Evening star., 1927-08-21
BRITISH USING WAR
LESSONS ON SHIPS
New Dreadnaughts Con-
struCteG With 'BIiSter"
HuIIS to Foil Torpedoes.

BY the Associated Press.
Possessing as they do many Charac
teristics not found in any other capi
tai ships afloat. the new British dread
naughts Nelson and Rodney are be
ing studied by naval constructors
in an effort to determine what effect
they should have upon the designs
of the replacement battleships to
be built under the terms of the
Washington naval treaty, beginning
in 1881.
These vessels embody the lessona
the British learned from the naval
conflicts in the World War. and
naturally their plans are carefully
guarded by the British admiralty
However, it is known that in many
respects their design is a distinct
departure from the dreadnaughts
which preceded them.
Believe Armor Inside.
One of the most noticeable
changes. and one puZZling naval Of
ficers most, is the absence of any
signs of protective armor on the
hull These officers have about
reached the conclusion that the
main hull of the ship is inside the
shell showing. and that attached to
it is the heavy armor these ships
carry.
This conclusion is predicated upon
the known theory of British naval
constructors that a torpedo should not
fisrt strike the major hull of the ship.
1t was because of this that the British
adopted the blister as a protection to
the main hull in it's older craft. Tor.
pedo protection for American battle
ships is furnished in a series of
hulls within hulls with short spaced
bulkheads, to enable the ship to
keep afioat.
Torpedo Protectors.
The belief that the armor on the
Nelson and Rodney is placed on an
by the appearance of a series Of
plates placed along the hulls of the
ships near the water line. Those
studying the vessels conclude that
these plates cover holes in the outer
hull and are merely bolted on,
with the idea that if torpedo found
it's mark the destructive gases from
the explosion would force off the
plates and thus find their escape be-
fore seriously damaging the inner
hull.
Another decided change of design
in the British ships is that of plac-
ing all of the big guns forward in
stead of distributing them forward
and aft as heretofore. BY thus
concentrating the main magazines
in a single section of the ship, greater
armor protection can be given them.
This is an important matter, as a
single shell finding the magazine
room would destroy the craft.
Range of Big Guns.
All of the big guns-nine 16-inch
broadside, but only six can be trained
dead ahead, as those in the third tur.
ret are below the super-imposed mid
die turrent. OF course, there can be
no big gun fire astern.
Still another departure from the
conventional design is the placing OF
all of the secondary defense rifeS-6.
inch guns-near the stern and the
mounting Of them in turrets. which
enables them to attain an elevation
of 20 degrees with consequently in
creased range.
There are three Of these turrets on
each side of the ship and each mounts
two 6-inch rifles. This gives a fire
Of six guns on either broadside, with
an astern fire of four on each side,
as the middle turret Is raised above
the other two.
In these ships the British have
abolished the forward mast, with the
bridge in front, and have replaced it
with a castle-like structure within
which are the several navigating
bridges and on top Of which is placed
the fire control station.
Appearance Held Odd.
This arrangement adds to the ex-
tremely odd looking appearance Of the
Nelson and Rodney. Astern is the
usual tripod mast with single bulky
squat smoke-funnel between the mast
and the huge castle, which Is located
aft Of amidships.
Since the Nelson and Rodney have
a speed Of % knots, greater than that
of other dreadnaughts, other nations
in their replacement program un-
doubtedly will design craft Of as
great a speed.
The British ships also are longer
than any other battleships, measuring
735 feet, which is more than 100 feet
longer than any American battleship.
Some naval constructors say. this is
from rs to 80 feet longer than would
be expected for ships Of their speed,
and they have yet to figure out the
reason for such extreme length.
In the opinion Of American con
structors, the Nelson and Rodney
have a very serious defect in that
so far as can be learned there is no
provision for carrying and launching
a single airplane. American battle
ships carry four planes with a cata'
pult for launching, and this number
may he increased in the case of the