"HUSH HUSH" CRUISERS.

Taranaki Daily News, 31 December 1917, Page 6

"HUSH HUSH" CRUISERS.

BRITAIN'S NEW .WEAPONS. GREAT FIGHTING POWER. The first description of the famous British "Hush Hush" ships about which, aa regards their characteristics, the authorities have previously maintained profound secrecy, was given, with the authority of the Admiralty, by M. A". Rousseau, " the naval critic of the Paris Temps, shortly after his return to Paris from visiting the Grand Fleet. "YVc were passing in front of ships of unusual aspect, specially constructed craft for war purposes; monitors, trawlers, and the like," writes M. 'Rousseau. "Certain of these vessels caught our attention, especially by their outline and dimensions. They were very long, with immense decks fore and aft. They appear to be low in the water. Perhaps this was an optical effect produced by their length. They have two tripod masts, the first of which carries tops apparently armored, and in the middle of the vessel rises a very squat central castle, at the extremities of which are the heavy artillery turrets—turrets for two guns of the biggest calibre. The secondary artillery, the calibre of which is the same on all vessels of the same type, is at the limit of the average and small artillery. The stem of these craft is tapered, more like the beam of a yacht than that of a battleship? it is not vertical, but curving inwards—to use a sailor's phrase it is 'cut-water. 11 The shape of the stem has certainly been determined in order to realise very high speed and) as a matter ,of fact, these vessels are very swift, much fleeter than the fleetest of pre-war cruisers. 'These craft—we may call them battle cruisers—are of two types, or, rather, of two dimensions, for their elements of power are, we believe, the same, except as regards protection. As for speed, it is as high on the small as on the big craft, the radius of action having to be th<> same; and the armament, if it differs in number, is the same as regards calibres of the principal and secondary artilleries. '•These vessels have been created since the war. I say created, because it was stated to me that they were inspired by the Jessor.s of the war. They were begun in 1015, and have been twelvemonths in service—an admirable result of the organisation of labor in the British dockyards. I. know not whether they have al! been built in private yards, but the most important of those actually afloat, which is Commanded by Captain Michael Hodges, formerly naval attache at the British Embassy in Paris, was turned out. by private industry. Other vessels of the kind are under construction, their dimensions being yet more considerable.

''Wo were received on board two of these vessels. On one, the smaller, as we went through the officers' quarters, I was fairly astonished; two officers were playing billiards. True, the ship was at anchor and in a roadstead as shut .in as possible, but it is my opinion that she must have fine qualities of stability to have on board a permanent billiard table. On the second the captain invited us to lunch, and afterwards we visited the fighting quarter—blockhouse, lookout station for submarines, a turret with its enormous guns which fire two shots a minute and whieb, according to the Oermans. weish 96 tons afld throw a 194711) shell. ." ''Everything is organised to have the fire control in one and the same hands, and the laving by one and the same eye. Tlie system invented by Admiral Sir Percy Scott a few years ago has made great progress. The heavy artillery and t'he.secondary artillery are no longer autonomous; everything nets under one and the same direction, and if the guns have afuse fired in the turret itself, they have another electric one operated from a central station. It is a truly remarkable system, and one which, beyond all doubt, has produced highly satisfactory results. Its installation on the new ships shows that, it has stood the test. "The two ships are closely related. They are sisters, one being smaller, built to travel together because they have the same fighting power, and can carry that power to any distance at equal speed; they are capable of surprise actions, ngainst which the enemy cannot guard himself, and their speed is a guarantee against the torpedo. None the less they are fitted with devices to neutralise the explosion as far as possible. They are n proof of the confidence of the British Navy in the powerful surface vessel, capable of heavy hitting, the only one which appears able to assure the mastery of the. seas.

''England is building many submarines, but the development of this new weapon lias not affected the theories which have made the naval power of our allies, and this is proved by the new building programmes, which are the outcome of experience."