WAR TOPICS

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 2, Issue 107, 8 January 1940, Page 5

WAR TOPICS

H.M.S. RAMILLTES ARRIVES IN WELLINGTON RUSSIA'S MILITARY STRENGTH (By the BEACON Watchman)

The arrival at Wellington last week of the battleship Ramillies means that the New Zealand troops are going to have very strong protection on their voyage. The Ramillies has a displacement of '29,150 tons and is armed with <S 15-inch guns, which make her superior to anything the enemy can lloat. Even had the German 'pocket' battleships still been operating, the armament of the Ramillies would have allowed the troops to sleep in peace. The 15-inch guns mounted on this ship weigh 100 tons and fire a shell weighing 19201bs with a muzzle velocity of 2500 feet per second. The muzzle power of the 15-inch gun is nearly double that of the 12-incli, and as the German ships are equipped with 11-inch guns it will be seen that an enemy commander would think twice before attacking. There is the possibility of submarine attack but it takes more than one torpedo to sink a vessel of Ihe Ramillies type. It is true that the Royal Oak was sunk but then she was at anchor and a series of torpedoes were fired. It is interesting to note that in the Great War not one oatlleship of the Dreadnought class was sunk by submarine action. * * S* * We are constantly reading of Finnish victories over vastly superior numbers of Russians attacking the Mannerheim Line. One report stat-

Ed that one Finn was the equal to twenty-five Russians. That may be so but Russia has enormous reserves of man-power on which she can draw and the Finnish reserves are Limited. The peace footing of the Soviet army is 2,500,000 but it is possible that this number could be increased on a war basis to 12,000,000 or even 15,000,000.

In the Great War the Russians cracked badly when faced with the German soldiers but military students had forecast an increased efficiency with the Red Army. It looks as though it takes more than twenty years of Communism to make good soldiers.

The mechanised sections have com pletely failed and the failure is due to poor leadership (Russia lacks experienced officers) the rigours of the Finnish winter, the strategic obstacles presented by lakes and forests, and the skill and courage of tho Finns. Judging by press reports the Russian Air Force also appears to have been vastly over-rated. > « * « The Admiralty admitted recently that a battleship of the Queen Elizabeth class had received some damage from a torpedo, four men being killed. The ship was able to make port under her oavii steam. Britain owns live vessels of the Queen Elizabeth class. They were all completed during the Great War and mount eight 15 inch guns and 12 6-inch as well as a varying number of anti-aircraft, pom poms etc. They are of 81,000 tons displacement with a length of 640 feet and a beam of 104 feet. Strictly they are known as battle-cruisers and carry an aeroplane for reeonnaisasnce purposes. The speed is 25 knots and the complement 1100 men. The Queen Elizabeth, when laid down_ in 1912, introduced several new developments in the British Fleet. She was the first ship to be equipped Avith 15-inch guns; she was the first battleship to have geared turbines for cruising purposes; and she was the first battleship to use oil fuel exclusively. * * m * Germany has issued a warning that she might enter the Russo-Fin-nish conllict if the Allies assist Finland.

It is difficult to see how Germany can actively participate in this conflict. It Avoukl seem that she already has enough on her hands with out releasing men and material. It is possible that Germany may make an attack on the Scandinavian countries in an effort to prevent Allied supplies reaching Finland.