Naval Construction.

Colonist, Volume LI, Issue 12488, 15 March 1909, Page 2

Naval Construction.

is growing in England against the construction of ships of the. Dreadnought type. .Mr Herbert Russell, in an article in the "Dajly Express," says that the Neptune, the largest battleship the world has seen, ' vVIII cost £2,000,000, and will carry 10 12-inch guns. The vessels of the Duncan class cost less than £1,000,000, md carry four 12-inch guns and a seoqndary battery of 6-inch guns, which could probably be sacrificed for two more, 12-inch guns without any undue addition of weight. In speed the largest .ship will have the advantage, but ..his is due.mainly to the fact that it has the wqight-saving turbine in place of the reciprocating engine. It would be as feasible to-day to build a twentyone knot Duncan as a 21-knot Dreadnought. "The two smaller ships combined," Mr Russell contends^ "could mount the same number of heavy guns if not more. They would carry nearly twice the number of men — no mean factor in determining a battle. They would be splitting the risk of loss or mishap. They would double the ele.nent'of mobility. And while, singly they would be heavily outclassed by the larger ship, yet the figure of merit would probably be considerably less than in the. ratio of two to one."