Evening star., 1922-01-14
MAYCONVERT SHIPS
TOPLANE CARRIERS
Rules for Scrapping Craft
Now Building Involve This
Suggestion.
BY the Associated Press.

Discussion of the rules for scrapping
capital ships by the heads of the five
delegations has involved suggestions
from both American and Japanese rep
resentatives that certain capital ships
now under construction for their navies
be converted into airplane carriers, the
superdreadnaughts Kage and Yosa,
40,OOO-ton ships of the class Immediately
following the Mutsu. while the sus-
geStion of American naval officials was
that the battle cruisers Lexington, Con-
stellation and Saratoga, each Of which
are more than 50 per cent complete, De
utilized for the same purpose
Would Reduce Tonnage.
Conversion of the japanese battle
ships into carriers would involve strip
batteries of ten 16-inch guns each
for which they were designed, aiso
the removal and destruction OF their
turrets and turret structures rms
would reduce their tonnage to approx,
mately $4,000 tons displacement ana
bring them within the original proposal
10 limit the size of aircraft carriers
TO that weight. The removal OF the
arms and armament of the three Amerl-
can battle cruisers, however, would not
lower their designed displacement of
approximately $4,000 tons below ABOUT
81, 900, and if the conference ultimately
decides for economic reasons that the
use as airplane carriers of the three
cruisers is desirable. provision mus
be made in the treaty to fix the maxi.
mum size for airplane carriers at j5'ooo
tons instead of $1,000 tons.
Training Ships Problem.
Another problem as to the scrap
ping rules arose over the Japanese
desire to retain some OF their ola
battleships as training ships for gun
turret crews. 1t has been the prac-
lice of the Japanese navy to give
preliminary training to turret crews
aboard superannuated battleships
The British have turret and guns Tor
this training purpose Installed at
Eunnery school ashore, while IN the
American service turret training IS
given aboard active ships of the fleet
Presumably the plan of the naval ex-
perts committee which permitted re-
tention of Scrapped battleShlps as
sea-going gunnery practSe snips
contemplated removal of the armor
and all other military equipment. eN-
cept turrets and guns. AS the heads
of the delegations, however, DESIRED
there should be no provision OF tne
treaty under which capital snip
scheduled to be scrapped should re-
tain any of the military character
istics which mark her as capital
ship, the Japanese are understood to
have withdrawn the proposal.
Would Mean Saving.
Navy officials contended that con-
version of one or more of the Amer
lean battle cruisers into airplane car
riers would result in a considerable
saving, since the American naval pro-
gram contemplated later appropria-
ton for specially designed airplane
carriers. None of the three vessels
mentioned. the Lexington, Constella-
ton and Saratoga, it was said. has
been completed beyond Il point where
il is impracticable to alter them. If
the armor, turrets and guns for these
ships were destroyed. 1t is said. more
than a years effort would beg neces-
sary to reproduce that equipment
alone. and even if it were reproduced
after the ships had been altered for
carrier or other use it would be neces-
sary practically to rebuild her. If she
was to be turned back into battle
cruiser. Such reconversion, 1t was
insisted, would be out of the question
as a practical matter. under any con-
ceivable circumstances.