Sir, Commander R. W. Kent (letter, May 9 ) shows that the Fleet is less than one-sixth the size it was in 1958 and consists of only 99 surface ships, submarines and support vessels.

However, I am unable to find more than 70 surface ships, some of which are not operational and have already been decommissioned, and 13 submarines, meaning the Navy is in fact one-eighth the size it was in 1958.

There are three carriers, but only one is operational and the oldest two are decommissioned. There are only two amphibious assault ships, Albion and Bulwark. The 18 (unarmed) patrol boats, hardly count; there are apparently only three fishery protection vessels plus one OPV.

Regrettably, the Government appears determined to reduce the Navy yet further by decommissioning five more frigates and destroyers and two fleet submarines in the coming 12 months and an overall plan to dispense entirely with mine countermeasure vessels and patrol ships.

Lt Cdr Kenneth P. Armitage, RN (Ret’d)

Kesgrave Suffolk

Sir, I wonder which of the two battleships has been forgotten about in the 1958 table. Was it the still-commissioned HMS Victory or HMS Vanguard, anchored only a few cables away in the middle of Portsmouth Harbour? The one which last fired its guns in anger was Victory at the Battle of Trafalgar over 130 years before Vanguard was built.

H. J. bebbington

Grayshott, Hampshire

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