Norwich bulletin., 1922-12-21
BRITISH NAVY. IS MORE -1
 EFFICIENT THAN U. s. NAVY

Washington, Dec 20 By the A. P.)-, Relative fighting efficiency of British and American battieships, particularly ct long range, were understood today to have been called sharply to the ak- tention of the senate naval committee in consideration of the pending naval ap- propriation bill. =
 Naval officers are known to be great concerned On the point, as the Brit ish have virtually completed postwar modernization Of thear 15-inch gun ships and no start on similar work has yet been made in the American navy
 The effect Of the British postwar i'm. uovements. 1t was said today in naval circles, was to give tine entire main British fleet a range of 30,0eo yards . ainst a maximum of about 2e.oo0 yards for all American battleships but the Tennessee, California, Maryland, Colorado and West Virginia
 In addition. as permitted under the Washington treaty, the British ships have been equipped with blister" anti torpedo construGh and their decks ar rnored against airpIane bombs and high angle fire. @z A rough estimate of the cost of mod ernlzng American ships in the sam. way, so far as increasing gun eleva- tions and strengthening decks Is con- | cerned, is approximately $eo, o,oOo,0eo. Tn the British program so much as $4, ,ooo,- GOO is said to have been expended on a, single shin
 When naval estimates were under consideration, in the budget bureau and later before the house appropriations subcommittee, it was said, funds were asked by naval officials Ssr a limited program beginning this year on making over 6atfeships to bel retained under ! the treaty. The items lpresented called 1 for conversion, of coal burning battle ships of the 14-inch gun type to off, burners and the inStallatlon of shYe-inch kaircraft batteries to replace all present three-inch guns on the big ships The items went out both before the budget and in committee, but there are indi- cations that more urgent representa- | tions are being made to the senate. | Change from coal to oil fuel is of vi 1 tai importance in widening the effective radius of action of the ships, 1t was ex- l plained by naval officials, while subStl- tuition of ffve-ineh anti-aircxaft batter
 ies means using shells with fifxy-yard l 'burSt" instead of the 2s-yard area GOV cred by three f6Sch projectiles. In 1other Ewort1s, it was said, "curtain of fire
 against aircraft with fve-inch gaA1 l would need one3haf the number of guns in action to make 1t effective. | The most striking point to which at l tehtion Is being directed, however, i: I that of 1. long-range big gun fire. Alp posed to the modernised British fleet
 today, navy officers have stated. the
 bulk of the American feet would face
 the necessity of closing in five miles
 under salvo fire before they could brins
 their own guns to bear. As the Brit. | ish. ships are also slightly faster, it il said, the possibility of bringing the ets-
 tire fleet into action would be negligi
 ble. v Older American 'battleships, as wei as the Brftish ships enodernized .wert
 designed and built before the possibili l ties of aircraft "spottit were seen
 Their guns had a range mp to the ltmi
 of vision from the spotting to0R of tn
 ships. which is 2o. .o6o yards under mos
 favorable conditions. Tests win aircrafl
 however, have fully, demonstrated botl
 in American and British naval opinion
 based on war lessons, that fire can b
 made eGective against ships entirely ou of sight over the horizon. The BritfS
 are said to have acted on this know9 \ edge in making the costly changes nee
 essary to raise turret guns to thirk, { degree firing elevation as compared t
 the, old eleven ,sor twelve degree maxi : mum. z-s :. 4.lss- q .s.5.ss.si