230 naval ships under construction on June 30, compared with 697 last year. Sixty combatant ships have actually been completed, compared wijh 48 expected. So sharp has been the acceleration of ship construction that the time for the building of a battleship has been cut from 42 months to 36, air-craft-carriers from 45 to 17, heavy cruisers from 36 to 22, destroyers from 27 to 11, submarines from 21 to

Aircraft types added to the naval service were 4895 in 1942, compared with 2067 in the previous year and 328 in 1940. " ■