The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-09-19
DRILLING A FLEET.
The Way in which the English Navy
is Trained and the Need of IL.

is Trained ana the Need OF IL.
Naval Correspondence London Times.
The drilling of fleet is a fascinating
spectacle, suggesting as nothing else can
the subordination of great force to the
control of a single will. A few gayly
colored flags flutter to the main truck Of
the flagship, remain for two or three min
utes, and are suddenly hauled down.
Instantly the huge ships begin to turn,
to sweep around in great curves and to
rearrange themselves in new forma-
ton. Or scattered cruisers nearly hull
down on the horizon respond to a sum-
mons, and in half an hour come flying
back to the fleet, take up their appointed
stations and conform to its movements.
The ease with which the 14,000-ton battle
ships swing round to their helms, the
speed with which they take up their new
stations,s the quick response and the
regularity of movements are extraordi-
narily impressive. For a shore-going
parallel to this fleet one must imagine
q cavalry regiments maneuvering
at a canter, each individually responsive to
orders rapidly transmissible over long dis
tances. But on shore it would be impossi-
BILE, except from a balloon or command
ing HILL to take in the movements at a
glance At sea one can follow the evolu-
ton of each ship. A mistake, loss or
gain of distance, a superfiuous or an in
adequate turn is Immediately seen, and
signals as Retaliation badly executed"
or "Clytemnestra keep station" quickly
fly from the flagship to be read by the
whole fleet.
Unquestionably an admiral yields a
power for which a general cannot hope.
A publc rebuke is a. thing to be avoided,
and even if this is not forthcoming any
small elapse will be noted by a hundred
pair of eager eyes. Moreover, a compara>
lively small mistake may involve disaster.
We may club our cavalry without real
HARM but the contact of two of these
great ships moving at ten knots may
mean the loss of one or both. The drill
of a fleet is an eminently serious under
taking, and the accuracy of this drill
is the measure of the ulaneuvering power
of the whole assemblage of ships. All
turns, therefore, upon the capacity of the
captains and their training. Merely to
keep station in cruising formation, follow
ing in the wake of a leader, is by no means
easy. Attention never sor a moment re-
Taxed and the Judgment which comes
only with long experience are alike re-
quired. Helm and speed need perpetual
alterations, and the requisite changes
must be carefully estimated, or the ship
will continually occillate to starboard or
port, in advance or astern, of her station
In evoluuons, however, many more quail
tiles must be brought into play. The the
orist talks glibly of TURNING circles" and
affects to believe that the handling Of a
ship can be reduced to mere geometry
The turning circles of each ship. are of
course recorded in every chart house
but a variety of other onAlitions arise
The evolutionary qualities OF other ships
must be observed. Wind, tid e. speed or
even the crossing of the w axe of an
other vessel materially affects the turning
circle. Here is no mere ques ton of re-
ferring to the signal book and giving
certain definite words of coT1 mand All
the conditions constantly varyg; Judgment
is needed at every moment; the education
of the eye in estimating distan ees and ex-
act knowledge of the capabili d es of the
ship are alike called for. The mere the
orist will, in fact, find himself IopeIessly
incompetent, and the efficient handling
of ship implies qualities whi eh it is
not given every one to acquire. 1t is an
art rather than a science, and its possess
sion largely determines the fighti1 cana
bilities of a navy.