BRITAIN'S FIGHTING SHIPS.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIV, Issue 109, 28 October 1911, Page 9

BRITAIN'S FIGHTING SHIPS.

FIXIvST IN Till-; WOilLl). "The two Dreadiroiig-hts now completing Ihe Orion and Lion---a ml their si-t.cr< are," says the naval cori'i-pondent of tile Daily Tclograpln, "beyond question as superior as lighting machine-; to the original Dreadnought as that vessel was lo \lll -i' buill before her jt.lv.-isl ■ It is furthermore known that they are uniipie in their concentrated power, and will carry with them ivhen they hoist the pennant the most complete justification of the armament policy .pursued by the Board of Admiralty. At a moment when the Li'/.in. gnu is passing into the active fleet in this country, in other navies 12in. weapons are still being mounted. Other powers endeavored to oui-Dread-nought the Dreadnought' by adding to the number of big guns even t hough I hey could not be ell'ectively employed simultaneously. The latest Herman battleship.-. the Heligoland. TlmrLngcu and Ostfricsland, now completing for cniry into the high sea fleet, mount twelve 12in. guns, in comparison with ten 12in. guns in the immediate successors to the British Dreadnought. i!ut only eight of the twelve German guns can hear at once on either broadside, while in the new British ships which' have lately joined the home fleet the whole arma menfc can be thus employed. The model gunship is the one which can bring all her battle guns into action against, an enemy at once. The British vessels conform to this rule.

"Now the British Dreadnought design has entered upon a further stage in its development. At a moment when all the naval powers are completing ships carrying no heavier weapon than the 12in. gun,' the' Royal Navy is about lo gain an immense accession of strength. In the coming month two of the ships of what may be regarded as the post-Dreadnought era will carry out their trials at sea. prior to entering the home fleet. They are both battleships, but the Orion hat somewhat heavier armor protection, 4 allied with a speed of between -21 and 22 knots, while the Lion has somewhat thinner armor, in association with engines which are expected to propel her at a Speed of about 30 knots. Apart ; from torpedo craft, the Lion is the swiftest man-of-war ever constructed, and can steam even faster than those two ocean greyhounds, the Maiiretania and Lusitania, which are credited with only 2o'A knots. There is not » foreign merchant ship or warship which the Lion could not rapidly overhaul at sea. "The Orion is the Lion's le-s speedy sister. She is more powerful than the Lion—indeed, she is the world's most, -powerful man-of-war. Iler main belt is I2in. thick, and she carries two more I3 1 /.in. guns- ten in all—dispo-ed on-the centre line, and capable of lining lircd through the, angle from the bow to the quarter. The Orion also carries 24 more anti-torpedo weapons of the din type. How does she compare in gun lire with the jV'-11e,ieigh 1 ■; it may V a-he,]. The Dreadnought could fire a broadside 'of 08001b;. that of the Orion is of 12,5001b. an increase of nearly 100 per cent, at practically; no increase in cost of construction.

"These two ships belong to the shipbuilding programme of IDOii-10. and complete the first quartet, the Hercules and Colossus having been already commissioned. The 'contingent' Dreadnoughts are due in the spring. Germany is just completing the threq battleships of her RMIS-I) programme, which will "join the high sea fleet about the same time as the Lion and the Orion enter the British home fleet. The strength of the two navies in ships of the Dreadnought type, completed- or practically completed torsea. is now as follows:—■ Great, Britain.—.Dreadnought, Indomitable, Inflexible, Invincible, Bcllerophon, Temcraire, Superb, St. Vincent, Collingwood, Vanguard, Neptune, Indefatigable, Colossus, Hercules, Orion, Lion. ' Germany.—Nassau, Westfalen, Rheinland, Rosen, Von der'Tann, Heligoland, Ostfriesland, Thuringen. "So far we ha,ve held our own owing to the. splendid organisation of our shipbuilders and gun and armor manufacturers. Ships of the largest size are being built to the last detail of construction in twenty-four months, and thereby the Admiralty have been able to hold a lead in comparison with rival fleets. The secret of the attainment, of the -present standard of two to one in the Dreadnoughts', in contrast with the next strongest naval power is to be. found in the shipyards and gun and armor factories. This in itself is proof of the efficiency of these allied British industries. The race in naval power is not ended; there is a keen struggle still ahead; but so far, thanks to a Ileal thy public opinion, we have held 'our place in the sun.'"