WARFARE AT SEA

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 263, 25 July 1918, Page 7

WARFARE AT SEA

THE TALE OF A CONVOY 1.-TBE MUSTER IN PORT (By Sir John Bland-S'ntton in tho "Morning Post.") , f>Tho Navy whereon, under tho good Providence of God, the wealth, safety, and strength of the Kingdom chiolly depend. (Articles of War.)] "Give us this day our daily bread/' This simple request, first uttered in the loinnrknble discourse, delivoral nearly 2000 years ago among the hills jihove the Lake- of Galilee, has a forcible signilicanee for tho inhabitants of the British Isles to-day. For many years Ihoiiglitfiil men have realised that if Great Britain lost command of tho tea a powerful enemy might stem this country in a few weeks. It- is Germany's aim to accomplish this by every meius. It is useless to complain; the situation must bo faced with tho same determination and resourcefulness with which it is forced upon us by the,, enemy, and I his makes it incumbent for tho Navy to convoy merchant ships. Merchant ships to-day have to face dangers and difficulties previously unknown. Apart from the common perils of tho sea, such -.as gales and stornw, fogs, collisions, and fire, our brave sailors hiivo to face dangers on the sea—raiders j above tho son—aircraft; and under the sea—submarines and mines. These terrific engines of destruction are being used in violent contravcntiri ot international rules and often with atrocity unparalleled in the history of civilised rations, The Convoy, There nro dangers in the convoy itself. Vigilance is necessary, so that no enemy ship disguised, as an innocent merchantjnan is included in the convoy, .and ."0 ship is allowed to join during the voyage URC. Apart from these affairs, it may be imagined easily that tho ships differing in size, speed, disposition as regards manoeuvring finalities, and steering capacity involvo tho escort in great anxiety, 6ome of which will bo explained. In order to get an idea of tho nature of the Bhips that wero escorted to England, I went, round the harbour in a tug and found: A ncore of merchant ships Fill'd -with oil. meat, and crain, All bound lor British ports, And keen to cross tho. main. They were a 1 motley group, for the majority had been disfigured with paint. Three of tho ships presented the usual E-late colour of iron vessels, but the re mninder had'tlicir oulsidcs, including the funnels, ventilators, and upper v/orks, daubed with broad bands of black, whito, blue, green, or red. Somo of the mark ings were vertical, others oblique, somo straight, others curved, and at all angles know in trigonometry. No design appears (o have been followed, except in an attempt to repeat the peculiar black nnd white stripes on the rump-of the zebra. Tho majority resembled clowns, qiiins, and pantaloons; some had a pattern that made theni look as if they were covered H'ith ch'intss of a gaudy pattern.

Thero is nothing moro disputed !n natural history I ban- what is known as protective colourisation. In this matter the Admiralty, anxious to baffle the pirates infesting our coastal ■waters, and especially the approaches to our ports, leaves nothing to "chance, and in spite of the doubtful value of protective colouration, disfigure warships as well a 9 merchant, ships with paint. Ladies of fashion havo long known the value of ptripsd dresses. Vertical stripes increase, the apparent height, -and arc in favour with short women. Fat and short women avoid horizontal stripes. Zebra-stripinga find the greatest favonr for eh\n. It is a fact that a ship adorned with such stripes is, in dock, as conspicuous ns a. zebra in Piccadilly, but'when a zebra is seen at a distance in his imtivc surroundings, tho black and white stripes so blend that the animal is inconspicuous. It happens that animals admirably protected by colour in their natural surroundings are easily detected when they move. Shakespeare has an epigram on this: "Thiniys in motion , sooner catcli the eye, than what' not stirs." This, however, does not apply to zebras, nor ftriped ships, for moving they are more indistinct than when at rest.

Captains in Council. Before leaving port the captains of Hie merchant ships meet the officers of'the escort in conference. The captains courageous assemble, attest their names, and receive the rules relating to convoys. The preliminaries settled the captain of the escort reads carefully _ to the meeting regulations connected with the station of each ship, order of sailing, details of the routo and speed. Then follow instructions special to particular ships. and matters relating to lime, signals, station-keeping, and change of course. 'flic importance of j the great danger of lights at night, especially when near and in the danger zone, is insisted on. Them ara hard and fast rules for all convoys, and some issued by the Admiralty as to course and rendezvous, The captain of tho escort has certain special rules which he explains in detail. A ship is selected to act as a vesfwl for tho commodore who is an oflioor selected from tho staff of the escorting ; cruiser. Each ship in the convoy has j n trained signaller to ensure uniformity in signalling. The time and' order oi sailing are agreed upon, and the confer- ; once- disperses. Many of the captains ; who were at tho conference had already ■ l>?en convoyed and thoroughly appre- ■ ciated the protection this method affords. : Jt was a grand morning, with "an ! eager and a nipping air," when the snips j left the harbour and proceeded to sea. i and 'in due course Beautiful Dove, the \ escort, followed them. Ah (he anchor i was weighed, the baud played the Na- j tional Antbeji. tho Maple Leaf, and tlw j Star Spangled, Banner. In passing through the lines a good opportunity ; was afforded for identifying the ship's niiii forming some idea of their behaviour at sea.. Soon signals were hoisted for the ships to start zig-za«ging. Id twenty niiuutes tho ships were zig. gagging for all they were worth, and in their comic disguise,' produced an extremely amusing appearance, resembling clumsy and ill-assorted partners at a ball practising quadrilles and waltzes in fancy costume. This was the first lesson the convoy had in steam tactics at sea, ami at the end of an hour they were out ot station, but it was excellent practice, and afforded the captain of the escort information of tho zig-zagging ability of each ship. The successful performance of tins apparently sirnplo manoeuvre is baffling to U-boats. Modical Aid at Sea. At the south tail of the Bank of Newfoundland tho convoy was enveloped in fog. At 10 a.m. the fog began to lift and slowly vanish, pud tho ships gradually loomed into bright sunlight and resumed their proper stations. . Tho dispositions of the ships when tho fog lifted resembled in a striking way tho position of draughts on a chequer board when a clumsy person stumbles against it. In the course of the morning a, ship signalled that a man on board needed medical aid, and asked for a doctor. A boat was lowered from Beautiful Dove, tlio surgeon went aboard, and found that tho man needed help and would requireit for several days. In these circuinfilances the patient was lowered into the boat and brought on board tho Escort. This little incident illustrates what has been called the omnipotence of sui'geons. On several occasions it has happened that ii twenty or thirty-thousiind-ton mail steamer has been held up in mid-Atlantic whilst the ship's surgeon has performed an operation. On this occasion a cook's inato required surgical aid, and this tho cook had endeavoured to render, after consulting a book on domestic medicine. For those, who believe in oinciis it may be added that the heavens approved the act. It was midday when tho boat returned to the Escort with the sick man. t'he sun was in. the zenith, surrounded by a largo halo, and as tho boat was hoisted the inner border of the halo was tinted of a faint pink like a rainbow. I had sever seen a 6olar halo before; it was an object of exquisite beauty. Under the care c° Iho ship's surgeon the man quickly recovered and an operation wae avoided.