UNITED STATES
Vessels under Construction, Progress as of March 1, 1936
Modernization
Sun, Baltimore, February 6.—An extensive modernization program topped a list of recommendations given Congress today in a White House-approved drive toward a treaty-strength navy by 1942.
Chairman Vinson (Dem., Ga.) of the Naval Affairs Committee introduced bills to carry out the program, and said he would seek their early consideration.
The Navy memorandum, which said the recommendations were in line with policies approved by President Roosevelt, urged modernization of 6 warships, 2 aircraft carriers and 1 repair ship; improvements for 14 battleships, and construction of 221,000 tons of auxiliary craft.
The 14 battleships were said by the Navy to be “deficient in fundamental characteristics differentiating battleships from other types of vessels, namely, the effectiveness and efficiency in battle after damage has been sustained.”
Re-engining of the Oklahoma, the New York, and the Texas together with replacement of their anti-aircraft batteries with modem installations, was proposed in the program.
It also would provide for installation of modem fire-control systems in the Tennessee and California and improvements of aircraft operators and anti-aircraft defense on the aircraft carriers Lexington and Saratoga. The Prometheus, a repair ship, would be converted into an oil-burning vessel.
The department recommended correction of compartmentation and damage- control deficiencies on the West Virginia, Maryland, Colorado, California, Tennessee, New Mexico, Mississippi, Idaho, Arizona, Pennsylvania, Oklahoma, Nevada, New York, and Texas at a cost not to exceed $6,000,000.
“These deficiencies,” said a letter from Henry L. Roosevelt, acting Secretary of the Navy, “have resulted in part from lack of current appropriations to correct defects as they developed, but in the greater part because of operational practices which made raising of the standards of compartmentation imperative.”
The letter added that vessels, designed and constructed to standards considered adequate at the time, “are now recognized as deficient in varying degree when called upon to carry out the excellent battle procedures which have been developed by operating personnel.”
Representative May (Dem., Ky.), chairman of the Naval Appropriations subcommittee, has indicated the new appropriation bill will carry funds for modernization or replacement of existing vessels. The bills introduced today merely provide authorization for the program and carry no appropriations.
The 1937 fiscal year budget submitted by President Roosevelt estimated $182,-500,000 for construction of naval vessels as compared with $126,905,000 appropriated in 1936.
This figure, however, does not represent the total funds available. The 1936 appropriation act reappropriated and made available $6,000,000 from unexpended balances of former appropriations.
The Navy budget also showed large unexpended balances from regular appropriations and allotments from emergency funds to be carried forward for expenditure in 1936 and 1937, amounting to approximately $100,000,000 applicable to 1936 and $60,500,000 to 1937.
The budget report stated if these additional funds are taken into account, the expenditures for 1936 will approximate $233,000,000 and for 1937 about $243,000,- 000.
Chairman Trammell (Dem., Fla.) of the Senate Naval Affairs Committee has introduced companion bills to those submitted by Vinson. The Appropriation Bill, however, must originate in the House.
In addition to ship construction the Navy budget carries an estimate of $22,250,000 for new aircraft, as compared with $26,715,000. It was explained, however, that the 1936 Navy Appropriation Act included $8,500,000 to pay for aircraft purchased under contract during prior years and also authorized contracts for 1936 for the purchase of additional aircraft up to $6,590,000 in excess of the amount appropriated.—Washington, Feb. 6.
Various Notes
Engineers of the interstate commerce commission, apparently convinced the Senate Munitions Committee today that the private shipbuilders ought to be put out of business when they reported that the government could take over all the work with an investment of $24,000,000. —Tribune, Chicago. Washington, D. C., Feb. 6.
Investigation by a joint committee into the actual costs of building naval vessels in government and private shipyards was demanded last night by H. Gerrish Smith, president of the National Council of American Shipbuilders, who asserted that testimony given before the Senate munitions investigating committee on Thursday was inaccurate. He also challenged any one to prove that a naval vessel can be built cheaper by the government under present conditions than by private firms.
The testimony which Mr. Smith referred to was presented by Charles H. Spencer, head valuation engineer of the Interstate Commerce Commission, and his assistant, F. W. Amadon. They submitted figures which purported to show that a government navy yard, despite its higher cost for labor and material, was able to build a naval vessel much cheaper than a private firm.—Herald Tribune, N. Y.
Albert E. Carter (Rep., Calif.) said today he expects the Navy Department next week will endorse his bill to construct a huge naval air station at Alameda, involving eventual expenditure of $15,000,000.
Ground has already been provided for the proposed station, near the present Pan-American Airways base, which is to be moved, probably to Mills Field.
The House Appropriations Committee is finishing a report on the War Department’s supply bill and is expected to submit it to the floor Monday, appropriating $575,000,000, including $15,000,000 for constructing west coast defenses. Most of this latter money will be used in building placements for 16-in. coastal defense artillery.
The bill carries further sums for strengthening Panama and Hawaii defenses, plus financing construction of 500 war planes within a year’s time. —Honolulu Advertiser. Washington, Feb. 8.
The U. S. Navy launched the U.S.S. Smith, fast 1,500-ton destroyer, at ceremonies attended by 10,000 persons at the Mare Island Navy Yard today.
Mrs. Yancy S. Williams, wife of the commandant of the navy yard, sponsored the destroyer, named for Lieutenant Joseph Bryant Smith, Civil War Navy hero.—Tribune, Chicago. Vallejo, Calif., Feb. 20.
GREAT BRITAIN
Enlisted Men’s Uniform
Nautical Magazine, February.—The jubilee naval review celebrations of 1935 have drawn attention once more to the dress of the British bluejacket, and many persons must have been interested in seeing its latest developments. The tendency of the last 25 years has been all in the direction of simplifying the kit, and incidentally of doing away with much that was picturesque. The white “sennit” hat has gone, probably never to return. The objections to it were its unsuitability in rough and wet weather when its brim would collect any quantity of rain water like a gutter, and the difficulty of its stowage on the mess deck when not in use.
It has sometimes been deplored that the men of the Royal Navy have now no headgear to be worn on ceremonial occasions. When guards are paraded for royalty, although the officers appear in grander clothes with cocked hats, the rank and file don nothing more ceremonious than their usual Sunday rig. The cloth trousers and serge No. 1 frock which used to be worn inside the trousers was a smart uniform, but it was uncomfortable and the extra number of articles to be supplied to each man proved to be too much of a complication. The crew of the Royal yacht, however, still retain these garments and their uniform is also distinguished from the rest of the fleet’s by their wearing white badges and watered-silk cap ribbons.
Due to the men of the Navy having to provide their own kit, there is unfortunately a door opened to the objectionable practice of a large proportion of the personnel seeking to elaborate or modify the regulation patterns of the articles of dress. This tendency is shown in the exaggerated bell bottoms of the trousers, the increased length of the jumper—as low as the thighs instead of as far as the hips, the cutting down of the neck opening in front sometimes as far as the waist, the suppression of the “bight” in which the black silk scarf is supposed to be tied, and the taking of liberties with the pattern of the blue collar and the bow of the cap ribbon. It would be unfair to charge the whole of the Navy “dressed as seamen” with these breaches of the regulations; there are in fact many large bodies of men and boys who are perfectly and most smartly turned out without any of these aids to adornment. If it is permissible to select some of these, the boys of the training establishments, both afloat and at Shotley and Gosport, the men of Whale Island, and, of course of the Royal yacht, might be pointed out as examples of the way in which a rating should be garbed. Occasionally a commodore, stricter than usual, of one of the Royal Naval Barracks has made an attempt to tighten up discipline in this direction, but at best it is a thankless task with an ever- shifting ship’s company. At sea the efforts of the most conscientious commanding officers have often been fruitless and sometimes recoiled with disaster upon the heads of the divisional officers, who either incurred official disfavor or made themselves unhappy by constant nagging at their men and inflicting upon them the exasperating punishment of “mustering their bag in the dinner-hour”—a process of laying out a man’s entire wardrobe for inspection.
This tampering with their uniform on the part of grown men must appear to the civilian as the most childish of characteristics, which has and cannot have any counterpart in the conditions in the other services. It would be idle to entertain for an instant the idea of a grenadier guardsman interfering with the waistline of his tunic or the arrangement of buttons on it, and similar remarks apply I think to the men of the Royal Air Force and even to the police; the King’s uniform of the Senior Service is bound, then, to suffer by such comparisons.
The remedy seems to lie either in a stricter enforcement of the Dress Regulations by a mandate from Whitehall, or the abolition of the debatable practice of naval ratings clothing themselves. If uniform were supplied to bluejackets by the Crown and fitted by authorized naval tailors, and penalities imposed for any private alteration to the official dress, the existing evil might be abolished. It would be easy to include ratings with tailoring qualifications in the supply branch, and the amount of “slops” to be carried in a ship need not be appreciably increased. This plan is managed perfectly well with regard to the Royal Marine detachments serving in our men-of-war, and could be extended to the whole ship’s company.
Health of Recruits
Army, Navy and Air Force Gazette, February.—It is somewhat disconcerting to look at the report of the medical examination of recruits, which is included in the “Report on the Health of the Army for the year 1934.” For there it is shown how, even with the lower physical standards now accepted, out of 79,903 men who presented themselves for enlistment a total of 49,446, or 52.7 per cent, had to be rejected on grounds of health. These figures are the more serious when it is remembered that it is only those thinking themselves fit enough for military service who offer themselves thus, and that the Army, being short of men, is not turning away any who might make into soldiers with better feeding and healthier life. Such a state of affairs should cause not only the gravest national concern, but also immediate remedial action. It is fortunate that the report goes into the detailed causes for rejection. Most of these are medical, being in this order: diseases of the middle ear and bad teeth—the two principal causes; then defects of the lower extremities; diseases of the heart; defective vision; flat feet, and finally insufficient weight. Most of these would seem to point to a too low standard of living, not in the sense of an absence of luxuries, but of necessities. And this opinion is confirmed by the large number of underfed. The report, in fact, says of those accepted, i.e., of the best 48 per cent:
The average weights of recruits on enlistment are substantially above the minimum of 112 lb. and any lowering of that standard would be most undesirable. The increase during the period of training varies between some 5 lb. and nearly a stone. . . .
It may be that bad feeding is very largely due to ignorance about food and the body generally, but the State has the remedy for this since it controls education, in which much valuable time and money are wasted on non-essentials at present. There are, however, many cases where food is simply insufficient and where allowance for feeding is inadequate, as in the case of the 2s. allowed per week for the children of the unemployed. There is little doubt, too, that much more extensive, much more efficient, and much cheaper medical care should be made available to the people.
Specialists and Promotion
Army, Navy and Air Force Gazette, January 23. —The New Year naval promotions have raised again rather forcibly the question of the influence of specialization on the chance of advancement. Of the 13 new captains, 10 are specialists, and of the 25 new commanders, 18 are specialists, the percentages being 77 among the captains and 72 among the commanders. Over the promotion zones, however, the proportion of specialists to the total officers is somewhere between 40 and 50 per cent. The gunnery men are again in the ascendant, and the figures go to show that the pre-war slogan, gunnery is the royal road to advancement, has lost none of its truth, and also that pre-war ideas have not changed and envisage the gun vs. gun battle as being that of the future. Five of the new captains and six of the new commanders were-gunnery lieutenants, but no other specialist branch claims more than three. The new captains also include two torpedo specialists and three signal specialists, but no navigators this time, and, what is more surprising and more disturbing to modernists, no officer with experience in the Fleet Air Arm. The branches of the new commanders are: gunnery, 6; signals, torpedoes, navigation, air pilots, air observers and submarines, 2 each; non-specialists, 7. There is no advancement on this occasion of any executive officer promoted to commissioned rank from the lower deck.
Various Notes
The British Admiralty moved quietly to man its depleted Home Fleet today. An order permitting pensioners to rejoin the Navy reached fleet ports from the Admiralty, as the outgrowth of the massing of ships in the Mediterranean and the recommissioning of decommissioned craft for service in home waters. Men in their fifties were invited to return to service at the Home Fleet base at Portland. In addition to retaining their pensions, they will also get the standard rate of pay.—Herald Tribune, N. Y. London, Feb. 14. (A.P.)
A case of sabotage aboard the British cruiser Cumberland at Chatham was announced tonight by the Admiralty. The matter is under investigation, but further announcement “would not be in the public interest,” the Admiralty stated. It was understood electrical equipment of the warship was damaged. This is the third warship sabotage incident in the last three months. Previously the battleship Royal Oak and the submarine Oberon, at the Devonsport dockyard, were concerned. The Admiralty conducted investigations, but did not announce findings.—Herald, Washington. London, Feb. 19. (U.P.)
A complete British rearmament plan necessitating the expenditure of 1,500 million dollars during the next 3 years is being formulated, it was learned authoritatively today. The reasons for such a huge outlay, which will be financed through a defense loan, will be fully explained during the present session of Parliament and will be the cause for much plain speaking on the present international situation.—Herald, Washington. London, Feb. 8. (U.P.)
The four destroyers of the Canadian Navy are to carry out training cruises to Bermuda, Jamaica, and ports in the West Indies, in the course of which they will join up with ships of the Royal Navy. The Saguenay and Champlain, forming the Eastern Division, are expected at Bermuda coming from Halifax. The Skeena and Vancouver, forming the Western Division, will leave Esquimalt for the Panama Canal, and after calling at various ports will meet the Eastern Division at Kingston, Jamaica, on February 20.
On February 26 all 4 destroyers will leave Kingston to carry out exercises and will anchor as convenient in Jamaican ports. Last year the vessels worked together until mid-April, and met some of the ships of the Home Fleet of the Royal Navy which were on a cruise in those parts. This year no Home Fleet ships can be spared to visit the West Indies in the course of the spring cruise. —Times, London.
The cruiser Southampton will be launched from the yard of John Brown and Co., Ltd., Clydebank, on March 10. She is the second of the new 9,000-ton ships named after cities of the United Kingdom, 8 of which are building or authorized. The first, H.M.S. Newcastle, is due to be launched next Thursday by Vickers-Armstrongs, Ltd., at Walker-on-Tyne.
The Southampton has been on the stocks since November, 1934. She should be ready for her trials about a year hence. In this new class twelve 6-in. guns are carried, as compared with eight in the 7,000-ton cruisers of the Leander type and six in the 5,200-ton cruisers of the Arethusa type, the building of which is not being continued.—Times, London.
It is officially announced that H.M.A.S. Yarra commissioned at Sydney on January 21, 1936. The Yarra is a sloop built for the Australian Navy at Cockatoo Island Dockyard, Sydney, where she was launched on March 28 last. A second sloop, the Swan, is also building there. Both are similar in design to the Grimsby class in the Royal Navy, but are heavier and with a different armament. The estimated displacement is 1,060 tons, compared with the 990 tons of the Grimsby, and the armament includes three 4-in. guns instead of two 4.7-in. and one 3-in. There also are 13 smaller guns in the Yarra and 12 in the Swan. —Times, London.
The Admiralty announce that, subject to the settlement of certain points of detail, they have decided to entrust the construction of the following vessels of the 1935 program to the firms mentioned:
Mine laying submarine, H.M.S. Cachalot, to Scotts’ Shipbuilding and Engineering Co., Ltd., Greenock.
Surveying ship, H.M.S. Gleaner, and sloop mine sweeper H.M.S. Hazard, to William Gray and Co., Ltd., West Hartlepool.
Our naval correspondent writes:
“H.M.S. Cachalot will be of the Porpoise class of mine laying submarine, of which 4 others are built and building. The value of such a contract is about £350,000. The displacement of the new vessel will be about 1,520 tons, and in addition to her mines she will probably carry one 4-in. gun, 2 smaller guns, and 6 torpedo tubes. The Scotts’ Co. have not built a mine laying submarine since the war, but other submarines have been launched by them, and at present they have the Seawolf fitting out.
Messrs. Gray and Co. are new to the Admiralty list of contractors since the war, so far as regular men-of-war are concerned. The orders they have now received will be specially welcome to the North-East Coast district, although, of course, as with all warship contracts, it is not only the neighborhood of the builders of the hull which benefits, since employment is circulated over a much wider area. The value of each ship is just over £100,000.—Times, London.
The arrangement made over two years ago for the cruisers Dunedin and Diomede, of the New Zealand Division of the Royal Navy, to be replaced by new cruisers of the Leander class will shortly begin to take effect. H.M.S. Achilles, which returned to the Nore early in November from duty with the Second Cruiser Squadron at Gibraltar, will be recommissioned for duty as flagship of the division in succession to the Dunedin. A list of officers required to volunteer for service on loan to the New Zealand government in the Achilles was circulated in Fleet Orders.
The Dunedin and Diomede were built under the emergency war program and laid down in 1917- 18; the former ship is already beyond the official age limit. The Dunedin has been lent to New Zealand since 1924 and the Diomede since 1925. Since the Leander class are larger, with a displacement of 7,000 tons compared with 4,850, and with complements of 570 instead of 460 officers and men, they will be more expensive to maintain— probably over £600,000 annually against the £460,000 of the “D” class. For this, however, the Dominion will obtain up-to-date ships, faster and stronger, and equipped with aircraft. No ship- borne aircraft have hitherto served in the New Zealand Division.—Times, London.
In notices to mariners the Admiralty have again circulated information regarding floating mines which may occasionally be met with. They may be either dummy British mines or mines originally laid before November, 1918, either British or foreign. British dummy mines are filled with sand or some similar substance instead of explosive and have the words “sand filled” painted in large white letters round the top mouthpiece, and stamped on the top and bottom annulus rings.
As regards mines laid during the war, all evidence goes to show that these are innocuous to any ship that may strike them after this lapse of time. They are also safe for any ordinary handling, such as hoisting inboard and landing on deck, rolling over, and the like. No attempt, however, should be made to open one, or remove parts of it, except by a skilled naval rating. In order that valuable dummy mines that may have broken adrift from their moorings may be returned to the authorities the Admiralty will pay £2 for the recovery' of a floating mine found at 2 miles or less distance from the coast and delivered to the local authority in the United Kingdom; or £5 for the recovery if found at more than 2 miles from the coast. For the first report of a mine washed up on shore £10 will be paid.— Times, London.
A proposal for the extension of the port of Haifa has been approved and work is due to commence in February. It includes provision for the better berthing of our warships. For a very considerable time units of the Mediterranean Fleet have been stationed off Palestine and Haifa has practically a cruiser functioning as guard-ship. It may not be unreasonably assumed that our government foresees the possibility of a spot of bother on the political horizon in the national home for the Jewish people and the proposed setting up of a legislative council for the country is meeting with opposition from both the Jewish and Arab communities.
The presence of units of the Mediterranean Fleet off Palestine indicates the Imperial Government’s intention to maintain the peace between the two politically divergent races. The average British citizen knows next to nothing of the often critical political situation that exists in some mandated territories, and the part played by units of the British Fleet in preserving and maintaining the peace. Did he know, there would possibly be little political opposition to the measure which the government is foreshadowed to take to maintain the Navy at the requisite strength for its many peace preserving functions.—Naval and Military Record.
H.M.S. Niger, one of two mine sweeping sloops ordered by the British Government early in 1935 from Messrs. John Samuel White and Co., Ltd., was launched at East Cowes by Lady Mottistone. The customary formal launching was dispensed with owing to the death of King George.
The Niger is of the Halcyon class, and with her sister-ship, Salamander, now under construction at East Cowes, will bring the number of this particular type of vessel in the British Navy up to seven.
The vessels are 245 ft. 9 in. in length, 33 ft. 6 in. beam, and of 875 tons standard displacement. Their armament consists of two 4-in. and 9 smaller guns. Oil fuel is carried.—Naval and Military Record.
A new long-term program of construction is now being formulated covering a period equal to that of the lifetime of the present Parliament. If the naval conference is concluded by the time the estimates are presented in March, the program may be published then. But it is more likely that it will be issued about July, as was that in 1925.—Army, Navy and Air Force Gazette.
Admiral of the Fleet the Right Hon. Earl Beatty, P.C., G.C.B., O.M., G.C.V.O., D.S.O., D.C.L. (Oxon), LL.D., is placed on the retired list to date Jan. 17, 1936, on attaining the age of 65. As Admiral of the Fleet Lord Beatty is supernumerary to the Flag List, no vacancy occurs in consequence of his retirement.—Army, Navy and Air Force Gazette.
In accordance with a submission from the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty in that behalf, the King has been pleased to assume the ranks of Admiral of the Fleet in his Majesty’s Fleet. To date Jan. 21, 1936.—Army, Navy and Air Force Gazette.
FRANCE
Escort Vessels
Naval and Military Record. January 30. —Under the common appellation of escorleurs de convois, flottenbegleiter, torpediniere, France, Germany, and Italy are building torpedo boats of 600-700 tons very similar in design and having for raison d'être either the guarding of convoys against torpedo attacks or general torpedo work along the coast in co-operation with the fleet. France has 12 such vessels in hand, belonging to the 1931-32 program, Germany has 10, laid down in 1934-35, and Italy has 6 laid down within the last three years. Of such craft the German F1 (Germania, Kiel) has been the first in commission, and it looks as if the 10 German begleiter would be ready before the French, despite the fact that the latter were ordered years in advance, which points to the superior capabilities of German yards, where work is being carried out without respite night and day.
There are 4 French escorteurs practically ready, namely, Pomone and Melpomène, preparing for their trials at Lorient, and Iphigènie and Flore, on the point of leaving Nantes, where all have been built, for Lorient. They will form, in the spring, the “Première Escadrille d’Escorteurs” and be placed at the disposal of the Brest commander in chief. They will mostly train independently with a view to getting efficient for their particular task.
In truth, and despite their appellations, this interesting type of vessel marks a return to the small and handy pre-war destroyer, with a gain for speed and all-round robustness, this being the result of the substantial technical progress accomplished since the war. The French escorteurs, that have either Parsons or Rateau turbines, are designed for 22,000 hp. and 34.5 knots, and are likely to do 38 knots or more under trial conditions. The rival German boats that have higher freeboard forward, higher funnels, and every appearance to have been built for speed, may even do better. The Italian A store class only develop 19,000 hp. nominally, and may not be quite so fast, but, on the other hand, they are better armed, carrying three 4-in. quickfirers, whereas the French and German mount only two guns of 3-in. and 3.1-in. bore, respectively. French ingenieurs, remembering the lessons of the World War, have given primary importance to robustness and sea-keeping power. A handy swift weapon fit to fight submarines on the high seas is what they wanted. To that end their escorteurs, have been endowed with armored bows, prompt ramming being part of their anti-submarine tactics; special torpedoes (16-in.) and an ample supply of depth charges completing their armament.
Various Notes
Our officiers de vaisseau are satisfied with the enormous gun houses being shipped at Brest in the 26,500-tons Dunkerque. Roominess is a thing gunners have appreciated in the triple turrets of the Berlin and La Galissonniire cruisers; but in the matter of roominess there is nothing afloat to compare with the 4-guns turrets of the French Navy which are some 33 ft. wide, providing elbow room and breathing space for the crews, together with ample room for the guns and firing appliances, thus fulfilling the conditions favorable to quick and accurate fire. Ventilation and defense against fumes and gas attacks are also facilitated. Superior, too, is the defense against the heaviest shells of all types, by reason of the unusual thickness of the roof and side plates and of the huge mass and weight of the gun house, which is rather a fortress than a turret. The value of this point will be appreciated when are remembered the many instances in the World War, where ships came to grief through damage to their turrets. Small turrets are mere death traps and at the mercy of a single heavy projectile, certain to stun the gunners, even if failing to perforate. As to the turrets of all light cruisers, they are mostly make-believe.—Naval and Military Record.
The commissioning of the 7,700-tons armored cruiser La Galissonniire for duty with Admiral Darlan’s fleet has been delayed by a series of tests and minor modifications due to several new features introduced in the design. Especially interesting is the spacious hangar between the mainmast and the third triple turret, where four seaplanes of enlarged and improved type can be sheltered, handled, kept in perfect fighting trim, and, to a certain extent, repaired by the staff of specialists to be carried on board. In addition to 6 or 7 officiers aviateurs and their mechanicians, the La Galissonniire will count among her officiers de vaisseau a proportion of midshipmen or enseignes asking for nothing better than an outing skywards, since Minister Pietri’s will is that, henceforth, every naval officer, to fully qualify for promotion, must be also at home in a seaplane. This new departure, marked by the addition of seaplanes to the Brest Ecole Navale flotilla, will mean something of a revolution in cruiser warfare. Kriegspiel pastimes of which our young officers are very fond (just like their British comrades), leave no doubt as to the lively, comprehensive, and many-phased game which will be in store when two cruisers, on the war path, happen next to cross their routes on the ocean.—Naval and Military Record.
The prolonged visit of Admiral Darlan to Dakar is expected to have consequences favorable to French sea power in the Atlantic. Protection by heavy guns, submarines, and seaplanes is to have first attention. The existing store and re-fuelling depots are to be enlarged and made proof against attack; while the docking accommodation is to be improved and minor shipbuilding facilities provided, in additon to improvements in other directions.—Naval and Military Record.
French naval constructors are no longer ignoring the aërial danger. If the cruisers of the Duguay-Trouin class and the earlier representatives of the 10,000-tons series may be said to lack adequate A.A. armament, a similar reproach cannot be levelled at the battleships of the Dunkerque and France types, which will array some 40 A.A. weapons. Enthusiastic aviators, however, contend that such arsenals may prove useless in practice, the new seaplane tactics aiming at blinding the enemy by means of small “sticky” fuming missiles, before resorting to heavy bombs and torpedoes, thus leaving gunners little chance to display their skill.—Naval and Military Record.
The 2nd Squadron, under Vice Admiral Darlan, sailed from here yesterday for its cruise off Northwest Morocco. It is expected to return here at the end of February. It is composed of the battleships Provence (flagship) and Bretagne, the cruiser Duguay-Trouin, the 4th and 6th Light Divisions (21 destroyers), the 2nd and 4th Submarine Flotillas and the 2,800-ton submarine Surcouf. Other ships, including the cruiser Emile Berlin, will join the squadron at Dakar.—Times, London. Brest, Jan. 17.
The submarines Narval, Marsouin, Phoque, Souffieur, Caiman, and Morse, which form part of the submarine flotilla located at the base of Bizerta, have been dispatched to various yards on the lower Loire to be modernized. These vessels belong to the type of 1,000 tons (surface displacement) which includes 9 units of which the Requin, Espadon, and Dauphin are the other three. They came into service in 1926 and 1927. Their speed is 16 knots on the surface and they are armed with one 4-inch gun and 10 torpedo tubes.—The Navy, London.
The Navy Minister has ordered that all submarine personnel attached to a submarine be equipped with submarine salvage apparatus. Tests which have been made on this apparatus have proved very successful, and will permit the men to escape from the submarine in case of grave accident.
The French Navy applies the principle already in use in the British fleet. Modem submarines are so heavy that, if they should sink, the chances of raising them to the surface within a reasonable length of time are very small. What is necessary, then, is to save the crew. In order to do this, salvage apparatus for each individual member of the crew is necessary. It will be recalled that on board the submarine Poseidon which sank in the China Sea, nearly all members of the crew were able to come to the surface by means of the salvage apparatus when it was impossible to raise the submarine to the surface. In the British Navy, so much value is given to the individual salvage apparatus that, at Portsmouth, a large tank, with compartments similar to those in a submarine, has been built, and submarine personnel exercise at escaping from the tank under very heavy pressure. This assuredly is the best method.—Le Yacht.
The escort vessel La Bayonnaise was launched on January 28. This ship is the first of a series of four placed under construction under the 1931 building program.—Le Yacht.
The Minister of the Marine has decided that a certain number of reserve ensigns and mechanical engineers may be placed on active duty at their own request, to complete the general staff. The minimum length of service for these reservists is to be 2 years, but they will have the privilege of extending this service by 2-year periods with a maximum of service of 10 years. Those thus serving will be given a retired pay depending on the number of years served. Requests for this duty must be submitted before March 1, 1936.— Le Yacht.
Recently, a new type pursuit plane was delivered to French Naval Aviation. This seaplane is a monoplane, Potes-453, equipped with a His- pano-Suiza 80 engine, and with the engine mounted in front of the wing. With the engine thus arranged, the pilot has a clear view in all directions. There is an added advantage in that all the powerful armament, with which the plane is equipped, is grouped very close to the pilot. Its total weight is 1,840 kilograms, and with all its equipment on board it is capable of making 340 kilometers per hour, and can climb to an altitude of 10,800 ft. in 4 minutes.—Revista General de Marina.
GERMANY
The Submarine Situation as Germany Sees It
Revista Marittima.—France has real submarine cruisers as, for example, the Surcouf of 2,880 tons carrying 6-in. guns, 26 torpedoes, a seaplane, and a crew of 150 men. Thirty new French submarines have a displacement of 1,500 tons. In all, France possesses 111 submarines.
Italy has rapidly developed this branch of the service since the war. Italy has 72 submarines, of which 10 are still under construction. Of these submarines, 12 have a displacement of 1,400 tons, carry 3.6-in. guns, and have 6 torpedo tubes. Four other submarine cruisers are under construction together with 6 mine laying submarines.
England has more than 50 submarines and has recently placed several others under construction. Among these are submarines of from 1,500 to 2,000 tons. The largest submarine is the X-I of 2425-3600 tons displacement. Actually under construction are 4 mine laying submarines, each one of which will carry 120 mines. In addition eleven 600-ton coastwise submarines will be built.
Japan has about 60 submarines, all posterior to 1926. Of these, 30 finished or under construction have a displacement of 1,500 tons. The 6 more recent submarines have a displacement of 1995- 2480 tons.
The United States has 94 submarines of which 20 are of 1,500 tons. Three have a displacement of 2,710 tons and a radius of action of 18,000 miles.
According to these figures, Germany finds itself in a situation of inferiority “dangerous to her security.”—Revista Marittima.
Brief Notes
GERMANY’S new U-9, namesake of the German submarine U-9 which gained world-wide fame in the autumn of 1914, will bear the Iron Cross on her superstructure, Admiral Erich Raeder, commander of the German Navy, decreed today.
The original U-9 won the first impressive submarine victory of the war by torpedoing the British cruisers Aboukir, Cressy, and Hogue on September 22, 1914, causing the loss of more than 1,200 lives within a few minutes. Later, on October 16, the British cruiser Hawke also fell prey to the U-9.— Herald Tribune, N. Y. Berlin, Feb. 10.
IN ADDITION to the construction of a new fleet Germany is modernizing the four old units of 12,300 tons, the Hessen, Hanover, Schleswig Holstein, and Schlesien, which are about 30 years old. Their superstructures are being modified, the medium-sized guns are being changed and a new system of fire direction being introduced. Their protection is 9-inch armor and their armament four 11-in. guns, twelve 6-in. and four 3J-in. Their speed is 18 knots.—The Navy, London.
ITALY
Air Budget Increased
Herald Tribune, N. Y., February 17.—Following the example of Great Britain and the United States, whose war budgets are being heavily increased, the Italian Air Ministry today submitted estimates for the year beginning July 1, 1936, higher by 14 per cent than the aviation budget for the current year. Expenditures are set at 990,400,000 lire ($79,232,000), as against 850,000,000 lire ($68,000,000) at present.
This budget does not include any forecast for aviation needs in the East African military campaign, which, it is said, cannot be evaluated at the present time. Nearly all the extra money which Italy will spend on her air forces in the next year will go to increase the effectiveness of her plane squadrons.
In his capacity as Minister of Aviation, Premier Benito Mussolini today visited the aviation city of Guidonia, where he has centralized flying schools and laboratories for research and experimentation. lie made an inspection of the new models shown of planes for bombardment, attack, reconnoitering, and touring. II Duce also reviewed the air corps units stationed at Guidonia and made a speech to several hundred men assembled on the flying field. The text of his speech was not disclosed.—Rome, February 12.
Brief Notes
The predicted budget for the financial year 1936-37 is expected to be 1,544 million lire instead of 1,265 million of the previous year. Naval aviation will receive 970 millions of this amount, an increase of 130 millions over the previous year. The increase in the budget will be used entirely on new construction.
The cruiser Eugenio-di-Savoia entered service on January 17, having completed her trials. Her official displacement is 7,300 tons and maximum speed is 38 knots.
The 600-ton submarines placed under construction in 1935 are being built at the following shipyards: Ambra, Iris, Malachite, Onice at Odemo Terni; and the Berillo, Corallo, Dias pro. Gemma, Perla, Turchese at the Reunis de l’Adriatique.—Le Yacht.
THE FIRST shipment of Albanian petroleum to Italy took place recently. The shipment was made on the Maja of the Italian Petroleum Co. from Valona to Venice. There were shipped 4,250 tons of petroleum from the Kucova wells.
Recently, two 4,000-cu. m. reservoirs were built at Kucova. A pipe line 73 km. long joins these reservoirs with those at Valona. A new decree has just opened a credit of 70 million lire for the construction at Bari of a petroleum refinery for Albanian petroleum and for the construction of a second pipe line towards the Adriatic.—Journal de la Marine Marchande.
It is stated that the Italians are rapidly converting the port of Massawa in Eritrea into a formidable stronghold. Batteries of 15-in. guns are being mounted in concealed positions a few miles to the north of the town. Others of 4-in. guns have been emplaced commanding the bay, and on the islands outside the harbor are guns of 4 and 6 in. —The Navy, London.
JAPAN
Naval Airplanes
Japan Advertiser, January 21.—If the information given in the Kokumin is exhaustive, the Japanese Navy has no airplane in regular service with a speed of more than 178.5 mi. an hour (155 nautical mi.) or capable of more than 14| hours of sustained flight. The information is given in a table of the various types of planes used by Navy, the details of which follow:
Type 3 (carried on warships).—1-seat biplane with a single 420-hp. Jupiter type motor; maximum speed, 130 knots; hours in air at cruising speed, 2 ½; climbing speed, 3,000 m. in from 6 to 10 min.
Type 90 (carried on warships).—1-seat biplane with a single 460-hp. Kotobuki type-2 motor; maximum speed, 155 knots; hours in air at cruising speed, 3; climbing speed, 3,000 m. in five min.
Type 90 No. 2 (carried on warships).—2-seat biplane with a single 460-hp. Kotobuki type-2 motor; speed, 145 knots; hours in air at erasing speed, 6 ½.
Type 14 No. 2 (double pontoons).—3-seat biplane with a single 450-hp. Lorraine type motor; maximum speed, 90 knots; hours in air at cruising speed, 6.9.
Type 14 No. 3 (double pontoons).— 3-seat biplane with single 450-hp. Lorraine type motor; maximum speed, 102 knots; hours in air at cruising speed, 7.
Type 90 No. 2 (single pontoon).—2- seat biplane with single 460-hp. Kotobuki type 2 motor; maximum speed, 143 knots; hours in air at cruising speed, 7.5.
Type 90 No. 3 (double pontoons).—3- seat biplane with single 450-hp. Jupiter type motor; maximum speed, 99 knots; hours in air at cruising speed, 6.5.
Type 91 (double pontoons).—1-seat biplane with single 130-hp. Jimpu type motor; maximum speed, 91 knots; hours in air at cruising speed, 4.
(Carried on warships)
Type 13 No. 2.—3-seat biplane with single 450-hp. Hispano motor; maximum speed, 101 knots, hours in air at cruising speed 4.7.
Type 13 No. 3.—3-seat biplane with single 450-hp. Hispano motor; maximum speed, 105 knots; hours in air at cruising speed, 4.7.
Type 89 No. 1.—3-seat biplane with single 450-hp. Hispano motor; maximum speed, 108 knots; hours in air at cruising speed, 3.
Type 89 No. 2.—3-seat biplane with single 450-hp. Hispano motor; maximum speed, 115 knots; hours in air at cruising speed, 3.
Type 92.—3-seat biplane with single 600-hp. type 391 motor; maximum speed, 118 knots; hours in air at cruising speed, 4.5.
Type 15 No. 2.—5-seat biplane with twin 450-hp. Lorraine type motor; maximum speed, 93 knots; hours in air at cruising speed, 11.
Type 89.—7-seat biplane with 600-hp. type 790 motor; maximum speed, 106 knots; hours in air at cruising speed, 13.
Type 90 No. 2.—6-8-seat biplane with triple 825-hp. Rolls-Royce type motor; maximum speed, 115 knots; hours in air at cruising speed, 14.5.
Type 3 No. 2.—2-seat biplane with single 130-hp. Jimpu type motor; maximum speed, 77 knots.
Type 93.—2-seat biplane with single 300-hp. Tempu type motor; maximum speed, 118 knots.
Type 90.—4-seat monoplane with single 300-hp. Tempu type motor; maximum speed, 118 knots.
Type 90.—4-seat monoplane with single 300-hp. Tempu type motor; maximum speed, 92 knots; hours in air at cruising speed, 5.3.
Type 90.—2-seat biplane with single 130-hp. Jimpu type motor; maximum speed, 80 knots.
Type 93 (double pontoons).—2-seat biplane with single 300-hp. Tempu type motor; maximum speed, 108 knots.
Type 90.—2-seat biplane with single 460-hp. Kotobuki type 2 motor; maximum speed, 155 knots; hours in air at cruising speed, 3; climbing speed, 3,000 m. in 5 min.
Warship Building
Japan Advertiser, December 29.— Japan’s ability to turn out warships, important because of the possibility of a period without limitations on naval construction when the Washington and London naval treaties expire at the end of next year, is without parallel in the world, the Jiji Shimpo, the Hochi, and the Nichi Nichi claim. As proof, they cite the progress that has been made in carrying out the so-called first replenishment program, the 1933 emergency program, and the second replenishment program.
Lending color to the frequently-heard assertion that in the naval sphere Japan is principally concerned with what the United States does, the Jiji holds up for comparison with Japan’s success in building warships the Vinson program of American naval construction, which it says is making slow progress. No reference is made to naval building in other countries.
Because of the ability of Japanese shipbuilders, the paper says there is no need for worry about national defense. Technical resources are sufficiently elastic to cope with a possible naval race. Most of the ships needed to bring Japan up to full treaty strength will have been completed by the time the present naval agreements expire, and the yards where they have been building and the men who have been working on them will be available to carry out a new construction program. The 102-ship plan of the U. S. Navy is not scheduled to be completed before 1940.
Together, the three construction programs of the Japanese Navy call for 90 warships aggregating 221,096 tons. Of these, 28 vessels, totaling 56,134 tons, have been completed; 40 are under construction, of which 17 have already been launched, and 22, of 46,265 tons, remain to be laid down. Construction of more than half of the ships yet to be built will start next year.
The first replenishment program, on which work was started in 1932, the year after the Manchurian outbreak, calls for 39 vessels aggregating 73,326 tons. Twenty-five of these warships are already in service. Of the remainder, 10 have been launched, and the other 4 are already in process of construction.
The completed vessels are the B-class cruisers Mogami, Mikuma, and Suzuya, of 8,500 tons each; the destoyers Hatsuharu, Nenohi, Wakaba, Hatsushimo, Ariake and Yugure, of 1,368 tons each; the submarines No. 6, No. 68, No. 69 and No. 70, of I type, 1,900 tons each, and No. 33, of Ro type, 1,400 tons; three mine layers of 450 tons each; the torpedo boats Chidori, Manazuru, Tomozuru, and Hatsukari, of 527 tons each, and the mine sweepers, No. 13, No. 14, No. 15 and No. 16, of 492 tons each.
Still to be finished are one B-class cruiser, of 8,500 tons; 6 destroyers, of 1,368 tons; 4 submarines, 1 mine layer, of 4,400 tons, and 2 mine sweepers, of 492 tons.
The emergency program, approved at the 64th Diet session in 1933, called for 3 vessels, all of which have been completed: the submarine tender Taigei, of 10,000 tons, and submarines No. 1 and No. 2, of 300 tons each.
The second replenishment program calls for 48 ships aggregating 137,170 tons, none of which has been completed, though 7 are nearly finished. The keels of 19 others have been laid down, leaving only 22 to build. The 7 already launched are a 10,050-ton aircraft carrier, a 1,950-ton submarine, a 12,000 ton oil supply ship and four 595- ton torpedo boats. Keels have been laid for another 10,050-ton aircraft carrier, two 8,500-ton B-class cruisers, six 1,368-ton destroyers, two 187-ton submarines, one 1,950-ton submarine, another 12,000-ton oil supply ship, a 10,000-ton seaplane carrier (?), four 595-ton torpedo boats and a 187- ton submarine destroyer.
The ships under this program on which work has not yet started are eight 1,368- ton destroyers, two 10,000-ton seaplane carriers, eight 595-ton torpedo boats, three 187-ton submarine destroyers, and one 10,000 ton repair ship.
Additional Budgets
Japan Advertiser, January 23.—Army and Navy authorities have started the compilation of supplementary budgets for 1936 to be presented at a special session of the Diet to follow the election which will embody the new appropriations in the draft budget for 1936, passage of which was prevented by Diet dissolution.
As the 1935 budget will be effective in the absence of Diet approval of a new one, the supplementary budgets will provide only for increases over last year’s figures. While the Navy will ask only about 22,000,000 yen in its supplementary budget, the amount of the increase in the now defunct draft budget, Domei reported that the Army will ask a total of about 120,000,000 yen. If this is correct, the Army’s 1936 expenditures would rise to the unprecedented total of about 613,000,000 yen.
According to Domei’s figures the Army supplementary budget would provide 55,000,000 yen for readjusting strategical material, 24,000,000 yen for Manchurian incident expenditures, 7,000,000 yen for new enterprises in general and 12,000,000 yen for miscellaneous expenditures.
At an informal meeting of Army members of the Supreme Military Council yesterday afternoon at the War Office, War Minister Yoshiyuki Kawashima explained the circumstances leading up to dissolution of the Diet and voiced assurances that no fears need be felt for the security of national defense because of Diet dissolution.
The new situation in North China and relations with the Soviets were discussed by the War Vice- Minister, Lieutenant General Moto Furusho, and Lieutenant General Sugiyama, Assistant Chief of the General Staff.
Various Notes
Submarines.—Only one submarine was placed into service during the last year, the 1-69 of 1,400 tons and 20-knot surface speed and 8-knot submerged speed. Under construction are 6 other submarines of this same type, two 1,950-ton submarines (17 knots., two 4.2-in. guns), and two 600- ton ships. In general, the speed of Japan’s submarines is greater than that of foreign countries, at least 20 of them having a speed of 19 or 20 knots.
Cruisers.—The 8,500-ton cruisers Mogemi and Mikuma were completed in 1935. Four others of the same type, the Suzuya, Kumano, Tone, and Chikuma, are well advanced in construction. These ships will be loaded to the limit with armament. Their characteristics are: length 587 ft., beam 56 ft., draft 14 ft., 90,000 Hp., speed 33 knots, 3 triple turrets forward and 2 aft (6-in. guns), all center line turrets, eight 1-pdr. A.A. guns, 12 torpedo tubes, 3 seaplanes, 2 catapults. With all this armament, it is not strange that the armor protection is very small, in fact, it is limited to 2 in. Judging from their appearance, these ships will not be very seaworthy.—Revista General de Marina.
A tiny submarine has just completed her tests in the Bay of Sagami. She is built specially for submarine exploration. On the surface she is driven by a motor of 25 hp. and when immersed by an electric drive. Two large portholes permit observation and photography under water. She can remain 4 to 5 hours under water and descend 150 ft. The two new cruisers of 10,000 tons, Mikuma and Mogami, armed with fifteen 6-inch guns have now been added to the fleet. At her tests the new oil tanker Tatekawa Maru attained the high speed of 20J knots.—The Navy, London.
“Having shot down most of the enemy planes,” thanks to the desperate efforts of a defense force of about 350,000, the maneuvers which took place around the cities of Tokyo, Yokohama, and Kawasaki, Japan, have been declared a success.
During the maneuvers his Imperial Highness Prince Asaka, commander of the imperial bodyguard division, inspected various wards of Tokyo. Several Imperial Princesses also witnessed the maneuvers.
There were two deaths directly due to the black-out. One man was killed when running across the railway to extinguish a light. Another Tokyo resident cut his throat in his indignation at the manner in which ex-service men told him to put his lights out.—Tribune, Chicago. Tokyo.
Men, ships, airplanes, armored car corps, machine-gun and anti-aircraft units under the jurisdiction of the Yokosuka Naval Base joined in a mammoth review yesterday morning. More than 7,000 men from the Yokohama Barracks took part in the parade, which was reviewed by the commander of the Admiralty, Admiral Mitsumasa Yonai. The aerial parade was participated in by flying squadrons from the Yokosuka, Tateyama, and Kasumigaura Aviation Corps, it being reported in Tokyo that approximately 120 planes had been massed there for the display. After the main demonstration nearly 100 of these aircraft flew over Tokyo on the way back to their bases.
Fleet-Admiral Prince Hiroyoshi Fushimi, Chief of the Naval Staff, was present in the reviewing stand, as were many high Army and Navy officers and government officials. The guests totalled about 10,000. Prince Masahiko Asaka, a cadet, was in the parade in charge of a small company of seamen attached to the naval gunner)- school. —Japan Advertiser, Jan. 19.
Organization of Japan’s nine capital ships into two squadrons in order to employ them to greater advantage as compensation for the numerical superiority of Great Britain and the United States, and organization of a new squadron of seaplane carriers, has been added to the plan of general fleet reorganization to be put into effect in May, the Jiji reported yesterday.
The decision was made, it was stated, as a move to keep pace with other naval powers, “which have already launched preparations for expansion of their naval strength because of the breakdown of the London conference.”
Under the reported plan, the battleships of the Kongo class, which also includes the Kirishima and the Haruna, will be brought together into a new 3rd Squadron to give full play to their efficiency, and the remainder of the Navy’s capital ships will be placed in the present 1st Squadron, consisting entirely of battleships.—Japan Advertiser.
When the termination of the Washington and London naval treaties at the end of the year frees Japan from the necessity of informing the other signatories of its naval construction programs, increased secrecy will be observed with regard to construction details, the Jiji understands.
At present, the Diet, when asked to approve building plans and appropriations, is told the types of vessels, tonnages, measurements, gun calibers, and the dates of laying the keels and completing the ships. From next year, it will be informed of only the types of vessels and their tonnages.
It is feared, says the paper, that revelation of details of the ships, such as their speed and the gun calibers, would give the other powers information on which to base estimates of their strength. For national security, it is pointed out, the Japanese Navy must compete with other navies that are very powerful.—Japan Advertiser.
A 7-year plan for the thorough mechanization of the Japanese Army, to begin this year and involving a total expenditure of 246,883,000 yen (£14,500,000), has been drawn up by the War Department. In addition, a sum of 400,000,000 yen (£23,500,000) for munitions and Army equipment will be at the disposal of the War Department during the next six financial years.—Army, Navy and Air Force Gazette.
OTHER COUNTRIES
Various Notes
Austria
Mr. Lahr, the vice-burgomaster of Vienna, spoke recently in depressing tones of the future of Danube shipping. He said that the prospects of waterway improvement plans had now sunk to the lowest point and that it was questionable whether Austria would be in a position even to keep the Danube between Passau and Vienna in a navigable condition.—The Navy, London.
Greece
The government of Greece has approved a new naval program which will be carried out in four stages. This program will not only increase the fleet but also the coast defenses (the Metropolis and the islands in the Aegean Sea).
The first stage, to be completed by the end of 1936, includes the construction in foreign countries of four 1,000- to 1,100-ton destroyers; the construction of a dry dock in the Salamis navy yard; and the purchase of petroleum.
The second stage, to be completed in 1941, includes the construction of 2 new destroyers, 1 light cruiser, and the replacement of over-age submarines of which there will be 6 by that time.
The third and fourth stages, which will be subject to further legislation, provide for the construction of 4 and 2 destroyers, respectively.
The work on coast defenses (especially on the islands of Chios, Mytilene, and Lemnos) will be divided up over the 4 stages of the naval program.
For the carrying out of the first stage, a credit of 120 million francs has been voted.—Revista General de Marina.
Holland
The Wilton shipyards at Rotterdam have started construction on two submarines, the K-XIX and K-XX, destined for duty in the Dutch Indies. They will be identical to the K-XIV and K-XVIII with a displacement of 765 tons on the surface and 1,020 tons submerged.— Le Yacht.
Iraq
During the debate on the Army estimates the Minister of Defense, General Jafar Pasha el Askari, said that his department was paying great attention to the strengthening of the defense forces by modernizing equipment rather than by increasing the number of troops. It had decided to buy some war vessels suitable for use on the rivers and proposed to strengthen the Air Arm by buying more airplanes this year.—Times, London. Baghdad, Jan. 16.
Yugoslavia
The Ministry of National Defense has given an order to a Scottish firm to the amount of £1,100,000 for the boilers and engines of three new destroyers, the hulls of which will be built in Yugoslavia by a French concern.—The Natty, London.
Panama
The set-back in the shipping passing through the Panama Canal, which began in the last quarter of 1934, continued steadily throughout 1935. For the first 9 months of last year it was 1,690,000 tons down which equals 7.8 per cent. The amount of goods carried has also declined. As compared with 1934, the shipping and goods going from the Atlantic to the Pacific have increased but have declined in the opposite direction. United States shipping came first with 8,658,000 n.r.t., Great Britain next with 4,722,000 n.r.t., and Norway third with 1,802,000 n.r.t. Then came Japan and Germany.—The Navy London.
Portugal
The destroyer Douro, recently built in a Lisbon yard under the supervision of engineers from Yarrow, is now on trial. She has not only come up to contract specification, but has surpassed it. An extraordinary test of her stability was provided on trials at the end of December, when, lightly loaded, she weathered a bad storm, surviving several lists of 45° in very heavy seas. She will be handed over shortly.
One learns that conversations are now going on with Vickers for the construction of further vessels in Lisbon. It appears that the Portuguese Naval Authorities are showing interest in C.M.B.’s. (Coastal Motor Boats) for fishery protection purposes.—The Navy, London.
Siam
Sixty Siamese officers and naval cadets, from the training school at Bangkok, arrived here today on a tour of instruction through Italy. They came from Monte Falcone, where six torpedo boats under construction for the Siamese Navy were inspected.—Japan Advertiser. Turin, Jan. 3.
Spain
The President of the Republic has signed a decree authorizing the Secretary of the Navy to present to Congress a program of naval construction which includes two destroyers of the Antequera class, two 2,500-ton gunboats, two 400-ton torpedo boats, two 200-ton torpedo boats, and 2 tugs.—Le Yacht.
Sweden
The coast defense afloat of Sweden is, at present, organized as follows:
First Armored Division.—3 armored coastguard boats.
First Division of Destroyers.—3 destroyers.
Submarine Section.—1 submarines, 2 destroyers, and 2 motor launches.
Aërial Section.—An observation squadron which includes new planes and a repair ship.— Revista General de Marina.
Turkey
Turkey’s naval program includes, in addition to several auxiliaries: two 10,000-ton cruisers, 4 destroyers, 4 submarines. It is believed that the displacement of the two cruisers will be reduced to 8,000 tons. The two cruisers and two submarines will be constructed in Japan.
Two small 600-ton submarines and 4 destroyers will be built in Spain. The destroyers will be of the Piek-i-Chevket type (800 tons) built by the German shipyards at Kiel.
The submarine E-l, constructed by the Etchevarrieta de Cadiz shipyards, was bought by Turkey and arrived at Istanbul towards the end of 1935. The present number of Turkish submarines is 5.
The characteristics of this submarine are: surface displacement 750 tons; displacement submerged 960 tons; speed surface 20 knots, submerged 9 knots; one 4-inch gun; one 3-inch A.A. gun; 6 torpedo tubes, and it carries 14 torpedoes. Radius of action is 1,880 miles at 18 knots and 6,440 miles at 9.6 knots.
In 1935 the Turkish Minister of Finance signed an agreement with the Krupp Co. for the creation of a metallurgic mill. The Krupp Co. will furnish all the necessary materials, payment for which will be made by Turkey in three years.
The project, submitted at the conference of the Balkans, for the fortification of the Dardanelles proposes the following:
(a) The creation of a certain number of coastal batteries.
(b) The right for Turkey to protect, with mobile artillery, the routes which lead into the Dardanelles.
(c) The construction of subterraneous torpedo tubes along the coast.
(d) Installation of submarine bases in the Dardanelles, as well as the construction of the necessary submarines.
(e) Creation of landplane and seaplane bases.— La Revue Maritime.
The development by Turkey of her mercantile marine is shown by the fact that when the Republic was proclaimed it consisted of 88 units of a total tonnage of 34,902 tons. Both coastal and deep-sea shipping have increased from 99,000 tons in 1924 to an aggregate of 200,000 in 1933.—The Navy, London.
Uruguay
The Uruguayan gunboats constructed by the Anc6ne Shipyards and now on their way to Montevideo have the following characteristics: displacement 180 tons; length 150 ft., beam 18 ft., draft 5 ft. They have Diesel-Krupp motors with a total horsepower of 1,150 hp., and they attained a speed of 17.1 knots on their trials; their radius of action is 4,000 miles at 10 knots, and each has a fuel capacity of 18 tons. Each gunboat has a complement of 6 officers and 45 men, and on arrival at Montevideo each ship will probably be armed with two 3-in. guns and 2 machine guns.—Le Yacht.
Composition of the Russian Fleet January 1, 1936: In Service
Baltic Sea | Overage | Not Overage | Total | Under Construction | Total | |||||
No. | Tons | No. | Tons | No. | Tons | No. | Tons | No. | Tons | |
Battleships_ | _ |
| 3 | 70232 | 3 | 70232 | — | — | 3 | 70232 |
Cruisers. | 1 | 5622 | — | — | 1 | 5622 | — | — | 1 | 5622 |
Destroyers. | 9 | 11315 | 13 | 11170 | 22 | 22485 | — | — | 22 | 22485 |
Submarines ... | 10 | 6467 | 6 | 5805 | 16 | 12272 | — | — | 16 | 12272 |
Black Sea |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Battleships_ | _ | _ | 1 | 23016 | 1 | 23016 | — | — | 1 | 23016 |
Cruisers... | 1 | 6338 | 3 | 21561 | 4 | 27902 | — | — | 4 | 27902 |
Destroyers | — | — | 5 | 6577 | 5 | 6577 | 3 | 3400 | 8 | 9977 |
Submarines | 4 | 1320 | 7 | 6188 | 11 | 7808 | 6 | 10200 | 17 | 18008 |
Total__ |
| 31062 |
| 144852 |
| 175914 |
| 13600 |
| 189514 |
Under construction (?) one 8,000-ton-aircraft carrier (Black Sea).—Renata General de Marina.
U.S.S.R.
According to the Russian press, 5 million tons of merchandise were shipped under the Soviet flag during the year 1935, although the 5-year plan had only predicted lj millions. Thus 40 per cent of the transoceanic shipment of merchandise was done by Russian ships. It is predicted that for the year of 1936 total shipments will increase to 7 million tons. This increase in transports under the Soviet flag is due to the rapid increase in tonnage of the Soviet Merchant Marine which increased from 327,000 tons in 1928 to 1,350,000 tons in 1935.—Journal de la Marine Marckande.
A certain amount of curiosity is attracted by the steady refusal of the Soviet government to furnish any particulars of new naval construction, either in progress or projected. Once again the official returns of world sea power merely contain the intimation, “no details available.” Down to fairly recently we should have expected such a “mind your own business” attitude from Moscow, but now that Russia belongs to the League of Nations and is showing every desire for friendly relations with the “capitalist nations,” this reticence upon a matter concerning which all the other sea powers furnish official data not unnaturally gives rise to some speculation. Two explanations suggest themselves. The first is that Soviet Russia has practically nothing to disclose upon the subject; the second is that she does not want certain other countries to learn more than she can help about what is going on in her naval yards.
The first of these possible explanations may be dismissed. It is definitely known that Russia is “doing something” in the way of naval shipbuilding, and the only point of doubt is as to how much she is doing. Probably, it would suit her foreign policy for the suspicion to become general that she is doing a good deal more than is actually the fact. We know that in the Black Sea zone cruisers, submarines, and coastal torpedo boats have been under construction for a considerable time past; what we do not know is how many of each nor the progress that is being made with them. German naval designers, engineers, and shipwrights were employed in the Russian Baltic yards years ago, and a rumor gained currency that Germany was “getting behind” the Versailles Treaty by this means. Probably, the extent of this German assistance was very much exaggerated, maybe with the object of causing an impression of a naval revival altogether out of keeping with actual conditions.—Naval and Military Record.
The work on the new passage for large seagoing ships from the Caspian Sea to the Black Sea is being carried out successfully. Good progress has been made with the construction of the Manytsh Canal begun two years ago. This canal constitutes the connection between the Caspian Sea and the lower Don and in consequence with the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea. There will be seven locks in all between these two seas and this new waterway will be of great importance to international shipping.—The Navy, London.
A report that Russia was shipping “knocked- down” submarines from Europe to her naval bases on the Pacific Ocean circulated among members of the naval conference tonight. The report stated that the submarines of various sizes were being hastily reassembled in the East “to meet any emergency.”
The exact sizes and tonnages of the under-sea boats was not disclosed.
According to other sources in London, the government at Moscow now is thoroughly alarmed as to the situation in the Pacific and considers that much larger naval defenses are needed on the east coast than previously.
It was declared that the Soviet was determined to prevent encroachments by Japan in the Russian sphere of territorial influence and was, therefore, taking large-scale steps to strengthen her defenses.
The submarines, it was said, were being carried over the Transiberian Railway to Vladivostok. In addition to the under-sea craft, large numbers of troops and airplanes also were going overland to Siberia, these reports said.
Naval experts said they understood Russia was concentrating on submarines as the backbone of its naval defense in the Far East. It was believed the Soviet Government had 25 new submarines at the Siberian base about two weeks ago with shipments of more new under-sea craft continuing.
It was reported that each submarine is mounted with one quick-firing 5-in. gun.
According to one expert here, Russia is determined to build a barrier of submarines all the way north and south along the Russian coast. He said this chain of submarine craft would never allow the Japanese fleet within striking distance of any important area. It was indicated in these sources that the Russian Army and air defenses now are almost on a war footing. A conservative estimate of the Soviet Army in Far Eastern territory, it is said, places the number at 250,000 highly trained troops.
Re-enforcements are being daily sped toward the Far East, these sources stated.—Sun, Baltimore. London, Feb. 29.
The Soviet Government’s concern about naval defense, which has been notably increasing since the Anglo-German naval agreement, was reflected in a speech by M. Kalinin, President of the Executive Council, at the Kremlin, the occasion being the awarding of decorations to naval officers.
With the Army admittedly in part already on a war-time basis of full strength, M. Kalinin forecasts the serious turning of the Soviet’s attention in the direction of the rapid large-scale building up of the Navy.
The Soviet Government, he said, was dissatisfied with the present condition of the naval defense. The time had arrived for the Navy to play a greater r61e. The Soviet press has lately referred frequently to the German naval plans for converting the Baltic into “a German lake.”—Sunday Times, London.
MERCHANT MARINE
New Liner
Herald, Washington, March.—Threatening to have the Navy build a new superliner for the U. S. Lines Co. unless the Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Co. slashes its bid of $11,900,000, Secretary of Commerce Roper last night gave the Newport News firm one month to offer a revised figure.
Diversion of the contract to the Navy would mark the first order placed in a navy yard for a merchant vessel.
Refusing to approve the agreement reached by the Newport shipbuilders and the U. S. Lines Co., under which a sister-ship to the Manhattan and Washington would be constructed to replace the Leviathan, Secretary Roper revealed the Navy Department has been asked to prepare an estimate. He added:
“Such a vessel is looked upon as an extremely desirable addition to our naval auxiliary forces as well as to our Merchant Marine and, in view of the substantial loan of 75 per cent which the government would be called upon to make toward the construction of the new vessel, the ship may actually be constructed in a navy yard if a satisfactory contract price cannot be agreed upon.”
Admiralty Decision
Nautical Gazette, February.—In the Papoose, 12 F. Supp. 743, a tanker bound out from Hampton Roads collided with a government vessel, an airplane tender, as she was approaching. There was a low-lying fog or haze that hid the tanker from the government vessel, but the tanker’s officers saw the other’s range lights some 15 minutes before the collision and mistakenly assumed that the vessel was at anchor.
With this assumption, the tanker maintained her course and speed without blowing fog signals, until it was too late to prevent a collision. The government vessel likewise had not blown fog signals, and the tanker thereafter contended that this contributed to the accident. Libel against the tanker, with the latter filing a cross-libel, followed.
Held: The failure of the government vessel to blow fog whistles did not cause the accident in this case, because the tanker already knew of its presence. That, on the other hand, the tanker being hidden from the other by the haze was in duty bound to blow fog whistles; that this failure, coupled with the fact that she continued on her course at excessive speed, “while knowingly hidden in a fog,” rendered her liable for the resulting damages. Decree for libelant with costs. Cross- libel dismissed.
Japanese Shipyard’s Feat
The Marine Engineer, February.—A Japanese firm is attempting a shipbuilding feat which many experts, according to Reuter, have declared to be impossible; they are attempting to build a 15,000- ton whaling vessel in 5 months at a very low cost.
A British firm, approached before the contract was placed, turned down the offer on the ground that the price offered was far too inadequate and that the ship would take much longer than 5 months to build. The contract has, therefore, gone to the Kawasaki Dockyard Co., of Kobe, the firm who need the whaler so urgently being the Hayashikane Shoten, of Shimonoseki, Japan. The whaler must leave Japan by October 1 at the latest in order to take part in the next antarctic whaling season. When completed, she will be equal in size and equipment to the world’s largest whaling factory' ship—the British-built Norwegian Sir James Clark Ross.
Five hundred skilled workmen have already been picked for the task and many of them have volunteered to stay at the building yard day and night. The keel for the vessel will probably be laid about the middle of April and her launching is scheduled for August 1. The new ship, designed to carry 360 crew, will be the mother-ship to a fleet of eight 250-ton whale chasers which she will carry on her boat deck. The entire construction cost will be about £4,750,000. An engineer is visiting England to purchase certain material for the vessel. If the first voyage of the new ship reaches expectations the owners intend to build one or, perhaps, two sister-ships.
Various Notes
The government has officially announced that the tramp shipping subsidy will be continued for a further period of 12 months. The sum of £2,000,000 will be available on the same terms and conditions as last year. Rather less than £1,000,000 has so far been expended in connection with last year’s subsidy, but payments are still being made. The government is satisfied that payment of the subsidy has brought about a distinct improvement in the condition of British shipping and in the employment of British officers and seamen.—Nautical Gazette, London.
Analyzing its figures of shipping laid up idle in Great Britain and Ireland on January 1, the Chamber of Shipping states that the British shipping unemployed represented a reduction during the last three months of 1935 of 97,000 tons gross. As the effect of the changes in the total tonnage on the United Kingdom Register was a net decline during the period of 62,000 tons gross, there was an increase of about 35,000 tons gross in the shipping in commission.—Times, London.
Threat of the withdrawal of the Cunard White Star Line from the North Atlantic Steamship Conference has been obviated by the decision of the conference yesterday to abolish the first class on Atlantic liners.
The Cunard White Star Line had applied for the grading of the Queen Mary as a cabin ship, with a fare for the Atlantic crossing of £53 8s., as against a minimum fare for luxury liners, such as the Normandie, of £55.
The French Lines, which own the Normandie, and the United States Lines had objected to the Queen Mary’s grading as a cabin ship because they feared her competition with such ships as the Manhattan and the Washington.
Following the decision of the conference yesterday, the Cunard White Star Line will not resign.
A communique issued at the close of the conference stated that all matters of differences had been reviewed and complete agreement arrived at. The section hitherto called first class would in future be known as cabin. The effective date for all rate changes is February 24. It is understood that the arrangements made mean that average fares will be slightly higher than before.—Naval and Military Record, Feb. 13, Paris.
The Kokusai Risen Kaisha’s new express Diesel freighter Kashii Maru, 7,000 tons, was launched yesterday morning at the Harima dockyard, Kobe, in the presence of about 500 specially invited guests, Domei reports. The new cargo ship, which has accommodation for 12 passengers, is scheduled to be put in the Japan-New York service as soon as she is commissioned. Her maiden voyage is expected to be sometime in April. The Kashii Maru is said to develop 19 knots.—Japan Advertiser.
New York will be the first port in the country to have a foreign trade zone operated in accordance with provisions of the Foreign Trade Zone Act of 1934. The Foreign Trade Zone Board, consisting of the Secretaries of Commerce, War and Treasury', has approved New York’s application to convert five of the Staten Island piers, idle these many years, into a district where, under customs supervision, merchandise from foreign countries may be broken up, repacked, assembled, distributed, sorted, graded, cleaned, stored, mixed with foreign or domestic merchandise or otherwise be manipulated or exported. So long as foreign merchandise remains within the limits of the zone, or is re-exported, it is not subject to customs duty.
Estimated cost of the entire development, which includes construction of a warehouse and a manipulating building, is placed at $4,600,000, with New York financing the project which will be operated by a corporation to be formed by the city.
Other ports will watch the operation of the New York area with considerable interest. If it works, we may expect to see several foreign trade zones along both coasts. New York is approaching the matter modestly, with a comparatively small investment, but will naturally be expected to apply for additional zones, or an increase in the size of the one authorized, if the project meets with the success anticipated.—Marine Progress.
R. P. Schwerin, former business associate of Collis P. Huntington and vice-president and general manager of the old Pacific Mail Steamship Co., died January 11 in the Stanford University Hospital, San Francisco. He had been in retirement for several years. He leaves a widow and two children. He was 77 years old. He was graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1879 and served in the Navy until 1893 when Mr. Huntington prevailed upon him to resign and manage the Pacific Mail. He also had been vice- president and general manager of the Associated Oil Co. and general manager of the Federal Telegraph Co., later absorbed by the Mackay group. —Marine Progress.
American shipyards are now enjoying extensive business in the construction of new tanker tonnage. At this time new vessels are distributed among the yards as follows:
Builder.—Federal S.B. & D.D. Co., 2 oil tankers. For Standard Oil Co. of N. J.; gross tons, 7,690 each.
Builder.—Federal S.B. & D.D. Co., 2 oil tankers. For Pan-American Petroleum & Transport Co.; gross tons, 7,690 each.
Builder.—Sun S.B. & D.D. Co., 2 oil tankers. For Gulf Refining Co.; gross tons, 7,070 each.
Builder.—Sun S.B. & D.D. Co., 2 oil tankers. For Pan-American Petroleum & Transport Co.; gross tons, 9,650 each.
Builder.—Sun S.B. & D.D. Co., 2 oil tankers. For Socony-Vacuum Oil Co.; gross tons, 9,650 each.
Builder.—Ingall Iron Wks. Co., 1 oil tanker. American Tankers Corp.; gross tons, 1,300.
In addition to the above, the Moore Dry dock Co. are now completing the plans for two tankers the keels for which are expected to be laid down in the near future.—The Log, San Francisco.
In order to test the fire resisting qualities of material and equipment, the Department of Commerce recently conducted a demonstration by deliberately setting a ship on fire.
The vessel chosen for the experiment, the Nantasket, one of the Shipping Board’s laid-up fleet in the James River, Virginia, was carefully prepared to simulate actual seagoing conditions; even old clothes were placed in closets of the various rooms to ascertain what extent they might play in spreading a fire. Everything being in readiness, fires were started in the several rooms and compartments and progress of the fires carefully watched and data taken on the progress of the fires with a view to determining what material, equipment, and methods would be most successful in eliminating fire hazards on board ship. Material and equipment were furnished by manufacturers to assist the tests.—The Log, San Francisco.
The following decision is officially announced in regard to the status of the non-magnetic ship Research, which is to be built for the Admiralty to carry out the work of research on magnetic variation previously undertaken by the SS. Carnegie. She is to be known as the Royal Research Ship Research (R.R.S. Research) and to be given a mercantile status. She will fly the Blue Ensign and Jack with the yellow Admiralty anchor in the fly. The uniform of the officers and crew will be similar to that worn by those taking part in the Falkland Islands Discovery investigation. The crew will be entered on the ordinary mercantile articles, as are the crews of Royal Fleet Auxiliaries.
This non-ferrous research ship will be constructed entirely of wood. Propulsion will be by Diesel engines, specially built so as to minimize the use of ferrous materials of construction.— Army, Navy and Air Force Gazette..
AVIATION
Rewards for Flying Aids
Tribune, Chicago, February 17.—A wide field for inventors in promoting aviation efficiency and safety was outlined today by military and naval officials who voted a standing offer of rewards up to $75,000 for approved devices.
The government’s patent and design board is authorized to pay that much for developments advancing aeronautical science. The board consists of the Assistant Secretaries of War, Navy, and Commerce.
To qualify for the payments, inventors must produce devices which are capable of use in government aviation, and which receive the approval of the national advisory committee for aeronautics.
Dr. George W. Lewis, the committee’s director of aeronautical research, said one development now sought was a high lift device which would enable planes to land at a lower speed without slowing their air speed.
High landing speeds, Dr. Lewis said, are now the cause of a large number of aviation’s accidents. He added that any device or design reducing hazards would be of tremendous benefit to the entire industry.
Air Corps officers said one of the vital improvements needed is a new bombing sight for faster modern planes.
They also cited these other needs:
Improved superchargers to add to engine power.
Improved methods for braking planes in landing.
Lighter and more efficient propellers.
Improved gun sights for airplane machine guns.
Devices for de-icing propellers and wing and tail surfaces to prevent many cold weather accidents.
Improved cowling to increase the safety factor and assist in increasing speed.
An altimeter, especially for low flying.
“Other nations are spending millions for research,” Dr. Lewis said, “and while we are leading the world now, we may not a year or two hence, unless we make every effort to not only keep abreast, but a year or so ahead of everyone else.”— Washington, D. C., Feb. 16. (A.P.)
Purchase Deferred
Aviation, February.—“As result of close study and exhaustive tests of pursuit planes submitted by various manufacturers during the last few months, it has been found that although the aircraft submitted represented a great advancement over the type of aircraft in present use, yet not one of those submitted in the competition completely met the desired attainments of the modem pursuit plane.” Thus Harry H. Woodring last month announced that the Air Corps had decided to order neither the Curtiss nor the Seversky single-seater pursuit which had been submitted last summer in competition for a contract expected to call for 82 planes.
Instead, the Corps looked forward to an opening of new proposals scheduled for April 15.
Retirement of hundreds of “tactically obsolete” Army planes from use by combat units of the Air Corps in the next 18 months is announced by Brig. Gen. A. W. Robins, Wright Field, chief of the material division.
Planes over five years old, General Robins said, are referred to as “tactically obsolete,” and of these the Army has 80 Keystone bombers, 55 attack planes, mostly Curtiss and Consolidated, and 186 pursuit planes, chiefly Curtiss and Boeing. Though not ready to be scrapped, these planes cannot be counted as modem armament, and will be relegated to use of non-tactical personnel and trainees as replacements are made with Douglas and Boeing bombers and Northrop attacks. Replacements also are needed in training, observation and transport planes.
Exclusive of 103 new bombers, 115 new attacks, and 82 pursuits to have been ordered by that date, Air Corps strength as of June 30 will be 1,342 planes.
Zeppelin Service in May
Herald Tribune, New York, February 22.—The LZ-129, largest and fastest dirigible in the world, which is now receiving finishing touches at Friedrichshafen, is scheduled to inaugurate on an experimental basis a passenger, mail, and freight service early in May between Frankfort on the Main and Lakehurst, N. J., it was announced today.
The start of the first flight from the new airplane and dirigible airport at Frankfort on the Main is fixed tentatively for May 6. The round trip, it is expected, will be completed in seven days, with a one or two day stop-over at Lakehurst. An undetermined number of round-trip flights with a full passenger list of 50 is planned for the period from May to October.
A spokesman of the Deutsche Zeppelin-Reederei (German Zeppelin Corp.), which operates the German dirigible services, said tonight that tickets for the first trip to Lakehurst already had been sold out.
The cost of a one-way passage for the first flight will be 1,250 marks or 2,250 marks for the round trip. One-way tickets on subsequent flights will cost 1,000 marks and 1,800 marks for the round trip. (The mark is valued at 40 cents for purposes of foreign exchange.)
Under present plans the number of transoceanic dirigible flights in 1936 on the South and North Atlantic together are expected to be nearly double that in 1935. The Graf Zeppelin, which was the only airship in service last year, made 16 round-trip flights between Friedrichshafen and Rio de Janeiro, thus covering more than 217,000 miles.
This year the South Atlantic dirigible service will be gradually extended. The Graf Zeppelin, which by the end of last season had completed its 500th flight, will resume trips across the South Atlantic on March 30, employing the new airport at Frankfort on the Main as its terminal in Germany.
From March until the end of October there will be fortnightly transatlantic service. At the end of October the service will be placed on a weekly basis, with the LZ-129, which then will have completed its North Atlantic flights, alternating regularly with the Graf Zeppelin over the South Atlantic.—Berlin, Feb. 21.
Aviation in Far East
Chugai.—Trans, in Japan Advertiser.—Aviation has attained rapid strides in the Far East during the past few years. The air service between Fukuoka and Taihoku over a distance of 1,600 km. was opened in November last, and after a series of experimental flights, regular passenger traffic was inaugurated on January 2. The air service with Manchukuo has been maintained satisfactorily since the founding of the Manchuria Air Transport Co. in 1932. Japanese air routes now total more than 7,000 km.
Even more rapid developments have been achieved in Chinese civil aviation. There are three large air transport companies in China. They are the Chungkuo Co., the Europe-Asia Aviation Co., and the Southwestern Aviation Co. The Chinese air routes total more than 12,000 kms. connecting all important cities in the republic. The total length of air lines is nearly the same as that of Japan and Manchukuo combined. Moreover, the Chinese passenger planes are generally better machines than those being used in this country. Of the three Chinese companies, the Chungkuo Co. is managed jointly by Chinese and Americans, and the Europe-Asia Air Transport Co. is managed jointly with Germans. Thus, the excellent air transport system in China has been created and is being maintained with foreign help. All the air routes are intended for commercial purposes, but if necessary any and all of them could be converted to military use.
Great Britain now operates an extended air service between London and Singapore and Batavia. France is also operating a service from Paris to Bangkok, Saigon, and Hanoi. Holland too is operating a service to the Dutch East Indies, while the Soviet Government is maintaining a service between the Far East and Europe. The Siberian Maritime Province and North Saghalien are connected now with European Russia by planes. Moscow, it is reported, intends next to operate an air route to Mongolia and China Proper.
It must be admitted that nearly all the existing air services between the East and the West are monopolized by Americans and Europeans, while Japan so far has not even succeeded in inaugurating an air service with neighboring China. It is important for the Japanese to awaken to this fact and to the vital need of competing with foreigners more closely in this field.
A Taut Situation in the Orient
U. S. Air Services, February.—A mad scramble for air-line concessions to and in China is at present in progress among the foreign powers. French Air Orient, operating a line between Paris and Saigon in Indo-China, recently concluded an agreement with the China National Aviation Corp. (Chinese Government-Pan American), by virtue of which the China National Aviation Corporation’s Shanghai-Canton line will be extended to Saigon to connect with the line to Europe.
The Japan Air Transport Co. has been trying unsuccessfully for several months to open negotiations with the Chinese Government for a concession to link the Japanese island of Formosa with Foochow in Fukien Province. Imperial Airways has been pleading tirelessly many months for a concession whereby its present line from London to Singapore might be extended to Shanghai by way of Hongkong. Experimental flights have thus far been made as far as Hongkong.
It appears that Koloniale Luchvaart Mij (K.L.M.) is content to tie up with China's air lines through a connection at Manila with Pan- American’s services to Macao. Lufthansa, to believe newspaper reports emanating from Germany, hopes to establish air connections with China, using rigid airships which are now said to be under construction.
The usual number of "good-will” flights attending all this commotion provide the sponsors thereof with an opportunity in the meantime to show off their wares.
Various Notes
GERMANY’S, Air Ministry, in its wisdom, has offered 10,000 pounds reward for any invention leading to the apprehension by the pilot at all times of the exact quantity of fuel in the tank or tanks of his airplane. Obviously it must work both on the ground and in the air and in all normal flying altitudes.
The lack of such an instrument has always afforded us the greatest dissatisfaction. Because one does not know how much petrol there is in the tank before taking off, one has, in practice, to fill right up every time the machine is left long enough for one to forget how long it has already been flown.
Secondly, few pilots dare use the last 5 gallons in any given tank. This is 40 pounds of dead weight in each tank which cannot be drained in the air without a fuel failure. Or conversely it means that one cannot use the last half-hour of the machine’s endurance because one is not sure of the exact consumption at each throttle setting.
Such an instrument as that specified would, in all probability, have saved the lives of the passengers in the City of Khartoum.
As it has to give an exact indication it cannot be of the float-type in a tank where the fuel level is subject to rolling or pitching or both.
The only idea we can suggest which suffers from no such limitation is that which uses a quantitative flow-meter at the air-vent pipe and is inversely calibrated in gallons of fuel. But as a petrol tank is constantly taking up air and discharging it on account of the irregular vaporization of the liquid by splashing, the flow meter would have a busy time and would not give a dead-beat reading while flying.—The Aeroplane.
Two very important recent technical developments are going to play an important part in the future design of bombing aircraft. The first, the system of geodetic construction invented by the British engineer, Mr. B. N. Wallis, who also designed the successful rigid airship R100, permits drastic weight reductions in wings and fuselage without any loss of strength, and the use of very much more efficient wings. Geodetic wing construction eliminates internal bracing wires, struts, tie rods and bays, the framework of the fuselage, being entirely built up of winding strips of metal which derive their strength from the pattern. A similar design is employed in the construction of the wings. Aircraft built to this design will have much improved speed, range, and permissible load, and it is confidently expected that a very heavy load of bombs will be carried at a speed approaching 200 m.p.h. over a distance of some thousands of miles.
The second improvement has been developed by the Bristol Co. who are embodying in their engines a new type of silencer. In view of the money and time spent in developing acoustical aids to air defense, the production of a silent engine is, of course, of great military importance, and it seems that two more nails are being driven into the coffin of air defense as understood by those people who pin their faith in ground guns and defensive single-seater fighters.—Army, Navy and Air Force Gazelle.
Test plights of the 350 hp. Hispano-Suiza powered Breguet-Dorand helicopter in France showed that the craft can attain a speed of at least 62 m.p.h. At present, the machine weighs more than 2 tons, and the diameter of the blades which rotate at 132 r.p.m. is 52 ft. They are geared at a ratio of 16.7:1, and are of duralumin construction, the leading edges being covered with duralumin sheet, fabric covering being used on the balance. Framework of the helicopter is of steel, and electrically-welded duralumin tubes have been used in the construction of the engine mount.—Aero Digest.
The TC-14, a coastal patrol airship, has been accepted for the U. S. Army Air Corps after test flights by Lieut. Col. Frank M. Kennedy, commanding officer of Scott Field, Belleville, Ill. The craft is similar to the TC-13, now stationed at the Sunnyvale, Calif., lighter-than-air base recently taken over by the Army from the Navy
Powered with three 300 hp. engines, two mounted in outboard gondolas and the third in the tail of the control car, the TC-14 is capable of a maximum speed of more than 85 m.p.h. It has a helium capacity of 360,000 cu. ft. and is 237 ft. long and 57 ft. in diameter. With its full gasoline capacity of 1,300 gal., the craft is capable of cruising for 72 hr. It has accommodations for cooking and sleeping for its crew of 8.
The sub-cloud car in which an observer can be lowered 3,000 ft. below the craft is also included in the equipment.—Aero Digest.
A POWERFUL British financial syndicate is having a giant airship built abroad for service on a direct Plymouth-New York route across the North Atlantic, states the Sunday Pictorial. Fares for the single trip, it is stated, would not greatly exceed first-class liner traffic, and are expected to be in the region of £55.
On the matter of speed, it is said that the airship would make the journey in two days, or a day faster than flying boats when the weather compelled the latter to travel via the Azores and Bermuda.—Naval and Military Record.
The giant Zeppelin LZ-1Z9 will soar over the Lake Constance region on its maiden flight next Monday if weather permits, Zeppelin company officials announced today.
Dr. Hugo Eckener, veteran designer, technical expert, and pilot of the Zeppelin company, said he believed the huge ship capable of weathering the most adverse weather.
The ship was four years in construction and cost $3,200,000. To be known as the Von Hinder- burg, the ship is about twice the size of the Graf Zeppelin and will accommodate 200 day or 50 overnight passengers.—Sun, Baltimore. Fried- richshafen, Feb. 29 (A. P.).
Guayaquil, Ecuador, Feb. 15.—(A.P.)—Thirty United States navy seaplanes, concluding maneuvers over the equatorial Pacific, flew over this city at an altitude of 1,000 ft. today. Every resident of the city stood in the streets to watch the spectacle, the first of its kind ever seen in Ecuador.
San Juan, Porto Rico, Feb. 15.—(A. P.)—Three squadrons of United States Marine Corps planes started for Quantico, Va., today completing 6 weeks’ maneuvers in connection with a Navy service squadron off Culebra. The planes went to Port au Prince, Haiti, and will continue on to Miami tomorrow.—Herald Tribune, N. Y.
An initial flight to introduce a new regular service between London and Sweden will be made today by British Continental Airways. One of the de Havilland express lines of the company will leave this morning for Hamburg and will continue its flight tomorrow to Malmo. It will return on Sunday, and on Tuesday next the first of the regular flights will take place.
For the present there will be two services weekly in each direction. The liners will leave London for Malmo on Tuesdays and Fridays and will operate in the reverse direction on Wednesdays and Saturdays. As soon as new aircraft now on order are delivered daily services will be operated.—Times, London, Feb. 7.
Two identical bills were introduced in the House today calling for appropriation of $5,000,- 000 to construct two lighter-than-air craft to be used by the Navy for experimental purposes, and for investigating this type of travel.
The measures, introduced by Representatives William H. Sutphin, Democrat, of New Jersey, and Dow W. Harter, Democrat, of Ohio, said that since it was the approved policy of the Navy Department to explore the possibilities of lighter-than-air craft for military and commercial purposes, $5,000,000 should be made available, of which $1,200,000 should be applied to construction of the ships.
One would be a rigid airship of moderate size capable of carrying scouting planes, and training personnel. The other would be a metal-hulled ship.
The Secretary of the Navy would be authorized to expend such sums within the appropriation as deemed necessary for investigating promising types of airship construction which have not yet been demonstrated in flight. He also would be directed to confer with the Secretary of Commerce with the view to encouraging early inauguration of transoceanic commercial airship services and to make available toward bona fide commercial airship activities such naval assistance as is compatible with existing law.— Herald Tribune, JV. Y. Washington, Feb. 22 (AP).
According to a statement by the K.L.M. at The Hague, the Sourabaya—Balikpapan section of the proposed K.N.I.L.M. service to Manila is expected to open in March. Suggestions that the line will by then be working right to Manila are unfounded.
Mr. Nieuwenhuis of the K.N.I.L.M. has been in Manila recently making arrangements. The K.L.M. have a Sikorsky S.43 and three more Douglas D.C.2s on order.
Now that Penang is an open airport the K.L.M. have arranged for their Batavia mail service to call there when needed. The fares will be the same as for Alor Star. They will still call regularly at Alor Star.
The K.L.M. through daily service from London to Prague will not operate from Jan. 1 to Feb. 16.
Passengers carried by the K.L.M. have increased in number from 21,327 (plus 31,107 joyride passengers) in 1932 to 41,701 (plus 13,952) in 1933, 85,969 (plus 18,465) in 1934 and 100,196 (plus 20,300) in 1935.
The European services carried nearly 96,000 passengers in 1935, the Amsterdam-Batavia line over 1,500 and the service in the Netherlands West Indies (based at Curacao) over 2,600. The figures are calculated on tickets sold, not on stages, and do not include free passengers.
Freight increased from just over 1,000,000 kg. in 1934 to 1,320,000 kg. in 1935. Mail loads on European lines increased by 65 per cent, because the Netherlands Post-Office decided during the year to send all letters by air in Europe wherever it saved time.
On the Amsterdam-Batavia line air mail increased by 34.6 per cent, parcel post by 13.3 per cent, general freight by 38.3 per cent and passenger traffic by 75 per cent.
At Christmas time a Penang resident flew by K.L.M. over to Medan, 250 miles away, to telephone greetings to his people in Europe, and returned by K.L.M. next morning. British Malaya is not yet connected by telephone with Europe.— The Aeroplane.