Daily press. [volume] (Newport News, Va.) 1896-current, 1907-08-27
nATTLesAIp DEVELOPMENT.

We have no' observed that tho
wires are hot with combinations of
tho rumor that the British Admiralty
contomplates building Il luttlcshin 80
per cent larger than the Drendnomght
and that naval officers In Washing
Ton are planning one which will have
an oven greater displacement sin.
such stories tend to revive discussion
OF question that has frequently been
propoundcd In tho last two wears:
low much further can the movement
| for an increase in size he permiticl
to 70 without n sacrifice of efficiency ?
Tho Dreadnought differs from ihc
most formidable of it's predecessors;
In two particulars. Its main battery
consists OF guns Of ono calibrc only,
and II mounts ten 12-inch guns, I'm.
stead of only four Through the wis.
dom of these changes Is not vet I'M.
ivcrsally conceded for the present
1t need not he disputed. In London
ana Washington to say nothing OF
other national capitals. both innnva.
tions are regarded with favor. The
ncN, step in battlcship development
therefore will probably be to Increase
the number of l2inch guns. How
srcat an advance In this particular
VIII he practicable is evidently the
chief point to H. determined. Tho
size OF the floating platform needed
to insure stable support for such
n battery and the capacity of the
engines required for navigating 1t
could he left for later consideration.
Until within Il year or two tho guns
on war vessel have been so dis
trihutcd that they could not all he
fired in the same direction Mt once.
A radical change Of policy seems to
have hccn initiated since It has been
proposed 10 use only guns of one
size. aud II is also coming to be he
liovcd that hroadsdc fire Is more i'm.
portant than fore ana aft fire It
has been pointed ont t-iat the Drcan.
noueht can use only eight of her ten
guns for broadSlc. whereas the
20,o0otcn battlcships for which the
American government has recently
closed contracts have been designed
50 that nll ten Of their guns can he
employed for TINT purpose simultan.
| oo'sly British Designers have not
hitherto fully accepted this principle.
but If they We're To do so and then
ahould attempt to mount eighteen
guns on n single ship. difficult
though not insoublc. problem would
he presented.
In the latest American battlcship
design concentration of fire is sccur-
cd by putting the five currents on the
central line OF the vessel Were that
general plan followed bv the British
Admiralty 1t could either provide u
procession of ninc turrcsts. each con
tanning pair of guns. or. by putting
more guns in n tmrct. reduce the
number of iurrrts. IRumor credits
England with the intention of trying
10 mount three guns in Il turret
Should this schcsne prove feasible
the number of tnrrcts needed would
he six. or only one more than the
Delaware Is To have. Tho second
arrangcmcnt would obviously he pre-
fcral3c, as 1t would avoid the ncces.
sity for giving an abnormal length
to the shin. Should tho story turn
ont To he true there would be much
CURIOSITY as 70 the method TO be
pursued in distributing the guns in n
turrct Would They be mounted side
by side, or would small urrcts he
'superposed on bigger onos--Ncw
York Tribune.