DEFENCE MATTERS.

Lyttelton Times, Volume CXV, Issue 16484, 25 February 1914, Page 13

DEFENCE MATTERS.

MEMORIES OF WAR. Wo,do not soo why tho erection of a monument to the memory of the women and children of Boer nationality who died in tho concentration camps in South Africa should arouse any resentment in this country (says the “Army and Navy Gazette,” discussing tho matter in a recent number). War is full of hardship, and the fate of non-combatants in France in 187071, for instance, was far harder than that of similarly placed people in South Africa. During tho campaign it was found that tho Boer women and children constantly gave information to tho Boors in the commandos, and it was hoped by removing them from their farms, indirectly to force the Boers to abandon the struggle. These unfortunate women and children, whoso ideas as to hygiene and cleanliness were very elementary, did not realise “that what might be comparatively harmless when family was separated from’family by miles of open veldt, was dangerous when thousands of people were gathered in pmall areas.” The medical authorities made every effort to combat these deadly forces. Changes of site, diet and occupation were tried, and General' Botha said at Vereeniging, at the meeting of Boer leaders“ To-day we are only too glad to know that our women and children are under British protection.” Nobody regretted the deaths of women and children in South Africa more than the British troops there employed. It would be found if soldiers spoke of their ov/ft good deeds that no one was kinder .to these prisoners than the British soldier and his officers.

aerial gun tests

The recent trials of the gun designed for use against aircraft from the Needles batteries appear from tho published accounts to have been a success. The accounts are, of course, unofficial (says a London news journal), but it is evident that outside observers were able to see sufficient to be able to say that the shots directed against the kites as targets reached their mark. It seems plain that aeroplanes will be unable to approach localities where these guns are mounted without running very grave risks, at any rate so long as they keep to moderate elevations. It is not probable that the construction of the gun itself offered serious difficulty to the experts at the Arsenal, but the sighting arrangements must have done so. The engaging of air draft presents an entirely new problem in gunnery. For one tmng, when firing at elevations of under forty-five degrees the force of gravity causes the shell to follow a certain path, but when, the shell has to be fired in a nearly perpendicular direction the range becomes affected in a way that cannot be dealt with on the same principle. When swiftly moving ships are fired at, it is possible so to sight the gun that by keeping tho sights on the ship at the water line the gun is laid for the range; this is possible because tho vertical height of the_ gun above the water is constant, variation of tides being arranged for. One side of a triangle is known. Firing at an aircraft, nothing is constant. The range is changing rapidly, the elevation, he., the plane of sight, is varying rapidly, and there is rapid lateral movement. The problem tho designers of sights for guns to deal with aircraft have had to solve is to get one which is capable of being rapidly adjusted to meet all theso changes, either by hand in accordance with directions of a_ man working a range finder, or nossibly automatically as to some of the movements. That the problem has been solved is evident from the reports of onlookers, and very great credit is due to someone.

ARMED MERCHANTaMEN

A very interesting article upon “ Armed Merchantmen ” is to appear in tho coming edition of “Rhodes’s Shipping Annual” (says the “Army and Navy Gazette ”). It is written by “Landsman,” and certainly puts the shoregoing view of the matter, as opposed to the naval view, in a clear manner. The conclusion reached is that “all the tests which the ordinary layman can applv seem to condemn the scheme as unnecessary and unworkable.” As to its necessity, that was shown by Mr Churchill to be found in the considerable number of foreign merchant steamers which may be rapidly converted into armed ships by the mounting of guns. Doubt is thrown upon tho menace of such vessels, it being asserted that no German liner is armed, and the guns intended for arming them could not he transferred on board from the inland arsenals where they are stored without attracting attention. Unon this point the Admiralty are manifestly as well informed as anybody, and the First Lord’s statement did not mention any Power in particular. If foreign armed merchantmen are to menace our trade routes in war time, our liners must bo armed to meet them, and it seems obvious that steamshios carrying guns will be better off in case of attack than if they are unarmed. • The demand for guns and ammunition came from the mercantile marine,, which realised the necessity of having them. The Admiralty, on the principle that like must deal with like, granted the request, and it will not be the fault of the Board if the scheme is rendered' unworkable. HEALTH OF THE NAVY. The statistical report lately issued of sickness in the Navy is a satisfactory document, in that it shows a reduction of the amount of sickness everywhere. It will come as a surprise to a good many people to find that, with tho single exception of the East Indian station, homo service is the most unhealthy; in the East Indies it must be remembered that it is service in : the Persian Gulf that accounts for a good deal of the sickness. In home waters the returns are swelled bv the number of men affected with pulmonary complaints and rheumatism. In the days before the cause of Malta fever was discovered the returns for the Mediterranean station were very unsatisfactory, but now that it is known how to guard against that scourge that station is, as it should be, the most healthy. It is remarked that the stokers of outward-bound ships to the East suffer a great deal from heat-stroke in the Rad Sea, which anyone who has gasped through tho first_ two days out of Suez with a following wind can easily understand. Preventiblo diseases show a decrease which is satisfactory; the progress made in reducing the incidence of these diseases in the Army in India of recent years is very marked, and it is quite possiblo that similar methods to those adopted in that country might be equally efficacious in the Navy. The medical officers of both Services, Army and Navy, have much reason to congratulate themselves on the result of their efforts to improve the health of the raon, for each year substantial progress is reported. Making the men realise how they themselves can keep fit and avoid risk of contracting disease of all 6orts is not the least contributing cause of the imorm'rd returns, and this the medical officers of both Services set themselves to do.