BATTLESHIPS.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 337, 26 October 1908, Page 7

BATTLESHIPS.

THE BRITISH AND GERMAN FLEETSTWO PROGRAMMES. FOURTEEN DREADNOUGHTS TO TWELVE. (BT TELEGEAPH —ritESS ASSOClATlON—copyeigut.) (Rec. October 25, 8.11 p.m.) London, October 24. The "Daily Express" reports that Germany will forthwith begin her 1909 battleship programme. Simultaneously, Britain will begin hor 1903 programmo. This will .enable Germany to complete 14 Dreadnoughts by 1911 to Britain's 12; BRITAIN'S LEAD IN COST AND BATTLESHIPS, Two important White Papers were issued by the Admiralty recently. One of these _ shows tho naval expenditure of the principal Powers, and the other the relative strength of fleets in respect to certain classes of warships. In the following table are shown the naval expenditure as a whole, and the amounts voted for new construction and armaments of the Powers named for the decade ending with the Current financial year:— . Total. New •fefefffgy Expenditure. Construction. Great Britain ... 318,647,127 105,934,213 France ... ... „. 126,122,028 53,061,725 Russia ™ 104,642,215 35,092,938 Germany ... ... 107,927,573 50,732,257 Italy 51,402,993 13,303,873 United States 185,344,304 62,768,612 The aggregate shown for Great Britain relates to voted money only, and does not includo expenditure under the Naval Works Acts, 1895-1905. In the following table are shown the amounts voted for new construction and armaments indie three years ending 190S-9:— ( 1906-7. 1907-8. 1908-9. £. £■ £. Great Britain... 10,859,500 9,227,000 8,660,202 France • 5,702,267 5,132,494 5,315,790 Russia ... ... 4,57G,553 2,846,268 2,703,721 Germany ... 5,342,466 ' 6,255,225 8,366,438 Italy 1,362,207 1,398,111 1,866,358 United States... 8,600,774 6,753,705 7,798,815 Japan , 752,595 3,233,298 2,967,918 The second White Paper gives the comparative strength on April 1," 1903, in first-class battleships less than 25 years old, armoured oruisers less than 20 years old, and destroyers, built and building, of the following countries Battleships. Cruisers. Destroyers. Great Britain ... 57 ■ 34 154 United States ... 25 13 25 France ... ™ 21, .19 75 Gormaiiy ... 22 8 83 Japan ... 11 11 58 Great Britain's strength in battleships comEared with Germany, striking as it is in numers, is even more striking in tho matter of tonnage. The total displacement of the British battleships is 796,410 tons, while that of the German battleships is 256,589 tons, or less than one-third. In the matter of destroyers, Great Britain's total (154) is exclusive of 36 torpedo boats, formerly designated coastal destroyers, either built or building.