THE FRENCH NAVY.

Taihape Daily Times, 19 September 1919, Page 3

THE FRENCH NAVY.

POST-WAR RE-ORGANISATION. DISTRIBUTION OF THE FLEET. The French Minister for Marine has organisation of the French naval fixed the provisional £olllpOSitiOn and forces, which will be placed under the command of EL vice—adnlil'al cmma,nder—in—chief, and will be distributed ‘as fellows:—-

1. A special ‘s"e'ctTo‘n, comprising the Provence‘ and the Jurien de la Graviere, which will be placed at the disposal of the commander-in—chief_ The two vessels will be manned by socalled “armed reserve” crews, the Jurien dc la Graviere having a special crew. 2. A first section, commanded by a vice-admiral, with a rear-admiral under his orders, composed of the battleships Courbct, Jean Bart, Paris, Lorraine. France and Bretagne. These vessels will be stationed in principle, in the western end of the Mediterranean, and will be manned with “armed reserve" crews. . A 3. A second squadron, comprising two divisions, each commanded by :1 rear-admiral, the first division being compised of the Voltaire, Condorcet, nnd Diderot, and the second division of the Jules Miehelct, Waldeck Rousseau. and El"llCSt Renan. Four squadrons of destroyers, four" despatch boats, and three gunboats will form part of the second squadron. Three mine-sweepers and six chasers will -be detailed for operations in the Black Sea. ' - ' A rear-admiral Will command the Syrian squadron, which will comprise nine big ships, three gunboats, and two mine-sweepers. I The naval division based on the eastern stations, which is commanded by a rear-admiral ,and which consists of three big ships and eight auxiliary vessels and tenders, will remain attached to the Syrian Squadron until further orders. The Danube flotilla. will consist of six gun boatsand six armed scouts.