NAVAL DEFENCE OF AUSTRALIA

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 41, 12 November 1919, Page 10

NAVAL DEFENCE OF AUSTRALIA

LORD JELLIGOE'S REPORT

FULL DETAILS BY MAIL

Sydney, October 27. Admiral Jolliuoe's report, tabled in the Federal Parliament, is divided into five chapters, which deal, respectively, with: The Naval Requirements in the Far East. Tho Administration of the Australian Navy. Personnel. Training. Discipline. Tho report recognises that tho decisions reached may be affected by tho formation of the League of Nations. "But," says Admiral Jellicoe, "this report can deal only with facts as they exist at present," Australia is powerless against a strong naval and military Power » without the assistance of the British Fleet.

With this maxim the report begins. And to this fleet Australian contribution is necessary. It is not possible, Admiral Jellicoe says, to consider the naval requirements of Australia without taking account also of the naval requirements of tho Pacific and - Indian Oceans as a whole. Tho question is one of eo-opcra-tion between die naval forces of the Empire stationed in Par Eastern waters. Sea communications in Indian and Cbinoso waters, as well as in the remainder of tho Pacific, ire matters of concern to the people of Australia and New Zealand; and, conversely, tho safety of sea communications in the South Pacific and in China aro of interest to the pcop'.o' of India Similarly the safety of tho bases at Colombo and Singapore is vital to Australia and New Zealand; and tho safety of Sydney and other naval bases in the South Pacific, and of Singapore and Colombo, is of the greatest importance to India. Even the prosperity of South Africa is associated, though in a lesser degree, with this question, whilst Canada is greatly concerned in tho matter. The Far Eastern Fleet should therefore be provided by those constituent parts of the Empire, including Great Britain, for which it is of vital necessity, and that there should be the closest co-operation, with unity of direction in war, between the various squadrons composing that fleet. It is assumed that it will bo composed of: 8 Battleships of Modern 'Dreadnought" type. 8 Battle-cruisers, also of modern type. 10 Light cruisers. 40 Modern destroyers. .1 Flotilla leaders. 2 Depot ships for destroyers, 30 Submarines (excluding those stationed in Indian waters). 4 Submarine parent ships. 4 Aircraft carriers. 12 Fleet minesweepers. 1 Large seagoing minelayer. 2 Fleet repair ships. This fleet, comprising ships of the Royal Navy, the East Indies Squadron, the Royal Australian Navy, and any vessels stationed in Far Eastern Waters, and furnished by Canada, New Zealand, and the Malay States, _ should be organised to act under ono single direction in war, for the general safely of .British Far Eastern Possessions, and sea communications. Ships will also bo required for harbour delence and for the direct protection of trade by convoy. It is suggested that, -whilst the general defence afforded by seagoing fleets and convoy vessels is shared by the different parte of the Empire, each dominion and India, as well as tho Mother Country, should bear the cost of the vessels specially allocated to its own harbour' dofences. :> Allotting the Cost, There aro two considerations lvfliich seem to govern the proportion of tho cost which might fairly be borne by the constituent parts of tho Empire, bearing in mind the fact that the Mother Country is probably no longer able to shoulder to the samo degree as in tho past' the financial burden that will be imposed. These are: — 1. The population of_ tho Mother Country and of each dominion. 2. Tho value of their rcspetivo oversea trade. . _ _ ' According to the first principle, Australia's contribution would bo 7.9 per cent., and according to the second it would bo 7.53. But Admiral Jellicoe favours a mean between the two, which ';ould work out as follows:— United Kingdom 74.12 per cent. Com'wealtb, of Australia 7.74 „ „ Dominion of New Zealand 2.02 „ „ Dominion of Canada 12.30 „ „ Union of South, Africa ...' 3.82 „ „

100.00 „ „ In these calculations India is treated separately. It is necessary to bear in mind (snys the report) that the population thore is largely native India nlso pays wholly for its military defence, which, in future, will impose' a burden of some £30,000,000 annually on that Empire, which is not a self-governing dominion, but is held by force of arms, iicMssitnting the presence of a largo military force. Admiral Jellicoe suggests:— That Canada's sharo should bo that necessary to provide and maintain a 6mall force of light cruisers on her western seaboard for (ho protection of her trade in those waters, as well as a naval force on her eastern seaboard. That South Africa's share should bo that necessary to provide and maintain a squadron stationed at the Cape of Good Hope, and having tho primary duty of keeping open tho trade route round the Capo, and protecting the trade on tnti west coast of Africa, leaving tho trade to the eastward to the protection of tho Far Eastern Fleet. That India might provide a certain fixed sum annually in relief of the estimates; such a sum, for instance, as would provide for tho defence of her harbours, and would pay for tho upkeep of tho East Indies Squadron of five light cruisers, six submarines, and one aircr*aft-carrier, without, perhaps, paying the first cost of tho 6hips, or for their replacement,. for tho reasons given in paragraph 19. The sum required would be approximately £2,200,000 annually. Since Australia and New Zealand would bear no part of the expenses of naval defenre in the Atlantic, it is suggested that their sharo in tho Pncifio should be more than is shown in table 111. The suggested proportion of the cost of provision and maintenance of the Far Eastern Fleet is, then, approximately:— Great Britain 75 per cent. Australia * -'!) per cent. New Zealand 5 per cent.

Australia's Share—£4,ooo,ooo. Tlio sum required for (ho maintenance of the Far Eastern I'l«et and its depreciation is roughly estimated at an annual _ total of .£18,701,700. To this tho contributions would bo:— United Kingdnm,*7s p.c £11,778,525 Australia, 20 p.c 3,310,910 New /iralaiul, 5 p.c 985,2.'15 Tlio battleships should bo provided and maintained by the United Kingdom, becuuso they can at present only bo produced there, and the officers and men of the Koyal Navy ha\e tho experienco required in their uso. For the samo reason, six of the battle-cruisers, of which tho Now Zealand is ono, should come under a similar mle at present. These considerations, and tho desirability of giving to Australia and New Zealand experience in tho working of other constituent parts of the fleet, snegest the following as .Australia's contri» billion to the Fur Ea'stern Fleet:— Annual cost of maintenance and depreciation teach). Total. Ships. i J! 1 new battle-cruiser .... 685,000 685,000 '1 battle-cruiser (Australia) 511,000 511,000 1 light cruisers (full commission) 211,300 815,200 1 lishl cruisers (in reserve) 105.650 422.000 1 flotilla leader 89,200 89,200 10 T.B.IVs (full commission) 67.000 676.000 2 T.D.D.'s (in reserve) 33,800 67,600.

1 T.B.D. (depot ship) ... 92,500 92,500 8 submarines 33.200 205,000 1 small submarine parent ship 53,500 58,500 1 seagoing mine-layer (in reserve) 39,050 39,650 2 sloop mine-sweepers (in reserve) 16,700 33,400 2 special reserve' 6loop mine-sweepers 4.175 «-8,350 1 aircraft carrier 134,500 133,500 1 fleet repair ship 92,500 92,500 Total £4,024,600 Harbour Defences, It must be recognised that the political and strategic situation may at any time necessitate alteration in tho composition of tho Far Eastern Fleet. _ There is, however, no way out of this difficulty other than that of reviewing tho question at intervals of, say. five years. , For harbour defence purposes in Australia the immediate requirements would be:Full Reserve SpcCommis- Conimis- cial sion. sion. Reserve. 20 Old destroyers or "P" boats 4 8 8 10 Submarines 10 — — 82 Mine-sweepers of the trawler Type 8 Remainder nsFor in- sumed to be slruc- fishing trawltion.il ers. poses. 4 Boom defence vessels — — i In order that the expansion of tho fleet may proceed upon a regular system, and that additions may bo made with a definite obiect in view, it is proposed to divide the naval requirements of Australia under three headings, namely— fa) Striking force, (bj Direct defence of trade, (o) Harbour defence. For the striking force certain classes of vessels are required, and they are needed in certain proportions one to the other. The basis taken is a fleet, unit which it is considered that war experience has shown, should comprise in the case of Australia— 1 Baltic cruiser. 2 Light cruisers. 6 Destroyers. 4 Submarines. 2 Fleet mine-sweepers. The units require certain auxiliary vessels in the following proportion •— For every 18 destroyers 1 Depot ship For every 9 destroyers 1 Flotilla leader For every 8 submarines 1 Depot ship _. For every 2 units 1 Aircraft carrier For every S units 1 Repair ship For.eyerv 16 units 1 Minelayer -± For the direct defence of trade Mstr.ilia requires in the near future' four light criusers and eight armed escort ships, assuming that other portions of the Empire make provision on a similar scale. For harbour defence Australia requires immediately— 20 Destroyers or "P" boat 3. 10 Submarines. , 82 Mine-sweepers (trawlers), of -which 74 should bo fish ire; trawlers. 4 Boom defence vessels. But in the near future the number of defrayers or "V" b<wts for this serrico should be doubled. Tho figures for new construction were based on the estimated post-war cost of construction in the United Kingdom, and those for maintenance on British mte of pay. These had recently been raised to a fiirure rather higher" than tho existing rates in the Australian Navy. Tho Yearly Cost. At this rnto tho cost or- Australia's naval commilments yearly would work out as follows i-IiKO-Sl, 192122, £3,91*0,000; 1D22-3, £5,34b',653; 1623-4, Xo,iau,\iu;- l!>2'l-i), .»,3ib,li3; Ito-o, £5,933,833; 1926-7, £6,278,593; 1927-8, £6,052,753. By 1925-6 ak the vessels realined under tho proposed schemo would bo provided. In 1927 tho Australia would ba la years old, and tho programme provides for her replacement in 1928. In war it is necessary that tho fleet of the Empire should be placed under tho singlo control of tho British Admiralty. It .is also necessary that tho units comprising the For Eastern fleet should pass under one command if they aro to bo employed in Far Eastern waters. This command ehon'.d be in tho hands, not of an admiral afloat, but of a flag officer of high rank residing on shore at Singapore, and assisted by a strong staff. Tho com-mander-in-chief afloat, and the flag officers commanding tho units of the Far Eastern fleet should all come under his command in wnr, although, except when placed under his command for the purposes of fleet, exercises, the Dominion navies would not come under him in peace. Admiral .Tellicoo adds some interesting statements in regard to the capital ship. He says: Tho capital ship is the _ strongest form of engine of war which exists for operating Jm the sens. It is protected from torpedoes by external bulges, as wf'l ns by t.b.d, escort; against, mines by paravanes': from bombs clrrmoed by aircraft by thick armour decl«=. and The country wihose fnst eapitnl ship<! and their cmiplcm"ntary units are not cenbr'nrd or held by similar enemy'" ships can. with those vessels. sweep tho onfuv's vpssels and seaborne trade off the seas.