NAVAL WARFARE.

Evening Post, Volume LXXIX, Issue 113, 14 May 1910, Page 13

NAVAL WARFARE.

THE BATTLESHIP OF THE FUTURE. Piear-Admiral Bacon, ex-Director of Naval Ordnance, lent exceptional interest to the spring session of the Institute of Naval Architects — which opened in the hall of the Society of Arts on 16th March — by reading a paper on "The Battleship of the Future." Among those who listened to Admiral Bacon were men who have designed and constiucted battleships and giant liners, naval attaches of Great Powers, and Admiralty officials. A small group of Japanese followed with much interest the subsequent debate, when frequent reference was made 'to the achievements of their own navy in the Russian war. The main conclusions arrived at by Admiral Bacon were :—: — Battleships, unable to defend themselves against any form of torpedo craft, will be built merely to fight battleships. Size of ships and power of gun will increase. High speed will become more and more necessary. Armour protection will be less accentuated than at present. Heavy armament will be carried, consisting of guns of equal calibfe only. Smaller guns will be carried only for repelling attack, and will not be protected by armour. Each battleship will be accompanied by torpedo craft of high seagoing ■ speed, "as defensive and offensive satellites," the whole forming a "battle unit." The fleet action of the future will be an aggregation of duels between opposing battle units. The tactics of such units "open up a vista of most exhilarating speculation, and will afford to the naval officer of the future a scope for his I tactical skill never dreamed of by us or our predecessors." BAFFLING PROBLEM. Admiral Bacon declared emphatically that the design of a ship which will not be incapacitated by the explosion of a torpedo has hitherto baffled all solution, and he based many of his conclusions upon the growing power of the torpedo. In America, on the Continent, and at Messrs. Whitehead's, improvements have been introduced which have totally altered the character of that weapon,' and it is not improbable that these improvements aro merely in their infancy. If the range of the torpedo can be brought up to 6000 yards it has great possibilities in an action. Dealing with armour, Admiral Bacon declared that the race with the gun has ended in favour of the weapon. Unless speed is to be sacrified, it is "perfectly hopeless" to think of attempting to supply armour impenetrable to guns. As regards the size of harbours, there ; are, he beleieves,. plenty of places where ships 1100 per cent, larger than the Dreadnought can be berthed without real inconvenience. i "Size," said Admiral Bacon, who was the first to command the Dreadnought, "is by no means the only inconvenience in handling a ship in a close harbour, and from practical experience I can vouch that the Dreadnought was from every point of view more easily handled ,ip a- close habour than the Irresistible, j whose tonnage was 50 per cent, less." j