New-York tribune., 1909-07-26
A MODERN FLEET
Holiday Parade on the Thame,
Risks of Warfare.
London III =,

Lord Rosebery's ''prodigious but sfv.'.- "a
adequate armada makes a brave s5o-- n-
| Thames. The beginning of it can ba .o.ns 0a ns
Westminster Bridge, where four subrDa-s- 'foa
anchored off the Houses of Parties a's
lower down there are torpedo boats - - Sad
stroyers until the Tower is passed Or es-
Greenwich and Woolwich and along R.,-s
Reach and Greenhithe there are cruise s
other craft until the anchorage Of the ~
and the Venus is reached at Ciravesend saas
down there is triple line Of destrora-~
Leigh Middle and another one Of s,,bs u
and torpedo craft fanking Sheerness 'a1a - IS
mouth of the Midway. In deeper wats- US
Southend and Shoeburyness seaward A..
battIeships and armored cruisers. fortv :, ~. -
mightiest warships afoat massed togssn.-~- 20 -
double lines. with protected cruisers. seon,.
repair ships hanging about them. So forr,,ass
a fleet has never before been seen at tha -
of the Thames. There are 14S warships - -
classes, with 421OO officers. sailors. r,arau
and stokers and an aggregate tonnage of 20
900. That fleet. with its DreadnOughts ana !.
viucibIes, represents sea power at the rnaYi,,..
now known among maritime nations Yet M.
erfu efficient and costly as it is, it NAV h a.
only for the scrap heap in dozen Yss,,
There are seven warships Of the Dreadno,gs.
type in this wonderful array OF Ieviathans n
Dreadnought herself is opposite Southend pss.
the beginning Of the heaviest line. and "A.
Bellerophon, the Teneraire and the Superb s,,
close by, with the IndOmitabIe the InaexHs,
and the InvincibIe in the centre, between sboa
buryness and Sheerness. The Superb is IA.
newest battleship. with ten Pinch guns and +,
speed Of % knots. Eight of those big guns can
be fired together as hToadside, and stupendo,
would be the effect at a distance Of four miles
The brilliant naval expert Mr. H. W WIlsa
estimates that 1890 pounds Of metal could Ia
discharged from the battloship in one minpas
only armor as invuInerabIe as her own cyn
resist the impact of those Pinch shells. and
only battIeship with as high speed as her on.
could equal her in manRUvring power. Ths
best among the armored cruisers in the esnrg
are fighting ships with gun fire almost equaay
destructive, and they are so last that 10 batas-
ship could keep up running engagement with
them The seven Dreadnoughts together could
defend London against any swarm Of battle.
ships now TO be found any European sea
board. and how Irresistible they would be IN
sudden swoop upon an enemy's port.
The expert whom have already quoted est.
mates the value Of the fleet now in the lover
Thames waters as $35o0G00oo in construction
and equipment That is an immense investmszt
in floating defences. and II is not OF permanent
value Large sections Of IL have TO be written
off year bv year as antiquated and unscisndac
The Dreadnoughts and Invincibles, which form
a group by themselves. have already shortened
the working term Of the battleships and
mored cruisers berthed with them A they ss
reinforced from the shipyards the pre-Drsad-
nouSht 1varships viii be condemned as obsdss
by the Admiralty. although they may have been
in service only p decade 50 rapid are ths
processes Of invention and Improvement ssps-
cia11v when the problem Of weights has been
suddenly transformed by the substitution
turbine for reciprocating engines and the int-O-
duction Of heavier batteries and armor ust
the DreadnougLt class itself is likely 70 havsa
shorter life than that Of the older battleships Ths
Superb already outciasses the original Dread.
nought. and the new warships as they are aid
down viii be superior in many respects % he
mightiest naval monster now afoat Lei ne
Americans or the Germans increase the radius
Of gun fire. or the speed OF these costly floating
batteries and how long will IL be before all thsss
fighting ships with historic names are ig1o-
miniousIy "scrapped". What IS true OF us
battleships and ar1nored cruisers applies win
eouaI force to the submarines. the destroyss
and torpedo boats. The types are eonstanhI
changing: the gaps between the Oldest and ne
newest are widening with amazing rapidly ana
the survival Of the htteSt involves eeass7s'
waste in naval construction
II the life Of a ship be so transient when T.
signers are merely surprising Their OWE
achievements and impairin5 the value of taa1
earlier mechanism. what viii happen when tns.a
IS actual warfare in place of holiday p4l-a'
end summer manRuvres? What revouuA
there will be in naval architecture ana aiI@
nents when there has been a supreme conmo
for sea power between two hrst class n@'e'
Who can say whether these mighty DrSA"
noughts themselves can survive the decisive ~
Of scientific warfare? They are floating %
teries with scores OF complex engines N usS -
steering and manOuvriug. for slshllHs
enemy. signalling To the squads in the 'uii'F
loading rotating and firing the guns NJ
pert ventures to forecast the result when - -
highly formidable and highly vulneraois hsD-'
ships are once under fire and exposed "
ransement from sudden impact Of a spent s"l'
Or To destructive broadside fire, or 10 u7
known perils Of torpedo or submarine @''-.-
The greatest revolution in naval coIisll 1''s
and armaments wilt follow a war when seisn.-
sntasonists are pitted against each otheI.
practical value of all this complex ana -
mechanism will be tested and the resu'ls
be known Every modern fleet VIII suo..
become obsolete and every progressive
will be compelled to build a new navy