BIG FIGHTING SHIPS AGAIN

Dominion, Volume 28, Issue 89, 9 January 1935, Page 3

BIG FIGHTING SHIPS AGAIN

Backbone of Sea Strength

RE-ARMING THE NAVIES Representatives of the three Powers —Britain, the United States, and Japan—who are engaged in naval talks in London, are now absolutely unanimous in declaring that the superDreadnought is the backbone of sea power, states Mr. Hector G. Bywater “Daily Telegraph” naval correspondent. , Consequently, the British proposal to the Powers for the limitation of ships to a smaller size must be regarded as having been definitely negatived. As a result, when the battleship holiday ends on December 31,1936, Britain Will be faced with the necessity for renewing, by yearly instalments, her entire battle fleet of 15 ships. All win have to he replaced by 30,000-ton vessels at a cost of £90,000,000. As to the talks, it is an ironical commentary that, while they are proceeding, at no time since the war has there been such feverish activity in the ship design departments of foreign admiralties The volume of new construction already in hand is very great and rapidly increasing. Foreign Building. Abroad there are now building the following vessels: — Seven battleships (aggregating 153,000 tons); Thirty-eight cruisers (283,000 tons); • Three aircraft carriers (04,V0V tons); Sixty destroyers, and Over 85 submarines. While the Powers engaged in the London talks, instead of signing the death warrant of the super-Dread-nought, have jointly guaranteed it a new lease of life of unlimited duration, France and Italy have also radically changed their views. Up to a few years ago both countries joined in condemning the battleship as an anachronism. Now both have heavy battleship programmes actually in hand. , Japanese Attitude. As for Japan, although.she has tentatively proposed the abolition of these ships on the ground that they are essentially offensive, she has, I am authoritatively told, no intention of pressing the point. On the contrary, the Japanese naval experts here all refer to the battleship as indispensable. Britain and the United States are avowed supporters of the great ship, the sole question at issue between them 'being its tonnage and armament. The British proposal for a limit of 25,000 tons and 12-inch guns has been flatly rejected by Washington, and even though some compromise is reached, it is already probable to the point of certainty that the capital ship of the future will be of not less than 30,000 tons. This means an average cost of £6,000,000 per ship, according to the current British scale of shipbuilding charges. The largest British battle cruiser, by a very wide margin, is the Hood (42,100 tons). It cost just over £6,000,000. U.S. 35,000-ton Ships. Italy, exercising her unquestioned right under existing treaties, has laid down two battleships which are 10,000 tons heavier than the maximum advocated by the British Admiralty. Further, it has been, semi-offleially disclosed that America is preparing to build both battleships and battlecruisers averaging 35,000 tons. The latter will differ from the 16-inch-gun battleships by mounting 14-inch guns, but their speed will be over 30 knots. The cost is estimated at £9,000,000 per unit.

In view of these developments it is clear that the British Admiralty’s plan to build 25,000-ton vessels should 'be dropped. On the highest grounds of national policy our future battleships must be equal in fighting power to the strongest foreign type.