This html article is produced from an uncorrected text file through optical character recognition. Prior to 1940 articles all text has been corrected, but from 1940 to the present most still remain uncorrected. Artifacts of the scans are misspellings, out-of-context footnotes and sidebars, and other inconsistencies. Adjacent to each text file is a PDF of the article, which accurately and fully conveys the content as it appeared in the issue. The uncorrected text files have been included to enhance the searchability of our content, on our site and in search engines, for our membership, the research community and media organizations. We are working now to provide clean text files for the entire collection.
United States..................................................................... _...........
Dangerous Economy—Safe Economy—A Half-Quotation- War Horrors—Copy-book Sentiments—One Continuous Foreign Policy —Withdrawal from Asia—Brief Notes
Great B ritain................................................................................... 44*
The Service Mind—The Moderate Ship—Navy League New Year Message—The Lesson of Jutland—Personnel Reductions Brief Notes
France................................................................................................................................. 441
The German Menace—Our Pacifists Win—Brief Notes
448
Germany......................................
Selecting Officers—Brief Notes
Naval Officers on America—What Japan Thinks of America—The Budget—New Minister of Navy—Construction in 1932—Brief Notes
451
Gther Countries........................................................
The Finnish Gunboat “Wainamoinen”— Manchuria
Merchant Marine..........................................................
The World’s Greatest Merchant Ships—Various Notes
Aviation............................................................................................
Carrier and Cruiser Aircraft: Offensive or Defensive?—Aircraft Materials—Various Notes
438
ai^
cks
China, pacifism, denying its identity, masquerading as patriotic economy, Pe' at, gnaws at, whittles down our natioj1 defense, and gloats over what is ndscapn “economy” to the extent of $12,000, What a travesty! t
This nation ought to have the greate' navy on and under the Seven Seas
planes in the sky. And it ought to hav<^ trained civilian army strong enough
sider China today—rich, fat, defense^5. and the prey of any rapacious, predat° nation that desires to despoil her.
UNITED STATES Dangerous Economy
Hon. Charles Finley, of Kentucky, in the House of Representatives, January 23. -—Mr. Speaker, they say that wealth makes a nation conservative. In the light of this bill [the Army appropriation bill], “conservative” should be translated“ pacifists and miserly toward its own defense and defenders.”
The framers of our Declaration of Independence wrote into it never a word about economy. Why? Because they were just plain patriots, nothing more. There was not a pacifist nor a self-serving politician in the whole glorious number. If some members of this Congress had been members of that, they would doubtless have persuaded it, as they seem to have persuaded themselves, that economy was the paramount, supreme, and immediate duty of that Congress and would be of every succeeding Congress. At least, I am sure they would have tried.
Those men had a vision of a “separate and equal station among the powers of the earth” for the nation they hoped to found, independent of and secure from molestation or menace by any nation on earth. They realized the difficulties and hazards of their doubtful enterprise. But they loved the child of their hopes. Therefore they wrote into the inspired document neither a word, a syllable, nor a letter as to economy in the prosecution of their purpose.
On the contrary each of them pledged to every other one, and to their common cause, his life, his fortune, and his sacred honor. That was everything on earth they had, or would ever have.
Now, 157 years after that declaration was given to the world, the nation they founded has grown vastly rich. And at a time the rest of the world is an armed camp, when war is raging in both hemispheres, when this nation has no friend north, south, east, or west of her exceP poor distracted, despoiled, and helple'
It
ought to have the greatest fleet of a'r
hav
to
beat back the armies of any two nat>011 on earth. _ ^
Poverty never destroyed a people ,j history. Wealth has caused the down of many a mighty nation. Pacifism an penny-pinching, nickel-gripping, mise disregard of its national defense and ^ fenders will write “Mene, mene, ^ ’ j upharsin” on temple and palace wall5 any nation.
I realize the need of economy in gove j ment expense in the present exigenOV. realize that lowered commodity Prl j make reductions of expense possible. B protest that advantage should not taken of that situation to impair efficiency or reduce the personnel of a arm of our national defense.
No man on this floor is more earnestly favor of economy than I am. But econo is not the paramount, supreme, or 1f mediate duty of this Congress. It e was of any Congress. It never will be. a always immediate and the always PaIjp mount duty of Congress is to pass on later generations unimpaired the ®iga heritage won by our fathers and queathed in trust to us. t
Without adequate national defense t duty cannot be discharged. ,e
If we need an object lesson of what would be without it, we need only c°
:
P
jd
ts
i"'-
It
;t-
; 3
to
»n-
a"
ad
lt>
rl)'
de
le/’
of
rn- , 1 ces xtl be the toy
rin
[fl/
p-
;be
ra
te
ity
be-
jat
\ve
;s5i
>*?
“all
activities undertaken since that time.
stern letter: “I prefer not to make scraps SeHtimental writing. When I write anything I
^ it to be real and connected in form, as for atlce> ’n y°ur quotation from Lord Lytton’s 5^^ of Richelieu, the pen is mightier than the (■ °rd. Lord Lytton would never have put his ^ture to so naked a sentiment. Surely I will ti0 ’ In the text there was a prefix or qualifica-
ja t has been truly said that eternal vigi- is the price of liberty. Likewise and h equal truth it can be said that eternal . eParedness is the price of security and
Nuility.
Economy
Henfy Harriman, President of the lett °1'5er °f Commerce of the United States, in a Kjs.1 to the House Appropriations Committee, lift 11 January 4, proposed a saving of $1,000,- ,tnnually.
Harriman’s plan involves reduction of - J>es to the 1925 level and a proportionate cut 4 1>
lalf-Quotation
^fibune, Chicago, January 3.—In Mr. •j,°yd Lewis’ vivid biography of William j^Umseh Sherman there is recorded an Cldent worth pondering at a period of f^r history when something like a psy- °sts on the subject of war seems to have , ,ched our intelligentsia and even some lrient public men. Mr. Lewis wrote:
a Dutch immigrant boy, Edward Bok, °te him [Sherman] a request to send the sen- kCe “The pen is mightier than the sword” for L autograph collection. Sherman sent the boy a
•f *
%t
‘Beneath the rule of men entirely great The pen is mightier than the sword.”
tj^e told young Bok, says Mr. Lewis, Washington and Lincoln, a master of Pen, had both been fated to resort to ^ming swords.”
^ne old warrior wrote:
iJj'O, X cannot subscribe to your sentiment. . . .
ber, in the province of God, there is a time for (' things, a time when the sword may cut the hrt -an knot and set free the principles of right t^ justice, bound up in the meshes of hatred, etlge, and tyranny that the pens of mighty men like Clay, Webster, Crittenden, and Lincoln were unable to disentangle.
Sherman had sent his wisdom to the wrong market. The young Dutch immigrant grew up to be one of the busiest of our pacifists and remained so to the end. Read today, the protest of the great American will as little impress the directors of our policies, for has not war been outlawed? “War,” said Sherman on another occasion, “is hell.” He knew that from his own experience and liked it no more than any pacifist. But also he knew too much about life to think that the pen of treaty makers can abolish it or their parchment barriers serve a virile nation for its defense.
Hatred of war and its huge waste and demoralization of all values has always marked our national character and policy, but no one who regards the evidence of history will forget that in the greatest crises of the nation’s life it has taken the sword. Nor will they doubt we shall take it again if great issues summon us to the ordeal.
War Horrors
Times, New York, January 3.—In the British Legion Journal the Earl of Hals- bury reveals “new details of terribly potent gases which are already available for employment in the next war.” We read of lewisite, which is to be sprayed from aircraft, and of diphenyl-chlorarsine, an old- timer, which may drive people mad and which causes intense nasal irritation if one part is diluted by 200,000,000 parts of air. There is also the familiar asphyxiant bomb,“which would kill everybody within a radius of half a mile.” All that we miss is the tale of a liquid so potent that a few drops of it will blot out London or New York.
If we apply this method of reasoning to familiar military weapons, we obtain a picture even more horrible. There is the machine gun, for example, which can fire
lets that could be written on wall scrolls m
600 bullets a minute. Each bullet can drill its way through three men placed chest to back. Ergo, the machine gun can kill 1,800 men in a minute. A ton of mustard gas can theoretically kill 45,000,000 soldiers. So far as we can determine from the combined data of all the nations engaged in the war it took about 100,000 tons of gas to cause 78,000 deaths. In other words, over a ton of gas was actually required to kill a man on the battlefield. Such figures are quoted at almost every meeting of the American Chemical Society, but apparently they make no deep impression. Nor is very much attention paid to Dr. Lewis, inventor of lewisite, when he says that in the process of tale-spinning his discovery comes back to him “with a certain alienated and diabolical majesty.”
The truth is that about twenty-five different gases and vapors were hurled or wafted over the battlefield during the last war. Some of them were over a century old. All, even lewisite, which was perfected after hostilities had ceased, are types of compounds with which chemistry has long been familiar. The number of liquids and solids which will generate lethal gases and vapors of just the right density and with just the right properties is limited. Nor is there any need to make them more terrible than they are. If it is Lord Halsbury’s object to intensify the feeling against the bombardment of cities from the air by high explosives and gas bombs, he is sure to win approval. But if it is his purpose to frighten the world by painting horrors which chemists know are technical absurdities, he pleads illogically for the cause of peace.
Copy-book Sentiments
From a letter in the Herald Tribtme, New York, January 18.—The Kellogg pact is very nice sentiment—in Asia, I mean, of course. It is strictly in line with all Chinese philosophy from Lao Tze to Hu Shih and in perfect harmony with the best things credited to Gautama Buddha. China and Japan would both sit up all night composing coup
suP'
port of such pleasant doctrine without the shS,^ est feeling of insincerity if the following 11101 ^ were already dedicated to drying their P0'' 0f and polishing their swords. The compositi0 , such documents has been a pleasant intell^ p exercise in Asia for three thousand years, an American Secretary of State declares dip10^. tic war on an Asiatic state for that state s scription to the sentiments that are in f jt? Asiatic copy-book, it is pretty crude, i=n ^ It makes it very easy to misunderstand ns take us cynically, if not lightly.
One Continuous Foreign Policy
Times, New York, January 18.—Japan s attitude and determined purposes are not a v ^ tense. The position taken by our government)^ now accepted for himself by President- ( Roosevelt, is one that the Japanese govern jj is obviously prepared to contest and undernU . possible. This must be perfectly clear to dent-elect Roosevelt and his advisers. Itthu .e quired on his part no little courage to anno p that he is ready to go on with an effort an^ policy which are certain not only to be trou but trouble-making.
Withdrawal from Asia „
Tribune, Chicago, January 23.—Far-rea changes in American naval and military P° tj,e | in the Far East loom on the near horizon as direct result of enactment of the bill granting ^ dependence to the Philippine Islands after a year preparatory period. j,jjl
Should the islands take advantage of tn ^ completely to sever the close relations they A, had with the United States since the SPaIjj,,g American War days, some of the highest ran ,ete army and navy officers plan to urge c0IT1P withdrawal of all naval and military forces the islands and from China proper. _ ,
The War Department also would with ^ when practicable, its garrison from ^ie^.ajir where American army troops have been f, tained since the Boxer troubles. About 400 A pj. ican troops are maintained there at presen though several hundred soldiers have been 1 drawn in recent years. njU'
Were if not for the fact that Japanese Maa rian troops are standing at the gates of PeiP11!®^ Tientsin, it is extremely probable that the States would delay no longer in removing ^ soldiers and marines from those two not ^ Chinese cities. A move to remove these was initiated three years ago, but thwarte the State Department.
ational defense is to be made a political
!?°is National Defense council.
Th,
against Peace,” quoted from the Journal frtdit Public to the effect that Brazil ordered
'000,000 francs’ worth of Hotchkiss machine 2(j?s at a time when Japan was ordering only ^•000,000 francs’ worth.—The Living Age,
°Ut
^°w, the Hoover administration would feel I) co easier if these troops were no longer there, ^'sion has been reached, however, not to re- ~ these troops for the time being, as their > ‘hdrawal would certainly be misconstrued in JaPan.
^r'e/ Notes
.H.
]n
4Ue in Illinois and throughout the country under jH?‘an adopted January 23 at a meeting of the , e council gives as its principles:
^ We believe that America will never seek a and that a war will never seek a prepared j^rica. We know that the pitiably small army i Existence at the start of every war has never Us out of war. We are opposed to the dis- j.^arnent of the United States for the purposes ^economy or as an acclaimed means to bring v °ut world peace or as an example which some Aj °Us hope other nations will follow. National 0tease should be the last element of a nation’s Ionization to be influenced by economic condi- llty National defense must be absolutely and aVs divorced from politics.”
jlJ'SE immediate outcome of the world depres- [e11 agriculture is more likely to be war than ie.olUtion; in fact that outcome has already ma- ji alized in China. As for South America, we V^ld like to recall to our readers that in our 'lumber, 1932, issue Georges Hoog, writing on
Soo.
?Un<
'ruary.
^Rassey’s Naval Annual for 1933 criticizes „.0 ) West Virginia type battleships: “There . aPpear to be something lacking in the way L^Ich large displacements in these cases have ^ 0 Utilized for the various ends that designers y, Seamen should have in view when considering j desirable requirements for capital ships.
Ig .he speed is low and the main armament of ^•guns is less in number than in British ships. L ^hhstanding the adequate thickness of the atld barbette armor, the horizontal protection weak, and the entirely unarmored for- end of the vessel if shot away at the stem rtu(r the water line would diminish speed by a Uer of knots.”
■j,
sljj United States will have to build 135 its 1 w*th a total tonnage of 316,530, to bring tavy Up to the strength permitted under the
terms of the London Naval Treaty, between now and December 31, 1936, according to the latest comparison of navies of the world just prepared by the Navy Department.
The decline of the power of the United States Navy is pictured by the following figures, which portray the total overage tonnage of the five great powers: Great Britain, 145 ships, totaling 171,055 tons; Japan, 38 ships, amounting to 57,754 tons; France, 73 ships, aggregating 175,532 tons; Italy, 62 ships, with a tonnage of 87,887; and the United States, 270 ships, aggregating 300,860 tons.
Cruiser Division 2 has been permanently assigned to the battle force.
Increase of the limit of cost, including armor and armament, of the aircraft carrier Ranger to $21,000,000 instead of the $19,000,000 authorized by the Act of February 13, 1929, is proposed in a draft of the bill submitted and recommended to the House on January 12 by the Secretary of the Navy.
“A careful review of the situation at this time,” Secretary Adams said, “definitely indicates that with the present limit of cost it will be impracticable to properly finish this vessel and permit it to take its place in the fleet as an efficient operating unit. While under the present limits of cost, it will be possible to finish the ship from a hull and machinery standpoint of view so she can take her place as a mobile vessel of the fleet, she will not be an efficient unit from an operating point of view.”
The Indianapolis is sailing on a shakedown cruise to the west coast of South America. She will return to Panama on April 1.
A collision occurred between the destroyers Dahlgren and Tarbell on January 24. A forward compartment of the Dahlgren was flooded; the Tarbell was uninjured. No men were injured.
GREAT BRITAIN The Service Mind
Admiral Sir Herbert Richmond in The Nineteenth Century, London, January.— . . . Are there in the navy, a “mental crystallization and blind adherence to tradition,” a tendency to believe in the infallibility of rank, a bias against novel ideas, particularly when coming from below? In my experience I have witnessed these phenomena, with results very in-
an
he-
itself-—a not uncommon P
________ The completeness of mili^
achievement (in other words, decisive
tory) became in men’s minds less an 0 „
jectthan the accurate observance of m^eS'}
So remarked Mahan, and the corrects
of that diagnosis stands out in the Pa°
of naval history. ... . „
J tion
vie-
and tfile
in
jurious to the navy and the nation. Mental crystallization is a disease which creeps upon a man without his being aware of it. The patient does not realize that his mind, becoming in the first place torpid from lack of active exercise, eventually becomes rigid. In the performance of the ordinary duties of administration and routine, which occupy so large a proportion of naval work, there is nothing which drives a man to think of the problems of war; nor, indeed, in many of the principal posts is there time for thinking of other than departmental duties. To men accustomed to routine work and unaccustomed, by the nature of their previous experience, to have their opinions or their commands questioned from below, the innovator who casts doubt upon accepted beliefs and customs, who proposes some new instrument or some new method of using an old one, or the abolition of one long in use, appears as a nuisance. He is a disturber of the peace—the peace of mind. If such disturbances are to be prevented there must be uniformity of outlook, and uniform opinions become as essential a part of an officer’s mental output as uniform clothes are of his outer man’s. Orthodoxy being thus demanded, all opinions at variance with those generally accepted as authoritative—that is to say, heresies—must be rigorously repressed. ... To produce the desire to know and the habit of seeking knowledge, and then to render it impossible to exercise these faculties, is assuredly extremely foolish. Indeed, it is not enough passively to permit the development of ideas; it should also be actively encouraged. . . .
One example—many could be given— of the grip which what is called tradition has upon the service mind is the tradition of the line of battle. It is an important one, for its influences are far-reaching. . . . The line of battle was introduced for an object, which was to impose order and maintain cohesion in a fleet in battle. But what, in
turn, were objects of order and cohesion Victory. Victory first, and its consuming tion later, could not be achieved by gre masses fighting like a mob, and in tn • great masses, with imperfect means ofin tercommunication, without a high deg of centralization.
With the passage of time fleets gre'^ smaller. Sound as the doctrine of the n was in its initial conception, in the _ ^ cumstances which brought it into bei o’ it was not necessarily the best or the o
» ,/• < ti<
mode of fighting. Under the soporific ^ fluences of peace, the line, from being means to attain a certain end, became
end nomenon.
Though it was not in the line forma that Hawke obtained his sweeping tories off Finisterre and at Quiberon, Nelson won his great battles of the J- and Trafalgar, but by tactics directly variance with the established custom; a^c though the record of battles fought m line is one long, practically unbroken st ^ of indecisive results, it retained its Pr^5 of place as a tactical formation. ■ • ■ . te proof against all attempts to investig more flexible tactics in 1910 and 1 ,
The war found it as strongly entrenc^ in the minds of men as it had been m days of King Charles II. . . . .
I recollect on one occasion asking a ^ officer under whom I was serving whe it would not be well to issue open inst tions to his squadron commanders, >n g. eating (as Nelson did to CollingvV®°jlJ what he wanted done and leaving to t g entirely the manner of the doing- ^ clinching argument against confiding s trust in subordinates was contained m . words, “Why-—I don’t know what 11
^leModerate Ship
“tight do.” But (if one had been argumentative) one might have asked, “How, then, Nelson and various others man- Jge?”. . .
. If there is one well-established truth it ls that the Nelsonic command was char- Merized by heretical tactical ideas, by ^tting trust in subordinates, by giving ^em responsibility, by informing them of “U that was in his mind, by inviting dis- j-ttssion. ... But today officers must shun Metical views if they value their career; ^ey are not desired, far less encouraged, to formulate ideas. A dislike of the ex- ^ession of opinions which conflict with “We in authority is no new thing in the ^vy, but at no previous time has the ^slike been more pronounced. [Italics °Urs.] . . .
, Silence is, however, no more a sign of the ^ealthy living condition of a fighting s®tvice than devastation of a country is a ?'gn that peace has been imposed upon it; 'Meed, it has even been suggested by permits wanting in respect that silence may f the result of having nothing to say. If *loltke was right when he said that the 0Utput of literature in a time of peace was •be sign of health in an army, silence is ess a virtue than an evidence of mental
hernia. . . .
, If mental crystallization and a blind adherence to tradition are to be prevented, a Str°ng injection into the body adminis- hative of freedom of thought and dis- ?Ussion is needed. It must be realized that lt is they that keep a service alive in ^ace, that every innovator is an innovator because he has given thought to his Object and nourished it with discussion, that every great captain in war has his success to the fact that he was an ffinovator to whom tradition was a valua- Ie servant, not a tyrannical master.
Maurice Prendergast in The Navy, Lon- °n> January.—The Admiralty has re
jected the suggestion that the future size for capital ships should be set so low as 10,000 tons. The decision is a wise one, for the shipbuilding resources of certain foreign countries are ample enough to provide for the rapid production, in emergency, of a squadron of 15,000-ton ships. We have made a proposal that the future building of capital ships shall be confined to vessels of 25,000 or 22,000 tons. By setting the limit that high we have made tolerably sure that, in time of war, no enemy of ours will be able to embark on the building of a large number of battleships greatly superior in size to our own. If we were to set the limit at any figure lower than 20,000 tons, we might lay ourselves open to the risk of being outbuilt in strength of capital ships within, say, the first 30 months or 2 years of hostilities.
Here are the major types of warships which have been built or projected within
Date | Size {tons) | Guns | Remarks | ||||||
1921 | 48,500 | 18" | Projected British battleships. | ||||||
1916 | 42,100 | 15" | Hood. War Program battle cruiser. | ||||||
1922 | 35,000 | 16" | Washington treaty type of capital ship. | ||||||
’22-’32 | 30,355 | 15" | Average size of units in modernized British battle fleet (Royal Sovereign, Queen Elizabeth,Renown classes). | ||||||
1932 | 26,500 | 13" | New French battle cruiser Dunkerque. | ||||||
| 25,000 | 12" | A:—Proposed limit for capital ships, if building of 10,000-ton cruisers armed with 8- inch guns continues. | ||||||
| 22,000 | 11' | B:—Proposed limit for capital ships, if future cruiser construction is limited to ships of 7,000 tons armed with 6-inch guns. | ||||||
1928 | 10,000 | 11" | New German type of Panzershiff. | ||||||
| Ships with____ __ |
| |||||||
Battle and Date |
| 98 |
|
| 64- |
| |||
| 100- | & | 80- | 74- |
| ||||
| 90- |
| Gu«s |
| |||||
The Saints (1782) . . . . | __ | 5 | — | 22 | 9 1 |
| |||
St. Vincent (1797).... | 2 | 4 | — | 8 |
| ||||
Camperdown (1797). . | — | — | — | 11 | " |
| |||
The Nile (1798)........... | — | — | — | 13 |
|
| |||
Copenhagen (1801). . . | — | — | — | 7 | 3 |
| |||
Trafalgar (1805).......... | 3 | 4 | 1 | 16 |
| ||||
standard of the 74’s.” Such a species^ capital ship would neither be monster A minnow, but would strike a just ba a^ai between the economies of peace and bru power for battle.
Navy League New Year Message
The Navy, London, January.—The Ne' Year dawns in a sky darkened by ma ^ clouds and amid mists that obscure t paths that the Nation and Empire mu5j tread—not least, that of the
1 i
Navy. w
1930 in London, we were fettered an
the past 12 years. It will be seen that the proposed new capital ship types of 25,000 tons and 22,000 tons represent a safe and happy mean between the mammoth and microscopic species.
Need we be alarmed at the idea of having capital ships of moderate size again in our navy? There was such a time in the past, but the backbone of our battle fleet consisted of battleships of middling size and strong hitting power. They were the 74-gun ships. . . .
That we possess “a national antipathy to big battleships” may sound strange at the first hearing, but the remark is, in the main, historically true. British sea power in the past was won, and kept, not by the use of a few mammoth vessels, but by our possession of a sufficiency of moderatesized yet powerful battleships. Knowing this, our naval authorities have been reluctant to take up bigger types. If we have built bigger and bigger fighting ships in the past, it was not because we lusted for size, but because other nations, pressing from below, forced us to mount higher and higher on the ladder of dimensions. If they will now descend, we will gladly go down with them, for we know by our past experience that our national security can be safely left in the charge of capital ships which are serviceable but not grandiose in their size, sufficient in their fighting power and numbers and economical in their costs.
Such ships were the old 74’s! Remember what they were and what they did! They were moderate in their dimensions and modest in their expense, yet they were most efficient in their performance and truly formidable in a fight. Count the figures and see how large a part they played in winning the epic sea fights of the past.
To our mind, the re-foundation of our battle fleet upon the basis of a 25,000-ton battleship type would mark a return to an old, sound, safe, and sane policy—“the
. In 1922 at Washington and^j
i k P
bound by treaties which denied us right, exercised since the days of the SaX Kings, to maintain the sea power that o special national conditions demand- ^ are now tied to “parity” with the Unit6 States, which obviously can never be tained in any real sense, but which has effect that they, and we, are deprived the freedom to develop our fleets in a cordance with totally different geograp1 cal and other circumstances. Incidenta ’ these paralyzing restrictions do not c<^ duce to economy in expenditure. • • • .
the United States the present fetters be as galling as to ourselves. Is it not V° sible that they would willingly replace o grading restrictions by a gentleman agreement easily formulated?
Sydenham of Com be
The Lesson of Jutland
Naval and Military Record, Plymout > January 11.—At Jutland we lost 3 bat
Risers, 3 armored cruisers, and 8 de- ^ r°yers. The Germans lost 1 battleship, battle cruiser, 4 light cruisers, and 5 estroyers. Our casualties were: Officers— ^ killed, 25 wounded, 10 picked up by the J*»y; men—5,769 killed, 485 wounded, ^ Rescued by the enemy. The German 4(1 al r°turns are: Officers-—160 killed, bounded; men-—2,385 killed, 454 w°Unded. An analysis of the gunnery feems to challenge some further disquiet. S reflections having a very direct bear- ,nS upon this “ship to beat the enemy”
. °ctrine. According to the tables embodied q *be Official History of the War—Naval Nations (vol. 3, pp. 440-41), our ships Reived 55 hits from heavy projectiles and hits from light projectiles; while the erman ships received 121 hits from heavy r°jectiles and 37 hits from light profiles.
Can it be maintained that these results udicate the principle of “response” by e multiplication of size and weight of t,re delivery? At the Battle of Tsushima, j^e Russians actually had a superiority in eavy weapons. The naval architects, of Urse, can explain how our world-wide ^rategical obligations imposed a handicap ,.0n:i which the Germans were compara- f^Ve]y free; how we had to build ships fit r service in any or all of the Seven Seas, j feas the Germans only visualized seek- ^ a naval decision in the narrow seas j eU der tag should come. This may ^ ^ish a sufficient reason as to why we ,Ul*t bigger ships. But the result did not J-jUonstrate the superiority of the bigger j P- The cold fact remains that atjut- aiu*> on a smaller number of hits, from jailer guns, carried by smaller ships, the ®rman battle squadrons inflicted con- tli Crably more loss and damage than they emselves received. The “tactical school” ay claim this as a vindication of their j°utentions in opposition to the “material school.” Certain it is that we got no fical advantage out of a vastly superior
mass of material and a generally higher mobility in this one supreme test of all the theories of sea warfare.
Personnel Reductions
Times, London, December 28.-—The recent statement of the First Lord that the personnel of the fleet had been cut down too much, and that this had given rise to problems for which the only real solution is an increase in numbers, has aroused much attention. One effect of the reductions is seen in the changes in the disposition of the fleet during 1932.
The Mediterranean Fleet, formerly much stronger numerically than the Home Fleet, is now about equal to the latter, and the Home Fleet has the advantage of seven armored ships, as compared with five. There has been a reduction during the year in the total of ships in full commission. One battleship and one aircraft carrier have been withdrawn from the Mediterranean and placed in reserve, the ships concerned being the Ramillies and the Eagle, respectively. One destroyer flotilla, the Second, has also been transferred from the Mediterranean to the Home Fleet, and (except in the case of new ships in their first commission) all the three destroyer flotillas in home waters now carry only about four-fifths of their complements, with, however, 100 per cent of engine- room ratings.
It will be recalled that Mr. Alexander, the late First Lord, drew attention in his memorandum dated March 2,1931, to the “striking contrast” that the numbers voted for the year ending March 31, 1932, were 10,000 less than those voted by Parliament in 1928. “In the space of exactly four years,” he said, “the strength of the personnel of the navy will actually have been reduced by 10,000 officers and men.” Manifestly such a drastic reduction- amounting to nearly 10 per cent of the whole navy—coming as it did on top of reductions during the previous nine years,
of Japan (27) and France (19) are the same, that of Italy has advanced from 17 to 20-^
flotilla leaders, Great Britain has added 1 t0 . - total, making 17, but France has added 6, ma* ^ 19. There is practically no change in the destroyers, except that the Japanese has decU from 110 to 99. The Japanese submarine also less, 60 instead of 67, but France has y
to 75, only f
less than the United States, which, with a tot
,l°f
?ef
was bound to make a big difference to the manning situation, and the sequel was described by Sir Bolton Eyres-Monsell on November 30. At 91,000 the personnel of the Royal Navy is some 16,000 less than that of the United States, and only 11,000 more than that of Japan.
Brief Notes
The Home Fleet began its winter exercises on January 10. England and the east coast of Spain were supposed to be “Red” colonies, and raiding cruisers of “Blue,” based on the Azores, were to endeavor to intercept “Red” merchantmen passing between the two colonies. From the meager reports yet received it would appear that “Red” protective forces were very successful.
The London Times says that exactly a score of seagoing vessels have been launched for the Royal Navy during 1932. While better than the record of the previous year, this is below the average required merely for maintenance, as well over 30 units a year of all kinds should be put afloat. The vessels launched in 1932 included the cruisers Achilles, at Birkenhead, on September 1, and Orion, at Devonport, on November 24. There was 1 flotilla leader, the Duncan at Portsmouth, on July 1, and 8 destroyers, all by contract, the Defender (April 7), Diamond (April 8), Daring (April 7), Decoy (June 7), Dainty (May 3), Delight (June 2), Diana (June 16), and Duchess (July 19). Four submarines took the water, the Thames and Porpoise, at the Vickers yard, Barrow, on January 26 and August 30, and the Sturgeon and Seahorse, at Chatham Dockyard, on January 8 and November 15. There were also 4 sloops, the Dundee, at Chatham Dockyard, on September 20, and the Falmouth (April 19), Milford (June 11), and Weston (July 23), all at Devonport Dockyard. There was also the Guardian, net layer and target-towing ship, at Chatham Dockyard, on September 1.
A report that a new ship of somewhat similar design to the German Deutschland is to be laid down on the Clyde is quite unfounded. The ships which are due to be ordered in the early spring, under the 1932 construction program, from private firms include 2 cruisers, 8 destroyers, 2 submarines, a destroyer dep6t ship, 2 sloops, and a gunboat. The design of the cruisers is limited by the London treaty of 1930, and one will be of 7,000 tons and eight 6-in. guns, similar to the Leander; and the other of 5,450 tons and six 6-in. guns, similar to the Arcthusa.
In a written reply to Mr. Mander, M-U, First Lord has given a numerical summary ot, , British war vessels and those of the Uni States, Japan, France, Italy, and Germany- comparison of this list with that in the officia turn of fleets, corrected to January 1, 1932, sn that during the year the British total of cruis^ has declined by one from 52 to 51, that ot ^ United States has increased from 19 to 20, tn ^
creased her submarines from 65
82, is numerically the strongest submarine P°" in the world. ^
In 1930 a trial was begun in II.M.S. Rodn^’^ centralized messing for the wardroom, gunt° i and warrant officers. But one galley was used the same food was served in the three Writing in the current Brassey’s Annual, 1 master Rear Admiral A. C. Ransom says tha would be premature to discuss the experh^Aj, as much tact is required on all sides to main the efficiency of the arrangement. „
The New Year promotion list consisted commanders to captain and 25 lieutenant c manders to commander. The 3 extra prom0*'^ to captain were made possible by the volun retirements of admirals to facilitate promotion' ^
The cruiser mine layer Adventure concln , on December 17 a program of trials of the cruising engines with which she is equipped-
Act'
The cruiser Despatch, which has been nn° ^ going large repairs at Chatham at a cos . £132,000 since her return from duty as on the America and West Indies Station, s^°ry, be ready for service again at the end of Jann She will be commissioned by a full crew' 1.^ Portsmouth and will join the Third Crm Squadron in the Mediterranean.
By the end of January three more destr°> of the Defender class will be completed, finlSf the program of 1930 in this class. There will a ^ wards be a long interval before any m°re;!/ci stroyers are due for delivery. The Enc011^. class, of the 1931 program, which should p mally be now approaching the launching s , were not ordered until September, 1932, a measure of economy.
F Has been approved to transfer to mainte-
|Ust
tat °ap. The air lock, in which the escape appa- tivUs is put on, is close to the new hatch. A few
not been taking part in the trade protection tcises in the Bay of Biscay.
egmning of construction on two similar Ger- Warships constituted a menace to our lines of Of, numication, which are second only to those e British Empire.
'Vas necessary to guard against this danger, Sav 1 raPid decision was required. Therefore, we bL fbe order to begin work on the battle cruiser nkerque.
Leygues added that in the latter 1J(, bfhs of 1932 French naval activity had 11 considerably intensified. This, he
reserve at Rosyth the flotilla leaders Mal- jj*”' Shakespeare, and Spenser, and the destroy- U \ilkyrie, Venomous, Venturous, and Wivern. v 'v in maintenance reserve at Chatham. All the P* will be towed from Chatham to Rosyth. e'c arrival will increase the torpedo craft laid P there from 16 to 24.
t^IIE submarine Rainbow left Portsmouth for e China station on December 29.
,3Vay in the departure of submarines L-18, > '2d and -26 on the Home Fleet spring cruise L8 caused by minor defects in the new escape . ches recentlv fitted. These hatches are fitted
l,a1 abaft the already existing forward and after 5- cbes, and are provided with a door capable of m , °Peration and access from inside in case of
in the new hatches showed signs of leaking er Pressure. The defects can be quickly recti’ and the submarines are expected at Vigo in e for the proposed exercise program. They
FRANCE e German Menace
•j,' unday Times, London, January 8 (from ti^blon, January 7).—A reference to the c^frnian menace to our lines of communi- was made by M. Georges Leygues, s^e French Minister of the Navy, in a k ech to the officers and crew of the j ^eship Lorraine at Toulon today. M. JtygUes said:
t0Jhe Washington treaty entitles us to 175,000 tm °f ships of the line. The London treaty en- !ws ns to 75,000 tons of capital ships for replace- bave not availed ourselves of this
Tfa
tL, e entry into service of the Deutschland and
Civ ' -
c0tw Warships constituted a menace to our lines of
said, was indicated by the execution of new naval programs, the reorganization of the forces, intensified training of divisions, and the resumption of training cruises.
Our Pacifists Win
Le Yacht, Paris, December 24.—Commandant A. Thomazi concludes a comparative review of the navies of the United States, Great Britain, and Japan as follows:
We should say that the British Navy maintains, although with difficulty, its position; that the navy of the United States is far from equality, and will grow weaker in the immediate future; that the Japanese navy has the more modern ships, and its force approaches more nearly the figures permitted by treaty.
Brief Notes
The naval budget for 1933 totals 2,840 million francs, which represents a reduction of about 375 million francs in the yearly appropriation. The new budget does not provide for any new construction. Four 7,700-ton heavy cruisers were authorized by the tranche of 1932, but no funds are provided for them.
The battle cruiser Dunkerque was officially laid down at Brest on December 28.
The Minister of Marine has given out the following details of the Dunkerque: the main battery will consist of eight 330-mm. guns in two quadruple turrets forward; the secondary battery will be of 16 pieces, and in addition there will be about 40 anti-aircraft and machine guns. Her armor will be both vertical and horizontal, with special anti-submarine protection. Her trials are expected to be held the latter part of 1936.
The submarines Orphee, Psyche, and Oreade started their trials the middle of December.
The submarine Jean Roulier (the ex-German U-166) has been placed in reserve.
At the stage of evolution the world has now reached, principles, unhappily, do not always accord with realities, which are controlled for certain distant races by imperative political and economic necessities. Japan is facing such necessities at present. She knows China can do nothing alone, that Soviet Russia is reduced, for a long time ahead, to complete military impotence, that lack of directive force paralyzes the United States, and that the European powers are struggling with their own difficulties and cannot under-
Naval Officers on America
Japan Advertiser, Tokyo, December
lb
by
considers the situation on the Pacific
atb'
take a distant adventure. The temptation is strong for her to take advantage of circumstances to achieve her aspirations.—Le Temps, Paris semiofficial daily.
GERMANY
Selecting Officers
Army, Navy and Air Force Gazette, London, January 19.-—General Freiherr von Hammerstein-Equord, the present chief of the German Army, has a method of selecting officers which strikes us as being highly original and peculiarly unPrussian. According to exchange, a Berlin newspaper has printed the following as his answer to a query as to how he judged his officers:
I divide my officers into four classes as follows: The clever, the industrious, the lazy, and the stupid. Each officer always possesses two of these qualities. Those who are clever and industrious I appoint to the general staff. Use can under certain circumstances be made of those who are stupid and lazy. The man who is clever and lazy qualifies for the highest leadership posts. He has the requisite nerves and the mental clarity for difficult decisions. But whoever is stupid and industrious must be got rid of, for he is too dangerous.
General Flammerstein’s qualification for leadership is certainly not proved by the character of the great captains, who were not only endowed mentally and physically much more richly than their fellows, but possessed remarkable powers of endurance in both these spheres. Joffre, who may be accorded this rank, is possibly an exception, but his mask of lazy imperturbability was more apparent than real, and hid an exceptionally active mind.
Brief Notes
Hitler’s failure to seize power last summer is likely to stand in history as a shining example of how individual character can interfere with the natural operation of political and economic forces. Not only is Hitler himself an emotionally unstable person, but most of the other leaders of his movement are men of the same stripe.—The Living Age, February.
aTY
The Deutschland sailed from Kiel on JanU.j j 19 for trials that are scheduled to last till AP ^ If the trials are successful, the Deutschlan regularly enter service on the latter date, second of the type is due to be launched on same day that the Deutschland enters service- ^ The name plate of the German cruiser E»l the raider destroyed by the Australian crU^e(j Sydney on November 9, 1914, is to be re^urasa to Germany by the government of Australia token of good will.
JAPAN
■—Considered of sufficient importance ^ the publisher to advertise it, thoug1 ^ Japanese, in an English language ne paper and recommend it to foreign rea a book titled the Truth about the A >,lC ^ can Navy, has been written by member5^, the Yushukai group in the Naval Omc ^ Club, including Rear Admiral f^o ^ Takeda, Rear Admiral Tanetsugu Sa Captain Hikota Hirose, Captain No ^ haru Nohara, Captain Tatsumi Abe, mander Kiichi Iwamoto, and Dr. > ^ Oyama, the last of whom is an autho - on diplomatic matters. j5
The index shows that the book e with the history of relations between pan and the United States, American te^j torial aggrandizement, American ti wars, operations of the American b American war preparations, and sirnl topics. _ kicbi
In a foreword, Vice Admiral San ^ Takahashi, vice chief of the naval Se^e staff, declares that the book gives .5 rect and useful information” and sr above any attempt to be “instigator damaging.” . Fujita
The opening article by Captain^ J^e
pays a high tribute to the vigorous ^ tude shown by Foreign Minister ° ^ Yasuya Uchida in the last session Diet and urges continuation of the na present determination regarding the J . churian issue. Captain Fujita contiu
^Panese navy men must bear in mind when refer- la8 to American naval matters that the Ameri- ^ Navy has gone through several naval wars the odds in its favor. Even the British Navy, o*ch boasts of magnitude and strength, has no tSsUrance of defeating it. To keep its high pres, §e> this invincible navy is training officers and JUejackets. Had the American Navy become ^aPan’s enemy in the past, it would have been no j SV task to defeat it. Since the Washington conduce, moreover, Japan has felt the pressure of , e American Navy. Our navy at present cannot ace the American Navy with equal strength.
American diplomats, he believes, are fitful with language, and American mer- ^ants know how to satisfy their cus- 0rhers, in striking contrast to Japanese ^rchants, he notes. Americans are known 0r their individualism, which does not ecessarily mean exclusivism. They have a ^°Ve for their country and are patriotic, shown in their salute to the national .8 and their respect for George Wash- ‘hgton.
They also have reason and judgment. ^ American is not satisfied until he has a °gical explanation of events. On the other and, the Americans are sentimental and SuPerstitious; they are easily swayed by option, in striking contrast to their c aim to reason. Many other of their characteristics are contradictory. Though a tampion of peace and sponsor of the anti- 'Var pact, which has given the people a j^ceful reputation, past events show that ae United States is quite otherwise. They are Progressive on the one hand and con- s®rvative on the other, though they cham- the humanitarian principle, they pre- ?erve racial prejudice. They pose as guard- lans of peace, but they lack understanding.
The bulk of the volume is devoted to statistics about the United States Navy, °r the most part translated from AmeriCan publications. The intention is taken .? be that Japan must strengthen its navy 1 A wants to fight the United States on 3,11 equal footing.
These statistics are followed by a long rtiele on American diplomacy, by Dr.
Oyama. He finds three basic foreign policies: the Monroe Doctrine, Pan-Americanism, and the Open Door. After giving their historical background, Dr. Oyama charges that the United States is now using the Open-Door policy, which originated in the nation’s desire to participate in Chinese affairs, to interfere with Japan. He writes:
The Nine-Power Treaty is considered quite impartial, but in reality it is utterly unfair. It does not recognize Japan’s peculiar position in Manchuria and Mongolia and treats all parts of China without discrimination. The Japanese government should have pointed out these errors at the Washington conference, rejecting discussion of Manchurian issues or demanding that the territory be excepted in the treaty, and emphasized the virtue of the Ishii-Lansing Agreement. Japanese diplomacy failed. Some Americans contend that Japan’s special position in Manchuria was nullified by abrogation of the Ishii-Lansing Agreement after the Nine-Power Treaty was concluded. This is absurd. It cannot be admitted that because the Ishii-Lansing Agreement was abrogated Japan’s position became extinct. It remains unchanged.
What Japan Thinks of America
Hugh Byas in the New York Times of January 22.—Among thoughtful soldiers and sailors, whose profession gives them a certain realistic bias, a definite attitude of mind has been attained. They are too intelligent to suppose that Americans have any expansionist ambitions of their own in Asia, and those who know the United States acknowledge the strength of America’s pacific idealism. But they fear that unthought-out impulses to apply the principles of American idealism to the problems of Asia, or the pressure of American industry for new markets, may one day create a situation in which an American administration will oppose a policy which Japan considers essential to her progress. This is the conviction behind the Japanese determination to maintain a fleet strong enough to make the strongest nation pause before adventuring into the waters of Eastern Asia.
ere-
com 3 3 OOO
trast to the monster ships, up to on, tons, now in service, which are not on very expensive to operate, but are da^ gerously vulnerable. Two cruisers of a11
Japan’s policy is dangerous to herself and to the peace machinery of the world. But it seems to the Japanese that their difficulties might have had more sympathy and their achievements more credit. They are the only Asiatic people who stand on their own feet. They have established an orderly modern state on the very edge of the illimitable chaos of China. What America respects in the state is respected in Japan. Private property and enterprise flourish; the law is enforced; life and personal liberty are secure; education is universal; and the constitution has adopted the forms of representative government.
The Japanese see themselves as the one stable element in a disordered continent. They wonder why in American eyes they are always the bad boy of the class.
The Budget
Japan Advertiser, Tokyo, December 27.
•—The government’s budget for the next fiscal year, which will be considered by the Diet, was published yesterday and copies handed to all members for study. The total is Y2,239,094,315.
Revenue from loans and bond issues is estimated at Y895,231,897. Expense items classified according to the ministries concerned are as follows:
Imperial household....................... Y4,500,000
Foreign affairs....................................... 26,390,000
Home affairs......................................... 218,429,000
Finance................................................. 474,139,000
War........................................................ 447,883,000
Navy...................................................... 372,606,000
Justice....................................... 34,490,000
Education.............................................. 151,846,000
Agriculture and forestry..................... 117,382,000
Commerce and industry........................ 13,778,000
Communications.................................. 349,935,000
Colonial affairs...................................... 27,714,000
The amount to be used for various relief work is Y207,002,000 in the general account and Y16,116,000 in the special account, bringing the total to Y223,119,000. The total appropriation for the improvement of armament is Y209,980,000, of
which Y114,645,000 is for the army an Y59,334,000 for the navy.
The total appropriation for finariC, ing Manchurian operations is set a Y186,330,000 in the general account an Y4,501,000 in the special account. ^ e share of the Foreign Office in the genera account is Y4,708,000, the Finance istry Y20,000,000, the War Minis*# Y145,990,000, the Navy Ministry, Y1 > 574,000, and the Ministry of Communica tions Y57,000. In the special account, Yl,274,000 is the share of the governm^11 general of Korea and Y4,501,000 is tha of the Kwantung government.
New Minister of Navy
Japan Advertiser, Tokyo, January 10. A & hours after the resignation of the previous ^ cumbent, Admiral Mineo Osumi was formally 1 ^ stalled early yesterday afternoon as Minister the Navy in Premier Saito’s Cabinet, in succeo. sion to Admiral Keisuke Okada, who had surrf jjj dered the portfolio earlier in the day because o health. Admiral Okada, who will reach the a limit on January 20, was placed on the reserve 13 yesterday afternoon.
Construction in 1932
The Engineer, London, January 6 (# Hector C. By water).'—Possibly as a res ^ of the political situation in the Far Ea there was little news of Japanese naV developments in the past year. During t summer the Chokai, the eighth and last 0 the 10,000-ton cruisers allotted to JaPf^ by treaty, was delivered from the n 1 subishi yard. The type was fully descri^ last year, and it need only be repeated t ^ these ships incorporate a higher , ratio armament, protection, and horsepo than any other cruisers of equal tonnag The aircraft carrier Ryujo, of 7,600 ton ^ is nearing completion at Yokohama. _ represents an attempt to build a float1 aerodrome of moderate tonnage, in
gl !>c and social life in present-day Japan. A ^a(*ng instance is the conflict in the views of the ltarists on national defense, which is affecting Q,e Political situation in various ways. Admiral Co a^a"s resignation is likely to have far-reaching Sequences in naval as well as political circles.
James have been assigned ships building as °WS; the 8,500-ton cruiser at Kure, the
^Pe were laid down in 1932. They are rented to be of 8,500 tons and 33-knot ?Peed, and will be armed with fifteen 5.1- ltl- guns. This, curiously enough, is the Sa-Uie armament as that of the Russian Risers of the Profintern class, which were signed before the war. The last de- str°yers of the Fubuki class (24 units) jV|Je launched during the year. Displacing >'00 tons, with a contract speed of 35 ?°ts, and mounting six 5.1-in. guns and 21-in. torpedo tubes, they are, in pro- f*0rtion to their size, the most heavily arUied destroyers afloat. Five boats of Edified design have been laid down, to- ^ether with two 600-ton torpedo boats, of l^ich no details are known. A reduction ,as also been made in submarine dimen- l0*s, the three boats started during the j ar being of 1,300 tons, as compared with j ’^38 tons in the preceding class. The fol- °Wing ships are projected and may be ^aid down in 1933: 2 cruisers of 8,400 tons, . ^stroyers, 3 submarines, a mine-layer of ’ 00 tons, 3 smaller mine layers, 2 tor- edo boats, 5 mine sweepers.
^rie/ Notes
January 23 Count Yasuya Uchida, For- 8a Minister, told the Diet that Japan has no 0jUse for worry about the United States because d*e Japanese policy in Manchuria. Relations pra America have undergone a remarkable im- Tv.einent *n ^ast ^ew months> ^*e sa'd-
Ss he foreign minister delivered this speech of § prance after Hitoshi Ashida, a leader of the yukai party, which constitutes what little op- j^’tion there is to the government, had defied it)6 arrny rulers of Japan by attacking their dom- ahon of the nation.
of A JAPanese newspaper says of the resignation : Admiral Okada as Minister of the Navy: There Contradiction and friction in every field of
Mogami; 8,500-ton cruiser at the Mitsubishi yards in Nagasaki, the Mikuma; 2 destroyers launched in December at the Sasebo Navy Yard, the Hatsuharu and Wakaba; the 1,400-ton destroyer at the Uraga yard, the Nenohi; the mine layer at Ishikawajima, Tokyo, the Natshsuima; the 590-ton torpedo boat at the Fujinagata yard in Osaka, the Manazuru; the 590-ton torpedo boat at the Maizuru Navy Yard, the Chidori; and 2 submarines at Kure and Kobe, the 1-68 and 1-69, respectively.
The destroyer Usugumo went aground on January 11, at a point near Daikokujin Island in Hiroshima Bay, in the Inland Sea. Water entered the engine- and boiler-rooms, but only slight damage was done.
The search for the destroyer Sawarabi, which capsized and sank on the night of December 5 midway between the northern tip of Formosa and the China coast, has been abandoned. The inquiry set up to investigate into the loss of the ship has come to the conclusion that sinking was due to a previous leakage in the hull which made the vessel unseaworthy in rough weather.
OTHER COUNTRIES
The Finnish Gunboat
“Wainamoinen”
Marine Engineer and Motor ship Builder, London, January.-—During the last few months the Diesel-electric gunboat Wdi- ndmoinen, one of the most interesting vessels of this year, has been completed and has undergone successful sea trials. This vessel, which is for the Finnish Navy, is the first naval craft with pure Diesel- electric drive, and, apart from two submarines, the first naval vessel with Diesel engines supercharged on the Biichi system.
The flexibility and overload capacity of Biichi turbo-charged Diesel engines, together with the economy in space and weight obtained with such machinery, are of particular advantage for this class of ship. The good maneuvering qualities and steering of the vessel have, we understand, been specially appreciated in the narrow waters of the Finnish coast. Moreover, with this type of drive, several economical speeds are possible, with a corresponding wide radius of action at each speed.
The fact that, with the electric drive, the main engines are independent of the propeller shafts, and so may be located in the most favorable position from all standpoints, gives a very satisfactory layout; no longer considerations of the main engines, but the military aspect of the case, is the deciding factor in arranging the subdivision of the ship, the main engines being located to best suit these requirements.
A sister-ship to the Wainamoinen, the Jlmarinen, will be ready for trial within the next few weeks, and as in the case of the former vessel the main machinery and auxiliaries were supplied by Brown Boveri & Co.
Manchuria
Sunday Times, London, January 22 (by “Scrutator”).'—Having fought two wars for Manchuria, Japan will fight a third rather than have her position there challenged. To the forms of her control she may be indifferent, but that she means to be mistress at the cost of war with any one is the first main fact in the Manchurian problem. Whether she is wise is another matter. She may throw China into the arms of Russia, and such a combination might some day have serious results for Japan and perhaps for Europe too. That risk may affect the form of the settlement which she is willing to accept, but not the substance.
A second fact to remember is that, aftet all, Manchuria is no more China pr°Pfr than the French possessions in Cocb10 China. The Chinese once conquered N nam on the south, as the Manchus in time of Oliver Cromwell conquered Chn)a from the north, but, though Chinese civ1 ization conquered, and one effect of establishment of the Manchu dynasty N that Chinese settlers became numerical dominant in Manchuria, it is doubt1 ^ whether, outside Manchuria and the rubho classes, the Chinese really regarded t*1 war in Manchuria 30 years ago as a ^ between China and Japan.
The cessions to Germany in Shantuh® shocked the Chinese far more than much greater concessions to Russia
Manchuria; nor until the revolution
the
iP
had
either the Japanese or the Russians
is
Manchuria any serious difficulties with t Chinese inhabitants. The Lytton rep°r insists on the organic connection betw^ China and Manchuria, but it is after ah comparatively modern connection. It 11 outside the Great Wall, it was nev^ governed on the same system of vicero) chosen by competitive examination as t ^ rest of China, and as late as 1924 Cha11^ Tso-lin the military ruler of Manchnt1^ repudiated a treaty that Russia had ms with China and insisted on a separa identical treaty being made with him-
MERCHANT MARINE
The World’s Greatest Merchant Ships
Coj
4ft
Ct,
4r
*.
C4
Co
tt
cl
s
fl,
s
S,
t,
St
St
if
0:
4
4
k
it
i>
i>
JV
n
n
c
«
i
Name | Date | Company | Gross tons | Length and beam | Speed knots | Remarks |
Normandie.................. 534................................ Majestic....................... Berengaria.................. Bremen........................ Rex............................... Europa......................... Leviathan.................... Conte di Savoia......... Olympic....................... Aquitania..................... lie de France.............. | Bldg. Bldg. 1914 1912 1929 1932 1927 1911 1932 1911 1914 1926 | French Line Cunard White Star Cunard N. Ger. Lloyd Italia N. Ger. Lloyd U. S. Lines Italia White Star Cunard French Line | 75.000 73.0 56,621 52,226 51,656 50,100 49,746 48,943 47.0 46,439 45,647 43,153 | 960 X118 950 X120 915*X100 883*X 98 898*X101* 833*X102 890 XI02 907*X100 800 X 96 852*X 92J 868*X 97 763*X 55} | 30 30 24 23* 27.91 27 27 24 27 23 23* 23* | Details tentative Details tentative Ex-German Bismarck Ex-German Impcrator Speed record in 1929 Trial speed 29.8 Made 28.5 knots Ex-German Vaterland Stabilizers Largest British built |
^___ Name | Date | Company | Gross tons | Length and beam | Speed knots | Remarks |
p^kntiquc ................. | 1931 | Nav. Sud. Amer. | 42,512 | 7131X 914 733 X 974 735JX 85i 751 X 83 710 X 824 7054X 824 | 21 24* | (Burned January 4) |
pP.ress of Britain ..... | 1931 | Can. Pac. Rwy. | 42,348 |
| ||
| 1921 | French Line | 34,569 |
| Ex-German Columbus Largest motor ship | |
jSo-ic.. .......................... | 1913 | White Star | 34,351 32,650 |
| ||
| 1927 | Italia |
| |||
fra... .............. .... | 1926 | Italia | 32,583 32,565 |
|
| |
ff'mbus. .................... | 1923 | N. Ger. Lloyd | 7494 X 83 762 X 88 6704X 814 6834X 824 6434X 844 6704X 784 680 X 82 644 X 834 607 X 824 652 X 78 577 X 774 709 X 754 651 X 76 666 X 86 666 X 86 6024X 764 6504X 774 6314X 794 6314X 794 709 X 754 690 X 764 6384X 80 6384X 80 553 X 764 553 X 764 6304X 784 6304X 784 6004X 804 6004 X 804 615 X 81 615 X 81 6024X 79 6024X 79 5894X 75 6024X 76 627 X 774 6374X 724 600 X 734 600 X 734 602 X 784 602 X 784 5864X 804 586 X 80 6514X 754 5744X 804 6004X 734 5944X 78 6004X 734 582 X 75 582 X 75 6314X 754 6304X 734 632 X 75 5814X 75 5814X 75 6334X 75 | 26* | Voyage average 27.65 knots in 1931 | |
| 1907 | Cunard | 30,700 | |||
Mndam ...................... | 1929 | Holl. Amer. | 29,511 | 16* | Motor ship | |
Ssic... " ...................... | 1932 | White Star | 28,000 | |||
.......... | 1927 | Ham. Sud. Amer. | 27,561 | 17* 16* |
| |
lfftnland .................... | 1917 | Leyland | 27,132 | Motor ship | ||
| 1930 | White Star | 26,943 | |||
| 1930 | Can. Pac. Rwy. | 26,032 |
|
| |
Q^Plain. P ................. | 1931 | French Line | 26,000 |
|
| |
fat' Grande " ............. | 1928 | Italia | 25,661 |
|
| |
Alette. ....................... | 1930 | French Line | 25,178 |
|
| |
fa'a lie. ...... ............... | 1907 | White Star | 24,679 |
|
| |
| 1925 | Italia |
|
| Did 22.2 on trials | |
Xl/^nhattan .............. | 1932 | U. S. Lines | 24.289 24.289 24,281 |
| ||
| Bldg. | U. S. Lines |
|
| ||
Uuilo *...................... | 1923 | Italia |
|
| ||
........ | 1908 | Holl. Amer. | 24,149 |
| Motor ship Motor ship | |
| 1927 | Italia | 23.970 23.970 | 18* | ||
fa'nia. ......................... | 1926 | Italia | ||||
f....................... | 1904 | White Star | 23,884 23,769 | 22* |
| |
(>«.:.................. | 1912 | French Line | Turbo-electric Turbo-electric Turbo-electric Turbo-electric Motor ship Motor ship | |||
| 1931 | P.&O. | 22,547 |
| ||
t’vhairj.......... | 1931 | P.&O. | 22,544 | 194 194 | ||
| 1931 | Furness Withy | 22,424 | |||
Wen of Bermuda ...... | ..Bldg | Furness Withy | 22,424 | |||
Vc,antara .................... | 1926 | R.M.S.P. | 22,181 |
| ||
1{i«rias.;..................... | 1925 | R.M.S.P. | 22,071 |
| ||
| 1924 | At. Trans. | 21,998 |
|
| |
ptnnewaska....... !. | 1923 | At. Trans. | 21,716 |
| Turbo-electric. Made 22.2 knots on trials | |
| 1930 | Dollar | 21,936 |
| ||
| 1931 | Dollar | 21,936 | 18* 18* | ||
y„rt L-00“a«e............... | 1927 | Ham. Amer. | 21,867 |
| ||
pMurg.;...... :::::::......... | 1925 | Ham. Amer. | 21,691 | Ex-German Tirpitz | ||
| 1914 | Can. Pac. Rwy. | 21,833 | 194 | ||
| 1920 | Italia | 21,657 |
| ||
repress ofCanada ".V.'. | 1922 | Can. Pac. Rwy. | 21,517 | 18* |
| |
\Honi„ ’ .............. | 1914 | Ham. Sud. Amer. | 21,011 |
| ||
Zyh,,:.......... | 1923 | P.&O. | 20,952 |
|
| |
An°ja............................ | 1923 | P. & O. | 20,914 |
|
| |
fart Rallin ................... | 1923 | Ham. Amer. | 20,931 | 18* |
| |
V^chland..... ............. | 1923 | Ham. Amer. | 20,742 | Turbo-electric Turbo-electric Motor ship Turbo-electric | ||
| 1928 | Amer. Lines | 20,773 | 18 | ||
| 1929 | Amer. Lines | 10,526 | 154 | ||
| 1930 | Union-Castle | 20,445 | |||
California 6.... ........... | 1928 | Amer. Lines | 20,325 |
| ||
Sw, ..................... .... | 1925 | Cunard | 20,277 |
| Motor ship | |
| 1928 | Swed. Amer. | 20,223 |
| ||
........ | 1923 | Cunard | 20,175 |
|
| |
hUchess of Bedford.. | 1928 | Can. Pac. Rwy. | 20,123 | 1 / 5 17* 15* 15* |
| |
W&ess of Athnll ..... | 1928 | Can. Pac. Rwy. | 20,119 | Motor ship Motor ship | ||
| 1930 | Union-Castle | 20,109 | |||
| 1926 | Union-Castle | 20,063 | |||
jj'tnto ...................... | 1925 | Orient | 20,032 |
|
| |
| 1928 | Can. Pac. Rwy. | 20,022 |
|
| |
rWness of York ...... | 1928 | Can. Pac. Rwy. | 20,021 |
|
| |
Uronsav ' | 1925 | Orient | 20,001 |
|
| |
Ten Historic Vessels | 1840 | Cunard | 1,156 | 207 X 34 680 X 82 3664X 474 358 X 424 455 X 45 | 9 | First Cunard |
| 1858 | Various | 4,667 |
|
| |
icotia ........................... | 1863 | Cunard |
|
| ||
...................... | 1867 | Cunard | 2,960 5,000 8,127 10,500 6,844 12,950 20,000 | 15* 19 19 17* |
| |
| 1872 | White Star |
| |||
fabric ......................... | 1885 | Cunard | 5Uv a a/ 5274X 63 |
| ||
| 1889 | Inman |
| |||
| 1891 | Union |
|
| ||
ifapania..................... <il^r Wilhelm II........ | 1892 1903 | Cunard N. Ger. Lloyd | 600 X 65 678 X 73 | 23* |
|
^°rious Notes
Bids for two ocean mail contracts which may te<luire the expenditure of $23,300,000 for ship instruction during the next 10 years will be opened at the Post-office Department February 20.
. The first route calls for service from New Or- eans to the British Isles, Houston to Northern
Europe, Galveston to the Mediterranean, Adriatic and Black Sea ports, and Galveston to Honolulu, Shanghai, and other Pacific and transpacific
ports. .
The second route calls for service from Baltimore, Philadelphia, Boston, Portland or New York to the British Isles.
On the first route a total of $20,000,000 must be spent for construction of new vessels or reconstruction of old ones unless the postmaster general decrees this amount is unnecessary. The other route entails the expenditure of $3,300,000.
The last Lloyd’s Register gives the following shipbuilding figures:
| Jan. 1, 1933 | Sept. 30, 1932 | Jan. 1, 1932 |
Great Britain and Ire- |
|
|
|
land.......................... | 225,497 | 238,433 | 400,505 |
France........................ | 101,675 | 109,285 | 164,440 |
Germany..................... | 80,310 | 80,770 | 103,981 |
Japan........................... | 63,345 | 46,441 | 53,280 |
United States.............. | 59,628 | 124,703 | 207,837 |
Italy............................. | 59,113 | 127,969 | 178,287 |
Sweden........................ | 58,530 | 73,480 | 95,380 |
Holland........................ | 39,450 | 40,349 | 67,866 |
Spain............................ | 33,412 | 21,412 | 55,241 |
Statistics of shipbuilding in the United States compiled by Marine Engineering and Shipping Age show that in the past year the total output of American yards dropped below the 200,000- gross-ton level for the first time in many years. During 1932, 175 merchant vessels of all types, totaling 197,444 gross tons, and 2 naval vessels, totaling 11,100 displacement tons were delivered from 45 shipyards. Twenty-four of the yards reported 37 merchant vessels of 62,361 gross tons and 18 naval vessels of 97,400 displacement tons under construction at the end of the year.
The output in 1932 represents a decrease of 34.5 per cent, as compared with that of 1931, while the tonnage under construction at the end of the year shows a decrease of 74.5 per cent, as compared with that of 1931.
Forty-seven yards were active during the year as compared with 69 in 1931, 76 in 1930, 63 in 1929, and 44 in 1928. The 24 yards reporting orders compare with 38 in 1931, 41 in 1930, 48 in 1929, and 33 in 1928.
It is rumored that Swayne & Hoyt, Ltd., operators of the Gulf-Pacific Line, are contemplating placing a contract for the construction of a new 9,000-ton passenger and cargo ship to cost about $1,600,000 for operation between the Pacific coast and the Gulf. The vessel is to have a speed of about 13 knots. It is also rumored that plans are under consideration by other American steamship companies for the construction of about 18 ships and the reconditioning of a dozen more other vessels as soon as conditions warrant the necessary expenditures.
Seventeen lives were lost on January 4 when the French liner L’Atlantique burned in the
Channel. The gutted hull was later towed Cherbourg.
The Japanese shipping demolition and re building plan requires the demolition of a prop01' . tion of old tonnage when subsidies for build10® new tonnage are granted. The curious result 0 this arrangement is that several shipping c0'j! panies are obliged to buy old tonnage for dem0*1 tion in order to obtain the subsidy. The f0-'0 Kisen Kaisha and the Kawasaki Kisen Kais°® have both been obliged to do so at a cost of * - per gross register ton, of which Y12.50 is paid b) the subvention.
AVIATION
Carrier and Cruiser Aircraft;
Offensive or Defensive?
Army, Navy and Air Force Gazette’ London, December 29, 1932.'—The vergence of view manifested at the dlS' armament conference in regard to the use of aircraft carriers finds reflection in dlC building programs of the various navies’ Only the United States and Japan ha^'e new aircraft carriers under constructio11. It will be recalled that the naval commlS' sion appointed by the conference to select those weapons whose character is most specifically offensive, most efflcacion5 against national defense, or most threaten' ing to civilians, was quite unable to agreC about aircraft carriers. Great Britain, United States, and Argentina held that they are not an offensive type, but are vulnerable. France concurred generally’ but with the reservation that if a statc adopts a policy of aggression, then ah' craft carriers do come within the thfee categories mentioned. Germany, Italy* and over a dozen smaller powers, which d° not possess carriers, regarded them as del1' nitely offensive. Perhaps the most sign1*1' cant decision was that of the Japanese delegation, which declared that carried are specifically offensive in that they cal1 make surprise attacks against inland re' gions, they enhance the capacity of a fleC for attack, and being a new arm, serve destructive purposes as yet unforC seen. Japan goes even further and advo
6-
in.
aff,
Plane
for scouting purposes. These ma-
all
new cruisers to be so fitted. The latest
Cates that any warships equipped with a®ding-on platforms or decks must be Massed as offensive. Up to the present no jjblinary warship has been provided with a ^ng-on deck, but this is quite a future Possibility, especially in cruisers in which tle armament is reduced from 8-in. to
guns or less. The question, therefore, ects only bona fide carriers for the present> and the fact that the United States possesses the two largest vessels of this ass in the world, the Lexington and Sara- °8a (and incidentally the most powerful ''aval air service), may well have influenced the Japanese in the stand they are taking against the carrier type. Mean- aile, the new carrier Ryujo is due for ^mpietion early in the New Year at °kohama. She is a 7,600-ton ship, of ^'knot speed. The number of aircraft she Can accommodate is not yet disclosed, but as Provision is made for twelve 5.1-in. it can scarcely be very large. In the fiited States, the Ranger, due for com? etion in the spring of 1934, is to be of ”>800 tons and 29.5-knot speed, with only ^'{ght 5-in. guns. She will have accommoda- l0nfor 76 planes.
yice Admiral Osami Nagano has exP ained, in an interview at Geneva, that the Japanese proposals include the ^mplete abolition of aircraft carriers and 1 landing decks on warships, it is not r°Posed to interfere with the present sys-
Under which certain ships carry a seay ines are regarded as weapons of protec- °u rather than of offense. The number of essels carrying aircraft in this way incases each year. It is the practice for
^btish cruiser in commission, the Exeter, y* two seaplanes. Earlier ships like the j 0rf and Dorsetshire have one. More than aircraft is carried in all the new foreign Risers. The U.S.S. Augusta has 2 cata- j^lts and 4 planes. The Japanese Atago as 4 planes, and the French Sujjren class
have 3. Even the smaller Dutch cruiser Java, of 6,770 tons, has 2 seaplanes. The extent of the accommodation and weight to be allocated to aircraft in the designs of new cruisers is evidently going to be a question of increasing perplexity to the naval architect.
Aircraft Materials
N.A.C.A. Annual Report, 1932.—During the past several years a great amount of work has been done on light-weight alloys for aircraft use. Many of these researches, although showing considerable promise, must await further experience and application before their true worth can be appraised. Some of the work, however, has resulted in new and improved metals which have already been adopted in aircraft and aircraft-engine construction. Two types of aluminum alloys have been especially investigated. These are the aluminum-silicon alloys and the aluminum-magnesium alloys.
The aluminum-silicon alloys have been utilized to a considerable extent in the past in the casting field, principally because of their excellent casting characteristics. These alloys possessed, however, some disadvantages, such as relatively low strength and elastic properties and relatively poor machinability. The silicon alloys have been developed to a degree that these characteristics have improved materially. The corrosion resistance of this type of alloy, which has always been considered one of its advantages, has been augmented by the careful control of impurities and by heat treatment.
Of particular interest is the development of a silicon alloy for the production of forged engine pistons. This alloy has a tensile strength of 52,000 pounds per square inch, 5 per cent elongation, and 115 Brin- nell hardness. The use of the forging process in the fabrication of pistons enables the attainment of an integrity of metal and a freedom from porosity which cannot be obtained by a casting process. This type of piston has been so successful that it is being adopted as standard by several aircraft-engine manufacturers.
The aluminum-magnesium alloys have long been recognized as possessing potentially valuable characteristics. Difficulties, however, incident to their fabrication have greatly retarded their application. Methods have been developed whereby sound castings may be obtained with practically any concentration of magnesium and these alloys possess many characteristics of interest for aircraft purposes.
In the field of magnesium alloys the greatest developments have been in the consolidation of information and the gradually increasing use of this material in aircraft. The adoption of the acid dip, both for cleaning the surface of the castings and to make them more resistant to corrosion, has met with such success that these alloys are finding considerable favor with aircraft-engine manufacturers. Unlike aluminum alloys, these alloys do not appear to be susceptible to the intergranular type of corrosion and when they do corrode it is immediately evident on the surface in an apparently magnified form. This feature facilitates their inspection and maintenance.
The use of stainless steel in aircraft construction continues to show progress. Its service tests in exhaust manifolds, wing ribs, seaplane floats, control and anchor cables, struts, and streamline wire have demonstrated its practicability in general and in particular its ability to resist corrosion under the extreme conditions of weather exposure. The difficulties early experienced with machining and welding of this steel have been largely overcome by improved chemical composition and by limiting the carbon constituent to a maximum of 0.07.
Although metals hold the greatest attention along the lines of research and refinement, other materials, such as plywood, glues, textiles, and protective coatings have not been overlooked, and gra^ ual improvement in their physical proper ties has been made, especially in conned tion with those properties which are rectly useful in their aircraft application' A development in protective coatihS which appears from exposure and exper1^ mental service tests to be of outstanding merit is the bakelite varnish pigment ^ with 300-mesh aluminum powder. The r suits so far obtained indicate that it " supersede other types of coatings. It 1 especially applicable to aircraft parts wh> ^ are subject to corrosion and which will e* perience severe exposure conditions, as, example, the interior and exterior surfa of aluminum-alloy seaplane floats.
Various Notes
United States
The Herbert Schiff Memorial awarded annually to the naval aviation sclua^gep making the best record for safe flying, has • won by the Marine Fighting Squadron 1 1 stationed at San Diego. , oC
During the fiscal year 1931-32 the squa flew 1,862.25 hours without accident. This *se first time the trophy has been won by a n°a j, squadron, and the second time it has been by a fighting squadron.
a *r tin1^
Transcontinental and Western Air sjj schedules between California and New Y°r, urj be reduced almost one-third to 16 and 18 ^g, early next spring, according to a recent anno ment. This will be accomplished by t'v0 types of Northrop and Douglas transports. ^ mail and express planes will exceed 200 cutting the present schedule of 22 hours an ^ minutes to slightly more than 16 hours. The passenger transport, designed to „ssr«f24 m.p.h., will reduce the present schedule hours and 42 minutes to about 18 hours. ,
n
The Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Co., ^ the B/J Aircraft Corporation have each reC.e „ed produced experimental military aircraft eqn "-ces, with slots and flaps. By use of these “e^cted lower landing and take-off speeds are exp without sacrifice of top speed.
. the ^
During the first month of operation, ^oB's cently inaugurated Air Express Corpora ^ service between Los Angeles and New averaged 16 hours per flight eastbound an per flight westbound.
o is expected that the Naval Air Station, Unriyvale, California, will be commissioned by 12^’ Approximately 320 enlisted men and dnf empl°yees will be assigned there for
Nautical Almanac office of the United Naval Observatory has issued an experi- eMal publication, the Air Almanac, which is ^signed to meet the special needs of the aerial . Vlgator. Comments and suggestions have been Vlted from both aerial and marine navigators.
Contracts for airplane construction for the Ojj* Air Corps, totaling approximately $3,880,> have been awarded, the War Department jounced on January 26.
j “ese include 111 P-26 (Boeing) pursuit air- ^nes, 26 YB-12, -13, and -14 (Martin) bombing ariel aneS, 10 C'27A (Bellanca) cargo transports, d 15 0-38E (Douglas) observation airplanes.
Great Britain
the House of Commons recently, the Under tQttetary of State for Air said that it was difficult ^ 'ndicate in brief compass the immense growth yj?re had been in the responsibilities of the Air dRstry since 1921. He would, however, cite ’J’- examples.
f "1 There were now 2.5 times as many squad- as had then existed.
The Air Ministry had in 1921 no special fusibilities overseas, whereas it was now *r8ed w*th the defense of areas whose combined ent exceeded that of Germany.
1 ) So far as concerned civil aviation there Ctre 'a 1921 only 160 civil pilots and 218 civil air- 3qq °n the British register as compared with ’, ” Pilots and 1,032 aircraft in 1932. de ) As indicating the effect of these and similar Jel°Pments upon the work at headquarters, the p of incoming correspondence was now 48 r Cent larger than in 1921, while the number of ^rd groups transmitted over the Air Ministry p . ess telegraphy system in a typical 24-hour ?°d had risen from about 4,000 to 30,000.
(]■ espite all this and the difficulties due to the iPersion of the Air Ministry among six different ‘‘dings the number of the headquarters staff ip 8 today lower by 12 per cent than it had been bp ^ • A further reduction of 29 individuals had etl effected since January 1, 1932.
^Thr Committee of the Houston Mount-Ever- pj Expedition has chosen two Westland air- j,a“es for its forthcoming aerial ascent of Mt. .crest (29,002 ft.). Both the machines are now lng specially modified to the very special requirements of the expedition. Both will have Bristol Pegasus S.3 supercharged engines and all military equipment is being removed. In addition, wheel fairings and brakes and other items that would add to the weight of the machine are also being removed so that the required service ceiling of 34,000 ft. may be easily reached in spite of the comprehensive load that will have to be carried by each machine.
This load will consist of approximately 90 gallons of fuel, crew of two, full oxygen and heating equipment, “Eagle” type camera, cinematograph camera, and other special instruments and equipment for the work over Everest.
The two Fleet Air Arm flights recently brought home from the Mediterranean in H.M.S. Glorious, are now at home stations, No. 405 (Flycatchers) at Netheravon and No. 460 (Rip- ons) at Manston. The former, when reconstituted is to go to China for service with the Fifth Cruiser Squadron. Number 409 (Fighter and Reconnaissance) flight, equipped with Hawker Nimrod fleet fighters and Osprey reconnaissance machines, has been assigned to replace these two flights in the Glorious.
Five airplanes of No. 39 (Bomber) squadron, have recently concluded an interesting flight over hitherto inaccessible country in the Himalayas. The flight involved climbing to an altitude of over 26,000 ft. The airplanes were Hawker Harts equipped with Rolls-Royce Kestrel engines, unsupercharged.
Japan
The War Office will bring together next spring more than 400 military planes for maneuvers to test the efficiency of the air corps in its new form of organization. It will be the biggest event of its kind in this country. Though the exact date has not yet been fixed, says the Tokyo Nichi Nichi, it will probably take place just before the special army maneuvers in the spring.
Regiments participating in the maneuvers will include the first and second, stationed at the Kagamigahara army airfield; the fourth, attached to the Tachiarai airfield; the fifth, attached to the Tachikawa airfield; and possibly the eighth, stationed in Formosa. In addition, there will be scores of planes from the Tokorozawa, the Shimo- shitsu, the Akeno, and the Chiba army air schools. The Sixth Regiment, stationed at the Heijo airfield, Korea, is not expected to participate.
The Japan Advertiser states that six Japanese officers and non-commissioned officers were killed recently and one private injured seriously when
of Liore-et-Olivier, was killed while flyin&
t¥ be
that this was M. Martin’s first solo flight in direct-control type, in which the controls
the plane carrying them was wrecked by an explosion just as it was making a forced landing after being hit in mid-air by a shell from a bandit anti-aircraft gun near Wanpaoshan, 20 miles northwest of Changchun. A further report states that the airplane exploded by reason of the bomb- racks striking the ground, indicating that the racks were partially loaded.
General Sadao Araki, Minister of War, and Admiral Mineo Osumi, Minister of the Navy, replying to an interpellator in the House of Peers recently said the army and navy were striving their utmost to provide the empire with adequate air defenses.
They contended that national interest in aviation was greatly heightened and that the 1933-34 budget appropriated funds for further important improvements.
Admiral Osumi rejected the idea of an air ministry in addition to the army and navy departments, asserting that Japanese leaders concurred with American leaders in recent studies leading to rejection of such a plan. The navy building program will add several squadrons to naval aviation, increasing the numbers and units of planes nearly 50 per cent in the next four years.
France
On December 19, 1932, at Villacoublay, M. Martin, the autogiro test pilot for the French firm
tie
new direct-control autogiro built by his comPa ^ This accident acquires a melancholy intereS that it is the first fatality in an autogiro- ^ machine in question was the first autogiro o ^ to incorporate the new direct control and on® its type was shown in the Paris Salon dc l ^ nautique. Senor Don Juan de la Cierva, inventor, made the initial test flights and machine appeared quite satisfactory. A desC , tion of the accident attributes it to the locked while reviving up the rotors, and that ^ forgot to unlock them before taking off- *■ ^ controls were found to be fully locked after accident. This particular model attracted c siderable attention when displayed in Paris-
The Netherlands
Two new types of high-speed transport pla® g one to carry up to 20 passengers at a crUl ^ speed of 155 miles an hour and the other to c either 32 passengers by day or convertible for 16 passengers, are nearing completion for . Royal Dutch Lines, K. L. M. The new Pla -t for use on its Holland-Java service, the l^nS ( air line in the world, are being built by the 10 J Company at Amsterdam. They will be equ>F> with 3 and 4 Wright R-1820-F engines, resP tively.