Naval Defence Act 1889

The Naval Defence Act 1889 was an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was adopted on 31 May 1889. The aim of the law was an enlargement of the Royal Navy. Using the Law of so-called was "Two -Power Standard" formally written. This standard stated that the number of battleships of the Royal Navy should be at least as large as the sum of the number of battleships of the next two largest navies. At the time, these were the fleets of France and Russia.

Background

The law was passed under the government of Lord Salisbury. It looked to provide a sum of 21 million pounds sterling over five years ago. Initially the parliament resisted the efforts to increase spending for shipbuilding in the Royal Navy. The attitude of Parliament on this issue changed due to various influences. The amount introduced to Parliament in December 1888 and February 1889 report revealed a critical picture of the state of the Royal Navy. The growth of the French and Russian naval force was another factor that underlined the supposed British weakness. As a result, public support for the strengthening of the Royal Navy grew. This increased the pressure on Parliament to support the law.

In reality, the "two -power standard" was applied already in the previous seventy years. For a short period during the fifties of the 19th century, the Royal Navy had also reached the predetermined with their forces. The Royal Navy has always had the superiority over the naval forces of other countries. The Naval Defence Act renewed this requirement through the formal adoption and should raise the superiority of the Royal Navy to an even higher level.

The primary motivations behind the Naval Defence Act were military and economic Military Art argued the First Lord of the Admiralty, George Francis Hamilton, that the size and scope of this new program would deter the ambitions of other powers. This deterrent at this point would result in his view, to the fact that Great Britain would in future provide less funding for shipbuilding. The funds have been made over a longer period would also have economic impacts. Until the Naval Act of shipbuilding has been funded annually. The lack of financial resources at the end of the financial year prevented an immediate completion of the ships. As a result, the construction lasted longer and was more expensive. In a financial planning over a period of five years could not be easily transferred to the following year unused finances. A continuous further construction was made possible, which would lead to a considerable cost reduction. The completion of the new buildings would be faster than in other countries. Theoretically, the extent and the rate of production would not only reduce costs, but act on the other powers also daunting as these never with the British naval armaments would be able to keep up.

Fleet expansion

The expansion of the fleet was realized through the construction of ten battleships, 42 cruisers and 18 torpedo boats. The battleships were the core element of the fleet magnification. Eight battleships 1st Class ( Royal Sovereign class) and two battleships 2nd class (HMS Centurion and HMS Barfleur, Centurion - class ) was commissioned. The ships of the Royal Sovereign class were the largest and most powerful battleships of their time. The cruisers were intended for the protection of the British supply lines. The law called for the construction of nine cruisers 1st class ( Edgar - class), 29 2nd class cruisers (Apollo - class and Astraea class ) and four cruisers 3rd class (Pearl Class). The eighteen torpedo boats were intended for the protection of the battle fleet.

Results

In practice, the Naval Defence Act of 1889 had limited commercial success, but did not seem as a deterrent. The financing of warships over five years allowed an uninterrupted production with low cost overruns and delays limited. The simultaneous demand for merchant ships that were built in the same private shipyards, led to slight increases in labor and material costs. Lord Hamilton hoped deterrent fell through because the British naval armaments caused increased efforts of France and Russia. France and Russia built from 1893 to 1894 a total of twelve battleships, more than the United Kingdom. Then, the Spencer program was launched in 1894. It should allow a direct pull with the French and Russian naval armaments and provided for a cost of more than 31 million pounds sterling. Rather than a deterrent to act on the naval armaments of the other States, led the Naval Defence Act of 1889 to a maritime arms race. Smaller naval powers such as the German Empire or the United States of America increased their fleets in the coming years also faster than the UK.