THE BRITISH NAVY

Manawatu Herald, Volume LI, Issue 4495, 23 August 1930, Page 1

THE BRITISH NAVY

The fact that Great Britain was limited in the number, size and armainents of the flotilla leaders and destroyers it could build, whereas Era nee, Italy, and indeed any and every other Power, except the United States ancl Japan, were not so restricted, has not. been fully recognised,” Admiral of the Fleet Lord Beatty says in a letter to the Times, referring-4o the London Naval Treaty. “The true importance of it can lie gauged by the fact that, if we take France as an example, she will in 1933 have 24 flotilla leaders of from 2,200 to 2,500 tons displacement armed with s.Sin. guns, whereas Great Britain will have but 10 of 1,500 tons armed with 4.7 in. guns. France will have an equal number of destroyers to Great Britain with power to increase her numbers in both classes of vessels, which power is denied to Great Britain. If we take into consideration that destroyers are the antidote to submarines, and are the type of vessel which can best counter submarine attack, also that France will possess double the number of submarines possessed by Grea t Britain, everybody who considers this question will recognise that Great Britain will 'be handicapped by the Treaty to a very dangerous extent.” Lord Beatty refers to a statement bv Lord Thomson that when the present Government came into office it found only 54 cruisers with four otliers building, and to his question, How could the Sea Lords have tolerated such a state of things, if they thought 'the Empire could only be safe with 70? “When J left the office of First Sea Lord on July 31st, 1927,” he says, “there was an accepted programme .of four Sin. gun cruisers laid down in 1925-2(1, followed by the laying down of three in each subsequent year tip to 102950. With the two cruisers built for the Royal Australian Navy, this would have provided 23 Bin. gun cruisers built and building by the end of the linancial year 1929-30, which, with the 43 cruisers already in being and under 20 years of age, would have provided 00. The continuance of this programme in 1930-31 and in 1931-32 was a reasonable expectation, and it would have produced 71 cruisers in 1931, one of the 43 older cruisers, the barimoutli, having become over age l lint year.”