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THE GERMAN NAVY.

HEAVY LOSS IN CRUISERS.

TYPES OP LATEST VESSELS,

The present condition of tho German £<avy was discussed recentlv in tlib Aaval and Military Record by Mr. Hector Bvwater, formerly Berlin correspondent of that journal. He states that at commencement of the war the German fleet possessed 37 effective light cruisers. Four other vessels were buildan<l two more that were being completed for the Russian Government were added to the German service. By the end of 1915 all these new cruisers "were probably in commission, but such heavy losses had been incurred in the intervennig period that the cruiser fleet cannot have been more than twenty strong. Including the Breslau. no fewer than nineteen German light cruisers have been destroyed. Fighting Ships now publishes information which shows that a vigorous effort lias been made to replace the war losses in vessels of this type. According to this authority, there axo oinisei's ftt present in commission bearing the names of Kmden, Karlsruhe, Konigsberg, Nurnberg, and Frankfort, of which the first four commemorate sunken ships. The new vessels are 'given a displacement of 5400 tons (500 tons more than the Karlsruhe class) and a designed speed of 28 knots, %vkile the Lattery consists <sf ten 5,9 in and several anti-aircraft guns. None of tho pre-war cruisers carry a heavier gun than the 4.1 in, which war experience' has shown to be far too light for the work it is supposed to do. With the exception of the -Komgsberg-Pegasus duel—which was hardly a fair test—every cruiser action of the war has gone against the Germans, and it is not reasonable to conclude that their ill-fortune was mainly due to insufficient weight of armament. Save for their heavier guns, there is nothing very remarkable about the new ships". Their speed does not compare favorably with that of the British "light armored cruisers" completing in 1014, but prob-: ably they have better protection and a much wider radius of action. All are fitted to 'carry a large cargo of mines.

A NEW MINE-LAYER. A much more interesting class is represented by the new "cruiser mine-layers," of which the first four are definitely named. They are the Bremsc, Brumniev, Hurnel, and Wepse, and others are said to exist They are stated to be 4000 tons in displacement and 420 f- in length, with a designed speed of 35 knots. In view of their special duties, the armament of four 5.9 m and eight 4.lin seems unnecessarily powerful, and is probably much lighter in reality. A supplr of 4SO mines said to be carried, which fi'Tfiiji scorns cx-a.crgcratoi], considering that the regulation German mine weighs the best part of ton. If the Germa.ii designers have really succeeded m crowding all this weight of fighting material into a ship of only 40(10 tons, and yet giw her a velocity of 35 knots, one can only say that they have accomplished something like a miracle. But even allowing for possible exaggerations, there is no denying the formidable character of tlv> new cruisers As satellites of a battlcfleet they would introduce a novel and difficult factor into the naval war game. There is very little reliable information respecting the surface torpedo-craft winch Germany is known to have built in considerable numbers within the past three years. The majority of the dedestroyers have been launched in Germany dimensions than were m favor before the war, while, on Die other hand, the new torpedo-boats of the "A" class arc suv prisingly small. The loss of two of the latter, A 77 and A 73. in a minefield near Heligoland Bight lias just bean officially confirmed. The destroyers of

1014 did not displace mow than 570 tons, whereas the later boats arc from 1000 to 1300 tons, and are 320 ft in length. They are credited with a speed of 34 knots, which is no higher than that of several pre-war boats; but the armament has been strengthened to three <.lin guns and six torpedo-tubes. It is known for certain that at least BO large destroers have been launched in Germany since the war began,/and probably the actual figure is much greater. This is useful information to have, for it disposes of the popular idea that German yards have been turning out nothing but submarines Submarino construction was doubtless given precedence, but steady progress has also been made with capital ships, light cruisers, destroyers, and torpedo-boats, with the result that the German Fleet of to-day is as strong, if not stronger, in every type of ship, except light cruisers, than it was three years ago.

THE SUBMARINE FLOTILLAS Exactly what losses the German un-der-water flotilla has suffered since hostilities began can be known only to the Marine Administration, which' is not likely to divulge the secret for many ,years to come. Last .Tune the number of boats in service is estimated to have been 200 at most Half of these were large ocean-goers, specially designed for commerce raiding, while the remainder were "coastals.'' As Admiral von C'apello frequently boasts.that the heaviest losses are more than balanced by new additions, the strength of the new flotilla may now approximate 230 units. It is certainly the caw, however, that Germany does everything possible to exaggerate the strength of her submarine forces. The most common method of deception is to duplicate the identity numerals, which have now ceased to have any real significance, and there is lio reason to suppose that a boat numbered 203, for instance, is, or ever was, the 2ft3rd representative of her class. Bluff and camouflage have been elevated to a line art by the German marine administration. In the early part of 1915 the system of building submarines to stan-. dardised plans was adopted in Germany. This made it possible to enlist the aid of many industries which had never previously been concerned in naval construction, but were quite capable of manufacturing structural parts, engines, and accessories, which conk! be railed to the seaports aai. there assembled. Wte ire told that small submarines have even been built in inland towns and eonveveA to the sea by cans* sections. Rapidity of output being the prime consideration, the workmanship may not be always of the highest quality Indeed, it has'been stated that every submarine needs a thorough overhaul after each cruise, for the steel now used in Germany is of an inferior quality, and the boats suffer more severely from bad weather than earlier types did. Tf German'- rcai',<w» possess upwards of 200 U-boats, all "illy manned - ' e.7e;tive, it is' amazing that they Jw. not sunk manv more vessels than the, actual total.

Permanent link to this item
Hononga pūmau ki tēnei tūemi

https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/TDN19180411.2.50

Bibliographic details
Ngā taipitopito pukapuka

Taranaki Daily News, 11 April 1918, Page 8

Word count
Tapeke kupu
1,102

THE GERMAN NAVY. Taranaki Daily News, 11 April 1918, Page 8

THE GERMAN NAVY. Taranaki Daily News, 11 April 1918, Page 8

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