SEA FIGHTS OF TO-DAY

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 2252, 11 September 1914, Page 7

SEA FIGHTS OF TO-DAY

NAVAL GUNS TMfi>IJAC!IM/i DI'PTIP D/IVPK! lKlKMsllNli MllLii itANWIb At what range ought the British battleships to be prepared to fight? The question has been asked many times in recent years, and the tendency of the experts has been to answer in figures that grow steadily larger. "At any range/' says Adiniral Sir Reginald Cus-' tance, "since circumstances, or the enemy, may deprive us of any choice. We must neither be outranged at long distances, not by a superior Volume of fire at decisive ranges. In the past this condition was satisfied by combining long guns and carronades ill the armainent of each ship. Started during the war of American In-; dependence, the principle was maintained until the introduction of armour— i.e., .for a period of eighty years, of which twenty-eight wero years of war. It was then discarded, was subsequently reintroduced, and is still a subject of controversy. Of its soundness in the past there can be no doubt. "Wβ have now to decide whether tho principle is applicable )to the present conditions; As to this we. have to note that two 12-iuch guns, with mountings and. ammunition, may be.taken to weigh rather more than three 9.2-mch or fifteen 6-inch guns. Also, that the relative rapidity of hitting with these natures under the gun-layer's test conditions may be taken as, 1, 2, 3; and thus for a given weight of armament the relative hitting capacity would be— 2 of 8501b.; 6 of 3801b.; 45 of 1001bThe smallest of tho three would fall off at long ranges, but after making every allowance it would seem that .at decisive ranges it should; like the carronado, .give a. better return for its weight than the heaviest..,

'Decisive Range. : ' ...''.'Decisive range?, may be denned, as that distance at which one combatant develops in a limited time such a superiority of attack that the other is put out of action; From the' 'close alongside' of the'Nelsonian era the 'decisive range , has gradually grown as guns arid the appliances for using them Lave irriproved. It was about 800 yards during the ■ Crimean and. American Civil Wars; With the early rifled guns it was somewhat less, than 1200 yards, arid continued to increase until it reached sortie distance inside 2500 yards at the Yalu in 1894, and inside 5000 yards ill the- Russo-Japanese battles. It.is a variable quantity, depending oil the weather and other conditions. At one time some minds seemed.to lean towards very long ranges, but of late increased experience arid reflection have tended towards more moderate ones.

The immense difference between seeking a decision at long ranges and at short ones is shown by the fact that on August 10, 1904, the action lasted nearly seven hours, and at Ulsan nearly five, in each case without any complete decision; Whereas the fight culminated at Tsu Shima in forty minutes. "We may conclude that the determined man, who desires a decision) will try not only to close as quickly as possible to 'decisive ranges,' but to- maintain himself, there wtyh all gum in action at a constant range) and on a constant relative bearing. Tlte manner: ill which he will approach, and the rango at which ho will turn tip to bring his guns into action, are nice questions, only to bo decided at the time in- accordance with ■' the conditions of the movement. Tho enemy must not be given the opportunity to hit so Often as to get an advantage before his fire is beaten down. From all experience we may conclude that a determined officer will be able quickly, and without afirious loss, to reach ranges at which the fire will be. entirely effective; in fact, to re-turu-'to tho Nelsonian principle or laying his ships 'alongside' tho enemy at modern 'decisive ranges'; and, further, that broadside fire is the decisive factor, end-on fire being of iittlo value, except in chase or in retreat." The Old Muzzle-Loader. Breech-loading guns were adopted in tho Navy in lStiO/but wero soon abandoned on account of the complexity of the mechanism, and not finally reintroduced until 1879. ■ In the meantimethere had boon great advances in tho size and power of rifled muzzle-loaders. In 1860 a 7-inch 6i-ton gun was made , , firing a 1151b. shell. In 1868 came a 10inch 18-ton weapon, with a 4101b. shell, followed by 12-inch 25-ton and 12.5-inch 38-ton e guns firing shells of 6141b. and 8201b. respectively'. The climax of British' muzzle-loading gun-construction was reached in 187/3, when four 16-inch 80-ton guris, firing a 17001b. shell, wero made for tho Inflexible. From the reinstatement of breech-loading ordnanco down to the present time uninterrupted progress lias been mado, interspersed by a few hazardous and unsuccessful experiments. One of these- was the 16.25-inch gun, weighing 110 tons, and firing a shell of 18001b.; but there is no doubt that the constructors are succossfnlly working up to that level again. Cuniberti, the Italian constructor, who foretold tho Dreadnought in 1903, has since, advocated a ship carrying eight 16.25-inch weapons. The British battleships now under construction are to carry 15-inch guns.