The New York herald., 1922-12-21
britain OUTSHOOTS
u. S.BY 10000 YARDS
Relative Fighting Eff
cheney OF Warships Stirs
Naval Men.
PUT UP TO THE SENATE
Sensational shortcomings
Alleged to Exist in
American Ships.
ONLY A FEW EXCEPTIONS
England Reported to Have
Spent S4,OOO,O0O in Modern
izing One Craft.
ONLY A FEW EXCEPTIONS

WASHINGTON Dec. 20 (Associated
Press) Relative lighting efficiency
of British and American battleships,
particularly at long range, has been
called sharply to the attention OF the
Senate Naval Committee in considera-
ton of the pending naval appropria-
tion bill.
Naval officers are known to be
greatly concerned on the point, as the
British virtually have completed post
war modernization of their 15-inch
gun ships and no start on similar
work has We; been made in the Ameri-
can navy
The effect of the British, postwar inn
provements it was said to-day in naval
circles. was to give to the entire main
British fleet range of $4,000 yards
against a maximum of about 10000
yards for all American battleships ex-
ccpt the Tennessee, California. Mary
land. Colorado and West Virginia In
addition. as permitted under the Wash
ington Treaty. the British ships have
been equipped with blister" anti-torpedo
against airplane bombs and high angle
fire.
s8O.OOO,OOO Required.
A rough estimate of the cost Of mod
ernizing American ships in the same
way, so far as increasing gun elevations
and strengthening decks are concerned
is approximately 100000, 900. In the
British program as much as s4,000.000
was expended on a single ship.
When naval estimates were under con-
sideration in the Budget Bureau and
later before the House appropriations
naval officials for limited program
battleships to be retained under III,
treaty The items presented called for
conversion OF coal burning ba.tleships OF
the 14-inch gun type TO oil burners and
the installat ton of 5-inch antl-aircraft
batteries 10 replace all present 3-incl'
guns on the big ships. The items went
out both before the budget and in COM
mittee, but there. are Indications that
more urgent representations are being
made in the Senate.
Change from coal to oil fuel is OF
vital importance in widening the offec-
tive radius OF action Of the ships while
teries means using shells with fifty
yard burst instead OF the twenty-five
yard area covered by . inch projcctiies
In other words. curtain OF fire"
against aircraft with 5-inch guns would
need one-half the number of guns in
action to make it effective.
Must Come In Under Fire.
The most striking point to which at
tention is being directed. however. is
that of long range big gun hrc. Op-
posed 20 the modernized British fleet
to-day. navy officers have stated. most
OF the American fleet would face the
necessity of closing in Ave miles under
salvo fre before they could bring their
own guns 20 bear. As the British ships
are also slightly faster. t is said, he
possibility of bringing the entire fle..
into action would he negligible
Older American battleships. as we'll
as the British ships now modernized
were designed and built before the DOS
sibilities Of aircraft "spotting" were
seen. Their guns had y range UP TO the
limit OF vision from the spotting tops
OF the ships. which Is 10000 Yards under
most favorable conditions.
Tests with sircraft, however. have
fully demonstrated. both ia American
and British naval opinion based on war
lessons. that fire can be made effective
against ships entirely out OF sight over
the horizon. The British are said to
have acted on this knowledge ia making
the costly changes necessary to raise
'nrret guns to thirty degree nring
~.eyation as compared 20 the old clcva-
tion on twelve degree maximum.