The Washington herald., 1916-08-27
Warspite, Which, With Steer
ing Gear Disabled, Took
the Fire of Leading Ger
man Dreadnoughts, Now
Good as Ever.
BY JOHN l.. BALDERsTUN.
Copyright. 1916.

Base Port, Grand Fleet, Aug 3-On
board a destroyer travelling better than
twenty knots, l have just spent morn
ing passing up and down lines Of British
warships moored with steam up and
ready to rush to sea few minutes after
an order is given. The squadron here
represents a considerable part Of Ad-
miraI Jellicoe's grand fleet, but not all
Of It. for the naval might Of England is
not kept at one station. and all the
fleets join only at sea during maneu-
vers, or when searching the German coast
as on the afternoon OF May 81.
In the afternoon, thanks to the kindness
Of the admiral commander-in-chief here,
was shown from top to bottom over
a great battleship which took part in
the JutIand fight, and, her officers say,
accounted for a German Dreadnought.
The name OF this wonder ship is un-
known to the public. and does not ap-
pear in Admiral Jelicoe's report Of the
battle, so I may not give it. The cali
Der OF her guns, too, is a secret. She
represents the last word afloat, although
I saw more powerful monsters building
on the Clyde; she is considerably larger
and more effectively though differently
armed than the ships of the Queen
Elijah beth class, which so far as the
public has been told are the champions
Of the British navy and OF the world. On
leaving, I expressed to the admiral who
did the honors my regret at not being
permitted to tell what I had seen abroad
his vessel, and he smiled and said, Just
tell the Americans she is some ship"
She is.
Immense Dry Docks.
As a climax to a day OF wonders. l
gazed into great Chasms OF concrete
which looked for all the world like
cuttings of the Panama Canal before
the water was turned in. Nice oathtuo
for a school of whales" said a proud
engineer officer. Largest docks in the
world Hold anything afioat, and any
thing that will float in our time. All
built since the war began"
Several Of these super-dOCks are al
ready entirely finished; others are build
ing. A great super -Dreadnought rested
in one as snug as an oyster in its shell
"a smallish oyster in a shell several
sizes to large. The super-DreadnOught
one of the new ones. was, l suppose,
about as big as the American Pennsyl-
vania The building of these docks in
less than two years really borders upon
the miraculous, like the turning out OF
battle cruiser in a triie over twelve
month. They were scheduled for COM
pIetion in 1916. or some such date. But
the war came and the navy, expanding
suddenly far beyond all peaCe-time
programs, needed them badly. and at
once, so here they are. Great credit
is due to engineers. still greater the work
men who broke all kinds Of records be-
cause they knew what might hang upon
their work The possible consequence
- If a large number of first line ships had
been put out Of action and no docks been
ready big enough to handle them all at
Cnce need not be dwelt upon. That dan
ger now is passed.
Damaged ships ReJOin Line.
During the destroyer trip among the
scores Of f~hting ships. my interest was
concentrated upon those which did the
..,l.. 81 tn,. work. and suffered propor-
tiOnaIly. on Jutland bank. 1t so hap
Dcned that most OF these ships which
bore the brunt were here at the moment
I was told that since the battle no neu-
trail eye had rested upon any of them;
indeed at no time since the war began
have these regions been exactly fire.
Quented by touring neUtTals, despite the
excellent scenery.
I can testify that every one Of the
ships here is entirely repaired and ready
for action. Only one ship Of all those
which suffered most and yet kept ahoat,
I was told, is not yet prepared to tight
fifteen minutes after the call comes. 1t
was not necessary to take the word OF
my guides that the ships spread around
Us were ready. Their positions, as they
lay moOred in line with their comrades,
was proof enough. II they had not been,
their anchOrages must have been else
where for the fleet as 1 saw it is ar
ranged so that all the ships start stimuli
taneously and the long lines proceed to
sea in battle array in their present order.
The presence of lame ducks here and
there in the lines would disarrange such
a sailing schedule.
Modern Battle Formation.
How does the fleet put to sea? Ahead
of all the other ships are moored dozens
of the speediest light cruisers. destroy
ers and fotilla leaders. The fOtilla lead
er Is a brand-new and most valuable type
which proved itself indispensable in the
Jutland battle. In size halfway between
a destroyer and a light cruiser. 1t per-
forms the duties of both. Lightly arm
ed and armored, it moves at simply in
credible speed, fast enough to have won
motor boat cups a few years ago.
The latest of these ships have never
been let out to the limit, but for short
spurts they can equal the speed of an
extremely fast express train-the actual
record one of them made on her trial
trip I am not allowed to mention, but
IL came as a shock to a poor landsman
who had thought thirty-seven knots or
so fair going. In action they dash on
ahead. gain information as to the
enemy dispositions and rush back at
top speed, or engage the enemy's light
craft and destroyers and prevent attacks
on the larger ships. or deliver torpedo
attacks themselves on the foes first-line
r. Some Of the most hair-raising
deeds Of May 81 were performed by these
81. wa<ps, anu several of them perished
in pushing home their stings.
safe from U-Boats.
Behind this cloud of light and speedy
material are sheltered the main line OF
battleships. DTeadnoughts and battle
cruisers. steaming in parallel lines and
themselves fanked by dozens of less
speedy but more powerful cruisers than
those ahead In the rear-but too much
detail in discussing even vaguely such an
important operation as putting to sea
would attract the admiralty blue pencil. !
have been specifically warned not to de-
scribe the marvellous anti-submarine de-
fenses saw, which render the great flo
tilla lying at anchor inside them abso-
lutely safe against would-be U-boat in
truders in the goings and coming. by day
and night. upon and beneath the water
Of hundreds Of his majesty's ships Of war
and auxiliaries.
II there Is one ship above all Others
which the Germans are sure they sank
OF Jutland bank u Is the mighty War,
spite with her great knsad and elxhi