NAVAL BATTLES BY WIRELESS.

Hokitika Guardian, 24 March 1921, Page 1

NAVAL BATTLES BY WIRELESS.

When Man discovered liow to make electricity to do his bidding be, without suspecting any such result, sealed the doom of long familiar methods of conducting naval warfare. We are now ill the early stages of a development which will eventually change the whole character of sealighting.

For the most part, those participating in tl) ( > discussion on warships now occupying so much public might just as profitably argue the relative values ol gallons and trireme as of submarine and

battleship. In so far as their utility in narrow seas is concerned, the latter will soon h 0 scarcely more effective than the former. ITobably this also will be true of the wide seas as well. Given a few more years for the development of inventions already being used with far greater success than is generally known the sort of war vessels; to which we are accustomed will bo relegated to tb 0 limbo of the "have beetis”. The Rattle of Jutland, of say 1941 if there be any surface or submarine flotillas in existence at that date-will be fought somewhat as follows; A signalman “listening’ - at a shore station reports: “Enemy ships coming from such and such a direction.’ •All right; get after them, 1 ’ orders the O.C. of the base. ***** Off starts a squadron of fighting craft. Not one of them has a crew. Crews are not needed, for overhead flies a. number of aircraft, from which b.v “wireless less," the crewless vessels can be manoeuvred and fought quite as efficiently as if they were fully manned with sail-

or*. These wizard craft will not he the big ungainly kind of ships we are accustomed to; but they will be capable of doing their job with deadly efficiency and surface ships or even submarines. will make a poor showing against them. Obedient to the will of those sitting high up in the air, and thus having tbe advantage of a much wider range of “visibility” than is obtainable from a ship’s decks, the “controlled” vessels will be able to out-manoeuvre th foe quite easily. \ pure fantasy, you say. But is it? Do not forget that the Germans employed wireless-controlled motor-boats armed with torpedoes against our ships off th,, Belgian coast. And the expel iment obtained enough success to prove that the conception has practical possibilities. i _

gin.ee that time these possibilities have been -carefully explored. Much experimenting has been done and the invention (not a German one. by Hie way) is being perfected continuously. That is the important point to keep in mind. Important developments have been made and every forward step in these brings nearer the time when such classes of warships as are being discussed in the newspapers will become hopelessly obsolete. Over coniderable distances at sea. warships can he “steered" by wireless, either from a shore station, or from controlling aircraft. This much, in fact is being done nearly every day. By patient. persistent experiment obstacles to the wider application of the system are being removed. Success is being won steadily. S.J.B.