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Vessels Under Construction—Sowing the Wind—Offensive Defensive—Through Japanese Eyes—Brief Notes.
Great Britain......................................................................................... 126
Rumored End of Dartmouth—Britain Disarming—Limitation Proposal—Brief Notes.
France..................................................................................................... 130
The Dunkerque—Submarine Force—Brief Notes.
Speed of the Deutschland—Political Trends—Brief Notes.
While Others Wag Tongues—Hands Off—Admiral Okada Inter
viewed—U. S. Only Pretends Peace—Australian Fears of Japan— Limitation Plan—Brief Notes.
Sweden.................................................................................................... 135
The Gotland.
Merchant Marine................................................................................... 136
Normandie Launched—Naval Auxiliary Power—Various Notes.
Progress in Marine Engines—Masonry Dry Docks vs. Floating Docks—Twilight.
Flying Boats to French Frigate Shoals—Ocean Flying to be Supervised—The Granite Wing at Kitty Hawk—Various Notes.
UNITED STATES
Vessels Under Construction, United States Navy—Progress as of
September 30,1932
|
|
| Per cent of completion |
| Probable date o[ complete | |
TyPe, number, and name | Contractor | December 1, 1932 | November 1, 1932 | |||
|
| Total | On ship | Total | On ship | |
Cruisers New Orleans (CA32) | New York Navy Yard | 61.8 | 58.9 | 58.7 | 56.2 | 10/ 2/33 |
Portland (CA33) | Bethlehem S. B. Corp. (Fore River) | 95.5 | 95.2 | 93.3 | 92.7 | 2/lS/« |
Astoria (CA34) | Puget Sound Navy Yard | 59.6 | 52.3 | 54.8 | 50.1 | 10/ 2/33 |
Minneapolis (CA36) | Philadelphia Navy Yard | 46.0 | 42.8 | 43.8 | 40.7 | 10/ 2/33 |
Tuscaloosa (CA37) | New York S. B. Co. | 45.6 | 42.9 | 43.5 | 40.5 | 3/ 3/34 |
San Francisco (CA38) | Mare Island Navy Yard | 47.5 | 45.1 | 44.7 | 42.9 | 2/11/31 |
Aircraft Carrier |
|
|
|
|
| 5/ 1/31 |
Ranger (CV4) | Newport News S. B. & D. D. Co. | 53.4 | 49.1 | 46.9 | 43.8 | |
Fleet Submarines |
|
|
|
|
| 2/ 1/^ |
Cachalot (SSI70) | Portsmouth Navy Yard | 47.5 | 44.5 | 43.5 | 40.5 | |
Cuttlefish (SS171) | Electric Boat Co. | 59.1 | 56.2 | 55.6 | 52.9 | 12/29/33 |
Destroyers |
|
|
|
|
| 2/11/31 |
Farragut (DD348) | Bethlehem S. B. Corp. (Fore River) | 17.7 | 16.3 | 14.1 | 13.1 | |
Dewey (DD349) | Bath Iron Works Corp. | 10.5 | 7.9 | 8.0 | 6.3 | 6/1/31 |
Hull (DD350) | New York Navy Yard | 1.6 | 1.4 | 0.5 | — | 8/11/31 |
Macdonough (DD351) | Boston Navy Yard | 1.0 | 0.1 | — | — | 8/1/31 |
Worden (DD3S2) | Puget Sound Navy Yard | — | — | — | — | 10/ VW |
DD353 | New York Navy Yard | 0.3 | — | — | — |
|
DD354 | Boston Navy Yard | — | — | —• | — | 1/ 1/35 |
DD355 | Philadelphia Navy Yard | — | — | — | — | 1/ 1/35 |
Authorized by act of August 29, 1916.
4 Destroyers Nos. 356-359 inclusive.
Sowing the Wind
Tribune, Chicago, November 28.—
The cost of the American national defense establishment will run below 600 million dollars during the 1934 fiscal year if estimates now being prepared by the Bureau of the Budget are enacted into law at the short session of Congress. Inquiry today disclosed that the navy budget for 1934 has been reduced to slightly above 300 million dollars, while that of the army will be considerably below 300 million dollars.
According to a recent report of the United States Chamber of Commerce American national defense expenditures for the 1931 fiscal year were 695 million dollars. During the current fiscal year appropriations for national defense, counting new shore stations, military posts, and new warship construction, amounted to 644 million dollars. On the basis of confidential figures not yet released for publication the appropriations to be asked for national defense in 1934 will amount to around 580 million dollars.
For the most part the reductions will be effected through cutting certain classes of pay, curtailment of new construction activities, and a general tightening up on expenditures. A few shore activities and army posts will be closed, but very little saving is anticipated through this avenue of economy. A cut of 1,700 marines will save a million and a half for the navy.
Offensive Defensive
Herald Tribune, New York, November 6 (by Henry Kittredge Norton).—The closer the United States and Great Britain get together on the Hoover proposal f°r an all-around one-third cut in navies, the less enthusiasm the Japanese show for such an arrangement.
Tokyo is sending to Geneva a plan of her own, the details of which are strictly guarded. The groundwork of propaganda, however, indicates its trend. It may be all right to cut offensive navies, argues Toky° but defensive navies are different. They are vital to the national life and cannot be cut arbitrarily. *
There is logic in this. Both Great Britain and ourselves have taken a similar line in the past. Of course, as Tokyo sees it, the Japanese Navy is entirely defensive.
Let us assume the unlikelihood of Japan attempting to attack our Pacific coast, and her navy is defensive. But behind that line of “defense” may go forward some very active “offense,” such as that recently seen in Manchuria. What Japan
^ants (including the Philippines, if you is not obtainable by naval offense. 1 Is attainable by an army offense with a ‘defensive” navy guarding the rear.
This situation is well understood in ■Tokyo and it is probable that President Hoover’s Navy Day statement is being Pondered more deeply there than anywhere in this country. After speaking of °Ur efforts at disarmament, he goes on:
If these efforts finally fail we shall be compelled, y reason of the disturbed conditions prevailing hroughout the world and the necessity of proofing American commerce, to build our navy to *'e full strength provided in the London agree- aient, equal to that of the most powerful in the *orld.
There is food for a deal of thought in *hat pronouncement.
Through. Japanese Eyes
Tribune, Chicago, November 25.—The American public is blissfully unconscious ^ Japanese thought at this time. For the Japanese, Mr. Kellogg has not abolished War, but Mr. Stimson has placed American Policy, as the Japanese assume, squarely athwart the path of Japan’s manifest des- tifiy. The answer to that, the Japanese Understand, is not words but war unless °he or the other backs down.
The military class which has so powerful a role in Japanese politics and government uoes not think either is likely to back ^own. “If the United States has confidence ln her military strength,” says Captain Nizuno, a leading naval authority, “she Will never hesitate to resort to war. The Economic damage Japan would suffer from Hie war must be beyond comparison with that of America,” but “none can predict Whether or not America will go to war at this juncture”—and Captain Mizuno sug- §ests that America will not unless she as- sbres herself of the help of the British Uavy. His reason should interest the Amer- lcan public which yawns over discussions °f our naval policy and takes it for granted
that we can lick the world. Captain Mizuno says that America’s naval strength
can never be said to be equal to Japan’s despite the ratio of 5:3; it is strong at its trunk but weak at its hands and feet. As stated elsewhere, American superiority lies in her economic predominance. Naturally, before crossing swords she would fall back upon economic trench warfare. To do this a superior navy is imperative both for limiting the economic activities of Japan in the near Orient and bottling up her navy within her neighboring waters. This, however, is denied the crippled American navy. There is even possibility of the superior Japanese cruisers advancing to the Atlantic Ocean, threatening the economic vitality of the United States.
In short, according to Captain Mizuno, “the United States must admit that she is not on the same level as Japan as far as military power is concerned.” We must therefore, rely upon economic restraints to prevent Japan from “opening fire.”
This and the expectation of alliance with other powers explain, to the Japanese mind, our course of action as to Manchuria. The territorial integrity of China, the open door and equal opportunity are merely “wire entanglements” set up to prevent Japan from taking advantage of her position to monopolize Chinese resources, and as for the Nine Power Treaty, since America was its “original promoter” and guardian, Japan’s recent action has “mercilessly slung mud upon the honor and dignity of the United States and completely trampled down her will and object.” The Japanese are debating actively the possibilities of war with us.
The recent manifestation of military control over Japanese policy ought to give such views some significance for us. No American naval officer would be permitted to write like that about Japan. Our public is not encouraged to think at all on the hypothesis that war is a likelihood. Discussion in the United States assumes that our defenses are more than adequate and our problem simply what further reductions we can make.
Brief Notes
The New York Times of November 23 says that while it is generally regarded as certain that Democratic House leaders will not again attempt to reduce the army personnel, as they unsuccessfully tried at the last session, it is certain that another attempt will be made to consolidate the War and Navy Departments into a department of national defense.
The consolidation plan, however, will not be broached until the expected special session is called next spring, or, if an extra session is not called, during the session convening a year hence.
The Indianapolis was commissioned at the Philadelphia yard on November IS.
Bids are to be opened December 14, for the construction of cruiser No. 39. This is the ship about which ship builders have been awaiting anxiously an announcement, as naturally they have wanted to know whether the administration would authorize the building of the cruiser that under the naval treaty may be laid down not earlier than January 1, 1933, and whether it would be built under contract. In view of the stringency of work at shipyards, it is expected that the bids, when opened, will disclose keen competition for the contract at prices advantageous to the government. Under the treaty, the ship cannot be completed before January 1, 1936.
The Navy Department on November30 made public plans for fleet employment for the first three months of the new year. The battle force from January 30 to February 17 will prepare for and participate in Fleet Problem XIV in the Pacific with the scouting force as it returns from the Hawaiian area to the west coast.
Upon completion of the fleet problem, vessels of the battle force and the scouting force will rendezvous in the Southern Californian area for fleet concentration, which will continue until March 31.
Shipping interests on the Pacific coast have recommended that the Navy Department proceed with the construction of three destroyers which were authorized in 1916, placing the contracts with western shipyards as an aid to the unemployed.
A revised system of harbor defense projects more flexible and efficient than the present system has been prepared by the Army Harbor Defense Board, states Major General John W. Gulick, Chief of Coast Artillery, in his annual report for the fiscal year ended June 30, made public by the War Department in November.
The New York Times of November 30 sajs that the elimination of much of the proposed ne'v naval construction as a help in balancing the fed eral budget and the stressing of efficiency instea of mere size in the navy were seen today as niain points in the Democratic naval program, follo'v' ing a conference between President-elect Roos® velt and Representative Vinson of Georgia, chairman of the House Committee on Naval Affairs.
Representative Vinson had a long talk wit Governor Roosevelt, who served as Assistan Secretary of the Navy in the Wilson administration and has maintained a keen interest in nava affairs.
After the conference Mr. Vinson, who usually has been regarded as a “big navy” man, state that peace and economic conditions demanded a less expensive administration of the navy. .
He expressed a willingness to reduce the annua construction estimates of the naval budget to an amount less than permitted by the treaty of London, which would allow a $600,000,000 five-yeat building program to get the American navy up t0 treaty strength. He indicated that he would favor the appropriation of $30,000,000 a year for ne'v construction and replacements.
GREAT BRITAIN Rumored End of Dartmouth
Nautical Magazine, Glasgow, November.—The London Daily Telegraph, which has a reputation for being most well im formed on events connected with the navy> announced on October 3 the existence ofa well-founded service rumor to the effect that the Admiralty will shortly abolish Dartmouth College and the present system of early entry for officers and wih recruit from the public and maybe secondary schools at a minimum age of seventeen. Such an innovation would be one oi the most drastic upheavals that has occurred to the personnel of the navy f°r many years. Hitherto, the Admiralty5 plan as regards officers has been to catch them as early as possible so as to instill i°' to them, when at an impressionable age> the spirit of the service, sea sense, and the atmosphere of the quarter-deck. Should the rumor become an accomplished fact d is probable that certain public school3 would, under the guidance of the Admi" ralty, give the would-be officer a prelimi- j*ary tuition in the theory of certain ranches, i-e., history, mathematics, hydrography, navigation, and gunnery, for atl officer should begin to be worth his Salt from the age of twenty-one and it is a S°lden rule that the sooner he carries responsibility the better. The present Gaining from an early age of the cadet and Midshipman is certainly strenuous, and if ]a future it will commence at seventeen 't will have to be nothing less than a high pressure “cram.” The knowledge required °1 an officer in the navy is varied and ex- totisive enough as it is, and the attitude the Admiralty in making any alteration entry is somewhat paradoxical, as the 'Wst Lord when he introduced the last j-stimates stated that this training would ,e further complicated by the reintroduc- H°n of a training in sail. The Daily Tele- %raph offered no official reasons on behalf of l^e scheme, or stated any advantages that rrright be expected to accrue from it, exCept that it has the approval of the senior officers of the service. If this is so then it is ‘h direct opposition to what the opinion the age of entry has been of past senior °fficers. The late war amply proved that lire officers were a very fine product, and jro other conclusion could be arrived at Put that the method of their entry and fiarly training were as perfect as could unmanly be made. If by any chance econ- 0Uiy is the motive behind the suggested Scheme and not sound service reasons, SlJrely there are other means to that end ^an by tinkering about with the empire’s Most vital force.
Britain Disarming
Army, Navy and Air Force Gazette, London, November 2.—It is not realized by the general public to what an extent this Country is disarming by procrastination. xUite apart from standards of strength, aUd agreements to reduce particular types, go further in weakening our forces by delays in replacing worn-out units. A case in point is to be found in the answer of the First Lord on October 26 to Commander Marsden about the naval building program for 1931. It will be recalled that this was postponed for six months as one of the contributions of the Admiralty towards balancing the budget, and £1,300,000 was saved thereby. The First Lord states that orders for the remaining ships of the program are now being placed, and all the ships will have been ordered by the middle of November. The probable dates of completion are: Cruisers, spring of 1935; flotilla leader, destroyers, and submarines, autumn of 1934; sloops, summer of 1934. Most serious is the delay in completing the three cruisers. Normally they would have come into service in the summer and autumn of 1934. By the beginning of 1934, 15 of our existing 52 cruisers will have reached the age limit of 16 years from date of completion. Only four new ships will be completed by that date, the Leander, Achilles, Neptune, and Orion, so that we shall start the year with only 41 cruisers within the accepted age limit. During 1934, a further seven cruisers attain the limit of age—the Carlisle, Coventry, Cur- acoa, Danae, Dauntless, Dragon, and Vindictive. In the ordinary way, the three ships of the 1931 program would be coming along to replace three of them, so that the year would close with 37 cruisers under age. But the delay in laying down the ships, coupled with the lack of means to build them more rapidly, means that no cruisers will join the navy during 1934, and by the end of that year the total of effective ships under the age limit of 16 years will be down to 34. To make up even the reduced total of 50 cruisers agreed to at the London conference we shall need to keep 16 over-age and worn-out ships on the list. The deficiency is even more startling when the sizes and types of the overage ships are examined. They are nearly all small light cruisers, of limited fuel capacity and radius of action, built before or early in the war for service in the North Sea, as attached cruisers to the battle fleet, and therefore are unsuitable for prolonged duty on reconnaissance and commerce protection in the outer oceans. This is practical disarmament, for which other powers neither give us credit nor follow our example.
Limitation Proposal
Sunday Times, London, November 20. —There are two points strongly in favor of the British government’s proposals for disarmament which were announced by Sir John Simon at Geneva last week. In the first place they recognize unequivocally Germany’s right to equality of treatment ; a right which, so far as this country was concerned, had already been acknowledged, but in a rather unsatisfactory way, in the celebrated British note. The matter is important, not only on moral grounds, but on the exceedingly practical ones of getting the Germans back to Geneva. They have all along stated that they will not take further part in the Disarmament Conference until their claim has been satisfactorily conceded. Now that it has been so conceded fully by every nation concerned except France the obstacles in the way of the return of the German delegation have been very materially reduced.
Secondly, the British proposals, while accepting the German claim in principle, guard against its dangerous interpretation in practice. This is equally important because it overcomes—or seeks to overcome —the risk of Germany rearming. The terms of the proposals for disarmament by the more heavily armed powers are based throughout on recognition of these two fundamental needs. The present limitations imposed on Germany under the peace treaty are in each case taken as the criterion of disarmament by the other powers, and where complete abolition of a weapon, or its immediate reduction to the
German limit of size, is not considered possible right away, the aim is reduction by progressive stages. Germany mean' while—and in the promise of eventua* equality in practice as well as in principh6 —agreeing not to acquire these arms.
The ' actual limitations proposed &re drastic, and give ample proof of Britain5 sincere desire to disarm. Once again the total abolition of submarines is suggested! together with limitation of the size 0 battleships, tanks, and heavy guns. Tbs central feature of the proposals is, 0 course, the cut of one-third in the strength of all air forces, with the aim of eventua total abolition. It is to be hoped the oth& powers will respond. But in the meantime the important thing is to stop Germany rearming and get her back in the confer ence, and these things the British plal1 certainly goes far to accomplish.
Brief Notes
A correspondent writes in the London Ti>’ieS of October 27: “The vexed question of the sea man’s handkerchief (generally supposed to ha' ® been worn as a sign of mourning for Nelson) ha3 never been properly explained; its general adop tion evidently dates from 1820. In that year a committee of flag officers and captains was aP' pointed to inquire into the slop clothing supphe to the navy, and among other suggestions they proposed the adoption of a black silk handkef' chief. To this the navy board replied that “they may, we conceive, with great propriety be adde to the articles of slops, and we will endeavour 10 obtain such as may be wanted for the propose trial at a price not exceeding, when issued, three shillings and six pence each.”
Two hundred ratings of the Royal Australia1! Navy left their ships in Melbourne the night 0 November 8 in protest against a cut in pay. DocU" ments had been circulated outlining the Inver gordon incident of the British navy and urgiu® Australian ratings to act in a similar way. J*1 document advised the men to walk off their ship3’ but the ratings eventually decided to leave the1 grievances in the hands of the naval board.
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Sir B. Eyres-Monsell, First Lord of the A<k miralty, in reply to a question in the House 0 Commons on November 8, said: The vessels 0 the 1932 program will be ordered on various date
The Royal "Mediterranean Portsmouth.
^tween January and March, 1933, except the b°°Ps, which will be ordered in May. They will e laid down in the course of the year on dates .? ^ settled by the shipbuilders. The cruisers and ® destroyer depot ship will be completed in . ,J()ut two and one-half years from date of order- /*8> the flotilla leader, destroyers, submarines, I'd sloops in about two years, the mine-sweeper °°ps in about a year and a half, and the gunboat a<l small craft in about one year.
, On another occasion he stated that orders for remaining ships of the 1931 program are now eiI1g placed, and all the ships will have been .°r(lered by the middle of November. The dates ■ r laying down have not yet been determined, the probable dates of completion are: cruisers, Wng of 1935; flotilla leader, destroyers, and ^marines, autumn of 1934; sloops, summer of
i This answer indicates that, as a result of the ^stponement of the beginning of the 1931 pro- Jftam by six months, which was announced last parch (whereby a saving of £1,300,000 was ef- ected), there will be no cruisers due to pass into ^tvice during the financial year ending March > 1935. Normally, the cruisers of the 1931 pro-am should have been completed during 1934.
the latter year seven more war-built cruisers j’Hl attain their age limit, but no new vessels will coming along to replace them. By the end of .pH there will be only 34 cruisers in the R.N. and JJ°minion Navies within the age limit of 16 pars. To make up a total of 50 cruisers men- l°Hed at the London conference of 1930 it will be pcessary to retain 16 of the “C” and “D” Masses which will by then be over-age.
The spring cruise of the Home Fleet under Hmiral Sir John Kelly, which begins about January 10, will not include the visit of a detach- Hnt to the West Indies, as in 1931 and 1932.
. 'ace the battle cruisers and cruisers went there ast spring, the squadron on the station has been lengthened by the allocation of the 10,000-ton Raiser Norfolk, and this vessel and the Danae and ®ragon will spend the first three months of 1933 °a the Atlantic side.
Sovereign has returned to the after an extensive overhaul at
H.M.S. Ark Royal, which serves as catapult pial and experimental ship in reserve at the Nore, eft on November 8 for a trip to Malta, with ^atapults for the cruisers London, Devonshire, and Sussex.
, The aircraet carrier Argus, has been placed 111 maintenance reserve, at Rosyth. Hitherto she
has been at standard notice (14 days) in reserve at Plymouth, but at Rosyth she will be at extended notice, which is believed to be between three and four months. The Argus is the oldest and smallest of the six aircraft carriers of the war fleet. This excludes the little Ark Royal, which is used only as a catapult trial ship, The Argus was laid down in 1914 for an Italian shipping line, but work stopped on her during the war until 1916, when she was bought and completed as a carrier. She was the first to be reconstructed without funnels and top hamper.
The cruiser Berwick, which has been undergoing a long refit at Devonport, during which Devonshire, from the Mediterranean, is taking her place on the China station, was not ready to leave for China on November 21 as arranged. Her date of departure is provisionally fixed for December 10.
The cruiser Coventry has arrived at Portsmouth from the Mediterranean for refit which is expected to be completed about the first of the year.
The new cruiser Leander commissioned for trials at Devonport, where she was built, on November 25.
The war cruiser Centaur is to be scrapped.
The new destroyers Daring and Diamond, of the 1930 program, have commissioned for service in the First Flotilla, Mediterranean. They will be rapidly followed by the Diana, Dainty, Decoy, Delight, and Duchess at various dates up to the end of January. Like their predecessors of the Crusader class, these vessels are of 1,375 tons, 36,000 horsepower, and 35.5 knots speed. The Crusader class, and their leader, the Kempenfelt, attained on trials an average speed of 36.5 knots with about 36,400 s.hp. The fuel consumption is about 0.75 lb. per s.hp. hour.
The submarine Seahorse was launched at Chatham dockyard on November 15.
H.M.S. Sturgeon will commission for trials and service on December 15, at Chatham. The Sturgeon is the last of the three submarines of the 1929 program to be finished. She was not laid down until January, 1931. Vickers-Armstrongs have provided a good deal of her machinery.
The Admiralty announces that it has awarded the contract for the submarine Sealion (1931 program) to Cammell Laird & Co. Ltd., Birkenhead.
The new sloop Milford commissioned for trials on November 4 at Devonport dockyard. The Milford is one of the four sloops built under the 1930 program, of which the Falmouth has already
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Tonnage......... | 10,000 | 26,500 |
Speed, knots.. | 26 | 31 |
Big guns......... Broadside | 6 11-in. | 9 13^-in. |
(lbs.)........... | 4,020 | 10,800 |
Tost................ | $16 | $24 |
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been completed and the Weston-super-Mare and Dundee are due for service in February and March next. The Milford has been allocated to the Africa station, and should arrive there, if her trials are satisfactory, about the end of January.
It has been decided to rename the Weston- super-Mare the Weston.
FRANCE
The “Dunkerque”
United Press, Paris, November 19.— The battleship holiday which began ten years ago after Britain laid down the 35,000-ton ships Nelson and Rodney, will end without great ceremony early in December when the keel of the new 26,500- ton French super-cruiser Dunkerque is laid at the Brest arsenal.
There will be scant formality to the ending of the shipbuilding truce which saved the taxpayers of the world half a billion dollars. It will take four years to construct the new super-cruiser, at a cost of $24,000000. The tonnage will come from the capital ship tonnage which France was allotted under the Washington Naval Treaty but which has not been drawn on before.
The new French naval policy demands laying of “keel for keel”against Germany’s “pocket battleships.” The Ministry of the Navy explained the end of the building holiday by stressing the necessity of having at least one warship to counteract Germany’s new Deutschland type, of which one has been built and two are under way.
It was understood here that the Italian government also is hastening completion of plans for an even greater super-cruiser, Which will have a tonnage of at least 27,500 and yet be capable of speeding 33 knots.
The French do not seem to be worried over reports of the new Italian ship.
The following table shows the comparative military value of the German cruisers, the French Dunkerque, and the proposed Italian cruiser, the latter still in the blueprint stage:
The French and Italian super-cruis®1’ will wreck British efforts through the U* ten years to obtain a pledge from coni’ nental powers to keep all naval build1”' below 20,000-ton units and to limit arm3' ments to 12-inch guns. Many observe”’ are convinced that with France and building monster cruisers, Britain ma) take advantage of all tonnage allowed het under the Washington and London trc3' ties and resume warship building in 193®'
The Times, London, November 10-"' The displacement and armament of tb® new French battleship Dunkerque, whh’1 is due to be laid down shortly at Brest, ^ still somewhat uncertain, after beM’ changed several times. The plans aP' proved by the Chamber in January la5j provided for a ship of 26,500 tons, arme" with eight 13-inch guns, and with a spee of 29 knots. Subsequently it was decide that nine 13-inch guns would be mounts in three triple turrets. According to service paper, Le Yacht, the armaffleIlt now favored is eight 13-inch guns, in tv'° quadruple turrets. The saving in weigh1 would enable an addition to be made t0 other elements of battle worthiness, suc’’ as speed, armored protection, and radim of action. It is possible that the changes displacement which have been reports1 are in reality due to changes in the arm3' ment.
Submarine Force
United Press, Paris, November 19-"' Concentrating on the building up of he”
^marine fleet to its full strength under . e Washington and London naval treat- les> France will rush to completion those ^der-sea ships left unbuilt under the 1930 Gilding program.
The Minister of Navy has ordered the ',v° remaining submarines of the 1930 pro- ^ratn, the Ouessant and the Sidi-Ferruch, ®ach 1,570 tons, to be laid down imme- ■ately in the Cherbourg arsenal yards, so as to complete them during 1933.
Each of the new submarines will cost ^>000,000 francs. They are of the Rentable class, of which France will soon ave twenty-five units. These new craft p1!! bring the total submarine strength of Jance to 55 first-class high-seas subma- r!nes and 50 coast or mine-laying subma- ritles, a total of 105 under-sea craft.
Each of the two new submarines will ave two sets of Diesel engines of 5,000 °rsepower, capable of a speed of 18 knots ^ the surface, and 10 knots submerged. Fach will carry one 5.5-inch gun and 14 Orpedo tubes.
The Glorious of the same class and the ,ast of four built under the 1929 program, ls bearing completion and will be launched Cherbourg during November.
The Navy Department is planning the early replacement of ten German submarines, surrendered to France under the Peace treaty, which are now nearing the mit of their usefulness. These include the U'U9, now the Rene-Audry, which the ermans started in 1917 but had not mdshed at the time of the Armistice. This f(raft was destined to cross the Atlantic, straff” New York and other coast cities, arid lay mines in American waters.
/iriV Notes
Lieutenant Commander Couespel du Mes- p 1 who was in command of the submarine 65 when she sank in July with the loss of
k kves while undergoing surface trials off Cher- °Urg, was acquitted by a court-martial on No- Riber 4. Counsel for the accused in his argu- etlt made the point that “the number of dispatches from the Ministry of Marine concerning submarines on trials is 5,000; who can flatter himself that he knows them all?”
A Franco-Soviet pact of non-aggression, containing military, political, and economic clauses, was signed on November 29 at the Foreign Office in Paris.
France may soon have one more naval base in the Mediterranean if a project now being studied by general staffs of the army, air, and navy materializes. It consists of building a huge naval base at Sete which would outrank Toulon and become the biggest French naval base in the Mediterranean.
Sete is about 125 miles from Toulon and 100 from Marseilles. It is pointed out in naval circles that Sete would make an ideal base for protecting such a vital point as Marseilles. It would also protect the transportation of troops from northern Africa to Marseilles or Port-Vendres. Toulon, it is held, is too close to the Italian border.
The new super-destroyer Kersaint arrived off Cherbourg on November 2 en route to Lorient for armament and trials.
The submarines Le Centaure and Le Eeros were launched at Brest on October 14. These two vessels were laid down early in 1931 and are part of the tranche of 1929.
The submarine Glorieux was launched at Cherbourg on November 29. She will be ready for trials next March. The Glorieux is similar to the Promethee and Persie.
GERMANY
Speed of the “Deutschland”
Naval and Military Record, Plymouth, November 16 (by J. B. Gatreau).—The contention that the speed of the German battle cruiser prototype does not exceed 26 knots is being derided by French experts. German official figures are not to be trusted, as was shown by the performances of Admiral Scheer’s battleships at Jutland. There are convincing arguments in support of the view that the new German ships will do 30 knots easily with a normal displacement of 12,000 tons. They are designed for speed with as much care as the Bremen and Europa have been. Their length, shape of hull, and super-structures tell speed, and economically obtained.
Their nominal motor power, of 54,000 hp., ought, from what is known of German practices and of the ordinary margin of power of M.A.N. Diesels, to be increased up to 70,000 hp., and more when wanted. Moreover, comparisons with the actual performances of older ships, shorter and less adapted to fast running, tell their own tale. Thus the Gneisenau and Scharnhorst of 11,700 tons, and only 137 meters long (against 181 meters for the Deutschland) did nearly 25 knots with 27,000 hp. The British Invincible, of 17,250 tons, only required 45,000 hp. for 26.5 knots. The much larger and stumpy Blucher, of 15,500 tons and 149 meters length, did 25.86 knots with only 44,000 hp. German in- genieurs are not likely to have degenerated. They are in the very front rank of progress and experimental work. French 10,000-ton cruisers can maintain 30 knots with 55,000 hp. The Deutschland out to do as well.
Political Trends
Living Age, New York, December.—The presence of the Duke of Connaught at the wedding of the Crown Prince of Sweden to Princess Sybille of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha symbolized the tacit support which, according to Hilaire Belloc, official British policy is now giving to the Prussian general staff, most of whose members favor a restoration of the monarchy almost as much as they do a war with Poland. The same function also gave the Nazis an opportunity to display their loyalty to the old nobility and the new militarism. Hitler’s storm troops paraded before the assembled guests, the local burgomaster appeared in a Nazi uniform, as did one of the Coburg princes, and Hitler himself sent a telegram of congratulation to the father of the bride. Royalty has almost vanished from positions of responsibility since the war, but the crisis of the past two years has given the good old days a new luster. The spectacle of German princes and German Nazis sharing the spotlight of the Coburg wedding, with a few members of foreign nobility providing the background, shows that the whole world is not yet quite safe for democracy.
Brief Notes
Le Yacht says that the Deutschland will not be
Uncommissioned for service before the spring 1933.
Lieutenant Commander Ruhfus, the cod’ mander of the training ship Niobe, which cap sized and foundered in the Baltic on July 26 wi the loss of 69 lives, was acquitted by c°ur martial on November 3 of all blame in the ®a ter.
JAPAN
While Others Wag Tongues
Japan Advertiser, Tokyo, November 1' —In addition to its normal appropriation5 for the next four fiscal years, the Na^y Ministry intends to ask ¥542,000,000 f°r building new war vessels and naval atf' craft and for their maintenance, according to the Tokyo Asahi Shimbun. This mone) is needed, according to the navy author1' ties, to put into effect the “second repleI1' ishment program,” necessary to make good the deficiencies in Japan’s naval de' fense discovered by experts at the Londo11 Naval Conference. The new expense is be spread over the next four fiscal yearSi during which ¥360,000,000 will be spent for war vessels and ¥100,000,000 for tbe creation of five new flying corps.
The navy plan envisages construct10^ of one 8,000-ton air plane carrier, whi^ will take four years to complete; t"’0 8,500-ton cruisers, seven 1,400-ton dc' stroyers, six submarines, both large aiw small; one 5,000-ton mine layer, severa torpedo boats and a mine sweeper. The creation of the new air corps would be spread over four years.
The first “replenishment program” WaS voted by the Fifty-Ninth Diet, immedi' ately following the London Naval Conf£l" ence. Completion of this is now being ac' celerated. This program, it will be remeh1' bered, was taken to the Diet when Ad' miral Baron Kiyokazu Abo was Na'9’ Minister. Replying to an interpellation by Mr. Shinya Uchida, a Seyukai leaded at that time, Admiral Abo declared th^ naval leaders were by no means satisfy® with the additional strength promised by
e first replenishment program and °rtly would introduce a second pro- 6ram. Ever since then, the leading naval °Wers of the world, according to the okyo Asahi, have been watching to see aat this second naval plan would be. s paper declares that the draft of the econd plan was completed at the time the . rst was worked out. Originally the navy , ^nded to ask for money to start it with s 1934-35 appropriation but now feels at the international situation has been anged so sharply by the Manchurian cident that more haste is necessary, uerefore it is asking for appropriations 0 this end in the 1933-34 budget. The re- uUest was submitted to the Finance Min- stry yesterday.
^nds Off
^iyako, Tokyo, November 1.—
SoiTlle United States acts as though it were the tio ^uar<t>an of world peace. We have no objec- to America talking of peace and disarma- What we object to is its interference in Pto*rS .°* ottler countries under the pretext of t0ttl°ting world peace. If America really wishes con<fitions of peace prevail throughout the £a f WC a<^v*se i* t0 ^eeP hs hands off the Far S(J * ' We also advise it to abandon its claim for ^Penority in naval armaments. World disarma- (j0 * yiil become a reality when America has cut 11 its armaments.
^drniral Okada Interviewed
u\^a^an Advertiser, Tokyo, November 5.
ay between Japan and America is un- s finable unless it is undertaken for the q e of war alone,” Admiral Keisuke ada, Minister of the Navy, declared in T' *nterview with The New York Herald Une and Japan Advertiser yesterday. Cqar talk is an outrage to international j^ionsense,” jjg «anci there js no stantial motive for it.”
Pro Obada deplored publicity or
fe ]Pa§anda which might aggravate the Jjeln8s °f the people of Japan or America.
. c^ared that the “presence of the eftcan fleet in the Pacific unnecessarily
irritates the minds of the Japanese public.”
Question: Is Japan dissatisfied with the London Naval Treaty?
Answer: The London Naval Treaty leaves very much to be desired from Japan’s standpoint. We have agreed to it only because it would cease to be effective after 1936. Mention was clearly made to this effect at the time the treaty was signed.
Question: Does Japan desire to obtain a higher ratio at the next conference?
Answer: Japan is not satisfied with the ratio previously accorded her in some categories. Moreover, if the total tonnage is further reduced, even if the ratio remains the same, the actual result in respect of fighting power will be more unfavorable to Japan, which possesses an inferior naval strength.
Question: Newspapers report that the navy has decided upon a supplementary budgetary appropriation of ¥540,000,000 for a four-year building program. Is this to make up the deficiency in the London treaty?
Answer: No decision has yet been reached concerning the budget. The navy may demand a supplementary building program and may also reduce the number of years allotted for the fulfilment of the six year program approved by the Diet following ratification of the London treaty, in order to relieve unemployment. However, the elasticity of the actual building program is limited, and it cannot be compressed into too short a period, so that a supplementary building program may be necessary. It should be remembered in this connection that shipbuilding is the industry hardest hit by the depression.
U. S. Only Pretends Peace
Japanese Press.—In his Navy Day speech, President Hoover stressed the necessity of protecting American commerce and said that in view of disturbed
conditions throughout the world the United States would have to replenish its navy to the extent permitted in the London Naval Treaty, making it the strongest in the world. President Hoover ignores the fact that’the chaotic condition of the world is largely the fault of the United States.
The United States, it is true, advocates peace, but the peace movement sponsored by it is marked by actions that disturb peace. There is no need for us to cite instances in the past; we have only to look at the attitude of the United States toward Japan since the outbreak of the Manchurian incident. It has not been an attitude befitting a nation that desires peace. Mr. Stimson, in spite of his responsible post, has frequently been indiscreet in his utterances and has challenged Japan. The United States has also tried to drag the League of Nations to its side through diplomatic tactics and to force its way through European affairs by the semi-intimidatory diplomacy of Senator Reed. Now even President Hoover is resorting to a provocative attitude. Judging from these few instances the policy of the United States is not to establish peace but to disturb the peace of the Pacific and the world.
The Ishii-Lansing Agreement in 1917 resulted from American caution to prevent attack from the rear in connection with its participation in the World War. It was a selfish policy, meant to protect the United States for the time being. The ambition of the United States in the Pacific was revealed in the elaborate program of naval expansion sponsored by Navy Secretary Daniels and in the abrogation of the Ishii- Lansing Agreement at the Washington Conference.
The United States has hidden motives. It is far from an advocate of true peace. Nobody will believe that the United States is only champion of the peace movement. Japan has pursued the principle of safety first since the outbreak of the Manchurian
Coincident. Japan is noted for its pacifist; It seems to be bold on the surface, but i is not so bold or outspoken as the Unite States. Japan is rather easy-going. Japa® need have no fear in blaming the Unite States for its indiscretion.
Australian Fears of Japan
Tribune, Chicago, November 11.—-AuS tralians and New Zealanders have Ion® been conscious of the possibilities for the® nations of Japanese expansion. Recen events in Manchuria cannot have call®® these fears. It is true that if Japanese pr°r ects in the north are successful there 'vl be an outlet for Japanese expansive energ) and an absorption of her resources in the exploitation of this region which will p°st pone imperialist enterprise elsewhere. if the Manchurian conquest is successfu' Japan’s power will be greatly enhance and there is nothing to suggest that hef ambition will be satisfied by such a success'
Japan, indeed, seems on the crest of tbc wave, while radical politics has been eX' hausting the finances of Australia a® New Zealand, creating social turmoil an civil strife, and profoundly weakening real elements of national defense. At the same time England’s treasury has bee® emptied by confiscatory taxes, her credi and currency debased, and she is involve not only in difficult European complicf tions but in a desperate struggle to retai® her hold upon her Indian realm. Englan is less able to protect Australasia tha® at any time since the founding of these colonies. It must be ominous to the AuS' tralians and New Zealanders that Japa' nese imperial policy has become rapidb' more militant as England’s difficultieS entered a critical stage.
With Australia and New Zealand bleed' ing themselves white through radical cott' fiscation of capital and destroying respo°" sible government and internal peace, there is reason for fear of the future in those countries. It will not be surprising if
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^ titles gradually push the whites out, as northern barbarians thrust the Ro- eyatls back from the Danube frontier and entually brought down the whole struc- lUre of Rome.
Citation Plan
■Times, New York, November 29.—
'Y'l
tl!a®. Japanese government has been informed w Vlce Admiral Nagano will present the Japa- iei naval plan to Geneva Friday and that the Ration has full discretion, ahoj.e Principal feature of the plan is an offer to ctui aheraft carriers altogether, provided CordSers with landing decks are prohibited. Ac- "'hi if® to otber details appearing in the press, Sdbj. ’ though not officially confirmed, appear the ,tatltially correct, the plan proposes to reduce t° j attleship tonnage to 25,000 and gun calibers the • lnches. Submarines are to be retained but at jSl2e reduced below the 2,000 tons sanctioned Cap. °nd°n. The gradual disappearance of huge tCy Ships aPPears in the proposal, which au- Htp. ries do not confirm or deny, to reduce the her of battleships by 30 per cent.
Say San Francisco Argonaut of November 25 hjs(;S tbat according to one authority Japanese Pea°ry has been Punctuated by no less than fifty [)rJant uprisings. The Argonaut believes that the condition of the farmers of Japan is al- °st intolerable.
PoliV EXcellent work on the part of the Tokyo ^ait a dangerous plot on the life of Premier k 0 and other high officials was nipped early in vember.
0 **n«cal gifts of ¥500,000 each were made on by ?iJer 20 to the Ministries of War and the Navy W7,^' Tei Mitani, acting upon the will of her husband, Mr. Chozaburo Mitani, a wealthy HUer-ware dealer.
D
s„b Distent rumors that Japan is developing hlan prille and other naval bases in former Ger- ajf , "ucific Islands now under her mandate were $i0p °n November 11 in the mandates commis- the League of Nations, sitting secretly in
\v(3Uesri°ned by several commissioners, some of str_essed Japan’s increasing expenditure on pastF or improvements” for these islands in the deleW° or tbree years, Nobumi Ito, the Japanese eVetfahte> expressed surprise that such queries had been raised, denied there were any naval
bases in the islands and said the port improvements had a purely commercial character.
At the session of the subcommittee of experts of the committee on military effectives of the disarmament conference on October 27 the Japanese delegate proposed that the personnel of the United States Coast Guard Service be included in calculations of police components as envisaged in the disarmament plan presented to the conference by President Hoover.
Gyokujo Hanzawa, editor of the Diplomatic Review, a semiofficial monthly that circulates among the upper classes, has openly announced that the United States is Japan’s real opponent:
“The balking of American ambitions in the Far East and the freeing of China from the aggression of other occidental nations formed the reasons for the drastic action that Japan took in Manchuria and Shanghai.”
The Miyako of November 6 says that clansmen used to, dominate the army and navy. With the downfall of the Choshu influence in the army, we expected to see the army free from rivalry. Now, to our great regret, there are two rival factions, the Araki clique and the Ugaki group. At this crucial moment, this is indeed unfortunate.
SWEDEN The "Gotland”
Army, Navy and Air Force Gazette, London, November 17.—Progress in the building of the “aircraft cruiser” Gotland for the Swedish Navy has been slower than anticipated. Although begun in 1930, the ship is not yet launched, and it seems to be doubtful whether she will be ready for service before 1934, if then. Her design is rather a novel one. Here for the first time is an attempt to combine in a ship of comparatively small size (5,000 tons), driven at a high rate of speed (27 knots), the armament of a light cruiser (six 6-inch guns), with the carriage of a squadron of seaplanes. There is some conflict of evidence as to the number of aircraft to be carried, but it will not be less than eight, and may be as many as twelve. The whole of the after part of the ship is given over to their accommodation and handling. There is not room, of course, for a flying-off deck, but two catapults are being fitted, and if
for any reason it is not desired to use these, the machines can be lowered over the side by crane, to take off under their own power. The nearest approach to the Gotland would seem to be the Albatross, completed for the Royal Australian Navy in 1929, but this 5,000-ton vessel has only an anti-aircraft armament (four 4.7-inch guns), and her speed is limited to 21 knots, so that she can hardly be termed a cruiser.
MERCHANT MARINE “Normandie” Launched
Engineering, London, November 4.— The launch of the 75,000-ton liner Normandie at Saint Nazaire on Saturday of last week has attracted quite unusual interest, both in engineering circles and among the general public. The reason for this is clear. The ship is the largest ever constructed, and has the additional distinction of being the first Atlantic liner in which electric propulsion has been adopted. The courage and enterprise of the Compagnie Generale Transatlantique, not only in proceeding with the construction of the ship during the present difficult period, but also in adopting a system of propulsion which must make the Normandie a definite and historic contribution to the development of marine engineering, are difficult to praise too highly.
The Normandie has an over-all length of 1,027 ft. and a length between perpendiculars of 963 ft. The beam at the main deck is 117 ft. 9 in. and at the corbelled promenade deck 119 ft. 6 in. The molded depth to the promenade deck is 91 ft. 4 in., and the height from the keel to the top of the chartroom 128 ft. The loaded draught when the vessel is completed will be 36 ft. 7 in., and the loaded displacement 67,500 tons.
The Normandie will be fitted with four 34,200-kw. turbo-electric sets running at 2,430 r.p.m. These will generate three- phase current at 5,000 volts, and drive
alternating-current motors direct couple to the four propeller shafts. This p\aI\ is being constructed by Messrs. Societe
Mecaniques (Als. Thom), of Belf°rt' Steam is supplied to the turbines at a pre5 sure of 400 lb. per square inch and temperature of 662 deg. F. by 29 water tube boilers. The boilers are of a tyP similar to those installed in the SS. Chaf plain, of the same company, and wh1^ have proved very successful. The turD feed pumps and air pumps are being snP plied by Messrs. G. and J. Weir, of Cat cart, and other engine-room auxiliaries being built in France to Messrs. W#r design. The machinery is designed to gj'e the ship a service speed of 30 knots, whi° will enable her to make the voyage Havre to New York, via Plymouth 1,1
five days, and so maintain a service
ships would accordingly be able to carO on the weekly service between Havre aa New York which now requires three-^ * will be remembered that it was a simdat of maintaining a weekly Atlantic servi^ which led to the program for two ne) Cunard liners which were to be of appr0*1 mately the same dimensions as the N°r mandie. It is the conditions of this sched ule which have led to the great size of tbe Normandie and the projected Cunarder5’
as commercially it would not be possi
known, work on the first of the Cunard^1’ has been stopped, and the second has ne'r been commenced.
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I
Nautical Gazette, New York, Novenib^ 26.—The report of the Society of Nava_ Architects and Marine Engineers’ c0lJl mittee to promote the maritime interns of the United States, submitted by Lewis Nixon, chairman, contained som
buti
ion of Merchant Tonnage of Principal aritime Nations According to Possible
^ Santa Elena, last of four $5,000,000 ships yUdt under the Jones-White act for the New Q,°rk-Central America-West Coast service of the race Line, slid down the ways on November 30 Pke yards of the Federal Shipbuilding and Dry °ck Company, Kearny, New Jersey.
Interesting tables resulting from its fact- ^ding work. Under the heading “Distri-
Se as Naval Auxiliaries,” and covering Vessels of 2,000 gross tons and above, exuding Great Lakes vessels, class analyses ** made as of January 1, 1932. The °tals of these classes are as given in the blowing table:
|
| Gross Tons | Excluding tankers and vessels below 12 knots |
pQited States reat Britain "Pan... | 1,585 2,991 637 566 535 534 | 9,157,500 18,149,000 3.212.0 3,301,800 2,896,700 2.880.000 | 365 2,419,500 1,369 10,571,000 273 1,861,000 267 2,876,800 201 1,362,700 243 1,762,000 |
, eimany.. .. w. | |||
France |
^Qrious Notes
Tre Luckenbach Steamship Lines, have an- °Unced plans to remodel their 21 freighters to Provide accommodations for passengers. A prec- ~.ent of 67 years, during which Luckenbach 7*Ps have engaged exclusively in transportation height, will be broken.
thns probably will be sought in December for , ® construction of a combination passenger and ^eight vessel for the Gulf Pacific Mail Line, to jPerate between Pacific coast ports and Tampico, uerto Colombia, and Kingston. Two recondi- °ned ships will be operated with the new ship.
^ new liner Colombian, first of two ships Pilt by the Colombian Steamship Company, j a*ntained a speed of 18.98 knots during her sea Pals off the Virginia Capes on November 10.
j, The three vessels chartered from the United pj11**- Company by the States Steamship Com- q for operation between Portland and the q ent are to be renamed the General Pershing, ^Herat Grant, and General Lee. The vessels will ^rgo Passengers’ refrigerated cargo, and general
The Shipping Board on October 27 authorized the transfer of a suitable vessel, exclusive of a Hog Island type, to the navy for loan by the latter to the state of Louisiana for use as a training ship. A vessel of about 8,500 tons deadweight will be the probable selection.
Frank C. Bowen writes the Nautical Gazette from London that the Canadian Pacific Line is reported on good authority to have come to the decision which has long been regarded as inevitable, to build a second giant liner of forty-odd thousand tons to run alongside the Empress of Britain. When that giant flyer was first suggested for the St. Lawrence route there were any number of people who were very doubtful as to the wisdom of the idea, for there are bound to be extra risks in more northerly navigation and the approaches to Quebec are intricate. But she has proved very handy for her size, and there is no doubt that the route is quite practicable for such a big ship, while she has been packed to capacity for practically every voyage, not only by passengers to Canada, but also by passengers from a very large section of the United States who prefer the St. Lawrence route to that via New York.
French shipyards will not launch more than 20,000 tons this year, excluding the 70,000-ton Normandie which was recently launched, according to a report from Commercial Attache Fayette W. Allport, Paris.
A new speed record on the Atlantic between Cherbourg Breakwater and Ambrose Light was established when the North German Lloyd liner Bremen steamed into New York on November 10, 4 days 16 hours 43 minutes out of Cherbourg.
The GYRO-stabilized 48,000-ton Italian liner Conte di Savoia averaged 29.4 knots for two runs of 9 hours each during her trials early in November. She sailed from Genoa for New York on November 30.
SCIENTIFIC
Progress in Marine Engines
Nautical Gazette, New York, November 26.—The United Fruit Company has recently built six new ships of the Talamanca class, designed for operating speeds of about 17 knots. These ships are, of course, not strictly cargo ships, but they handle large quantities of cargo in the form of bananas. The Pastores is a typical ship of the older type and engaged in the same trade.
The data shown in Table 1, furnished through the courtesy of the United Fruit Company, are of interest, showing average operating conditions with these two ships :
Table 1
|
|
| Fuel Consumption |
| Cargo | Aver. | All purpose, |
| capacity | speed | including |
| cubic feet | knots | refrigeration, gal. per. mile |
Pastores | 178,000 | 14.18 | 40.8 |
T alamanca | 181,000 | 16.72 | 42.1 |
It will be seen that the Talamanca with 3,000 cubic feet greater cargo capacity has 2.54 knots more speed with a fuel consumption of only 1.3 gallons per mile more than the Pastores. Thus this approximately 18 per cent increased speed is obtained with only 3 per cent increase in fuel consumption. Records also show that, in a year’s operation, three of the new ships will have the same operating costs as three of the older ships, and will carry the same total quantity of bananas as four of the older ships of the Pastores class. Consequently, there is a net saving of the costs of one ship, including the crew, carrying charges, insurance, maintenance, etc.
Masonry Dry Docks vs.
Floating Docks
Nautical Magazine, Glasgow, November.—The fact that Swan, Hunter & Wig- ham Richardson Ltd., Wallsend-on-Tyne, are about to add materially to their docking facilities, and that they have decided that this will take the form of a masonry- built graving dock in preference to a floating, or pontoon, dock, in the production of which they have earned world renown, has been subject of much comment. The firm’s preference has been pointed to as indicating their considered attitude in the debatable question as to the merits of the two kinds of dock accommodation. Eac ’ of course, has its advantages, and there is clear water area available tn choice of the floating type is often th<>r oughly justified. Where such area is re stricted the masonry dock’s claims are 1111 perative. This would seem to have bee" the deciding factor in the Wallsend case' It may be recalled that when the questi011 of a new and still larger dock to accoff1 modate the coming giant Cunarder arose at Southampton, the Southern Raibva- Co., decided to build a graving dock 1,1 preference to installing another floats dock. It is maintained by some dock pr° prietors that the built-in dock is a though greater in first cost—more eC° nomical in upkeep and operation.
An outstanding and clamant advantage of the pontoon type is that it is able to a<^ commodate a ship longer than itself, an very often there is a considerable ovef hang of the ship at each end. Two other advantages of the floating dock are also 0 great moment, and decisive. It can he built very rapidly, and is mobile. To naee^ particular conditions of local and spec>a requirements in any part of the world, adoption is often imperative.
Twilight
Tycos, Rochester, October.—
The Meteorological Tables of the Smithsonja* Institution, the fifth revision of which in tbit / years has just been issued, have been broug down to date by scientists of the United State Weather Bureau and Bureau of Standards . • • Astronomical twilight, according to the Ne teorological Tables, ends officially in the evenjn^ and begins in the morning when the true posit10 of the sun is 18 degrees below the horizon, stars of the sixth magnitude are visible near t zenith and generally there is no trace of the t"*f light glow on the horizon. Civil twilight ends begins when the sun’s center is six degrees be]0{ the horizon, and stars and planets of the 11 r magnitude are barely visible. j
The period of twilight has been a subject considerable confusion because different work® ^ have accepted different positions of the sun respect to the horizon to indicate its beginn111
the
same position.
ending. In the Smithsonian Institution ta- evening twilight is considered to begin when i upper limb of the sun coincides with the true ^fizon. Morning twilight ends when the sun is in
AVIATION
^ying Boats to French Frigate Shoals
Aviation, New York, December.—Almost unhonored and unsung, a navy patrol ^Juadron attached to the Pearl Harbor ^lr Station has recently staged a flight l_at may open a new era in American ftlgh-seas aviation. Six flying boats have Cfuised in formation from Pearl Harbor, * few miles west of Honolulu, to French t'gate Shoals. They landed at French rigate, stayed over night, and took off ?§ain the next day and came back home, fhe distance was only 500 miles. The sf»eed was only 85 m.p.h. Compared with fjre exploits of Frank Hawks, Doolittle, or ”°st and Gatty it sounds an uninspiring Performance, but it was the symbol of a dew idea.
Take the largest atlas that you can find, ®Pen it to the map of the Pacific, and look °r French Frigate Shoals. It may not be fhere. Little more than a coral reef awash 111 a boundless ocean, it was beneath the 1r°tice of many of the map-makers. The clrarts show it only as a spot upon which a ship might run aground. Yet it has be- c°me an aeronautical landmark.
American political and naval interests le largely in the Pacific. Flying boats will Pever have attained their majority in the Paval service until they are able to operate freely over the Pacific. Up to the present fiQie all of our flying-boat operations have Peen essentially coastal in nature. The Patrol squadrons have worked out of Key '^est and Guantanamo and Coco Solo to Sc°ur the Caribbean. They have operated along the Pacific coast of the United States and Central America and within J-he main group of the Hawaiian Islands, Put they have never yet really struck out across the sea under service conditions. The NC boats made a beginning in 1919 with a transatlantic flight. There was another trial in 1925, when the FN’s set out from San Francisco for Hawaii. In the meantime, the flying boat squadrons of the R.A.F. have been probing the comparatively sheltered seas of the Eastern Hemisphere, and even reaching out into the Pacific as far as Australia and the Philippines. Von Gronau has repeatedly crossed the North Atlantic, and finally completed a leisurely jaunt by flying boat around the world. Most spectacular of all, the Italian Air Force, after years of preparatory cruises on a more moderate scale, have flown a squadron of boats from Chile to Brazil by way of West Africa. The time has long been ripe for the American navy to undertake oceanic flying-boat cruises of its own, by squadrons or even larger groups.
The flight to French Frigate, small in itself, is a beginning. Beyond French Frigate lies Midway, and then Wake, and then Guam, and then the Philippines, all of them under the American flag and with no hop of over 1,600 miles to separate them. To the south of the Philippines is Australia, and then to the east, at distances of 1,500 miles or less, come the new Hebrides, the Fiji group, and, getting back on to American soil, Samoa, Palmyra, and once again Hawaii. The Southwestern Pacific could be circumnavigated in 16,000 miles. The patrol squadrons would have gained a new experience, given their equipment a new test, demonstrated an ability which we fully believe that they possess to operate over distances hitherto undreamed of, and, last but by no means least, a new inspiration would have been furnished for transoceanic air commerce.
We believe that the organization of regular flying boat service on half a dozen routes like that between Jamaica and the Canal Zone, upon which Pan-American has been keeping its commodores busy, but longer and more difficult, is a matter of the very near future. The pioneering work goes slowly because of the enormous cost of developing the equipment, proving it out and organizing the route. Nothing could be more helpful in stimulating American air transport over the open sea, or more helpful to the American industry in finding foreign markets for American-built flying boats, than a really spectacular squadron cruise by the navy. With the interest of naval aviation, of the manufacturing industry, and of air transport operators all in accord, it ought to take only a very little time to get into action.
We hold no brief for the special itinerary that we have suggested. There may be better plans than a Cook’s Tour of the Southwestern Pacific. A squadron flight from California to Hawaii might be better, but some itinerary should be selected and some flight made which will be as dramatic an event and as spectacular a proof of the qualities of material and men as was the American fleet’s cruise around the world 24 years ago.
(Note: The flight to French Frigate Shoals was made August, 1932, by the Commander Fleet Air Base, Pearl Harbor, T. H. with a section of patrol-type seaplanes.—Ed.)
Ocean Flying to be Supervised
United States Daily, November 18, 1932.—The Air Commerce Regulations have been amended to provide closer supervision over attempts to fly across the ocean or to foreign countries, according to an announcement by the Aeronautics Branch of the Department of Commerce.
It is not the intention of the department to interfere with constructive flights to foreign countries, but the revision of the regulations is designed to discourage inexperienced pilots and inadequately equipped aircraft from attempting transoceanic and other flight projects to foreign countries.
The text of the amendment follows:
Section 36. Foreign flight.
(а) Entry and clearance. The entry and clea' ance of aircraft into or from the United Stat5 shall be in compliance with the Entry and CleaI ance of Aircraft Regulations.
(б) Authorization for foreign flight. The owne or pilot of United States registered aircraft sha secure authorization from the Department Commerce prior to flight, except on regular scbed uled operation, over any foreign country othe than Canada, Mexico, and Cuba. Such author^ tion may be issued after permission for the flig® has been accorded by the country or countries 10 be visited and the Secretary of Commerce is sat>s fled that the aircraft and airmen utilized afe qualified for the type of flight contemplated. A>r craft and airmen licenses may be suspended 0 revoked for failure to secure prior authorization for foreign flight or for operating in violation o the terms of such authorization issued by w secretary or for violation of the laws or regulation5 of any country over which the aircraft is operated-
(c) Unlicensed aircraft. Unlicensed aircraft t0 which unlicensed identification numbers or mark have been issued shall not be flown in any foreign country.
Under the terms of the amendment, the Aer° nautics Branch is working on a code of minim11111 requirements to be observed by all aspirants f°r foreign flight permission. This doubtless will 111 elude the following salient features:
That the pilot possess ability to fly entirely h> instruments or blind.
That he possess a substantial amount of cross country night flying experience.
That he be qualified as a navigator or be ac companied by one. ,
That the aircraft meet the airworthiness stal'd ards of the Department of Commerce.
That duplicates of certain instruments be pr° vided to guard against failure of such instrumeD 5 when they are needed most.
That the necessary amount of fuel for the pr°) ect be supplied and that the aircraft shall hav the ability to carry such a load.
Transoceanic flight failures of the past ha'' apparently been largely due to one or more of * following causes: (1) Lack of ability in the sc'eI1fe of air navigation; (2) insufficient fuel for 1 length of the flight; (3) inability to fly by instruf ments in adverse weather and (4) lack of prop® equipment. It is these which the department see to overcome.
The Granite Wing at Kitty Hawk
Herald Tribune, New York, Noveifib^ 20, 1932.—On November 19, 1932, 3
Hawk, N. C., there was unveiled the jj]°nument which commemorates the first ^ §bt in history of a power-driven airplane. ,ls in the form of an enormous granite rising as if on the point of taking r'Sht above the lonely sand dunes and the Ue line of sea where the Wright brothers '^enty-nine years ago first got their primitive crate-like structure into the air. A -Vear or two before Wilbur Wright, in a foment of exasperation over the impregnable difficulties into which their passion denied to be leading them, had exlaimed Uiat it would be “a thousand years” before ^an could fly. Last year more than half a Million passengers flew on our regularly Scheduled air lines alone; there is scarcely ar> hour of the day when the commercial ships” are not roaring out of our airports "ath their heavy loads of passengers and 'hail, and Orville Wright has lived to see '■be monument to that first airplane quite haturally take the form of a beacon to Shide its descendants on their swift and Certain passages through the skies.
The design of the monument itself is Slligularly appropriate. To combine the passive solidity of granite with the sensitive lightness of a bird’s wing may seem *° be doing violence to nature; yet it was precisely in the resolution of those seeming '^compatibles that the Wright brothers *ed the way. The simple, basic principle of bight was obvious to any one who had ever Sent up a kite. What the Wright brothers bid was to work out, through theory and eXperiment, the first real understanding of '•be true forces involved and to demonstrate in the process that “the insubstantial air” was a misnomer.
The modern transport (which differs in "o fundamental way from the “contraption” of the Wrights and represents simply a refinement of the ideas that they worked "bth) suggests, when you see her upon the ground, a sense of almost ponderous solid- *ty. The idea that all that weight of metal 'those massive engines and fuel tanks and heavy wings—can actually drag itself into the air, carrying passengers and crew besides, seems to be absurd. But as she lifts gracefully from the field, riding upon so solid a cushion that passengers may stroll up and down in the corridor without disturbing the trim, one realizes what air in motion really is. That is the knowledge which the Wrights, at the cost of risk and patient headwork, first established; and it is upon that knowledge that man has soared into the heavens.
Various Notes
United States
During her first year of operation the U.S.S. Akron made 51 flights with a total flying time of 1,131 hours, 3 minutes. Total number of persons carried, 4,058; total man hours 89,255 hours, 8 minutes; total ground nautical miles 47,696. The A kron has participated in two fleet scouting problems since commissioning, one in the Charleston, S. C.-Bermuda area, and the other in the Pacific. To operate with the combined fleets in the Pacific the Akron made a transcontinental flight and operated away from the Naval Air Station, Lake- hurst, for a period of six weeks, using the mooring masts at Camp Kearney and Sunnyvale, Calif. Since commissioning the Akron, a heavier-than- air unit has been organized and the development of the airplane trapeze and housing gear has progressed rapidly. Hook-ons totaling 401 have been made to date.
The launching of the U.S.S. Macon in the spring will mark the completion of the navy’s present rigid airship building program. The first flight tests will probably take place in March. The Macon is similar in design to the Akron and will differ from her only in minor particulars.
Two experiments now being made are being watched by enthusiasts who believe that steam is about to be used in airplanes. Not since very early models were powered by steam has this motive power received so much attention.
In Akron, Ohio, Mr. H. C. Johnston, has completed a steam airplane engine capable of 1,500 r.p.m. In Cleveland, Ohio, plans are advancing for construction of a steam airplane at the Great Lakes Aircraft Corporation shops. Captain H. C. Richardson (C.C.) U. S. Navy (Retired), who was a pilot on the United States Navy’s first transatlantic flight in 1919, is technical adviser.
Captain Richardson is turning his attention to
An air ministry statement on the re-equ'P ment of units which has recently taken plac® shows that the last war-time aircraft have bee removed from squadrons. No. 6 (bomber) squa ron at Ismailia has received its final issue of ne machines of the Fairey Gordon type in place 0
a turbine engine, while Johnston, the Akron inventor, has constructed a reciprocating engine with two cylinders opposed.
A new airplane of the small transport class has been built and tested by Mr. Walter Beech at Wichita, Kansas. The most noticeable difference from the conventional biplane is in the position of the wings, placed in reverse wing stagger. The leading edge of the lower wing extends almost to the engine cowling, while the leading edge of the upper wing is far enough back to give the pilot almost perfect visibility. It accommodates four passengers and a pilot. Test flights indicated a high speed of about 200 m.p.h.
There were 2,079 airports and landing fields in the United States on November 1, 1932, an increase of 42 since July 1, 1932, according to a report prepared by the Aeronautics Branch of the Department of Commerce. A total of 691 of the airports on record November 1, were fully or partially lighted for night use.
On July 1, 1932, there were 543 municipal and 610 commercial airports; 352 Department of Commerce intermediate landing fields, 430 auxiliary fields, 51 army and 14 navy airdromes and stations; and 37 miscellaneous government, private, and state airports and landing fields, a total of 2,037.
Federal airways maintained by the Aeronautics Branch, Department of Commerce, the governing unit for all civil aviation, were expanded during the fiscal year 1932 to 19,500 miles of lighted and radio-equipped routes.
The program of airway construction authorized by Congress for the fiscal year 1932 enabled the aeronautics branch to increase the number of lighted transcontinental routes to three. These are the Transcontinental, from San Francisco via Chicago to New York; the Midcontinental, from Los Angeles via Kansas City to New York, and the Southern Transcontinental, from San Diego via Atlanta to New York.
During the third quarter of 1932 violations of the provisions of the air commerce regulations relating to low flying led the list of air violations dealt with by the Aeronautics Branch, Department of Commerce. There were 56 such offenses during the period. Other principal causes of action were acrobatics, 53; unlicensed pilots flying licensed planes, 26; flying at night without position lights, 160.
A decrease in passenger deaths, in relation both to flights and to the number of passengers flown, is indicated for 1931 in the fourth report by the committee on aviation of the Actuarial Society of America, recently made public.
The 1931 passenger death rate, according the report, was only two per 100,000 passenge hours, or five per 100,000 flights. One fatal! A occurred for every 19,346 passengers carried. 1930 one fatality took place for each 17,396 sengers; in 1929, one for every 9,633, and in 192 > one for every 3,314. On a flights basis the passed ger death rate was thirty per 100,000 flights >° 1928, ten per 100,000 in 1929 and six in 1930.
Great Britain
Bristol Fighters.
Other changes announced are:—Gordon fr0„ IIIF general purpose machines in Nos. 14, -j ’ and 207 (bomber) squadrons; Audax from Atm in No. 13 (army co-operation) squadron; an Bulldog from Siskin IIIA in No. 29 (fighter' squadron.
Orders have been placed for 36 British aero planes by three foreign powers. The machines ar all small types, but they are to be used for mi 1 tary purposes. _
The largest order, received from Brazil, is 22 aircraft. In addition, 10 have been ordered b> Portugal and 6 by Iraq. ,
The machines for Brazil are Tiger Moths an Fox Moths. The latter are to be supplied vn floats and will presumably serve with the Bra zilian Navy. They are to be fitted with earner guns for the training of air gunners and are to b capable of use as ambulance machines. Portuga has ordered Tiger Moths for use as military train' ing craft, and Iraq is to take 6 of the newest tyPe put into production by the de Havilland Com pany.
British aviation authorities are planning encircle the globe with regular air lines.
Plans include the inauguration of an air rou between New York and Bermuda as a preliminary step to a regular transatlantic air service; the ex tension of the present British-India service 1° Australia; a great circle air route between Britain and Canada, via Ireland and Newfoundland, link ing up with the transcontinental line from M°n treal to the West and on to the Far East.
Of these projects the one nearest actual realm® tion is the British-Australia service, which is eX' pected to be inaugurated in 1933. The presen service to India terminates at Karachi, but neg° tiations now are proceeding with a view to con
Heavy-oil engine, suitable in all respects for
Use
arge and 500 hp. at full charge when turning at
’.900
l‘ons.
^*ng the route through India, Burma, Malaya ® Dutch East Indies to Australia.
Recently a British factory launched the larg- ^ military flying boat yet constructed in the t, r <t a giant biplane weighing some thirty- 0jre.e tons with full load and driven by the power six 825-horsepower engines. First trials of the i eat craft have gratified all concerned. The new at, in spite of its size, is easy to handle, and is 1:1 to surpass in qualities of seaworthiness and , Cral flying performance any other big flying 0atyet built.
0jARi-Y next year Great Britain will have in Potion a mail aeroplane with a top speed of ^ miles an hour, a cruising speed of 172 miles an .°ar) and a range of 1,000 miles. This is the spe- machine ordered as an experiment by the Air mistry. Its construction has been nearly com. by Messrs. Boulton and Paul, Ltd., and it t>e flying shortly.
m aeroplanes, has just passed a 50-hours Air mistry type test, and is being fitted into a mtary aeroplane at Farnborough for flight tests. , Js is the first British engine of this kind in ^ >ch weight, efficiency, and general dimensions th^ ^een sucb as to warrant its application to :. e Ueroplane. Its power output is 500 hp. and s Weight is only 1,504 lb.
i J be importance of this achievement lies in the ct that a safer, simpler, and more economical to 6 t^lan *-be petrol engine will be made available Uviation at a comparativelv small cost in en- g,neweight.
^he compression-ignition engine uses a fuel mch gives Gg no inflammable vapor until its attlPerature is raised to at least 100° C. It has no ectrical installation, no spark plugs, and no rburetor. Its rate of fuel consumption is low,
, b with its simple system of fuel injection it °uld be less liable to failure due to interruption j-be supply.
i conversion has been carried out at Farn- P°r°ugh with the assistance of the Rolls-Royce °mpany. The engine yields 480 hp. at normal r.p.m. Its maximum rate is 2,000 revolu-
Germany
k Preparations now in an advanced stage are .e’ng made by the Deutsche Luft Hansa to sta- l0tl a “mother-ship” in the South Atlantic for the r°Posed air line from Berlin to Buenos Aires.
^ A 5,000-ton ship, the Westfalen, has been °ugbt from the Norddeutscher Lloyd and is
being equipped with a powerful catapult, capable of dealing with a Domier Wal twin-engined flying boat. A heavy-duty crane will also be installed to lift the flying boat out of the water. After preliminary tests in the North Sea she will be stationed halfway between Dakar, French West Africa, and Port Natal, Brazil.
The Deutsche Luft Hansa is negotiating with the French A6ropostale company, which runs the South American service from Toulouse to Buenos Aires by aeroplane and ship across the South Atlantic, to collaborate in creating a through air service from Europe to South America.
Now that the Graf Zeppelin has completed more than 500,000 flying kilometers and a year- round air service to South America has been planned for her, work is going forward on her sister-ship, the LZ-129, which will be the largest airship in the world.
The new dirigible will be completed in 1934 if the present building schedule is carried out. She will be about 8 meters, or 27 feet, longer than the United States Navy’s Akron and 11 meters, or 36 feet, longer than the Graf. The LZ-129 will have a gas capacity of 200,000 cubic meters, nearly double that of the Graf. Her diameter at the middle will be 41 meters, as compared to the Graf’s 30.
France
The Minister for Air has announced the creation in the Ecole Speddle Militaire at St. Cyr, of a special aeronautical section which will give to cadets intending to serve in military aviation specialized instruction in aeronautics. This includes scientific instruction to enable the cadets to take the course of the Ecole d’Application de V Air onautique, special instruction in military observation, air fighting, and elementary instruction in aeroplane and aero-engine maintenance.
Candidates for the aeronautical section will be chosen from officer cadets who have completed their first year at St. Cyr, up to a numerical limit fixed each year by the Minister for Air for pilots (aviation) and observers (areo-station). Applicants must be physically fit and must have, during their first year, taken the optional course in advanced mathematics.
At the close of the second year at the Ecole Splciale cadets of the aeronautical section will be gazetted with the rank of sous-lieutenant in the particular branch of military aviation in which they have specialized.
The aeronautical section will be commanded by a Chef de Bataillon of the Forces Alriennes, who will be appointed to the staff of the Ecole Spiciale Militaire. A special instructional staff of aviation
officers will be attached to the school. A section of eight service type two-seat aeroplanes will form part of the establishment of the aeronautical section.
Instruction will be given both by the officer instructors of the Ecole Speciale Militaire and by the instructors of the aeronautical section, who, in co-operation with instructional staff of the Ecole d’Application de l’Aeronautique, will be responsible for the drawing up of the various courses.
The German government has protested against the landing of a French military aeroplane at Treves. A Breguet 19 of the 11® Escadre, based at Metz, lost its way while engaged on a circular flight from Metz to Rheims, Nancy and back to Metz, and landed 4 kms. West of Treves. After ascertaining his whereabouts, the N.C.O. pilot returned to Metz. The French military authorities have instituted an inquiry into the incident.
Japan
The London Times says that plans for strengthening the naval air forces are the only important feature of a supplementary building program which the navy is now (November 1, 1932) discussing with the Treasury in preparation for the budget. According to the vernacular newspapers, the supplementary program is to be completed by 1936 at a cost of ¥460,000,000, of which 100,000,000 will be spent on five new naval air bases. The expenditure proposed in the budget for 1933-34 is ¥42,000,000 for ships and ¥1,850,000 for bases.
The figures are not final, but it is not denied that increased appropriations are demanded. Both services, which had their estimates curtailed by the former Cabinet, are determined to take advantage of the present favorable opportunity, although the falling yen is re-enforcing the Treasury’s resistance. It is possible that the money is more urgently needed for replenishments and
improvements already under way than for ne" ships. Japanese experiences at Shanghai and Manchuria revealed deficiencies, especially in air arm, which both services have since been ^ tively making good, and facilities for buildin° aircraft have, it is believed been increased.
The supplementary shipbuilding program simply complete the construction authorized W the London Naval Treaty, under which Japan15 entitled to build one 13,000-ton aircraft earn* six destroyers, six submarines, and various an* iliary ships. The treaty also allows cruisers to . laid down for completion after 1936, and tW right will be exercised in connection with the ne program. Naval officials pointed out that the » forces of Japan, compared with those of United States, are far below the 60 per cent rah° which is the standard for warships, and maD> signs indicate that the navy is chiefly exercise about its air strength.
Italy
The most ambitious group flight yet attempte<j by any nation is expected to take place ne* March or April, when 24 Italian seaplanes, under command of General Aldo Pellegrini, will set on from Orbetello, near Rome, for a round-the-wod
flight- .
The planes selected for this flight, which
Italian Air Ministry has been preparing for car^ fully for the last two years, are Savoia Marchet machines of the S-55 type, fitted with new Isotj\ Fraschini engines developing from 750 to 80 horsepower and having a speed of 200 kilometer5 (125 miles) an hour.
The flight is to be made by stages, the seaplane5 stopping at thirty different localities before re turning to this country. Two bases will be estab" lished, presumably at New York and Tokyo. T^e object of the flight is not to establish any ne" record but simply to test the regularity of tbe machines in long-distance flight.
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