NAVY LEAGUE NOTES.

Evening Post, Volume LXXIII, Issue 129, 1 June 1907, Page 9

NAVY LEAGUE NOTES.

THE LATEST TYPE OF CRUISER. (Specially written for the Post.) In this, the first contribution of this nature, I propose to give some deeciipiion of oar latest armoured cruisers, the Invincible class. The naval pro.jratnnio which provided I for the Dreadnought al-o made provision for three armoured cruisers, all of which were bid down in pi irate yaTds in the fir&t few months of 1906. No particular amount of curiosity vas aroused o.ver these vessels. The Di ndnought caused such widespread interest among psople who thought anything at all about tho navy that these three ships passed through their period of mere j,n>jectioti, and through some months of their building stage, before much attention was given to them by tho public. So secret hnd tho design been kept (and, besides, j unlike in the case of the Dieadnought, nothing had been said about them to excito curiosity), that it wae at lirst expected that they would be notning more than a loycal and ordinaiy development of the Warrior class, which carries six 9.2 in and four 7.in puns; in fact, an armament of eight 9.2tn was attributed to them. Some months, howevor. after thty vere laid down the Daily Telegraph received some unofficial information of a j startling character. Presumably, this was j that they wero to carry 12in guns, for tho paper published their armament as the same as that of the Lord Nelson type of battleship, viz., four 12in and ten 9.2 in guns. The speed was to be 25 knots. This would givo a ( cruiser immensely more power than any previously conceived, but even this was some way behird tho truth, for -the navy is in reality being unostentatiously supplied with three fast Dreadnoughts displacing 17,250 tpns, and' carrying eight 12in, firing six ahead, six astern, and eight on the broadside. This remarkable fire could only bs obtained by an unusual disposition of the puns. liither the turrets would have to be superposed as in American vessel, or the echelon system would havo to be uced. This last is the method adopted. It is by no means a new idea, but was used on the old Inflexible, flagship at Alexandria, in the Captain, which foundered at Finistsrre, ?nd on many others which could be named. By means of this system the pair of gum of tho starboard side of the vessel can fire through a gap in the superstructure Tight across tho deck, thus being able to firo at a vessel on the port side. Of course, the bow and stern pairs, and tho port pair, can all fire to port, anci thus every; gun is brought into action on the broadside. Similarly, tho port pair can fire to starboaid. In end-ou tire omy one pr.ir is blocked. In bow firo, the bow pair fires j straight ahead, and the broadside pair, I though at considerable distance* to the Tear, can with safety fire along the deck j and 10 right or left, as the case may be, of the how gur.s. Similarly, six guns fire astern. In nil armoured cruisers in the British navy, the forecastle is raised: to admit of th-j bow guns being fought while the vessel is steaming against a head sea. In the Invincibles this raised level is continued along tho gi eater part of the ship, co that not only tho forecastle guns, but a'so the broadside one?, aTe given im exceptional command, l?aving only tho htem guns on the main deck. To carry 12in guns requires a considerable beam, and the Invincible has beon given 78£ ft, but, as length iii proportion to beam is aUo necde3 for speed, the class is unusually long, taeir £30ft being 30ft in excess of any cruicsr as yet in commission. Even with their great length more than usual care has been devoted to their lines, which are *aid to be particularly yacht-like and moie carefully designed thap those of former cruisers. The four turbine driven screws are to work in '"dead water,'' and not closet in to the vessel's hull. Their apted of 25 knots is on-e more advance in this_ essential attribute of the cruiser. I remember Teading an articlo in a naval book of the eighties, in whicJi the writ&r predicted success for the torpedo boat, if die could pttain the speed of 16 knots. The laet five words wero in italics, as if that was considered rather much to a/>k, and as if this speed -was an unsurmountable obstacle in the torpedo boat's path. It was not far off the nineties when the Mercury astonished the world by steaming 18 knots. We then come to the Blake of 22 knots, the Powerful of 22, the Cres-y designed for 21, but steaming 22, the early County class, and tho Drake, designed lor 20, but exceeding 24 knots with ease in service. It is a feature of British vcs?3ls that they can generally exceed designed speed in service, and fo wo may reckon confidently on the Invinoibles doing their 25 knots. They are to have a continuous belt of armour 7in in thickness for the gTeater pait of its length. Thi/i is ir. advance of "ono inch on former British cruiser armour. The new cruisers should be peculiar in appeaiancc. The Dreadnought gives ono tho impression of having put her funnels and masts in the test place she could find lor them, nnd the echelon system takes up so much room that it is hard to sco wherr, even in that ureat length, tho masts and funiwls will find room to go.