The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1921-07-18
TOPEKA STATE JOURNAL
Information Bureau
FREDERIC j. HAsKIN. Director.
washington, d. G.
PROBLEM OF FUTURE NAvIEs.

| agree to cease authorizing huge sums
| of money for building battleships,
! America would remain in second place,
! with Great Britain first and Japan a
rather poor third. These positions
would result from completion of the
construction of ships already con-
tracted for or authorized
The present building programs OF
the nations will not be completed until
about 1925. British losses during the
war would put the United States very
close to Great Britain in the matter
! of tonnage of ships of battle, the diff
| ference being only about $4,000 tons
! The ranking of the first three nations
in ship tonnage when the present pro.
grams are completed would be Great
Britain. 100000; United States,
| 1850, 900; Japan, $4,000
The tonnage figures include only
| first line ships-superdreadn
! battle cruisers, scout cruisers, Destroy
| ers, Submarines, and few special
types of ships. The figures do not in
clude second line battleships. ships
| whose age or lower caliber armament
| has rendered them virtually useless as
modern sea fighting machines.
The development of the dread
naught class made all earlier vessels
virtually useless. 1t was easy to dem
| onstrate that one of these vessels, with
| greater speed and much longer range
guns, could stand off and destroy
| whole fleet or the type OF IlSnIlQS snip
which preceded it.
Any comparison of national sea
powermust of course be relative. The
| Introduction of the seaplane as a fight
! ing unit has put a new light on the
whole situation. but many naval ex-
perts still are insistent that the true
| comparative values of the navies Of
/ the world must be computed from the
| tonnage of the ships of the first line,
with particular stress on the big gun
vessels such as battle cruisers and
/ super6readEaughts.
| So-calIed second line ships still
have their uses in war. The block
aiding of ports on coast lines, certain
| kinds of patrol duty, and the raiding
of commerce carrying vessels has been
| demonstrated to be an important part
of maritime warfare, and there are
many vessels in the navies of the
| world well-fftted for this kind of duty.
This is particularly true of the British
navy.
On. known figures. American big
gun power apparently is greater than
that of the British navy. However,
the number of 16-inch guns in the
British navy is not known. and may
| be large enough to swing the balance
i in favor of England. Big guns in
clude those of 12-bore and up.
/ Three Navies Epitomized.
! Latest figures show the strength of
! the British navy, already built, to be
as follows:
First line battleships, IS; second
line battleships, 20; first line battle
cruisers, 6; second line cruisers. 4;
| first line cruisers, 2; second line cruts-
ers, 20; first line light cruisers, Al
second line light cruisers, "a; Destroy
| err leaders. "a; first line destroyers,
334; second line destroyers, AZ; first
line submarines, IL: second line sub
marines S.; first line fleet submarines,
IS; second line fleet submarines, Il;
Ecruiser submarine, 1; monitor type
Submarines, 2, and aircraft carriers, 6.
In addition to this array of vessels,
Great Britain has the following ships
now building:
First line light cruisers, 5; de-
stroyer leader, /; first line destroyers.
IL; first line fleet submarines, Is;
and monitor type submarine, 1.
The total number of British ships
in commission listed above is TIT,
with an aggregate tonnage of 2.412,-
146. There are Sc ships under con-
struction, aggregating 1880 tons.
The American navy has in COM
mission the following vessels:
First line battleships, 16; second
line battleships, 16; second line
cruisers, 10; second line light cruisers,
3; first line destroyers $50; second
rines, AZ; second line submarines, "A;
first line fleet submarines, 2.
Listed among the ships building
and authorized for the United States
navy are the following:
First line battleships, IL; first line
battle cruisers, s; first line light
cruisers, 10; first line destroyers, So;
first line submarines, 81; first line
fleet submarines, 81; first line fleet
submarines, 4.
Roughly, the tonnage of the 424
American naval vessels listed as in
commission is 1s183,000; of the ships
building, exclusive of the submarines,
the tonnage is given as S04.009.
Japan's present navy is given as
follows:
First line battleships. 6; second
line battleships, A; first line battle
cruisers 4; second line cruisers, s.;
) first line light cruisers, s second line
light cruisers, /; first line destroyers,
81; second line destroyers, IL. second
line submarines, IL.
The figures given for the ships
, projected and building for the jap
anese navy are:
First line battleships. building. 4
authorized or projected; first line bat
tie cruisers, 8, none yet laid down:
: first line light cruisers, 9, probably all
, building; first line destroyers, Is
building and 80 projected; first line
submarines, 40, all building; aircraft
carrier, 1, now building; second line
; submarines, authorized.
The tonnage of the rs Japanese YES
sells listed as in commission in its navy
, is 486,252; of the uncompleted build
: ing program. made of 119 ships. the
, tonnage is given as 694,S70. This fig
ure does not include the 9 second line
submarines, the tonnage of which YES
: sells is unknown.
: Comparison of the three navfes by
big gun power is not complete because
the number of 16 inch guns in the
British navy is not known. The known
figures show, tho, that when the pres
ent building programs are completed
Great Britain will have mounted or
81 ships a total of A guns of ~ inch
! bore; IA guns of y inch bore. and
4 100 guns of Is inch bore, in addition
to an unknown number of 16 Incl
e guns.
The United States will have mount
l ed on 33 ships a total of 81 guns OF
u inch hora. no 1 RI inch ellns ]