The Daily News. TUESDAY, OCTOBER 1, 1912. A COMING REVOLUTION.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LV, Issue 115, 1 October 1912, Page 4

The Daily News. TUESDAY, OCTOBER 1, 1912. A COMING REVOLUTION.

The setting up of a special commission to enquire into the use of oil fuel and internal-combustion propulsion, engines for warships is the forerunner of the greatest changes in the British Navy since the adoption of steam and the abandonment of sails. The Royal Commission, particulars of which were published in yesterday's issue, is a notable one in every sense of the world. As one English writer described it, "it is one to get things done, to accomplish even the impossible." The Grand Old 'Man of the Navy (Lord Fisher) is president. When he was First Sea Lord he was an ardent advocate of oil fuel and of internal-combustion engines, .especially the latter. After he retired it is reported that he declared that, excluding of course war necessities, nothing would bring him back to active, participation in the naval affairs of the country except to be responsible for the accomplishing of the revolution culminating in the total abandonment of coal for oil and the motor warship. All the other members stand high in the domains of public service, commerce and science. The terms of reference are very definite: "To report on the means of supply and storage of liquid fuel in 'jeace and war, and its application to warahip engines, whether indirectly or by internal combustion." We may take it as certain that the day of coal in the Navy has ended, and that the intermediate stage has arrived when oil will be used to raise steam. How long we will be before the final stage is reached, when

steam disappears and all the vessels are propelled by that most economical of all methods, the internal-combustion (propulsion engine, depends upon the science and invention of the constructors, who must devise and scheme to secure a minimum of 1000-h.p. per cylinder. The little more, the minor details, these are all that block the way, and those responsible for the tremendous increase in power from coal-fired boilers which has marked the last few years can surely be trusted to overcome the last difficulties. Already the British Xavy possesses the submarines what are perhaps* the best marine motor engines of any country, and there

is no motor engine in use of purely British invention. Pending the final experiments, we may assume that the British Navy will shortly be burning altogether oil and raising steam without stokers. In Germany, the United States and Japan there exist to-day rnarjy warships burning exclusively oil., But to adopt thi& system in the .British fleet means to abandon what has always been considered the greatest advantage—the possession' of Welsh steam coah Needs must when the devil drives, and; the exigencies of economy of space, of weight,, and, above all, the. difficulty of securing enough men for the Meet, have forced this decision upon the Admiralty. The. question of the stokehold is of supreme, importance. An oil-fired vessel, according to a writer in 'the; current (Review of Reviews,' needs

'thirty greasers, as against the .three 'nunjdred or more stokers and trimmers needed for coal furnaces.' This 'means in the entire British Navy a saving of many thousands of men, who-will then be available for'other branches of the

service. ' It is'only when we begin to think out question in detail, that we grasp how serious ia the change, and, how irresistible must have been- 'the -argu-. mental to bring'it about. In the'past, as in t.he.pres'erji, the worvtefful fchain of, coaling stations> possessed - by Great Britain represents one of the'greatest ofweapons wh.ich, wp^p.ps'sess,.jn,.time ;i ,of wari They mableiOiV' warships to go wherever tlrey wilt'over the face of glob.e, replenishing tlieir s.to'cß of eoalafr convenient whichflies, the' Union Jacis:.'• But-it' would be to* ape the blindness of the ostrich'were we to imagine, that what has been ;'mjlie' past ..and:, is at the present is going to last for .iever. Alas £;s will: not Jasfr. many months; it may even now be said that the 'day of the* Coaling-Station-has gone —that the ,glpiy of, the;- British coalingstations has gone. Oil-fuel it is which has brought this'' about'; and"''it-.was in this" connection that, a "very prominent Europeftn dnaval man 'nmde'-the rpnjark-: "Give me .'.-w'afiMp&'.bui-hing:©U;fuel,','.i'and

then damn'- yoflr And he wa> ng^icrr\^iy ( .ri^at: : ' [fm foil;: burriiitig'jSeQt; nceijU never to.Vua.ta.liar-, bor ltd 'replPriisli : its supply of fuel. -Ai all Joints,- 6f ll the'seas it-can meet ti'amp' oil-cari ; iei\s;fin : 'fact: it' \Mlt : be 'one of the most jjic-fiiiiivc .of bu]sine^es.f'ov..iicii, <

tral'VeweH dteiiTß * jiavMl war io:.lia.ng about -ivith'; ! eSfeoes; of :6ilij waiting a: good sflie'ehafe. f i l ]ie''MT.slrip; conies' 'up' l£> .tire passes ,aJuiw.spi; .qVcj. "hnd'aftcsr .tlia.*c{i HkixiWte tnbev'throug'h; ;intOtthe 'vessel's .'tanks! '"; be eon-i;in-u9d' t .>* ; )iji.9 der way. ;..'Tlie:;fftct:;,that jS dEspi.te t n . e enormous- -los9' i; wW'oh tins' depreciation.'

pf< sentjs, the British- -Admiralty, is. conyihe'ed lof the . absolute' -necessity- .of the. adoption'of oil - ; - ; as" fuel; on -warships, should.cctavinfcV even'ihe mqstjsceptical that the., day-of; oil, as fuel has'come. The great: advantage -which the ex-

perts expect from 'the'- rise of oil is that the fuel required/for steaming a given distance.-will weigh much less than formerly.-' .;This .means' that -a. battleship can be given a greatly enlarged cruising radius; .and tliat some of ' the weight which has', heretofore been devoted to coal can now he given up to armor and armament. It' is estimated that the 4Oojtons of oil carried by the Delaware will' increase her steaming radius not less than..>looQ ; mi]es. The result of installing motor engines into warships \Vilt: be both important and startling. The crux of the whole matter—the eagerness for the new motive power—is explained by a recent statement of Dr. Diesel, the distinguished German engineer and inventor of the engine that bears his name. He said that the radius of action of a, man-o'-War fitted with Diesel engines was such that "the ship would sail all over the world, fight any battle, and come home without having to take in one pound of fuel on the way." Such a claim, coming from so distinguished a source, invites thinking; •for-the realisation of the claim will revolutionise maritime warfare. At once England's superiority in the matter of coaling stations vanishes. The task of safeguarding our food 'becomes a hundred times more difficult. All Powers will be on their merits, and England's superiority, by reason of her'world-wide coaling-stations, vanishes the moment a successful motor-cruiser is evolved. The importance of securing oil fuel at convenient points in the British Empire at once, becomes manifest, and is a reason why known fields should be thoroughly tested and exploited. This' happily is on the eve of being done at this corner of the Empire, and if expectations are realised New Plymouth, by reason of the proximity of the oil field to a harbor that will very shortly be able to accommodate the largest liners and warships and of the other natural facilities must soon become an important oil station of the Empire, and consequently a busy and thriving place.