The Omaha morning bee. [volume] (Omaha [Neb.]) 1922-1927, 1922-12-21
i. S. Navy
Outranked
rs: ; Y
Recen " - is OH Brit.
ish BSs0 .ps Give Guns
Longer Range Than
American Vessels.
Officers Are Concerned

Washington. Dec. 2O.-(By A. P.|--
Relative fighting efficiency of British
and American battleships at long
range, was understood to have been
called sharply to the attention of
the senate naval committee in con-
sideration of the pending naval ap-
preparation bill. Naval officers are
known to be greatly concerned on
this point. as the British have vir-
tually completed postwar moderni-
zation of their 15-inch gun ships and
no start on similar work has yet
been made in the American navy.
The effect of the British postwar
improvements, it was said in naval
circles, was to give the entire main
British fleet a range of 10000 yards
against maximum of about 10000
yards for all American battleships ex-
cept 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 construction, and their decks
armored against airplane bombs and
high-angle fire.
Cost About $6O, ,OOO, 900.
A rough estimate of the cost of
undermining American ships in the
same way, so far as increasing gun
elevations and strengthening decks is
concerned, is approximately S60,000.-
600. In the British program as much
as $4,000, 900 is said to have been ex-
pended on a single ship.
When naval estimates wese under
consideration in the budget bureau
and later before the house appropria-
tons subcommittee. It was said, funds
We're asked by naval officials for a
limited beginning this year on making
over battleships to be retained under
the treaty. The items presented call
ed for conversion of coal-burning bat
tleships of the 14-inch gun type to oil
burners and the installation of five
inch antiair craft batteries to replace
all present three-inch guns on the big
ships. The items went out in COM
mittee, but there are indications that
more urgent representations are be-
ing made to the senate.
Fuel Change Vital.
Change from coal to oil fuel is of
vital importance in widening the ef-
fective radius of action of the ships,
1t was explained by naval officials,
while substitution of five-inch anti
aircraft batteries means using shells
with a 50-yard burst" instead Of the
25-yard area covered by three-inch
projectiles. In other words, it was
said. "a curtain of fire" against air.
craft with five-inch guns would need
one-half the number of guns in action
to make it effective.
The most striking point to which
attention is being directed, however.
is that of long range, big gun fire
Opposed to the moderniZed British
fleet today, navy officers have stated,
the bulk of the American fleet would
face the necessity of closing in five
could bring their own guns to bear.
As the British ships are also slightly
faster, it is said, the possibility Of
bringing the entire fleet into action
would be negligible.
Range of Guns Limited.
Older American battleships, as well
as the British ships now modernized.
were designed and built before the
possibilities of aircraft "spotting"
were seen. Their guns had range
up to the limit of vision from the
spotting tops Of the ships, which Is
10000 yards under most favorable
conditions.
Tests with aircraft, however, have
fully demonstrated both in 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 knowl-
edge in making the costly changes
necessary to raise turret guns to 30
degree firing elevation, as compared
to the old IL or IL degree maximum.