ON THE SEA.

Taranaki Daily News, 12 February 1919, Page 5

ON THE SEA.

INTERESTING DISCLOSURES. BY LORD JELLICOE. BRITISH FLEET'S NARROW MARGIN IN CAPITAL SHIPS. NAVY'S GREAT DEVELOPMENT. Received Feb. 11, 9.10 p.i& London, Feb. 10. Casscll's have published Lord Jellicoe's book. In a highly technical and detailed description of the creation and development of the Grand Fleet from 1914 to 1916, he mentions the regrettable collision in a fog of the Australia and New Zealand, which deprived the Australia of the glory of participating in the battle of Jutland. The book reveals that Lord Jellicoe proposed bottling up Zecbrugge in 1914. The Admiralty, however, considered it impracticable, but Lord Jellicoe's plan was adopted in 1917. There was much anxiety in the early part of the war because the margin of safety between the Grand Fleet and the German High Sea Fleet was too small. At the end of 1914 the Grand Fleet had only seventeen effective battleships, five battle-cruisers, and forty-two destroyers, compared with fifteen German dreadnoughts, four battle-cruisers, and eightyeight destroyers. The Germans in some cases were superior to the British in material. The failure of the British condenser tubes on a large scale added to the difficulties. The heavy losses in the early part of the battle of Jutland were due to the British boats being very inadequately protected with armor,, compared with similar German vessels. The German armor was thicker and tho watertight compartments more complete. The Germans also possessed delay action fire, which, combined with a highly efficient armor-piercing projectile, ensured the shell bursting inside the armor, instead of outside or during its passage, as a similar British shell. After the battle of Jutland the British adopted a new projectile with a new burster, which doubled the offensive power of the biggest guns. Unfortunately the surrender of the German Fleet gave no opportunity for testing the material perfected (luring the war. Had the Germans come out, a terrible punishment awaited them. In view of the criticism of Lord Jelli coe's handling of the battle fleet at the battle of Jutland, special interest is attached to his version. A hundred pages of diagrams are devoted to justifying the time, method, and deployment of the battle fleet. Summing up the difficulties of the British position, Lord Jellicoe points out that because of the German superiority in destroyers it was essential to prevent a German destroyer attack during tho deployment. Later there was the difficulty of keeping in touch with the enemy when the Gei-mans made a. very large turn westward under cover of a smoke screen. The possibility of an attack by German destroyers also made a British" night attack impossible. Lord Jellicoe pays a tribute to Admiral Boatty's able and gallant leadership. He savs he showed fighting qualities of the highest order, and imbued his force with his own indomitable spirit. Lord Jellicoe clears up the Hampshire mystery by stating that she was sunk by moored mines laid by enemy submarines.—Aus. N.Z. Cable Assoc.