The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-01-28
IMMENSE NAVAL BASE AT RASYTH
Work Progressing Rapidly on England's New
 Dock Yard

Edinburgh, January 2.-(special.)-S extraordinarily rapid is the progress
 which is being made in the construction
 of the new naval base at Rosyth, on the
 Firth of Forth, that is practically certain
 the whole of the work will be finished in
 1914, or two years before the contract time 1 expires.
 Rosyth naval base will then be the 1 largest and best equipped dock yard in the world, not excepting even Portsmouth and
 Davenport. It will cost more than $5O,0OO,- l coo
 | When completed Rosyth dock yard will comprise:
 1 Six dry docks to accommodate the larg- est Dreadnought batteships and battie l cruisers.
 A basin in which an entire fleet of battle-
 ships and cruisers can be moored or | berthed.
 A basin for submarines and torpedo boat destroyers.
 slpway on which the largest ships can be built.
 Coaling depot, with all the latest appli- ances for the rapid coaling of ships
 Arsenal, naval stores, workshops, wire less telegraph station, dock yard offices, electric light and power station, boiler shops police headquarters and various other DullQlnBS ana accOnf0OudtlOQ lnQlS- pensable to modern dock yards. At the present moment Rosyth is just at the beginning of things. It is still village which slopes down from the hills to the Firth of Forth. Tn two or three years time Rosyth will be a prosperous town of from 5000 to 60,- coo inhabitants.
 There are now 250O men engaged on the naval works and they work continuously T 1.rrI I md I.t- night.
 They are employed in retaining land from the sea, blasting and excavating rock and earth for basins and docks building concrete and stone block walls, constructing dry docks and generally pre- pairing the new base for occupation by the permanent admiralty staff of officials. The details of this vastly important na- tional work are being kept more or less of a secret The admiralty officials on the spot are silent when a newspaper corre- spondent is about and so are the contrac- tors, Messrs. Easton, Gibb X Son. while no one is allowed on the admiralty ground without written authority
 Rosyth is intended to be the principal base of British naval operations in casa of war in the North sea. It is admirably sheltered in a small bay of the Firth of Forth called St. Margarets Hope, and its approaches will be strongly guarded by powerful Qualifications on the hills. To seaward between Rosyth and the sea, is that marvel of engineering science, the French bridge.
 Roughly the new naval base is two miles long and a mile and half wide. The first position to be opened will be the basin for submarines and destroyers. This work has been pushed forward so rapidly that it will be completed by the summer of next year. A floating dock will be pro- vided, together with jetties for F subma- rines and six destroyers. What is known as the Dreadnaught basin has an area of more than 52 acres
 The wall surrounding this basin is of concrete and stone. It is sunk to a depth of 1iO feet and will cost $5,0OOOOO. Of the six dry docks projected two are already being built, and one of these is l nearly completed The other four are to
 be built parallel with them. There is also plenty of land available for additional
 dry docks if required. | Warships are to be built at Rosyth just as they are at Portsmouth, DeVonport, and other yards. one building slipway Is
 approaching completion and at least one l other is contemplated. | Whenever possible electric power, which | will be generated at the dock yards VIII
 be used. Electric light will be provided | for the whole of the establishment | Railways, connected with the North
 British company's system will be laid down in the yard for the conveyance or
 building and war materials with regard to the cost of the whole | scheme the contract work will probaDiy account for nearly $20,000,00o, but the work | to he done by the admiralty will cost ah additional s9o,00O0OO at least, making total of $50,00o0oO.