ARMAMENTS.

Taranaki Daily News, 2 May 1916, Page 7

ARMAMENTS.

ENGLAND'S REMAKKABLB ACHIEVEMENT. Writes an Invercargill engineer at present employed in the Old Country:— ''l am now in the turbine department of Vickers, Ltd., and I am working on' the engines of a cruiser, the name of which Ido not know. I found Green's, of London, the best shop to work in. The last ship constructed there was a 15,000-tonner named the Kintauna Castle, built to the order of the Union Castle Company, wliicli trades between South Africa and Southampton. She was used as an auxiliary cruiser by the Admiralty, but was afterwards sent to London to have her guns dismantled and to be converted into a troopship to carry 2000 troops to Salonika. After her completion a lot of us obtained a Munitions Act certificate and made for Bar-row-in-Furness. Although Barrow is an undesirable place to spend the winter in, owing to heavy falls of snow, an.il severe frosts, we cannot leave' even if we wanted to. But that doesn't matter, as we all have to fill the breach in war time. Just as much depends upon the men in these works as upon the men at the front. I could give you some interesting views about Viokers and armaments, but I am sworn not to divulge many things. What I liave to say does not come under the provisions of my oath.

THE KBUiBPS OF ENGLAND. "This firm is the Krupps country. It is impossible in the course of this letter to convey even a reirjote idea of its different hives of industry, but if you saw and tried to count the thousands of employees leaving: off the day shift and the equally>si»d crowd going on for the night shift, you would be able to come to the conclusion regarding the immensity of the firm's operations and of the work it is turning out. There are also a thousand other works in the country doing the same thing, and, when the first rally comes (and I believe Kitchener is just preparing for it) the finish will come awift and sure. The enemy was undoubtedly stronger and better prepared at the beginning, but the Allies, as the end approaches, are getting stronger and stronger.

SOMETHING NEW. "In the next bay to where I am working is a section of the gun shops. There they are building some great Jack Johnsons, with great traction engine wheels, so they evidently intend to give the Germans some of their own back. They are also turning out hundreds of 4.7 field guns of the latest pattern—in fact, this department is so full up that the guns are being fitted up in any available space in the other f.hops. Very often I am taken off the turbine to do gun work. In the shell shops they are working three shifts, and arc employing thousands of girls—so they are doing something in this country.

IMMENSE SUBMARINES. "This firm is erecting buildings all over the place. One large edifice, constructed of steel 'Work and glass, is r<ally just a large conservatory, and is to be used for gun construction.

"All the men here have been sworn in under Group B of Lord Derby's scheme. At present we ale building turbine engines for submarines. " These submarines are to be immense things, steam-driven above the surface and electrically driven below. This is an absolutely new departure in the submarine line..

THE LANDLADIES' HARVEST. > They are compelling people in Barrow to take in munition workers, who are representative of all parts of the world. Another 2000 are expected next week. These days furnish the landladies' harvest. I inn payi,ng 25s a week and am nearly starved. They are very mean people here —even the Scotch people are a long way ahead of them, We are 'Working nine and a-half hours a day .for seven days in the week—start at 0 and finish at 5. Each alternate week we do of eleven and a-half hours the whole night through."