LONDON’S DEFENCE

Wairarapa Times-Age, 3 June 1938, Page 9

LONDON’S DEFENCE

❖ WARNINGS OF AIR ATTACK. SEA PATROLS' ACTIVITIES. Hector C. Bywater, "Daily Telegraph and Morning Post" naval correspondent, writes: — It is widely assumed that the Navy is incapable of taking part in the defence of this country against air attack. That may have been true a few years ago, but it is not so today. With the growth of the air menace, the Navy’s first task was to protect itself. Over a long period the process was hampered by shortage of funds. The deficiencies in naval antiaircraft equipment revealed during the Mediterranean crisis of 1935 was due entirely to economy. Since those days extraordinary progress has been made, and it can now be stated that the Navy is not worrying about air attack. Not only do new ships bristle with high-angle guns of various calibres, but the accuracy of these guns has been greatly increased by the introduction of improved fire-control methods. A large fleet of anti-aircraft ships is now being built up, mainly with a view to keeping air raiders at a distance from convoys. This special fleet is, however, only part of the immense organisation created to ensure the safety of food and raw material supplies in war; an organisation in which all three fighting services are co-operating with the shipping, port, and transport authorities. Regarding the possibility of air raids on London and other centres, the Navy does not propose to be a passive spectator. It would provide sea patrols to give warning of approaching aircraft, and, although the difference in time between warnings from this source and those from coast watchers might be small, every minute gained would be of value.

Daylight raiders flying over the sea would be liable to come under fire from naval vessels, while the growing strength of the fleet air arm will give the Navy powers of long-distance retaliation which a potential aggressor is not likely to ignore. No othei’ navy in Europe l}as the same power of launching oversea air offensives. By 1941 we should possess six modern and four older carriers, with a total capacity of 550 aircraft. New principles of ship construction have also been adopted to minimise the effect of bomb hits. In modern battleships and cruisers the armour is distributed to protect the vitals from bombs, and all important controls are splinter and bullet proofed. ’ ANTI-AIRCRAFT FLEET. Every modern vessel of the Navy, from the capital ship down to the destroyer and the sloop is now able to hit back with telling effect at hostile aircraft. This is also true of the older units, which have been modernised and re-armed.

Having provided for its own defence against the air threat, the Navy took measures for the protection of merchant shipping. Here, again, the progress made in two years has been astonishing.