The Navy Vol_64_Part2 2002 - Navy League of Australia

a result of interminable changes in Defence commandarrangements, the role of chiefs of the Navy. Army andAirforce appeared to becoming less important thanhitherto: David Shackleton made it quite clear he was theRAN's boss' even if his operational responsibilitiesremained shared.In terms of operational experience. VADM Ritchie took uphis appointment with the advantage of having served asCommander of the Australian Theatre (COMAST). MaritimeCommander. Captain of the destroyer BRISBANE duringthe Gulf War and other significant naval and defenceappointments: Given the troubled international scene hisappointment would seem to be a bonus for the Navy - and forAustralia.The DeputiesIf their immediate superiors arc professionally experienced,the same can be said of the deputies who were also appointedmid-year.Due to space considerations it is hard to do justice to thecareers of any of the officers named in Observatitms: that ofthe Vice Chief of the Defence Force (VCDF). VADM RussShalders. is no exception. Since graduating Irom Ihe RANC in1971 VADM Shalders has had a wide variety of sea and shoreappointments and undertaken advanced courses in the UK.Australia and USA. His sea commands include Ihe PNGDefence Force patrol boat SAMARAI (in 1975 as aLieutenant) and HMA Ships SYDNEY. DARWIN (during (heGulf War I and PERTH: He has also served as CommodoreFlotillas and came lo the public's notice when as a R-'arAdmiral he was seconded to Ihe Customs Department in 1999as the inaugural Director General of Coasi watch and built thatmulti-departmental body into a cohesive organisation. Prior tohis appointment as VCDF VADM Shalders was Head of theDefence Personnel Executive.Like other seaman officers before him. Deputy Chief ofNavy RADM Rowan Moffilt (1975 RANC graduate) servedhis apprenticeship in patrol boats and specialised in surfacewarfare and navigation: he served as navigator in TORRENS.BRISBANE (and later as XO. acting Commanding Officerand Commanding Officer). HOBART and as staff navigator tothe patrol boat and mine warfare commander. RADM Moffiltcommanded NEWCASTLE as well as BRISBANE. His lasttwo appointments were as Director General Navy CapabilityManagement and Commander of the ADF Warfare Centre atRAAF base. Williamlown.It is sometimes said that Deputies are akin to the fifthspoke in a wheel - of use only if a main spoke fails. This is farfrom the case with the VCDF and DCN who have extensiveresponsibilities in their own right as well as understudyingtheir chief. These responsibilities will be outlined in a futureissue of THE NAVY.Statistics can be InterestingArriving too late on the Observations desk to be included inan earlier issue of THE NAVY, the May US Naval Institute'sjournal PROCEEDINGS contained a review of Ihe USmerchant marine and maritime industry and information likelyto be of interest to THE NAVY'S marilime-oricnialed readet*.Some of this information follows:-Top 20 Maritime Shipping Nations by DeadweighttonnageNation/Ownership orParent Company1 Greece 1 Panama2 Japan 2 Liberia3 Norway/NIS 3 Greece4 United Stales 4 Malta5 China 5 Bahamas6 Hong Kong 6 Cyprus7 German} 7 SingaporeNation/Ship Registry8 South Korea 8 Norway/NIS9 Taiwan 9 China10 UK 10 Hong Kong11 Singaporc 11 Marshall Islands12 IX* n mark 12 United Slates13 Russia 13 Japan14 Italy 14 India15 India 15 St. Vincent & The Grenadines16 Saudi Arabia 16 Italy17 Turkey 17 Isle of Man18 Sweden 18 Turkey19 Brazil 19 South Africa20 Belgium 20 Philippinesll will be noted that there is scarcely any relationshipbetween the ship's ow ner and Ihe (lag il wears. Also, that ourisland trading nation is not mentioned (it is understood to beabout thirtieth) regrettably reflecting the disinterest of moslAustralians in the shipping industry.VOI.. M NO 4In Ihe review the principal shipbuilding countries arestated lo be:Cargo ships: Japan 40%. South Korea .30%:Passenger Ships: Finland. Italy and France.It is sad lo note the absence of the United Kingdom as amajor shipbuilder but il has been reported thai the decline inBritish shipping has been arrested and overall, the maritimeindustry is the largest in Europe.Rather surprisingly for Ihe world's largest trading nation(some 2 billion tonnes of cargo pass through US Ports andwaterways annually) 95% of inward cargoes are carried inforeign-flag ships: The outwards figures is also high althoughspecific cargoes must be carried in nationally owned vessels.To compare. Australian ports handled 550.122,000 tonnes in2000/1. while almost 97% of our trade - imports and exports- is transported in foreign ships*. The US alsooperates/maintains a substantial number of merchant shipsrequired or earmarked for military purposes.Cabotage, the name given lo legislation designed toprotect a nation's coastal shipping, is in force in the UnitedSlates and some fifty other countries including Australia: InAustralia however, it is by no means strictly enforced and theissue of so called 'single voyage' permits (which in practicecan be extended almost indefinitely) allow foreign ships totransport coastal cargoes at the expense of the local industry.(•) Local statistics hy cnurtcsy of the Australian Shipowners AssociationTHE NAVYAustralian Navy Foundation Day"CRESWELL ORATION"101st Anniversary CelebrationBirth oT the RANThe Leap From Obsolete Monitor To Battle Cruiser In Four YearsA Periscope PerspectiveThe ships inherited by ihe new Australian CommonwealthNavy at Federation in 1901 were tired, old and inadequateeven for training. Creswell's report to Minister Playford inSeptember 1905 paints a pretty grim picture:• No new ships or officers for 20 years.• Only two active and fit Lieutenants on the permanentlist of three.• a service on the verge of collapse and slowly dying.When the order was placed Ihrce years later on 8December 1909 for a Baltic Cruiser, two Cruiser, and twosubmarines, permanent personnel strength was virtuallyunchanged from that at Federation, when it was 239 officersand men.Less than four years later, on 4 October 1913 the Reel ofIhe new ly horn Royal Australian Navy enter Sydney Harbour:• Bailie Cruiser. HMAS AUSTRALIA at 19.200 Ions• Light cruisers SYDNEY. MELBOURNE of 5.400 ions• Destroyers PARRAMATTA. YARRA. WARREOO of700 tonnes - (lo an Australian instigated design)The two submarines AE 1 and AE 2. arrived in Sydney on24 May 1914 lo complete the Fleet Unit. The RAN strengththen stood al 3.800 men. 850 loaned by Royal Navy and 2950permanent members of the RAN.This was an enormous project by any measure.The slory leading up to this extraordinary achievement isIhe topic of my talk today.Limitations of Periscopes & My NavalHistoryThose who have looked through a periscope protruding2-3ft above the surface will know the limited field of view andhorizon (often the hack of the next wave), which is beheld.This is a relatively new area of naval history for me and I amconscious many in ihe audience will be belter versed in itthan I!I have drawn heavily on written work by GeorgeMacandie. David Stevens. Peter Firkins. Chris Coullhard -Clark and Michael White. David Campbell has kindlyprovided critical oversight. However, the analysis andconclusions are mine. If anyone apart from me should attractnonce it is John Wilkins for inviting a submariner to speak onsuch a topic!I will consider Ihe topic in five parts:• The historical setting,• Some of the Strategic factors at play,• The impact of technology changes underway duringthe period,• What was actually done to bring alt this about, and• Finally, lake a punt al /ho was the father for thisextraordinary prodigy?The Historical SettingThe Royal Navy had a long history of involvement inAustralia's early political and social life. Their perspectiveswere often cast with the wider world situation in mind -Address to the Na\y League's Victorian Divisitmby Rear Admiral Peter Brings AO. CSC. RAN (Rtd)VOL M NO 4The first naval hoanl: front r.iw (L-Rl. Creswell. Scnalor Pcarcc and CaptHughes-Onslow. Back row IL-R). Manisty and Clarfcumcompetition with France. Spain and Russia in the nineteenthcentury, Germany and Japan in the early years of the 2