FATE OF GERMAN NOT

New Zealand Times, Volume XLIV, Issue 10273, 7 May 1919, Page 7

FATE OF GERMAN NOT

VARIOUS PROPOSALS BATTLESHIPS OBSOLETE AS FIGHTING UNITS. The question, "What is to become of tho Gorman fleet P" has led to further expressions of views by British naval officials. Some of the suggestions and criticisms- which have been made on both sides of the Channel have been dismissed as impracticable (states a recent issue of tho "Daily .News ). The French claim to the greater part of tho interned fleet on the ground that France was unable to build during the war is stated to be hardly tenable.ll the German fihips arc going to bo distributed among the Allies there i onlv one logical basis on which it can be done, and that is on the percentage of losses suffered by the during the war. On that basis France would not get the lion's share of the. German fleet Nor would she get the hon a share if the ships were distributed on the basis,' of the respective strength of the Allied navies. On either of those two bases of allocation the lion s share would fall to Great Britain. With on© or two exceptions the German battleships are regarded m obsolete as fighting units. The British Admirnltv would not look at any battleship fitted with guns smaller to lota. The very remote possibility of maintaining some of the ships as fighting units would necessitate in tho first place their complete overhaul and refitting, and, of course, they would have to be manned. , ~ , The German destroyers and _ light cruisers are also useless. Their machinery is far below tho standard of the British destroyer, the steam-pipes for instance, being made of iron and the washers of paper. m ~ , To scrap the. German fleet would be a task of the greatest Realty Pro. vided the labour.were *° rtb f£ m "^ l l* the dismantling yards obstacles that must be removed bfctoie even a start is made-the profit which the British Admiralty would gain when the task was completed is estimated at only £600,000. The shipyards are full, . and are likely to remain full for some time, and the task of breaking up the ships could not be completed under three-years. .. Another impracticable suggestion is to convert the ships into transports or trade-carriers. No shipping company would think of trying to run these highly expensive and fast coalconsuming vessels as cargo.boats. They were not designed for that purpose, and the cost of conversion would be prohibitive. Even • the Admiralty, with a.ll-its resources,-, found some difficulty ViaI*"convicting, 1 *"convicting,- speojaJlyv selected warships, into transports. - * The suggestion made by tho Mayor of an East Coaat town to use one of the ships as a breakwater is also regarded as quite out of tho quostion. The ship would have'to be tilled with concrete in the first place, but the greatest difficulty would bo to- sink it lin ■■tho correct spot. That in itself would be, an engineering feat of some magnitude,...and,; unless .it .were done accurately the result might be to block tho port instead of protecting it from tho sea.

Something of the kind was attempted at Scapa Flow under the mostfavourable weather conditions. A" attempt was mado to block some of the ontrances to the bay, and months passed before a favourable opportunity presented itself. Absolutely calm weather, andean ; -absence of- currents were-.-essential; "«>: c '.-.;:■-: ./.,-;■ ; -