The Kansas City sun. (Kansas City, Mo.) 1908-1924, 1917-02-03

could do when one of them comes down in its
midst" he SAYS.
"There would he nothing to hurt if you did hap
pen to hit her, and she could fire all the tOrpe-
does she wants to at you. One Of our young Off
GERS Il vessel of that type. Natural
conservatism on the part of the older men who
control the upper end of all services-and it is
the natural conservatism of large bodies that con-
troll our gOvernment-stands in the way Of Just
such a proposition; those men do not quite like
the radical idea. But just the same one of those
novel craft will pop up one of these days; and
for all we know it will come out Of Wihelmshaven
before this war is over"
1t is a well-known fact that the destroyer has
proved the submarines worst enemy, and for two
reasons: First, because of its speed, combined
with effective gun power; and. second. owing to
the difficulties of retaliation through torpedo
attack, the submarines only sufficient answer to
the destroyer's rapid trers. More often than 9TH
erwise the underwater boats principal weapon has
sped harmleSsly under the destroyer without Scor-
ing, simply because the destroyer draws far less
water than the submarines intended quarry, the
big vessel.
The torpedo is ordinarily set to run deep enough
to strike well below n large ships armor belt,
and therefore is apt to pass without hitting below
the keel of a destroyer. 1t was this idea that
Captain Sims had in mind when he said that the
novel battle craft was to be built so that moth
ing could get under IT,"
There is another advantage. too, in this arrange
llPlli. y snip 50 constructed WOulu De ape 10
operate in waters where ordinarily only light
gunbOats or destrOyers could maneuver in safety.
Accordingly it would be easy for a craft of this
character either to hide where least expected or
to run to cover when the odds offered by armored
ships were too heavy against her.
Great Britain has found is necessary to utilize
monitors, especially modified for the work, in her
offensive operations against the German positions
on the coast of Belgium. Shallow draft and fairly
heavy armaments have made these vessels reason
ably effective. However, the monitors have not
been able to destroy the German naval station
at Zeebrugge and the kaisers designers have no
doubt long been busy devising a naval foil to the
British attack.
This probability in part is warrant for Cap
tain Sims assumption that something out Of the
ordinary was likely to issue from Wilhelmshaven
before the end of the present struggle. II IL takes
the form suggested the ship will not be a formid-
able foe only for England's monitors, but it would
certainly prove a very dangerous antagonist for
well-nigh any of Great Britain's heavy fighting
ships.
IS with so many things concerning our national
defences no secret has been made here of this
proposed order of war craft. Captain Sims has
said:
ut has been before our people for a long while.
1t has been discussed at the War college and pa
pers have been written on it."
Foreigners have undoubtedly made themselves
familiar with everything that has been given out
about the ship and certainly the type would go a
long way toward o~ffsetting the disadvantage in
numbers under which the German fleet labors.
Moreover, there are economic reasons why a
fighting ship of this peculiar type would commend
itself especially to a people circumStanced as are
the Germans now.
AS Captain Sims says: 81 have always believed
that a vessel could be designed in that way with
out any necessity for a waste of side armor, be-
cause she would have nothing above her water
line to protect; that is, substantially nothing. She
would have no turrets, which cost so much in
weight, and she would have no big guns, which
cost in the weight Of the gun, ammunition, etc.
"She would carry two towers, from either of
which the ship could be controlled One TO be
used in case the other was knocked out. They
would be of sufficient size to hold the people who
maneuver the craft. Her smoke pipe would be
armored so that it could not be shot away so
close to her deck as TO do any particular damage.
She could be armed with eight torpedo tubes on
her side and she could carry a great many tor
pedoes for each one of those tubes"
At the Naval War college strategic experts have
given this suggestion numerous theoretical tests.