THE SUBMARINES

Otago Daily Times, Issue 16963, 27 March 1917, Page 8

THE SUBMARINES

SIR. JOHN JELLICOE'S VIEW. Admiral Sir John Jcllicoo, tho First' Sea Lord, made one of his rare and deeply interesting speeches on the work of the Navy on January 11, after the honorary freedom of tho Fishmongers' Company had been conferred on him. He said:— In the Napoleonic era tho ships opened fixe with guns at ranges of about SCO yards. The shins of to-day opened fire at 22,000 yards (or 11 nautical miles) range, and gunfire begins to bo. very effective at yards. Tho torpedo as fired from surface vessels is effective certainly up .to 10,000 yards' range, and this requires that a ship shall keep beyond this distance to fight her guns. As tho conditions of visibility—in tho North' Sea particularly—are frequently such as to malic fighting difficult beyond a range of 10..C00 yards, and as modem fleets arc invariably accompanied by very largo numbers of destroyed, whoso main duty is to attack with the torpedo the heavy ships of the enemy, it will be recognised how great becomes the responsibility of the admiral in command of a fleet, particularly under conditions of low visibility. As soon as destroyers tumble upon a fleet within torpedo range the situation becomes critical for the heavy ships The submarine is another factor which has changed the situation, as this class of vessel, .combing with the use of minrs. entirely prevent tho close blockade resorted to in former dreys. In addition, these two weapons add greatly to the anxieties of tTioso m command. CAUTIOUS ENEMY.

•Submarines and mines compel the -watching force to take up their station farther and farther away. In suite df this, and in spite of the Garman boast as to the occasions on which the German fleet has searched the North Sea for the British fleet our enemies have only on one occasion ventured sufficiently far with their main fleet to give us an opportunity to engago them. The approximate number of vessels of all classes which comprise tho British navy of to-day is nearly 40CO. Our activities range from the White Sea, where we aro doing our best to assist our gallant Russian Allies, v past the North and South Atlantic, where cruiser squadrons are at work, on to the far Pacific, where wo work in co-operation with the Japanese. In the Mediterranean wo are workiu" with the French and ; Italian navies in the Balkan campaign and in the Adr : atic. In Enst Africa our naw has rendered groat services, and on the Tipris and in tWRrd Sea. I might draw attention to the arduous and continuous work of tho Cruiser Squadron in home waters, which is preventnff suppb'es from reaching tho enemy It examines weekly an average of B0 ships of all kinds. Sir John paid a warm eulogy to the mercantile marine, upon which wo have been dependent for the movement of our troops overseas. He continued: Over seven million mon hnvo boon transported, together with all the guns, munitions, and stores required by tho army. Ihc snfnguardintr of thpso transports, both from the attack of aieh surface vessels as have been at large and from submarine attack, has boon carried ont by tho navy APPEAL TO SHIPYARDS. Tho submarine menace to the merchant service is far greater now than at any period of the war, and it requjes all our energy to combat it It must and will ! <leal_ with lt-ot that I am eoulident. But ' wo have to make good our inevitable losses, and m order to do this we are dependent , upon the shipbuilding industry. The first I '-'i^'" 11 ' 11 ln V ,e co-opwation of the men in the shipbuilding yards aifd in the engineering workshops, in the same ; way as Sir Douglas Maig has appealed to : the munition workers to give up holidays and to devote themselves to the supply of those munitions which are essential for the safety arid success of our comrades in the trenches, 1 now appeal to the men in the and engineering . shops to put forth their best elloria continuously and ungrudgingly to keep up the' strength of our mercantile marine and to provide those gallant fellows who have njone through innumerable dangers and hardships when : t.'v. ;r «i ;i |>3 ii-.v i: mi tunk witli new vessels to cany on transport of the necessary supplies of food and material for the manhood and industries of the country. I.ri- iJT-rr b- no oufsiii n of strikes, no bad time-keeping. no slacking, and let musters a"d ili?n remember how great if, their responsibility not only towards tho navy and tho nation, but also towards ■ our Allies. During two years and a-half of war the oadeasa*** to keep tho fleet at a

high pitch of efficiency has necessitated strenuous and unceasing effort afloat and ashore. The spirit of our forefathers lives on in all its vigour. No one can ask for a finer personnel than we have in tho navy. Every man in the navy is eager, and prepared to do his duty. I ask/that tho nation shall do its part by working with equal self-denying diligence as are our soldiers and sailors, so that there may be provided that great variety and enormous volume of material which is required for the fighting forces, and that all men and all women shall, by practising strict economy, render possible' the maintenance of adequate financial s : news of war. If all do their paxt all will be well with us. Of one prominent fact I can speak with full confidence born of experience—the nation can depend on the navy being ready, rosoui'ceful, and reliable.