SUBMARINES AND AIRSHIPS.

Pukekohe & Waiuku Times, Volume 5, Issue 237, 22 December 1916, Page 4 (Supplement)

SUBMARINES AND AIRSHIPS.

In tho light of Count von Hollweg's boastful reference to the achievements of the German submarines, as contained in tho bombastio statement with which ho supplemented his peace proposals, additional interest is attached to some suggestive comments on v.'w submarino and airship phases of the war which aro contributed to the "National Review'' by "a naval correspondent." The writer's main contention is that the security Great Britain has enjoyed through her supremacy at s-.ii is now menaced both under the water and over the water. He does not take at all a pessimistic view of tho situation, but simply describes the dangers that threaten, and tho measures by which he believes they can be met. Taking first the under-the-water menace, ho points out that during the war the whole con-st line of the British Isles ha? been divided into districts, whi'-h extend a certain distance inland and •< certain distance out to sea, and eneh of which is under the command of a naval officer. This official's business is to keep clear of mine and submarino tho sea routes of communication from port to port. Tho whole of this admirablo organisation has been achieved by tho Admiralty during tho war: aa.l after tho war it will havo to be maintained at least in skeleton. The Germans havo failed to make good their boast that their submarine policy would bring to naught the sea supremacy ol Britain, lut the fact remains that "the invention of the submarine CAnstitutes the greatest menace to Britain hitherto known to history." Even the extraordinary success of the navy in dea!ling with tho German submarine has not prevented the infliction of very considerable losses on the mercantile* marino of tha world; and although the navy may yet devise a complete answer to the submarine there will still remafn the mine. Almost any vessel can je equipped as a mine-layer, and where sho passes leave a belt of certain death. "Neither the mine nor the submarine,' declares this naval expert, "will destroy the maritime supremacy of England, but they will circumscribe t. Never will return those happy days' when so soon as the enemy's cruisers and privateers were put down the swns wero safe." He hints that the true defence against the dangers under the I water may be found not only on the water, but over the water. "The -e----lation of air warfare to submarine warfare is not yet determined," he says; "but it is at least obvious that thci pbwer of tho submarine resides in : ts invisibility. Aircraft may or may not be ablo to detect the submarine cruising submerged; and if they detect it aircraft may or may not be able to destroy it; but submarines, like other vessels, depend upon their bases onshore, and aircraft as they develop wilt threaten those bases." Apart even from the submarine menace it is, -c----cording to this writer, essential that Great Britain should, by tho development of airship fleets as well as aeroplanes, win and maintain the same pr?dominance in the air as that which ; he has won and maintained on the sea. "What," he asks, "is the single advantage which the German navy owns over the Grand Fleet? It is tho possession of a fleet of scouting airships. The success of strategy and tactics aliko depends upon tho knowledge i.t tho dispositions of the ships of th) enemy. As matters stand, German;? can, by means of her airships, obtain the requisite information. Admirrf. Sir John Jellicoe has no such advantage. Seaplanes, by reason of their limited range, cannot serve the requisite purposes. The main purpose for which Zeppelins are employed at sea is not fighting—though, of course, the Germans havo been careful to publish abroad that they are fighting vessels—but reconnaissance. The use of tho airship on, or rather over, land is another matter." Hence the airship has becomo an essential auxiliary to the fleet. Airship stations will have to re established at intervals along the whole coast of tho British Isles and at every naval base. Such a scheme may now be in course of execution, but Great Britain has ten years of leeway to make up. She has, it would seem, already succeeded in beating tho German aeroplane, so thero is reason to hope that she may succeed also in putting the Grand Fbet on an equality with the German navy in scouting airships. But that is not enough to destroy tho airship menace. Great Britain must) also be in a position to win the command of the air precisely as the possession of a powerful navy gives ner tho opportunity of winning command of the sea. "In time of war the attainment of tho control of the nir> would involve tho destruction of the air fleet of the enemy. Whon it was destroyed, tho British air would control tho celestial communications, exactly as the British sea squadrons now control the waterways of the world. When tho British air fleet has destroyed the air fleet of the enemy, and not before, will the menace of the Zeppelin ccaso to be. The answer to the airship i s the airship. To attack an airship with an aeroplane is like attacking a battleship with a destroyer. Now and again, by virtue of extraordinary skill and daring, such an enterprise may succeed; but the principle that like must bo met with like holds." Tho "National Review's" contributor is convinced that the military value of tho airship has been proved. "That littlo damage of military importance} has hitherto been inflicted by the Zeppelins is," ho asserts, "a matter of luck. That it might be inflicted is undeniable. It is no longer of the slightest use to suppose that the airship i.« a mero passing eccentricity, or that in course of time it can infallibly !•» brought down by artillery fire whenever it appears. Is it suggested that i the entire coast line of tliese island^

' should be lined with heavy guns? By j the same reasoning, this country should by that means be defended against a hostile fleet. But it is not so defended, because experience has proved that the only successful defence consist!* not in waiting to attack the enemy's fleet when it arrives, but in defeating it on the way."