AUSTRALIA'S NAVY.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVI, Issue 80, 24 August 1914, Page 6

AUSTRALIA'S NAVY.

J TUT !■ 1 a::,in IP. The khu'ii, Aiistmlia. i;-i cue 0 f lie iiistusi .uloat, recently rc- "•••; Mail - k much the fastest U._. -iu-f. whiuhi hasji ever = i^ d lSvc : ' r. She hu.sa g rent .le.tl mill,: . .M., : . iuu !th« m oß t poweriu oeu.ii JTI"; lile Uau,retaiiia ani iui. Lusitau f , probable that, running at a spu-i \Vli.vh sSiu would certainly miiiv r,„ ... ;t .p,,,. „f iim . »ie couid _ L'iC;:< «,t (i o'clock o clock; «m offi(;m would oiiK |„ .able to see, u«r alitvid ,jy i. ai iattf moon. The Atii..ralia j(.t <h«; ; creed is nearl" tw'v "a last as tin u.~i inter State vteamo a retold t ;u— Melbourne or New f' ,a . 1 ' , ' i from time tu time in the piv : ,,. thc who]o fleet with tin- v.r.vuon. of the Encounter, could .between 27 and •>* allots. It !• ave .Melbourne at 1 0 clock 111 the ll:;ri;:.ljr and en t(-ri>: T Syduey at 10 oYk.='l; ~ „i.£rht. It is probable tihiit oniv ,;v,. Hiersei; wonlu ever ;i! ; ;,,r-v fl . a . t _ bllL t!lerc « no question about her bei'ii" ab'o to Pccompiis.il it. li ni'.u-s emu# which ma l<it necessary for h-r .to leave hurriedly or *ew /eimnd, ~;V be at Auck hind within 4.-, l- irs. -s:,. could read. Hobart within ;i .juj, Fiji wcli three oays, wd Uonolulu-providfcd iier fuel held out—-in j-.*, ..han seven. Sh." couid get from Honolulu to Vancouver in just under four. sj„> c-oiijtl stea.ni fi'or, I'renwntle to' (Vmn.bo in less than pv,. days; from Kub.j :o Hongkong in six mid a-half il«s. ~r t,i .Singapore witihia a week (providing always Mat her fuel tested). If sli- fWri. J from Th omnia v Island filu? eonM K- in Hongkong in a little over three Am and a-ha!i, and pronaoly ji ]:tt.)o uncr if .sho wore '.<> stai t from Port ]t, in. If tlu.Te AV'iir.> a maiLiiont of th. l ;of the Austr;iti >ind Uie Tiiilwav i.. Freiiiantle were .finished' on the one «.idiand the railway to luticorin and mi the other it would be possible, to reaeli England from Sydney in a lew days* over the fortnight. So the first to note about H.M.A.S. Ausiti 1 [ ndced about the' whole fleet t S r speed we |have never soen I ke it in Australia. 'j liei f '.. ■ -!, ;,ivo ov thri'e hirtre siiip, fnsi Australia in the world. HEK E\T;i>;'->; .i!, :,.o IIOItSKPtnVKlt. .'-e Ai(-xt:i|.;i S i I'jijo.: are some of t.ii. pov.Mi-r.il ., V0 ,,. i1L , r ., e „ 'were designed to develop -14,000 horse-|>owi-r, and nave a.etualty developej )"we. A luh been found (hat turbine engines work at ife-lr beataftec a pericj »! .and *, it is j.-i ssible that the be-i li:i.-; ,T!ot even ye.t lj. • n ( »ot owt of them. engines «liWi ftive fjie Australia MH! steam tnrliines. That is to thi'i-e are no cylinneis or pistoiin or ee.tiiKs in in>r -ooeiposition. S'li" lia i simply four shafts. At one end of riti ls 11 nropi-llw. and at: the rather icnd is a series of drains with b'ludes ar'Hind their eir C !iji!!fereJK!<.. Tie sti-.i,Mi is brought from lier lil separate s-ts of boilers, and, working Ljiroug'h the blade--raitses thc driiu; t„ revolve; and tlei shaft- and ithe ]iroeieller revolve alon» with, the dniim. The Aiut-wlia has foa(iropellerfl. And in her turfjiji.™ 'there lias been fixe.l separately and by band between ami 7ifOM!o blade.-. TEX-.MIIAO OUNS.' Ti:e seeond miln!. i.bo'.vt the Australia is h<;r guns. Wi> Inre -nivntion"d' that Australia eonld si;.'lit the Matirc-tain-'i ahead anout a.m.. pass her at SO. and be a blur mi Bir iicrlzon a.L p.m. From llr,-. to l ist tho >bmret;niia would never letw l):-:-.u out. of of l'.er within their e\iri'ii\c ranwe some hour;-, earlier--possibly w.Vn she was too far off to identify, nil', the guns could probably not be clcva.-d to reach anything like the. extreme range; and if the.v eonlil nr» one Wi-rcM dream of usin.'j; them at that raai-e Their extreme range in aetnal e> : - would probably be front six to _s..\'ee Their, "effw.tive" range is four i>iile«. 'HU' Aii-sitralia cs eight :bi;r guns, r. h u ?:• are mw'u {i;-<- largest (lat ha v.! ever been, bornr bv snv British shin in Sydney. The Poveirful eanjed two wilh a bore i.f .)* ineliefi; the Australia carrier eWit of 12in. liat-h nl' these nvonsfei-s (id tons, and t.liev are iilneed oil an iverane somewhere about 27 feet above the sea. The 12in. guns on the nreai lnuugi'ilt onl v weiglied .IH tons, but th".- iM.ve ,-inee increased the length of the \ '\n. guns bv a feet, in order to get -i. extra speed into the projeetil". Ti ».»w leaves the lini'.zl" at i'i;e rate of a'vKt! 3«W feci £. sivoad. vv 'i.t.h the older it ived to tj»ivel £!MH> f'Ht a seeo-'-i. The ivevioe's guns were 40 and 4.1 fee' '.m.';. Ah their bore, or ealibre, was N:, 'they were rcsnectivelv 40 und (.) <«i,ps :;s long as their calibre. The I.e;T.t' war of );utting flint in tc s;i" t(I-!.' tlie.v wt-re guns of 'ID ,or 4a calibre. T: : '.-e n,-wer gim is a nO-ealiljie gnu. I', v : :] thicker ai-mouT (han tin- l):- idnouight's :;i:ns.