THE BATTLESHIP OF TOMORROW
■ MODERN SUBMARINES. Tihe battleship of to-morrow' will be submersible, according lo Mr. Charles T)omvillc-Fife. who in "Submarine ami Sea Power," lias written a very iuterestinc account of the development of tho submarine, its increasing tiso in naval operations, and the chances which if? evolution has produced in the application of naval strategy ami tactics, the national life of maritime nations, and the old theories of sea pcftver. Twentv years ago the submarine was a, babv. 'lii those twenty year? it lias • grown to Id times its original, size, even' without taking into consideration the ' very lat»»st tynes, which nin up to 20W tons. It lias "increased its surface speed ' from 9 to 20 knots, and its submerged , speed from i knots to 10. *TU surface ■ range of action has grown from 500 lo • 8000 knots at economical speed, and its rnn»e while submerged from 100 to 600' 1 knots. 'Whereas (the older boats were , armed with one bow tube and threo 1 torpedoes, modern vessels have a combination of bow, stem, and broadside tubes, numbering from four to eight, and carry U or more torpedoes. All moderately large modem submarines carry one or two four or tivo-iw'V quick-firers, besides one or tiro small high-angle antiaircraft suns, and the armament of tho largo 2000-ton vessels 'wiiih are building; will probably, it is stated, include'heavy naval guns 'of a calibre up to 12 inches. There are besides the mine-laying tubes. But tho submarine is specialising fast into submersible cruisers, submarine mine-layers, submarine torpedo boats, and depot or cargo submarines, with a carrying capacity of several hundred tons, as well as the coming submarine battleship. Moreover, by far the greater part of these developments has taken place within a very much shorter period than the 20 sears mentioned. Tho book deals also with the various means, in the wav of hydrophones, deeplaid mines, depth charges, "bulges," and the rest, ■which have been evolved to deal with the submarine. It should bo a useful book of reference. But it would have been of much more value if one could have been sure that it waa alwavs accurate. In two cases at any. rate.'it is the reverse. On page GO Mr. Fife says that, the Australian submarines AEI aiid A 132 travelled "from Barrow, England, to Sydney, N.S.W.. Australian distance of Over 13,000 miles—entirely under their own power and without con-\ voy." A very little research would ; have prevented' him from making such a bad mistake as (hat. Again on page 118 he says that tho German naval staff conceived" the brilliant idea that with the 1160 submarines they possessed, amplified with a touch of 'frightfulness'nnd tho 'bluff' of a submarine blockade of the English coast, they could prevent the failings of the 1200 vessels which on an average enter and leave the ports of (iho United Kingdom weekly, and by so doing not only cause starvation and panic in England but also cut off tho supplies of fond and ammunition from the United States.-" Such ambitious schemes, he adds, "showed a lamentable lack of naval judgment." It is hardly • necessary to comment on the lack of judgment shown in the implication of such a statement as this. As everyone knows now, the German scheme went very close to actually attaining the object of its ambition. Remember, for instance, Admiral Siros's admission last September. Remember, "Admiral Jellicoe," said he, "showed me tho record of (ho tonnage losses during the last few months. They were 4.10.000 tons in Fobruarv, 603,000 tons in March, and at tho rate of .100,000 tons for April. Admiral Jellicoe. said to me that it would bo impossible to car/: on tho war if losses like these were lo continue. 'Germany will win,' paid Admiral Jellicoe, 'unless wo can soouetop these losses!'"
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Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 87, 7 January 1920, Page 10
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634THE BATTLESHIP OF TOMORROW Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 87, 7 January 1920, Page 10
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