BRITAIN’S NAVY

Wairarapa Times-Age, 21 April 1938, Page 9

BRITAIN’S NAVY

STILL MISTRESS OF THE SEAS. GREATEST STRIKING POWER. With the opening of the giant Singapore naval base, giving the Empire a new Gibraltar in the Far East, Britain once more takes her place as undisputed mistress of the seas. The second most powerful navy in the world is that of the United States, and in a report of a naval inquiry recently published a United States Navy official admitted that the British Navy was well ahead. In number and efficiency of warships only the United States Navy can compare with Britain’s. The next greatest sea Power is Japan. Here is a comparison between the two navies:— Britain. Japan. Battleships and battle cruisers 15 9 Cruisers 58 37 Destroyers 162 113 Submarines 52 60 Aircraft carriers 5 None Today, naval experts are agreed, in the unlikely event of war breaking out in Europe, the British Fleet is well able to meet any emergency. It could, for example, bottle up the German fleet and at the same time have the Italian fleet at its mercy in the Mediterranean. With the addition’ of the United States Navy, which in Admiralty plans is always considered friendly or neutral, Anglo-Saxon domination on the seas is now stronger than it has been since the days of Nelson. It is, in fact, superior to any other probable combination'’of foreign Powers. STRIKING POWER AND SAFETY. Britain now possesses:— A fleet of greater striking power than any other in the world. A chain of impregnable naval bases dominating the world’s main trade routes. Giant storage dumps which would keep entire fleets fuelled and supplied for six months. A measure of co-operation between air and sea forces unapproached by any other nation. A leading naval authority said recently: “This country’s vital routes of food supply and lines of communication have never - been better guarded against attack than they are today. “Up-to-date anti-submarine devices have considerably lessened the peril from that quarter and further secret researches in submarine warfare are still going on. "Now Singapore has set the seal on a sea supremacy which Britain has been steadily building up for several years. SINGAPORE’S STRENGTH. “Heavy gun forts make the island impregnable to attack from the sea. The air base can house a sufficient number of machines to keep command of the air. “Singapore commands the trade routes to the Far East, and provides the key position for the defence of Australia.” Apart from present strength, Britain’s naval construction programme far outstrips any foreign power. Five 35,000-ton battleships are building. Four will be completed by 1940, or earlier, should the need arise. More will be laid down this year. Our great naval yards are also building 17 light cruisers. 40 destroyers and 18 submarines. Navy estimates for last year reached £105,000,000, a sum unapproached by any other country. The naval strength of Italy is the most frequently over-estimated. In the event of immediate war she could only muster four battleships, seven heavy cruisers, 15 light cruisers, 76 destroyers, and 106 submarines. In battleships, acknowledged to be the basis of naval power, Italy has only a quarter the strength of Britain, and many of her lighter ships are either inferior in design or out of date. “Taking the Italian fleet as an example, it would be possible for the British battleships to sink their warships by gunfire, with themselves remaining well out of range,” said the expert.