GUNNERY DIFFERENCES.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXVIII, Issue 8106, 29 March 1906, Page 3

GUNNERY DIFFERENCES.

Some little time ago an account appeared of the battle practice recently introdaeed into the Navy. The complete returns for 1905 are now to hand and very interesting reading they make. In naval oirolea they have been received with mixed feelings, beoause, as the Daily Telegraph remarks', the differences between various squadrons and various ships are so remarkable that the Admiralty can hardly pass them by unnoticed. At the head of the list is the Channel Squadron, under Admiral Sir A. K. Wilson, with 157 pointß per ship. Then comes the third cruiser squadron with 147, and the Mediterranean fleet with 133. There is then a "Substantial drop, the Atlantic fleet coming next x with 91.8. The Australian squadron is near the bottom of the list with 46.8, and the Cape squadron is at the very bottom with 31. G. It is thus seen that while there has been a most marked improvement in the shooting, taken as a whole—the gain being 25.C4 points per man—some ships are still shooting badly. "The nation has reason to be grateful," says the Telegraph, "that Admiral Sir Gerard Noel, of the China squadron, was mot called upon to engage an enemy last year during the war, for, with the exception of the Aatraea and Sufclej, the shipß uuder h»s orders would have given but a poor account of themselves. This officer's flagship, the Glory, is revealed by the returns, as one of the worst shooting ships of the whole fleet, receiving only 11.7 points, as compared with the record of the Exmouth. which was .374.8, while the AlbioD, the flagship of the Hon. A. G. CurzonHowe, only attained 46.7 points." The\be:t shooting ship in the Navy is the JExraoulh, Admiral Wilson's flagship, and the worst, the armoured cruiser Essex, which did <not make a single hit. The New .Zealand was low with 25.7. The ,squadrons which shot badly prob.ably did as well as in former years, ibnt :their records read worse than •they-ever did before, because of the comparison with the splendid shoot- - ing of the ships in the near seas, the value of which has been more than doubled. "The Australian squadron," remarks the Telegraph, "has always done badly in gunnery, and it will be interesting to watoh what the new Commander-in-Chief, Admiral Fawkes, will be able to do in achieving distinct.iion." Admiral Fawkejß wan . on the iSqod Hope she. was x otie.of the crack iiast'year she obtained only 51.7 points.