The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1921-10-23
BRITAIN SUSPENDS
BUILDING COSTLY
CAPITAL WARSHIPS,
Studies More Recent and
Deadly Weapons for
Sea Warfare.
POLICY IS CHANGED
Believes Capital Ship Is Use
less Against Submarine
So And Airplane. ,.--
POLICY is CHANGED

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power 10 built up But It was sig
nlncantiy added after a discussion
Of the value OF airpIsnes and sub
marines and OF CONFERENCE.-THE
against them that !"it ts even posi-
BILE that the present battleEhip will
change TO one Of the submersible
type. or even Of a flying type. So
after defending the bsttlsship theo-
retiealIy the British have practical
" abandoned its construction and
turned their attention 10 the build
ing Of submarines and airplane car
riers, as well az airplsneG
submsrise DtG Damage.
II 10 admitted that the battIeship
was not able 20 participate actively
In combating the U-bost. The Ger
mans during the war had in COM
mission ass submarines never more
than 200 IN commission AZ any one
time These employed a total force
of not TO exceed 10000 men. Against
this force were opposed the navies
Of France. Great Britain, Italy, jap
an and the United States. The per
sonnet Of the combined force was
1000. 900 men and there were daily
pitted against the submarines 5000
anti-submarine craft The shipping
loss OF the world ran TO 1880. 900
tons. valued with cargo At $1,000
000,0 Our own navy built $50
boats 10 combat the submarine. 1T
is obviously absurd" said Admiral
Sims. ito say that a belIIgerent
which was losing from 100000 to
100000 tons OF shipping a month, as
was the case Of the allies In the
spring tof 1917, was the undisputed
mistress of the seas"
A s A development which got its
"a start in the war, but distinct
ly IL an after-the-war deveI-
opment. the battleship has still az.
other deadly foe and one which uu-
Questionably will be a strong COT
| tributing factor in reducing o.
number Of the so-cslled first ella
capital ships. 1t is the airplane
Admiral Ffske, one OF the be-
known authorities said:
IF there was to be q fight out e.
the ocean between an airplane O.
rier on the one side and two bait
ships on the other side and ] had
be on one side, or the other, l VOL
go on the AirpIane carrier rath
than be on the two bsttleships"
TN the face OF these facts Gre,
Britain has practically sUspenL
i ed the building OF capital shil
Of the line and the United stat,
and Japan are the only nations tn.
are not Constructing them
But the tests which recently have
been conducted OF the Virgin
capes. in which army airplanes fie 9.
100 miles to sea and destroyed
battleship with greater ease than
the same feat could have been a.
complished by a battleship. may n
the opinion of many experts result
In q material curtailment Of the
more expensive warcrsft and a de
velopment of the airplsne.
Both the airplane and the sub
marine would seem 20 indicate d.
hopeful reduction In the burden OF
taxation for armAments. even IL the
political situation is such that the
powers will be disinclined to weak
Gh
In practically all naval engage
ments one feet or the other neces-
ssrily is near its base, where il will
have the support OF both its sui
marines and airplanes and IL is con-
ceivable that the mightiest armads
afioat could be wiped from the sea
by a materially smaller force. pro
vided the smaller force had the
cover Of airplGnes and submarine
A DMIRAL Sims has made this
"A quite clear in q statement be-
4 i fore the Senate naval AFFAIR."
committee in which he said:
1T is not a question TO my mind
! OF a second-class navy or a first
class navy. II we have no ideas, as
understand we have not. and We
never have had. Of extending our
territory, and have no policy OF a.
grandi1ement at all, then we do nos
need as large a navy as cur enc
mics that are s.000 miles away
Il do not hesitate to say that a
British navy twice as great as Curs
could not successfully carry out
any aggression against our c9hst'
"a L. "a .i.tS IA Vac - Ia
weapons that we have now. j.
1he enemy natlon is S.VOO mllFN
away they have not any ships a,
all that can come over here and &
back again without being coalet.
She has got to have a base on Thu
side. She has no destroyers at all
that come across the ocean at any
thing like feet speed, md she must
have bases for them. There is r
base on this side and there neve-
will be one on this side adequate
TO take care Of fleet of that kind
and. keep It in repair
iT HBSE points of view al
would seem 20 indicate one
u thing. -is that while esc!
of the powers has a publicl,
expressed policy 20 gain and hoIt
a certain dominance in the strength
Of their navies, there is a tendency
everywhere abandon the eN
tremely costly construction for IN,
more effective and less expensive
weapons.