H.M.S. ORION.

Auckland Star, Volume XLII, Issue 217, 12 September 1911, Page 5

H.M.S. ORION.

DREADNOUGHT IN SECOND CLASS. (Received 9.58 a.m.) LONDON, September 11. H.M.S. Orion, a super-Dreadnought battleship, has started her trials at Portsmouth. Naval critics, comparing her armament with that of the Dreadnought, declare that she makes the original vessel of the type a second class fighting ship.

The Orion has the distinction of being the first battleship proper to be complete or armed anywhere with as large a gun as the 13.filn. weapon. The truth is,- that every vessel of the armoured type now on the slips in Great Britain will carry this powerful gun at a moment when in other European navies they are still making nothing bigger than 12in. guns in varying types. This is the Admiralty's move in the competition for supremacy. In the construction of ships embodying the all-big-gun principle they gained a notable lead; we have ten complete, and the whole of Europe has only five, and all these five are under the German flag. The first move thus gave England an advantage owing to the secrecy which was observed in respect of 'the Dreadnought and her sisters. Now the Admiralty's second move is revealed—a more deadly gun than has ev(/ before been mounted in a ship o7 war. So far as is known, no vessel in Europe has been designed for a larger gun than the 12in. We, on the other hand, have the following ships in various stages of construction, all of which will mount the 13.5 in. gun: —Orion, lion, Princess Royal, Conqueror, Monarch, Thunderer. The Orion will not only cafry 'the most powerful gun yet mounted in a ship of war, but she will also have a bigger and more deadly torpedo. Hitherto the Navy has used an 1 Bin torpedo; the Orion will have a 21in. weapon. This new-torpedo gave excellent results during the trials which were held some time ago. It measures 18ft. Gin. in length and 21in. in diameter, and weighs nearly a ton. Its extreme range exceeds 7,000 yards at a speed of forty knots, and owing to improvements in the confrolling mechanism, the accuracy is muck greater than has hitherto been possible. The charge of guncotton carried in the heasLwill be about 2501b, and. this can be depended upon to detonate on striking the plating of a ship at all likely angles. Any vessel of an enemy which comes within about four miles of the Orion will render herself liable not merely to a broadside from her battle guns, with their 1,2.501b shells, but to attack from these exceedingly powerful torpedoes. The new gun and the new torpedo are the most interesting features of the battleship to be launched to-day. She will carry ten of these 13.5 in weapons, and all of them will be able to fire ori either broadside simultaneously, and she will have three submerged 'tubes for discharging her wonderful torpedoes.