27 Nov. 45
This Navy program of surreptitious rearmament, in violation of
the Treaty obligations, starting even before the Nazis came into
power, is illustrated by a 1932 order of the Defendant Raeder, Chief
of the Naval Command, addressed to the main Naval Command, regarding
the concealed construction of torpedo-tubes for S-boats. He ordered
that torpedo-tubes be removed and stored in the Naval Arsenal, but be
kept ready for immediate refitting. By using only the permitted
number--that is, permitted under the Treaty--at a given time, and
storing them after satisfactory testing, the actual number of
operationally effective S-boats was constantly increased.
We have this German order, with the facsimile signature of
Raeder, with the heading: "Der Chef der Marine Leitung, Berlin.
10 February 1932." Our series number is C-141. I offer it in
evidence as Exhibit USA-47, the order for concealed armament of
S-boats. That is C-141. I read from the first paragraph of the text:
"In view of our Treaty obligations
and the Disarmament Conference, steps must be taken to prevent the
first S-boat half-flotilla, which in a few months will consist of
exactly similar, newly built S-boats, from appearing openly as a
formation of torpedo-carrying boats"--the German word being
"Torpedoträger"--"and it is not intended to count
these S-boats against the number of torpedo-carrying boats allowed to
us.
"I therefore order:
"1. S2-S5 will be commissioned in the shipyard Lürssen,
Vegesack, without armament and will be fitted with easily removable
cover-sheetmetal on the spaces necessary for torpedo-tubes. The same
will be arranged by T.M.I."--a translator's note at the bottom
says with reference to T.M.I. (Inspectorate of Torpedos and
Mining)--"In agreement with the Naval Arsenal, for the Boat S-1
which will dismantle its torpedo-tubes on completion of the practice
shooting, for fitting on another boat.
"2. The torpedo-tubes of all S-boats will be stored in the
Naval Arsenal ready for immediate fitting. During the trial runs the
torpedo-tubes will be taken on board one after the other for a short
time to be fitted and for practice shooting, so that only one boat at
a time carries torpedo armament. For public consumption this boat
will be in service for the purpose of temporary trials by the
T.V.A."
--I suppose that is not the Tennessee Valley Authority; the
translator's note calls it the Technical Research Establishment.--