Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-02-15
BY WILLIAM HARD.

A considerable crisis has arisen dur
ing this last week in Washington in
the matter of naval national defense
and security. Out of this crisis it Is
widely feared that great impedinaentS
may be placed in the way of the leeiti-
mate London treaty development Of
American sea-going aviation.
1t Is agreed on all hands that the
air branch of the Navy Is the branch
that not only holds the greatest public
interest but also bears the highest hope
of new revolutionary improvement in
naval defense and attack in future war
fare. so-called big Navy people" and
so-called little Navy people" in both
Houses of the Congress unite in having
q high regard for the perfecting Of the
naval forces of the air. Yet 1t Is pre-
cisely those forces that are most threat
ened by the present deadlock in new
naval legislation.
The current Navy Department appro-
priation bill, which is not affected by
the deadlock and which Is bound to get
enacted some time before the fourth OF
March or (at any rate) some time
before the FIRST of July contains grant
of money for the continuation of con-
struction on one new aircraft-carT1er OF
1880 tons. This vessel, added to our
existing vessels in the same category,
will give US q total aiFcraft-carrier ton
mage Of 10000. The corresponding
The British $4,000 exists already,
completely built. The last two units in
it, the Courageous and the Glorious,
were finished respectively in 1928 and
1890 and are newer than any CORE
spending units of ours. Our present
actually existing aircraft-carrier ton
mage Is only 10000. Our new car
rier, which will bring our total tonnage
in this category up to 10000, cannot
be completed till 1884.
This grave disparity between Great
Britain and ourselves in equipment for
taking airplanes to sea and to battle is
enormously accumulated by the still
graver disparity between the British
merchant marine feet and the Amer
lean merchant marine feet in the pos
session Of large privately owned vessels.
There are at least so British merchant
ships that can be readily refitted into
being aircraft carriers. OF merchant
ships similarly convertible the United
States has not more than IL.
The situation thus disclosed gives to-
the White House and to the Navy De-
partment and TO Chairman Britten of
the House Naval Affairs Committee and
to Chairman Hale of the Senate Naval
Affairs Committee a keen anxiety re-
garding the legislative prospects Of the
new naval construction bill which is
commonly called the parity bill" This
bill is designed to start the United
States toward the parity levels fixed by
the London naval arms limitation
treaty of last year. That treaty permits
to us and to Great Britain a grand
total aircraft-carrier tonnage of 135, 900.
1t also contains the following crucially
important and indeed vital provision:
total tonnage In the cruiser category
may be fitted with a landing on plat
form or deck for aircraft"
* y
Our total allowance of cruisers in the
London treaty is 323, 500 tons Twenty
hve per cent of that figure Is approx
mately $4,000 tons. The largest cruiser
unit permitted in the treaty Is 10000
tons. With 5000 tons we could there
fore build eight 10,000-ton cruiser units
fitted with fying-on and landing-on
decks for aircraft.
The possibilities thus unfolded are al
most fantastic. They constitute the
most gripping coming problem in naval
architecture and combative strategy.
Our Navy Department has completed
the design of landing deck cruiser of
10000 tons armed with 6-inch guns.
Wartime tests have been made of the
1ghting powers of this proposed vessel.
1t is wholly novelty. 1t does not yet
exist in any navy in the world. 1t might
conceiVably entirely solve the difflculty
which was produced at London last year
by the failure of the United States TO
secure for itself all Of the 9-inch-gun
cruisers desired by our Navy Depart
ment General Board
y - ~
That difhculty created in the United
States at large, and in the Senate in
particular, strong suspicion to the eff
feet that the London treaty was disad-
vantageous to this country. Today our
Navy Departments design for a 6-inch-
possibly of making the 8-inch-gun
cruiser, which is without q landing
deck, and which is too filled with gun
merry machinery to afford space for
landing deck, look much less formida-
bic than in times past.
From this point of view q certain bit
OF testimony given to the Senate Naval
Affairs Committee last month by Rear
Admiral William A. Moffett, chief of
the hureau or AeronautlcS OF the Navy
Department, has absorbing historical
interest. Admiral Moffett said
y y
Prom sketches developed jointly by
the Bureaus of Aeronautics and of Con-
struction and Repair In the Navy De-
partment it appears practicable to con-
struct cruisers Of about 10000 tons dis
placement which will have q cruiser
sneed, which will be armed with nine
6-inch guns and anti aircraft guns and
which will be fitted with an aircraft