Jan-Feb, Mar-Apr, May-Jun 1965 - Navy League of Australia

JRoyal \avy "Helping: to PreserveWorld Peace"In a speech in the House ofCommons recently, the Ministerof Defence for the Royal Navy,Mr. Christopher Mayhew. spokeof the responsibilities of theRoyal Navy in helping to preserveworld peace and of theclose relationship the UnitedKingdom Government is fosteringwith Australia and theU.S.A."The main task of the Navyis in the Far East.I hope that the committee willagree that the task is being carriedout extremely well.In the narrow waters betweenMalaysia and Indonesia, patrolsof destroyers, frigates, and minesweepersare actively and successfullycontaining the Indonesianinfiltration.We have recently commissionedfour coastal mine-sweepersand two seaward defenceboats from reserve in Singaporeto increase the strength of ourpatrols.Inshore, and in the rivers ofEast Borneo, we have neededsince the beginning of 1964small boat patrols.To start with, men were drawnfrom the crews of our ships.A scratch collection of craftwas made up ingeniously, including,for example, some of theNaval Store Tenders from RoyalFleet auxiliaries at the station.The Royal Navy workedclosely in this with the RoyalMalaysian Navy and the RoyalMalaysian Police. The committeewill agree that the job hasbeen well done in difficult circumstances.As the Royal Malaysian Policetake over, the improvisedorganisation is now graduallydisappearing.Vital CarriersHowever, the vital element ofour Naval Forces in the FarEast is our carriers. It is onthem that we depend for a quickreaction to trouble.Our mere presence there is aconsiderable deterrent to mischief.They have with them a commandoship, still a comparativelynew unit, but one which we valuemore and more as it showsits new paces.These ships have been able tohold a force of marines and helicoptersready for action poisedat sea. They have been able tosupport operations on shore. Ina different, but very valuable,role also they have been able totransport helicopters to an operationalarea.East of SuezThe Honorable Member forHenley (Mr. Hay) has from timeto time raised questions aboutour policy on the deployment ofour carriers and commando shipsEast of Suez.Perhaps I should say a wordabout that matter.I confirm that the total numberof carriers and commandoships East of Suez will, to thebest of our ability, be maintainedat three.This total could be made upof one carrier and two commandoships, or two carriers and onecommando ship, depending oncircumstances. If need arises, wecan of course do better than this,at least for a certain time.But, taking the longer view,wc have to strike a balance betweenoperational requirementson the one hand and the needfor proper maintenance and conditionsof service on the other.In the 1963 White Paper, theprevious Government put forwardtheir formula as follows:two carriers and one commandoship East of Suez at all times.But in the 1964 White Papernothing was said on this subject—rather significantly perhaps.In fact, having laid plans forjust one new carrier, we have toassume that the Government hadtaken the decision to reduce toa three-carrier fleet from theearly 1970's.There is no conceivable wayin which a three-carrier force canbe deployed so that two are alwaysEast of Suez.It is not surprising that theshorter term development planwhich wc found when we cameto office was based on the moreflexible number which wc set outin our White Paper this year—asensible number which makesfull use of the increased availabilityof the commando ships.The future of the new carrierawaits confirmation by our generaldefence review. Subject tothat we agree that a powerfulcase can be made out for C.V.A.01. (The first of a new generationof aircraft carriers).More and more nations of theworld are establishing armedforces on their own. seeking helpfrom both Eastern and Westernblocs.Those allied with the Easternbloc are often provided witharmaments of advanced design.A number of these navies areequipped with fast craft armedwith surface-to-surface guidedweapons outranging the conventionalgun.Protection for ShippingWc can continue to protectour shipping by deploying carrier-borneaircraft in the area*where such a threat mightmaterialise.Some of our carriers are nearingthe end of their life and theprevious Government announcedthe building of a new fleet carrier for service in the I970's.A great deal of detailed deTHE NAVVCOMMANDCARRIERH. M. S.BULWARKsign work and development hasbeen undertaken in aid of thenew ship and long-lead itemshave been ordered.Present plans are based on invitingtenders for the ship nextyear. If they are confirmed, theshipbuilder who wins the contractwili land a very valuableorder providing a large amountof employment over a numberof years.The ship will have all thelatest design features and couldoperate the most advancedstrike and fighter aircraft aswell as anti-submarine helicopters.We are also designing her tobe well suited to transportingtroops with the minimum noticefor intervention or internal securityoperations.We are looking forward keenlyto flying Phantoms from ourcarriers.A programme was begun lastvear for combining the AmericanPhantom airframe with the Brit-*h Spey Engine.The Spey-Phantom pro-'ramme involves extremely close.o-operation between the UnitedStates Government and UnitedStates contractors on the oneMAY - JUNE, 1965hand and Her Majesty's Governmentand United Kingdomcontractors on the other hand.It is going ahead well and weare grateful for the all-out helpwhich we have had from theUnited States Navy Department.During my recent visit to theUnited States, I was glad to meetmembers of a joint Ministry forAviation and Ministry of Defenceteam which was workingas an integral part of the UnitedStates Navy's Phantom managementorganisation.This was something new andit is working well.We are now extending thesearrangements to cover productionof Phantom aircraft for theRoyal Air Force as well as forthe Royal Navy."County Class DestroyersFollowing Opposition questions,Mr. Mayhew went on:"We are continuing to strengthenthe escort fleet with CountyClass guided missile destroyersand Leander Class frigates. Bothcarry anti-submarine helicopters.Four county class destroyershave been completed and fourare on order.These ships add greatly to ourair defence capability.'H*fThe Leander Class frigateshave proved very successful.They are excellent anti-submarineships and well suited toour peace-keeping tasks. Wehave already completed sevenand another twelve have beenordered.lltara SystemI should like to give the committeedetails about a new antisubmarineweapon system inwhich we are interested, theIkara.This is a long-range weaponsystem which is being developedin Australia.It is a guided missile whichcarries a torpedo and it is firedfrom surface ships. If the RoyalNavy is to adopt it, further developmentneeds to be done toadapt the weapon for Royal Navyuse.We have completed technicaldiscussions with the AustralianGovernment about the amountof further work which needs tobe done, and we are, we hope,in the concluding stages of negotiationon the terms of the workingagreement.This envisages that part of thefurther development will be un-