NAVAL POWER

Wairarapa Age, 5 April 1928, Page 2

NAVAL POWER

GREAT DISPLAY BY BRITISH FLEET. i SPECTACLE FOR AMANULLAH. MIMIC BATTLE. j _ RUGBY, April 3. I King Amanullah of Afghanistan witj nessed a great display of British sea ‘ power to-day. He embarked at Portland in H.M.S. Nelson, the new 33,500- ■ ton battleship, flagship of Vice-Admiral ' Sir Hubert Brand, Commander-in-Chief of the Atlantic Fleet. A Royal salute ■ of 21 guns was fired as he went aboard. ’ As soon as the Nelson was a few miles from tie coast, a series of real'®tic war operations began. King Amanullah watched them from one of the observation platforms. By his side were '.TeeAdmiral Brand and Prince George, who is a staff officer on the warship, and who in French explained the operations to him. Subma iin Or. dived and launched torpedoes at the battleship, and one of them rose to the surface and attacked with guns. The flagship notified the anti-submarine destroyers, which rapidly came into action and dispersed the | submarines with depth charges. 3he I Atlant’e fleet was sighted approaching ■ majestically in three columns. It fired ; a Royal salute, and then changing for- ; mation, went by in line. | j Miles away lay a target towel by the | warship Snapdragon. The battle- ’ cruisers Repulse and Renown, of 26,500- ' tons, led by the battle-cruiser Hood, I 41,500 tons, steaming at 25 knots on a j circular course, concentrated upon the i target heavy fire from their 15-in eh | guns. | Later an attack by aircraft launched from the carrier Furious was made upon the Nelson. The greatest +hriil of the day, however, was when destroyer flotillas bore down upon the Nelson and attacked with torpedoes. Cruisers engaged them, and a tense battle ensued. King Amanullah, who had expressed his keen interest in the naval spectacle, was escorted back to Portsmouth by the fleet and a flight of seaplanes. Queen Souriya did not accompany King Amanullah. Instead she stayed in London and visited Queen Charlotte’s Hospital, which is devoted to maternity cases, h’he asked many questions about, the work of the hospital, and was much impressed when the matron told her of the low rate of infant mortality in this country.—(British Official Wireless.)