Commander BELLAIRSasked the First Lord of the Admiralty how many 1585W catapults for launching aeroplanes, so far as is known, are fitted to American and Japanese battleships and cruisers, respectively; and whether the aeroplanes of any of the navies are fitted with devices so that they can float should they fall into the water?
§ Mr. AMMONWith regard to the first part of the question, no catapults are fitted in any Japanese battleships and one cruiser only has been fitted with a catapult, which is understood to be for experimental purposes. The position in the United States Navy is that 12 battleships are fitted with two catapults each and six have one each and will be fitted with two, and 10 cruisers have two catapults each and eight cruisers building are being fitted with two each. The answer to the second part of the question is in the affirmative, all planes being float planes or amphibians.