GREAT WAR TEST.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume L, Issue 60, 21 September 1907, Page 3

GREAT WAR TEST.

hojie fleet aiobolises in ax HOUR. ICO SHIPS ASSEMBLE. The mobilisation of the Home Elect was carried out in July with great smartness and complete success. At Portsmouth, within an hour of the signal to mobilise being made, all the men were on board the ships and the crews had been brought up to war strength. The various detachments mustered in separate groups on the parade ground, whence they marched to the dockyard jetties, along side which the ships were lying. Each man carried his hammock on board and stowed it in the appointed place. Then, in a marvellously short time, the additional stores were shipped.The naval authorities hold that the performance was nothing out of the common, but was merely a demonstration of what they can do at short notice whenever they wish to bring the nucleus . crews of the Home Fleet up to full strength. The Home Fleet has three malu divisions stationed at the Xore, Portsmouth and Devonport. The Nore division, consisting of six battleships, six armored cruisers, six protected cruisers and scouts, and forty-eight destroyers, is at all times fully manned, and can proceed to sea on receipt of an order. The Devonport and Portsmouth divisions carry nucleus crews—tliat is to say, the skilled ratings needed to work and light the ships are on board the ships, and only a certain number of officers, seamen and stoker-: have to be moved to them from the depots when the order to mobilise is given. The licet which is now mobilised consists of eleven battle-hip-., eleven armored crui-ers. thirteen protected cruise.-,, I four scouts, and almnt one hundred tor-1 pedo gunboats, destroyers, and torpedoboats, with the large'[lolilla of submarines, under the orders of vice-Admiral F. C. B. Bridgemau. The Dreadnoug'it is the flagship. I