Warships at Work

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXVII, Issue 23773, 28 September 1940, Page 4 (Supplement)

Warships at Work

By G.F.C.

OF the many lessons that have so far been learned from the present war, one stands pre-eminent —that sea power is still the dominant factor. Had' he possessed, it, Hitler ivoitld long ago have been master of the world—a conqueror beside whom the ghosts of Caesar, Alexander and. Ghengis Khan would have been pale indeed. Lacking sea power, and unable to obtain, the other essential for a successful invasion, superiority in the air, even temporarily, Hitler stands perplexed on the wrong side of a narrow strip of the sea that has kept Britain safe for a thousand years.

Everyone knows that the basis of Britain's position as a world Power is the Royal Navy and its sister service the Merchant Navy, but to the average layman the considerations xvhich lie behind, the construction of ships and the constitution of fleets are shrouded in mystery. Yet for understanding and intelligent appreciation of the news to-day, frequently referring to all kinds of activities at sea, ranging from occasional encounters between mighty capital ships to high-speed, actions between motor torpedo-boats or even the daily drudgery of minesweepers, some knowledge of these things lends fresh and fascinating interest to even the prosaic words of an official, communique. In a little book of the Penguin series, Mr. A. C. Hardy, who has long been connected with shipbuilding and naval construction, describes in simple words and with a number of excellent sketches by Lawrence Dunn, the principal characteristics in construction and armament Of ail types of War vessels and explains the functions of_ each class of ships in the principal navies of the world. As a handbook io the war at sea, the little volume is first-class. The sketch reproduced shows France's Dunkerque. " Warships at Work," by A. C. Hardy (Penguin Books Ltd.)