IMPERIAL DELEGATES AT SEA

Hokitika Guardian, 18 December 1930, Page 3

IMPERIAL DELEGATES AT SEA

BOMBED BY AEROPLANES. H.M..S. NELSON, Nov. 10. Gun smoke is thickening the must of the English Channel, and \ as' I write sleek grey ships on the ‘horizon are being torpedoed, .submarined Und attacked by flights of naval boinbens. The Battle of Portland is drawiijg to a close, and here, aboard one of -Bri',>in’s iino<b powerful and up-to-date lxattleships, Imperial statesmen mid Indian Princes arc seeing at first lirtnd Bow the •Navy plays its part in safeguarding the Empire. To the three hundred peopir who are n this flagship as guests of Admiral Sir Henry Hodges, Cbmuiancler-in-Chief of the Atlantic Fleet, the term ■ “fleet manoeuvres’’ will in future mean something more than a mere phrase. It will recall a .display of lines of battleships, destroyers, cruisers and submarines deploying this way and that as though controlled by a single hand. It will recall, before all, a display of efficiency. Chief amongst' the visitors are members of the Imperial Conference, ami a number of Indian Princes, who a-v in -England for the round-table "conference. ’Mr and Mrs Forbes are on board,-; accompanied by Sir ' Thomas and Lady-iSide.v, and with them ar" Mr F. Thomson. A. Berondsen, Dr Craig, Dr ATarsden, and Air O. A. Jeffrey. ATr Ramsay MacDonald. . wrs prevented hv had weather from’ living down from Chequers to ho present The British-Cabinet is. represented by Air \. V. Alexander. First Lord ofthe Admiralty. Mr Tom Shaw, Minis-' ter-of-War.'-and' Sir William Jowitt the Attorney-General.

As we were due to spend some seven hours with the fleet, we had to make an early start, and in the chill of a November morning the Alaharajah of Bikaner looked a trifle iin liapnv when lie arrived at the special train at Waterloo station. But the fir«t thing learned by th n visitors w»s that the A-dmirnltv has n wav of being very thorough, and throughout the dav there have been nu'nv cheerful signs of n far-reaching organisation to provide for our every comfort.

JUTLAND SIMPS. At Portland we orobark°a on the slooh Snapdragon, and were soon alongside the towering majesty of the Nelson, where princes and premiers were received bv Admiral Hodges. Soon We were out at sea and ioiniu" the Tron Duke. Lord Jrllicoc’is flag shio at Jutland. Other warriors a + -Jutland*..could he seen near the hori•/,on. ' <Jhey wme the M ai's n it°. lb*” Barham, and the AIM“-yn. In all there were about 69 war vessels of the Atlantic Fleet. Before 1935 about onethird of these. wiM have been broken up in” Accordance''with the Naval Treaty.

This flagship we are-in has a ion’nage of 31.000, and was completed in 1927. She was one of the two first -battleships' to he built - under' • tlm terms of the Washington Treaty of 1921. She and the Rodney were the firstXi|U mount 16-inch’ guns.

From our position in tho tower w f ‘ watched the Adventure pfenning mines in the sea for our destruction, but vstenmed gailv .through the ni'nefi''b l with paravanes out. which cut tb” mines adrift and left, them tabbing harmlessly on the surface, to he picked up !i hy mine sweepers. Two snhmalines dived a few ■hundred vards aivay and emerged again in front of our how. This was iu-st a preliminary duck before joining the big submarine offensive on the Nelson. However, they! had the peace-time. eonrte«v to give us a, breather lor lipVeh before starting. After our lunch we'were thefearless victims,'of a snbmarin- onslaught, lint we,;W,e re being “screened” bv a. flotilla bf destfpvers. which dropped doptli Charges, y .-Thes- depth charges must bg.a . faihly effective antidote,.to .a . subniarin'e • pla-gu'e," for the renert'U.'-fuoir wai;' felt •’even 'in theiu'vsivc Nelsoii. wliinh ayas then a lull milo"a.way from the;^destroyers.

By this time the aircraft-carrier Courageous had taken up her position near ns, and (from her broad deeks launched 30 bombers and fighters, which roared round all the ships, playing theoretical havoc. This is one of the latest specialised branches of naval activity. The Courageous was converted after the war from a cruiser to an aircraft carrier. She is equipped to carry about 52 planes. SPECTA.CUL.A R BOMBARDMENT. Tleavv showers, following a spell of mist, spoiled the effect of so mo brightly coloured .turbans', which have been bobbing about our decks, and spoilt the target firing of 'the lb-inch guns from a division of the Second Battlo Squadron. But when all was clear again we passed down the line of the' Battle Fleet and watched a flotilla of dost rovers forming for a final spectacular bombardment with 4-inch guns. ,

As they steamed in line past our stern, each grey hull was caught and turned to red and gold bv a watery son as it settled on the Devon coast. More fantastic still was the sup set illumination on “the enemy.” the target iship Centurion. A filmy glow was about her as she manoeuvred into position against a background of tinted clowns. A ghost ship indeed, for there was not a man aboard hen. Miles away, aboard the destroyer Shikari. men were quietlv working at wireless switches which made the ghost ship twist and dodge, stop and Kteam ahead at their will. The destroyers swung into line and opened fire on'her with t-dneh shells, boom in and flashing, belching smoko am' throwing u’i waterspouts all round the Cent ■ rion. Kvery time tb»re was a hit, some •ghastlv fcaroet marker flnml’ed a. light from her turret.