Hopkinsville Kentuckian. [volume] (Hopkinsville, Ky.) 1889-1918, 1914-08-15
IN NAVAL STRENGTH
France and Russia Almost Equal
to the Triple Alliance.
Discrepancy Is Not Great, While, Of
Course, With the British Navy
Added, There Could Be No
Comparison Possible.

London.--In effective fighting ships,
there is by no means a great discrep-
ancy between the strength of tho
triple alliance and that of France and
her ally Russia, according to the 1914
edition of the Naval Annual, edited by
Viscount Hythe, which has been re-
Gently published. The difference Is
small enough to leave the struggle for
sea supremacy in doubt. even without
the Intervention of Great Britain,
whose naval strength, based on the
latest figures available, is such that
with the nations Of the triple entente
looking to the sea together, the navies
of the rest Of Europe are overawed.
By effective fighting ships, the An
nual defines those which are classed
under the head Of battleships and cruis-
ers. In the first group are placed
modern battleships, battle cruisers,
and older battleships; the second
group contains first-class and light
cruisers. Another category, one in
which the navies of Russia and France
more than hold their own against the
combined navies Of the triple alliance,
according to the Annual, is torpedo flo
tillas. Here the FrancoRussian alli-
ance actually outnumbers Germany,
Austria-Hungary and Italy. With the
enormous fotilla of Great Britain add
ed in, the triple alliance is hopeless;
ly outclassed. 1e'sAs.. ~ * -
Viscount Hythe gives &c battleships
to the triple alliance, including those
being built, contributed as follows:
Germany As, Austria-Hungary 10, and
Italy Is. Against them Russia has
10 battleships and France 81, to-
tai of so, includging those under con-
struction. In the same class Great
Britain is credited with So. In the
cruiser class, built and building, the
triple alliances combined strength is
"a vessels, more than half the num-
Der being German, and the combined
strength of these vessels of France
and Russia is 50. Great Britain's
strength in cruisers is 127.
When the comparison comes to tor
pedo destroyers, torpedo boats and
submarines, Frances activity in this
style of construction gives the Franco
Russian alliance great advantage in
destroyers. Germany, Austria-Hun-
gary and Italy combined could muster
but 217 vessels, against 22S command
ed by their opponents when all the
vessels laid down by both parties shall
have been completed. And of subma-
rines the triple alliance could collect
| but 70, whereas France alone has
larger number, SO, and with Russia's
equipment the total is brought up TO
1876 underwater craft.
In torpedo boats the advantage is
slightly the other way, Austria Is
particularly strong in these craft, pos
sessing IS, or more than are found in
the navies of either Great Britain or
Germany. Germany and Italy bring
the total up to 207, while the Franco
Russian combination totals only 17S,
even with Frances strong equipment
Of 1853 torpedo boats.
In the matter Of torpedo fiotilla
strength, Great Britain is in po-
sition to contribute 23S destroyers, 10
torpedo boats and SO submarines.
Looking to the future, the Naval An
nual says:
"At the end Of 1916, we (Great
Brittany shall have Al modern bat
tleships, as compared with % for Ger
many and 80 for the triple alliance. At
the end of 1916 we should have 46
ships completed, Germany 26, and the
triple alliance SO, though it is possi-
BILE that Austrian ships laid down this
year may be completed in 1916. At
the end Of both years it should be
noted that the strength of the Franco
Russian alliance in this class of ships
win nearly equal that of Germany.