ECONOMY IN THE NAVY.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXV, Issue 19859, 1 February 1928, Page 13

ECONOMY IN THE NAVY.

THE RECENT MANOEUVRES. RETRIEVING THE TORPEDOES. IDEAL PRACTICE GROUND. A navy is something more than mere 16in. guns, heavy armour and tonnage. Civilian witnesses of the recent manoeuvres carried out in the Hauraki Gulf found that a naval division is simply just what the men behind the guns are. Throughout the exercises there was a remaikable spirit of keenness and, what the man in she street might not expect, the greatest regard for economy. Officers ard men alike are pardonably proud of their efforts to reduce overhead costs in the operation of their division, and to the civilian it was rather strange to see so many precautions taken. For example, before the Dunedin and Diomede went into action last week, the ship putting up the smoke-screen kept its decks flooded with water from hoses to protect the wood from oil stains and firs. The ensign fluttering at the stern was hauled down and an old and dirtier one took its place. The shells were fired with o;i3y two-thirds charges to save the 'ivear and tear in the guns and the quantity of explosives used. All the fired sLellcases were saved to be loaded again. The torpedoes discharged were all recovered. Last week they were fired over seven miles and travelled that distance in very quick time. But they are not as speedy as 6in. shells, which travel' «i mile in just over one second. In war time torpedoes are set to sink after they have travelled their range, if they do not explode. This precaution stops the enemy from retrieving them and examining their mechanism. In peace exercises they are made to rise to the surface and float, giving off small clouds of smoke until they are recovered. This is very necessary, since the cost of each one would buy a civilian several motor-cars. Methods of Saving Money. The spirit of economy in the division at sea lives also when the ships are "tied up alongside" at the Devonport naval dockyards. To save money, all gear or equipment that is unfit for the second-hand sales list is utilised and put to some useful purpose. Condemned torpedo nets have been used at the Devonport dockyard to make a shark-proof swimming pool. Paths about the yard are marked out neatly with old cordage or ropes. The yard, a mere wilderness but a few years ago, is being transformed into a typical naval base. In the social life of the division economy also prevails. The entertainment of guest 3 in the ward room is purely a "private show," the officers meeting all exptnses incurred. Likewise the ships' bands ar ? voluntary organisations. In other departments, such as wireless, the men may u.S'3 instruments constructed in their own time and with their own money in preference to the service equipment. Happy Ships' Companies. The New Zealand Naval Division is a happy group of men and ships. One important foctor contributing toward this ic ; that in the Hauraki Gulf the division has the finest exercise ground in the world. Commodore G. T. C. P. Swabey, commanding the division, ia unhesitating in his praise of it. Recently he said: "The Hauraki Gulf is undoubtedly the finest stretch of water in the world from the navy point of view. It is approximately 400 square miles in area. The many islands within it, with deep anchorages, afford shelter in any weather. It is ideal for naval exercise. There is little traffic across it. This is important, bocause it leaves our ranges clear during live-shell practices." If the efficiency, or the economy, of the New Zealand Division is doubted, across at the Devonport dockyard there is a target used in last week's gunnery tests. The results of the many direct hits on it may be seen. It in ripped, gashed and jagged. But navy carpenters are restoring it. It will be used again.