SECRETS OF JUTLAND.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 19848, 17 January 1920, Page 15

SECRETS OF JUTLAND.

SHELLS INADEQUATE FOR iWAR, SIR P. SCOTT’S REVELA. TSONS. Tho extracts from Sir Percy Scott’s book, “ Fifty Years in tlie Royal Navy,” excite a high curiosity (says tho London “Evening Standard”). Sir Percy is no mealy-mouthed historian. Ho is not afraid of tolling the truth, so far as he knows it- In his own department there is no one who has done greater service to tho British Navy, nor any greater authority. When the Admiral therefore tells us of the condition of tho Grand Fleet’s director equipment at tho opening of the war. and at the time when tho- Jutland battle was fought, he speaks of a subject of which ho is master. And he tells us of a shameful scandal. There are three essentials to good shooting with guns at sea. First, the gun must bo an accurate instrument. It must ho truly bored and rightlvchambered, and it must ho loaded with a uniform propellant and a projectile symmetrical in shape and correctly balanced. Only so will each shell fired issue from tho gun at tho same speed, so that in normal conditions it will describe the same parabola—or whatever the curve is that shells describe. TRUE SIGHTING NECESSARY. Tho second essential i s that the guns shall be truly aimed. It would be more correct to say that the sight should be truly aimed, because it is not the gun that is pointed at tho target, but a tclescopo either attached to tho gun carriage or at some other convenient point. This telescope must bo pointing straight at the target, or above or below, or to the right or to tho left of tho point at which it is hoped a hit will ho made, in accordance with the movement that there i s on the gun at tho time of firing. Bub—third—a perfectly accurate gun, perfectly accurately aimed at the moment of firing will not hit, unless the relationship of the sight and the gun is correct. For every increase of range the gun must point higher and higher above the target, for each increase of deflection due to movement or wind, it must go more or less to the right or to the left. For the accuracy of tho gun and efficiency of tho projectile when it hits the target, wo have to rely upon ordnance experts. Tho gun, the mounting, the ammunition, and the sights are the joint product of the Admiralty, the arsenals, tho ordnance factories, and tho instrument makers. The Admiralty must choose and specify tho designs: the arsenals and the''firms must carry cut their instructions, and tho Admiralty through inspections and tests must make sure they do. When all tho parties do their work rightlv, an efficient gun is produced. But for efficient gunnery—as wo have seen—you want good aiming and right sight-set-ting. PEACH PRACTICE. The great differences between naval gunnery as a peace exercise and as a war necessity are that, in peace, tho practices are only carried out m smooth weather; that the target does not fire back; that live shells are not used—so that there is no smoke round the turret to conceal it from sights that the speed of the target is limited to that at which a timber structure can bo towed, and, finally, that neither the target nor the firing ship are made, oi can ho made, to niameuvro as ships have to manoeuvre in battle. There changes have a terrific effect on both aiming and on fining control, tv hen a ship is firing in action and in heavy weather, the difficulty of aiming jc gun from a turret is enormously enhanced. When ranges are extended to 1/,000, 18,000, and, indeed, 20,000 yards, aiming from a guu position is vii tnally impossible. To get anv view at all when the range is long.'to see the target with sufficient distinctness and sufficiently often, there is nothing for it but to put the master eye of tho ship as high above tho smoko as ]>ossiolo. It is then, only by aiming tho guns from the top of the mast that yon can aim them at all. To bo with out such an aiming position is therefore almost equivalent to blinding your guu layers. And if you can aim your guns it is, of course, mere waste of ammunition to shoot unless you have some means of finding out ‘tho range and keeping it. I repeat, there are three things necessary to battle worthiness. The gun, with its sights, etc., must be a pertechy accurate instrument. It must he perfectly laid or aimed. It must ho penectly sighted at tho moment of bring. THE PIONEER, ft; is the great and abiding storv of bir I ercy Scott that he was the pioneer, and remains the master, of perfection m the second of these essentials of gunnery. Ho was tho first to see that naval gun lay mg and aiming could jho made perfect. He discovered tiio ('teams by which his end could be attaiwsd. 110 had tho driving power to compel others to adopt those means. And wnen, largely owing to his own effort,?, the possibilities of naval guns came to bo better understood, and ranges worn extended, he went on to invent an extension of his own invention, and so made the aiming of guns from the masthead —-which,_ as we have seen in many instances in action, may be tho ' only moans of aiming—not; only possible, but it< "rent deal easier than aiming from the gun position had ever been! Mith perfect guns, shells and sights, and perfect fire control, oUr fleet might have been a certain conqueror. There was no reason why we should not have had all threeft, H Ip’i" Percy Scott’s great service to the Navv that tho last stage of this work was done and uerlected and proved by tho month of October, 1012, Its merits were perceived by the person who should have counted for most—namely, the officer put in charge of the tnals. And it was Ms recommendation that the system should lie adopted forthwith throughout the Navv. But it was not adopted forthwith at all. Nor v.ere right fuses: nor scientific fire conI jT everyone m 1912 knew where all could bo obtained. AN UGLY STORY. Sir Percy Scott now tells us what was the result of this wilful ueglect. To is a very Ugly story as far as it goes; but of course, it is very tar from being tho whole story. Wo do not yet know why oui gung were supplied with nrojectiles that did not penetrate the* German armour. Nor has the Public learned why wo went into action at Jutland uuequipped with means to find and keep the range in -action conditions, nor why unequipped, in the case of many ships, with means of aiming their guns, if they had been worth aiming. Through no fault of the firms who built ships and guns, and 1 made shells and instruments as the Admiral directed, tho finest fighting force the world has ever seen was equipped with vessels and weapons and means to use them utterly inadequate for tho purposes of war, when better designs and right methods were known to every expert. Scott’s story of tho neglect of Lhe Director can be duplicated ip respect to every other defect. It is thou as oaudalous, »nd-.monstrous.tale. All the greater, then, the glory of the men j who, handicapped and shackled hy an I imbecile administration, never faltered 1 —Q-aUla-r. i -x. tn ; nt,