§ 15. Lieut.-Commander KENWORTHYasked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty what are the names of the 10 cruisers over 15 years old now in commission; and what duties are they employed upon?
§ Mr. AMMONAs the reply is somewhat lon, I will, with the hon. Member's permission, circulate it in the OFFICIAL REPORT.
§ The reply is as follows:
§ It has been proved by experience that in the case of light cruisers one year's war service should count as two years' peace service. On this basis the following 10 cruisers now in commission are over 15 years old.
§ Royal Navy.
- Weymouth.—Trooping service; taking relief crews to China.
- Dartmouth.—In reserve at Devonport.
- Yarmouth.—Seagoing tender to the Signal School at Portsmouth.
- Chatham.—New Zealand station; shortly to be relieved by "Dunedin."
- Dublin.—Cape station.
- Southampton.—Flagship, East Indies stations; shortly to be relieved.
- Birmingham.—Flagship, Cape station.
- Lowestoft.—In Chatham Dockyard; paid off.
§ Royal Australian Navy.
- Melbourne.—Australian station.
- Sydney.—Australian station.
§ 29 and 30. Mr. HANNONasked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty (1) whether he can give the length of life of a light cruiser for combatant purposes; how many of the 48 cruisers of the British Empire, including Dominions, will become obsolete in each of the next 15 years; and what programme of replacement will be necessary to avoid an actual drop in our cruiser strength in any one of those years;
(2) whether he can state the length of life of a destroyer; how many of the 201 destroyers now on the effective list will become obsolete in each of the next 15 years; and what programme of replacement does he consider necessary to prevent a reduction in our destroyer strength in any one of those years?
§ Mr. AMMONI will answer these questions together. For combatant purposes the life of a light cruiser is 15 years and for a destroyer 12 years. Experience has shown that in estimating the life of a light cruiser or destroyer one year's war service must be taken as equal to two years' peace service. As this House has already been informed, the Government have appointed a Cabinet Committee to consider the requirements of the Navy as regards the replacement of units of the Fleet. With the hon. Member's permission, I will circulate in the OFFICIAL REPORT the numbers of cruisers and destroyers now on the effective list which will become over age in each of the next 15 years.
§ The statement promised is as follows:
§ The number of light cruisers which will reach 15 years of age in each of the next 15 years is as follows:
| 1922–23 | 3 |
| 1923–24 | 5 |
| 1924–25 | 2 |
| 1925–26 | 1 |
| 1926–27 | 5 |
| 1927–28 | 3 |
| 1928–29 | 1 |
| 1929–30 | 4 |
| 1930–31 | 5 |
| 1931–32 | 1 |
| 1932–33 | 2 |
| 1933–34 | 5 |
| 1934–35 | 6 |
| 1935–36 | Nil. |
| 1936–37 | 1 |
| 1937–38 | 4 |
| 193[...]–39 | Nil. |
§ The number of destroyers which will reach 12 years of age in each of the next 15 years is as follows:
| 1927–28 | 1 |
| 1928–29 | 3 |
| 1929–30 | 22 |
| 1930–31 | 29 |
| 1931–32 | 29 |
| 1932–33 | 36 |
| 1933–34 | 39 |
| 1934–35 | 32 |
| 1935–36 | 2 |
| 1936–37 | 1 |
| 1937–38 | 2 |
| 1938–39 | 0 |
| 1939–40 | 5 |