THE BRITISH NAVY.

Press, Volume LXVII, Issue 20175, 2 March 1931, Page 9

THE BRITISH NAVY.

■ »■ . nr, CRITIC CONDEMNS PRESENT DESIGNS. (TJEITED PRESS ASSOCIiTIt>K"-M BttCIBIO TELJsoaAPH—co^vamit'r.) LONDON, February 27. Arguments which would in the scrapping of the vVliole Fleet are advanced forcibly in. a book entitled ''NaVies of To-day and To-morrow/' by Captain Bernard Acworth, D.5.0., who is the "Morning Post's" naval contributor, and wjio Was four years on the staff of the Adnlirftlty.

He says the British Navy should stick to coal as fuel, because a navy dependent dn foreigners for pOWer to move is fantastic. The Xlenoral Staif should be (Jist/anded, leaving the Board of the Admiralty again free to deal with policy. No ship should be bigger shall 12,000 toils. We should scrap battle-cruisers, freak cruisers, carriers, and repair ships, which litter the sea, or, more strictlv, the dooks, where they are perpetually under repaid or re-design. Oaptaih Acworth thinks the ideal fleet would be 25 battleships of 12,00" toils< with 160 guhs. against 17 with 183 guns; 33 armoured duikers of--12,000 tons with S2B Rune, against foltf With 38 guns; 113 tiharmoUred cruisers of 4000 tons* yrith 672 guns> against 49 with 124} 100 small cruisers for Coastal patrol defence j and W rivef gunboats, ;; , flUtf survey ships. The author argues that the, war taught that gun ppwef, Is Infinitely more important thatt fepfeedi and considers that destroyers and big Bubmarines are ft waste of.tooney. The torpedo, he Jb a .futile weapon.Capfcai# 'A6wbith j festirlMS th© interior of the Rodney or the Nelson as more resembling ti' science museum than a warship., Their triple 'turrets' are uttsat{rfaera#» he sayst ttiid one lucky shell might disable all niqe guns,. Captain AcWtrt-th &lSd sayS that 10,000-tonners like the Canberra and Australia are not fighting ships at all, but' inert t>ttiler»cas<&L to wbifch a wellplaced four-inch shell l , might he exceedingly unpleasant. .