TWENTY-FIVE MILES OF WARSHIPS.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1163, 26 June 1911, Page 5

TWENTY-FIVE MILES OF WARSHIPS.

THE FINAL SALUTE. (Rec. June 26, 0.15 a.m.) London, June 25. Unbroken sunshine prevailed during the Coronation naval pageant at Portsmouth. Later in the afternoon the King and Queen inspected twenty-five miles of lines of warships, standing on the forebridge of the Royal yacht. As they passed the sailors lustily cheered aud the bands played tho National Anthem. Two hundred thousand spectators assembled along the sea fronts at Southport and G'osport. The King's reception of the foreign flag officers lasted until half-past five o'clock. When their Majesties left tho fleet a thunderous final saluto was fired. . TEN YEARS' PROGRESS. THE CORONATION REVIEW OF 1902. INTERESTING' COMPARISONS. The comparison and power of the fleet reviewed by tho King at Spithead will servo as a reminder to all who care to study the subject of the rapid development .of naval material'during the last decade, says "The Times." An instructive contrast may be drawn from the force present at the Coronation Review of August, 1902, when a similar flcot was paraded before King Edward VII. So far as battleships arc concerned, tho London—of the Formidable type—was completed and commissioned in that year, and if tho review had taken place in Juno she would have hoisted'the "flag of the Commander-in-Chief at' '■ Portsmouth. As it was, she was sent to the Mediterranean in July,'and tho Royal Sovereign, which she relieved, came Home, and was Sir Charles Hotham's flagship at tho display in August. Tho latest battleships present, therefore, were of the Majestic type, but two later classes of battleships were in active service, tho Canopus type, of which six were in commission, and the Formidable type, of which five were in commission. The 20 battleships in the lino included, however, tho Devastation and tho Dreadnought, two vessels over 25 years eld; the Edinburgh, the Sans Pareil, and four ships of the old Admiral class' over 15 years old; the Trafalgar and Nile, over 12 years old; four Royal Sovereigns, over ten years old; and six Majesties, the only-battleships present under ten years old. Similarly, of the six armoured cruisers in the line, only one was representative of a modern type, tho Sutlej—of the Cressy type—tho others being over 12 years old. Although, therefore, tho gathering of ships on that occasion was in its way a display of the progress and improvement in naval arohiture and equipment, and was entirely effective from a spectacular point of view, it could not compare with tho force in line on June' 24 as an exhibition of advance nnd efficiency. Since 1902 tho King Edwards, the Lord Nelsons, and four varieties of the Dreadnought type in battleships alone have been completed and commissioned. Two other Dreadnought types might have been represented on this occasion, the Colossus, with her sister, the Hercules, and the Orion, but it was decided that these vessels, which will be in the trial stage, should not take part. Six new types of armoured cruisers, including the Invincibles, have been completed since 1902, Cressy class alone, which was in that year represented by the Sutlej, and will this year be represented by tho Euryalus and Hogue, being the only type of armoured cruiser present at both reviews. Of tho destroyers which will bo at the review, four now classes will be represented, and whereas the displacement of the heaviest boat present in 1902 was 400 tons, the heaviest destroyer present on this occasion will bo of 2170 tons displacement. The submarines, scouts, and auxiliary vessels are all new, and neither a turbinepropelled nor oil-driven vessel was in use in the Navy ten years ago. In regard to ordnance, tho progress in development is perhaps best exemplified by the fact that some of tho ships present at tho Coronation review of 1902 were still armed with muzzle-loading guns.