NOTES ON THE WAR.

Lyttelton Times, Volume CXVI, Issue 16922, 30 July 1915, Page 7

NOTES ON THE WAR.

ON LAND AND SEA.

Prance, according to a cable message, is settling down to the prospect of a long war, at least of another winter campaign. As a matter of fact this view has been current in France for peverai months now, for the French have a very vivid appreciation of the situation and they know what General Joffre meant when he said that he was *' nibbling " the enemy. Official statements on the subject, of course, are rare, but those that are made point to the probability of a long struggle. When a Bill was before the BVench Chamber of Deputies a few weeks ago, authorising the calling to the colours of certain classes of men not previously summoned for military service, General Pedoya, chairman of the Army Commission, justified the measure on the ground that the authorities required information as to the numbers of men still available. Everyone was confident of final victory, General Pedoya added, but the war would b» "a long one—a very long one."

Although the opinion locally among engineers seems to be that New Zealand engineering shops could' not profitably engage in the production of shells, tho war industry is now being developed rapidly in Australia, -where shrapnel shell ia being manufactured under arrangements with the Federal Government. For the benefit of engineers who are disposed to turn their attention to the work the " Commonwealth Engineer," in its July number, has a long article on the manufacture of shrapnel shell. There is a brief but sufficient general description of the shell, of interest,, of course, to the general reader as well as to the expert, and then, the writer proceeds to an explanation of the various processes employed', and a useful note is added concerning the efficient organisation of the workshop. "The operations," he says, "are of such a nature that with a little ingenuity and correct planning and routing of the work, the ordinary plant of an average well equipped engineering shop can quickly be adapted to the purpose ; '"and provided there are men on the staff with' a good practical, up-to-date knowledge of machine-tool operation, a high rate of production can bo attained."

Some particulars regarding the German submarine flotilla were given at a recent meeting of the French Society of Civil Engineers in Paris by M. Laubeuf. The lecturer quoted the British Admiralty as authority for the statement that at the commencement of 1914 Germany had twenty-four submarines ready and fourteen in construction. Of these latter, eight were completed when war was declared, the six others—XJ33 to TJ3B—commenced in 1913, were certainly not finished" when hostilities opened. On the other hand, Germany added to her own number of submarines (ire Austrian and one Norwegian boats, wluch were at the time almost cornpletxl at the Krupp Germania Yard, Kiel. fho German navy, therefore, had in all thirty-eight submarines a.t the opening >f hostilities.

At the end of 1914, according to German statements, twenty new submarines were put in hand in the enemy's yards. Sonio of thtr-so -were certainly small boats, intended to be transported by rail to Zeobrugge and elsewhere. It is Known, also, that certain submarines have been .under construction near Antwei-p, but these, again, must be jwiall types. Of the new boats in tho German service tho submarine that was built for Norway and commandeered by Germany is similar to U!) or poslibly 50 tons smaller in displacement. That is to say, it would be a vessel of ioO tons submerged. The five submarines built for Austria aro said to be similar to tho Gerniaa U 33, having a submerged displacement of 835 tons and a surface speed of 17 knots. It is now doubtful whether any of these vessels was transported to Trieste. Tu all probability tho Austrian submarines operating in» the Adriatic aro fenu- boats recently completed at Pola, numbered I'rj, to Ll 6. Tho construction of these ressels was superintended by Krupp experts, and tliey were made to Krupp design.' They have a submerged displacement of over 800 tons and a surface speed of about 16 knots.

On the .question whether any submarine laid down after the outbreak of tho war has yet been completed by a German yard thero j'3 a conflict of opinion. American correspondents definitely say that fully twenty vessels have been completed. French and British expert opinion is said to hold that none of the latest programme lias yet appeared. The following particulars of the German submarines in are given by M. Laubeuf: — TJ2 to ÜB—Submerged displacement, 800 tons; surface speed, 12 knots; sul>mcrged speed. 8.0 knots; surface radius, 1200 miles at 9 knots; two torpedo tubes; four 17.7 in torpedoes. U 9 to Ul2—Slightly larger than U2. otherwise same description. Ul3 to TJ20—560 tons; 15 knots; 9 knots; three tubes, six torpedoes, one 1.4 m gun.

L2l to U 32—800 tons; 1G knots; 10 knotsj 1000 miles at 12 knots; four tubes, eight 19.6 in torpedoes, two 3.5 in guns.

U 33 to U3S—B3S tons; 17 knots: other particulars as for U2l. except tnat surface range is rather greater.

On the subject of the German losses of submarines there is no very accurate information, available. A careful American compiler of war statistics gives eleven as certainly lost. The-so include Uls, shelled in the North Sea on August 9; a submarine rammed in the North Sua on October 24; another shelled in the North Sea on October 30; one rammed off the Belgian coast on November 13; one shelled near Boulogne on February 24; another rammed off Beachy Head on February 28; UlB rammed in the North Sea on November 23; U 9 wrecked off the coast of Norway in February; ÜB, sunk by shell fire off Dover on March 4; TTI2, rammed off the Firth of Forth on March 10; U 29, sunk or captured in the Channel. To this list must be added a submarine, not named, sunk or captured in June, from which six officers and twenty-nine of a crew were- made prisoners of war. Then U3O was sunk accidentally outside Emden, in shallow water, and though tlio vessel was raised she is not likoly to bo in commission again for some time to come.