THE BRITISH FLEET.

Taranaki Herald, Volume LXIII, Issue 144854, 4 December 1915, Page 7

THE BRITISH FLEET.

NEW SHIPS BUILT, ’ SOME AMAZING FIGURES. LONDON, Oct; 14. Two hundred ships ot war, at least—not coaut.mg converted.merchantmen — trom patrol boats to super - Dreadnoughts, have been added to tho British Navy since tho commencement of the war. Scores of others are on the slips. There have been added to the British Fleet new ships which constitute a heot equal in battle-power to tho whole lleet ol the United biates, which has taken years to build. Tho new licet consists of Super-Dreadnoughts, lignt cruisers, monitors, destroyers, and submarines,a perfectiy-balaneod licet in itself. A SUPER-DREADNOUGHT uLsTROi'LR. Of the ships building, there is a battleship of a new type. The details ol this wonderful new emit are still obscure, but it will constitute a revolution in battleship construction, Hits new craft will be SOUfl. long, which is 150 ft. longer than the Queen Elizabeth, that wonderful linalmg fortress which to-day stands as the picmicr battleship of tho world. She wilt bo nearly ZoUlt. longer than .the gtcalcsl American battleships. Her speed will be well over oO knots, possible 35. This "superOrcadnouglu destroyer” will not carry great armament, nor will she be neatly as heavily armoured as many ol hei younger sisters. She will have only four or six—the number is unknown — loin. guns. The Queen Elizabeth carries eight. It will be her speed that will make her formidable. iVitn her groat guns, with greater range than any others in the world save those on ships of her own lleet, and with her great speed, she wid be able to stand well oft and send in blow after blow against almost any ship ailoat. FIFTEEN NEW BATTLESHIPS. At the outbreak of the war England bad building a number of battleships of various classifications, but all suporDreadnoughts. There wore also being constructed in this country two battleships for Chili and two for '1 nrkov. 'These wore taken over by tho British Navy. It is difficult to say bow many ships have been placed into commission during these last fourteen but it is a conservative estimate that from twelve to fifteen are now on active service. The others will be out. it is safe to estimate, by January 1, 1916. This means that between August 1. 1914, which was just before the actual outbreak of war, and January 1. 1916. seventeen months, England will have placed into commission at least fifteen great modern battleships. Of course, these ships have not a|l been built within that period. Practically all were laid down before the beginning of the war. some were well on their way towards completion; but none was in service before, so it constitutes a now fleet The figures are amazing. They show that in tho seventeen months mentioned Britain will produce 450,000 tons of the finest battleships in the world. Tonnage is ono way of estimating tho strength of a fleet. Armament is another. On these ships of war there will be emplaced no fewer than eighty of the magnificent loin, guns, the largest any navy uses, twenty 1-lin.. twenty-eight 13. Sin., ten 13in., fourteen I3iu., two hundred and thirty-two 6in., and sixteen 4in.. along with sixtyfivo torpedo-tubes. A STRIKING COMPARISON. To-day. the fleet of the United States consists of eight battleships of the first lino in commission. Shortly two others, tho Oklahoma ami Nevada, will also bo out, but these first eight show a tonnage of 189.(i00. Then there arc building, counting the Oklahoma and Nevada, seven of these first-line ships, which means super - Dreadnoughts Their tonnage will be 1123,800. The two combined will not equal the new British fleet. Then on tho American active list follow nineteen battleships, all ol tho pre-super-Dreadnought era, all completely outclassed not only by these newer British types, but also by the first-line ships of the American Navy. They are small vessels, comparatively, slow, and without great hitting power. In an engagement a Queen Elizabeth could "enro for” two or three of them without much difficulty. Their total tonnage is 283,000. With the exception of two of the first-lino ships now in commission, no ship ot the American Navy has .guns larger than 12in., while of tho new vessels being turned out in England, virtually all have loin. guns. This gun has been adopted n« tho best by the’British experts; it is the size being used on all new ships. CRUISERS AND MONITORS. But tho building has not boon confined to battleships. _ Cruisers, destroyers, and submarines have been turned out in prodigious numbers. Two days before tho battle of Heligoland Bight in August, 1914, a light cruiser was turned over by the builders to tho Navy. She was the Arethnsa. and she distinguished herself in that dashing raid on German preserves. Before the outbreak of the wav there were none of this valuable typo of ship in the British Navy. ■ To-day there arc sixteen, with more coming along. They are of 3520 tons and steam 30 knots. Six more than the sixteen mentioned have been authorised and will soon appear. The whole American fleet has only three such boats—the Chester, Birmingham, and Salem—ai)d they are not much good, comparatively. A typo of warshin which is being found most useful and of which numbers are being built is the monitor. Half-a-dozen arc at the Dardanelles. They are slow-going and cumbrous, but they mount the biggest, of guns and are fine for homuarding land positions.

DESTROYERS AND SUBMARINES. Forty new destroyers have been added to the British Navy since the war started. Hr January 1 tho number will be over 'fifty-swift, powerful, modern boats. Not counting a single one of the myriad of these craft in commission before tho war, those ships arc more than equal to all the American flotillas. Countless submarines have been built here and elsewhere. England, already powerful in this class of boat’, probably has fifty more now than she had in August, 1914.