CUXHAVEN FORTS

Southland Times, Issue 17468, 24 March 1915, Page 7

CUXHAVEN FORTS

GEILM AX NAVY'S AIRSHIP EASE. Giixhavon, tin- I\> r l l ti<‘<l purl at tin’ main hj or the Elbe, lias fur the past year ami a half been tin 1 principal German naval air-ship base. There, in a scries limiting two of the largest ZcppWins. of revolving .sheds, each capable of the German Admiralty has plained to maid I ise its Meet of dirigibles for "The Day." Seventy-three miles from Hamburg. Gnxhaven is ehielly celebrated as the gateway id' that great inland port ami as the point of arrival and departure for the Hambnrg-AmeriUa Line’s ocean Heels, II litis always had naval importance, hut in HKI7, coincident with the birth of (he Kaiser's new Dreadnought navy, it rose to the status of a war-liar--I,onr. and the Reichstag passed estimates for fort ideations. In 11)12, following a special inspect ion by the Kaiser and ids naval advisers, it wa.s decided to convert Cuxhaven into a tirst-ciass fortified base. Since then many hundreds of thousands of pounds have been spent in strengthening its defensive works. Flotillas of destroyers and submarines have also been stationed there in recent tine's, operating in conjunction witli the more important base of Heligoland, only it few miles distant in the North Sea. As Zeppelins were perfected and Admiral von Tirpitz reluctantly became convinced —long after his military confreres —that the airship had its uses for the Heel, he carried "tit a scheme to make Cuxhaven the base for German naval airships. The Admiralty proceeded to erect several large double revolving sheds to enable entrance and exit of Z"ppelins under favourable conditions in all weathers, and also to garrison "naval airship" sailors there. The Admiralty's theory was that Cuxhaven was Urn ideal station for an air Meet whose task it would some day he to make an air raid to the British coasts. A year ago the Hamburg-Amorika line completed an elaborate reconstruction of | fiii'ic dock and t|uay arrangements at i (Tixhavcn. Ships of the Impcrator mid ' Vatcrland class —.70.000 tons and over—■ i could no longer use the existing docking I facilities, and a £1.000,000 scheme of harbour extension was carried out, in wbicli Ibe new “America Quay.” callable f»t' * naiding vessels of (10,000 tons to dock, wa.s the main feature.