CURRENT TOPICS

Southland Times, Issue 17658, 16 February 1916, Page 4

CURRENT TOPICS

SUBMARINE LOSSES. From the beginning: of the war to December 31 226 British ships were sunk by submarines or mines, and EG by surface ships, making a total of 252. Of neutral ships. 111 were sunk by submarines and mines, and of allied ships 65. Mr A. H. Pollen points out in a recent article that the total British loss has been at the rate of just over 21 per cent, per annum, but for the submarine canipaign only the percentage would be at the rate of 31 per annum. These calculations are made on the assumption that the steamers engaged in foreign trade number 8000. But a very large proportion of these have been withdrawn from trade altogether, and have either been formally incorporated with the Navy or have been devoted exclusively to naval or military purposes. Taking this proportion to be 25 per cent., the loss of the actual working merchant marine of the day is more like 3?. per cent., and the rate at which we have been losing by submarines and mines only more like 41 per cent. Comparing this with losses in previous wars, Mr Pollen points out that Commander Kenneth Dewar, In an essay for which lie was awarded the Royal United Service Institution's gold medal, estimates the annual percentage of foreign trading ships lost during the period 1794-1800 at almost exactly 7 per cent, per annum, and for the nine years 1804-1812 at just over five. No one, says Mr Pollen, seems to suppose that the present war can possibly continue for more than three years from the commencement. If the highest rate of loss be maintained for the whole of this period, and if only the merchant shipping actually still engaged in trade Is taken into account, we shall, in these three years, have suffered the loss of 131 per cent, of our shipping. But in the Revolutionary war we lost 50 per cent., and in the Napoleonic war 45 per cent. Finally, there seems no earthly reason for supposing that the high rate of 41 per cent, per annum can or will be maintained. It took the Navy about five months to'perfect its arrangements for dealing with the submarine menace in our own waters, and in the two months, October and November, the loss by submarin activity bad been reduced to what would amount to a 3 per cent, loss per annum. It may tate another two, three, or even four months before our allies in the Mediterranean bring their anti-submarine campaign to the perfection of ours. During this period the losses in the Mediterranean will continue. They may, indeed, temporarily increase. But in the end the activities of the surface ships will make the proceedings of submarines at once too difficult and too dangerous for the thing to continue. It seems, therefore, highly improbable that the Allies’ loss of shipping will in the'end exceed 3 per cent. THE COLOUR OF BATTLESHIPS. The history of the colouring of British warships is a romance in itself. To-day the colour, giving invisibility, is a matter of life and death: but in the old days, before the invention of long range gunfire, colouring was more a matter of fancy. Accordingly, in the Tudor days, a blazing red signifying death without quarter, was the accepted colour for all British warships, and men, stripped to the waist, climbed over crimson bulwarks when they boarded the enemy’s vessel. In Elizabethan days crimson was abandoned for more variegated colours—as we can discover from old docu- 1 ments. The bill delivered for' painting ■ the Revenge, the renowned ship of Sir Richard Grenville, has fortunately been preserved, and from it we learn that the Revenge had a black hull with upper works painted in the Tudor colours—green and white. But the Elizabethan age of pageantry and colour passed away, and Cromwell’s strict rule took Its place! Just as the men of that period wore dark cloaks and black hats, so the Puritans treated sternly such delights of the eye as colours and gilding on their warships. Accordingly, most of the men-of-war in commission under the Commonwealth were painted black all over. But with the restoration of the Stuarts were also restored to our navy’ the gorgeous decorations of the gay cavaliers. These lasted until the time of Nelson. Our great naval hero had, however, the practical mind, and realised that ships were not made to be pretty, but for the stern needs of war. His colours were characteristic of the man. Wishing to magnify' his little fleet, he had all the hulls of his ships painted dead black from bow to stern, with yellow bands running along each row or gunports—this giving a most waspish, wicked appearance, well worthy of their exploits. This black buU continued until a few y r ears ago. In tha year 1886 a neutral tint —a reddish grey —was aimed at, hut not attained in view of possible hostilities with Russia. The authorities, after abandoningthis tint, experimented with various colours; but it was the Coronation review of King Edward and the subsequent cruise of the German squadron round our western coasts, that led to the British troops donning thei present sombre war-paint. The change reminds us of the methods of protective mimicry adopted in the insect world, and shows how much we owe, even in our modern civilisation, to Mother Nature. GERMAN AIR MACHINES.

The Rnsskoo Slovo f?ivcs some interesting information obtained from two German airmen who were taken prisoners after . their Albatross bad been brought down. They said that there were three kinds of war aeroplanes nowin use in the German army. lo the, first class belong all the scoutuig machines, distinguished by the sohditj of their build, and their la fS e capacity (petrol and bombs). These can make very long journeys, are senerallv of the Albatross biplane t> pc. and have almost replaced the old Taubes. Latterly these, machines ha\e bc^^ r nishod with transparent planes, proofel with some secret compound. Although this docs not make the machines invisible, it disguises the altUu^ c which thev arc flying, as thej alwas s annear to be much higher up than they reallv are. and so puzzle the gunners of the enemy. The second class is the fighting or -destroyer” class, for battling with enemy craft. A new type has been added with two tails, and the body, or cradle in which the pilot and observer sit is’placed in the middle, between the fuselage of the two tails! and fitted with two mitrailleuses fore and aft. The cradle is armour-plated and the machine, like the Albatross, has two motors of 250 h.p. Amongst them are sevetw.l pf the Fokker type, the guns of which are placed so as to fire through the revolving screws. The officers said that there had been a still newer pattern lately built, but they would not describe it, as it was a military secret. Great things ara expected of this last machine, which is always kept in reserve behind the German lines to lie ready to cope with an attack in force of hostile craft. The third class comprises the “Intelligence fleet, fitted with wireless apparatus, and used to direct and correct military fire, and for any other of the manifold uses that may be imagined. According t these officers, there was a dearth or benzine and oil, and this explains, in a measure, the reduced activity obs during the last month or two amongst German aircraft.

THE PEAL LOSSES. Germany and German Austria will, If the war lasts another year, be utterly hausted, says the Statist, not railways have been derailed, bitdges blown ur>, tunnels ruined, houses burned, and so on, but because the strong ><nmg lives which gave value tO , all things arc being reduced to clay . dai _ * day in frightful number*. On the part

bf the Entente Allies the losses will be jtreat In Serbia, Belgium, and in the occupied parts of Prance they will be Iverv serious. And they' will be consitlciable in Poland and Galicia. But outride of these localities the losses will not be such as to condemn the countries to a long period of impotence and suffering. There will be a few years, even in our own country', of poverty, not because cf the material losses, nor even very greatly because of the loss of life, but because productive industry has been thrown out of gear by the war, while immense new industries luivc been called Into existence. It will be necessary' to demobilise the latter and demobilise the former. The process will be slow, painful, and impoverishing. Still, the great Entente Allies will suffer little compared with their enemies. It will not be surprising, indeed, if Germany. Aus-tria-Hungary, Bulgaria, and Turkey retain traces of the destruction bi ought >jpon them a hundred years hence.