United States
Radiometeorograph
Journal of Franklin Institute, April.—A radiometeorograph system has been developed in the bureau of Standards radio section for use in the Meteorological service of the U. S. Navy Department. It is expected that this system will eventually replace airplanes in gathering information on upper-air conditions required for weather foresting.
The complete radio meteorograph system comprises transmitting equipment for sending down from small unmanned balloons meteorological observations on upper-air pressure, temperature, and humidity; receiving and recording equipment on the ground for automatically plotting these data in the graphical form desired by meteorologists; and direction finders (also at the ground station) for tracking the flight of the balloon so as to determine upper-air wind conditions.
The instrument, sent aloft on a 5-ft. balloon, consists of a miniature radio transmitting set, batteries, and a meteorograph. The latter contains be devices for measuring pressure, temperature, humidity, and other elements desired. The complete equipment is housed in a balsa-wood box 6X6X4½ in., and weighs less than 2 lb.
The meteorograph utilizes the decrease in atmospheric pressure as the balloon rises for moving a small switch-arm over a set of electrical contacts separated by insulating strips. The contacts are so spaced that for a decrease in air pressure equivalent to a few hundred feet rise of the balloon, the arm will move from one contact to the next. The arm on reaching selected contacts pauses the radio transmitter to send down signals having predetermined audio notes which provide index marks for the pressure scale.
Various Notes
A curtailed auxiliary ship authorization bill, embracing only a one-year program, was submitted to Congress this week by the administration.
In place of the 221,000-ton, 10-year program Proposed last year, this year’s measure calls for only six ships totaling 36,050 tons—a seaplane ender, 8,300 tons; a destroyer tender, 9,000 tons; a mine sweeper, 600 tons; a submarine tender, 9,000 tons, a fleet tug, 1,150 tons; and an oiler, 8,000 tons.
In submitting an estimate of cost for the six ships of $48,206,050, Secretary of the Navy Swanson said that this was not a definite figure, inasmuch as the military characteristics of some of the ships have not been fully determined and no allowance has been made for “an indicated but indefinite increase in cost for labor and materials” nor for any increases which may result from the Walsh-Healy Act.
The new 1-year program differs considerably from the contemplated first increment of the 10- year program submitted last year. Then the laying down of eight vessels was intended, which included, one aircraft tender and two patrol plane tenders, instead of the one seaplane tender in the present bill, two mine-sweepers instead of one, and a gunboat instead of the fleet tug and oiler. Both measures provided for a destroyer tender and a submarine tender. Hearings are scheduled for next week by the House Naval Committee.—Army and Navy Journal, April 24.
The Navy Department announced today the schedules for the shakedown cruises of two submarines recently commissioned, the U.S.S. Plunger and the Permit. The Plunger, which sails today from New York, will visit ports in the West Indies, the Canal Zone, and on the west coast of South America. Upon her return she will visit Miami, Florida; Charleston, S. C.; Washington, D. C.; and complete her cruise at Newport, R. I. on June 22. The Permit will leave New London, Conn., on April 26, and visit ports in the Caribbean and at the Canal Zone. Returning she will visit Houston, Texas; New Orleans, La.; Jacksonville, Florida; and complete her cruise at New London on July 2. The Plunger and Permit are the seventh and eighth submarines of the 1933 program. Five of that program, the Porpoise, Pike, Tarpon, Perch, and Pickerel, have passed their final acceptance trials successfully, but post-trial examinations disclosed a design defect in the main generators which the contractors are taking steps to correct. The sixth submarine of the 1933 program, the U.S.S. Shark, has not completed her final trials.—Press Release, April 15.
The Navy Department announced today that Captain Lamar R. Leahy, U.S.N., Hydrographer, United States Navy, will sail on April 3, to attend the conference of the International Hydrographic Bureau at Monte Carlo. He will serve as chairman of the United States delegation which will include Captain G. T. Rude of the Coast and Geodetic Survey.
During the conference the election of the three resident directors of the Bureau will be held as the 5-year terms of the present directors expire during 1937. Rear Admiral Walter S. Crosley, U.S.N. (Ret.), has been designated by President Roosevelt as the candidate of the United States as Rear Admiral Andrew T. Long, U.S.N. (Ret.), who has served as resident director since 1930, will not be a candidate for re-election.
After the conference, Captain Leahy will visit the Hydrographic Office in Paris and of the British Admiralty in London. Later he will confer with Danish officials in regard to ice conditions off the west coast of Greenland to further the work of the International Ice Patrol maintained by the United States for the protection of shipping in the North Atlantic Ocean.—Press Release, March 31.
The navy has rejected bids of four companies on construction of a small floating dry dock to be based in the Hawaiian Islands. The dry dock would be used for repairs to destroyers. Dravo Corporation, of Pittsburgh, was low bidder with an offer of $1,182,000. The Navy has an appropriation of only $750,000 for this purpose. New bids probably will be invited soon —Marine Journal.
We didn’t believe the New York newspaper that carried the recent story about “The Navy’s last Time Ball due to end its career” and that there was only one left. We got scratching around and found another. There are two, or rather were two until the recent decision to abolish the familiar old custom of dropping a time ball on the stroke of noon each day in order that chronometers of ships in company—and of all others in sight—could be set at regular intervals. Radio time signals have made the visual system obsolete. But, getting back to the two last survivors of the many time balls once used—one was, or is, atop the Hotel Fairmont, in San Francisco, and one definitely was on the topmost flagstaff on the roof of the Old Navy building directly across the street from the White House, in Washington. It is no more and was the one the paper referred to as being discontinued. Since the one on the Fairmont costs the Navy $200 a year to maintain, according to Captain Lamar S. Leahy, U. S. N. Hydrographer, and is of little naval use, a survey was requested to determine if it should be continued. By the time you read this there will probably be no time balls left.—Our Navy, Mid-April.
The sun is stirring up one of the most violent magnetic storms in history on the earth’s surface, Dr. A. G. McNish, of Carnegie Institution, said today.
This storm, he said in a report to the American Geophysical Union, is causing difficulties in radio, telephone and telegraph communication.
It also is causing great changes in magnetic compasses, he said, and ships at sea in northern latitudes may be running around in circles.
Such storms are associated with some particular activity of sun spots, which now are gradually increasing in number, he said.—Sun, Baltimore. Washington, April 28(A>).
Great Britain
Agreement with China
Sun, Baltimore, April 23—Great Britain’s latest move to strengthen her defenses in the Far East, now concentrated at Hongkong and Singapore, was the recently completed Sino-British agreement for joint development of Hainan Island, China’s largest and most important insular possession.
Strategically situated off the southwest coast of China, Hainan Island lies directly between Singapore and Hongkong. Had Japan disregarded a Fran co-Chinese understanding calling for the permanent neutrality of the island and moved in ahead of the British, Great Britain would have found her two heavily fortified Far Eastern strongholds neatly separated. Japan also would have commanded a position as favorable as the British base at Hongkong for the penetration of Southern China.
Joint pressure by Britain, France, and the United States has kept Japan out of Hainan Island in the past. But America’s possible withdrawal from the Far East after granting final independence to the Philippines and Japan’s recent understandings with Germany and Italy led Britain to believe that she would have to move in first if Hainan were to be saved from Japan and much of the effectiveness of Singapore and Hongkong preserved.
British military, naval, and air force maneuvers at Hongkong and Singapore in recent months revealed the interdependence of these two British bases, and the importance Britain attaches to an open pathway between them. During maneuvers at Singapore, forces from Hongkong were hurried southward to participate in both the attack and the defense, while military exercises at Hongkong a month later found British troops, ships, and flying fortresses usually stationed in Singapore testing the defenses at Hongkong. Plans for the defense of either base obviously call for co-operation between the forces. This would be highly difficult, however, with Japan, Britain’s most likely opponent in the Far East, entrenched on Hainan Island.
British circles here experienced considerable anxiety last year when Japan sent several warships to Hainan during the Pakhoi incident in Southern Kwangtung. Although the Japanese ships withdrew after several days, the British realized that another such incident might not end so peacefully.
To the alarm of Japan, China has shown growing acceptance of British economic cooperation in recent months. Chinese circles point out that Great Britain’s Policy at present is one of strict economic co-operation, without demands for territorial or military concessions such as have featured Japanese offers of assistance.
Great Britain, however, has not “taken over” Hainan. She has no immediate intention, at least, of violating the Franco-Chinese agreement by erecting heavy fortifications on Hainan. The British agreement with China calls merely for economic development of Hainan, an island of conquerable resources, but practically no developments.
The preliminary plans for the development of Hainan, however, include the conduction of a railroad around the entire island as well as extensive harbor development. These economic improvements, as the Japanese already have pointed out alarm, would not be without their military and naval value in time of war in the Orient.
Observers are convinced that Britain herself has no ultimate intention of ever stationing British forces on the island, unless Japan should threaten similar action. The economic agreement with China would appear to be to China’s own direct benefit, with the island being built up as a strictly Chinese base which would not, however, be unfriendly to Britain or loom as a barrier between Hongkong and Singapore.
The success of recent British economic missions to China has been in direct contrast to the dismal failure of the Japanese economic mission, which refused to consider political questions in North China, particularly the status of the bogus East Hopei regime and the smuggling situation, before opening economic discussions.
Besides the joint development of Hainan Island, British investments and loans are being made for improvements throughout Southern China, particularly in Kwangtung and Kwangsi, where anti-Japanese feeling runs high and officials recently have been overly solicitous of all British approaches. The Sino-British agreements, however, originate and are completed in Nanking under the direction of T. V. Soong, who heads the Chinese National Economic Council.
American interests in the Far East, following Britain’s lead, also have expressed interest in the development of Hainan Island and have sent a party of experts on a tour of inspection of the island. Preliminary surveys indicate that the island is rich in mineral resources and agricultural possibilities, including beef, poultry, tea, coconuts, sugar, coffee, and rubber. The island’s resources also are believed to include lead, tin, salt, and extensive stretches of good timber land.—Shanghai, April 1.
Navy Recruiting
United Services Review, April 1.—Recruiting for the Navy is proving so satisfactory just now that in order to “strike the iron while it is hot” the Admiralty have presented a supplementary estimate increasing by 1,000 entries the numbers already voted down to the end of the financial year 1936-37. With the Defence Loan looming in the background, these supplementary estimates are very facile affairs, but this particular one only involves a trifling sum.
Having a bit of spare cash in hand from the sale of two destroyers to the Canadian Navy, the Admiralty are only asking for £100 to cover the estimated cost during the period in question which is expected to be involved. Presumably the whole of these additional numbers will be boys, the age limits for whom range between 15¼ and 17 years. The training accommodation seems likely to be rather severely taxed for some time to come, since apparently the ex-liner Majestic will not be ready to function as the Caledonia at Rosyth for a considerable while yet.
The question will naturally occur as to why the Navy is finding no difficulty in replenishing and expanding its man power, while the Army is experiencing grave difficulty in attracting recruits? Probably the chief explanation lies in the difference in age of eligibility. The great bulk of the boys who join the Navy are very much nearer to the lower age limit than to the upper one, and it does not seem an unreasonable assumption that they are induced to go into the sea service by their parents.
The young man who is eligible to join the Army regards himself as having reached the age of self-determination; he is more likely to be “in a job” than the younger embryo sailor, in which case his parents would be less anxious to see him leave home. For these reasons it is not easy to form any fair opinion as to the relative popularity of the two services. No doubt Army recruiting has been more prejudicially affected by persistent antimilitary propaganda than has entry into the Navy.
Another advantage which the Navy gets from the earlier age of recruitment is a less exacting physical standard. The Admiralty regulations lay down that a candidate “must be of robust frame, intelligent, of perfectly sound and healthy constitution, free from any physical defects or malformation, and not subject to fits. This sounds exacting enough, but it leaves a good deal to the discretion of the medical examiner.
In that discretion he may fairly say that a boy of round about 16 is but partially developed and that a year or two of sea life will probably remedy shortcomings which need not militate against the making of a useful sailor. “His height and chest measurement must be sufficient” is the only restriction on these points laid down in the Admiralty regulations; no standard measurements as in the case of the Army. A comparison of the proportion of rejections in Navy and Army recruiting would be both interesting and instructive.
Various Notes
A settlement of the Keelung incident satisfactory to the British government was reached yesterday, when the civil administrator of Formosa wrote to the British Consul expressing regret that such an affair had occurred and giving assurances that appropriate measures had been taken to prevent a recurrence. The letter added that the Governor-General had reprimanded the offending police official for laying hands on British seamen and using improper language to a British officer, the latter dereliction being ascribed to the official’s ignorance of English.
The official undertaking that steps have been taken to prevent such incidents in the future is important, as it implies that an instruction has been issued which will be obeyed next time British warships visit Japanese ports. The delay in settling the affair has been due mainly to the difficulty the central authorities experienced owing to the unanimity of local officials’ testimony. The local judiciary was also involved, and though Tokyo was anxious to dispose of the matter in a manner which would not leave ill- feeling, long and delicate negotiations, conducted with patience on both sides, were necessary before a suitable formula was found.
The incident arose out of the arrest of three British naval ratings at Keelung, Formosa, on October 7 last year for alleged non-payment of a taxicab fare. The men, who denied the charge, stated that at the police station they were beaten and urged to sign confessions. A naval officer who requested their release was insulted, and when he left the assaults were resumed. One of the men was tortured and his jaw was dislocated. Later they were released. On February 22 last, in the Diet, the Japanese Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs denied the accuracy of the British version of the affair.—London Times, Tokyo, April 12.
The Admiralty yesterday received additional details of the attack by aircraft on the British destroyer Gallant off the coast of Spain, when she was proceeding from Valencia to Alicante.
Two attacks were made, the second about two hours after the first. In the first one airplane dropped 6 bombs, and in the second 2 aircraft dropped 9 bombs. The Gallant altered course at high speed on each occasion to avoid being hit and opened fire with her anti-aircraft guns. No damage was done and the Gallant continued on her way to Alicante. It is believed that the attacking aircraft belonged to the insurgent forces.
The airplane concerned in the first attack was dying at a height of about 10,000 ft., and during the second attack the two airplanes were about 10,000 ft. up. The nearest bomb fell about 100 yards from the Gallant, and most of the others were about 400 yards away.
The British destroyer Garland is proceeding to Palma, Majorca, to bring the incidents to the notice of the insurgent authorities there. The captain of the Garland, with the British Vice-Consul at Palma, will ask for an explanation.
The insurgent authorities have been reminded chat no reply has been received to the protest made at the beginning of February after bombs had been dropped near the British destroyers Havock and Gipsy.—London Times, April 7.
Two British warships collected a speedy apology today from Spanish insurgents for two air attacks against the destroyer Gallant. Insurgent air commanders and port authorities at Palma, Majorca, one of the Balearic Islands, told officers of the British vessels, “It was conceivable we made an unfortunate mistake.”
The destroyer Garland and the cruiser Shropshire anchored in Palma Harbor while their officers called upon the insurgents.
The insurgent authorities explained that prior to the attack against the Gallant on Tuesday they had received reports that Spanish government destroyers were in the waters through which the Gallant was passing, off the east coast of ^Pain. They said they dispatched three planes with the intention of bombing the Spanish destroyers.
The military governor of Majorca sent a message to the British officers expressing “very great regret if it were found that nationalist (insurgent) aircraft were to blame for the episode.”—Herald Tribune, N. Y. London, April 8.
Although during the course of the present year there will be 5 capital ships (a complete squadron) under construction in British yards, the new defense program makes specific provision for 9. Since the principle of supplementary estimates at discretion has received the sanction of Parliament, it may be said that “money is no object” in getting on with the colossal plan of naval rearmament.
But there are limits to the extent and the speed with which the shipyards can expand from the comparative attenuation brought about by lack of Admiralty work during the long, lean years to what is only comparable to war-time intensity of production. With 148 vessels of all categories in hand for the Royal Navy the Royal Dockyards and the private shipyards will be doing pretty well among them.
All these new ships are wanted; the question for the Admiralty to determine is which are needed most, and therefore first. Expressed in terms of tonnage, one capital ship is equivalent to 4 cruisers, or 3 flotillas of destroyers of standard type with leaders complete. Of course, the analogy is only a sketchy one, since no single yard, whatever its resources, could possibly have 27 destroyers on the slips at one and the same time.
Although, as we recently pointed out, the present policy is to restrict the Royal Dockyards to the building of cruisers and smaller light craft, it is not improbable that the question of employing at least two of them to help in completing the battleship program will come under serious consideration, even if it has not already done so. One of the most important of the Clyde capital-ship slips is occupied by the new Cunarder. The Thames has gone out of business since it took part in materializing the “we want eight and we won’t wait” cry of pre-war years. The resources of Tyneside are not what they were in those days.— United Services Review, April 8.
Great Britain passed another land mark in its rearmament program this week when the 22,000-ton aircraft carrier Ark Royal was launched. The Ark Royal will mount an undisclosed number of 4.7-in. guns and will make 30 knots, reports state. The vessel was hailed by Sir Samuel Hoare, First Lord of the Admiralty, as “the most up to date in the world.”
It will be much larger than any of the new type carriers which the United States is building. The Enterprise and Yorktown which are scheduled for completion within a few months have a standard displacement of 19,900 tons, while the Wasp, which is less than one-fourth complete, will have a displacement of only 14,700 tons.
The Ark Royal is said to be built along lines similar to the Langley rather than the Ranger, Lexington, and Saratoga. The new British carrier will carry only 70 planes, however, in contrast with the more than 100 that the Enterprise and Yorktown will carry.—Army and Navy Journal, April 17.
A strike by 8,000 Clydeside apprentices today constitutes the most serious threat to British rearmament yet encountered. The first hint of trouble came when 1,000 apprentices at the John Brown & Co. yard downed tools and walked out. Shortly thereafter the apprentices of two other huge shipbuilding and engineering firms did the same. The number now aggregates 8,000 in the one district.
John Brown & Co. are the builders of the liner Queen Mary and her sister-ship, now on the stocks. In addition, a battleship and several other smaller vessels are under construction in the yard.
So serious a view is taken of the strike which has swept the Clyde that government intervention is expected. The apprentices have no union of their own, although efforts have been made to link them up with the Amalgamated Engineering Union.—Herald Tribune, N. Y. London, April 5.
The admiralty today announced the placing of contracts for three more battleships in its program of rebuilding the navy.
The new battleships will be of the King George V type, of which two already are under construction, keels of the George V and the Prince of Wales having been laid down New Year’s Day, as soon as permitted by the expiration of the naval limitation treaties. All five will be 35,000 tonners, mounting 14-inch guns. They are described as of entirely novel design with enhanced defense, especially against air attacks.
By 1940 the Admiralty expects to have completed five of the most powerful battleships in the world, giving the British Navy supremacy until such time as the American battleship building program catches up.—Sun, Baltimore. London, April 28 (Special).
H. M. cruiser Manchester was named and launched by the Lady Mayoress of Manchester (Mrs. Toole) yesterday at the shipbuilding yard of Hawthorn, Leslie and Co., Ltd., at Hebburn-on-Tyne. This is the first time that a ship of the Royal Navy has been named after the City of Manchester. The Manchester Regiment expressed a wish to be associated with the cruiser, and the fleur-de-lis of the regiment have been linked with the city arms in the ship’s badge.
The Manchester is one of three cruisers provided for in the 1935 naval program and has a displacement of 9,000 tons. She is a sister-ship to H.M.S. Newcastle and Sheffield, built by Vickers- Armstrongs, Ltd., at the Walker naval yard. The Newcastle has been completed and the Sheffield will be ready for sea trials shortly.—London Times, April 13.
H.M.S. Gurkha, building by the Fairfield Co. at Govan, is to be launched on June 7, and will probably be the first of the seven Tribal class destroyers of the 1935 program to take the water. The Afridi and Cossack, building by Vickers- Armstrongs, Ltd., Walker-on-Tyne, are also to be launched in June; the Maori (Fairfield) and Mohawk (Thornycroft) in July; the Zulu (Stephen and Sons, Govan) in August; and the Nubian (Thornycroft) in September.
During May the Gleaner, a mine sweeper for surveying duties, will be launched by Messrs. Wm. Gray and Co., West Hartlepool, and the Leda, mine sweeper, at Devonport Dockyard. The escort vessel Bittern, building by J. Samuel White and Co., Cowes, is to be launched in June, and the mine sweeper Gossamer, building by W. Hamilton and Co., Port Glasgow, in July.— London Times, April 14.
The new cruiser ordered last month from Cammell Laird and Co., Birkenhead, has been allotted the name of Dido; that from Hawthorn Leslie and Co., Hebburn-on-Tyne, will be the Naiad; and that from the Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Co., Govan, the Phoebe. The two ships of the same type of the 1936 program to be built in the public dockyards will be the Sirius, at Portsmouth, and the Euryalus, at Chatham.
Names have not yet been approved for the two more cruisers of the Dido class to be built under the 1937 program, the contracts for which have been placed with A. Stephen and Sons, Govan, and the Scotts’ Shipbuilding and Engineering Co., Greenock.—London Times.
The destroyer Sabre, which was scrapped in December last under the London Naval Treaty of 1930 and ordered to be maintained in a demilitarized state for use as a target ship, is to be employed as a torpedo-bomber target and for ranging paravanes at Rosyth. On the completion of her fitting out she will be manned by a special complement from Chatham Depot.
The Sabre is one of the Admiralty S-type destroyers built during the war. She was commissioned on October 28, 1918, by Lieutenant Commander (now Captain, retired) F. G. Schurr, and during 1919 served in the 2d Flotilla, Atlantic Fleet, but in January, 1920, she was reduced to reserve at the Nore, and has since been maintained in reserve there and at Rosyth and Portsmouth.—London Times.
The cruiser Coventry is to commission at Portsmouth today with a special complement to carry out anti-aircraft trials under the direction of the Captain of H.M.S. Excellent, gunnery school. She is one of the two older cruisers which have been refitted as anti-aircraft ships, with ten 4-in. guns on high-angle mountings in place of their former five 6-in. guns. Captain D. N. C. Tufnell, D.S.C., promoted at the New Year, will command the Coventry. He was awarded the D.S.C. for his services in command of a naval gun in an advanced position in Flanders during the war, and last served as executive officer of the cruiser Durban in the Mediterranean. Captain Tufnel is the only officer of his rank who is Qualified as an interpreter in Japanese.—London Times, April 15.
The Canadian destroyer Fraser (formerly the Crescent in the Royal Navy) has passed through the Panama Canal and is to visit Acapulco from tomorrow until Wednesday next. From April 26 to 30 she should be at San Diego, California. She is due to arrive at Esquimalt on May 4 to take up her new duties in succession to the Vancouver, which was paid off in November last and is to be scrapped.—London Times, April 14.
The destroyers Stalwart, Swordsman, Success, Tasmania, and Tattoo, which were presented to Australia by Great Britain in 1919, and have been out of commission for some years, are to be scrapped. They will be replaced by modern vessels be built in Great Britain.—London Times, Canberra, April 7.
The Royal Canadian Navy personnel will be increased by 373 men making a total of 1,339 in all. Four modern mine sweepers will be built, harbor defenses against submarines will be strengthened at Halifax and Esquimalt. The air corps will be increased by the addition of 102 Planes giving a total of 284. The flying personnel will receive an addition of 48 officers and 565 Bien, making 195 officers and 1,498 men. The standing army will be augmented by 465 officers and 3,760 men and along with the Territorial Military will have a total strength of 46,360.— Norsk Tidskrift for Sjovesen.
Singapore defenses.—The construction work at Singapore will be completed in entirety by the end of 1939. It has cost $50,000,000. A dry dock capable of accommodating battleships up to 55,000 tons will be ready in July, 1937. A floating dry dock of like capacity is already in place there, so during the latter part of the year two battleships can be docked at one time. The naval base itself lies at Seletar. The fortifications now under construction will make Singapore one of the most strongly fortified places in the Eastern Hemisphere. The forts are distributed among a number of islands and points around the city, the naval base and the flying base. The last named is the largest in the East. Control of the defenses is located on half of the island of Changi east of Singapore itself. It is known that among the ordnance pieces are a large number of 14-in. and 15in. guns with a range of 40,000 yards. Numerous anti-aircraft guns and other arrangements for air defense are a part of the protective system. However, it is not alone Singapore that has strong fortifications, but similar ones have been built at Brunei, a small village in the north of British Borneo, and on the island of Paracelsus, which flanks the route from Singapore to Hongkong.— Tidskrift Sjovtlsendet.
France
Construction Plans
La Rivista Marittima.—The latest units constructed for the French Navy have given very good results during their trials. This year the budget for the Navy has been raised to three and a half billion francs. The fleet is well trained. The situation would be good if two grave defects did not threaten to lower naval strength and efficiency, which to a great extent should depend on annual expenditures. These are, the time required for new construction and the shortage of personnel, whose efficiency, however, is good.
The time required for naval construction in France is relatively longer than in other countries. Not even one unit of the 1932 program has as yet been commissioned, and only a few of the 1931 program have been accepted. It has taken 7 years to construct some submarines which were allowed for in the 1931 budget. In other countries it takes less than 2 years and sometimes less than one, to build a submarine. Something even more serious, the Dunkerque, the only modern battleship which could defeat the 10,000-ton German battleships (which are faster than the old French battleships and more powerful than their cruisers), is not ready to take its place in the fleet. The tests of its turrets are not yet completed and it also lacks fire-control equipment. This ship is anything but ready for service, as told to the Chamber of Deputies. The keel was laid down 6§ years ago. The situation is getting worse all the time. If the 40- hour law is put into practice in the navy yards and private yards, it will be necessary to take steps to prevent further delays. The strikes in the north at the shipbuilding plant of Sautter Harle have interrupted urgent work. The lack of modern units in the Navy decreases its military strength in a greater proportion than that of its lack of tonnage. It is of no value to lay down keels if they cannot be completed in a reasonable time.
The manning of numerous light units and the development of naval aviation has absorbed much personnel. There is a sufficient number of senior and flag officers, but the number of junior officers and men of specialized ratings is insufficient to man the new ships. It will be necessary to take men from the older ships. In order to be efficient a man-of-war should be manned by sufficient personnel in peace time. Some provision has been made in the budget at the last minute to increase the personnel, but even this increase is not going to prove adequate. A program has been presented which will provide for the laying down of units during the coming year, so as to set a time limit on new construction, and also to provide for the necessary recruitment of indispensable personnel.
The new naval program under consideration by the Superior Council of the Navy provides for the following construction: two 15,000-ton aircraft carriers; five 35,000-ton battleships in addition to the two already laid down; ten 8,000-ton cruisers; a number of destroyers and submarines. In all 39 units are contemplated and they will aggregate 273,000 tons.
The other program considers the construction of only 3 new battleships and the number of smaller units will be proportionally increased in order to maintain the total tonnage under consideration.
Taking into consideration the age of the first submarines of the 1,500-ton type (Redoubtable, Vengeur, Pascal), the Ministry of the Marine has included in the 1937 program the construction of three replacement submarines whose characteristics will be identical to the other thirty 1,500-ton submarines already built, namely, 18 knots surface speed, 10 knots submerged speed, one 4-inch gun and 11 torpedo tubes.
After the war the French Navy possessed a great number of mine sweepers which although not perfect, were very good. They were made up of dispatch boats constructed expressly for such service and also for convoy duty. The greater part of these have been scrapped, and those remaining are in poor condition. For this reason replacements are necessary. Up to the present time 8 mine sweepers have been laid down; 4 in navy yards and 4 in private yards. The naval program of 1937 provides for 8 others of 630 tons. It is difficult to determine if as many of these units as are required will actually be constructed. For the present as in the past the greater number of mine-sweeper units will be requisitioned from trawlers. It has also been observed that the latter are not numerous and are decreasing in number. The last official list as of 1935 shows 390 fishing vessels of about 100 tons, of which only 10 are less than 10 years old. Half of the total number are over 20 years old.
Various Notes
The French Navy has acquired 3 autogyros (the first of this type), to determine the possibility of their use in locating submarines. It is believed that due to their relatively slow speed they should prove efficient in this employment.—La Rivista Marittima.
On January 18 about 40 miles from Barcelona the destroyer Maille Breze, returning to Toulon, was attacked by a tri-motored plane bearing no identifying marks. The plane dropped 6 large bombs which luckily did not hit and then the plane escaped along the coast. The Minister of the Navy recommended that in the future active ships should reply to any similar attack.—Morze, Warsaw.
The new building plan for 1937 limits itself to smaller vessels: 1 cruiser, 6 destroyers, 7 submarines, and several auxiliaries, total 42,000 tons. In January during defense debates in the Chamber it was made plain that in accordance with the determinations of the Upper Council the Ministry of the Navy will present a 3-year building plan whereby the present tonnage of 630,000 is to be brought up to 850,000.—Marine-Rundschau, March, 1937.
There was a lightning stay-in strike at Saint Nazaire today of 300 workmen who were engaged in completing the new 7,000-ton cruiser Georges Leygues. She was to have left for Brest tomorrow to undergo trials. The workmen, who are claiming higher wages, are on board the ship and refuse to leave until their demands are conceded.— London Times, Paris, April 14.
It has become evident in recent years that France has been building a new base for her naval forces, and is moving a large part of these to the Atlantic coast, obviously figuring that she would be able to establish communication with her African colonies from a point east of Gibraltar. However, this supposition does not seem to signify that she has wholly abandoned her communication lines in the Mediterranean. This is explained by the construction of the new base, Mers-el-Kebir near Oran, for which large sums have been appropriated and which when ready should be one of the foremost naval bases m the Mediterranean. The above is further substantiated by the purposeful construction of suitable ships of the line for maintaining these communications.—Tidskrift Sjovasendet.
The availability of the French North African forces depends on speed. To attain this speed unhampered control of all French North African Ports is by nature of the greatest importance. Among these Bizerta plays a weighty part. The lake of Bizerta, which is connected with the sea by a 700-ft. wide canal, can accommodate the largest war vessels and at the same time makes an excellent anchorage for seaplanes. Bizerta is by nature and fortifications protected in an outstanding manner. In the bay of Ponty several hundred yards from the harbor breakwater, which defends the entrance to the canal, the submarines are gathered together. The yard of Sidi-Abdalla which lies at the upper end of the lake of Bizerta has facilities for repairs, hospitalization, drydocking and fueling.—Marine-Rundschau, March, 1937.
The Batiste, a destroyer similar to the Poursuivante, was launched on March 17. The launching was carried out under excellent conditions. It was not accompanied by any official ceremony, and the shipyard was closed to the public. The Batiste is the eighth 600-ton small destroyer (a type recently named “Escort”) which has been launched. There still remain to be launched the Bayonnaise at Bordeaux, the Branlebas at Havre, the Incomprise and the Bouclier at Trait. All these ships belonging to the 1931 and 1932 programs were laid down in 1933 and 1934.—Le Yacht.
The school division, commanded by Rear Admiral Peytes de Montcabrier, is organized as follows: battleship Paris, flag-quartermaster school; Courbet, fire control school; L’Ocean, electrician and radio school; Condorcet, torpedo and reserve officer school; mine-laying cruiser Pluton, gunnery school; cruiser Dugay-Trouin, fire control school. Torpedo exercises at sea are held on the destroyer leaders of the first division. The submarine sound school is on the gunboat Yser.— Marine-Rundschau, March, 1937.
Rear Admirals Gensoul, Ollive, and LeBigot were promoted to Vice Admiral. Captains Derrien, Bourrague, Michelier, Carpentier, and Tavea were promoted to Rear Admiral. Vice Admiral Cambon, who had just been appointed deputy chief of staff, died suddenly and was replaced by Vice Admiral Ollive. Vice Admiral LeBigot became commander of the Far Eastern Forces; Vice Admiral Juge, chairman of the Technical Committee; Rear Admiral Richard, Commander 3d Light Squadron; Rear Admiral Carpentier, Commandant Toulon. The General Board (Upper Council) after recent changes had the following membership: Chairman, Minister of the Navy Gasnier-Duparc; Deputy Chairman, Vice Admiral Darlan, Chief of Staff; Vice Admiral Castex, Director of the Naval Academy; Vice Admiral de Laborde, Commander Atlantic Squadron; Vice Admiral Abrial, Commander Mediterranean Squadron; Vice Admiral Drujon, General Inspector of Naval Forces in the North; Vice Admiral Mouget, General Inspector of Naval Forces of the Mediterranean; Vice Admiral Morris, President of Technical Committee; Rear Admiral de Ruffi de Pontevex Gevaudan, business manager. Three hundred naval officers are now stationed in Paris.—Marine-Rundschau.
The new navy seaplane, Latecoere 582, successfully completed its test flights. Take-off tests in heavy seaways gave an average time of 26 seconds. The plane weighs 12 tons, is engined with 3 Mistral-Major motors, has a radius of 1,200 miles, and cruises at 170 m.p.h. It can carry 1.8 tons.—Marine-Rundschau, March, 1937.
Germany
Tests of New Arms
Baldwin, Times, N. Y. April 11.—The German anti-aircraft organization and equipment are particularly interesting, especially in view of the reported success of these German guns and gunners in Spain. Germany is the only country in the world which has built up an antiaircraft organization as an integral part of its flying corps. The air force is divided into three branches—all of which work as one: the flying corps itself, the Luft Abwehr or anti-aircraft defense, and the signal battalions, charged with communication duties and observation and detection of raiding planes.
In practice these signal battalions have proved—at least under good conditions— that they can detect planes and report them long before those planes reach Berlin. . . . But the German anti-aircraft guns and their fire-control apparatus are the instruments that have proved of particular value in Spain, according to reports. . . . The Germans use 20-mm. and 37-mm. guns as well as machine guns on double mounts for low-flying planes, and an 88-mm. gun for use against planes flying at heights above 4,000 meters. The guns have a very rapid rate of fire and are said to be aimed, trained, and fired by an electrical system which does away with any human control between searchlights and guns. In other words, the crew of the searchlights controls the guns, and within a few seconds after a searchlight beam has found its target in the sky the guns are on the target and firing. The Germans are said to be trying to extend this system a step further and have their sound locators control searchlights and guns.
The efficiency of the German antiaircraft units is equaled or surpassed by their anti-tank organization.
The new German bomb is a weapon of particular ingenuity, but aside from its greater safety factor, it is difficult to see how it will prove a much more efficient instrument of war. What has been done is to eliminate the dangerous percussion fuse and to make electricity do the work which was formerly done by some very sensitive high explosive, in place of which .... the Germans have substituted a tiny condenser with wires as fine as silk thread, which fits into the end of the bomb. Until this condenser is charged with capacitative electricity, an operation which is done from batteries at the instant that the bomb is released from the plane (and by the same lever, reportedly, that releases the bomb), the bomb is practically harmless and can be dropped or struck without danger of a premature explosion. However, when the condenser is charged as the bomb leaves the plane, the bomb instantly becomes a dangerous, destructive weapon and the slightest impact will immediately cause it to explode.
Germany’s so-called oxo-hydrogen submarine engine ... is of interest to date chiefly as an engineering experiment. Despite the contrary reports, it has not replaced the old system of “Diesels on the surface, motors, submerged,” in Germany’s growing submarine flotilla. It is believed that the engine has not been installed in any operating unit and that all of its tests have been conducted on land, though there is some possibility that one submarine may have been experimentally equipped with the new engine.
When reports of the new engine were first circulated it was hailed as revolutionizing submarine construction, and it was understood that the engine obviated the use of storage batteries and could be operated submerged as well as on the surface . ... An analysis of the new engine shows it to be in effect two engines, with heavy flasks for the storage of oxygen and hydrogen under 3,500-lb. pressure replacing the storage batteries. . . . When submerged, the Diesel, instead of getting its air supply through the ordinary air intake used for surface cruising ... is fed with this mixture of oxygen and hydrogen under pressure by direct connections to the bank of flasks. . . . This mixture under Pressure is explosive, however, and as dangerous in its way as the acid of the batteries. Moreover, when it is used in the engine cylinders after mixture with the heavy oil of the Diesels, it is expelled, because of the tremendously high pressure and heat in the cylinders, as steam. In order to force this exhaust gaseous steam overboard (where it condenses leaving no trace) against the pressure of the water outside, a compressor is needed, which adds still more to the weight and which still further decreases the efficiency of the entire set-up, especially at great depths.
Various Notes
Names of the new destroyers: Z1—Leberecht Maass, Z2—Georg Thiele, Z3—Max Schultz, Z4—Richard Beitzen, Z5—Paul Jacobi, Z6— Theodor Riedel, Z7—Hermann Schoemenn, Z8— Bruno Heinemann, Z9—Wofgang Zenker, Z10— Hans Lody, Z11—Bernd von Arnim, Z12—Erich Giese, Z13—Erich Koellner, Z14—Friedrich Ihn, 215—Erich Steinbrinck, and Z16—Friedrich Eckoldt.
New vessels in the Navy list: Experimental vessel Strahl, no details published; submarine-tenders Mosel and Weichsel, both are former mercantile vessels; submarine-tender Donau, no details yet published. Trawlers Beowulf, Freyr, Frithjof, Hagen, Heimdal, Hildebrand, Hugin, Munin, Odin, Sigfrid, Volker, and Wotan.
Removed from effective list: Ex-torpedo boat T151; experimental vessel Welle, lost in gale on January 18,1937.
Organization: On March 14 the above mentioned Vorpostenflottille was formed at Hamburg. Since April 1, the motor torpedo boat flotilla is subordinated to the command of the F.d.T., (leader of torpedo boats). The Flottenbegleiter were reclassified Geleitboote (escort vessels). The names “F1” to “F10,” however, remained unchanged.—Source: Ulrich Schreier, Berlin.
According to Hector Bywater (not always correctly informed) Germany has 32 submarines equipped with combination motors, 20 of these are boats of 250 tons and have a noteworthy surface speed with an extensive cruising radius. Armament, three 20-in. torpedo tubes and 1 machine gun. They were built in 11 months. Six boats of 500 tons and six of 750 tons are building. The advantages of the unit motor lies in the saving of weight, flexibility, greater reserve powers, and simplicity. In case the boat cannot venture to come to the surface it has no need of compressed air. Hydrogen can then be used. The new motor being especially equipped with an electrolyzator has practically no exhaust gases. The radius of action, thanks to this motor, has been measurably increased.—Marineblad, April, 1937.
Count Felix von Luckner, who, as commander of the famous commerce raider Seeadler, was one of Germany’s World War heroes, sailed today on another good-will tour in command of the 200-ton schooner Seeteufel (sea devil). The tour is planned to cover 2 years and more than 16,000 miles. Von Luckner intends to visit American and Australian ports and many islands of the South Seas. Countess von Luckner accompanied her husband. His octogenarian mother also was aboard, but she was to leave the schooner at Swinemuende.—Tribune, Chicago. Stettin, Germany, April 18(AP).
A new “air security ship,” the Hans Rolshoven, was launched at Hamburg recently. She is to be attached to the 6th Air Command at Kiel, and will presumably be used in rescue work when aircraft fall into the sea, as in the case of the existing vessels of the Krischan class.—The Navy, London.
Italy
Various Notes
The Grand Maneuvers of the Italian Fleet which took place between March 10 and 23 had as a purpose the study of the possibilities of securing the Strait of Sicily by ships stationed on the Sicilian coast and on the coast of Tripoli. The employment of the Bay of Tabrouk on the Libyan coast as a naval base to control the sea between the African Coast and Crete was also studied.— Le Yacht.
The report on the navy estimates for the year ending June 30,1938, which at 1,857,891,000 lire (about £20,000,000) show an increase of 248,000,000 lire, has been circulated to the Chamber.
The author of the report, Signor Cao di San Marco, declares that Italy has never sought an armaments race, but has merely developed her naval forces in relation to those of other countries, and has, therefore, had to take account of the building program announced by the leading powers. These programs must also be considered in connection with the development of existing, or the creation of new, land bases. Reference is made to the British base at Singapore; the lapsing of the undertakings for the non-fortification of certain British, American, and Japanese possessions in the Western Pacific; the British search for a site for a new naval base in the Eastern Mediterranean; and, finally, the possibilities of strengthening the “precarious” Italian bases on the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean.
The report deals also with the increasing attention paid to anti-aircraft defense. The coastal squadrons of the Air Force for the Navy had, in their exercises, paid special heed to navigation at high altitudes and at night, and also to long flights out to sea. The material of the ship-borne Air Force is being renewed, and experiments are being carried out to increase the autonomy and possibilities of this branch of aviation. According to the report some 800,000 men, 15,000 animals, 12,000 motor vehicles, and 600,000 tons of material were transported backwards and forwards between Italy and East Africa since February, 1935.
Since the proclamation of the Empire the average number of workmen in East Africa has been 128,000 while “new metropolitan formations destined to form, with the native troops, the permanent garrison of the Empire” are taking the place of the Regular troops and Fascist Militia.
A Cabinet Council has been called for next Saturday morning.—London Times. Rome, April 6.
The creation of a naval command for Libya and the constitution in Libya of a national army corps were approved of yesterday by a Cabinet Council. It was also agreed, on the proposal of the Minister of Colonies—whose Department is henceforth to be known as the Ministry of Italian Africa—to establish a higher command of all the armed forces—land, naval, and air—in Italian Northern Africa. This higher command is to be composed of the Commander in Chief (generally the Governor General of Libya) and a staff chosen from the services.—London Times. Rome, April 11.
Under a decree published today the Italian government will take over all shipyards and shipbuilding companies with as much as 100,000,000 lire ($5,250,000) of capitalization. Stockholders have been given 5 days in which to turn in their stock so that the Institute for Industrial Reconstruction can have at least 50 per cent of the shares in each company.
Immediate control of the shipping industry by the government is a first step toward abolition of private enterprise in all national defense industries which sell directly to the state. Premier Benito Mussolini gave an intimation of this move in a speech March 23, when he warned Italians of “the inevitability that the nation will be called to the trial of war,” and promised that “the sad phenomenon of war profiteering” never would be repeated in Italy.
Banks and other credit institutions already had been “brought under direct control of the state,” and sanctions were facilitating the government program for further intervention when 11 Duce issued his warning. When and how war would come nobody could say, he declared, “but how otherwise can we explain the policy of colossal armaments inaugurated by all the nations?”
“In the present historical period the fact of war, along with the doctrine of Fascism, must determine the position of the state toward the national economy,” he said.
The decree which begins to carry out this new attitude affects 3 great shipbuilding companies. Their shareholders will be compensated on the basis of average stock quotations for the last 6 months. In the case of lesser companies whose shares are not quoted, special arbitrary values will be set.—Herald Tribune, N. Y. Rome, April 18.
Japan
Various Notes
The naval authorities in the Osaka area have decided to give all possible assistance to the campaign to improve the health conditions in the country. They have adopted this attitude because of the recent bad showing of the district in examinations of volunteers for the Navy. The Osaka-Kobe district has the lowest percentage of successful candidates of any district in Japan, that is only 22 per cent of those volunteering were able to pass the physical examinations.
While it is inevitable that young men from metropolitan districts are inferior to those in the rural districts as regards their physical standards, the Navy believes that a strenuous health campaign should be begun to improve the standards.— Tokyo Asahi, March 3, 1937.
The bow of the gunboat Saga was damaged in a collision with a small Chinese steamer on the morning of March 8. At the time of the accident she was anchored in Canton Harbor, and the steamer which was trying to dock on a flood tide was swept down on her. There were no injuries to the crews of either of the vessels. It is expected that the damage to the Saga will be repaired in Hongkong.—Tokyo Asahi, March 9, 1937.
The first class destroyer Mitsushio which is now building at the Fujinagata Shipbuilding Company’s plant in Osaka was launched on the morning of March 15, in the presence of Vice Admiral Viscount Kato, the Commander in Chief of Kure Naval Station.
The Mitsushio is a 1,500-ton vessel, is 350 ft. long, 37 ft. beam, and has a speed of 34 knots.— Osaka Mainichi, March 16, 1937.
High Japanese naval officers presided April 19 at the launching of another 1,500-ton destroyer— the new Oshio.—Times, N. Y.
Nearly 6 hours ahead of their own bold 100-hour schedule, Masaaki Iinumu, pilot, and Kenji Tsukagoshi, radio operator, young Japanese, swooped down and landed before a cheering crowd of fellow Japanese at Croydon airport at 3:26 today (10:26 a.m. Chicago time).
They completed the 10,000-mile flight from Tokyo to London in 94 hours 14 minutes.
There was no previous record for the same flight, but comparison is available in the Tokyo-Paris record. That was 6 days 20 hours.—Tribune. Chicago. London, April 9.
Conviction that the Navy has sufficient oil to see it through a protracted war was voiced by Navy Minister Mitsumasa yesterday in the plenary session of the House of Representatives during discussion of the government’s bills for establishment of the Imperial Fuel Industry Company and regulation of the manufacture of synthetic liquid fuels.
Commerce and Industry Minister Takuo Godo stated that the government will subsidize the manufacture of synthetic gasoline and oils to the extent of 95,000,000 yen in the next 7 years to bridge the difference between their costs and those of natural products. By that time, he said, it is hoped that the costs will be about even.—Japan Advertiser, March 24.
Japan is making strenuous efforts to secure ores from abroad, such as the Philippines, China, the Straits Settlements, South Seas, Australia, South Africa, and South America. Due to lack of iron following an active demand at home and abroad, this country is trying to secure ores from all possible sources.
According to the Hochi, Mr. Akira Seo, managing-director of the Nomura Securities Co., Osaka, has recently acquired an iron mine in French New Caledonia and has contracted to supply the Japan Steel Tubing Co. and Kokura Steel Works 150,000 metric tons a year each. The mine is said to contain about 200,000,000 tons of ore of a comparatively high grade.—Japan Advertiser.
The government has absolutely no intention of considering the return to Germany of the South Sea Mandated Islands, Foreign Minister Naotake Sato has informed Mr. Yukio Ozaki, independent member of the Lower House who has served every term since the Diet was established, in reply to one of the 12 questions submitted by him in writing to the government several weeks ago.—Japan Advertiser.
Other Countries
Brazil
A Brazilian mission debarked at Genoa during the middle of March and immediately proceeded to La Spezia to take delivery of six 900-ton minelaying submarines which are under construction for the Brazilian Navy. The crew will soon arrive there.—Le Yacht.
An engine explosion on the Italian-built Brazilian submarine Humayta injured 20 men this afternoon. Six, including two officers, were seriously hurt. The Humayta was leaving her berth for a short run to test her engine after having been in dry dock for repairs. The engine was partly wrecked and other damage was done. Times, N. Y. April 16.
Paraguassu is the name selected for the second river monitor under construction at Rio. She will be slightly smaller than the Parnakyba.—The Navy, London.
Chile
The Chilean government has submitted bids to shipyards of various countries for the construction of two 8,000-ton cruisers and a 6,000-ton school ship. The Chilean government is also counting on modernizing the warships it now possesses.—Le Yacht.
Holland
In December the launching of four of the eight 525-ton trawlers took place. They are the Abraham Crynssen, Eland Dubois, Jan van Amstel, and Pieterde Bitter. These ships designated, in peace time, as protection forces for the fishing fleets can make 15 knots.—Morze, Warsaw.
Names have been assigned to the remaining four mine sweepers under construction, these being Willem van Ewyck, Pieter Floriszoon, Jan van Gelder, and Abraham van der Rulst. All will be stationed in the East Indies when completed. A stronger force is to be maintained in permanent commission in the East Indies in future.
The new gunnery training ship is to be called Van Kinsbergen. A second cruiser of the Tromp type is projected, to replace the old coast defense ship Heemskerk, which has already been removed from the effective list.—The Navy, London.
The dutch government today placed orders for 4 more submarines. Two will be built at Rotterdam by the Rotterdam Dry Dock Co. and two at Flushing in the Schelde Dockyard. They will have each a displacement of 1,200 tons and a speed of 19j knots, and will be propelled by two engines of 2,500 hp. each. They will be ready for service in about 2 years.—London Times. The Hague, April 11.
Poland
The building up of the Navy has in the past year made further progress. Personnel strength was increased from 500 to 6091. Of the ships building abroad, the destroyers Grom and Blyskawica were launched in England, the mine layer Gryf in Le Havre. Two submarines are building in Holland. In August the press published a 10- year program as follows: 3 battleships 25,000 tons each, 1 carrier 6,000 tons, 12 destroyers 2,000 tons, 12 escorters 600 tons, 12 motor torpedo boats, 12 submarines 500 tons, 3 mining submarines 1,000 tons, 6 submarine cruisers 1,100 tons, 1 mine layer, 16 mine sweeps and several auxiliaries, all told 150,000 tons. The new dockyard building at Gydnia will gradually make Poland independent of foreign help.—Marine- Rundschau, March, 1937.
Siam
Seven hundred sailors and 72 officers have arrived at Trieste from Bangkok to take delivery of 7 destroyers and 2 mine layers built for Siam at the Monfalcone Yards.—Le Yacht.
Spain
General Francisco Franco’s rebel fleet planted mines along a 145-mile stretch of the Biscay coast of Spain tonight under the eyes of 9 British, French, and German warships.
The mining of the rocky coast—within the 3-mile territorial limit—tightened the “starvation blockade” of Bilbao, where 340,000 hungry men, women, and children were reported to be eating cats and sea gulls.
The autonomous Basque government sought to prevent outbreaks of sickness among the people, trapped between 7 rebel warships outside the harbor and General Emilio Mola’s insurgent army pushing through the Cantabrian Mountains, 16 miles away.
The new mines heightened danger to neutral ships, whose captains said many of the mines might easily float away, perhaps outside the 3-mile limit.—Herald Tribune, N. Y. Hendaye, Franco-Spanish Frontier, April 14.
The Spanish government tonight listed three victories in its first major offensive at sea against the insurgent navy of General Francisco Franco.
The government said it had caused heavy damage to insurgent strongholds along the southern coast in a raiding cruise from Friday to Monday, shot down one insurgent warplane and routed two torpedo boats in a short-lived battle outside Malaga Harbor, and forced the cruisers Canarias and Baleares to retire under fire from the government cruiser Sanchez Barcaiztegui in a clash near Cartagena, despite the presence of a German warship which allegedly signaled details of the government cruiser’s movement to the enemy.
(Reports have been current for some weeks that the Madrid-Valencia regime was refurbishing its navy to help subdue the Fascist insurgents, and the week-end offensive may have been a test of the new naval strength).—Herald Tribune, N. Y. Valencia, Spain, April 26.
The Spanish insurgent battleship Espana was sunk today in 32 J fathoms of Biscayan Sea by a lightning fleet of government bombing planes— possibly with hundreds of casualties. She was the first war vessel of any size to be sunk by an airplane in all naval history.
One hundred and ten members of the crew of the 16,140-ton Espana were known to have been saved by the insurgent destroyer Velasco, by government boats, and by armed government trawlers from Santander.
Hence, if the Espana carried her full complement of 584 officers and men, that would leave 474 unaccounted for. It was possible, however, that many of the rescued were not immediately reported.
It also was possible the Espana was far short of her maximum complement. (Insurgent communiques up to this evening did not even mention the sinking.)
The short-lived but historic incident was reported to have occurred at nine o’clock this morning, 4 miles off Cape Mayor, while the Espana, her eight 12-inch guns cleared, was helping the Velasco keep the 1,061-ton British freighter Brora from the government port of Santander.
The Brora was one of a number of merchant vessels which have been running food and supplies to Santander or Bilbao, besieged Basque capital on the Bay of Biscay.
One of five Spanish government planes, roaring out to sea from Santander, dropped a bomb squarely amidship of the Espana, protected at that point by an 8-inch belt of armor plate. She slid under the choppy surface 45 minutes later.
The British cruiser Shropshire steamed at forced draft to the scene of the bombing. She reported to her flagship, the battleship Royal Oak, that she found “only floating wreckage.”
At Santander it was reported the stricken dreadnought, with a hole clean through her bottom, settled quickly by the stern, took a list to starboard and shot under the sea at 9:45 a.m.
The feat, government officers said, will have the widest of repercussions in naval and air circles, not only in Spain but over the rest of the rearming world.—Star, Washington. Bilbao, April 30.
Sweden
Three old torpedo boats, classed as vedettes 29, 31, and 32, have been scrapped. There are between 30 and 40 more of these small craft on the Swedish effective list, many of them laid up in reserve.—The Navy, London.
Sweden has just taken a further important step to develop her defense organization. An industrial group under the leadership of the world- famous gun factory, Bofors, has founded a new Swedish airplane company which is to build an airplane factory and aerodrome at Trollhattan.
It will be remembered that the big rearmament program adopted by the Riksdag in June, 1936, emphasized the necessity of a strong air force. In striking contrast to Denmark, which has no bombing planes and refuses to include any in her defense program, Sweden decided to have the best part of her new air force (337 planes in all) consist of both light and heavy bombers. The idea is plainly that Sweden, if anyone dares to attack her, will strike back at the aggressor with full force.
When the Swedish program of air rearmament was made known, offers from all over the world came to the Stockholm Air Ministry, but it soon became clear that Sweden meant to build the bulk of her new air fleet at home. Within the next few years, 130 fighting and 35 training planes are to be constructed in Sweden, on foreign licenses chiefly. However, to set the Swedish aircraft industry going, it was indispensable to acquire a certain amount of foreign material. To this end 36 Junkers and some British planes have recently been bought by the government.
There is an ambitious scheme to develop the Swedish aircraft industry to such an extent that it will be able, in a few years, not only to supply the entire requirements of the country, but even those of the other Scandinavian countries which lack such an industry.—Sunday Times, London, April 14.
U.S.S.R.
Chief of the Fleet Orlow has been appointed successor to the Commissioner of National Defence, Marshal Woroszylow, who became the Chief of Naval Forces. Flag officer Galler (Haller) the present Chief of the Baltic Fleet has been appointed Chief of the U.S.S.R. Fleet. The new chief of the Baltic fleet is the present chief of staff of this fleet, Flag Officer Siwkow.
Murmansk officers and men had set themselves to the task of taking on stores before the designated time for further maneuvers. The Scandinavian press states that there are repeated maneuvers of Soviet submarines near the port of Narvik, and accuses the Soviet of organized espionage. The Aftonbladet states that, having a base at Murmansk, Soviet submarines will be able to control northern trade in case of war. It is stated further that at present there are 12 destroyers and torpedo boats, 8-10 submarines, ice breakers, trawlers, tenders, and supply ships in Murmansk.
The Soviet press in speaking of the state of training of the fleet confirms the supposition that the plane of fleet training has been markedly raised by the maneuvers of the summer of 1936. Above all there was a marked improvement in the training of the officers. They showed a firm grasp of the separate inherent duties of the service. Especially good performances were attained by submarines which proved themselves capable of firing in all kinds of weather. Likewise there has been attained a better state of fitness and readiness in all ships, planes, and coast defense artillery.—Przeglad.
A project for the construction in the United States of the fabricated parts and equipment of a battleship armed with 16-in. guns for Russia has been broached to the State Department. The first reaction was discouraging and nothing more has been heard of it.
The announcement by the State Department was the answer apparently to recent reports that Russia might seek to obtain plans and the assistance of technical experts from this country for the construction of two 35,000-ton battleships.
It is believed in diplomatic circles that, since the unfavorable reception of the inquiries here (Washington), Moscow has been inclined to turn to European countries for the assistance in this regard that it desires.—Times, N. Y. April 17.
A floating dry dock whose dimensions are 420 ft. in length and 100 ft. in width was built at Nikolaev in 20 months. It is going to be towed to Vladivostok. This event confirms the rumors of the strengthening of the Russian Fleet in the Far East, a subject about which little is known.— Le Yacht.
The following reliable news about the Baltic forces of the Red Navy of the C.C.C.P. are available at present; new construction either building or completed:
Cruisers: 3 of 8,000 tons each building. These units are said to have a projected armament of eight 8-in. guns.
Destroyers (Flotilla leaders): 8 units in all. Of these the Leningrad and the Minsk are now ready for service with the fleet. The rest are building and completing. Of these vessels the following data became known: displacement (standard?), 2,900 tons, designed speed, 35 knots. The Leningrad attained 36.3 knots on trials.
Submarines: 4 units of 1,200 tons each building. Three units of the P-class: Pravda (P1), Svjesda (P2), Iskra (P3). Displacement: 1,000 tons; armament: two 3-in. 50 cal. guns, one antiaircraft gun, 8 torpedo tubes. Four units of the “Shch” class: Shchooka, Okunj, Yorsh and a fourth of unknown name. Displacement, 600 tons. This type is mine laying. Four units of the same class are building.
Twenty units of the M class (means maliya lodki or small boats) of 200 tons. They are intended for local defense.
Twelve units of the Linj class (means Lineiniya lodki or boats of the line). Displacement about 500 tons. These vessels are designed to escort and to operate with the battle fleet; they are very fast and their speed is given at 19 knots on surface and 10 knots submerged.
Finally, there are 9 units of the well-known Jacobinets and Dekabrist classes of about 1,200 tons. A recently identified unit of the Jacobinets class is named Komsomolka.
Of the pre-war submarines, there are still existing the ex-British L-55 and 6 boats of the old Bubnov type.
In all, there are 55 submarines doing service in the Baltic fleet (which means likewise available for service in the White Sea, thanks to the Leningrad canal which allows vessels of up to 7,000 tons to be transferred from one sea to the other) and 10 new constructions building (of which 2 are of a smaller mine laying type, perhaps likewise belonging to the above mentioned “Shch” class). The given displacements mean always surface displacement.—Source: Ulrich Schreier, Berlin.
A note in the Electrical Review gives an outline of what is known as the Greater Volga scheme in the U.S.S.R., as described by Professor A. Chaplygin. The scheme includes the building of large hydroelectric power stations on the Volga and the Kama, and the deepening of these rivers for the purpose of linking up the southern and northern seas and irrigating the dry Steppes of the Volga. The hydroelectric power stations to be built under this scheme will have an aggregate capacity of 10,000,000,000 kw. High-voltage transmission lines will unite the plants in the Volga districts, which will be linked up in the west with the power system of the Greater Dnieper and in the south with the systems of North Caucasus and the Donetz basin. A channel, about 7 m. deep, will be made along the entire Volga- Kama waterway, which will then be navigable by seagoing vessels, finding an outlet in the north to Moscow through the Uglich Junction and the Moscow-Volga Canal. Through the Sheksna and Vytegra rivers (in the Mariinsk waterway system) an outlet will be made from the Volga to the Baltic and White Seas. In the south the Volga- Don and Manych canals will connect the Volga with the Black Sea. The carrying out of the scheme has already begun with the building of power stations on the Upper Volga at Rybinsk and Uglich and the Perm power station on the Kama. The aggregate capacity of these stations will be 950,000 kw, and their annual output 3,000 million kwh. The completion of the first part of the scheme will provide a deep waterway between the Volga and Moscow rivers and the Baltic and White seas.—The Engineer.
This year the Kara Sea and other expeditions will include 44 vessels. Besides the Polar islands the mouths of the rivers Kolyma, Ob, Lena, Indigirka, and others will be visited. Three ships will do the whole voyage from Murmansk and Archangel to Vladivostok, and two will travel in the opposite direction. Six ice breakers including the new ships Stalin and Molotow will be on service for the season.—Nautical Magazine, Glasgow.
Merchant Marine
Maritime Commission
Sun, Baltimore, April 16.—The new Maritime Commission, confirmed today by the Senate, indicated it would lose little time in beginning the gigantic task of setting up a new subsidy system for the American Merchant marine.
Officials said the five commissioners Haight be sworn in as early as tomorrow when Joseph P. Kennedy, former chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, who will head the marine agency, is expected to arrive here.
Other members are Rear Admiral Henry A. Wiley, U. S. N. (Ret.), Rear Admiral Emory S. Land, U. S. N. (Ret.), Edward C. Moran, Jr., former Maine Congressman, and Thomas M. Woodward.
They face the task of scrapping the Present indirect shipping subsidies which lake the form of ocean mail contracts, and substituting direct subsidies to make up for lower costs of foreign construction and operation.
The new commission will find awaiting it an organization which has been carrying on the functions of the old shipping board since last September. Many of the problems facing the new commission have already been disposed of and await only approval.
The work of adjusting about $75,000,000 of existing ocean mail contracts which automatically terminate under the Merchant Marine Act June 30 has gone forward rapidly. Hearings have been held for a majority of the shipping companies which bold 42 contracts for carrying ocean mail. Recommendations for adjustment are being prepared for the commission’s approval.
The commission also will make a decision on bids submitted early this month for construction of a United States Lines Company passenger-cargo ship to replace the Leviathan.
Only two yards submitted bids; the Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Co. underbid the New York Shipbuilding Corp. Finally, the commission must dispose of the Leviathan itself.
Other matters awaiting it include action on pending construction subsidy and construction loan applications; completion of drydocking, survey, and classification of Class I and II vessels in the reserved fleet; sale of Class III ships for scrap; charter or sale of 36 government-operated vessels; and completion of several surveys as required by the Merchant Marine Act of 1936.—Washington, April 15.
World Shipbuilding
Herald Tribune, New York, April 14.— World shipbuilding returns for the quarter ended last March 31 show that 2,452,051 gross tons of merchant vessels of 100 gross tons and upward are under construction, as compared with 2,251,221 tons for the quarter ended December 31, 1936. This was a gain of more than 200,830 tons, according to Lloyds’s Register of Shipping, which revealed yesterday that the United States, while building only 6 per cent of the world’s total, has advanced from sixth to fifth place, and ranks second in the output of oil tankers. The returns cover all maritime countries except Russia.
The leading maritime countries, with the exception of Germany and Sweden, showed shipbuilding gains during the last quarter. Great Britain and Ireland, which continued as the leaders, reported an increase of 50,000 gross tons. The United States showed a gain of 43,000 tons. The remaining countries, taken as a group, showed an increase of 107,000 tons.
Approximately 41 per cent of the total current production is in Great Britain and Ireland, 6 per cent in the United States, and the remaining 53 per cent in the other countries.
Of all merchant tonnage being constructed, a total of 1,473,443 gross tons, or more than 60 per cent, is being built under the supervision of Lloyds’s Register of Shipping, and is intended for classification with that society.
During the quarter just ended, new steamships and motorships on which work was then begun aggregated 250,000 tons more than the vessels launched during the same period.
There was a gain during the last quarter in the production of steam and motor tankers of 1,000 gross tons and upward, the world total amounting to 689,838 tons, as compared with 652,202 tons in the previous quarter. For Great Britain and Ireland, Germany and Sweden, however, declines were reported. The United States, now ranking second in the output of tankers, reported that 112,600 tons were under way, a gain of about 30,000 tons over the previous quarter. Tankers account for the big majority of vessels now building in the United States.
The contrast in tanker building during the last two quarters is shown by Lloyds in the following table, the figures representing gross tons:
| Mar. 31, 1937 | Dec. 31, 1936 |
Great Britain and Ireland. . | 147,190 | 179,790 |
United States........... | 112,600 | 66,840 |
Germany.................. | 104,540 | 124,980 |
Holland..................... | 101,790 | 54,620 |
Denmark.................. | 62,350 | 46,800 |
Sweden................... | 45,800 | 61,766 |
Japan....................... | 36,092 | 29,180 |
Italy......................... | 28,250 | 22,000 |
Spain....................... | 20,220 | 20,220 |
France..................... | 15,456 | 15,456 |
Other countries........ | 15,550 | 17,550 |
World total............ | 689,838 | 652,202 |
Complete returns not available.
Various Notes
Because of its strategic location on the east coast of the Gulf of Mexico and the steady growth of its water-borne commerce over the past two decades, the need for dry-docking facilities at the port of Tampa, Florida, capable of handling large ships has been apparent for some time. To meet this need, the Tampa Shipbuilding & Engineering Co. has just completed and placed in service a 10,000- ton fireproof floating dry dock which provides an added facility of considerable value and importance not only to the port of Tampa and Gulf shipping as a whole, but also to the national defense, for this is the only dry dock of its size on the entire gulf and east coast from Norfolk to Mobile.
The dimensions of the new dry dock, which is constructed in four sections, are: length, 401 ft-7½ in., beam, 116 ft. 10 in., clearance between wings, 87 ft., depth over keel blocks at low tide, 22 ft., lifting capacity, 10,000 tons.
The dry dock is provided with mercury gauges which are used in the operating room to control the water levels in its 24 watertight compartments.—Marine Progress.
The application of welding in the construction of steel ships is making rapid strides throughout the world, according to an announcement by the marine division of the International Welding and Fabricating Society, which states that there is 235 per cent more welded tonnage under construction today than at this time a year ago.— Marine Journal.
The United States Maritime Commission is conducting a study to determine whether the cadet system on ships operating on ocean mail routes, inaugurated under the ocean mail contracts which expire on June 30, should be continued on the vessels subsidized by the government under the new Merchant Marine Act.
Under the ocean mail contracts ships are required to carry one to six cadets depending on their tonnage. These cadets are all youths under 21 years who receive instruction in the various phases of sea training. They are paid a minimum of $30 a month. About 200 are now employed on ocean mail contract ships.
As a part of its study of the cadet system, the Maritime Commission in a letter to steamship companies holding ocean mail contracts invited the expression of their views as to whether the plan contributes to the development of the American Merchant Marine and whether or not provision should be made by the Commission for its continuation.—The Log, San Francisco, April.
Moore & McCormack Co., Inc., announces the election of Rear Admiral H. I. Cone, U. S. N. Ret., as chairman of the board of directors.
Admiral Cone was appointed chief of the Bureau of Engineering of the Navy Department at Washington in 1909 and served in that capacity until 1913. He was the marine superintendent of the Panama Canal in 1915 and at the outbreak of the World War was transferred to Europe and served on the staff of Admiral Sims as commandos officer of the United States Naval Aviation Forces in Europe until the end of the war.
After retirement in 1922, he became assistant to the president of the Panama Railroad Steamship Line in New York. He also served as general manager of the Fleet Corporation of the old Shipping Board.
In 1928 he was appointed a member of the United States Shipping Board by President Coolidge and was reappointed when that board was reorganized by President Hoover, and again appointed as chairman by President Roosevelt when the board was reorganized in 1933.—Marine Progress.
Recent reports indicate that the International Mercantile Marine plans to add three new ships to their Panama Pacific Line’s New York-California service. The line now provides bimonthly service with their three turbo-electric liners California, Virginia, and Pennsylvania alternating with the Grace liners Santa Rosa, Santa Elena, and Santa Paula. This Panama Pacific-Grace alternate service provides weekly Passenger sailing via the Panama Canal.
Should Panama Pacific’s proposed new plans Materialize, weekly passenger service would be maintained by that line exclusively. It is stated that the new vessels would be turbo-electric driven.
Further reports have it that Panama Pacific is considering entering the South American trade, although nothing was said whether it would be Atlantic or Pacific ports in South America under consideration.—The Log, San Francisco.
The Conviction of Captain William F. Warms and Chief Engineer Eben S. Abbott of the Ward liner Mono Castle of criminal neglect contributing to the loss of 134 lives when the liner burned September 8, 1934, was reversed unanimously today by the United States Circuit Court of Appeals.
The opinion of the court finds that the trial judge erred in submitting the case of Captain Warms to the jury on the basis of the evidence and ruled that the case of Abbott was similar. The appeals court further found that Captain Warms acted in the best tradition of the sea in the emergency “by staying on his vessel until its bridge burned under him and no one else remained on board.”
The court unmistakably places responsibility for inadequate lifeboat and fire drills upon the late Captain Robert R. Wilmott, master of the Mono Castle until his death of a heart ailment a few hours before the liner caught fire.—Sun, Baltimore. New York, April 7.—(Special.)
The 28,000-ton liner Pasteur being built at St. Nazaire to replace the burned L’Atlantique will have a length of 656 ft. and a beam of 76 ft. She will have engines of 62,000 hp. which have been estimated to give a speed of about 25 knots. —The Engineer.
Navigation on the St. Lawrence opened for the 1937 season today, with the arrival at Quebec of the steamship Duchess of York. This vessel will proceed to Montreal tomorrow, opening the port season here. It will be the first time in history that a passenger liner has started a Montreal season.—Tribune, Chicago. Montreal, Que., April 17.
Thomas H. Rossbottom, vice-president and general manager of the government-owned Panama Railroad Steamship Line, said last night that the Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation, with an offer of $12,120,000, had submitted the lowest of four bids for the construction of three combination passenger-cargo vessels for the company’s New York-Cristobal service.
The low bid provided that the three ships must be built at Bethlehem’s Fore River yard at Quincy, Mass., in order to enjoy the price of $4,040,000 for each vessel. It is understood that the Panama Railroad Line must award the contract within 30 days.
The bids were opened yesterday afternoon by George G. Sharp, well-known New York naval architect and designer of the three ships. They are to be of 10,000 gross tons each, with a length of 480 ft. and accommodations for 230 passengers. Each ship will have 100,000 cubic feet of refrigerated cargo space.
The second lowest bidder for the three ships was the New York Shipbuilding Co. of Camden, N. J., which according to Mr. Sharp, agreed to build the vessels for $4,076,000 each.
The Federal Shipbuilding Co. of Kearny, N. J., and the Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Co. of Newport News, Va., also submitted bids and these, it is understood, were higher than those of the Bethlehem and New York Shipbuilding Companies.—Herald. Tribune, April, 17.
The Massachusetts Nautical School training ship Nantucket is scheduled to leave on her annual cruise to European waters May 15. The cruise will cover 10,857 miles and require over 4 months. From Boston the ship will call at Gloucester, then sail South to Washington and Norfolk before proceeding overseas. First stop on the other side will be Ponta Delgada, the Azores, then she will proceed to Southampton, Amsterdam, Rouen, and Funchal, Madeira.— Marine Journal.
The Maritime Commission announced today its policy concerning the sale of 188 vessels which constitute its laid-up fleet.
Vessels which the commission finds to be of no commercial value and not required for national defense are to be sold, upon sealed competitive bids, for scrap or for any other use taking them out of operation.
Vessels possessing a value for commercial operation, the commission said, will be sold or chartered unless required for national defense. These sales will be under competitive bidding on an “as is, where is” basis.
Sales of vessels which have a value for commercial operation, unless required for national defense, will be subject to the following restrictions:
The commission will not make any sales which in its judgment will hinder or deter the construction of new vessels.
The commission must consider the effect of the proposed operation of such vessels in competition among existing American flag lines.
An operating subsidy will not be granted for the operation of such vessels except in unusual circumstances.
The commission will require all prospective purchasers or charterers to describe the route or line upon which it is proposed to operate such vessels, the lines with which such operation will compete and any other pertinent information relative to the proposed operation.
The laid-up fleet is at Staten Island, New Orleans, Mobile, Seattle, and Fort Eustis, Va.— Star, Washington, April 29.
Aviation
A Giant Transport
Tribune, Chicago.—A fleet of six 3-decked “super-clipper ships,” half again as large as the flying boats now plying the Pacific Ocean, are under “secret” construction in a Seattle, Washington, factory for Pan-American Airways transatlantic service.
Partial details of the newest flying boats and of the 1,500-hp. engines expected to allow them to cruise 5,000 miles at a speed of almost 200 miles an hour were announced tonight following release of the engines from their manufacturer’s “secret list.”
Designed especially for the transatlantic service, the six new clippers were ordered from the Boeing Aircraft Co. following an international conference at Washington a year ago between Pan-American and Imperial Airways, Pan-American officials announced.
Equipped with four of the “most powerful aircraft engines,” the super-clippers will weigh between 40 and 50 tons and are expected to carry 72 passengers and a crew of 8 comfortably on transocean hops.
Officials of Pan-American did not reveal specific details of the new ships tonight, but said they followed, as to type, “the general lines of their predecessor clipper ships which now fly between North and South America and across the Pacific to the Philippines.
The new Boeings are approximately twice the size of the big Sikorsky type clippers, and half again as large as the Martin type clippers which are at the present time the largest transport airplanes in the world.
Six flying officers will occupy the top or “flight” deck of the giant seaplanes, while living quarters for the crew will be aft on the upper level, sleeping quarters being located within the wing itself.
Passenger quarters are located on the main or middle deck, including in addition to the usual cabins private staterooms, and dining and lounge cabin. Forward is the galley, where meals for passengers and crew will be prepared in flight.
The third deck, divided by a series of watertight compartments, has space for 5,000 lb. of cargo, while fuel tanks for 5,000 gallons of gasoline are located in the sweeping wings and wing sponsons.
The 1,500-hp. (Wright Cyclone) engines are double-row, 14-cylinder radial power plants of new design. Details on the engines were withheld, but engineers said they would be “nearly twice the size” of the present clippers’ engines.
For the first time in airplane construction, said Pan-American’s announcement, access is provided to the mechanical plant and to each of the four engines from a companionway in the air liner’s thick wing.
Pan-American officials said they were unable to announce a probable date for completion of the fleet of super-clippers nor for starting transatlantic service.— New York, April 18(AP).
The English Version
London Times.—A new class of large air liners for Imperial Airways is now being built by Sir W. G. Armstrong Whitworth Aircraft, Ltd., at their works at Hamble. Imperial Airways have ordered 14 of these Machines and 5 are on the stocks at present. The most advanced of them should he ready to fly two or three months hence. Some are intended for the Continental routes; the others will operate the Empire land-plane services, which are to supplement the flying-boat services.
The first machine will be named Ensign, and this new fleet as a whole will be known as the E class air liners. The 5, in various stages of manufacture, are impressive structures. The works at Hamble have had to be much enlarged to take them, and a further large extension is now being added. The liners will be the biggest in regular service anywhere in the world. Their size and an ample reserve of engine power—given by four Armstrong-Siddeley Tiger IX engines, built into the leading edge of the high monoplane wings—should establish new standards in trustworthiness, spaciousness, and comfort.
The four supercharged engines yield a total of 3,400 hp., and are expected to give a top speed of more than 200 miles an hour. It is claimed that with 3 engines working the air liner will be able to maintain height with full load at 12,500 ft., and with only 2 engines at 4,000 ft. De Havilland controllable-pitch airscrews are fitted to improve the take-off with heavy loads and increase cruising speed. The fuel tanks are built in the wings, away from the fuselage.
The undercarriage is of astonishing size—the largest in the world, it is stated with 2 single wheels for which the Dunlop Rubber Co. have made special tires 6 ft. 3 in. in diameter and 2 ft. 2 in. wide. This massive landing gear is retractable. It is worked hydraulically, the rear strut of each leg folding, and the wheels moving backwards and upwards into the engine fairings behind the main plane spars.
The construction is metal throughout. The hull is a finely streamlined oval shell; the wings, tapered in plan form and thickness, are each built on a single rectangular box-spar of corrugated light-alloy sheet. Split trailing-edge flaps will increase lift at the take-off and reduce speed at landing.
Like earlier aircraft used by Imperial Airways, these machines will differ in internal arrangement according to the routes they serve. The European type will be able to carry 42 passengers. In the Empire type, which will have to fly with larger loads of mails, besides amenities needed on long journeys in tropical climates, 27 passengers can be carried on day flights; and there are also sleeping berths, which can be quickly dismantled, for 20 persons. Three passenger saloons, well furnished, heated, ventilated, and soundproofed, and a promenade deck are at the passengers disposal. There will be a crew of 5 apart from the ship’s clerk, who has his own office—commander, first officer, and wireless-operator in the control-room in the nose, and two stewards. Fully laden, the air liner will weigh 20 tons—Southampton, March 31.
Various Notes
Twelve huge Navy amphibian bombers, flying in perfect formation, landed at Pearl Harbor at 9:52 a.m. (3:22 p.m. E.S.T.) today, completing a 2,200-mile hop from San Diego.
The squadron conquered a rain storm as it approached Hawaii, skirted the squall successfully and landed more than an hour later than its schedule called for.
Time for the flight from the mainland was 21 hours, 48 minutes.
First of the huge seaplanes to land was the flag plane of Lieutenant Commander L. A. Pope. The others alighted in quick succession.
The squadron carried 80 men. Naval officials here termed the spectacular mass flight from the mainland a “routine transfer of men and machines.”
The fleet of bombers was first sighted, flying in V formation, over Koko Head at 9:33, then came into clear view above Diamond Head. Circling Honolulu in graceful salute, the craft then settled at one-minute intervals to mooring buoys in Pearl Harbor.
Strong tail winds aided the fliers on their mass hop from San Diego. They left yesterday at 2:34 p.m.
The 12 bombers, Lieutenant Commander Pope said, maintained flight height at 12,000 ft. for nearly the entire distance.—Herald, Washington. Honolulu, T. H., April 13 (U.S.).
Glenn L. Martin, aviation pioneer and builder of such famous types of airplanes as the giant clipper flying boats now flying the Pacific and the Army B-10 bombardment planes which have been making military history for 3 years, today filed with the Commerce Department informal notice of his intention to establish a nonstop transatlantic air transport service.
Martin signified his intention of going into the ocean service, in competition with Pan-American Airways and British Imperial Airways, now preparing to establish joint service between the United States and England.
For this service, Martin notified Assistant Secretary of Commerce J. Monroe Johnson, he has designed the world’s largest transport flying boat. This giant aircraft will be capable of carrying 40 passengers, 5,000 lb. of mail, express and light cargo, and fuel sufficient for 5,000 miles of non-stop flight. This would give a range 1,500 miles greater than the great circle route across the Atlantic, he said.
This “super-clipper” would have an average speed of 175 miles per hour at only 53½ per cent of its total engine power, Martin informed Colonel Johnson. Such a cruising speed would permit eastbound service from the United States to continental Europe in 18 hours and 45 minutes and westbound service, against the prevailing winds, in 21 hours.—Star, Washington, April 5.
The first war games exclusively for army aircraft will be held in California during the month of May, the War Department announced today.
Units of the general headquarters air force will concentrate at March field at Riverside and Hamilton field at San Rafael, Calif., for the purpose of testing the strength and organization of the flying combat units of the army.
A total of 430 officers, 2,500 enlisted men, and 244 army airplanes will take part in the maneuvers. The 244 planes will represent the bulk of the fighting air force of the nation. Although the Army lists its strength at 1,500 planes, the majority of these are observation and training ships so that there are less than 500 combat ships in the three wings of the air force.
Planes from two wings of the GHQ force will participate in the air maneuvers. These will gather from Langley Field, Va.; Hamilton Field, Calif.; March Field, Calif., Barksdale Field, La., and Selfridge Field, Mich.
All of the personnel of the first pursuit group of Selfridge Field will be transported by large army transport planes to Murdoc Lake, Calif. A total of 102 officers and 505 enlisted men and 89 pursuit planes will go to the west coast from Selfridge and Barksdale fields.—Tribune, Chicago. Washington, D. C., April 9.—(Special.)
Complete reorganization of the Bureau of Air Commerce was announced today by Assistant Secretary of Commerce J. Monroe Johnson.
The new organization comprises 7 divisions based upon functions and duties, Johnson announced.
Appointment of Howard F. Rough, former aeronautical supervisor of the bureau and now territorial manager for the Gulf Refining Co., as assistant director to succeed Major Rudolph W. Schroeder was announced yesterday.
Colonel Johnson announced today that E. B. Cole, secretary of the Illinois Aeronautical Commission, has been appointed technical assistant to the director and to the assistant director. Cole has been associated with the Illinois commission since its formation in 1931. He now is regional vice-president of the east central district of the National Association of State Aviation Officials.
In dividing the Bureau of Air Commerce into seven divisions, the Commerce Department broke up the former two-division system under which Assistant Directors Rex Martin and J. Carroll Cone were charged, respectively, with air navigation and regulatory functions.
The 7 new divisions are Airways Engineering, Airways Operation, Safety and Planning, Administrative, Information and Statistics, Certificate and Inspection, and Regulations and Enforcement.—Star, Washington, April 29.
The work of transforming Singapore into a Powerful air base has been intensified. Actually there are 3 airdromes: Seletar, Tengah, and Gamblawang. The construction of these bases have already cost £150,000. It is probable that the ultimate cost will rise to £200,000. Other areas are being adapted for use in connection with aerial activities.—La Rivista Marittima.
One of Italy’s new bomber-fighters has, subject to official confirmation, put up two new World’s speed records over courses of 100 and 1,000 kms. (62 and 620 miles). On April 1, Signor Furio Niclot, in this machine, a standard Breda 88 all-metal twin-motored monoplane with two motors of 1,500 total hp., put up an average speed of 517,836 km.p.h. (322 m.p.h.) at Montecelio over a course of 100 km. On April 9 Signor Niclot in the same machine did 480 km.p.h. (298 m.p.h.) over 1,000 km.
These performances have been observed and checked by the Italian Reale Unione Nazionale Aeronautica so presumably will be submitted to the Federation Aeronautique Internationale for homologation.—The Aeroplane.
Preparations for the establishment of a New York base for the air service which will be opened between here and Bermuda have been begun on Property owned by Pan-American Airways on Manhasset Bay, Long Island. It is possible that this station may also become the western terminal of the transatlantic service, for which experimental flights will begin this year.
The property on Manhasset Bay, 5 acres in area, was bought by Pan-American Airways in 1933 from another aircraft company, and it will now be converted into a seaplane base, capable of accommodating machines of 25 tons, or even more. A hangar, 350 ft. long by 130 ft. wide, already exists. The channel in front of the hangar is being dredged, and a ramp large enough to carry the Martin Clippers of Pan-American Airways or the Short flying boats of Imperial Airways will be built.—London Times. New York, April 4.
The recently signed agreement between the Portuguese government, Imperial Airways, and Pan-American Airways for a test air service from Portugal to North America by way of the Azores came into force yesterday.
After 18 months the parties must state whether they regard the scheme as feasible, and within a further 18 months they must formally declare whether they will actually establish it in 1942.
Lisbon will be a compulsory stop, but the Azores an optional one. When the more southerly Atlantic route is not used (which must not be for more than 6 months in the year), Imperial Airways will guarantee to connect Lisbon with a North Atlantic service.
Imperial Airways are also conducting negotiations, which they hope to complete soon, for flying-boat services along the Mozambique coast. The intention is to run a branch from the present Cape route south of Nairobi to Mombasa, and thence to Durban.—London Times. Lisbon, April 15.
Colonel Lindbergh’s “dream” of round-the- world commercial air transportation became a fact today as the giant Pan-American Sikorsky Clipper dropped down at Kaitak Airport, “end of the line,” in a 6-stage flight from California to the Orient.
Closing the last remaining gap between Manila and Hongkong in a skyway around the globe, the clipper and its crew of 7, in command of Captain A. E. Laporte, were officially welcomed at this British port.
Aboard the Sikorsky was 2,500 lb. of American freight and mail including more than 100,000 “first flight” covers for Washington, D. C., and other philatelists throughout the world.—Herald, Washington. Hongkong, April 28 (U.S.).
Survey flights by Imperial Airways flying boats across the Atlantic are to start in May, according to present plans. The Caledonia is to visit the west of Ireland shortly to continue the tests begun a month ago by the Cambria.
The vexed question of the base of the American side has been resolved by a compromise. Imperial Airways boats will be at liberty to use either Montreal or New York. Pan-American, who are making a base on Manhasset Bay, Long Island, will use New York only, a restriction which the Department of Commerce wanted to avoid if they could, apparently for fear Imperials would slip in a service or two over their 50 per cent.— The Aeroplane.
First presentation of the Rear Admiral William A. Moffett Memorial Trophy took place March 13, on board the U.S.S. California. The presentation was made by the Commander Battle Force, Admiral C. C. Bloch, U.S.N., to Lieutenant Robert F. Hickey, U.S.N., who was commanding officer of the California Aviation Unit of Observation Squadron 4, the winning unit. The Rear Admiral William A. Moffett Memorial Trophy is awarded annually to the battleship or cruiser based aviation unit which conducts its operations throughout the year with the maximum safety.-—Aero Digest.
The war department intends to locate an air base at Tacoma, Washington, to be known as the “Northwest Air Base.” The department’s decision is based upon the recommendation of a board of officers convened by the Secretary of War for the purpose of surveying the requirements of the Army for air bases and other installations contemplated under the provisions of the Wilcox Act (49 Stat. 610), and this specific base has the approval of the Secretary of War.-— U. S. Air Services.
The War Department has purchased from Sikorsky Aircraft Division of the United Aircraft Corp., 5 amphibion planes and spare parts equivalent to one complete plane, for the sum of $633,898.
To adapt these planes for military purposes, the commercial design has been modified. Wing span is slightly in excess of 85 ft. and power is derived from two 750 hp. P & W engines.—Aero Digest.