NAVY LEAGUE NOTES.

Otago Witness, Issue 2735, 15 August 1906, Page 29

NAVY LEAGUE NOTES.

The hon. secretary of the Otago Branch of the Navy League supplies the following interesting notes : — Naval History Examination. — As has been already announced, the subject for the examination to be held this year under the auspices of the league is "Tsu-shima: Ships, Men, and Methods." The textbook that has been prepared for the use of competitors, consisting of some 24 pages descriptive of the first half-hour of the battle, is now ready to be placed in the hands of the children. The subject has been treated in a scientific manner, the strategical points being dealt with in terms suited to the comprhension of scholars, and illustrated by the means of simple plans. The gentleman who kindly undertook the preparation of the text-book ie to be congratulated on the success of his endeavour to awaken the understanding of the children to an appreciation of some of the moves in the great gam© of naval warfare. Further Light on Tsu-shima.— lmportant light will be shed upon the battle of Tsushima and the later history of the Port Arthur fleet in the forthcoming issue of Mr Jane's " Fighting Ships," ac Admiral Nebogatoff will contribute an account of the experiences of the Baltic fleet, while Admiral Viren will tell the inner history of Port Arthur. Their narratives should be of the first historical importance. Admiral Viren had a high reputation in the Russian navy before the war, but though he is believed to have Deen in no way responsible for the disasters which overtook the Port Arthur fleet, which he commanded from Auguet, 1904, onwards, his fame suffered from the surrender. The world has not as yet been permitted to know why it was that the Port Arthur fleet remained to be destroyed under the hail of Japanese shells. Probably this will now bo disclosed. The Reduction of Armaments. — The Reichsbote declares that the rate of increase of the German fleet has been settled by the Legislature, and that consequently it will be useless for Great Britain to attempt to bring pressure, moral or otherwise, to bear on Germany to reduce her maratime armaments. Ships Building. — The large number of powerful ships building for foreign Powers, as compared with the small number of ships building for England, is of a nature to inspire some anxiety for the future. This is particularly the case with destroyers, wh«re the British position is not what it should be. Of the British destroyers now constructing 12 are only large torpedo boats, and should be described by their proper name, instead of being called " coastal destroyers." No foreign destroyors now building are of such smaJl size or sucth low speed. Indeed, of genuine destroyers building this country only has --si\. Of the destroyers built and in service many are becoming obsolete, and there is some danger of this countiy losing its old advantage in the most formidable type of torpedo vessel, the value of which was . bo amply proved by the events of the late war. An Australian Navy. — The British Australasian has recently opened its columns to a discussion of the question, " Does Australia Need a Navy?" based generally upon a, report of Captain Creswell on A.uetraJian defence. While in abstract theory it is most desirable that the- entire naval force of the Empire should be directed from Whitehall a.nd should be und«r the orders . of the British Admiralty, this is a. counsel ' of perfection which, it is to be feared, will never be realised. As Mr Roosevelt h«vS smkl the advocates of the best are the enemies of the good, and the good may ' well ba found in a national Australian squadron, even if this be of no very large size. Admiral Fitzgerald, in a letter to our , contemporary, takes this common-sense view, while Admiral Freinantle is also prepared to approve of the institution of such a force. He suggests that Australia should begin with two destroyers and three tor- . pedo boats, which is a. very modest pro- i pramme. I A Practical Scheme. — Mr Swinburn favours such a force, and urges tihat it should be permitted to fly the white ensign. On the other hand, Admiral Bridges pronounces strongly against small independent naviea. Here, however, it is just as well for this country to face tho fact that if Australia does not provide a fleet of her own she will never contribute largely to the British navy. We shall gain nothing by calling for the ideal arrangement, whereas if Australia has a fleet of her own, however small, Australian interest in naval matters will bo stimulated and local shipbuilding be encouraged. As it is important that the outlying States^ of the Empire should, be able to turn out warships and war material, it would be well if the ships were constructed in Australia, though thereby their cost would certainly be muoh enhanced. But a new industry cannot be started without some sacrifice. In any case, Australia would always depend for her real safety upon the main British fleets in Eurojse. aad in return lor the safety thus

afforded her by the British taxpayer she should be ready not only to maintain a small naval force of her own, but also to support tho British army by a strong and well-organised contingent of such men as she put into the field in South Africa. The French Naval Programme.— The first of the new Frenoh battleships, the Dan ton, has now been put in hand at Brest, from which it is clear that the new programme is to be pressed with vigour. The Danton resembles rather the British Lord Nelson class than the Dreadnought, as she carries an inter:r. odiate battery of 12 9.* in guns, in addition to the four 12in weapons which are her main armament. The French 9.4 is somewhat more powerful than the latest type of British 9.2. It is still uncertain whether, at the eleventh hour, the turbine may not be adopted, but in that case the design of the ship will have to be radioaliy altered. The use of the turbine instead of the reciprocating engine brings the weights lower in the ship, amd so adds to her steadiness and stability, while the protective deck need not be arched upwards, but can be kept flat. The military importance of this point cannot be over-estimated. The gain in speed, due to the fact that a higher power can be obtained from turbine engines of the same weight as reciprocating engines, is yet ainother point in favour of the turbine. Contrary to report, the American navy has decided to retain the reciprocating engine in the two now battleships, Michigan and South Carolina, and their j trial speed will not exceed 18 knots. They i carry eight 12in and 22 14-pounder guns. Launch of H.M.S. Agamemnon. — The new battleship Agamemnon, which Messrs Beardmore and Co. (Ltd.), Dalmuir, Glasgow, are building for the British Government, was launched on June 23 by Lady Aberdeen. The Agamemnon, which is a sister ship to the Lord Nelson (both vessels having been ordered in 1904-), was laid down in May last year, and these two are the first battleships designed by Sir Philip Watts after his appointment as Director of Naval Construction. Each of these two ships is of 16.500 tons displacement, and 16,750 indicated horse-power. The Agamemnon is the heaviest and mo9t powerful battleship ever launched* on the Clyde. She is 410 ft long and 79^ft in breadth. Her armament will consist of four 12in guns, 10 9.2 in, 38 smaller guns, and five submerged torpedo-tubes. Her speed will be 18 knots, and her total cost about £1,600,000. The King Edward VII fires 59201b of shot from 18 guns ; the Agamemnon will fire 72001b from 14 guns, and the Dreadnought 85001b from 10 guns. The broadside fire of the ship will consist of four 12in and five 9.2 in guns, while ahead or astern there : will be two 12in and four 9.2iai guns. j Launoh of H.M.S. Minotaur.— The \ armoured cruiser Minotaur, which was laid j down on January 2, 1905, was launched at ! Devonport Dockyard on June 6 by bhe , Countes9 of Crewe. The ship is one of three armoured cruisers of the 1904 programme. Her two sisters are the Defence, under construction at Portsmouth, and the Shannon, which is being built at Chatham. The Minotaur is of 14,000 tons displacement; length, 490 ft; beam, 74ft 6in ; mean draught, 26ft. Her engines, of 27,000 i.h.p., which are beiug made by Messrs Harland and Wolff, of Belfast, are of the tripleexpansion type. The speed for which tho vessel is designed is 23 knots. The boilers, 25 in number, will be of the Babcock and Wileox water-tube type, arranged in five separate boiler-rooms, and loaded to 2751b per square inch. Amidships, the Minotaur will carry a belt of 6in Krupp armour, t&perin? forward to 4in and aft to 3in. The barbettes will be protected by 7in and tho conning-tower by lOin armour. The armament will comprise four 9.2 in guns in two barbettes, 10 7.5 in gums in 10 barbettes, 16 12-pounder 18cwt q.f. guns, two 12-pounder Bcwt q.f. guns, and five Maxims. There will al.=o be four submerged torpedo-tubes amidships and one at the stern. The launching weight of the ship was about , 6600 tons. I The Organisation of a Modern Fleet. — Admiral Sir Nathaniel Bowden-Smhh presided on May 22 at the Royal United Service Institution, when Rear-admiral Sir Charles Campbell read a lecture on "The Organisation of a Modern Fleet for War," being three former papers (read in 1872, 1880, and 1887) brought up to date. The lecturer stated that he thought it was the duty of every lecturer at the institution to study history and to endeavour to forecast the direction of future improvement. All he would predict was that "internal combustion engines," (oil, gas, or chemical) would grow in size and number, and would eventually become the motive power for the purposes of commerce and war; and that in tho long run air fleets would bo a serious menace to water fleets, and might eventually replace them. In regard to " fleet-ships," he asserted that the gun and it protection and accurate discharge, together with a sufficient quantity of fuel and ammunition, were the all-important considerations for the success of a fleet in ' action. The ram had no longer a place in a " fleet-ship " as affecting the result of a naval battle, and the same arguments might be advanced with reference to the torpedo as an offensive weapon in action discharged from the " fleet-ship." .... Owing to the overwhelming supremacy of , heavy gun fire, tho single lino ahead had been proved and accepted by all to be the one possibility of a successful fleet action. . . . Since his former papers several new conditions had arisen which !

had to be considered — one was the getting rid of obsolete hulks, and the other wa» the general preparedness for striking a blow almost before the word. The announcement of the declaration of war should include in the same paragraph the new* that the adversary's main Bests had been sealed up or destroyed. Side by side with the increase in tonnage and gunpower came the increase of sneed in tho - " fleet-ship " ; he placed the highest value on the speed of the "fleet-ship" for many reasons. Before summing up ne submitted two questions of strategy, which, to his mind, had long been of vital importance to Great Britain, and which specially affected the distribution of " fleet-power " for war and the transport of troops to or from the Continent by other "means than oversea — he alluded to the Edinburgh and Glasgow Fleet-ship Canal and tho Channel TunneL It seemed incredible to him that; with the ever-increasing necessity for rapid concentration, either in the North Sea or round our coasts, we had no way of rapidly cutting across the centre, especially as the means were at our disposal, aud would be of great commercial value in addition to strategical importance.— Times, May 24, XwUOa I