TRENCH VETERANS VISIT GRAND FLEET.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XLIV, Issue 14213, 2 February 1917, Page 3

TRENCH VETERANS VISIT GRAND FLEET.

ARMY 'OFFICERS- IMPRESSED BY WORK OF FIRST LINE. LONDON-, Doc. 26. For some time past an arrangement ha^been iv force whereby Canadian offjrars who have been at the front arc enabled to visit the grand fleet. Many Have availed themselves of this, with the result that interest m the work of the navy, and appreciation of what it means to the army m the field, has been greatly stimulated among, the Canadian fighting forces. An officer just returned from ssuoh a visit says: "It is impossible to l give a person who has not seen the miles upon miles of battleships any real idea of the navy. Words are too feeble. 1 "Modern battleships m deadweight tonnage are/ bigger than great liners such, as the Olympic. Imagine an endless chain of these— the first being almost out of sight from the last— turning and twisting, the while steaming at great speed, and. doing all these evolutions with" the dexterity of a fleet of motor boats on regatta day. During all the manoeuvres— and they seem to have as many fox-mations as m the army — the great ships always maintain the same distance from one another; And destroyers dash around like mad things. Meanwhile the battler squadron is doing its own work impressively at a distance. "The dexterity wfth winch these craft large and small alike, are handled would bo a revelation to the expert .yachtsman or the steamboatman of the lakes. "The mon of our navy are everlastingly training and becoming more weirdly i efficient. Regarding the. ships themselves — the woi-d is 'hush!' " I A question was asked regarding submarines. i "Everyone understands that so Far im operating m home waters they were Hettled a year ago. They now operate out m the deep srei and' a sub m that environment is like a minnow m Lake Superior. The arming of all merchant ship 8 would reduce the number of tho latter subsequently sunk by 80 per cent. Only on© out of every five which now carry puns is lost, while four out of wery five without guns whicVj arc altaoked' are lost. Onn of thn virtues, of a ship possessing guns is that a submarine will submerge rather than expose itself to attack." : l The cable news m this Issue accredited to the London Times has appeared m that lournfli h"t oniv whpre expressly . statrrt Is sucn nr.vrs the ' Editorial opinion of tne Times.