§ Mr. EYRES-MONSELLasked the First Lord of the Admiralty how many of the destroyers are completed that were under course of construction on 31st March, 1910; and by what date will they all be completed?
§ Mr. McKENNAOut of thirty-seven destroyers under course of construction for His Majesty's Navy on 31st March, 1910, twenty-five are now completed. Of the remaining twelve, eleven will be completed by June, 1911, and one by August, 1911.
§ Mr. BURGOYNEHow many of these have been delayed beyond the anticipated time?
§ Mr. McKENNAI answered that in a previous question. My recollection is two; one of which had an accident.
§ Mr. EYRES-MONSELLasked the First Lord of the Admiralty what are the contract times for the completion of the destroyers of the 1910–11 programme; what is the approximate time for construction of the latest German destroyers; and whether he has any information, official or unofficial, as to the laying down of the destroyers in Germany's 1911–12 programme?
§ Mr. McKENNAThe contract times for the completion of the destroyers of the 1910–11 programme vary between fifteen and eighteen months. As regards Germany, the average time elapsing between the commencement of the financial year and when the vessels are temporarily commissioned for trials in the case of the 1909–10 programme is fifteen and a-half months. So far as is known none of the 1910–11 programme are completed. The German naval estimates for 1911–12 have not yet been finally approved, nor has the period which they cover yet begun to run.
§ Mr. BURGOYNECan the right hon. Gentleman tell us how long the German destroyers take from the time of commencement to the time of completion?
§ Mr. McKENNAI have stated that the average time between the commencement of the financial year—I know nothing as to what happens before the beginning of the financial year, and I presume nothing happened—and the time when the vessels are commissioned for their preliminary trials, in the case of the 1909–10 programme was fifteen and a half months. We have no official dates as to when the destroyers are laid down. We can only reckon from the date of the financial year when the Estimates begin to run on which the destroyers are charged.
§ Mr. ASHLEYMay we understand that there has been a great "speeding up" in the last twelve months of the construction of our own destroyers over the previous two years?
§ Mr. McKENNAYes, Sir; there has been a steady reduction in the time of the construction of destroyers in the course of the last two or three years.