Jun, Jul, Aug 1962 - Navy League of Australia

- . - — •ROYAL NAVY ADOPTS COMPUTER£20 MILLION STOCK LIST TO COPE WITHA L j million computer installationfor the Royal Navy«'HN officially opened by thecivil Lord of the Admiraltyi Mr. C. I. Orr-Ewing, O.B.E.,.M.I', i nt the K.N. Store Depot.t'openaere, Wiltshire, on Thursday,June 14. 1962.It is hoped that when theinstallation is in full operationthere will be a considerable savingand increase of efficiency intin* organisation of electronicstores for the Klect.NICOL BROS. PTY. LTD.ALL CLASSES OF STEAM, DIESELAND GENERAL ENGINEERINGBOILERMAKERS, OXY ACETYLENEAND ELECTRIC WELDERSPLUMBING AND ELECTRICAL WORK10-20 WESTON ST., BALMAIN EAST'Phones: 82 0367 (3 lines)After Hours: 76 948S, 86 3225, 36 5708To " The- Navy,"Box 3850, O.P.O.,Sydney, NSW.NameStreetTownDateMOM. not. tt»t .11N.w iiiMcrlbon .ftorr.m.ining up to .ndJanvory will b. pott.cSUBSCRIPTION FORM1 endow 23/- fc H Annual Subscription to "Tl w Novy,"post feso, common dng January, 1961.State.mw.l lubicriptiom now C M HJ.nu.ry ihould i*nd only l/lncludtnq Oocmb.r. Ot+t.rwii.tUMforbidill Ja«uiry.••ehmontricopiti freni-The computer will keep adaily stock record of overiiO.000 electronic stores items,which range from half-ouncetransistors to seven-ton radaraerials, pinpointing immediatelyany fluctuations insupply and demand.In terms of labour, the installationwill be operated by astaff of 25 and should eventuallylead to a net staff savingof about KM).As an example of the savingin time, tin- assessment of requirementsfor 8,500 electronicitems for a guided missiledestroyer like II..M.S. Devonshire— which now takes abouteight weeks - - will be assessedby the computer as part of thenormal processing work withinthree days.In this example, in additionto giving a complete list of the8,500 different items needed.the computer also gives warningof impending shortages instock.Called the Kim,Ire 11(H). thecomputer includes several magnetictape units which willwork (nit complete lists of components— up to several hundred— needed for all radio,asdic and radar sets, look upthe stock record, confirmavailability, debit the stockrecord and prepare printed invoicesfor the items to bedespatched to the ships.The R.N. Store Departmentemploys some 16,000 peopleserving in Admiralty establishmentsashore and in Royal FleetAuxiliaries attoat. and is responsiblefor the provision andsupply of over half-a-milliondifferent items ranging fromflags and furniture to aircraftspares and anchors.A fleet of over 4.000 vehiclesis also operated by the Department,which dates back asa self-contained organisationwithin the Admiralty to theappointment of the first "Clerkof the Stores" in 1542.THE NAVYTHE NEW DEFENCE POLICYPart 1.•y REACTOR in the United Kingdom Magazine The Navy"The Defence White PaperFor weeks before its publicationdefence correspondents (iross National Product. Thistotal of seven per cent, of the(including the writer) had is the amount of the country'sbeen busy forecasting the resources which the Cabinet islikely contents of the I9fi8 prepared to allocate to defenceDefence White l'aper and ill spending in the current economicstate of the nation, andtin' process providing Mr.Watkinson with a wealth of all estimates are thereforeideas about the future role of tailored to fit this overallthe British armed forces. figure. The resulting compromisescan be seen on almostSweeping changes in theorganisation of the Services every page of the White Paperhad been widely forecast and and tile final picture is oneit was confidently expected which cannot fail to causethat the end of national alarm to anyone with theservice, together with the need interests of his country atto streamline the whole defencestructure would result adherence to a financial totalheart. For what this strictin a document of more than has revealed, finally and conclusively,is that it is im­usual interest. There had alsobeen much speculation as to possible for Britain to continuehow the British Government to maintain her independentwould react to the mounting contribution to the nucleardemands from the N.A.T.O. deterrent of the WesternAlliance, and no' least from Powers and at the same timethe Pentagon, for an increase provide conventional forces ofin conventional forces in the necessary shape and sizeEurope in order to raise the to meet our world-widethreshold of nuclear war. and national commitments, andthus obtain in the dramatic also to honour our undertakingsto the various allianceswords of President Kennedy"a choice between humiliation of which we are members, andand holocaust."particularlv our contributionto N.A.T.O.In the event the DefenceWhite Paper proved to be a This is the main conclusiondisappointment, equivocal in to be drawn from a study ofits answers to the (treat questionssurrounding our defence the White Paper neverthelessthe new defence policy, butproblems and lacking the decisionsnecessary to build a posals. In a previous articlecontains some interesting pro-realistic defence policy in the some suggestions were madelight of the many complex about a possible reorganisationof the Ministry of Defenceconditions of today. To a muchgreater extent than in previous and the Service Ministriesyears the emphasis is on the with the object of obtainingeconomic facts of life. "Ourobject," says the White Paper,JULY, 1942"is not to cut defence expenditure,but to contain it"; tocontain it. that is. within nan integrated Joint War Staffat the highest level and anefficient and economic chainof command for our operationalforces. Here the Ministerhas made a tentative beginningbut further advance has probablybeen cheeked by thetraditionalists, and inter-Service difficulties appear tohave baulked his initiative justwhere a bold and comprehensiveplan was most needed."The main concept of theWhite Paper," said Mr. Watkinsonin the Defence Debatein the House of Commons, "isthe concept of unified command,joint Service operations,and greater mobility andhitting power." Unified command— but not in Whitehall:the relationship betweenthe Ministry of Defence andthe three Service ministriesremains virtually unchanged.The setting-up of a new JointService Staff ill the Ministryof Defence to advise the Chiefsof Staff on all aspects of jointService operations will certainlyimprove the machineryfor inter-Service planning,whilst the execution of agreedinter-Service operations willnow be supervised from dayto day by a small operationalstaff manning the DefenceMinistry war room on a jointService basis. But the Naval,General, and Air Staffs remainin existence in their separateoffices, and they will be ableto object to, or even to veto,the work of the new joint staff.Streamlined forces need astreamlined defence organisationto plan and control theiremployment. Let us hope thatthe Minister will be able tomake further progress towardshis stated objective of unifiedIf