The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1922-08-24
BRITISH SLOWLY
REDUCING SHIPS
ON TREATY TERMS
Heavy Scrapping Scheduled
to Begin in Year 1925,
Admiralty Says.
OBSOLETE VESSELS FIRST
Destruction Both Costly and
Tedious, Experience Is
Demonstrating.
BIZ United Press

By CntteG Press
LONDON, Aug. 24-Great Britain
is scrapping her capital ships "gradu-
ally"
Many people have had visions Of
dockyards. swarring with workers,
-dismantling the great gray ships
alongside the quays, battering off
guns and searchlight platforms, as If
nothing else on earth mattered.
In England, at any rate, this is FAR
from fact.
In the first place most Of the heavy
scrapping to be done by England adj
miralty officials showed is not seized.
uled before 1925 when four super
dreadnaughts of the King George V
type come under the shipbreakers'
hammer, or are sold, minus their ar
mament and implements Of warfare.
Famous Ship Scheduled.
After that, the famous Queen Eliza
beth comes up for destruction in 1885,
the Royal Sovereign in 1886, the Re-
nown already on the reserve list since
the return Of the Prince of Wales from
his world tour in 1910 and the famous
Hood in 1871.
In the meantime sixteen obsolete
vessels have gone to the scrap heap.
They are the pre-dreadnaughts:
Mars. Caesar. Queen. Swiftsture, Hin
dustan. Lord Nelson and the dread
raughts Bellehophon. Temeraire. St.
Vincent Dreadnaught THE original Of
her type) Hercules, Inhexible, Indonl-
table, Crescent and Commonwealth.
These ships, it is true. were partly
scheduled for the scrap heap before
the Washington conference took place.
The treaty of Washington sealed their
fate and they have accordingly been
''scrapped" That is to say they are
no longer on the actual list Of the
navy. Some Of them have been
broken up, others Usd as targets.
others again. minus their guns, rest
in the dry docks OF Davenport and
Portsmouth, rotting gradually with
but a couple Of caretakers on board
ships which were once the pride OF
the British feet.
OF the later types scheduled to 60.
and already off the Nays active list
are the Superb-in a few weeks to
become a target for the bombs Of
British air squadrons-the Erin al
ready in the hands Of shipbreakers.
the Agincourt, New Zealand, Princess
Royal and Dion.
Process Is Gradual
But the process is gradual A shin
which has cost four millions cannot
be broken up in a week. To destroy
a great battleship IS an expensive
matter and at least half million
dollars goes at the foot Of the bill.
Consequently the big vessel for de-
struction is first of all paid of. and
with a nucleus crew steams round 10
her last port where she waits further
orders. There are many such yes
sells in what is known as the Rotten
Rows" of the dockyards. Some Of
them will be stripped of all their fit.
tings and their guns melted down;
sold maybe for reconditioning as
freighters in the case Of light cruisers,
others sold to such foreign countries
as the treaty of Washington allows.
Many of the fittings Of these mon
ster war vessels repay their original
placing in the bettleshtps. Range find
ers can be used in garrison forts which
overlook the sea; compasses, winches.
steam launches. hydraulic derricks.
telephone systems. searchIights can
and are being used again in newly
built vessels Of sold to the merchant
service.
The actual position resulting from
the conference as regards the capital
ships in service Of Great Britain and
America to date IS as follows:
Capital Ships-AInerica. 81.
Capital Ships-Great Britain. %.
But America must scrap one battle
ship and seven battle cruisers with
Britain scrappirg four battleships al
ready built. so that In capital ships,
the two navies will not be widely diff.
ferent-
In destroyers. America leads Great
Britain. but in light cruisers England
remains far supreme.