U.S. FLEET

Taranaki Daily News, 28 August 1920, Page 5

U.S. FLEET

A FORMIDABLE UNIT. . CUNT BATTLE CRUISERS. jsj TtUpi&.—Tttu Ami.—Copyright » Received August 27, 5.5 p.m. Washington, August 26. The Navy Department has published a frwpott on the relative strengths of the American navy and the British navy, fa which it is stated that the Dreadnought tonnage of the United States navy in 1923 will be 1,160,000 tons, sixteen, units of which will be battleships, H'onhtiag 16-ineh guns. There ate bow nineteen ships of the ©readnontht type in the United States fcayy, which wUI be increased to thirtyThere will be also six giant battle cruisers, each of 43,500 tons displacement. There will also be ten new light cruisers, which will be the speediest afloat—Aus.-N.2j, Cable Assn. CURRENT PROGRAMME. COMPARISON WITH BRITISH FLEET. An editorial -article in the Scientific finttfaCh gives a remarkable summary M » oontpariso* between the United States and British Navies. ', The tact that we are the only nation whWh has continued since the war to battleship strength made it inttfuele, 'says '-the article, that the quettwfe of .supremacy of the sea would Brtoe and form the subject of discussion —la ,4ttar words, that our naval policy shiMid "'(stimulate instead of helping to refrtta that race in naval armaments to Which it was hoped that the extinctitt M the German Navy had put an end. y Evidence of this thought and talk Si fqtifd in an article by Archibald Hurd In a r recent issue of the Illustrated Loudon .News, in which a very striking ceatptiritpn is made of the strength in capital.ships of our own navy and that at the British, when our present progfttnmfcof construction shall have been caftfleted,' that is to say, about the jm.mt. - Stetpt for the finishing up of a few of the smaller types of vessels, Great Britain has so construction on hand and has j»o thought of laying down a new programme. The same is true of flrtßee *»d Italy. In this country, at the time the article was written, we had eighteen capital ships authorised or under construction, each of which will be larger and more heavily armed than any existing ships in the world. The battle-' ships include the California and Tennessee, of 32,300 tons, mounting eight 16finch and fourteen 5-inch guns; the four battleships of the West Virginia type jof 32,600 tons, mounting eight 16-inch and fourteen 5-inch guns; and, lastly, the six battleships of the Indiana class, each of 42,300 tons displacement, mounting twelve 16-inch and sixteen 6-inch jgiins.

In addition to these are the six bat-tle-cruisers of the Cexington class. The designs for these huge ships have been greatly-modified, the speed having been reduced, but the size increased. The displacement has risen to 43,500 tons, and they are thus the largest capital ships of any kind on paper or afloat/ They ■Will cany eight 16-inch and fourteen, 5iadr guns. i For the purpose of comparison, Archifl»ld.Hurd considers that both battlempg and battle-cruisers should be divided into two classes, since the first class nr Super-dreadnought, to use a rather blpjmon bub ambiguous term, are so inch more 'powerful than the earlier dreadnoughts or battleships as a require ft separate designation. He considers the Mine thing to be true of the battle-crui-gets. So, baaing his comparison on the determination of the British to lay down no new ships for a while, be estimates the relatiye naval strength of the t«o leading naval Powers will stand in 3824 as follows: In first-class battleships itke British have ten carrying the 15iteh con, and we shall have ten mountlag the 16-inch gun; in second-class bat•Mashipa the British have thirteen mountitg the 133-inch gun, and our navy will have eleven mounting the 14-inch gun. In first-class battle-crulsers, the Bri4iih hate three mounting the l.Vipch goo, and we shall have six mounting the 16-tath gun. Of second-class battle-crul-een, armed with the 13.5-inch gun. the British nave three; we shall hare no second-class balttle-eruisers. Summing up, we find that by 1024 the British will hive thirteen first-class capital ships against sixteen in the American Navy, and that they will have sixteen secondclam capital ships as against eleven in the United States Navy/ As a final consideration, be asks whether, in view of the modifications which, are sure to be made, as the records of the war are studied, it wfnld not be better to delay the construction of new ships for two or three years, as the British are now doing. The answer to that is that our new battleships and battle-cruisers are suppoi'd Jba embody toe facts of more experience.