HUN'S HANDBOOK

Evening Star, Issue 16911, 7 December 1918, Page 3

HUN'S HANDBOOK

DELUSIONS REGARDING SHIPS. BEATTY’S MASTER-STROKE. “Whnt’s the use concealing facts about your warships? I can get every detail from Gorman Naval Handbooks; the Germans know everything that is going on in British yards.” This was the remark of K Russian engineer at the launching ceremony of Clydebank’s great mystery cruiser, the Tiger, just before war broke out. The [statement conveyed the acuteness of Germany’s espionage in stealing naval information.

Germany still issues these naval handbooks. It is interesting to Clydesiders to find what the latest addition—which has just reached this country—says about the great ship Tiger. Tho old canard is revived that, on January 27, "915, the Tiger, £2,500,000 ship, was sunk in the North Sea, and lies a sheer hulk rusting beside Germany’s cruiser Blucher.

Time after time tho enemy repeats this story of the sinking of the Tiger. The British Admiralty has conveyed British and neutral Pressmen to the North Sea, exhibiting the Tiger doing her paces as lively as on the day she ran her trial trip at Skelmorlre. These eye-witnesses have told tho world that Germany is wrong. Yet Germany persists in her assertion. How is this? Behind _this great German blunder lies a fine story of Admiral Beatty’s skill as commander. He tricked them so badly they cannot believe it. The very fact that they adhere to their story only establishes tho completeness with which he bamboozled them. Unfortunately, only a piece of the story can ho told at present. After the Tiger’s first arrival from, the Clyde among the battle cruisers of Beatty’s squadron, there was surprise amongst the men in the ships when the Admiral ran up his flag on the Lion. The Germans calculated that the flagship would oe the Tiger'—'and this is where part of their delusion began. ENEMY’S YATN SEARCH.

On tho day in question, when the Gormans allege they sank the Tiger, they came out with four of thoir fastest cruisers on a bahy-killing expedition to >Scarborougb. Beatty caught thorn unawares with five bigger and better ships, tho Lion leading and the Tiger second in line of battle. Then ensued a desperate scramble. The German quartet turned round and flow for Heligoland liko men with thoir throats cut. Everyone remembers how the Lion and Tiger chased down by eight miles in 45 minutes the fleeing cruisers, and how tho Blucher was sunk, arid ihe remaining three enemy battered hulks skulked in behind Heligoland, all of them on fire. Another half-hour, and all would have been sunk !

Nearing tho enemy's minefield, the Lion touched a Gorman mine—so the official report said—and was badly damaged. Beatty slackened pace, and gave up pursuit. Tho Germans perceived that tho ship in the British van was crippled. They thought, of course, it was the Tiger. Then flotillas of torpedo -boats gathered like fleas on a summer day as near as they dare in order to give the lame duck a final blow with a torpedo. Beatty, at this stage, changed his flag to the Tiger, and ho wirelessed his torpedo destroyers to give up chase and return to convoy the disabled vessel.

The task that presented itself to Beatty was desperately beset with difficulties. To convoy a wounded ship, unable to make her own steam, in a sea infested by enemy torpedo boats and submarines, called for quick resolution and subtle tactics. He had her under low, crawling along at a snail's pace, and the Gormans’ light craft hanging on like corbies to get in and finish her. Now came Beatty’s masterstroke. Ho know that the enemy would intercept and read any wireless messages he sent, lie employed this to mislead and mystify them. He sent out fresh wireless messages—their nature cannot bo revealed here. They had tho effect of putting the enemy off the scent, favored as Beatty was by tho approach of night. Throughout the darkness the enemy’s flotillas searched tho seas for the Tiger (as thy thought). Find her they could not. They came to the conclusion she was sunk. No doubt some export lying commander said he had done the trick, and got tho Iron Cross for sinking her. When morning broke Beatty was well on his way to a !!•iv.rt with his damaged ship, and ■' ‘ last safely towed in and docket ‘ wasn’t tho Tiger, as the Gen: -lit; it was the Lion, and thong near it, she was not sunk. So log ierman naval authorities boast they sunk Clydebank’s big cruiser, so surely do they trumpet the clever trick Beatty played on them in the North Sea.