Americus times-recorder. [volume] (Americus, Ga.) 1891-current, 1914-11-30
(By Associated Press.)

with critical eyes the deadly work of
torpedoes fired from submarines and
of contact mines in the European war
nothing has developed as yet which
indicates any radical change in bat
tleship construction to offer greater
defense against underwater attack.
The problems presented are not
new. They have been studied by
naval constructors of every power
since the Russian-J japanese War when
many fine ships fell victim to mines
and torpedoes. Proposals of many
sorts have been discussed. Some have
been adopted; but the theory of war
ship building still clings to concen-
tration of offensive power in terms of
larger guns, bigger and swifter ships
and wider cruising radius, even at the
expense of defensive armor.
The heavy losses sustained by the
British Navy by submarine attacks
has brought up for renewed discussion
the subject of armoring the bottoms
of warcraft. Recent issues of English
service journals have noted a plan to
cover the entire bottom of battleship
with four inches of armor plating. 1t
was urged that the experiment be
tried with an old ship which should be
subjected to- actual test with the ex-
plosion against her hull of the most
powerful modern torpedoes. The ship
also would be driven into contact
mines of various types to determine
their effect, it was said.
American naval experts believe
there is little doubt of the result. They
saw four inches or armor would resist
any known torpedo or mine success
fully. To equip ship in that way,
however, the enormous weight of the
armor would require a reduction in
weight elsewhere and the only way it
could be accomplished would be to re-
duce the size and number of guns, the
thickness of surface armor, the weight
of engines and coal capacity and be-
cause of this last, the size of ships
themselves. With armored bottoms
battleships would become slow, heavy
vessels of small cruising radius and
their usefulness as instruments with
which to strike swift, terrible blows
at distant points before word of their
coming had gone out would vanish.
Cruisers and swift merchant vessels
would take care only to keep out Of
range of their guns. The terrific
mower of the modern dreadnaught
would be a thing of the past.
It is not impossible, however, that
some degree of protection for the bot
toms of battle craft will be considered
in future. Heretofore constructors
have relied almost wholly upon in
creasing numbers of watertight COM
nartments to keep torpedoed ships
affoat. The loss of the British battle
shin Audacious, one of the most mod
ern fighting machines in the world,
has shed new light on the subject. De-
tails of that disaster are lacking but
MANY believe the Audacious ran into
mine which sent her to the bottom
Her compartments kept her aaoat UNI
iii her crew was rescued; but one by
one they gave way under the increas-
inc nressure of the water and finally
she went down.
Navy officers are unwilling as yet tc
nredict what effect on naval construc-
tion that will have. They say it is
question of balance between offenst
and defense in battleship construction
and the old axiom that the Creates
defense lies in the highest capacit!
for offensive work still holds good. /
appears certain, however, that il
Manning new ships, the subject o
armored bottom, or at least PARTIAL,
armor for the midships sections o
the bottom, will be carefully weighed