GRAF SPEE FIGHT

Evening Star, Issue 23499, 13 February 1940, Page 13

GRAF SPEE FIGHT

ANSWERS A QUESTION VALUE OF THE CLASS Naval experts will be intensely interested in the defeat of the Graf beatlso the pocket battleship was a mystery ship, and hail never been lu action * until she met, and was vanquished by three light cruisers of greatly inferior armament (writes lirnest Schaffer in the ' Adelaide Chronicle’). She wa.s designed ‘‘to outrun anything she could not beat, or to beat anything she could not outrun.” The Graf Spee did neither. Recent taids ou shipping made it clear that Germany had no intention of keeping her pockei battleships in cotton wool. At the same time she did not intend to risk them in open combat with ships of the liritish and French Navies it this could possibly be avoided. Their proscribed function is that of hit-and-run pirates. Under the terms of the Treaty of Versailles, Germany was not permitted to acquire battleships exceeding 10,000 tons displacement or with guns above lliu iu calibre. There was no financial limitation; within these bounds Germany could spend as much as she liked on each ship. Under these conditions German naval architects set themselves to design a vessel which, with the tonnage of a cruiser, possessed the striking power of a battleship. It was no easy task. The limits imposed by the Versailles Treaty were not fixed casually, but with a very close understanding or naval architecture. Under the influence of the Washington Treaty several nations had gone in for fast 10,000-ton cruisers with Sin guns, but had reached the conclusion that it was unprofitable to build vessels of this type because the weight limit made it necessary to cut down th.eir armour to a point at which its protection value was negligible. It was generally conceded that no 10,000-ton vessel could carry guns larger than of eight-inch.

THE GERMAN OBJECTIVE, In producing the Deutschland and her successors, the Germans did_ not sacrifice protection to gain striking power. Even before the plans were approved, the Defence Minister of the Reich announced that not only must the new “ armoured ship " be capable of striking a deadly blow at the largest and most formidable of foreign capital ships in case of surprise in fog or darkness, but that she must also be as far as possible secure against loss by bombs, torpedoes, and mines. Such security can only be obtained by heavy armour, and the chief problem of the designers was to cut down weight so that the savings could bo invested in armaments and armour. The German mentality seems to take a special delight in the production of substitutes. Before the Deutschland was officially named, she was known as the Ersatz-Preussen ” because she was a substitute for the old battleship “ Preussen." Nowadays, “ ersatz " is one of the hardest-worked words in the German language, and its meaning is known all over the world, but in those days “ ersatz ” was just an ordinary word, and its first appearance was in connection with the “ Ersatz-Preussen." Weight was saved by making the new ship a motor vessel powered by Diesel engines, by welding the plates of the hull together instead of riveting them, and m many other ways. The result was that the Deutschland was able to mount llin guns, and these were of new type, claimed to be the equal of many 13in and some 15in guns on other battleships. At the same time she was able to invest 36 per cent, of her standard weight in armour and other protective devices. The comparative percentage for H.M.S Hood, one of the best-protected capital ships in tbo world, is only 33. After due consideration of the statistics of the Deutschland a British naval expert came to the conculsion that of all_ modern warships she was the most invulnerably defended against all forms of attack. It should, be understood, of course, that such estimates of protection are comparative in relation to size. A QUEER HYBRID. In appearance the pocket battleships look like queer hybrids between capital ships and cruisers. They are about 000 ft long with a beam of 66ft. Their normal speed is 26 knots, a little faster than most battleships, but not so fast as Britain’s latest battle cruisers. Although very heavily armed for their size, they are not quite so well armed as battle cruisers. They carry six llin guns and eight 6in guns. British cruisers of similar size carry Sin and 4in guns. The battle cruisers Hood, Renown, and Repulse (all of which displace more than 30,000 tons) carry six or eight 15in guns and 12 4in or Sin guns. Range is always an important factor in naval armaments, and it is claimed that of the British battle cruisers, only the Hood has the range of the pocket battleships. Although both Renown and Repulse have 15in guns, these weapons are not modern. In the event of a running engagement with a pocket battleships these vessels would be exposed to German fire about half an hour before they could effectively return it —a considerable disadvantage. Cruising range is also an important factor, especially for vessels intended for use as raiders. Nominally the pocket battleships have a cruising range of 10,000 sea miles at 20 knots, which is a trifle bettor than anything attained by other naval vessels. The latest English cruisers have exceeded 10,000 miles without refuelling, but only by reducing their speed. An American cruiser has a range of 14,000 miles at a speed of 15 knots. Experts believe that by reducing their speed so as to conserve fuel the pocket battleships could travel 18,000 miles without having to touch port. Generally speaking the pocket battleships gave naval experts something of a theoretical shock. Some even went so far as to assert that they marked the beginning of a new era in naval construction. Others wondered whether it was worth while building capital ships of 40,000 tons if so much deadliness could be compressed into a vessel of 10,000 tons. The question of the pocket battleship has now been answered, and th6_ German theories disproved. Little ships of inferior armament licked a big ship which was held to be invulnerable. That is a fact which will give_ British naval architects much satisfaction.