Mr. VORYS. Has there ever been a naval war between any two of our American neighbors?

Admiral NIMITZ. Oh, yes.

Mr. VORYS. I did not know that.

Admiral NIMITZ. There is record of naval engagements between South American countries.

Mr. VORYS. On the other hand, the naval part of the program under this bill does not involve the possibilities, does it, that are of concern to all of us, with reference to the land equipment, which, of course, could be used more for warfare between American nations.

Admiral NIMITZ. I believe it would be the intent of the United States not to disturb the balance of power that now exists between countries of the Western Hemisphere in any aid which they might give under this bill. It is my concept that to the extent that our ships are available in excess of our own needs, that we would attempt to preserve the balance which now exists between those countries, and to aid by replacing older ships with newer ships.

The transferred ships would be less expensive for those countries to maintain and would be more modern and effective in case they ever had to be used, and would be of the types with which we ourselves are familiar and standardized to our own equipment.

Mr. VORYS. Would the training program of officers be somewhat comparable to the one which General Eisenhower described for the Army, and would you be bringing missions here to train them?

Admiral NIMITZ. Yes, sir; we would plan to admit their officers and men to our technical schools.

Mr. VORYS. Thank you very much.
Chairman EATON. Mr. Bloom.

Mr. BLOOM. No questions.

Chairman EATON. Mr. Jonkman.

Mr. JONKMAN. Admiral, I saw in the newspapers yesterday an account of the transfer of surplus property to some South American countries, I think Cuba, for instance.

Cuba received three destroyers and some other ships, some $800,000 worth. Are you familiar with that?

Admiral NIMITZ. I do not know about their receiving three estroyers.

Admiral Green informs me that the Cubans bought three small igates from the Foreign Liquidation Commission.

There have been no transfers under any interim arrangement that know of to any of the countries of the Western Hemisphere in recent ne, except under Foreign Liquidation and by lend-lease.

Mr. JONKMAN. The article in yesterday's newspapers said the ited States had transferred surplus military equipment valued at re than $12,000,000 to American nations for about $527,000. It does w three patrol frigates and five submarine chasers were sold to Cuba. e procurement cost was $8,592,280, for which Cuba paid $87,500. this an informal pursuing of the program outlined in this bill? Admiral NIMITZ. I think it is part of the surplus-property-disposal

iness.

Ir. JONKMAN. They also mentioned 30 P-51 aircraft.

You say it is just something that has no intent toward implementing program. There is no relation between the two?

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Admiral NIMITZ. There is no relation between these ship sales and the present bill. However, these sales were made as a part of the interim program.

Mr. JONKMAN. That is all, thank you.

Chairman EATON. Mr. Kee.

Mr. KEE. Admiral, I am not very well informed with reference to the ability of the South American countries to use naval vessels, or to construct them. Have they any facilities for the construction of naval ships?

Admiral NIMITZ. Brazil has recently engaged in the construction of some destroyers for which we furnished plans and a good deal of technical advice, and in fact loaned an officer to the Brazilian Government to help construct these ships. I do not know the extent of the shipbuilding capacity of the other countries, but I do not think it is any greater than that of Brazil and perhaps not as great.

Mr. KEE. Which of the South American Republics have the greatest and most effective navy?

Admiral NIMITZ. The "ABC." The Argentine, Brazil, and Chile have the most potent navies, and from there on they scale downward. Brazil has two battleships and some lesser vessels. The Argentine has two battleships and some lesser vessels.

Mr. KEE. Can you tell us where Brazil acquired those ships, where they were constructed?

Admiral NIMITZ. The two Brazilian battleships were acquired from England in 1910. The Argentine acquired her two battleships from the United States in 1915.

I would like to furnish for the record a list of ships in the possession of the South American countries or the countries of the Western Hemisphere, excluding the United States, and which will be available for study, if the chairman so desires.

Chairman EATON. It will be included in the record at this point. (The information referred to is as follows:)

Patrol vessels, mine craft, gunboats, and larger combatant ships

Patrol vessels, mine craft, gunboats, and larger combatant ships-Continued ARGENTINA-Continued

: Completion date indefinite owing to nondelivery of engines ordered in Germany.

"A" class still under construction in Brazil of British design with American equipment. Date of completion indefinite.

"M" class built in Brazil 1943 with United States design and equipment. Cassin class 1,500 tons.

Patrol vessels, mine craft, gunboats, and larger combatant ships-Continued

Patrol vessels, mine craft, gunboats, and larger combatant ships-Continued

The following republics either have no naval force or have naval forces consisting mainly of small harbor craft or revenue cutters :

Mr. KEE. I think that is all, Admiral, thank you.
Chairman EATON. Mrs. Bolton.

Mrs. BOLTON. No questions.

Chairman EATON. Mr. Richards.

Mr. RICHARDS. Admiral, in the plan you have outlined here, insofar as the Navy is concerned, would it weaken our own naval defense forces?

Admiral NIMITZ. It would not. It would be advantageous to the Navy, in this respect, that ships that we consider too good to be scrapped and which we would have to lay up and expend money on, would be in the hands of good neighbors and be operating and ready for use. We would gain in several ways.

Mr. RICHARDS. As a matter of fact, certain South American Republics, under the provisions of this act, would be able to take over some of the responsibilities of western hemispheric defense that we now have?

Admiral NIMITZ. Yes, sir.

Mr. RICHARDS. That is all, Mr. Chairman.

Chairman EATON. Mr. Smith.

Mr. SMITH. Admiral, I am assuming that you envisage the cooperation with the Canadian Government on the naval aspects of this program?