AMERICA'S NAVY

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 2, Issue 192, 29 July 1940, Page 3

AMERICA'S NAVY

PACIFIC CONCENTRATION JAPANESE STRENGTH COMPARED JThe United States main fleet, the movements of which have been causing considerable speculation recently, has returned to Honolulu., This concentration of American warships in the Pacific is regarded as significant, in view of developments in the Far East, states the Sydney Daily Telegraph. Principal United States naval base in the Pacific is Pearl Harbour, at Honolulu, in the Hawaiian Islands, about 3250 miles north-east of Sydney. The fleet now gathered there num bers.l3o surface vessels and 350 aircraft. Ordinarily, the Hawaiian Fleet detachment consists of nine cruisers and 20 destroyers, and major fighting units are not normally based at Hawaii. At ordinary strength the British Home Fleet would comprise lout battleships, four cruisers, three aircraft carriers, 24 destroyers, and six submarines, a total of 41 fighting ships. The Mediterranean Fleet would have about the same number. World's Two Greatest Fleets. As American and British naval squadrons are practically identical in strength it will be seen that the big force now concentrated in Pacific is equal to approximately three full strength squadrons, with the addition of an abnormal number of 'planes. Latest figures show that tlie total naval strength of the United States is 348 ships and 1100 (first line) aircraft. The naval strength comprises tihe following:—• Battleships .. . 15 Aircraft carriers .5 Cruisers 32 Dest rovers 20!) - Submarines 87 This 'makes an interesting comparison with the British Navy's strength of 305 ships and an air arm of 500 machines. The ships comprise:— Battleships lf> Aircraft carriers <> Cruisers 00 Destroyers 159 I Small destroyers and torpedo boats . . 11 Submarines 51 Japan's Naval Strength. Much interest has centred on rc-> cent movements of the Japanese Navy, which lias 229 ships, made up as follows:— Battleships 9 Aircraft carriers 8 Cruisers 39 Destroyers 78 Small destroyers and torpedo boats 38 Submarines 57 Japan's fleet air arm is estimated, at 1000 first-line 'planes. America and Britain are working now on a huge programme for naval expansion. ( Britain announced that £300,000,000 would be spent, and five new battleships of the 35,000-ton King George V class, which were not to be ready until next year, were undergoing trials recently. America's Navy Bill, passed in April, was a record. It provided for the expenditure of £300,000,000 on nineteen warships, including two 15-000-ton battleships, two cruisers, eight destroyers, one airc.aht carriier, and six submarines. It was announced that the cruisjers would be of about 25,000 tons, carrying 11-inch guns, and specially armoured against air attack. U.S. Naval and Air Bases. The U.S. fleet which has now returned to Honolulu had been carrying out full-scale manoeuvres in the Pacific, where, in addition to Pearl Harbour, the U.S. has several other naval bases and air bases. At Pago Pago, in the Samoan Islands, .which lie about 3300 miles cast of the Queensland coastline, there is an important naval and air base. There is a small naval station at the island of Guam* near the Philippine Islands, 1730 miles northeast of Darwin, jind another at Cavite, in those islands, 1300 miles north of Darwin. (Continued at foot of next column)

Another naval base is a Dutch Harbour, off the coast of Alaska, about 18G0 miles north-west of San Francisco. This has been strengthened, at considerable cost, during recent months. Air slations are scattered about the central Pacific, including the MidAvay Islands and Wake Island, which arc 3500 and 2100 miles north cast of the northern tip of Queens'and respectively, and Palmyra Island, which is about MOO miles north-cast of Sydney.