Italian Navy Divided

Chronicle (Levin), 19 January 1948, Page 8

Italian Navy Divided

^ Roceived Suiiday, 7 p!m. NEW YORK, Jan. -17. Major Hanson Baldwin, in the New York Times, says it was learned from unimpeachable sourees that the Soviet Government is scheduled to receive from Italy, oue battl-eship, o.ne cruiser, three destroyers, two torpedo-boats, two submarines and about 30 miscellaneous naval auxiliary eraft, under the terms of a hitherto secret annex and protoeol to the Itaiian p-eace treaty. The proJected transfer is, however, linked with and apparently dependent upon .the return by the Russians of warships th-e United States and Britain lent them during the war. ■ . ' . . The Italian peaee treaty provided for Italy's retention of about 114,700 tonsof war vessels including two obsolete battleships (for training ptirposes only), four eruisers, four destroyers, 16 torpedo-boats, 20 corvettes and- various auxiliaries. The rest of the Italian navy, about 152,000 tons of principal types of flghting ships, plus numerous auxiliaries, was to be divided amoitg the vietor States or sunk or serapped. A separate protoeol anxl annex to the treaty, signed at the Foreign Ministers' Council meeting at Paris iast "February, provided for the establishment of a special Big Four Naval Commission to sit in Iiome and arrange details of the disposition of excess Ttalian ships. The annex specifically assigned the excess ships to the various Powers, but the annex 'was nev.er previously published: The ships, which under the protoeol and annex,- are assigned to the Roviet, include the obsolete Giulio Cesare, a 23,000-ton battleship built in lf> 1 1 bm modernised ,]ust before the war. ThiS'oyiet thus faile.d in her bid to obtain her hrst fairlv modern battleship. Shr has never possessed one sinee the days of the Czar. Franee is to receive three eruisers, four destroyers, oue torpedo-boat, two submarines and 32 auxiliaries. Yugoslavia will receive three tor-pedo-boats, two inotor-bargefl and six minesweepers but her demand for a cruiser was not granted. Greece will receive a cruiser. The terms of the protoeol and annex seem to mean that the Roviet must choose between the acquisition of the Ttalian warships ancf the retention of the Eoval Rovereign (loaned by Bri tain) and the old American cruiser Mib waukee and smaller ships she received' from Ihe Fuited Rtates and Britain during the war.