Wairarapa Daily Times [Established Over 50 Years.] FRIDAY, APRIL 10, 1931. A NAVAL ICONOCLAST.

Wairarapa Daily Times, 10 April 1931, Page 4

Wairarapa Daily Times [Established Over 50 Years.] FRIDAY, APRIL 10, 1931. A NAVAL ICONOCLAST.

Captain Bernard Ac worth, D. 5.0., whose “Navies oi f To-day and Tomorrow” fluttered the dovecots on its appearance in England recently, has had a distinguished record of service afloat and on the staff of the Admiralty. However, his association with various types of warships and with the staff has not prepossessed him in their favour. He recommendi the wholesale scrapping of many of the former and the abolition of the latter. His thesis is briefly, that, for 27 years, British naval policy has been on. wrong lines. Ever since the accession to office of Lord Fisher in 1904, it has been dominated by his ideas, which were based upon fundamentally unsound principles—namely, the emphasis laid upon material and the that the fruits of victory can be gained without a victory. The theory that the immobilisation of the enemy’s battle fleet is sufficient to win the war by sea is a fatal error. Lord Fisher was the originator of the battle cruisers, in which protection was sacrificed to speed and to the installation of guns with aTieedlessly long range, and which, at Jutland, went down like cockle-shells to the fire of German guns for the most part lighter in calibre than the British. Lord Fisher was responsible for the excessive specialisation which is inimical to allround efficiency and for the mechanisation of appliances which has gone altogether too far. The in-'

terior of the Hood and the Rodney, says the author, are more like a science museum than a warship.' Captain Acworth bluntly declares that Jutland was a tragedy both in what it revealed and in its immediate consequences. A direct result of the situation that arose after the engagement was the intensification of the submarine campaign. If the German fleet was immobilised, so was the British. Unaware of the intentions of the Germans, Britain had to keep intact her vast concentration of naval strength, while Germany was free to launch U-boats in hordes against British trade. Captain Acworth criticises the methods employed by the authorities to deal with this menace, and condemns them for their reluctance to adopt the convoy system. As soon as it was instituted the losses ceased to be serious. Captain Acworth speaks disparagingly of many arms. The torpedo, he says, is a futile weapon. Destroyers are a waste of money, and big submarines are nothing but a nuisance because of their slowness. Either they retard the pace of the main fleet, or, if they are left behind, they cannot reach the scene until the issue has been decided. Aircraft are unreliable for the purposes of reconnaissance or ‘‘spotting.” The danger to be apprehended at sea from bombing ’planes is greatly exaggerated. The number of bombs they can carry is limited, and accuracy of aim is impossible to secure. The dependence for fuel on oil which has to be imported from abroad is misguided. Britain should stick to coal, of which she has abundant supplies.