The Hawaiian gazette., 1915-07-20

the future of the dreadnaught. So
far as is known. not a single capital
ship has been engaged and the value
Of those enormously expensive fight!
ing machines is still as problemat cal
as it was when England launched the
first all-big gun ship, the Dreadnaught.
The reason for that, navy officers say,
is the full realization of predictions
made for submarines when the first un.
dersea boat was constructed. Against
those small and comparatively mex.
pensive weapons no adequate. means
of defense has been found and the first
line ships of the fighting navies are
behind mine fields or screens of tor
pedo boats and destroyers, leaving the
active work of the war to the older
pre-dreadnaught battleships, the battle
cruiser and lighter and less expensive
craft.
When the first maneuvers of the
American navy in which submarines
participated took place, some officers
declared the day Of the battleship had
passed. In theory every big ship
which approached shore during those
operations was destroyed. Events Of
that assumption Of the superiority of
submarines and that is proving vex-
ing problem in deciding what shall be
the future American policy of naval
construction.
How to Combat Submarines
Navy engineers now are deeply en-
gagged with experiments looking to the
discovery Of some practical defense
against submarine attack. Should they
find solution of the problem, the
big ship problem will be vindirated.
While nothing has been revealed Of
their experiments, 1t is assumed that
questions of greater subdivision Of
hulls and stronger bulkheads, of armor
to extend about the midship sections
Of battleships below the waterIine and
capable of resisting the blow of a
modern torpedo, and also the location
Of submarines at a considerable dis
lance and their pursuit by such as de
trOyers are being considered
The location and destruction of sub
marines by aeroplanes also is consider
ed impractical in any but special cases
where weather, depth of water and
other conditions make it possible. Bomb
dropping from aerOplanes, even over
far reaching land Notifications nnd 9th
or easily visible stationary ohjr' u.s. has
hot proven so successful rs to give
much promise where a small, dimly
visible shape beneath the surface Of
the water is the target
Similarly submarine against subma,
rine is not considered a possible de.
velopment Of undersea warfare unless
IA 4 nj
submarine commanders the power of
undersea vision be discovered. A
submarine is a blind thing, once its
periscope is below the surface. One Of
the novel exploits of the war, how.
ever, was the sinking Of an Italian
submarine by an Austrian underwater
boat.
Naval oficers Disagree
The result of the development of
the submarine with widening range of
action, mounting disappearing guns for
surface action, and with increasing
numbers of torpedo tubes az shown by
reports from Europe, has been to ere
ate A school of navy officers here who
are said to be urging the abandonment
Of dreadnapght building in favor of a
huge submarine feet. Other officers de-
clare the backbone of a navy must
always be in first line battleships and
are urging larger and more heavily
armed dreadnaughts than ever. Some
place-between these two schools of
theory, it is said, the course of the
department. will lie in its recommeuda,
ton to congress.
Officers who advocate the submarine
navy say that it is thoroughly prac-
ticable for the United States, because
the mission of the American navy is
to defend the United States from in
vasiOn, not to prepare the way for an
American invasion Of any enemy coun
try. That, they declare, accounts for
the fact that no great efforts have been
made to obtain appropriations for swift
battle cruisers such as those employed
by the British and German navies.
With fleets Of submarines stationed
along both coasts aud with navy yards
equipped to care for them, those Off
GERS argue that even the battleships
rOuld he spared from the defense lin"
aud that no enemy would dare approach
with ships and transports coast well
mined and defended with land guns as
well as submarines.