BRITISH SEA POWER

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XLIX, Issue XLIX, 11 January 1916, Page 5

BRITISH SEA POWER

GERMANY'S- MtSt'ATCE. BIG GTJNS ANT)~IDONG RIAfcTG-E. ' Mr A .11. Pollen, tho inventor o'f the wonderful range-finder with which the Litest types of British warships nro equipped", states in thrt course of a> leeInctJ on "Sea' Power." which he delivered in London.'* that at- was evido.nl. that the war Germany'expected -was .-.vwy different from the war she' got. -The diFfcrenco was the intervention of Great! Britain, which, Germany -did not anticipate. Jfc explained why the Ger'mivrt Foreign Minister was so ready' to fell our Ambassador what a terrible thing it. would be if Gieat Britain did *"Oma in. It was a terrible thing—for •Germany. In the war that Germany e*France, would have been" conquered in three months. There- would have been landings on her coast; sho would have been "cut off from help' from her African colonies while the 'blockade of Russia, supplemented by the blockade of Vlacb'vostock, would have been complete. Had -German expected ICnghviirt to intervene she would have made win* on us without any preliminaries, sunk irom 200 to 300 ot our merchant ships-, done as much havoc as she could amongour fleet, and- landed 100,000 ' melt •ou the English coast. All this she would, have done in the hope that it would be some months beforo we could iccovOr. sufficiently to take part hi the -war. Command of the seas allows France; deprived by invasion of 75 per cent, of her coal-produchirr capacity, to import 25,000,000 tons annually from Great Britain; it allows, us to bring at least 1,000,000 men into Franco, take, away nearly all Germany's colonies,'and attack her ally, Turkey, "in the Dardanelles-aVd in the Persian Gulf. The result is. that Germany is fighting quite a different war from the one she'planned. That was to have been a quick war, with. Germany striking with immense sp6tfc|: It is turning out a long war, for sefl power gives those able to exert *it time' to recover fronii a first blow r and prepare a return blow. We have obtained command of tho without fightihgan engagement remotely bearing ou that command. Our strength to-day is overwhelming. The main strength of fle'pta resides.,,in their strongest,.limits, are the ships of the Dreadnought type. At the beginning of the -war- we,had(.2B Dreadnoughts and " Germany J 20. ■ v \&ft had 15 either available or xin'dor con"-, 1 struction M while 'Germany had 3- The*©, three additional Dreadnoughts are-, probably incorporated in t!he perman -Nayy.; W© had a 40 .per cent., superiority at: the beginning "of- the war; >.to»day,Mt ■*'«• beWeen 50 and 60 per cent. ;'.'Jjy tho 0 end, of'the year it will be'nearly; QR per cent. • -'.''• '' *"'- V ' '.'-' The largest' ships "with the , largesv guns are the depositories of power f. The size of tho guns is very important*' Th*. twenty ships of Germany ,':rjpr&ent' if* -power tho figure 16. The -28'J$Iilp$ ,<>f; Britain represent the figurej>27i-; ItrMfiUj be seen, then, that when ' the'g'tius ,of / the rival Dreadnoughts ar t e talcefy, ."illto,. consideration the German fleet loses a quarter of its" nominal strength.' By th'pA end of tho year, reckoning gun pj>wev»f wo shall be two and a half .times ,»lft fc strong asi Germany at sea, taking. tho biggest sh;ps only. That is,the real reii-. son why the German navy stays where, it is. - ■* , ''« All naval force has' to be concentrated.' A land force can be stretched out 'because it fights in entrenchments a«dl makes use of natural obstacles.'. ship stands four square- to the winds'.bf heaven -with nothing t&- defend itself \ with except its guns and its aviftament.--All sea fighting* remains in its essentials the samo whether you go back to the time of the Romans or to t|ie days;sE"Nelson. It is just the unit ship-fighting .against tho unit tfhip, and. tho side* tho fc r Iks tlie most unite, all else • equal,-;w illwin. ' ,' '. \ v ~,*',_ ' Germany undoubtedly is -geographical. ly at a disadvantage for sea., whr< .To, emerge .into 'the, oceans she rrtiist. pa|&; our fleet. If she did break through-, our cordon and get a iew cruisers jnto ilif** Atlantic, there would be excitement'for. two months . # Then,» hivving. no liases,'.'" her want of co'hl would begin.to tho raiders would all bo sunkV 'lf/,'however, Germany seeks an t e'ngagenielSll'''

with our fleet, tho meeting can be **-„. .ranged "without afcy formalities. toVftopinionl is .the German fleet'wiuS s*»■,, 'como out unless to desperali'onl' After their Gulf of Rig-.* experience 'they" will,not even try to come to coneJiiiycttVa 'with the Russian fleet for, fear./of. hw%, ing six or seven of their-.important ship**; sunk. , ■ ■ • . ,!•' "■ • ,' What has made tho Dreadnought ship;,; so .powerful is that she lias been able' togive expression to the new art of naval gunnery—the use' of great"guiis *at lour, range. Eleven years Ago no naval gun-' was used in. practice at greatev'jrangh v ' than 2000 to 300 d yards. Now gunt{ hit at from 15,000 to 20 > 000 yard*. change has not been due to th© gun,""it» self, for tho gun of twtuty; years .ago

was quite as good in ,range as to-day,. !but in the invention p£ in&trumeats A tcjf secure the range ovor long in otlier words, in 'the perfection, of the. range-finders. ' , ~; ', Tyhoji the Lion-was \Hlttinjr ,th« v Dw*- , flhiger'9A miles., away wither 13. v s*gu«s | the 14001b projectiles from, each gun described a cutvo which from the sea level to its'rim' j was 35CH) feet,, or ; as"high. l aa Snowden-,'»witn," St, -Paul's on top of it". The Derfliuger at"" distance would look to the nalied eye liktf. tho~'Je.a"d'.x>i a pencil held,7' inches 'Tho m s&f\' mum range 'of;'- tho ' > Queen guns, •which fire a ton pi'bjecVilAj. Vss*2'' elevate'd to the'' utmost is 'from'' 40 miles, though she could never"hoffe ■hit anything' at that bi.lt 'fcbflb < rang© is po'sslble * because alpiidSfc verticl© elevation of TieV guns'., thai "criVt bo obtained. That is the *lP'th'o Jong range of the.;i4-nich guns, "ot lllft monitors; they can be 'pointed 'so 'vertically giVe a -range, ol ! 20 'Trftt<«c Tho old iype of guns could iioV be ed" to give more than 'a: range of^o-'tn 1 7 miles. ' l -....i/a-* The monitors tonly draw Gft'oy',7ft. of water, and can go over a mino' fi&d without touching. Their,'* constructiexv <-md restricted' l -size make" them difficult; targets to hit, add in. tho river-figM with the' Koiiisberg, though sho ,firedher shots beautifully 'at tbo nmnitoft& she had little chance of hitting them. Some of her shells landed very near tho Severn, and I hear in ten minutes' timo the surface iof tho water was with dead fishes. Unless a 'shot' hits* ft ship it is useless. It inay kill "a" "lot of herrings, but it' has'yfc't to bo pYoyed that'there is ' any ' imWt'Jiato ' military value in that' result.