The Navy That Flies

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 608, 9 March 1929, Page 17

The Navy That Flies

Aircraft carriers are the latest type of ship to be developed iii all navies. So far the British Empire leads in numbers, having nine. America has four, Japan live, France two, and Italy Russia and Germany one each. The British carriers are: Eagle, 22,600 tons; Furious, 22,450 tons; Courageous, 22,500 tons: Glorious, 22,500 tons; Argus, 14,000 tons; Hermes, 10,850 tons; Ark Royal. 6,900 tons; Albatross (Australian Navy), 5,000 tons; and Pegasus, 3,150 tons. The cost of the largest of these, H. M.S. Eagle, was £4,617,636, and for her upkeep £408.000 must be provided each year. The Eagle, Argus, Hermes and Albatross were originally designed for carrying aircraft, but the remainder were converted from other types of ships. The Furious, Courageous and Glorious, which come under the latter heading, were originally “hush-hush” cruisers built, to the order of Lord Fisher, in wartime, for a Baltic project which the impulsive First Lord had in mind. The Baltic idea fell through. The Furious was redesigned and changed into au aircraft carrier while she was still on the stocks and served in this capacity with the Grand Fleet in the North Sea. The Courageous and Glorious were completed as cruisers but. proved white elephants in service. They were armed with 15-inch guus, ridiculously heavy weapons for cruiser work, and were so lacking in armour that they could not be used as battle-cruisers. Their speed was 32 knots. If actual proof were needed to convince Lord Fisher of the unsuitability of his freak ships it was provided by an action in which the two ships, together with the Repulse and Renown, were engaged with some German light cruisers and destroyers in the Kattegat on November 2, 1917. Incidentally the en-

counter did much to explode Fisher’s theory that “speed was the best protection.” The Courageous and Glorious, in spite of their heavy guns and superior speed, suffered considerable damage from German shells only a fraction as heavy as their own, and on the enemy receiving the support of some of their battle-cruisers it was “deemed advisable to withdraw,” although in tonnage and gun-power our ships were more than a match for them. The Repulse and Renown, although magnificent looking ships, are likewise deficient in armour; so much so in fact that they have been described as “white sepulchres.” These 22,000 ton ‘cruisers’ continued to serve in JUe North Sea until the Armistice. Since the war they have been practically rebuilt, and in appearance to-day, with their huge flying-off decks and funnel and superstructure placed to one side amidships, bear little resemblance to their former graceful and symmetrical outlines. 40-M iles-an-Hour Hardly a day passes without some mention in press cables of 10,000-ton cruisers, of one nation or another. Products of the Washington Treaty, tljese ships, of which Britain has 16 afloat or building, are remarkable in every way. Slim, stream-lined hulls, 630 feet long and less than a tenth as wide, and an engine strength of 80,000 horsepower give these vessels a designed speed of 32 knots. This however has already been exceeded in H.M.A.S. Australia by more than two knots. On her way from Wellington to Brisbane last October the cruiser reached 34.7 knots, the equivalent to 40 land miles an hour. Their huge fuel storage capacity of 3,400 tons —only 600 tons less than that of the Nelson and Rodney which are three and ahalf times their tonnage—gives the British 10,000-ton cruiser a full-speed radius of 2,300 miles, almost as far as from Auckland to Sydney and back again, and a cruising radius, at economical speed, of 10,000 miles without refuelling. Their 8-inch guns have a range of just under 15 miles, and can hurl shells weighing 2381bs each at the rate of 14 a minute. With these attributes, the advantage of having two of these warships in Australian waters should be appreciated in New Zealand. Competition among the nations building 10,000-ton ships is keen. The United States a month or so ago

launched her first. Britain at present is well ahead In numbers, but the 15Cruiser Bill, which was passed at Washington a few weeks ago put America practically on an equal footing. In some of her ships she plans to carry ten 8-inch weapons, which will them formidable indeed. Japan is building nine ships of this type, France six, and Italy four. None of the foreign cruisers is as well protected as our own and, though in some cases they are a knot or tw'O faster, they have in consequence an appreciably smaller radius of action. The Italian ships for example are said to be designed for 35 knots, and to have engines of 15,000 horsepower. They are intended, however, only for operations in the Mediterranean. Our own two cruisers, Dunedin and Diomede, are the latest type of small cruiser in service. Though laid down as part of the emergency war programme in 1928 they were not completed until after the Armistice; the Dunedin at the end of 1919, and the Diomede in 1922. They displace 4,760 tons, and are armed with six 6-inch guns and 12 deck torpedo-tubes in triple mountings, and have a speed of 29 knots. No cruisers of under 7,000 tons have been laid down since the war. Su bmari ne-C ni isei’s Would the submarine replace the surface ship? The question was frequently asked before the war. The events between 1914 and 191 S showed that it would not, but as though heading in this direction the submarine increased in size until to-day there are I submarine cruisers of over 3,000 tons in existence. The biggest submarine in the British Navy is known as the X.l, and displaces 3,600 tons submerged. This huge vessel, which is | nearly three times the displacement

of either of the New Zealand sloops Veronica and Laburnum, is 350 ft long, or about three-quarters the length of the Dunediu or Diomede, and carries four 5.2-inch guns mounted in the turrets like a surface ship. It has six 21-inch torpedo tubes. The X.l’s great speed of 32 knots enables her to keep up with the fastest surface ships. She cost £1,000,000 to build. The latest submarines however seem to have been designed with a view to all-round usefulness rather than terrifying size. In the British Navy this policy has produced the new O-class, which at present consists of eight boats, including the Australian Navy’s Oxley and Otway which have just joined the Commonwealth fleet at Sydney. The O-class submarines displace 1,750 tons submerged, and are considered to be the best all-round type in existence in any navy. They are really smaller editions of the X.l, except that they are armed with fourinch guns for use on the surface, and 18-inch torpedo tubes. At present the Great Powers are building between them 92 submarines, and an additional 51 are projected. Peace-time requirements of the Empire have scattered its warships around the world. To protect England’s interests in the Atlantic, the English Channel and in the North Sea, six battleships, three battlecruisers, five cruisers, two aircraft carriers, 21 destroyers and five submarines are maintained. This force is known as the Atlantic Fleet and is commanded by Admiral the Hon. Sir Hubert Brand whose flagship is the Nelson. In addition there are a number of ships in reserve and undergoing refits at home ports. In the Mediterranean the second strongest force, which is actually ■ stronger than the Atlantic Fleet in 1 light craft, is kept. This consists of i seven battleships, 10 cruisers, two air- • craft carriers, 36 destroyers, and ! seven submarines. I No capital ships are allocated to ’ foreign stations, but on the North ; American and West Indies station - there are five cruisers, in South Afri* t can waters two cruisers, in the East Indies three cruisers, and on the China E station three cruisers, an aircraft 1 carrier, 9 destroyers, 4 submarines, ? as well as smaller craft for river • work. > Nearer home there are the two New 5 Zealand cruisers which, with Australia’s four cruisers (two of the 10,000 5 ton type), 12 destroyers, two submarJ ines, and an aircraft-carrier, guard > Britain’s interests in the South Pacific.