DREADNOUGHTS.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1749, 14 May 1913, Page 4

DREADNOUGHTS.

0 CHANGE FORESHADOWED. MR. CHURCHILL'S WARNING. "A TOTALLY DIFFERENT FORM." London. March 28. Tic possibility of a sweeping change in naval construction, intimately affecting Australia, as well as Groat Britain, was hintcil at by Mr. Winston Churchill in his speech explaining tlio Navy Estimates tins week. 'i'liis change was 110thi.ig Ic-s 111 mi Hi'; possible supersession ot' Dreadnoughts, within 111: 1 next four or five years, by an entirely different typo .of warship. Tho passage in Mr. Churchill's speech, which cum only bear this moaning was as follows: — "Tlie strength of navies," lie said, "cannot 1:3 lVckoncd' only in Dreadnoughts, ami the day may come when it may not l;o reckoned in Dreadnoughts at all. When, therefore, I am attemptins to forecast, ult for this -year only, .but for a series of years ahead, what onr constiuction in capital ships will 1> I hope it will lio understood that the numbers ought to be taken as units of war power and of money power whic-h the Admiralty will, if it thinks fit, when tlio time comes, express in a different form. I. think that is .a \i:rv important observation to make <it this stage. I will give an instance of wliat I mean. Supposing, fc-r instiuiee, we were confronted with a new development of two foreign ships in the -Mediterranean against which wi> have to make prov'aion, it. would not at all follow that we .should build in reply two other ships of equal or superior size and quality. Wo might spend the .£5,00(1,GO!) which they would ccst to better advantage on a totally different form of naval construction—(hear, hear)—and I should certainly claim for the Admiralty full libr-rty, subject, to Parliament being informed as soon as possible without public disadvantage, to give to thenaval standard wo aro setting up -whatever equivalent interpretation is held in the judgment of the naval experts to produce the maximum of war power for the money spent."

The Present Capital Ship. The present typo of "capital" sliip ami tho- interesting modification of it which Mr. Churchill for th> first timo disclosed in his speech were described by liini as follows:— "It may now bo stated without disadvantage that last year eH'ccicd a farreaching change of principle in\the design of wliai" are called battle-cruisers. These vessels had gradually increased in speed and power until they had becoino without exception tho most costly ships in the world. They were more expensive than, the strongest battleship, yet: they were not uiwii an erjual'ty with their contemporary battleships in action. We laid it down as a principle that tho most expensive ship in the world ought also to bo for all purposes the strongest. We have therefore designed a ship, not indeed so fast as our latest battle-cruisers, but possessing speed sufficient to overtake and' manoeuvre against any battle fleet that can be afloat in tho next few years, and which, in addition to this speed, possesses heavier armament, and better protection than any battleship yet designed. Tho cost of this vessel, after making allowance for the rise in price, is slightly less than the cost of the last' battlecruiser, the Tiger, though more, of course, than that of any of tho previous battleships. Instead of laying down last year ono battle-cruiser and three battleships, wo have decided that all the four ships of that, year and the Malaya shall bo of this type, and it is not unlikely that it may be repeated in tho vessels now under, discussion in Canada. If that were so, we 'should have eight vessels capable, if desired, of being formed into a homogeneous squadron against which no other squadron built, building, or projected in the world could be matched m guns, iirir.our, or speed. I mako this observation on the ships of last year because a great many statements have been made in tho newspapers about their design, and we think it advisable that the general aspect of our policy should be understood." The Tiger, the battle-cruiser-referred to, is to have engines of 110,000 horse power. She is designed for 31 knots speed; but, as the Princess Royal of 70,000 li.p. reached 34.7 knots, an even greater speed may bo expected of the Tiger. Submarines. Of course, it is by no means proved, as yet,- that the big ship will ever bo supplanted. But it is suspected that sho may be; and, if she is, her place will presumably be taken by one of two classes of small ships with which the Admiralty of late has been stradilv proceeding. The first, is the submarine. There have been rumours that the (.lormans are experimenting with large submarines, too. The British Admiralty will spend over A'l.OOll.tiDO on submarines tin's year. On point Mr. Churchill disclosed verv lithe. The "Light Armoured Cruisers." The other type which might conceivably supplant the battle-cruiser is that iuterci'.iing class of ships which has i'or some time been building under tho namo of "light armoured cruisers," but whose details are not yet clearly known. It turns out that they are to be used to Sjino extent as a sort of enlarged destroyer. Mr. Churchill's description of them was- not even yet very detailed. lie said:— Last year we laid down eight light cruisers of great speed, good gun power, and protection. These vessels were designed for the function of attendance on the battle fleets, for clearing the seas of hostile torpedo craft, and for the general services ot observation. These vessels, which in one aspect are destroyers, are much demanded by the admirals afloat, and are an important and essential tealure in the policy of the present Board cf Admiralty. The eight vessels of last year's programme were very well placed so far as prices were concerned, and for speed, size, and war power will prove the cheapest ever constructed for the British service. We proposo to repeat this programme of eight this year." I.ord C. Beresford: What about armour? Mr. Churchill: They liave vertical armour, which is heavy considering the small size of the vessel. All this fleet of light cruisers is, of course, of a smaller type than the cruisers which. Germany is building each year. But the House will understand the British cruiser licet is to be considered as a whole, and that we have, besides these light cruiser.-, which we are building, to consider the great preponderance we possess, and shall posses-, in future years, in fast; and strong armoured cruisers by which the light cruisers are somewhat exceptional, and they must be taken into account in considering the destroyer programme i'or tho year." , Mr. Churchill pointed out that this new' class of ships might even supplant the dcblroyors to some extent. For this year Hi rather largo destroyers were proposed, he said. Oil and Oil Engines. Tile Admiralty have long had in contemplation the oil engine. Mr. Churchill says of it: "We arc not very far away— we cannot tell how far—from internal combustion engines in warships of all kinds." 8o immensely important, both to England and Australia, is this particular subject at present, that it is worth while quoting liie Admiralty view of the great developments pending, as explained by Mr. Churchill'. Jle said:— "There is no disputing the immense advantages which the u-e of liquid fuel confers upon ship design 1 , in. ability to 'jbtain and maintain great speed, in a far wider radius of action, in diminution of the number* and of the strain upon the personnel, and, above all, in the capacity i'or re-tuelling at sea which oil ves-cls may be expected to develop. This last confers an advah:,\ge on the stronger navy which is not shared by the weaker, for while the weaker will bide its opportunity in port, the stronger navy must keep tho seas continuously. Re-coaling, therefore, impo.-es a continued drain upon the stronger lleet without any corresponding deductions from the weaker. Oil. which can be fed s i easily Iron: one vcs.-el to anolher without reluming to pori, would therefore add an appreciable percentage to the relative lighting strength nf t ho Briti-h Navy. Hut I hose pent advantages, and others which are too tcchJ liicul for me to tjmbark upou to-night, arc

| almost matclicd by dangers and difficult tics of the most prions character. First anions tlioss is the absenco of any frosli supply of liquid fuel indigenous lo thesa islands,- and the scarcity o>: any such fnpplios in vieiv tlirnusliout tlio British Ijnpire. I need scarcely onhirgo upon tint difficulty, which I i-co is present to tlia minds of the irons?. We are also confronted with price movements of a fur-reaching character, which are, I apprehend, part, of an attempt, on a gigantic scale, lo corner the_ market, and to control the output. We are also confrontud with a temporary sliortaga of tank vessels to briny oil from the oilfields across the sea,. The Admiralty liave not only to buy oil at lii:/li prices and at high freights for current consumption, but wo liavo also, to accumulate and to store a very large rtscrvs. Great numbers of oil tanks have to bo built throughout our naval establishments and in oilier places. Vessel:, for the supply of oil to the floats must, bo nbtaii'od, and measures must bo taken, both by land and water, lo provide for effectual distribution. I do not promise lo go inlo details on this matter, many of which are necessarily confidential, but mora than .£1,000,000 is 'included in. the Estimates of the year for tlio purchase, transport, and storage of oil fuel reserves, and that sum will be largely exceeded ill the immediate future. It may alsa be necessary to make long forward contracts in various directions, in order to secure aiu effective lien upon a proportion of the supplies available from several sources, and these contracts must necessarily open np a number of difficult commercial ' and administrative questions." Airships and Merchant Ships. Of airships the First Lord said: "It is evident that tlio time lias arrival when we must develop long-range airships of the largest type. . . . Meanwhile I do trust tliat wo aro not going to have any silly panic language used about tlio danglers "we are snppos>ed to run. (Cheers.) If war breaks out to-morrow, foreign airships no doubt might do a certain amount of mischief end damage before they got smashed up, ivliich would not be very long; but it is foolish to supposo that in their present stage of development tliey could produco results which would decisively influence tho course of events'." Finally, merchant ships, for protection against "foreign merchant cruisers, are to bo supplied with guns and amnuini•tion lent "by tlio Admiralty, and tlreir crews trained to usa them; tlio owners for tlieir part undertaking the necessary slight structural alterations to enable their ships to mount guns.