BULLDOG BREED IN THE DARDANELLES

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2596, 19 October 1915, Page 6

BULLDOG BREED IN THE DARDANELLES

NAVY'S.SPLENDJgIII

AN-APPRECIATIOr

BY SIR* ASHMEAD : BARTLEIT Br Telegraph—Proaa 'Abeool dtion-rOawrlirlii (Rec. October 18, 9.30 p.m.) London, October 18. ; In am article ia the "Daily Telegraph" on the Navy's splendid record in. the Dardanelles, Mr. Ashinead Bartlett says.that tho arrival of the submarine as an active factor in naval warfaro entirely altered the role for which the other units were originally designed. But the most responsible duty which now devolves on'the light cruisers, destroyers, and torpedo boats is not to'attack the enomy's capital ships, but the protection of their own. battle squadrons against underwater attack. Effects of Modern Gun-fire. Modern gunnery has already rendered torpedo-boats obsolete for their original purpose, .namely, as an offensive weapon against armoured ships. The only instance in this war of a battleship being torpedoed by an above-water craft was the unfortunate Goliath, which was thrice torpedoed in the Dardanelles on May, 13 by a Turkish destroyer manned by a' German crew.

Tho precision of modern gunnery also diverted t.ho destroyers from their original purposes—defence against torpedo- : boats. This war has shown that the destroyer is tho only effective antidote for submarine attack. It is not the perfect l , ideal defence, but it is the best available, and has performed 7 ' immense service. The amount of work accomplished by the destroyer flot'illa in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Dardanelles is stupendous. Its labours are little known to tho public, but is fully recognised by tho Army and the Navy. The destroyers have worked for twelve months almost without a break. Their first job was to watch the Austrian fleet, and then patrol the Adriatic and Eastern Mediterranean. Its most arduous task commenced when Turkey joined in. Tho boats kept.up during tho'winter an incessant 1 patrol of tho Dardanelles and Asiatic coast, tossed by terrible gales, tho decks ziever having been dry for weeks, i ■

The Bulldog Breed. Emerging from the lee of the Island of Temedos the destroyers steamed to the entranco of the Straits in howling storms which blotted out the : view a jhundred yards distant. They encountered at the entrance a four-knot cur- ; v rent and an east wind, compelling them . to steam ten knots , ahead in order to maintain . stations. . Lying in the . trough of. tho sea the decks were swept by huge greon seas until the most experienced seamen were sick from sheor exhaustion. None aboard could keep dry, tho galley- fires could riot be kept alight, the deck was frequently covered with ice, oilskins were frozen; but still, despite these awful conditions, the gallant crows never for a moment relaxed their grip on the' Dardanelles. Never, even in the old days beforo Brest and Toulon, Lave our Navy man shown greater determination or suffered greater hardships! ■Spring brought fine weather and sunshiny conditions, but the work of tho destroyers was harder. "When active operations .against the Dardanelles were commenced in February many destroyers wero mine-sweeping. After tho outer forts had been reduced to ruins undeT heavy fire the con'cealed batteries of tho remaining forts were struok and suffered heavy casualties. When it was decided to make the great attempt to force the- Dardanelles with the Fleet alone, without waiting for tho Army, the preparatory work fell on tho trawlers. Tho difficulties were almost insurmountable. On March 18, : when the great naval-attempt was ■ made, the_ destroyers played a second-,-j. nry. part in the fighting, but did splendid work sweeping ahead of the battleand saving the crews of the Irresistible and tho Ocean.

An Incident of the Landing.

Tlio failure of tho March attack le'd to the Fleet being withdrawn to Tenedos and Mudros. The destroyers, during the landing on April 25 convoyed close inshore th 6. second batch of infantry supporting tho first landing parties. No ono will forget tho sight of tho long, low_ craft, packed with khaki figures, creeping closer and closer inshore with the destroyers ever-ready to lend a helping hand." One day two British transports were lying,' locked together, close to the beach, when a >shcll damaged the steam winch, «nd they wore unablo to raise'tho anchor when a Turkish battery opened liro on tbem. A destroyer . dashed in to the •assistance of the transports and placed jits flail form' between them and the enemy, emitting great clouds of black smoke to form a screen against the gunners. By a miracle tlio destroyer escaped, but remained until tho transports were out of range.

Enemy's Submarines Appear,

The German submarines . arrived in T)he middle of May, and our most valuablo battleships were sent away, only the older craft being kept to protect tho army's flanks. Tho destroyer flotillas meanwhile cruised round and I'ound, and searched every yard of water or suspicious rippJe. indicating a periscope. When a- submarine, scare was reported every destroyer' dashed at top speed, endeavouring to' ram her, while our battleships commenced a series of evolutions at top speed. Even the incessant vigilance of the destroyers was not sufficient to save the Triumph and tho . Majestic. These disastors' iiecessitated' tho -withdrawal of tho battleships,. which had so long chaperoned-tlio army, to protected harbours. Thenceforward they. only, canio forth when required to .bombard tho enemy's works. ' .'

For two months tho duty of protecting the transports and covering fclia flanks of the army fell to the destroyers, which frequently tickled'up tbo •Turks at Anzac most effectively, especially on the' : right flank. The amouni) of work our destroyers did in the summer was amazing. If- a ship were submarined, or sunk , by a- sheil, half-a-dozen of these craft would como un like greased lightning from nowhere, and pick you up almost before you had time to get wet.

"They are now facing another five months of the icy blockade of tbo Dardanelles, where they will be washed by enormous seas, tossed to and fro liko corks, and encrusted with ico. Only men of iron can stand this horrible life, but they will never relax the grip of iron they have obtained on the tottering Turkish Empire."