MILES OF WARSHIPS

Evening Post, Volume LXXXVIII, Issue 50, 27 August 1914, Page 3

MILES OF WARSHIPS

RECENT BRITISH MANOEUVRES AN IMPRESSIVE SCENE.

The great naval display and inspection by the King on 20th July is thus described by the London Times special correspondent on H.M.S. Harlequin :—: — "The trials' of the largest and most powerful fleet ever concentrated in British waters was led out io sea by King George from Spithead. j When the Royal yacht anchored down the great waterway the long columns of ships passed before His Majesty. First there were the four, battle cruisers in single line, headed by the Lion, followed by the Queen Mary, Princess Royal, and New Zealand in stately order. The latest of our .battleships then came on two parallel columns, led respectively by the Iron Duke and the King George V. The speed at which they were moving was 11 knots. For some little time before' each vessel reached the Royal yacht the ships were manned on the side nearer to her, with the marine guards and band paraded on the forecastle. This arrangement, an unusual one, gave each vessel a fctjkch of bright colour like a scarlet ribbon running above' the bows. Just as each ship reached the stern of the yacht the cheering began, and at the same time the seamen took off their hats, holding them , out to the fullest extent of the arm, and as they cheered waved them round their heads. The ! uniform method in which the movement of the arms and hats was carried out as the cheers were given made a most striking feature of the salute. Simultaneously the bands played the National Anthem, and the marines '-presented arms. The King stood on the bridge of the yacht, 'with the Prince of Wales by his side, acknowledging the salutes as they weiv made "The four first fleet battle squadrons followed Sir George Callaghan's flagship, including, with the latter, 20 vessels of the latest types. In the first aad second squadrons were eight Dreadnoughts,' in the third eight King Edwards, arid in the fourth three Dreadnoughts and the Agamemnon. Astern of these ¦ ships were the smart-looking cruisers of the first fleet, and following in fcheir wake came 56 destroyers arranged in sections of fours. The station-keeping of these fast-moving vessels was _no less precise than that of their heavier comrades. It took exactly one hour for the first fleet ships to pass the yacht,' and by the time the last had gone the leading vessels of the fleet were away on the horizon. "After a slight pause a moving panorama of .huge grey hulls was formed by the second and third fleets in two lines, these being the vessels which have bi;en mobilised for the exeicLses which are to take place ia the Channel tlus week. They were led by the Lord Nelson and | Prince of Wales. When these battle squadrons had passed there still remained the cruisers of the second and third fleets and the auxiliaries. Over some of these latter vessels hung a cloud of smoke such as had beep, noticeably absent from the first fleet ships, indicating probably that their stokehold corn* plements were new to them ; but a week's exerciEe at sea will shake down the ships' companies and make these vessels as smart as any. "These 22 miles of warships in motion, in seemingly endless columns, stretching from Spithead far away to seaward, each vessel gliding smoothly through the water with but A wash of spray over her forefoot, made a sight which those privileged to see it are not likely to forget. A finer opportunity for comparing the vessels could not be afforded. The King Edwards and Dreadnoughts, Bulwarks ai^d Majesties presented not only a diversity ot battleship type» but a ¦contrast of armament and equipment clearly indicating the advance of recent years. The same was true of the 50 or more cruisers. So. too, the significant difference in the vessels forming the striking force and those iv receive was apparent. It must be said at once, however, that the latter ships presented, an extremely good showing considering what short time they have been out of the dockyards, and how lately their crews had joined. Tt was exactly two hours after the leading ship had passed the yacht that the last vessel in the lines paid 1 her salute to the King. "The part played by airciaftin to-da-y's procession was as successful as beautiful. The torpedo gunboat Niger was anchored due west of the Warner lightship, so that the procession passed us, and continued several miles, farther before it came to tlie Royal yacht. The first sign. of activity in the air was the sight of the Maurice Farman, which at 10.25 signalled by wireless to the Calshot the departure of the last ship from Spithead. .The seaplanes 'were prompt to I answer the call. Twenty minutes later came tbe first of them, two 160 h.p. 'Shorts vilying at 1500 feet. A whole I string of machines followed, until, by 11.15, one could count a dozen in the ¦air over the ships. Sixteen altogether icame'by, three 160 h.p. Shorts, four '100 h.p. Shorts, four 120 h.p. Henry Farmans, three ¦ 100 h.p. Maurice Farsnans, one 100 h.p. Sopwith, and the 90 h.p. Sopwith batboat. The air was full of a hum as of distant threshing machines. They sped past us to the presence of the King. On reaching the Rjoyal yacht some flew over her ; others, ba.nking sharply, swung round to the westward in a ' wide circle. Presently they began to return, travelling home dc»wn the wind at a speed of 80 miles an, hour, while the gunboats forming the rear of the procession continued outwajrds at 10 knots. Two seaplanes, and twto only, failed to accomplish their mission, .involving, as it did, a flight of Boime 50 miles. One of the leading Sharts alighted before reaching the Royal yacht; another came down near us on the way back. Torpedo boats were quickly standing by, and soon these two Shoifts were being comfortably towed home at 10 knots. In one case engine trouble, in the other a broken petrol pipe; was the cause of tbe coming down. • « "Then came the turn of the naval aeroplanes. An 80 h.p. Sopwith leading, with.two B.E.S. behind in wedge formation, came over from Hitstor" at 2000 feet, i At the Royal yacht one B.E.S. ! held back while its companion went on, descending in as steep a spiral as anyone could wish to see. Dropping meanwhile' some kind of smoky projectile, then> swerving aloft, it joined tha others, returning home beneath the second party, coming out on the 80 h.p. Bristol, aai 80 Avre and 50 Short. These performed various evolutions while the Royal' yacht prepared to go out to sea."