Manning Warships at Short Notice

Sun (Auckland), Volume 1, Issue 51, 23 May 1927, Page 7

Manning Warships at Short Notice

defending our shores A NEW point of view By R.N.R. (Temporary.) The answer to the question that has * raised recently by a corresponrnt to THE SUN —How our warships nld be manned at short notice by wnval Naval Reserve officers of the Merchant Service, is not very difficult to find. Those who served afloat during the urar may remember that the Royal vavy list from 1915 onwards showed, * lhe cases of such ships as the Laburnum Veronica, and Wakakura, at present on the New Zealand station, for Sample, that the complement was largely composed of men with “R.N.R.” ster their names. In the event of another war such craft would be employed on convoy, oatrol or despatch work, while trawlers Sould add sweeping to these duties. >*ot one of these three ships called for any highly specialised officer in war-time. So why should they do so D °Kpr the officers of the trawlers, we could go to our fishing fleets, masters leading hands of which are all certified to find their way around and look after their ships, while many would be found with enough knowledge to fight and work the ships as remitted. The same applies to the engine-room complement and, as now, the accounts and record would be kept at the depot or in one of the ships carrying a paymaster. The Fishing Fleets

To quote the case of the fishing fleets in August, 1914.—They came into port on the eve of hostilities, landed their fish and fishing gear, mounted a gun, took aboard sweeping gear, and left flyjng the White Ensign. Many of the personnel at the time did not know a mine from a new kind of shellfish, yet they did their job, and increased in efficiency daily. For the manning of the sloops, the 10th Cruiser Squadron, which maintained the Northern Patrols and later did convoy work, furnishes a good example. In the majority of those ships, only two officers of the Royal Navy were borne, i.e., the commanding officer and the first lieutenant, and all the ships mounted more guns than the total armament of our two sloops. Apart from the two officers mentioned, all officers were R.N.R. or R.N.R. (temp.) The R.N.R. officers hal periodical training to their credit. Tie R.N.R. (Temp.) had had at the most six weeks in barracks, during which time they were made acquainted w th the King’s Regulations, discipline, field-training, gunnery, spotting, con*.r>l and torpedo work, and the technical side of armaments, and so forth. Tien as the merchant cruisers competed fitting they were drafted to Hem.

In the ship in which I served during tie early part of 1915 we carried six 6-inch guns. Two 12-pounders and lvo six-pounders. Our commanding ctficer was a captain R.N., and our first leutenant a lieutenant R.N. who had jist returned from a long period of survey work around North Australia and '.ho was a navigator. Our navigator uas the ex-master of the ship. Our gunnery lieutenant, a second mate from a Cunard liner, and the rest of the executive branch made up of mates, second mates, and third mates, from he various shipping companies. Our paymaster was a bank official, R.N.R. (Temp.), and our surgeon was R.N., but his assistant R.N.V.R. Our engine-room officers were the regular engineers of the ship. Our rating consisted of a few chief petty officers, who were R.N. petty officers from the Fleet Reserve. Leading hands who were R.N. or R.N.R., and the ordinary rating either R.N.R., R.N.R. for war period, or Newfoundland fishermen. The Fighting Sloops

Surely the Lords of the Admiralty did not send these ships out knowing they were useless as a unit of oifence or lefence, or unable to look after themselves. In war-time many of the sloops were commanded by a lieutenant-comman-der, and not by a commander, as is the case now. Taking irrto consideration what was done during that period •urely the sloops could be manned at very short notice and not lose efficiency. In the case of the cruisers, a complement could be enrolled and put into •evere training, and with the exception of the senior officers for administration, and warrant officers for instruction, these ships could soon be taken out.

There are several branches of the Royal Navy, of course, calling for special training. But the question is not one of manning the home fleet, but of manning such ships as Zealand can now afford to maintain.

The gunnery and torpedo officers of ■uch ships as the Diomede and Dunedin are not necessarily as highlytrained as similar officers in the capital and more advanced ships, and we are changing over to a New Zealand personnel, not to an Imperial one. It will be a long time before New Zealand can boast of a capital ship or other ship» calling for *he Jiigliest Qua. I !fixations, and during that period •-few officers could be sent to the Home fleet for special training and instruction, and on acquiring such knowledge as they could, in turn pass it on to the others. Merchant Officers’ Adaptability* Merchant officers hre peculiarly trained to pick up knowledge quickly and to adapt themselves to altered circumstances. During their training and subsequent th F f er are thrown entirely upon tneir own resources, and it is a case of make good” or “go under” and no Paternal government to help them, consequently their training stands nem. in good stead throughout, and system would have to be adopted n the building up of a New Zealand Personnel, so that absolute attention k e £iven to duty and only those ' . Proved keen and able would be Maintained. M'ith a change over, formed from a umber of merchant officers, a new to k* would grow up. We would have build up our own traditions, and r ey . Wou ld be based upon the training ceived in the Merchant Service. Reeuiations could be altered so that New aland received the benefit of every « ” ny spent on the ships. We would oil *® Wer P-D.'s and E.D.’s, etc., on * h s charts. We would see more of sn Shi P* around our coasts in all seaus, engaged upon useful work as well as useful training.

* I* is a long time now since a date anr»° We< * k y one ot H.M. ship’s names Ppeared on the charts, and under the esent regime it would cost a lot of oney to bother to alter things, and what the old navy did. th«T Ur naval ships could be manned in sh + Vay P° in ted out above, and in a ort period become fully efficient for j^ r ae rvice, while in peace, owing to con^ eCU -^ ar P ersonne i* being free from Wnu ll1 * 011 and out of date ceremonial, be m be a benefit to New Zealand, and it r nanne< * by men who would not deem to a hards bip or beneath their dignity cir PUt *° sea a * any time under any th« Umstances for any destination when wo elf are of the seafaring fraternity " a s in question. Officers for departments outside of *ecutive or engine-room could be en-

rolled as in war-time from those professions suitable.

Could our ships, especially the sloops and the trawlers, be turned out at short notice. Why not? No one need worry about the merchant fleets suffering a dearth of officers, for plenty of young ambitious fellows are coming along, and there would be no need to supply our most senior men.