SOUTHERN VIEWS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLVI, Issue 14017, 24 March 1909, Page 8

SOUTHERN VIEWS.

SIR W. RUSSELL'S OPINION. ; MEN SHOULD BE GIVEN TOO. .[BY TELEGRAPH.— ASSOCIATION.] • ' ' Hastings, Tuesday. Sir; William' Russell, when asked his opinion regarding the Government's offer, said: " I think Cabinet has been wise, as well as patriotic ('Big dat qui cito dat'). And, even on the supposition;|hab the gift is unnecessary, the promptness" of : Now Zealand to share the burden of the Empire will have a stimulating effect on "all.-Bri-tain's > oversea dependencies. ; Germany, under a system of compulsory service, can man a fleet as well as her army. Can we?: New Zealand is prepared to make personal sacrifice, but it will be in vain to present one battleship unless; we give ' also the strong heart of our sons. Periodical panics disgrace our nation.; New Zealand frequently boasts that it sets England an example, y Now,; it has an opportunity of setting a great example to the whole Empire by universal compulsory training of all Tier men. ' I feel that the failure of the two-; Power standard is riot an unmixed evil, 1 as possibly universal . training will r be determined upon, and the fears of invasion will belong to past history." FEILDING APPROVAL. ' [by TELEGRAPH.—PRESS association.] Feuding, Tuesday. A special meeting of the Feilding Borough Council was held this afternoon to discuss the ; Government's .offer to ; the British Government. . On ; the motion of • Mr. Atkinson, seconded by Mr. J. G. Cobbe, the ; following resolution ' was carried | unanimously: "That •>■ this ! Council strongly approves the action! of the Government in offering to provide the, cost of '" a warship for the British navy." ; The Council also decided to call > »'ipub< lie meeting to discuss the advieableness of , introducing some ■: form of compulsory military training into the Dominion. . RIGHT THING AT RIGHT TIME. [BY TELEGRAPH.— PRESS ASSOCIATION.] Napier, Tuesday. Mr. J. Vigor Brown, M.P., unreservedly approves Cabinet's r action; and has telegraphed to the Prime Minister congratulating him oh. having done the right thing in the right way at the right time. •: \ OTAGO OPINIONS. [BY TELEGRAPH.—PRESS ASSOCIATION.] Dunedin, Tuesday. ' Mr. Sidey, M.P., considers that if the situation is really such as to jeopardise the supremacy of the British navy, , the action of Cabinet . should be warmly approved. I The Hon. J. R. Sinclair warmly approves of the proposal, ■'•''aid''':;;* thinks '''.'; the Prime Minister has rightly gauged the feeling of the country. The Hon. J. B. Callan, formerly a volun- : i . teer major, says most of- Germany is militant, and her immense army is spoiling for : fight. , ..- - Sir James Mills entirely sympathises with Cabinet in their offer,; which, i he says, : ' will be all the more appreciated on account of its spontaneity. '■ ~■ » " ! ■■■■■■■ Mr. Fraser'/i M.P. for Wakatipu, approves of the v offer. ;;t " Great ; -Britain," i he -says, ," need no assistance from her colonies .; to; build up an adequate navy, but the colonies; owe it to themselves to give the world tan- , gible proofs that the « sentiment of kinship i is vital and indestructible, and to . face the situation regardless of the sacrifice it may involve." ' .' • "' • '< • .■!.,■-'/*'■';- .r •/ . > The Mayor of Invercargill (Mr. ;Wm. B.* Scandrett),'; interviewed, said: " There j are times when ; those in ?? authority - must* act without authority. ' The Prime Minister and Ministry as a whole should anticipate the judgment of the country in ''any; great crisis. I think the action of the Government should , be supported by Parliament and the people." ■'! ';.. v . - . The Port Chalmers Borough Council, on tho motion of the Mayor (Mr. Mill), who described the Prime Minister's \ action as a "mighty stroke of policy," which would be heartily ; endorsed" throughout the Dominion, unanimously decided to send a congratulatory message to Sir Joseph Ward, expressing appreciation of the offer. V; "A DELIRIOUS FARCE." : [BY TELEGRAPH.I—PRESS ASSOCIATION.] Chbistchuboh, Tuesday, Mr. Hart, president : of the Trades and Labour Council, interviewed, made a violent attack on the Government. ' He said the Prime Minister's offer was little short of a delirious farce. In view of the retrenchment proposals Cabinet's offer came like a bolt from the blue. The 'Dominion was offering to provide its portly mother with a protection which it could not afford to pay for. ; Sir Joseph Ward, while intoxicated with jingoism, had voted two millions to go out of the country, while re- 1 ' productive works were languishing for want of support.,; The Government's gigantic \ piece of folly was opposed to every principle of representative government,'''and the masses would resent this impetuous of self-glorification on the part of the Prime Minister. . In its wild delirium Cabinet had displayed a suicidal tendency whioh would alienate the sympathy •' of , -the working classes throughout the Dominion, PRESS COMMENTS. AN ADMIRABLE ACTION. [BY ... TELEGRAPH.—-OWN CORRESPONDENT.] 5 ; Wellington, ; Tuesday. c The Post,; commenting on the Government's proposal, . expresses appreciation i of the fttep taken,< but considers the Government.; wrong ; in committing the country to the expenditure: without consuiting ; Parliament. ~ * " This, however," J adds the Post, " is a quarrel whioh jmust_.

l •■■.•..,•.- ■ ■?■■ ■■ ' ■ i be settled privately later, and we do not care to conclude at such a lime : « this with a critical note. In its Imperial, 'as distinguished from its constitutional aspect,' the action of the Government is admirable. : It has given great encouragement to our ' friends> in the Old Country; not - thatthey are * running short of money,; but that their hearts are touched by a sympathy which is spontaneous and dis- ; interested." ' NEW PATRIOTIC MOVEMENT. . [BY TELEGRAPH. —OWN COIUIESrONDENT.] Dunedin, Tuesday. . The Dunedin Star says:—" Sir Joseph Ward and his 'colleagues have acted• aS; the late Right Hon. R. J. Seddon would: have done. At such a crisis, promptness is everything, and j on this ground the ; plea for a special meeting of Parliament lacks ; force. Ministers, ; doubtless 4 have more information than is expedient to be published. The hour has struck for a -new patriotic movement on sane ; and resolute lines, 1 and New Zealand may take legitimate pride in leading the way." •', _____————— —— ■* THE DREADNOUGHT ERA. HEAVY , ARMAMENT SHIPS. EVOLUTION - OF NAVAL: CONSTRUC- , ' ' TION. . . There is no longer any controversy; regarding - the advisableness ; "of,: constructing -high-speed, all-big-gun ; ! ships, \ for; the type has now been adopted in all the important navies of the world, with the exception of France. ' The Dreadnought^ type, in its, main . features, . and'more especially m its single calibre armament j: is not, r however, such a great "revolution" in naval construction as is commonly supposed. ' __ The previous Dreadnought of ! the Navy. List of 1875 had an all-big-gun armament, though she carried only four; of, the sl2m weapons. ■ > In 1889, when the battleships of the Royal Sovereign type were designed, they were fitted with an armament; of four 13.5 in and 10 6in guns. : • In the succeeding Majestic type the calibre < "of the mam armament was reduced to 12in, and the number of .- guns 'in the' secondary * battery increased to 12. C From 1893 to 1901 five classes of battleship ?/ were designed, namely, Majestic (14,900 tons, nine ships), Albion (1896, 12,950 tons, six ships), Formidable (1897, 15,000; tons, .three; ships), London (1898, 15,000 tons, :\ three : ships), and Queen (1901, 15,500 tone, two ships). In each of these classes the armament was 'unchanged—four ' 12in and 12 j; 6in ■guns--although improvements had made the Queen; class of vessels' ordnance much more i powerful than that I of the Majestic class. In 1901-2, however, an important step was taken. It was deemed advisable, owing to the improvements in' manufacture and distribution '■-" of armour; to reinforce .the : main battery; of the new ships with a : weapon ♦ more powerful than \ the 6in gun, which, its shell of only 1001b, was ineffective against even 6in of Krupp armour at 3000 yds. ::, Then., in the King Edward (16,350 tons) : class, provided for in the Estimates of 1901-2, the eight ships were armed, in addition to four 12in guns, with four weapons of «9.2 in calibre, firing a 3801b shell, '.■ the number of 6in v guns being reduced to 10. -.<; c The United; States : fol■';lowed '; this ; lead, '■;'and in 51902 armed the Louisiana and <• Connecticut, 16,000 ; tons,, with four 12in, eight Bin, and 12 7in guns, and the Japanese gave the ; Kashima ■ and Katori (16,400) tone) \ four J 12in, ; four lOin, and 12 oin guns. i Experience, however, /showed; that the practical working of a three-calibre armament was attended with great difficulties. Confusion .was^icaused ; by « storage of different -sizes of' ammunition and its; service to the ; guns' in action, and I it was found -, that/ the ' multiple j, calibre armament ," presented insuperable obstacles to good shooting, owing to inability of control officers to distinguish between the ; splashes; of ': the various sizes of shells, and, ; again, further armour improvements ? threw * the ; 6in gun into the background. • Consequently / the next new?, battleships, l: Lord Nelson and Agamemnon, 16,500 ; tons,;were i given ■ four 12m and 10 9.2 in guns, while the effect of this ; move on v foreign Powers was ; anticipated, and ; the main f armour belt was in.creased from the standard 9in to 12in. The Dreadnought and the first ships which followed her on the 1906-7 Estimates (Bellerophon, Tomeraire, and Superb, 18,600 tons) are practically identical, 'but important improvements were made in the next..batch (St. Vincent, Colliniiwood, and Vanguard, 19,250 tons), ; provided' for ■ in the /j 1907-8 Estimates, ;; as the .); level of the inner of the; two after; turrets was ;, raised so '.as i toenable ] the '; guns to fire over the end turret, thus increasing the astern fir© to eight guns, /as i against six ' on the • Dreadnought, and this arrangement is also being carried! out on ships now building. > But the most notable ; improvement in the ' design of British Dreadnoughts so far has been in the anti-torpedo-boat armament. ' In the Dreadnought 27 12-pounders were mounted for this purpose, but/the size; of torpedo craft had been increasing so rapidly ; that this , was everywhere denounced as ail 1 er-: ror. ;; ■ No alteration was made, but in ~the later ships 20 4in guns, firing 251b shells, were installed for repelling torpedo attack. . .:■■■ Other Powers have, with the exception of France, : followed the new move, and : all are constructing the Dreadnought type of ship, v *Curiously < enough Italy, and not England, / is , regarded as the birthplace ; of the Dreadnought,;for: it was Colonel Cuniberti, the gifted Italian naval constructor, who first outlined an' "ideal battleship for the British fleet," armed with 12 12in guns, and steaming 24 knots. In Italy the type is represented by a ship of 19,000 tons., A significant forecast was made by Colonel Cuniberti, ; when he declared j that the 12in gun was no . longer sufficiently powerfulfor ; the main armament, of battleships, arid that a . calibre of 16in ■ was desirable, while • 13.5 in might be accepted as ] a ;• temporary' compromise. : The terrific J power > of ■■■ a broadside ; of ;; 16in , guns,;:if that ; armament were decided ,upon, would cause a further stage of evolution in battleship construction '■ as great as was. the Dreadnought in comparison with previous efforts. BUILDING A BATTLESHIP. AN ENORMOUS WORK. : THE IMPORTANCE OF PLANS. In, the building of battleships, experimental work is practically continuous and the great naval constructing firms devote such sums as £100,000 annually to research and invention. In the construction of a modern : warship, apart altogether ; from the evolution of r design, there : are over 10,000 drawings required. Of these 6000 are for the hull, 3500 for the machinery, and 500 for gun mountings, etc. The aim of the design can only I be reached by absolute exactness in working to these plans and * by the careful weighing of» every item, to the last bolt and nut. Experience, therefore, is essential to success ; in the preparation ; of the detail drawings, and the; exact calculation of strength of metal alloys end ; other manufactures. The exactness with which the work in the moulding loft is done influences every subsequent i operation, both, as regards rapidity of construction arid efficiency of result. '.The floor of \ the loft is a great drawing/ board on ; which ;is mapped i out to full size, the plates, beams, and frames of the hull.; From these lines are ; prepared templates to represent every rib of the ship, as well as the beams which bind the hull together to secure: rigidity. Template making has greatly developed. Previously the builder waited till the framework of the ship was erected before commencing the shell and deck plating work, but now templates are made , for practically' all, the plates excepting those |; at irregular parts, and it possible to commence the formation of plates and the punching of holes for rivets as soon as the plates /havcf been made. Each item constituting the 4000 to ; 5000 tons of /steel in the hull thus proceeds /contemporaneously, < and this is why ■;'. the / launching / of the { Triumph and Dreaduonght and ]■ other ships in •: seven/: or k

I , , 'x eight, months from-the commencement of operations was rendered possible. Plates are bent to the desired angle by powerful hydraulic machinery,"the pressure being from 10001b vto 15001b per square" inch. On | the building berths | the units 1 are fitted : together by bolt and nut preliminary to the riveting, and the fitting of ■ the; parts asa test of : the i accuracy; of the work in) the moulding i loft, at the bending slabs and in the machine shop where frames; arid plates are sheared to size, arid punch- t ed. , The rapidity of the work depends on the accuracy of these processes, and in the case of the cruiser Rurik, for the Russian navy, as much as 300 tons of metal, exclusive of * armour) was fitted, in a ; week. As much "as 200 ! tons of armour has been .;fitted ;in a week on \ battleships. The riveting is; now -. done by ? hydraulic t power r and? by, pneumatic tools. ; < Hydraulic and electric cranes. of great power are: provided at all the construction docks. Lifting grabs take up heavy; loads; while ■• cranes, move along the long gantry at 600 ft; per minute. Heavy loads, such ;as armour -plates, are lifted at the speed of 125 ft per minute. ! : ;' v ;.Vv ':.:": : T : f ~'..,"' ' . The construction. of the boilers, engines, pumps, and all the hundred odd engines required •' for the ship, proceeds; simultaneously with the building of the hull. The ; boilers are partly made to templates '.in ; the method described, and special machin- ; ery is used for the construction of watertube ; boilers. With electric crane power many boilers are put in position before the vessel is launched. " • . •- Centralisation has .meant much in the construction of the machinery, and es- • pecially , in the casting or forging of 'large units for reciprocating and turbine mar chinery, with due regard to the progress of other ■ units. - Many; of ■ these - moderate- ; sized forgings weigh as much as 15 ' tons and experience in - the tensile- quality -;: of metals and i various alloys • enables > stress to be counteracted with minimum of weight. : It has '; thus; been \ possible *to . materially reduce' the i weight :of warship machinery so i that Vls i h.p. ■•;■ is developed per ton of machinery by natural, draught ships, as compared with 10 h,p. 10 years ago,,'" The 19,700 i.h.p. machinery of the Rurik was erected in 1 eight months, and was fitted on board, ready for steaming, in five months more. ' , ■ ' - The greatest : importance, rom ; a mechanical ingenuity point of view,; attaches to the ! barbette : mounting for the \ guns in the I primary; v armament. rV; i Few, ,; indeed, ( realise the • work involved in '• the ordnance ''machinery, which extends: ; from the hot-, tom of the ship to the breech of the gun. Yet ' weights ; are measured by.- the ounce, as every addition- not absolutely essential, not only calls for increased power to drive the ship but affects the 1 speed of manipulating the gun- The great firms of Vickers Armstrong have done splendid service by their; ingenious work in ordnance machinery. The ordnance manufacturing resources they have at their l disposal have never yet,: been fully utilised ) by the .British 'k Government. It . would take volumes to describe the wonders ;; of modern ordnance machinery* and how great masses 7of / over 400 ; tons y_ can' be revolved at a' speed >of '-> 80ft ■,_ per minute and yet be brought to a "stop within an almost : immeasurable : unit of time, and without the slightest ; shock. '-x This sort of work is done to '•- the one-thousandth part of an inch, so that some idea of the precision rehired may be gained. Gunmounting turntables ' weighing % 130 " tons are lifted on board* in one piece by the great cranes. The turntable, which j has two platforms, ,the upper, for the gun ele?vating and firing gear, and the lower for ammunition hoisting ; gear and training machinery, has also suspended in it the ammunition hoists. )' The : barbette has a roller path made so level that there is.not, at any poi"t, a variation of a 1000 th part of an inch, and on it the turntable carrying the gun and all machinery for elevating, loading and; firing is rotated by hy-draulic-mechanism. , But so well balanced is it that it may be worked by hand, although the moving weight is over 400 tons. ' _____________ SCOUTS AND DESTROYERS. "BULL TERRIERS" OF THE „ -_,— »■">• '•-•:.:'■•- ~' ' . fcLEET* ' ' •'■' ■'.•'"'•■'".' THE : DEADLY TORPEDO.' . The Roadicea,.a/'soout," is an answer to a phase !of ' shipbuilding largely favoured ; by the Germans. . She has a displacement of 3300 torn, speed 25 knots, l.h.p, 18,000, with turbine engines and four propellers. The armament ie said to consist of three 4in guns. -' .The Germans have a large number of vessels of this class, completed or building. The "Gazelle" class had a displacement of i 2600 tons, ; and %&), speed lot 21-22 knots. The displacement and speed have been greatly " increased, until the t latest ships have a displacement of 3600 to' 3800 tons,, and an estimated speed of ;244. to 25 knots.. All carry armaments of 10 4.lin! guns, which :is therefore much more powerful than the reported . armament of the Boadicea. The great objection tb vessels of the Boadicea- type is the high cost in comparison to the fighting qualities which have been sacrificed to speed. The cost of the Boadicea was £333,067. These remarks apply-with almost as much force, to the Swift, estimated speed 36 knots, with 30,000 i.h.p., at a cost of £250,292.; The armament comprises four 4in guns and two torpedo tubes. Most of the 12 ocean-going destroyers of j the '* Tribal'.' class have been completed, and there has been an increase of speed' in each successive boat. The: contract ' speed was; 33 knots, with 14,000-14,500 i.h.p";, . and four of the boats are as follows: — ' Speed on m«a- Speed on six . suredmile. hours' ran. Knots. Knots. ; Cossack ... . ... 33.15 .33.1 Ghnrka ... ... 34 33.91 Mohawk ... ... 34.51 34.25 Tartar ... ... 55,6? :35.36 ... The speed attained by the Tartar is remarkable. ; ; During"i the six hours' run she covered; 233 miles. ; All burn, liquid fuel, ;of "which! they "each: carry 75-95 tons. 5 The; : other vessels are the Afridi, Amazon, Sara- ■ cen. l Nubian, Crusader, Maori, Zulu, ahd'k Viking.; The Afridi is' of 795 tons ! displacement, and the others/aro from 860 to 890 tons. ■ The Saracen and Amazon- will carry two 4in - guns, the other.. boats three : 12-poundere. .\- Ten torpedo-boats of ; the: coastal;destroyer type; 240-250 .tons, were completed in; 1907-8, 'k and ;22 others were . ordered ! for completion by the end of 1908-9, £1,366,880 being appropriated for these 32 boats up to March -31 of this year. . v One; submarine (Al3) of 204 tons, and eight C type, of 313 tons, have been completed, arid 12 ' C type are about ready, ■while Dl, vof -.• a ; new type, is , to. be • laid; down. •, The highest speed obtained in; : 1907-8 with ; torpedoes, fitted > with; an arrangement for heating (the'." air'' used ?to propel:, them;; was v 35.3 1, knots. s;." Further improvements have since ■ been obtained, and the ■ following table gives the speeds obtained by the latest Whitehead torpedo: — ; , "With cold air.. With hot air. 3 Yards. : Knots. Knots. v At 1000 ... - ... 35 < ;'' 43 , -' At 1500... v...:30 . " 40- ' V At 2000 ... - .... 281 ■■:,-■;':.;;..',---38;<"."'','-.■■ At 3000 - 23-24 ■• 32 . At 4000 18-20 - 28 . . ' .. , y ..::;.-: ■■::t : J \ •/:' : . ,i '': : The Admiralty has never been slow to adopt improvements in the torpedo 'armament of the fleet. For years Great Britain has led in the matter of submerged tubes for firing torpedoes, and the British fleet " exercises more with torpedoes than that of any other country. ■ ■■- -