Naval Matters.

Progress, Volume VI, Issue 1, 1 November 1910, Page 448

Naval Matters.

The present Australian Squadron. We are accustomed to hear the vessels of our squadron slightingly spoken of as having never been any use, and as certainly. being now completely out of date. It is true that few of them are new, but some of them have points of considerable interest about them, and we propose to deal with them in this issue. The flagship, the “Powerful,” is a remarkable vessel. She and her sister ship, the “Terrible,” were laid down in 1894 as replies to the Russian “Rossia, ” which was really the first armoured cruiser ever built. The “Rossia” displaced 12,500 tons, and, with an armament of four 8-inch and sixteen 5.5-inch guns, was designed to steam 20 knots. The “Powerful,” however, was not built as an armoured cruiser, but her protective deck being six inches thick, she very nearly approached the armoured cruiser in defensive power. She was designed to steam 22 knots and to carry two 9.2-inch, twelve 6-inch, and four 4.7-inch guns on a displacement of 14,100 tons. Six-inch guns were afterwards put in

place of her 4.7-inch, bringing her nominal displacement up to 14.440 tons. As a matter of fact, both she and her sister have always carried more coal than they were designed to do, and we believe that their actual full-load displacement is 19,000 tons (considerable more than that of the “Dreadnought”), but, in spite of this, and in spite, too, of their sixteen years, they frequently exceed their designed speed in service, and are recognised as being good for 20 knots for any length of time. Although the “Powerful” is only a protected cruiser, she would probably be no easy prey for any small armoured cruiser. Her immense size (for many years she was the longest vessel in the Navy) gives her a great reserve of buoyancy, and she should be able to stand a great deal of tire without serious results. Besides her wonderful steaming qualities, she is an extremely reliable ship. As an - - 1 „ - R w „ 4. 4-1-* „ 4* wOT r CAcllUpid UJL VVllcio me UJLCIOO uau uv/j XU 111WJ be mentioned that in 1906 the “Terrible” steamed 60,000 knots without developing a single defect. We have mentioned some points of interest about the “Powerful.” If we were asked to do the same with' reference to the

"Challenger," and her sister, the "Encounter," we would say that they were obsolete when they were built. This sounds remarkable, but it is really very near the truth. The class were really the last second-class cruisers to be built. They displace 5880 tons, mount eleven 6-inch guns, and steam (nominally) 21 knots. Their great fault is their low speed; their gun power is good, but there is scarcely an armoured cruiser in the world that could not run them down and sink them. It is difficult to see what role they would play in war, as they are five or six knots too slow for scouting nowadays. Yet they are only five years old. The less said about the "Cambrian" the better. She is smaller, slower, and more poorly armed than the "Challenger," but she has the excuse of being nearly twenty years old.

We now come to the one remaining class, that to which the "Pioneer" helongs. It is sometimes known as the "Pelorus" class, and sometimes simply as the "P" class, as the names of all the vessels belonging to it begin with that letter. It was in the - "Pelorus" that Endyard Kipling attended the naval manoeuvres, afterwards publishing his excellent work called "A Fleet in Being." The ships, of which there are eleven, mount eight 4-inch guns, and were designed for a speed of 20.5 knots. They are very light, however, and have all lost greatly in speed. We believe about sixteen knots may be expected of them, though doubtless their officers differ from us. We remember one of them who insisted that the "Pegasus" had steamed through the French Pass at a speed of 24 knots with the tide !

Good Shooting. A remarkable demonstration of rapid and accurate firing by heavy naval guns at battle range has been made by the armoured cruiser “Natal,” belonging to the second cruiser squadron of the Home fleet (says the “Naval and Military Record.”) The first of two world’s records set up by the “Natal was made from a 9.2-inch gun, which fired 6 rounds and made 5% hits (the half being a ricochet) in 61 2-5 seconds. Another 9.2 inch gun fired six rounds and made six hits in 70 seconds. For the six 9.2-inch guns mounted in the “Natal,” the average was 4.47 hits per gun per minute, compared with 3.67 last year. The second world’s record was made from a 7.5 inch gun, with 6 rounds and 5 y hits in 40 seconds. The four 7.5-inch guns of the “Natal” averaged 5.31 hits per gun per minute, as against 5.43 last year.

H.M.S. Orion.

Features of the New Ship.

Each battleship laid down at Portsmouth since the "Dreadnought" has been a larger and improved type of the vessel which preceded her, says "The Times." The increase in size of each succeeding ship has been gradual, about 650 tons in each individual ease, until, from the 17 00 n + ' Ai 1««~™,™ + „-P +V„ (CT\ „A nought," the "Neptune" was reached with 19,900, the advance in weight having been uniformly progressive up to then. In the case of the "Orion," the fifth ship of the class, however, an enormous stride forward has been taken, as her displacement

when she is completed will, it is understood, be more than '2,000 tons over that of the "Neptune " and therefore V>ot» increased weight will be as much as if not more than, all the increases of her predecessors combined.

Apart from her size and guns of larger calibre, the marked characteristic of the "Orion," in distinguishing her from the ships launched before, .will be in the disposition of the guns of the main armament. These guns will all be placed in the centre line of the vessel, whereby, with the exception of head and stern fire, the whole can be brought .into action on any bearing from the bow to the quarter, thus making the angle of concentrated fire much greater than in that of any of her predecessors. In the "Neptune" and her sisters, the "Hercules" and the "Colossus," a larger angle of broadside fire over that of the earlier ships is obtained by the placing of the side turrets en echelon. This enables the fire from those turrets to be directed on the broadside and as far as 45 degrees before and abaft the beam, and brings all guns into action on those bearings; but in the manner of placing the guns in the new ship a still greater advantage will be gained. It is understood that the "Orion" is 545 ft. between the perpendiculars, 584 ft. over all, and 87ft. beam. Her launching weight will approximate to 8,000 tons, and the displacement when completed will be 22,500 tons. She will be fitted with Parsons turbine engines of 27,000 horse-power working four shafts and four screws, each having an ahead and an astern turbine, and the speed will be 21 knots, the steam being furnished from 18 water-tube boilers. There will be a coal capacity of 2700 tons, and she will also carry 1000 tons of oil fuel. There will be three submerged torpedo tubes. The armoured belt will vary in thickness from 4in. to 12in.

The main armament will consist of ten 13.5 guns, disposed in five turrets (two guns in each), placed in the centre line of the ship. The second and fourth turrets will be raised so that their guns can fire over those of the first and fifth; thus four guns will be able to fire directly ahead and the same number astern, while all will bear through the angle from the bow to the quarter. The broadside fire will, therefore, be much superior to, and the weight of metal thrown much heavier than in the case of the "Neptune" class, though the

1-, 1 ~,, .1 .j. n.. . 'll i i uixciii ucciu aiiu isuirii lire. will ue less as the “Neptune” can bring six of her 12in. guns into action ahead and eight astern. The “Orion" will only have one tripod mast. Her secondary armament will be composed of 4in. guns similar to those of the “Neptune.” The weak point is that the head and stern fire have been somewhat sacrificed to the broadside.