Event That May Mark New Era in Naval Construction.
Portsmouth, England, Feb. 10.—An immense throng, including many prominent and distinguished persons, witnessed the launching of England’s latest contribution to the world’s fighting ships, the Dreadnaught.
The launch of the Dreadnaught, the largest and most powerful battleship of the world’s navies, marks the first stage in what the British admiralty claim as the greatest achievement in naval construction. October 2, 1905, only a few days over four months ago, work was commenced at Portsmouth on the vessel, the first of what is to be known as the Dreadnaught class. The promise was made then that she would be launched with in six months. The admiralty have more than made good their boast and Britishers have another cause of pride in their navy. Another 12 months, all going well, the Dreadnaught will be commissioned and join the Atlantic fleet, thus beating all previous records in battleship building by six months.
There are two reasons why work is being rushed on the Dreadnaught. One is the great saving in cost, but the chief reason is that the ship is to some extent an experiment and it is desired to give her a good trial before commencing construction on any more or her class.
Great Britain, it will be remembered, was the only power having attaches or observers on Japanese ships during the Russo-Japanese war, while expert British constructors were given every opportunity of learning wherein the ships of Japan proved weak or strong, as the case might be. These men were busy from start to finish of the war and immediately after the battle of the Sea of Japan came home with their data, which were submitted with suggestions, to a special committee on which sat not only the most experienced naval experts, but the director of naval construction, Lord Kelvin, and a number of the leading private ship builders. The Dreadnaught is the outcome of their deliberations, an embodiment of the lessons of the late war in the far east, a ship apparently invincible, capable at one discharge of her guns of throwing with unparalleled force twice as much metal as any foreign manofwar now afloat, while her armor will render her immune from attacks by any enemy, and, some claim, even against torpedoes, fired at the usual battle range.
The details of the Dreadnaught‘s construction remain a secret, so well have the admiralty guarded the plans. Efforts of naval attaches to gather information for their governments have been fruitless. No information is forthcoming, the answer to all enquiries being the candid one that Great Britain intends to maintain secrecy as to what her experts learned as a result of Japan’s experiences for one year and by rushing to completion of the Dreadnaught, will gain a year if not more in naval construction over all other powers except her ally.
Usually when ships are building a board is placed at the head of the slip giving her name, displacement, principal dimensions, horse power and speed. In the case of the Dreadnaught not an item in the design is revealed, the board containing the simple sentence “His Majesty’s Ship Dreadnaught, commenced October 2, 1905.” When ready for sea the ship will displace 18,500 tons, but this is the least remarkable thing about her, for besides the ideas introduced as a resullt of the far eastern war, Britain
is placing on her new fighting machine the heaviest armament ever carried by a ship.
In the past British vessels have carried four 12-inch guns throwing 850
pound shells. The Dreadnaught will have 10 of these weapons of a new type with a muzzle energy of 49,568, as compared with the 33,622 of the guns carried in as recent battleships as the Majestic class, an increase in power of 50 per cent. In a great sea fight the Dreadnaught will be able to discharge every minute 10 projectiles weighing 8,500 pounds with sufficient velocity to send them 25 miles, or to penetrate about 16
inches of the hardest armor at a range of about two miles.
Unlike all British and foreign battleships built in the past 30 years, the new addition to the fleet will carry no weapon smaller than the great 12-inch piece, except 18 three inch quickfirers for repelling attacks by torpedo craft. She will mount neither 9.2-inch, 7.5-inch nor 6-inch guns, she will be the biggest warship afloat and she will have only the biggest and most powerful guns. The secrets which will be incorporated in the huge hull are still hidden, but it is known that they tend to economy, as well as efficiency. The Dreadnaught will cost 10 per cent per ton less than recent battleships the British built, although she will represent the last word in all details of her construction. In another respect the Dreadnaught will be unique—she will be the first battleship in the world to be driven by turbines. These engines will supply the power for four propellors, two more than any previously built British battleship, which should make her the fastest ship of her class afloat. Another advantage of the turbines, as shown by the performance of the Carmania, is that the gunners will have a steadier deck from which to handle the guns.
The guns, armor, machinery, boilers, etc., are ready to be placed in the Dreadnaught, so there should be no difficulty in having her ready for sea in 12 months, when she will join the Atlantic fleet, based on Gibraltar, thus being placed midway between the channel and Mediterranean fleets. As trouble threatens on the one side or the other the ships of the Atlantic fleet are moved, making them of the greatest use in the time of war, no matter who the enemy might be. Writing of this fleet as it will be when the Dreadnaught joins, a naval expert said:
“Nothing as devastating as this concentrated destruction has ever been
conceived in the brain of man. It is impossible to picture the result of one minute’s well directed fire at an enemy’s ships, and when one minute is followed by others the effect would be too terrible for words, presuming the gunners get the range and fire as at target practice. To this length has the contest tor a sea power gone, and this is not the end, for the time is not far distant when the British ensign will fly over fleets and squadrons of Dreadnaughts, vessels costing a million and a half sterling or more, each with 10 or 12 12-inch guns, which will engage an antagonist when three or four miles distant, and will pour in a succession of shells, each weighing 850 pounds, carrying wholesale destruction in their wake.”
The Billings Gazette, Billings, MT, February 13, 1906