THE SEA BAYONET

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2814, 4 July 1916, Page 6

THE SEA BAYONET

LIGHT CRUISER'S RAM OCEAN DRAMA IN THE DARK A generation ago, when the torpedo was in 'its fmnncy, 'statistics proved to the world that the ram must go out of the naval battle plan. Yet we read fii'at jigHinst submarines and destroyer-i the li°ht cruisers of the British and Russian fleets have resorted to ancient iactics with success. Ojie can easily reconstruct such an incident in regard to a German destroyer. A night of tem,ies: and roaring seas, ah Allied light iiijuadro'n _ swiftly feeling its way into tho weak Joint in the enemy's mine armour, every man on the lookout, and by the guns ready for instant action. Then tho signal of an enemy craft present somewhere in that welter of darkness, of fumbling seas amT-troubled air, a quick reconnaissance, . ivnd the light cruiser, expanding her oil fuel engines to their full 30,000 horse-power, races across the waves to where a dark shadow ij slinking, melting.away in tho stormy gloom.

Up from her steady cruising pace the Allied ship leans to her 30 knots and more; the dark patch on' the horizon qflirers, then seems to remain stationary, then to draw nearer as the avenging ship _gain3_ on her mark. v/ith decks reeling to. the impact of the waves, there is no chance of sure practice with either six-inch guns or torpedo, besides which the flash, the shell explosion, would warn other enemy ships of approaching danger, aad defeat the true object of the raid.' The commander decides that the light cruiser, having tha advantage of speed " and good handling, must, use her ram. The distance between the two craft has been gradual]/ lessening; instead of thousands, there are now only hundreds of yards, 'i'liers is.a faint flash on the deck of the destroyer, hardly visible even through thj night glasses; a torpeda'has been launched, theft another, and a tliird, sent with all the'energy of despair. The mark presented by a light cruiser hurling its way at ramming speed is small; her greatest beam is some 39ft. only; on the waterline it is, of course, less, and her submerged lines slope very rapidly to the keel. ■ The lines of her bow are as five as the cleverest of shipbuilders can manage; the light cruiser has to slice through rather than part the waves. Anything else than'a fair bowon hit by a torpedo is,.in'effectual against full-speed ramming tactics.' The most powerful turbines must fail to hold the cigar-shaped machine straight in the swirling mass of 'water round the bows; a deflected stroke means that the explosive head does, "not touch/ the plates of the cruiser at all, and that no damage beyond paint-rubbing is done. Like a hare the fleeing destroyer wrenches this way and that, but her pursuer swings to each motion, nnd only presents her sharp V.of a bow to possible shots. On board the destroyer the commander is doing everything possible to save .his charge, but, outclassed as he is in speed and nandiness, there is but one end to the fnanoeuvres. Down beneath the deck' his stokers are plying their task for dear life; the oil jets are spouting, the pressure gauges show the last possible pound of steam. The en-giue-room is full of unwonted clamour, for the ship is making rough weather of it; the purr of the over-driven engines is interrupted for a moment by. a fearful clatter as the screws lift out of the receding waves. The last message from the,bridge was explicit:"We are .pursued—full speed ahead!"—a warrant of death to those immUred below.

Like a greyhound, the light cruiser leaps on, outs close to her prey. There is a slight tremor, as the solid ram tears into the thin, plates of. the enemy, a oloud of hot steam- bursts round the bridge, and in a moment the destroyer and its crew are dropping astern, numbered with the lost. .The high seas and darkness prevent .the'lowering of boats to ; searoh lor survivors, besides which tbo warship has business elsewhere and can halt for nothing: