UNITED STATES
Philippine Defense
Herald Tribune, New York, May 30.—Plans to make the Philippine Islands “invasion proof” with a fleet of small, high-speed fighting craft and a relatively large but fast-moving army reserve were revealed tonight by Major General Douglas MacArthur.
When the Philippines, after 1945, became an independent republic, he said, there will be an offshore patrol of 50 to 100 small defense ships, capable of moving 50 to 60 miles an hour, 400,000 trained reserves, an air force with 250 planes, and a comparatively small standing army. In thirty years, he added, there will be 1,200,000 army reserves.
“As we go along,” said Major General MacArthur in an interview, “we shall collect supplies and equipment for this army, guaranteeing that the reserves can go into action within a short time, fully equipped for field duty.
“With leadership such as is afforded by President Manuel Quezon, these islands will become a great nation, and the Orient gateway to the Far East. Their natural position will make them easy to defend and make invasion of them costly.
“We have $8,000,000 to spend annually during the 10-year period for military defense. That means economy, but I am confident we can erect a defense that will discourage any invasion.”
Major General MacArthur, former United States Army Chief of Staff, is at present military adviser to the Philippine Commonwealth.
Speaking of sea defense, he said the small boat plans would develop 8 years hence and produce results 2 years thereafter. He said the tiny fighting vessels would carry crews of 8 men each and have 2 torpedo tubes each.
“The value of these ships already has been proven,” he continued. “Their speed makes them a difficult target. With air forces co-operating with this fleet, no admiral would risk his ships to invade Philippine waters. We can get 15 of these craft at a cost of one submarine.
“We shall get the air fleet within the last two years of the transition period. In the meantime, we are developing air field personnel.”
General MacArthur said that if the islands followed the general defense plan, “the Philippines can rest in perfect security.”
“It would take a half million men, ten billion dollars, tremendous casualties and three years’ time successfully to invade the Philippines,” he added. “Personally, ten years hence I would not want to lead any force in an attempt at invasion.” —Manila, P. I., May 29.
Various Notes
United States warships were ordered to Hongkong today as first reports were received of fighting between forces of the Cantonese and central Chinese governments.
The U.S.S. Asheville has been instructed to sail from Shanghai tomorrow, a day ahead of its scheduled departure, Shanghai advices said, and the U.S.S. Tulsa already is steaming south, having interrupted target practice at Chefoo.
Five Japanese warships arrived at Amoy, on the coast northeast of Canton, and landed marines “to protect Japanese nationals and property.” It was understood the marines would proceed to Canton if necessary.—Tribune, Chicago. Hongkong, June 13 (UP).
A brief, fast moving trial for Harry Thomas Thompson, discharged Navy yeoman charged with selling United States naval secrets to a Japanese agent, was promised by federal prosecutors after he pleaded innocent today.
Thompson was arraigned on a federal indictment accusing him of selling secret navy information to a Toshio Miyazaki, identified in the indictment as lieutenant commander of the Imperial Japanese Navy. Miyazaki, a co-defendant, has not been apprehended.—Tribune, Chicago. Los Angeles, Cal., June 26.
The usually quiet Virginia countryside nearby was in an uproar today while the Coast Guard demonstrated a new airplane device which will be used in Southern waters to spread warnings of approaching hurricanes.
Residents of the farming section around Mount Vernon listened for two hours to a booming “heavenly” voice which came down to them through a half mile of air, stating in clear tones such messages as “This is the Coast Guard testing a new invention.”
The demonstration, culminating a year’s investigation and experimentation, was pronounced successful by Coast Guard and Treasury officials at Fort Hunt.—Sun, Baltimore. Washington, June 17 (AP).
Her usefulness ended, stripped of everything of value, the rusted remains of the old submarine S-4, ill-fated “Jonah” of the Navy, took her last dip in the briny out west of Oahu, says the Army and Navy Register (Washington).
It will be remembered that it was the S-4 that in December, 1927, carried 40 of her crew to the bottom and to an untimely end off the coast of Massachusetts. Following her salvage she has been used by the Navy as an experimental laboratory at New London, Key West, Coco Solo, San Diego, and Pearl Harbor in the development of the submarine rescue devices—the marine lung and rescue chamber.
Her last experiment was conducted off Barber’s Point, Oahu, where she was sunk in 150 ft. of water with a skeleton crew aboard. Utilizing the lung rescue device, all of them made their way to the surface of the ocean and safety. She ended her career in about 1,000 fathoms of water and thus passed out of the picture forever.—Naval and Military Record.
The superintendent of the 18th Lighthouse District has received the following comment from the commanding officer of a battleship of the United States Navy, regarding recent experience with the synchronized sound and radio beacon signals at Anacapa Island and Los Angeles Breakwater:
While en route from San Francisco to San Pedro, on April 10, this ship ran into a heavy fog about 10 miles to the northward of Point Arguello. We used the synchronized radio beacon on Anacapa Island and on San Pedro Breakwater to excellent effect. In both instances the sound signals were picked up at a distance of about 8 miles. The accuracy of positions obtained is indicated by the fact that although the ship anchored in a dense fog off San Pedro, the position as obtained by the use of the synchronized radio beacon proved to be but 200 yards away from the actual position as obtained by bearings after the fog lifted.—U. S. Lighthouse Service Bulletin.
Commander Russell R. Waesche, U.S.C.G., was nominated on June 2, 1936, by the President of the United States to succeed Rear Admiral Harry G. Hamlet, U.S.C.G., as Commandant of the Coast Guard, with the rank of Rear Admiral. Commander Waesche was born on January 6, 1886. He has spent 32 of his 50 years in the Coast Guard, having been appointed as a cadet on May 19,1904, and having received his original commission as an ensign October 27, 1906.
He was promoted to Lieutenant (junior grade) in 1907, to Lieutenant in 1917, to Lieutenant Commander in 1923, and to Commander in 1926. His present assignment is Chief Division of Finance, Headquarters. His service has comprised nearly 18 years of sea duty and more than 14 years of shore duty.
The sea duty included 7 cruises into Alaskan waters, 4 years in command of cutters on the Pacific, and 3 years in command of destroyers on anti-smuggling duty on the Atlantic.—U. S. Coast Guard.
Men from all branches of the service numbering 4 officers and 32 men have reported, with hopeful gleams in their eyes, at Camp Curtis Guild, Wakefield, Mass., as candidates for the Coast Guard rifle team.—U. S. Coast Guard.
Bids will be asked shortly by the Navy Department for the construction of a $10,000,000 floating dry dock at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.
Admiral William H. Standley, acting Secretary of the Navy, has announced that the Navy was ready to start work immediately on the project, designed to increase the fleet’s efficiency in the Pacific. The plans call for a dry dock, 1,016 ft. long, 165 ft. wide and 75 ft. from top to keel, large enough to handle any ship of the fleet. Harbor work, under the program, would cost $8,000,000 for the dredging of 25,400,000 cubic feet.—Marine Progress.
The $11,000,000 cruiser U.S.S. Vincennes was launched May 21 at the Fore River plant of the Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corp., Ltd., Quincy, Mass.
Harriet Virginia Kimmell, daughter of Mayor Joseph W. Kimmell of Vincennes, Ind., christened the 10,000-ton warship by smashing a bottle of French wine, donated by Mayor Bonvoison of Vincennes, France, across its bow.
The Vincennes, a sister-ship of the cruiser Quincy launched June 19, 1935, will be armed with 8-in. and 5-in. guns. She will be propelled by quadruple screws driven by geared turbines and water-tube boilers.
The Vincennes is the second American warship to bear that name, the earlier ship having been completed shortly after the War of 1812.—Marine Progress.
GREAT BRITAIN
New Warship Names
Naval and Military Record, June 11.—To ships of the 1935 new construction program the following names have been assigned, according to a Fleet Order:
Cruisers (Southampton class).—Liverpool, to be built by Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Co., Ltd., Govan; Manchester, R. and W. Hawthorn, Leslie, and Co., Ltd., Hebburn-on-Tyne; Gloucester, H. M. Dockyard, Devonport (machinery: Scotts’ Shipbuilding and Engineering Co., Ltd., Greenock).
Flotilla leader.—Inglefield, Cammell, Laird, and Co., Ltd., Birkenhead,
Destroyers (Intrepid class).—Icarus and Ilex, John Brown and Co., Ltd., Clydebank; Isis and Ivanhoe, Yarrow and Co., Ltd., Scotstoun; Imogen and Imperial, R. and W. Hawthorn, Leslie and Co., Ltd., Hebburn-on-Tyne; Intrepid and Impulsive, J. S. White and Co., Ltd., Cowes.
Destroyers (Tribal class).—Afridi and Cossack, Vickers-Armstrongs, Ltd., High Walker, New- castle-on-Tyne (machinery at Barrow-in-Furness); Gurkha and Maori, Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Co., Ltd., Govan; Mohawk and Nubian, J. I. Thornycroft and Co., Ltd., Southampton; Zulu, A. Stephen and Sons, Ltd., Govan.
Mine-layersubmarine (Porpoise class).—Cachalot, Scotts’ Shipbuilding and Engineering Co., Ltd., Greenock.
Submarine (Swordfish class).—Sterlet, H. M. Dockyard, Chatham.
Submarine (T class).—Triton, Vickers-Armstrongs, Ltd., Barrow.
Submarine depot ship.—Maidstone, John Brown and Co., Ltd., Clydebank.
Sloop mine sweepers (Halcyon class).—Hazard, Wm. Gray and Co., Ltd., West Hartlepool; Hebe and Sharpshooter, H. M. Dockyard, Devonport (machinery: J. S. White and Co., Ltd., Cowes).
Convoy sloop (Bittern class).—Bittern, J. S. White and Co., Ltd., Cowes.
Coastal sloops (Kingfisher class).—Kittiwake and Sheldrake, J. I. Thornycroft and Co., Ltd., Southampton.
Surveying ship.—Gleaner, Wm. Gray and Co., Ltd., West Hartlepool.
Coastal mine layer.—Plover, order not yet placed.
Magnetic survey vessel—Research, order not yet placed.
Entry of Naval Cadets
Army, Navy and Air Force Gazette, May 14.—The entry of naval cadets has become more restricted since the war, largely because of the increase of the fees at Dartmouth, which have risen to £150 a year, or £600 for the course, apart from uniform, pocket money, and the various other expenses. It used to be said that a fair average of the cost of putting a boy into the Navy was £l,000, from the time he entered as a cadet until he became a lieutenant. The cost now must be nearer £2,000. (I refer, of course, to the cost to the parent.) This lends point to the plea made by Mr. Alexander in the debate on the Supplementary Navy Estimates for a much more democratic entry to the officer ranks. When he was First Lord he tried to introduce a plan for turning Dartmouth into an upper and lower school, and for an arrangement under which there could be admission to the upper school of qualified students who had matriculated at secondary schools. At present, the number who can enter from this section of the community is very limited, yet the Air Force makes good use of such a valuable source. In Mr. Alexander’s view, at least one-half and even more than one-half of the officers ought to go from public grant- aided higher education schools and be able to complete their training at Dartmouth. But there is no admission to Dartmouth after 13| years of age, and yet 68 per cent of all our naval officers come from Dartmouth. Great use is certainly being made of the special entry system from the public schools at about 18 years of age, and no doubt a few boys from secondary schools can come in that way, but the whole entry from this source last year, executive and engineering, amounted only to 28 per cent of the total. Nearly three times as many, that is to say, were taken into Dartmouth at an age when most of them could not have made up their minds whether they would like a sea career. Nor is it a healthy sign that commissions granted to lower deck candidates have been so severely reduced. Last year, the number was 6 (3 executives and 3 engineering), or only 2 per cent of the total. Now in the Royal Air Force 20 per cent of the permanent commissions are granted to men promoted from the ranks, and no one has yet maintained that this is a service needing less skill and brains than that afloat. I hope Mr. Alexander will pursue this matter and help to get something done. The naval service should have the best material to draw upon for its officers: the present system does not provide for this as well as it might.
Insurance for Officers
Times, London, May 30.—In order to encourage officers of the R. N. and R. M. to make effective provision for family responsibilities by means of life assurance, their Lordships have made arrangements with a panel of three leading life offices (the Equitable, the North British and Mercantile, and the Phoenix) for the grant of special facilities beneficial both to the company and to the officer.
The scheme, details of which are announced in Fleet Orders, provides for deductions of premiums from pay (including unemployed, half, and retired pay), and medical examination (where required) by a naval medical officer. In view of these facilities, the companies allow reductions in the premiums charged on any policy arranged under the scheme, whether of the standard types described in the Order or not. These standard policies at reduced rates are peculiarly suited to the needs of officers. A special feature is that all risks in peace and war, including foreign service, flying, and submarine risks, are covered without any extra premiums whatever, with the exception of officers who, at the time of making their proposal, are actively serving in, or definitely appointed to, the Fleet Air Arm (including Fleet Air Arm officers in general service appointments), or who are engaged in, or have the intention of engaging in, civil aviation in a private capacity other than as fare-paying or official passengers; such officers will be charged additional premiums.
The terms and conditions for standard policies for all three offices are identical, and details are contained in a folder which is being distributed to all ships and establishments. Premiums will be payable in advance quarterly; the first instalment is paid direct to the office by the officer, and subsequent instalments are met by deductions from pay. It will be to an officer’s advantage to effect assurance early in the quarter, so that the quarterly premium charge can be spread over the quarter by adjustment of monthly pay.
Various Notes
Great Britain, Japan, and the Soviet Union levelled sharp criticism at Turkey’s demands for Dardanelles refortification and control today.
The British, especially, held the international waterway should be subject to international supervision. The possibility that Russia is building a powerful and modern fleet at the Black Sea port of Odessa cropped up at the conference, and also was understood to be worrying the British.
It was thought such a move, coupled with Russian insistence on unlimited warship movements in the straits, might seriously disturb naval equilibrium in the Mediterranean.
Turkey, seeking to abolish the straits control commission, came to Montreaux to ask termination of treaty demilitarization restrictions, stringent limitations on warships transiting the straits, prohibition of submarine passage, and the right to close the waterway altogether in time of trouble.—Tribune, Chicago. Montreaux, Switzerland, June 23 (AP).
Winston Churchill, who was First Lord of the Admiralty from 1911 to 1915, made an onslaught today in the House of Commons on the British government’s announced intention to scrap 5 cruisers of the Hawkins class to conform with the London naval treaty of 1930. In answering the government’s arguments, he strongly recommended that the Admiralty first make sure that Japan would scrap her 7 cruisers exceeding the treaty limit.
Lord Stanley, Parliamentary Secretary of the Admiralty, had told Commons that the building of destroyers, cruisers, or submarines by other nations not signatory to the London treaty of 1930 had not been such as to effect Britain’s national security. Building by non-signatory powers such as to affect the national security of a signatory power is a prerequisite to invoking the escalator clause which would permit Britain to keep the older cruisers she otherwise is bound to scrap.
“In the interest of strict observance of treaty obligations,” Lord Stanley had declared, “the government believes that the escalator clause would not be justified and should not be used.” —Herald Tribune, N. Y. London, May 28.
The British Admiralty, as a result of years of experimenting, is painting its submarines in different colors to match the color of the seas in which they operate. We know, of course, low flying airplanes have been used to locate undersea crafts and the main purpose of the protective coloring is to make the submarine invisible to the flyer. It is understood that British submarines operating in the Atlantic will remain their present color, gray-green; those operating in the Mediterranean will be painted a royal blue and those in the Red Sea painted black.—Our Navy.
Much progress has been made on the defenses at the Singapore base. At the entrance of the Strait, between the Island of Singapore and the mainland where the base is situated, the R.A.F. is well established at a fully-equipped airdrome, and the stationing of two battalions of British troops at Singapore is an earnest of what may follow. The monitor Terror is the only important naval unit so far attached to the base.
The great dry dock, which is the principal feature of the base, is nearly complete; the huge floating dock successfully towed from England to Singapore three years ago is in operation and other important auxiliary machinery has been installed. Deep-water wharfings have been constructed, and there remains little more to do but to supplement the existing buildings by the great ranges of sheds and other erections required for so extensive an establishment.
The Singapore base does not stand alone, for an important auxiliary of a similar character has been constructed at Port Darwin by the Australian government, and a large storage base exists at Trincomali, a magnificent harbor on the East Coast of Ceylon.—Times, London. Singapore, May 20.
Work is proceeding rapidly on the site for the new airdrome at Singapore. The site covers some 250 acres, almost all of which is being reclaimed from swamp land situated in the estuaries of three small rivers. Eleven Ruston Bucyrus excavators, nine 1-cubic yard electric shovels and grabbing cranes, and two 3/8-yard oil-engined excavators are being used for the excavation involved in the construction. The quantity of material required for the earth filling, raising the surface of the ground, and leveling, involves the excavation of over 7,000,000 cubic yards of material, which is being obtained from a large hill about 4 miles distant from the site of the airdrome, and some 8,000 cubic yards of material is daily being obtained. The hill was attacked from the top in a series of shelves or benches, about 20 ft. high, the excavated material being dumped into steel double-side tip wagons of 3-cubic yard capacity, trains of 40 wagons at a time being loaded and dispatched to the airdrome site. To fill in the swamp the site is divided into areas of 10 to 25 acres in extent by putting in dividing walls or bunds. The water is then pumped out of these areas, after which the ground is allowed to dry and harden by the heat of the tropical sun, in order to form a solid base for the filling which is being dumped in layers. Consolidation is carried out by means of caterpillar tractors and road rollers. Finally, the ground will be covered with a special top dressing and turfed over with special grass selected for its hard-wearing qualities. Channels for seaplanes are being excavated by means of grabbing cranes mounted on pontoons. In preparation for the impending use of the new flying boats on the Empire routes, the new base is being equipped with an extensive and sheltered anchorage for marine aircraft, while concrete slipways, with a traveling cradle operated by electric gear, will enable the flying boats to be hauled up into hangars.—The Engineer.
It was announced on June 5 that the King had approved that Lieutenant-Colonel the Rt. Hon. Sir Samuel Hoare, Bt. G.C.S.I., G.B.E., C.M.G., M.P., be appointed First Lord of the Admiralty in the place of the Rt. Hon. Viscount Monsell, G.B.E., resigned.
It is significant that Sir Samuel Hoare has been twice Secretary for Air, in 1922-24 and 1924-29, and is still Honorary Air Commodore of No. 604 (County of Middlesex) Sqdn. of the Auxiliary Air Force. He should thus be well fitted to represent the air aspect of defense in the counsels of the Admiralty Board.
Lord Monsell entered the Navy as a cadet in 1894, took “firsts” in all his examinations for lieutenant, and specialized in torpedoes. He retired from active duty in 1906 and has been in Parliament since 1910. During the war he rejoined the Navy and held various posts, including the commands of the gunboat Glowworm and the monitor Roberts. He was appointed Treasurer of the Royal Household in 1919, and was Civil Lord of the Admiralty from April 8,1921, to Nov. 1, 1922; and Parliamentary and Financial Secretary, Admiralty, from Nov. 1922, to Jan. 27,1924. He was afterwards Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury, and became First Lord of the Admiralty in Oct. 1931.—Army, Navy and Air Force Gazette.
The report for 1935 of the Hydrographer of the Navy, Rear Admiral J. A. Edgell, O.B.E., shows that 37 new charts for general purposes were published, and 18 charts were improved by the addition of plans. New editions of charts published numbered 52. The number of corrections to charts inserted by hand totaled 255,404. The surveying ship Stork (launched on April 21) should be ready to begin surveying in the autumn of 1936, and will be employed abroad. The surveying ship Gleaner, laid down under the 1935 program, will be employed in home waters when ready. The general design and arrangement of instruments for the Royal research ship Research have been developed and her construction will be proceeded with. A surveying unit under the command of Commander N. A. C. Hardy, R.N., was employed on a re-survey of Alexandria, which was much overdue.—Army, Navy and Air Force Gazette.
A request has been made by Great Britain to the United States and Japanese governments to be allowed to retain 40,000 tons of destroyers (37 vessels), all past the age limit of 12 years, which by the letter of the London treaty of 1930 should be scrapped before December 31 next. The case for this invocation of the escalator clause in the treaty is a strong one. When Britain and America agreed to 150,000 tons of destroyers, and Japan to 105,500 tons, it was hoped that such a gesture would lead to limitation in other navies, especially as the Disarmament Conference was about to meet. The hope has not been realized. From 1930 to 1936 the destroyers of France increased from 67, chiefly of war and pre-war types, to 71, all but 14 of post-war types; those of Italy likewise increased from 83 to 96. Still more important, the submarines of France increased from 52 to 82 and of Italy from 43 to 64. Other Continental powers have also developed their torpedo flotillas. It is reasonable to wish to retain 40,000 tons of destroyers which, though old, are still serviceable for many duties rather than to go to the expense of building new. What puzzles me is why the Admiralty do not take a similar line of action in regard to cruisers, instead of scrapping five of the C class to build new ones.—Army, Navy and Air Force Gazette.
Pump no. 100 to supply petrol made from British coal was formally opened in Streatham High Road by Sir William Lane Mitchell, M.P., on May 13. Commander Colin Buist, a Director of Low Temperature Carbonization Ltd., in introductory remarks said that this industry was expanding in extent, and the quality of the product so improving, that petrol from this source would shortly be superior to anything on the market.
Sir William pointed out that 95 per cent of Britain’s fuel supply at present came from abroad. The carbonization process offers home-produced fuel and employment for some of the extra half million miners taken on during the war.
The ceremony had the appropriate and novel embellishment of a choir of unemployed Welsh miners, but there is no confirmation of the report that they sang a revised version of “Old King Coal.”—The Aeroplane.
Mr. J. H. Thomas, Secretary of State for the Colonies, told Mr. Sandys in the House of Commons on May 6, that the future status of Jarvis, Baker, and Howland Islands in the Central Polynesian Sporades (a British group which straddles the direct route between Hawaii and Fiji) is now being investigated, because of the increasing attention which is being given to the possible use of islands in the Pacific in the development of air services.
What with Japan fortifying “mandated” islands and forbidding foreigners to land on them, and America fortifying air bases at Wake and Guam in the Pacific and Italy fortifying Pantellaria directly on our sea-route from Gibraltar to the Suez Canal, we may as well have a few un- sinkable battleships with air bases attached on the way between Japan and Australia. But who is going to pay for them, Australia or John Citizen of England?—The Aeroplane.
A prospective challenger for the America Cup next year has been launched at Gosport. Named the Endeavour II, the yacht has been built for Mr. T. O. M. Sopwith to the design of Mr. C. E. Nicholson, and is up to the fullest length of the “5” class.—The Engineer.
FRANCE
France Unifies Forces
Herald Tribune, New York, June 10.—Coordination of France’s three fighting services under the effective control of Edouard Deladier, the Radical Socialist leader who is Minister of National Defense in the new People’s Front government, was announced today in The Journal Officiel.
The step, foreshadowed at the time the Leftist government was formed, is designed to reduce overlapping among the three forces, to enable them to work together at maximum efficiency, and, not the least important, to concentrate in the hands of a civilian minister the extensive powers which formerly appertained to military leaders.
Under the new system, the entire fighting strength of France will be considered as a single unit not only for questions of armaments, industrial mobilization and expenditures but in any possible disarmament negotiations.
To assist Deladier, a permanent committee of national defense was set up by the same decree. This comprises the Minister of the Navy, Senator Alphonse Gasnier-Duparc; the Minister for Air, Pierre Cot: Marshal Henri Petain, the chiefs of the general staffs of the Army, Navy, and Air Force, and, if necessary, the high officials entrusted with the general administration of the three departments of national defense.
Furthermore, the inspectors general of the armed forces will in future report to the Minister of National Defense, instead of to the general staffs as in the past.
An important feature of the new scheme is that it formally places the Supreme War Council under the Minister of National Defense, and makes the secretary of this council an official of his ministry, instead of an official responsible only to military chiefs.—Paris, June 9.
Various Notes
The two 35,000-ton battleships, popularly known as the France and Verdun, have received their official names, which are quite naval. The first, building at Brest, has been called Richelieu, and the second, to be laid down on January 1 at St. Nazaire, has been named Jean Bart. Cardinal Richelieu, who was Prime Minister under Louis XIII, is considered as the greatest among French statesmen, and was the founder of the Marine Française, creating a naval school and ports, and encouraging navigation in every way. Considering the geographical position of France, he proclaimed that “Providence had obviously intended to give her the empire of the sea, by placing in her hands the keys to all navigation.” At the moment, when the future of the Gallic Navy appears to be in the balance, there is some significance in the choice of such an appellation. As to Jean Bart, he is the most popular among French corsaries and squadron leaders. His personal bravery was equal to his skill. He professed and demonstrated that bold offensive against any odds was the best way to make up for numerical inferiority. Thus, there is, at this stage, some significance also in the choice of such a name for a battleship.—Naval and Military Record.
Up to the present, models of French liners and even of warships have had to be tested abroad, notably at Hamburg, for the lack of an up-to-date trial tank. Thus, the models of the Normandie and of the new 28,000-ton Sud-Atlantique liner were tested in Hamburg. That gap is to be filled. Under the management of an eminent constructor, M. Colomb, the Chantiers de la Loire are building at St. Nazaire a huge and up-to-date bassin d’essai des carènes, and at the same time they are erecting a “building dock” on unprecedented lines, enabling three ships (of which one is the 35,000-ton Jean Bart) to be constructed simultaneously side by side. Thus there is a new era for the Gallic shipbuilding industry.—Naval and Military Record.
The six 2,610-ton super-destroyer of the 1930 program have at last been commissioned for service with the Deuxième Escadre after successful trials. The Rateau-turbined Terrible, Audacieux, and Fantasque have done from 42.7 knots to 45.25, exceeding previous records in the Navy, while the Indomptable, Triomphant, and Malin, fitted with Parsons turbines, proved slightly inferior for speed, but more economical. All of them have carried out, or are carrying out, long-distance endurance cruises, and they can keep at 28 knots (or more) with ease for any length of time and hold their own with cruisers practically in any weather. So robust is their construction that vibrations are negligible up to 35 knots (a striking contrast with German-built destroyers incorporated in the French Navy).
The 2,930-ton Volta and Mogador, the only super-destroyers ordered since 1930, will be launched this year, the Volta in August next, at the Chantiers de Bretagne (Nantes), which have specialized in Rateau turbines, and up to the present have consistently obtained the best results. The Volta will beat the 45.25 knots record of the Terrible and develop well over 100,000 hp. —Naval and Military Record.
The 2,880-4,340-ton cruiser submarine Surcouf, after several years of inertia and costly modifications, is showing fight, and decidedly, with the result that former criticisms as to her war value are giving place to a sentiment of admiration on the part of those who have seen her at work. Within the last two years she has seen plenty of cruising and exercises. Last year she successfully accomplished a training cruise in the West Indies and on the west coast of Africa, taking a part last February in the exercises of the Deuxieme Escadre off Dakar and Agadir and gaining the esteem of the Commander in Chief, Admiral Darlan, so much so that she has been incorporated in the Brest squadron. Her size, sea-keeping power, high freeboard, and satisfactory conditions of habitability, her continuous sea speed of 15-16 knots on the surface, her heavy armament of two 8-in. guns in an armored turret, her armored deck, ample reserve of torpedoes (36) and stores, make her a bona fide cruiser, capable of springing disagreeable surprises on an enemy, and fitting her for duties of offense that could hardly be expected from smaller, unarmored units.—Naval and Military Record.
In the contretorpilleur, or super-destroyer class, the rise of speed records has been rather slow and gradual, and the result of comprehensive efforts. This is especially noticeable for the Rateau-turbined vessels. Thus, in 1925, the Nantes Chantiers de Bretagne obtained 36.7 knots in the 2,400-ton Tigre. In 1931 they registered 42.7 knots in the Gerfaut, and 43.4 knots in 1932 in the 2,480-ton Cassard (which has since attained that speed under service conditions). In 1933 the Epervier (hull built in Lorient, Rateau turbines by the Chantiers de Bretagne) did 42.62 knots with 82,000 hp. and 410 r.p.m. (only 6/16 of her total power), proving more economical than the Cassard (28 tons fuel per hour against 33).
In 1934 the 2,610-ton Terrible (hull built in Caen, Rateau turbines by the Chantiers de Bretagne) maintained 43 knots for 8 hours with an initial displacement of 2,830 tons, her engine power being superior to expectations by 25 per cent and her fuel consumption inferior by 15 per cent. She kept at 44 knots during the ninth hour. In January, 1935, under Washington conditions, she maintained 45.06 knots, at times going up to 47 knots, her highest full run being 45.15 knots. There was no luck, no miracle here, but simply tenacious application to the study of the speed problem under all its aspects. The Terrible proved by nearly 2 knots superior to her Rateau sister-ships Audacieux and Fantasque, because she has different water lines and internal dispositions. She does 43.6 knots with only 70,000 hp., and 44.945 knots with 90,000 hp. Her endurance cruise in the West Indies confirmed her exceptional speed qualities.—Naval and Military Record.
The Minister of the Navy, in accord with the Minister of Finance, has presented to the Chamber of Deputies a plan which modifies the law of March 4,1929, on the number of officer personnel for the Navy.
The increase in the number of modern ships and the increasing complexity of their material, the development of naval aviation, the necessity of maintaining in utmost efficiency the greater part of the naval forces, exacted a revision of the actual numbers of line officers and of engineers, which were fixed in 1929 for a period of 5 years.
The new project must be realized in 6 years. It does not take care of increases in the various corps of officers except in a measure absolutely indispensable; and proportionally to the increase of the crew, realized in these last years. The relations between the various grades remain practically the same as under the 1929 law. The annual increase in costs barely reach 3 million francs. Moreover the project, in a word, interprets the law concerning reserve officers (line and engineer), who go into active service. The effective total of this group is limited to one-tenth of the number in active service.—Rivista Marittima.
The Dunkirk was brought to Brest on April 18. Two days afterwards trials at anchor were begun. Early in June the speed trials at sea will begin. It is believed that the estimated speed of 29 knots will be exceeded.
The Dunkirk was authorized by the law of July 10, 1931, but the keel was not laid until December, 1932. The construction of this ship has taken three and a half years. It will be ready for service the latter part of this year.
On the other hand the second unit of this series, the Strasbourg, under construction at St. Nazaire, was begun in November, 1934, and will be ready in autumn, 1937; that is, under construction less than 3 years. This will be a great saving of time in construction of this kind.
The silhouette of this ship quickly presents itself as a long cruiser with a fine looking bow. It carries amidships a large turret similar to that of the English type Nelson. However since the turrets are not as yet completed, one cannot have an exact idea of their relative positions.—Rivista Marittima.
The submarine Junon, launched on September 15, 1935, in the Augustin Normand shipyards at Le Havre will be commissioned soon. It is the fourth and last of the 1930 series of coastal submarines, and increases the number of these units constructed since 1922 to 32. No other submarine of this type is on the ways. One second- class submarine, the Aurore of the 1934program, and two of this year’s program are authorized but have not been begun.
As for first-class submarines, there are two on the ways. These are the Ouessant and the Sidi- Ferruch of the 1930 program. The Roland Morillot, of the 1934 program, is authorized but construction has not begun. It is an entirely different situation than that of former years when there were simultaneously 20 submarines on the ways. —Rivista Marittima.
The construction of the torpedo-boat destroyer Volta on the large ways of the Bretagne yards is advancing rapidly. It is known that the Volta, which belongs to the 1934 program, will be launched during the coming summer and will complete her trials during May, 1937.
Here are the characteristics of this ship which will be the first of her type: length, 450 ft.; beam, 41 ft.; draft, 15 ft.; displacement, 2,930 tons; horsepower, 30,000. The armament will consist of eight 5.43-in. guns in turrets; four 1.5-in. antiaircraft guns; and three nests of 21-in. triple torpedo tubes.
The Volta with her sister-ship, the Mogador, under construction at the Lorient navy yard, will be the most powerful torpedo boat destroyer afloat. At the time of her trials she will endeavor to exceed the speed record of 42.253 knots, held by Le Terrible.—Journal de la Marine Marchande.
On March 23, the scouting unit Bombarde was launched at the Loire shipyards. The characteristics of this ship are as follows: overall length, 265 ft.; maximum breadth, 26 ft.; displacement, 609 tons; armament, 2 guns, 2 machine guns, and one nest of 2 torpedo tubes.
The Bombarde belongs to a series of similar units which includes the Pomone, launched in January, 1935, and the Iphignêie, launched at Nantes in April of the same year.—Rivista Marittima.
By ministerial decree a sound school has been organized at Toulon. The mission of this school is to train personnel to use underwater sound apparatus and to compare periodically the aptitude of the specialists who have taken the course.
The period of instruction lasts two months. The first month is used for the study of acoustics and the instruments to be used. The second part of instruction is conducted at sea, aboard the 585- ton despatch boat Yser which operates with a submarine. The latter serves as a target for sound detection operations.—La Revue Maritime.
On April 12 the law which marks the beginning of construction of ships listed on the 1936 program was promulgated. By the law the Navy is authorized to lay the keels of 3 destroyers and 1 tanker.—Revista General de Marina.
GERMANY
Various Notes
In order to modify the methods of instruction and simplify the different administrative requirements, the German Admiralty is carrying out recruitment in two groups.
The first group is composed of the volunteers who join for an extended period of 12 years, the preliminary period of military and naval instruction not being included in this period. The beginning of the enlistment of these recruits is the first day of the months of January, April, and July.
Included in the second group is the personnel who join the Navy for a short enlistment (9 and 12 months). These groups are recruited from the naval conscripts and other elements of the population not included in the conscription. Those particularly fit for life at sea remain in the service for 12 months. The remainder, catalogued as available for shore duty, serve for a 9-month period in the Coast Artillery. Those included in the second group join up on the first of October, each year.
The greater part of the sailors in the German Navy come under the class of those joining for long periods and one cannot doubt that this method furnishes the maximum advantages.— Revista General de Marina.
On may 30, 31, and June 1, 1936, the town and port of Kiel and the Western Baltic witnessed celebrations, memorial services, a Navy Day, and tactical maneuvers held to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the Battle of Jutland and the dedication of a war memorial erected at the entrance of Kiel Bight. In the memorial are inscribed all the losses sustained by the German Navy during the war of 1914-18.—Die Kriegsmarine.
The News-Chronicle announces the commissioning of a ship to repulse airplane attacks. The armament of this class of ship is, no doubt, related to the adoption by the English of the 4,200- ton cruisers as anti-aircraft batteries. The German A.A. ship will be the Brummer, one of the artillery school ships. This is the same type as the Bremse, commissioned two years ago. They are driven by Diesel engines which permit them to attain a speed of 27 knots. Their main batteries consist of four 4-in. guns and they each cost about ten million marks.
For the time being, the Brummer, rather than taking service as a unit of the fleet, as is the mission of the English cruisers Coventry and Curlew, will be assigned for trials and experiments of antiaircraft pieces.—Revista General de Marina.
The Liberty, mindful of the work of fortification that is being undertaken on the Island of Sylt with the object of converting it to a main air base, says the following:
“Nowadays the government is taking account of the fact that space is lacking and the problem of drying the Suderhaff, a bay situated at the south of the island, is being studied by the engineers. A dyke will be constructed uniting Rantum with Morsum Odde. In this manner an increase in area of 5,000 acres will be gained very close to the Holstein frontier.—Revista General De Marina.
The official bulletin of the German Navy, published May 15, gives a list of ships in commission and under construction up to the first of April, 1936.
It is noticeable that three cruisers are under construction instead of two as had been announced. They are: Ersatz Berlin, Ersatz Ham- Burg, and “J”.
The list enumerates 36 submarines, of which the following are completed: the U 1 to U 15 and the V 17 to U 20. The U 16 and the U 21 to U 36 are still under construction. Last year’s program did not announce more than 28 submarines including 20 of 250 tons, 6 of 500 tons, and 2 of 750 tons. No information has been given on the characteristics of the 8 supplementary submarines.
The greatest secrecy continues to be observed by the German Navy on the subject of new ships, and the progress made on those on the ways.— —Le Yacht.
On may 16 the Marine Verordnungsblatt published a complete list of warships of the German Navy in service and still building on April 1. Compared with the latest official naval manual, a new list of vessels reveals particularly the placing under construction of an additional heavy cruiser, the rapid growth of the submarine fleet, and the expansion of the “mosquito” fleet of small but speedy motor boats for quick offense.
Three modern armored, so-called “vestpocket” battleships of 10,000 tons each are still to be built under Versailles specifications and three pre-war ships of the line of 13,200 tons each are in service. Two new battleships of 26,500 tons each have been under construction since 1934.
Five light cruisers of 6,000 tons each and one of 5,400 tons are in service. Three heavy cruisers are under construction.
Sixteen destroyers of 1,625 tons each have been under construction since 1934 and 1935. Nineteen torpedo boats between 675 and 800 tons are in service; none is listed as under construction.
The total of the scheduled submarine fleet has been increased from 28 to 36. Nineteen, of the 250-ton class, are listed as being in service and the rest are still building. On April 17, German newspapers printed pictures of the U 25 off Kiel, designating it as Germany’s first 750-ton submarine. Submarines bearing numbers higher than 20 are either of 500 tons or 750 tons.
The “mosquito fleet” apparently consists of the following vessels: ten 600-ton “fleet companions,” (3 in service and 10 under construction); 24 “clearing boats” between 45 and 90 tons (20 in service and 4 under construction); 17 “speed boats” of an unrevealed size (13 in service and 4 under construction).
In addition, there are 29 mine searchers (built during the war); 10 “blockade drill ships”; 1 submarine mother ship; 1 “clearing boat”; 1 speed boat tender; 1 despatch boat which also serves as Chancellor Hilter’s personal yacht; and various training ships, special service ships, and other vessels serving special purposes.—Sea Power, June.
A usually informed source declared tonight refortification of Helgoland, a German island in the North Sea near which one of the major naval battles of the World War was fought, had been begun. Forts manned by big guns have been built into the rock on the west coast, this source stated, and the east coast is armed with antiaircraft guns.
Rumors that Germany was refortifying the small island, which covers only a little over one- fifth of a square mile, cropped up in London June 17. Informed persons said at that time that officials lacked confirmation of the rumors.— Sun, Baltimore. Copenhagen, June 26 (AP).
ITALY
Navy’s Part in War
Marine Rundschau, May.—The budget committee has reported on the Navy estimates for the coming fiscal year and rendered an account of the important part which the Navy has taken in carrying out the campaign in East Africa, as follows:
(1) Furnishing transports.—Immediately when the necessity for transporting troops to East Africa was foreseen, the Navy ordered production of equipment which would be needed in transforming merchant vessels into troop transports. This plan for mobilization with the aid of Italian shipyards provided for the preparation of no less than 90 ships for troop transports within one month; 130 debarkation floats were constructed, and 93 ships were actually chartered and used as transports (727,171 tons brutto reg.), 34 ships were used as aviation transports, and 27 ships more for special purposes of the Italian Navy. These ships transported between February, 1935, and February 1936: 360,000 men, 30,000 animals, 6,500 vehicles, 3,000,000 tons of equipment and material. Each transport was commanded by a naval officer assisted by a small number of other navy personnel.
(2) Debarkation.—The first transports of troops arrived in the East African colonies before the Minister for Colonies had been able to have all the preliminary work in the ports completed. In this emergency the Navy had to assist with its men and equipment. In May, 1935, the Navy took over the command of the port of Massawa, and after a short time was able to reduce the average stay of transports in port to one or two days. This schedule was maintained even though the number of vessels arriving in port daily increased from 18 in May to 50 in September. During 1935 there were transported to Massawa among other items the following: 134 debarkation floats, 8 tugs, 57 motor launches, 3 floating cranes, 1 floating power station, 48 lighters; 34 vessels of all kinds went to the ports of Somaliland, Mogadischu, and Bender- Kassim; 30 additional vessels were under way at the time of the report. The Navy furnished also colliers and tankers.
Communications.—Since 1907 the Royal Navy has been in charge of communications between the East African colonies and the mother country. In the beginning of 1935 there were 34 radio stations in Eritea and Somaliland which also handled commercial and private communications. By improved efficiency and performance the Navy was able to take care of the additional demands brought on by the war with Ethiopia. The monthly output rose from 200,000 words to 1,929,500 in December, 1935. At present the Navy maintains 50 radio stations in East Africa in addition to the radio telephone stations in Asmara and Mogadischu.
Medical service.—Before the war the Navy owned only two hospital ships built during the World War but unsuited for service in the tropics. The Navy acquired therefore in 1935 eight passenger vessels of altogether 74,000 tons brutto reg.; these ships were equipped with 6,000 beds and taken over by the Navy’s medical personnel. The Navy also established ten hospitals ashore in Massawa, Assab, Asmara, etc.
Various Notes
The sum assigned in the general budget for the Navy for the fiscal year 1936-37 reaches the sum of 1,610 million lire, or about 305 million lire more than assigned in the previous budget. At this time the following Italian ships are under construction:
2 battleships of 35,000 tons
2 cruisers of 8000 tons
1 destroyer of 1,675 tons
6 torpedo boats or small destroyers of 705 tons
1 torpedo motor boat of 46 tons
1 submarines of 1,126 tons
1 submarine of 1,365 tons
10 submarines of 617 tons.
In the budget of 1936-37, the laying of the keel of the following ships is taken into account:
4 destroyers
4 gunboats
3 tankers
20 seagoing tugs.
—Revista General de Marina.
There is actually under construction in the port of Genoa, a dry dock of enormous proportions; it measures 1,150 ft. in length, 130 ft. in width, and about 43 ft. below the level of the sea. It has two floodgates or entrances: the first, which permits passage to the dock for ships of great tonnage, and the second for those of minor displacement. The cost of this dry dock will total about 55,000,000 lire.—Revista General de Marina.
A squadron of the Italian Air Force has recently made a remarkable flight in connection with the training of bombing units. It left an airdrome in Northern Italy and flew over the Apennines at a height of 15,000 ft., bombed a target near Rome, and returned to its base without alighting.
The total distance of the flight was 750 miles and because of the bad weather most of it was flown by wireless direction.
The average speed of the flight is said to have been 162 m.p.h.—The Aeroplane.
Two light cruisers of the "Condottieri” type have just been put afloat for the Italian Navy. They are named Duca degli Abruzzi and Garibaldi, will displace 8,000 tons at normal load, are fitted to carry 3 seaplanes apiece and are expected to develop a speed of 35 knots. It is likely enough that on their full-power trials they will be worked up to touch this rate of progress through the water, and thereby justify official claim to such speed. The Continental sea powers, with the exception of Germany, which follows the British practice in this matter, prefer “records” to the realities of normal seagoing condition.—Naval and Military Record.
Great Britain and Italy have reached an agreement in principle on the main points of a Mediterranean military accord, Army circles said today.
This projected accord was a powerful inducement leading Great Britain to the decision to lift sanctions, these sources added, and was one of the main reasons for an improvement in relations between the two countries.
Main points of the proposed agreement regulating British and Italian sea, air, and land forces in the Mediterranean are:
(1) British naval supremacy remains assured. The Italian fleet would be divided into three large units or squadrons, only one of which would be stationed near waters that might interest Britain, the other two in the upper Adriatic.
(2) Italy would have the superior air position. She would keep permanently about 100 planes in Libya and another 100 would be divided between Sicily and the Aegean islands.
(3) Land forces in Egypt and Libya would be limited to 75,000 men by each country, of which one-third would be motorized.
(4) The British may fortify Cyprus and Alexandria in addition to Malta.—Tribune, Chicago. Rome, June 21 (AP).
JAPAN
To Fortify Straits
Japan Advertiser, May 20.—Recommendations that Soya Straits between Saghalien and the Hokkaido be fortified and that an air base be established in the Hokkaido were approved at the meeting of the first recommendations subcommittee of the House of Representatives.
The subcommittee, to which is assigned affairs of the Cabinet, and the War, Navy, Justice, Communications, Railway, and the Overseas Ministries, also adopted 24 other recommendations to the government in a 2 ½ -hour session.
The recommendations for the establishment of the northern defenses were introduced by Mr. Kotaro Bando, Minseito. “Soya Straits are entirely unfortified and can be navigated freely,” he pointed out. “In case of an emergency, this may be a serious menace to the population resident along the Japan Sea coast, and to some extent the Pacific coast.”
Viscount Iyomaru Tatsumi, Parliamentary Vice-Minister of War, said that the project would be “taken up step by step.” The War Office would like to first study the restrictions on fortifying the straits which are set forth in the Portsmouth treaty, he stated. Vice-Admiral Sietake Toyoda, director of the naval affairs bureau of the Navy Ministry, made the same reply.
Because of the possession by “a certain power” of 80 heavy bombers with a cruising radius of 2,500 miles, Mr. Bando went on, an air corps is required for the protection of the 80,000,000 square miles of the Hokkaido and Saghalien and the population of 3,400,000 that lives there.
Vice-Minister Tatsumi replied that the suggestion would be studied.
The House’s second subcommittee on recommendations met at 9:45 o’clock in the morning and approved 16 recommendations before recessing at noon. In the afternoon 15 more were approved. They included such subjects as explanation of fisheries in the Tohoku, improvement of the Oi River, Shizuoka Prefecture, improvement of Shimonoseki Harbor, and the creation of a commission to investigate weights and measures, says Domei.
To Exploit Islands
Herald Tribune, New York, June 5.— The new policy of the Japanese Navy, looking to a “southward advance,” took definite shape today. The government promulgated a law establishing the Formosan Colonial Company for the exploitation of Japan’s southern possessions, while the Navy Ministry indicated that it intended to appoint a naval governor of Formosa, probably Vice-Admiral Seizo Kobayashi, former commander in chief of the Japanese combined fleet.
The Navy has had it in mind for some time to appoint a naval officer as governor of Formosa, making it the central point of Japan’s southward expansion. Admiral Mineo Osumi, former Navy Minister, who has just returned from an inspection trip of Formosa and the South Sea Islands under Japanese mandate, is understood to have recommended the appointment of a naval officer as successor to the present civilian governor, Kenzo Nakagawa, who has served for four years.
Admiral Kobayashi, mentioned for the post, is one of the ablest of Japan’s naval officers. He served as naval attache at London in 1920, was a delegate to the abortive Geneva naval disarmament conference in 1927, became Vice Minister of the Navy in 1930 and commander in chief of the fleet in 1931. He held the last post for two years, after which he was placed on the Supreme Naval Council. He was one of 16 high naval officers placed on the waiting list when Admiral Osami Nagano became Navy Minister last March.
It is also expected that a new governor will be appointed to administer the South Sea Islands under mandate of Japan—before the World War possessions of Germany—replacing the present civil governor, Hisao Hayashi.
The law creating the Formosan development company as a governmental enterprise was passed by the last session of the Diet, received imperial sanction and was promulgated in the official gazette today. The company is capitalized for 30,000,000 yen ($8,820,000) and half the shares will be subscribed by the government and the balance by Japanese firms or subjects only. Bonds may be issued up to thrice the value of the shares.
The purpose of the new company is to encourage the development of enterprises in Formosa and the Japanese territories to the south. Main offices will be established at Taihoku, capital of Formosa. The Domei (Japanese) news agency reports that the director of the general affairs bureau of the Formosan government will become director of the new company.
Neither the Navy Minister nor any responsible government official has made known clearly what is meant by the slogan “southward advance,” which is becoming as popular as the slogan launched three years ago predicting a crisis for the years 1935 and 1936. Officials have stated repeatedly that Japan intends to keep the mandated islands, before the World War the possession of Germany, and develop them, and newspaper articles have alluded to Japan’s economic advance to the Dutch East Indies, and even as far as Siam.— Tokyo, June 5.
Ministers From Active List
Japan Advertiser, May 18.—Revision of government regulations so that only generals and lieutenant generals and admirals and vice admirals on the active list are eligible for the posts of Army and Navy Ministers will be announced today in the Official Gazette, following Imperial sanction, the two ministries announced yesterday.
For the past 23 years the two highest service posts have been open to officers of the highest bracket in either the active or first or second reserve lists. Actually, however, all appointees have been active officers.
The most significant point of the announcement, according to both Domei and Nippon Dempo, is that the collaboration of the War Minister, the Chief of the Army General Staff, and the Inspector-General of Military Education in arranging the semi-annual personnel changes will be terminated. Hereafter the shifts will be decided on by the War Minister alone.
The draft of the revision of the government regulations for the appointment of Army and Navy Ministers was submitted to the Privy Council for approval on May 13 and was adopted by it then. Both Ministries issued statements on the matter yesterday.
Not only must the Ministers be of the “sho” category on the active list hereafter, but the War Vice Minister must be either a lieutenant general or a major general on the active list, and the Navy Vice Minister a vice admiral or rear admiral of the same standing.
Various Notes
The admiralty has given to the members of the Diet an official explanation of the naval budget for 1936-37. The naval budget rises to 552 million yen. Supplementary credits increase this figure by 134 million yen. The main divisions into which these supplementary appropriations will be divided are as follows:
3 million yen for new units
6 million yen for the reorganization of the air service
2,800,000 yen for the increase in expenses due to the fluctuation of the yen
21 million yen for the reorganization of the navy yards
10 million yen for the reorganization of artillery
54 million yen for the modernization of naval units
5,500,000 yen for study and research of naval gunnery
—Rivisla Marillima.
According to information from the Japanese press, the government, by previous agreement with the Minister of Colonies, will unite the administration of Formosa with that of the islands under mandate in the southern Pacific, placing all under a naval governor. This agreement is made in execution of the new “Japanese expansion in the south,” recommended to Minister Hirota.—Rivista Maritiima.
The Japanese Naval Minister has denied the information that Japan has the intention of building battleships of 55,000 tons displacement, armed with 18-in. guns. At the same time, he has published a notice drawing the attention of the Japanese public to the fact that re-enforcements are necessary for the fleet.—Le Yacht.
As the first step in the renovation and strengthening of the Combined Fleet to meet the post-treaty emergency situation, the Navy Office yesterday announced plans for the formation of a 3d Battle Squadron and a 3d Air Battle Squadron, and personnel shift made necessary by the new line-up.
This formation, unprecedented in time of peace, is an additional indication of the importance the Navy attaches to the present situation, the Asahi says.
The 3d Battle Squadron will be formed by splitting the 1st Battle Squadron, composed of the capital ships Nagato, Fuso, Haruna, and Kirishima. The Nagato and the Fuso will be retained in the 1st Squadron, and the other two will compose the new 3d Squadron. The new 3d Air Battle Squadron will include the seaplane tender Kamoi, and the 28th Destroyer Squadron, composed of the Yunagi and the Asanagi.— Japan Advertiser, June 2.
Only 5 per cent of the total navy budget will be spent abroad, Navy Minister Osamu Nagano declared at today’s session of the house budget committee. “Ninety-five per cent of the appropriations sought by the Navy Department in the 1936 budget will be spent in Japan,” he said. “In this way the domestic industries will be enriched.”
Meanwhile naval officials expressed concern over the large naval fund voted by the United States Senate. They said that American action had stimulated Japan into making plans for larger naval programs.—Honolulu Advertiser. Tokyo, May 9.
With imperial sanction, it was announced yesterday afternoon that Mr. Jusha Tsumura, who had aroused the Army and the Navy by his accusation in the plenary session of the House of Peers on Thursday that the men in the ranks seemed more loyal than their officers, had been relieved at his own request of his duties as a member of the Upper House. He had tendered his resignation in the morning, and the government immediately took the necessary procedure to obtain Imperial sanction for its acceptance.
Contrary to his earlier intention to withdraw what he had said and make a public apology, Mr. Tsumura did not appear in the House of Peers when it met in plenary session yesterday morning. Breaking precedent, the House adopted a motion that he be disciplined. The disciplinary committee met early yesterday afternoon but adjourned when informed of Mr. Tsumura’s resignation.—Japan Advertiser, May 16.
Unless a new treaty is concluded to replace the Washington pact, Japan’s plans for island fortifications in the Pacific, suspended as a consequence of that treaty, should be revived, War Minister Hisaichi Terauchi declared yesterday, testifying at the second session of the Lower House budget subcommittee examining Army and Navy estimates.—Japan Advertiser, May 15.
An interesting sidelight which illustrates the present Japanese emphasis on fishing is contained in a recent wireless to the New York Times. This dispatch, based on the Japanese Asahi, announces that the Diet recently voted 89,000 yen for an inquiry into the feasibility of extending fishing operations to the coast of Alaska. As a result a Japanese trawler with experts aboard is expected to sail some time in June to carry on investigations. “Hitherto the government has refused permission to operate in Alaskan waters because of American fishing interests.”—Far Eastern Survey, June 17.
Lieutenant Colonel Saburo Aizawa, killer of Lieutenant General Tetsuzan Nagata, was sentenced to death yesterday by the court-martial of the 1st (Tokyo) Division, the War Office announced shortly before midnight.
The court-martial reached its decision on Thursday, and on Friday the defendant appealed. —Japan Advertiser, May 10.
OTHER COUNTRIES
Argentina
The Bouchard, first of seven 550-ton dispatch vessels building in Argentine shipyards, was launched at Rio Santiago on March 20. Her sister- ships will be named Drummond, Granville, Parker, Robinson, Seaver, and Spiro. Names have also been conferred on the old ex-German dispatch vessels, formerly numbered M. 1 to M. 9, as follows: Bathurst, Fournier, Jorge, King, Murature, Pinedo, Py, Segui and Thorne. All these are names of distinguished Argentine naval officers. —The Navy, London.
The Argentine government has ordered the construction of a dispatch boat of 500 tons at the Sanchez de San Fernando yards (Republic of Argentina). Two others were ordered from Hansen, Puccini y Cia., who are at present building a tanker. Moreover there are under construction three other dispatch boats in the Navy Yard at Rio Santiago. These ships will probably be armed with 4.3-in. guns. It is the first time the Navy has broken its custom of ordering its ships from foreign countries.—Revista General de Marina.
On June 6, it was officially announced by Vickers-Armstrongs, Ltd., that an order had been received for 3 destroyers for the Argentine government, and for the armament for 4 similar ships to be built at other shipyards. These vessels include, we learn, 2 destroyers to be built by John Brown and Co., Ltd., at Clydebank, and two at the Birkenhead yard of Cammell, Laird and Co., Ltd. In view of the new orders, Vickers-Armstrongs are transferring the hulls of the H. M. ships Afridi and Cossack to their naval yard at Walker- on-Tyne, but the machinery will be built at Bar- row-in-Furness. The Argentine contracts represent a total of about £2,800,000, and if the cost of the new school cruiser for midshipmen, constructed in Vickers’ yard, be taken into account, then the sum recently spent by the Argentine Navy in Great Britain amounts to £4,800,000.— The Engineer.
Seven destroyers, of a total value of £2,800,- 000, are to be built in English yards for the Argentine Navy. Vickers-Armstrongs, Ltd., have received an order for three of the vessels and the armament for four others, the hulls of which will be built by Cammell, Laird and Co. Ltd., Birkenhead, and John Brown and Co., Ltd., Clydebank. Of the 9 existing Argentine destroyers, 4 were built in German yards before the war; 3 at Cowes, Isle of Wight, in 1928-29; and 2 (launched 1925) were purchased from Spain.—Army, Navy and Air Force Gazette.
Brazil
The old coast defense ironclad Floriano has been removed from the effective list. Of 3,162 tons displacement, she was built in France in 1899. Her sister-ship, the Deodoro, was sold to Mexico in 1924, and is now known as the Anahuac.
The current program of naval construction includes 2 cruisers, 10 destroyers, 8 submarines, 6 mine sweepers, 3 oil tankers, and some smaller craft. So far the only orders officially announced have been for 6 submarines and a tanker. These are building in Italy.—The Navy, London.
The Minister of the Navy has published a statement denying that construction of two destroyers has started. He points out that the information probably refers to a gunboat whose hull is now being built.—Le Yacht.
China
The Chinese cruiser Ping Hai, of 2,500 tons, is at last approaching completion. Laid down at the Kiangnan Dock Company’s yards at Shanghai in July, 1931, and launched in the following year, work on her was suspended from 1933 to 1935. Her machinery and armament, which are to be identical with those of her sister-ship already in service, the Ning Hai, have been ordered from Japan.—The Navy, London.
Greece
The new program of national defense provides for the construction of 4 destroyers, 4 submarines, and the reorganization of the air force. The destroyers would displace 1,300 tons and can be compared with the English H class. They would be constructed in foreign yards and would cost about 1,200,000 pounds.—Rivista Marittima.
Mexico
The new transport gunboats, Queretaro and Guanajuato, built in the Ferrol yards for the Mexican Navy, have a displacement of 1,300 tons; they are armed with eleven 4-in. guns and 12 machine guns. Their speed is estimated at 20 knots. They are capable of transporting 30 officers, 200 men, and 20 horses.
A third similar unit, the Potosi, is being constructed at Cadiz. Two others, the Zacatecas and the Durango, of 1,600 tons displacement, have the same armament, but are capable of transporting 40 officers, 300 men, and 80 horses. The latter two were constructed at Cadiz and Velencia.— Rivista Marittima.
Netherlands
The new cruiser De Ruyter, of 6,500 tons, ran her trials in the Firth of Clyde during the latter part of May. It is understood that the designed speed of 32 knots was exceeded, her Yarrow boilers giving every satisfaction. She mounts seven 5.9-in. guns as her main armament and carries 2 seaplanes.—The Navy, London.
Norway
The torpedo boat Sleipner was launched from the Royal Dockyard at Horten on May 7.—The Navy, London.
Poland
Blyskawica (“Lightning”) and Grom (“Thunder”) are the names that have been assigned to the two big destroyers laid down last year by Messrs. J. Samuel White & Co. Ltd., Cowes, for the Polish Navy.—The Navy, London.
Portugal
The two destroyers, the Tejo and Douro, built at Lisbon to replace the units sold to Columbia early in 1934, were commissioned early in February.
The construction of these units was undertaken by the Yarrow firm of Glasgow. Five destroyers were stipulated by the 1931 program because of the serious international crisis. Two, the Vonga and Lima, were built on the Clyde. The other three were built at Lisbon under the direction of the Yarrow firm.—Rivista Marittima.
Siam
A program that will more than double the strength of the Siamese Navy is now being put in hand. Already there have been ordered in Japan two coast defense gunboats of 2,200 tons, mounting four 8-in. guns in 2 turrets; 4 submarines of 370 tons; 5 patrol vessels of 130 tons; and an oiler of 2,000 tons. From Italy there will be delivered 9 torpedo boats of 435 tons, the first two of which have already reached Bangkok; two sloops of 1,450 tons; and 2 minelayers of 400 tons. Additional contracts are to be placed for 3 more torpedo boats, 2 mine layers, 2 sloops, 4 submarines, and an oiler, while other types are under consideration. A second program has been prepared to succeed the first immediately on its completion.—The Navy, London.
Sweden
The destroyer Stockholm, launched at Karlskrona on March 31, is similar to the Nordenskjold. Of this type four units have been commissioned since 1928, with the following characteristics: Displacement, 895 tons; armament, three 4.7-in. guns; two 1.4-in. guns; six 21-in. torpedo tubes; 20 torpedoes. Indicated horsepower, 24,000. Speed, 35 knots.
The Stockholm will, on the contrary, develop 32,000 horsepower and will attain a speed of 39 knots.
A sixth unit of the same type, the Goteberg, is still on the ways at the Gotaverken yards of Goteberg.—Rivista Marittima.
The problem of the reorganization of the National Defense as presented to Parliament by government is based on a budget of 134 million krona. Of this sum, 73 million is available for the Army, 33 million for the Navy, 22 million for aviation, and 6 million for the Coast Artillery.
The budget for this year as a whole is increased. The aviation budget is doubled while the budget for the Navy suffers a loss of 2 million krona.— Rivista Marittima.
Turkey
The Turkish government has adopted a naval program which provides for the construction of 2 cruisers of about 8,000 tons, 4 submarines, and 4 destroyers. The orders for these ships will be given to foreign yards.—Rivista Marittima.
Uruguay
The Reunited Shipyards of Genoa has just delivered 3 Diesel-engined gunboats of an altogether new type to the Uruguayan government. These gunboats are about 140 ft. in length, 19 ft. in width, and have a draft of 11 ft. They displace 150 tons. Two 4-cycle Diesel engines of 500 horsepower each, built at Ancona, permit a speed of 17 knots. The armament consists of 2 guns of 1.85 in. and two ¼-in. machine guns. Further, each gunboat carries a very fast motor boat, capable of 20 knots and armed with a similar machine gun. These ships, very well constructed, are remarkably equipped for policing the coast.— Journal de la Marine Marchande.
U.S.S.R.
M. kosariefe, General Secretary of the Congress of the Young Communist League, speaking at a meeting at Moscow recently, said that 3,500 Air Force pilots had been trained last year and 52,000 men had learned to glide.
This year a further 8,000 pilots would be trained.
He added that 25,000 “chemical instructors” had also been trained and declared that if the Soviet Union was attacked the proletariat in Japan, Poland, and Germany would come to its aid.
The Central Executive Committee of the U.S.S.R. has awarded hundreds of decorations to Soviet aviators for “outstanding personal success and skill in military aviation.” The Order of Lenin has been conferred on 119 aviators, the Order of the Red Star on 262, and the Order and Badge of Honor on 179. Various reasons are given for these awards including “technique, capable guidance and the training of the air forces of the Red Army.”—The Aeroplane.
For the purpose of drifting in polar waters, a special ship constructed of wood is being designed in the Arctic Institute at Leningrad. It will be of 1,000 tons, and propelled by 400-hp. oil engine and sails. To protect the vessel from ice, it wall have an egg-shaped hull, and a removable rudder and screw. To commence its arctic drift, which is expected to last for 4 years, the ship will be towed into the high northern latitudes by an ice breaker.
Construction has begun on a new semi-rigid airship in the U.S.S.R. for the purpose of research flights to the arctic. Called the D P-9, it will be bigger than any previous Soviet airship, with a volume of 25,000 cubic meters, length 107.5 m., width 22 m., and height 24 m. The gondola is to hold 8 cabins for 16 passengers, and there will be special cabins for the crew. In addition, there are to be reading and smoking cabins, and an electric kitchen.—The Engineer.
The soviet Union announced today it could not consider limitation of its Far Eastern fleet as there was no similar agreement binding Japan. Conversations now going on in London will therefore have to do only with armaments in European waters, it was officially stated.—Herald Tribune, N. Y., Moscow, May 24.
MERCHANT MARINE
New Subsidy Bill
Nautical Gazette, June 20.—After a minor filibuster by Senator Theodore Bilbo, Democrat of Mississippi, directed chiefly against the $26,500,000 subsidy fund contained in the Treasury Post Office supply bill, the Senate at the close of a 2- hour debate today finally passed the revised Guffey-Copeland-Gibson ship-subsidy measure which has been hanging fire in the Upper House for the past several weeks.
The compromise bill as outlined in these columns previously provides for a 50 per cent government subsidy for ship construction, establishment of a maritime commission composed of 5 members, to succeed the old U. S. Shipping Board, and Americanization of crews on vessels operating under the subsidy.
The measure eliminates the present system of ocean mail contracts and gives contract holders one year in which to reach an agreement with the maritime commission for direct subsidies, and the Post Office Department will pay on a poundage basis for the carrying of mails.
The Senate further accepted an amendment, advanced by Senator Hugo L. Black of Alabama, limiting the salaries of officers of subsidized lines to $25,000 per year.
The amendments, as they are now presented, are acceptable to the Post Office Department and to the Commerce Department and are, as near as can be judged, in harmony with the wishes of the President.
The regulatory functions, formerly exercised by the Shipping Board, are transferred to the new commission, but authority is given to the President to transfer these regulatory functions to the Interstate Commerce Commission, if after 2 years he deems it desirable.
The ocean mail contracts are to be canceled not later than June 30, 1937. This allows a year for readjustments. Each mail contractor is given the right to negotiate a settlement with the new commission, whereupon his contract is terminated before June 30, 1937, but if a settlement is not negotiated, the contractor may sue the United States in the court of claims for just compensation, provided the suit is commenced prior to January 1, 1939.
According to Senator Guffey, where private shipping interests can develop and perpetuate any foreign service line by contributing 25 per cent of the construction cost of such new vessels as are required, the commission will pay the owner both an operating and construction subsidy. The amount of the subsidies will necessarily have to be estimated, after studies have been made of foreign construction and operating costs.—Washington, D.C., June 19 (CTP).
Various Notes
There was an increase in the receipts of the Suez Canal Co. last year of about 928,000,000 francs, against 895,000,000 francs in 1934. Unfortunately, as stated in the report which will be read at next week’s ordinary meeting in Paris, this was in no wise due to a trade revival, but solely to Italian military transports in connection with operations in Abyssinia. Nearly 6,000 vessels totaling 32,811,000 net tons, passed through the great waterway during the period under review, this being 1,060,000 tons, or 3.3 per cent, more than in 1934, and only 2 per cent less than during the record year 1929.
However, after deducting the tonnage employed by Italy in transport to and from Eritrea, there remains a total of about 28j million tons, which is one of the smallest on record for the last 10 years, and is about 3 million tons less than the figure for 1934. This, the report states, is attributable, as regards the outward trade, to a falling off in shipments from Soviet Russia to the Far East, which had shown a considerable increase during the last few years, and, homewards, to smaller European imports of crude petroleum, cereals, and oil-bearing materials. The first 4 months of this year were similarly characterized by an increase in the net tonnage of vessels, amounting to about 4 per cent compared with the corresponding period of 1935, and a decline in ordinary cargo traffic.—Nautical Gazette.
In an address delivered at the meeting of the Britain Steamship Co., Mr. Edmund H. Watts, the chairman, said that it was common knowledge that the personnel of the Royal Navy was insufficient for the full complements of even the present depleted fleet, but it was not so generally known that there were signs of a shortage of efficient deck hands for the requirements of the Mercantile Marine. A small Royal Navy had meant a small reserve of naval ratings, and a reduced merchant service had naturally meant reduced reserves of merchant seamen. If war broke out the merchant service could not transfer the several thousands of seamen on which the Admiralty was counting, and this country would be faced with the alternatives of sending an inadequately manned Navy to fight or laying up some of its essential food carriers.—Times, London.
A trans-Florida canal, linking the Atlantic Ocean with the Gulf of Mexico via Lake Okeechobee, will be in operation by next spring, according to a recent announcement from the office of Lieutenant Colonel Earl North, district U. S. Army Engineer, Jacksonville, Fla.
Contracts are now in force to dig out the Caloosahatchee Canal and river from Lake Okeechobee to Ft. Myers, on the Gulf, to a 6-ft. depth, which will complete the trans-Florida canal project. Lake Okeechobee already is linked with the Atlantic coast by the St. Lucie Canal and the St. Lucie River. The minimum depth of the completed waterway will be 6 ft.
Entering the St. Lucie River, 35 miles north of Palm Beach, the present canal has a 6-ft. channel to the St. Lucie Canal, which has an 8-ft. depth to Lake Okeechobee. A 6-ft. channel is available across the lake to Moore Haven where boats are locked out into the Caloosahatchee Canal.
The Caloosahatchee Canal and River for 45 miles, to Ft. Myers, have a controlling depth of only 2 ft. at the present and this project is to be improved to 6 ft. during the coming year. From Ft. Myers to the Gulf the channel is maintained at 9.5 ft.
The Okeechobee route will be approximately 145 mi. in length from the Atlantic to the Gulf and the eastern entrance is nearly 250 mi. south of the now abandoned Florida deep-water ship canal project.—Motorship, June.
The world’s largest all-electric welded vessel, the Franquelin, has arrived safely at Montreal. It will be remembered that it was built to replace the Joseph Medill, which was lost with all hands whilst on her maiden voyage from the Tyne to Canada.—The Engineer.
A new system, which it is expected will make the mechanically refrigerated ship obsolete, has been introduced. It utilizes dry ice costing 2\ cents a pound and having a temperature of 110 degrees at the surface, and can be installed on any type of vessel.
The first vessel to be equipped with the new system left San Francisco several weeks ago. Owners and agents do not want the vessel’s name made public for the time being. The installation was made public by the Carbofreezer Co. of San Francisco, which owns all patents on new apparatus. They report that the idea has attracted world-wide attention and that they have received application from 18 foreign countries for installation.
Though dry ice has been used before with some success, it is this new auxiliary resolidification system which definitely promises to usher in a new era in refrigeration. Consisting of a carbon dioxide compressor and fittings, it works in a cycle which makes the dry ice last indefinitely. The cost of installation is said to be 25 per cent less than a similar mechanical installation.— Marine Journal.
Neville Chamberlain, chancellor of the exchequer, has announced British governmental approval of plans for the construction of a sister- ship to the Queen Mary. The new vessel will alternate with the Queen Mary in weekly service between New York, Southampton and Cherbourg.—Nautical Gazette.
AVIATION
High-speed Small Carrier
Scientific American.—There is no doubt but that the aircraft carrier is an indispensable element of any navy, if that navy’s airplanes are to be effectively used. The disadvantages of aircraft carriers lie in their immense expense, large size, and the fact that they are vulnerable to attack. It would seem, therefore, that a small aircraft carrier of high speed, extreme mobility, and cheapness of construction and operation would be of interest.
In a “vestpocket” aircraft carrier designed by John I. Thornycroft and Co. in England these objectives are sought. An interesting feature of the carrier lies in the employment of the Hein landing apron or “canvas” similar to that employed in the German-South Atlantic service.
At the bow of the vessel a catapult is provided which will handle aircraft up to 8,000 pounds in weight and catapult them at 57 miles an hour. The catapults are designed to be exceptionally long so as to permit gentle acceleration, thus making their operation safe for aircraft loaded with bombs. There is an advantage in placing a catapult at the bow since the speed of the ship helps in increasing the relative wind. If, for example, the minimum speed of an airplane is 57 miles an hour and the carrier is traveling at 27 miles an hour, only 30 miles speed is necessary at the catapult.
The Hein canvas allows an airplane to be picked up while the carrier is itself maintaining full speed, so that it is less vulnerable to torpedo attack by submarine.
With the conventional aircraft carrier, the deck has to be long enough for the airplane to alight. With the new design the overall length of the carrier is 360 ft. and the displacement only 3,000 tons. With a shaft hp. of 40,000, a speed of 28 knots is expected of the new design.—A. K.
Records
Aviation, June.—In a little under eight days early in May, Mrs. Amy Johnson Mollison broke three England-Capetown records. She left Gravesend, England, 9:05 a.m., May 4, and on May 7 was in Capetown, South Africa, with an elapsed time of 3 days, 6 hours, 26 minutes. This lowered by 11 hours, 9 minutes, the record set for the run by Flight Lieut. Tommy Rose last February. On May 10 she pointed her Percival Gull back toward England, and landed at Croydon, near London, in 4 days, 16 hours, 16 minutes, beating Lieut. Rose’s record by one day, 14 hours, 41 minutes. Her 7-day, 22-hour, 42-minute round-trip bettered Rose’s by 2 days, 1 hour, 52 minutes.
In America, records fell thick and fast. At Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Mrs. Annette Gipson spiraled her little Monocoupe to an altitude of 12,628 ft., to establish an American women’s multi-passenger altitude record for light planes. The barograph was sent to the National Aeronautic Association for calibration. Mrs. Gipson carried one passenger.
Altitude record for the feminine single-seater light airplane category was shattered at Endless Caverns, Virginia, May 9, by Helen Richey. Flying an Aeronca, she climbed to 18, 448 ft., to win a $200 prize offered by Endless Caverns Airport.
But not all record smashing was done by women. May 5 Robert N. Buck, of Westfield, N. J., left Union Air Terminal, Burbank, Cal., optimistically set his course towards Newark, N. J. Immediately after taking off, he dropped his landing gear. Two thousand miles later he skidded his plane to a landing on its belly at Columbus, Ohio, to break the light plane distance record.
To win a $50 bet that he could have lunch in Chicago and dinner in Los Angeles, Howard Hughes took off from Chicago in his Northrop Gamma at 11:05 a.m. P.S.T., May 14. He roared into Grand Central Air Terminal, Glendale, Cal., 8 hours, 10 minutes, and 25 seconds later.
Various Notes
Acting Secretary of the Navy, Admiral William H. Standley, announced that a new trophy designated as the Rear Admiral William A. Moffett Memorial Trophy will be awarded annually to the battleship or cruiser based aviation unit which conducts its operations throughout the year with the maximum of safety.
The trophy, a large silver plaque mounted on a walnut base, has been purchased with funds received from naval aviators and is in memory of the late Rear Admiral William A. Moffett. The plaque bears 25 individual shields upon which will be engraved the name of the unit which annually receives the award. The ship upon which the aviation unit winning the trophy is based, will retain the trophy until such time as it is won by another unit.
Award of the trophy will be made under the same rules that apply to the award of the Schiff Memorial Trophy, which is presented annually to the naval aviation activity flying the greatest number of hours during the fiscal (year with proportionately the fewest injuries to personnel and least damage to material. The Moffett Trophy, however, is to be competed for only by battleship and cruiser based aviation units which, due to the nature of their services, have particular problems to meet and so are deserving of this special recognition.—Aero Digest.
The Netherlands colonial office at Amsterdam announced, on May 12, it had purchased 13 Martin Bombers from The Glenn L. Martin Co., Baltimore, Md. The order amounts to $1,540,000. An official in Amsterdam, quoted by the Associated Press, states that the Martin Bombers will be used in the East Indies.
After surveying all available airplanes, the Dutch East Indies Air Force selected the B-10-B (foreign model 139 W) for its defense program. The ships, now under construction, will be identical with those furnished the Army Air Corps, except for secret details of armament. The engines will be Wright Cyclones F-53. Shipment will be made by the Glenn L. Martin Co., direct to Java, during September, October, November, and December. L. C. Milburn, vice-president of the company, is in Holland. He signed the contract there in the face of stiff competition by other bombardment manufacturers. And there are more foreign orders coming.—U. S. Air Services.
The Navy today awarded contracts for 191 new planes.
Fifty-four of the new craft will be Northrop 1,000-pound dive bombers and 54 will be Chance- Vought bombers of-similar type. The remaining 83 will be Curtiss scouting bombers.
Marking a new policy, the Navy declined to give the money involved in the new planes because the ships will be of experimental type, mak- it impossible to determine the cost in advance. —Honolulu Advertiser. Washington, June 13.
The navy Department announced, on May 21, that a contract for 40 scout observation airplanes and spare parts had been awarded to the Curtiss Aeroplane & Motor Company, Buffalo, N. Y., for a total of $759,630. A contract for 135 planes of the same design was previously awarded to that company.—U. S. Air Services.
The National Aeronautic Association has announced that Lieut. Charles F. Greber, U.S.N. commanding officer of the Naval Reserve Air Base at Grosse lie, Mich., has set a new speed record in flying from Detroit to Washington on June 2. Lieutenant Greber, flying in a Grummann Flighter standard Navy plane, made the 380 miles in 2 hours, 12 minutes, and 2 seconds.— Army and Navy Journal.
Because an extensive improvement program underway at Cleveland Municipal Airport will not be finished in time, the National Air Races, scheduled for Sept. 5, 6, and 7, will move to Los Angeles, scene of the event three years ago. With the publication of the program some weeks ago it was hinted that the move would be made. It was definitely announced by Clifford Henderson, managing director of the races, May 20.— Aviation.
Difficulties on the San Francisco-Manila route of Pan-American Airways, which stopped the start of a regular service after the impressive try-out on Nov. 22, were recently explained by Col. Clarence M. Young, who is in charge of the transpacific department. He was formerly Undersecretary of the American Bureau of Air Commerce. .
The chief reason, as explained in The Aeroplane of May 20, was that depressions over the Pacific extended some 15 degrees farther South than usual for 2 months, and the Westerly winds on their south sides were too strong and persistent for the normal fuel range. Also icing conditions were bad on the Atlantic coast, where the third Glenn Martin Clipper flying boat was waiting for test, and it was not ready till May.
In January all eight motors in the first two Clippers were changed, apparently because higher compression-ratios and supercharging were needed to give some 900 hp. per engine for the take-off. This further delayed progress.
Dredging channels at Midway and Wake Islands seems to have given trouble, and material for buildings on Wake Island had to be transhipped and towed across the lagoon in small boats because the great depth of water prevents any ship from anchoring. In spite of all this the hotels on Wake Island, Guam, and Midway Islands, which are needed for passenger traffic, are practically finished.
In the meantime the service between California and Manila is operating at intervals of about 10 days. The last stretch to Hongkong or Macao is to be flown by Sikorsky S-42’s instead of Martin Clippers.—The Aeroplane.
The British aircraft industry is receiving a severe setback in Australia as the result of the inability of manufacturers to supply aircraft for the commercial air lines.
On the ground that British aircraft manufacturers were too preoccupied with Air Ministry orders for the R.A.F. expansion program the Commonwealth Government decided to admit American aircraft under specific license. So far several American machines have been put in service, and others have been ordered.
It is stated that more than £150,000 has been spent in America on airplanes and spare parts during the past 3 months, and that unless the British manufacturers make a big effort the Australian trade will be lost to America.
The advantage of the American machine is pronounced, as its greater speed and comfort is more suitable to the great distances which have to be covered in Australia. In aviation circles it is suggested that a British manufacturer who will produce a 10-passenger airplane capable of cruising at 200 m.p.h. and able to give prompt delivery would be able to capture the Australian market. —Sunday Times, London.
Lord Swinton, Secretary of State for Air, speaking at a meeting at the Royal Aero Club on May 21 in connection with Empire Air Day, explained some of the steps which are being taken by the Air Ministry to increase the personnel of the Royal Air Force in connection with the expansion.
He said that so far recruiting had gone very well. Last year they accepted 1,220 service pilots and 250 reserve pilots, about 14,000 airmen and 1,200 re-enlisted airmen. This year they would need 1,000 regular pilots, 800 pilots for the reserve, and about 8,500 airmen.
Pilots were joining from Australia, where medical and selection boards had been established and he hoped to extend these facilities to Canada.
Referring to the reserve, Lord Swinton said that he hoped to organize a system whereby initial reserve training could be done at certain centers at week-ends and in the evenings instead of in the 52 consecutive days now necessary.— The Aeroplane.
The 37-ton seaplane Lieutenant de vaisseau Paris, which was wrecked during a storm at Pensacola, has been brought back to France and has been repaired. She will soon fly again, and some 10 miles faster than she did. Three improved flying boats of 42 tons are building. To be ready this year there are 14 Breguet-Bizerte of 14 tons, 7 Loire-70 of 11 tons, and experimental Loire- Olivier machines of 23 tons and great cruising speed. Interesting tests will be made in the coming summer grandes manoeuvres navales.—Naval and Military Record.
Germany has started work on an airliner of 6,400 hp. for the North Atlantic air service.
It is being built at the Dornier works at Friedrichshafen, and will, it is claimed, be the largest airplane in the world. It will be known as the DO 20.
Of the seaplane type, it will be driven by 8 motors (Diesel type) of 800 hp. each. Each two motors will drive one propeller.
Dornier has just completed the DO 18, also for the North Atlantic service, and successful trial flights have already been carried out. This machine will first be operated on the mail service to South America, but will eventually be used on the North Atlantic route when that service is started.—British United Press.—Sunday Times, London.
A rumor by cable from Karachi on May 21 said that preparations are being made to receive the Hindenburg there in October, and that it will fly on to Singapore if mooring arrangements can be made there.—The Aeroplane.
Great Britain’s intensive rearmament in the air was demonstrated today by a display of the new aircraft with which the expanded Royal Air Force has been equipped.
The new planes were put through their paces for the first time publicly at the annual Royal Air Force show, with the great powers of the world represented by a record number of foreign delegations, including the chiefs of several air forces, besides nearly the whole diplomatic corps.
Included in the demonstration were representatives of various new types of planes, the destined equipment for 50 new squadrons yet to be formed. All showed striking improvement and performance.
Two new fighters, the Vickers supermarine and Hawker, both equipped with Rolls Royce Merlin engines, are faster than any other fighters in the world, attaining a speed of more than 300 miles an hour. This is at least 70 miles an hour faster than the best now used by the Royal Air Force. Planes of this new type have been ordered in quantity for the Air Force.
The new medium bomber class were represented by four planes, including a Fairey Battle and Bristol Blenheim, a modification of Lord Rothermere’s civil airplane.
The spectators were thrilled by the sight of fighters streaking across the airdrome at 300 miles an hour, with the bombers only a little behind in speed.—Tribune, Chicago, June 28. London, June 27.
MISCELLANEOUS
Surer Artificial Respiration
Scientific American. For the first time in many years the Schaeffer prone pressure method of artificial respiration for insensible persons who have been, to all appearances, drowned, asphyxiated, or electrically shocked, has been improved upon. A new system of inducing respiration and resuscitating persons who have apparently died has a 41 per cent higher efficiency than the Schaeffer method by actual test, in that it gives deeper breaths for a proper cleansing of the lungs, and more breaths per minute. It was developed by Holger Nielson, a Danish sports inspector, as a result of years of study. So well recommended does the new system come that there is every assurance that the new system will replace the older, long- accepted, Schaeffer technique.
In the early part of the century, Sir Edward Schaeffer invented the system which has since borne his name and which has been the means of saving the lives of hundreds, if not thousands, of people. In this system the person to be resuscitated is placed face downward while the operator kneels over him facing the patient’s head, his knees beside the hips of the patient. The operator places his hands firmly on the lower ribs of the patient one hand on each side. He then leans forward, throwing the full weight of his body on his hands to compress the patient’s lungs and thus expel air (and water in the case of a drowned subject). A quick release of the pressure after 4 seconds permits the patient’s lungs to expand with a sharp intake of breath. This process is continued, at 3-second intervals, until the patient revives or it can be definitely shown that there is no hope.
[IMAGE]
Resuscitator kneels astride the patient’s head, presses downward on shoulder blades, and lifts arms on upward movement.
Inspector Nielsen began the study of the Schaeffer system and also the Silvester, another commonly used system, some years ago. He discovered that by both of these the respiration induced was not sufficiently deep to cleanse the lungs thoroughly. He realized that, for best results, the air should be forced deeply into the lungs. The Holger Nielsen technique which came as a result of these studies is more or less similar to the Schaeffer except that the operator kneels astride the patient’s head and exerts the pressure of his hands on the patient’s shoulder blades. The patient is placed face downward as in the older method and the operator kneels as shown in the accompanying illustration. His hands are so placed that on the release of the pressure he can slide his handsoff the shoulder blades to grasp the patient’s arms and lift them slightly. Lifting of the arms removes the patient’s weight from his chest so that the lungs are permitted to expand much more than in other systems. The result is that about twice as much air is drawn in, according to authorities who have tested the system; noxious gases or water are evacuated; and natural breathing is started much earlier.
In applying this Nielsen method to a patient, first remove his clothing or any parts of it, at least, which will tend to hamper the free movement of the patient’s shoulders and lungs. Lay him face downward on a flat hard surface. Should this surface be sloping, be sure that the patient’s head is at the lowest point. Arrange his arms as shown in the illustration, bent and folded under his forehead, not so much to protect his face from bruising but to prevent any twist of the neck which would interfere with breathing. A handkerchief should be placed beneath the patient’s mouth and nose to prevent the intake of dust. When patient and operator are in position, the patient’s back must be slapped sharply between the shoulder blades several times to cause the tongue to fall forward out of the mouth. If this is unsuccessful, the operator draws it forward with his fingers.
Artificial respiration is then administered by the operator swinging his body forward, throwing only his weight, but no muscular, force, onto the patient’s shoulders. The movement is slow so that the pressure is progressive. The pressure is continued until the operator’s arms are in a vertical position which he holds while he counts up to 4. The operator then swings backward to release the weight and as he does so grasps the middle of the patient’s upper arms, pulling them backwards just enough to lift them slightly without disturbing the position of the patient’s head or torso. This position is held while the count is continued up to 8. The operator then assumes his original position and repeats the routine, the entire procedure being completed from 7 to 8 times a minute. There should be no break in the rhythm of this action until strong normal breathing is induced or for at least four hours in the event that no natural breathing may be detected.
Professor August Krogh, Nobel Prize winner of the Rockefeller Institute in Copenhagen, was the first authority to investigate this new system. After exhaustive tests on insensible persons, he gave it his unqualified endorsement. The faculty of medicine at the University of Copenhagen, the Danish Red Cross, the Danish Life Saving Association, the State Board of Public Health, and other interested bodies also have investigated and approved it. The Danish Red Cross has, in fact, adopted it and advised its use on all bathing beaches and in many industries. In countless instances the Nielsen method should be of great value in an emergency in the absence of, or before the arrival of, mechanical resuscitators.
We are indebted to Professor August Krogh for these facts.