NAVAL NOTES

Otago Daily Times, Issue 14686, 20 November 1909, Page 14

NAVAL NOTES

(Contributed by Hie. Xavy League—Otago Branch.) WORTH REMEMBERING. Nov. 12 Admiral Sir John Hawkins, a famous Elizabethan seaman, died 1592. 13 Boats of tho British Fairy and Fox look the French Eperirer, 1797. W The Cerberus took tho .French Bonard, 1797. 15 Island of Minorca (Mediterranean) surrendered (o the British, 1793. 16 British brigade under Shannon* outside Lucknovr (Indian Mutiny), 1857. 17 The Phipps captured tho Barbicr-dc-Seville, 1810. 18 Tho Latona. engaged the French ships Jean Bart and Tigre, 1793. 19 11.M.S Iphigonia (second cities protected cruiser) launched, IE9I. 20 Defeat of tho French fleet n; Quiberoi* Bay, 1759. It was on tin's occasion that tho British Admiral, Lord Ilawke, in answer to a remonstrance from his pilot, said, "You have dono your duty in the remonstrance, now lay me alongside tho French, Admiral." CONFLICTING OPINIONS. We have been informed verbally, but not quite definitely, that Germany will not accelerate her naval programme of construction,, and will not have 13 fillips of tho Dreadnought tvpe, including cruisers, till the end of 1912.—Sir Edward Grey, House of Commons. March 29, 1909. Great Britain lias never made any proposals which the German Government regarded as a suitable basis for negotiations. Germany regards the question of limitation of armaments as outside tho range of politics—Prince von Billow, in tho Reichstag, March 29, 1909.

His Imperial-Majesty tho German Em-ix-ror declared:—The prevailing sentiment among large sections of tho middle and lower classes of my own »eon!c is ni' friendly to England.—Daily Telegraph, October 28, 190 S.

"last weeks' meeting at firemen of the Comito Maritime International was followed by a banquet or board ot fho magnificent Norddoulscliflr Lloyd Kionprinzcfeiii Cecils, lyinsr at Bremorh.-ivon. In oxnressing tho thanks of tho British delegates for the Sumptuous hospitality shown to us, I laid stress on the dcei-re of .the business men of Great liritain to cultivate friendly .relations wilili Germany, free' on both sides from envy and all inioliaritahloncss. This was most cordially received by the influential and representative. Germans present, not least by the vone-fablc president of the Norddeulßohcr ,-1/loyd, Ilerr Geo. Plate, to whom the groat position of that company is mainly due. Herr Plate afterwards expressed to me his sympathy and affection for Great liritain, and his parting words were: "Give my love to your country." I add lliafc I have reccirlly spent some weeks in Germany, and have found everywhere good feeling towards this country."—Mr Lewis R. S. Tcnmlin, September 28, 1909 (letter to the Manchester Guardian).

EVOLUTION OF THE BATTLESHIP.

Dv W. H. Fitokett- in his admirable' book', "Xolson and His Captains" (chap. 2, page 45), writimr of Ihc ships cf Nelson's day, says: "The Victory of 100 guns had a slightly larger tonnage than lha Tenic.rai-re (2162 tons),..an',extreme length of 222 ft, a beam. of ,52ft, and a depth of 21ft tin." Ho goes..on'.to say: "The Majestic of today (1902) is 390 ft long, 7511 in beam; 'she. has a maximum. draught of 27ft 6in, and a displacement of 14,900 -lens! She carries —including quick-firers—only 43 guns; hut she has a speed of 17 knots, and, given sea room, could (probably destroy both ti;o floets that corateirdral at Trafalgar withvi.l sustaining a sorateh herself!" "\Vo need not bo. surprised that, the fascinating author and Jiistorian of so many of the deeds that have won and made tho British Umpire lias,- in view of the amazing contrast ho.wa? able. ..to;draw, indulged in what critics are wont-to term "the literary shriek "—two, in fact. In our cony of the above book wc fiird that after reading this passage we had been tempted to add a note of our own. It is as follows: -"- ISO3-H.M.S. Vanguard launched,. February; 500 ft long, 84ft .in breadih, -displacement 19,250 tons; can pierce armour at 10,000 yards." We have not added any exclamatory sign-post, but the contrast between 1909 and 1902 seems almost as startling as t'bat between 1902 and 1805.

THE CRY FOB BIGGER SHIPS. To-day, however, our own note of February last requires a commiTnt and a supplement. Even as the Majestic had to give place to the Vanguard, so, in turn, the Vanguard has had to give place to the Neptune. On September 30 there was launched from the building slip at Portsmouth Dockyard a new first-class battleship—the Neptune—that excels the Vanguard in length 1530 ft) and tonnage (20,250), and yet the same, expert correspondents ivho had boon. authorised. to describe the festivities at the christening, of this new leviathan were, as veracious chroniclers, compelled to tell their countrymen that already the Neptune was far outclassed by her American competitors. The Neptune, thoy 6aid, can neither bo described as the largest nor the most powerful battleship in the world. She displaces only about two thirds the amount ot water to bo disolaied by the American—namely, 30,000 tons, and the United . States Navy Department contemplates spending £3,000,000 on this'single ship of war without a tremor,' A BRIEF RESUME. Commenting on the present situation in regard to battleship construction, the special correspondent, of- the Daily Telegraph says:—" Never was the race for seapower more swift and scnaational. Seven years ago \\c were launching ships of 15,000 tons. French battleships were somewhat smaller, German vessels (were smaller again, and the United: States was satistied with ships of less' than 12,500 tons, •Japan and Russia were the first to load in big displacement, and Great Britain and the United States followed. Tho Dreadnought, when she ' took the water thrco years ago, -displacing 17,900 tons, was regarded as a.marvel of size, and'in some quarters-it'was held.that.no further advance ' was probable for' some time, owing to iho expense of enlarging docks and depth of•• harbours! Tho British authorities have been content ") C iu y i? il "l )l ' ovo on.tho!original model of the all-big-gun ship, advancing tho bulk slowly. Other constructors have not shown the same caution. On the other side of tho Atlantic four ships of 20,000 tons aro building, two more of 26,000 tons were authorised this year, and contracts have just been placed for their construction, and now the Navy Department at Washington has prepared plans for a vessel of 30,000 tons, for wmch Congress will bo asked to rote supplies when it reassembles.

GREAT BRITAIN'S PRESENT LEAD Hoiv <lo the fleets stand in tho newest type. of-battleship? So far Great Britain Holds tho lead without a rival, with seven vessels embodying the all-big-guu principle actually complete and in commission while no other nation has one finished. Un the other hand, foreign Powers have ships which will soon bo ready for the pennant. Possibly the situation cannot bo summed up better than in the following: statement, showing the vessels built building;, or projected by Great Britain! Germany, and tho United States:— Battleships. 'Britain. Germany. TJ.S. Programme. 1905. Dreadnought _ _ 1908. Bellerophon Nassau Michinn Tcnieraire Wostfalen South Carolina Superb _ _ 1907. Colliugwood I>«en Delaware M. Vincent Bheinland .Vorth Dakota vanguard • _ . _ 1008. Neptune Heligoland ■ Florida — Ersatz Oldenburg Utah — Ersatz Bcowolf 1909. 1 ships 3 ships 2 ships BATTMSHU'-CSUISERS.' 1903. Indomitable _ _ ■ Invincible _ ~ Inflexible _ ~ . 1997. ~. — Von I>er 'fan a _ Indefatigable * G n v 19 «>. "~ One ship jj _ „. ~ Gr»nd total20A.P. U ships Sship3 nl.o„ v • PS *, he Drea d"°usht, Bell»r----ncb.e and Inflexible are complete, am! the ColliUßwood, St. Vincent, and Vn™ p*rd should be readyby AurilV while L, 4i meu S "f tl ? Gerlnfln NavyMvill U strengthened by tho Nafcui aril V,'ftV falen, and possibly by tho Rhoinktml and \on it„ Tann, wluJe the Michigan ,m! NwU, Uroi.na. wdl join the American

W-HAT OF THE MEN? The Sanitalsbericht über die Kaiserliche deutsclm Marine for the year eua'cd September 30, 1907, was recently issued at Berlin. It tills 189 pages-being nearly twice as long as the British report for 1907<-and is divided- inlo three sections. We reprint the.following interesting details showing iho 'comparative health of the British and German navies:— The total German marine force numbers 45,776 men, and .the British 108,740. Cases of disease and injurv numbered respectively 25,051 and 75,351. This gives a ratio, in the German record (omitting decimals), of 547. and in the British of 693 per 1000. This unfavourable showing of the British navy is, however, largely accounted for by tho far -greater proportion of our ships employed in the tropics.'. It is noticeable that the German ratio of dsoaso for ships in the Mediterranean stations amounts to no fewer than 984 per 1000 and' tho Bri.tish for the same station only to 680. a creditable fact for those in charge of the health of the Mediterranean fleet. There are fivo classes of disease which take special prominence in the returns of both nations. . The following table of ratios per 1000 enables an instructive comparison to bo made:— German. British. Maladies of the digestive. system 117 101 Pulmonary complaints (nontuberculous) 67 -, -GO, ■Syphilis, etc 59 124' Maladies of skin and connective tissue 73 gj Wounds and injuries from external causes 83 Jsl As regards tho third of tho abovementioned complaints, it is to be observed that ejaborate prophylactic measures are taken m the German navy, and that tho high average of the British navy is traceable almost entirely to the Australia, and China stations. The malady, however is decidedly on, the increase in- the' British and is decreasing in the German n'ltw.' ■ C<lisoS of suicide in the German "nay v amounted to 23 ;n.mi in tho British to; 19 , r o!l, cs being 0.50 and 0.17 per 1000.

Comparing the total results for tho ! a to«t year for which figures are available (1907) with the average', for the past five years' we find, that the German ratio per 1000 in ! »n' injuries has. risen from •f 77 to ™? 4 l''^ ,!e {,le En sl'sh has fallen from .ffi4.ro 693. . .