BRITAIN'S NAVY.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXV, Issue 82, 10 April 1915, Page 4

BRITAIN'S NAVY.

One of the lessons of the war that is being commented upon with satisfaction in semi-technical journals at Home is that the big gun has justified its place on the British warship, remarks the Lyttelton Times. When the proposal was first made to fit bat-tle-cruisers with larger than 1-in. guns it met with considerable opposition, and was only adopted mainly through the persistency of Lord Fisher. It was argued, even by some of the most experienced of naval engineers, that atmospheric conditions in the. North Sea would seldom enable ships to engage in battle at more than four miles’ range, or less, and that even if fighting could take place at a greater distance the shooting of heavy guns would be largely ineffective. As the latest issue to hand of “Engineering” points out, however, the action off the Dogger Bank, in which the Blucher was sunk and two enemy battleships were put out of action was essentially a triumph of British guns and gunnery. Wonderfully accurate and rapid firing was achieved at a range of nine miles, and tho Germans admitted their inferiority by a hurried flight, that showed less dignity than, perhaps, horse sense. Since then we know that the Queen Elizabeth has used her big guns on the Turkish forts in the Dardanelles with effect and precision at a still greater range. The moral as well as the material effect of this heavy armament must he considerable. Another point emphasised in the North Sea battle is the reliability of the British Navy’s engineering branch, for our principal ships in that engagement, after many months at 1 sen, actually exceeded the speed at tained in their trial trips. The advantage of oil fuel was also attested so thoroughly that it is to he extended; indeed, the boilers of several warships are to he altered so that, instead of using eoal and oil alternatively, they shall depend entirely on oil fuel. Those proved results of essential features of the naval policy are important as well as satisfactory.