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  ^The Daily Telegraph^
  WAR BOOKS

  THE FLEETS AT WAR




  ^The Daily Telegraph^
  WAR BOOKS

  CLOTH 1/- NET.

  ~VOL. I. (3rd Enormous Edition.)~
  _HOW THE WAR BEGAN_
  _By W. L. COURTNEY, LL.D., and J. M. KENNEDY_
  Is Britain’s justification before the Bar of History.

  ~VOL. II.~
  _THE FLEETS AT WAR_
  _By ARCHIBALD HURD_,
  The key book to the understanding of the NAVAL situation

  ~VOL. III.~
  _THE CAMPAIGN OF SEDAN_
  _By GEORGE HOOPER_
  The key book to the MILITARY situation.

  ~VOL. IV.~
  _THE CAMPAIGN ROUND
  LIEGE_

  ¶ Describes in wonderful detail the heroic defence of Liege, and shows
  how the gallant army of Belgium has upset and altered the whole plan
  of advance as devised by the Kaiser and his War Council.


[Illustration: _Photo: Speaight, Ltd._

=ADMIRAL SIR JOHN JELLICOE.=

Supreme Admiral, British Home Fleet.]




  THE FLEETS AT
  WAR

  BY
  ARCHIBALD HURD

  Author of “Command of the Sea,” “Naval Efficiency,” “German Sea Power:
  Its Rise, Progress, and Economic Basis” (part author), etc.

  HODDER AND STOUGHTON
  LONDON NEW YORK TORONTO
  MCMXIV




PREFACE


It is hoped that this volume will prove of permanent value as presenting
a conspectus of the great navies engaged in war when hostilities opened,
and in particular of the events of singular significance in the naval
contest between Great Britain and Germany which occurred in the years
immediately preceding the war.

Grateful acknowledgment is made to Mr. H. C. Bywater for valuable
assistance in preparing this volume.

  A. H.




CONTENTS


  CHAPTER                                                      PAGE

  INTRODUCTION--THE OPENING PHASE                                 9

     I. THE RELATIVE STANDING OF THE BRITISH AND GERMAN FLEETS   49

    II. THE BRITISH NAVY                                         54

   III. THE GERMAN NAVY                                         101

    IV. ADMIRAL JELLICOE                                        131

     V. OFFICERS AND MEN OF THE BRITISH NAVY                    137

    VI. THE COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF OF THE GERMAN FLEET              141

   VII. OFFICERS AND MEN OF THE FOREIGN NAVIES                  147

  VIII. GERMAN NAVAL BASES                                      151

    IX. THE KIEL CANAL                                          161

     X. THE GREAT FLEETS ENGAGED: TABULAR STATEMENT             168


[Illustration: Map of North Sea.]




INTRODUCTION

THE OPENING PHASE


PEACEFUL VICTORIES OF BRITISH SEA POWER

The declaration of war against Germany, followed as it was by similar
action against Austria-Hungary, was preceded by a sequence of events so
remarkable in their character that if any British writer had made any
such forecast in times of peace he would have been written down as a
romantic optimist.

Owing to a series of fortunate circumstances, the British Fleet--our
main line of defence and offence--was fully mobilised for war on the
morning before the day--August 4th at 11 p.m.--when war was declared by
this country, and we were enabled to enter upon the supreme contest in
our history with a sense of confidence which was communicated to all the
peoples of the British Empire. This feeling of assurance and courage
furnished the best possible augury for the future.

Within a fortnight of diplomatic relations being broken off with
Germany, and less than a week after Austria-Hungary by her acts had
declared her community of interest with her ally, the British Navy,
without firing a gun or sending a single torpedo hissing through the
water, had achieved four victories.

  (1) Germany’s elaborate scheme to produce a feeling of panic in this
  country--hence the army of spies, who took advantage of our open
  hospitality, using the telephone and providing themselves with bombs
  and arms, had failed.

  (2) Germany’s over-sea commerce was strangled.

  (3) British trade on the seas began to resume its normal course owing
  to the growing confidence of shipowners and shippers.

  (4) The British Expeditionary Force, as detailed for foreign service,
  had been transported to the Continent under a guarantee of safety
  given by the British Fleet.

These successes were due to the influence of sea-power. Confidence in
the Navy, its ships and men, and a belief in the competency of Mr.
Winston Churchill and Prince Louis of Battenberg and the other Sea
Lords, and the War Staff, steadied the nerve of the nation when it
received the first shock. Apparently the crisis developed so swiftly
that there was no time for effective co-operation between the German
spies. All the mischievous stories of British reverses which were
clumsily put in circulation in the early period of hostilities were
tracked down; for once truth was nearly as swift as rumour, though the
latter was the result of an elaborately organised scheme for throwing
the British people off their mental balance. It was conjectured that if
a feeling of panic could be created in this country, a frightened nation
would bring pressure to bear on the naval and military authorities and
our strategic plans ashore and afloat would be interfered with. A
democracy in a state of panic cannot make war. The carefully-laid scheme
miscarried. Never was a nation more self-possessed. It had faith in its
Fleet.

In the history of sea power, there is nothing comparable with the
strangulation of German oversea shipping in all the seas of the world.
It followed almost instantly on the declaration of war. There were over
2,000 German steamers, of nearly 5,000,000 tons gross, afloat when
hostilities opened. The German sailing ships--mostly of small
size--numbered 2,700. These vessels were distributed over the seas far
and wide. Some--scores of them, in fact--were captured, others ran for
neutral ports, the sailings of others were cancelled, and the heart of
the German mercantile navy suddenly stopped beating. What must have been
the feelings of Herr Ballin and the other pioneers as they contemplated
the ruin, at least temporary ruin, of years of splendid enterprise? The
strategical advantages enjoyed by England in a war against Germany,
lying as she does like a bunker across Germany’s approach to the oversea
world, had never been understood by the mass of Germans, nor by their
statesmen. Shipowners had some conception of what would happen, but even
they did not anticipate that in less than a week the great engine of
commercial activity oversea would be brought to a standstill.

By its prompt action on the eve of war in instituting a system of
Government insurance of war risks, Mr. Asquith’s administration checked
any indication of panic among those responsible for our sea affairs. The
maintenance of our oversea commerce on the outbreak of hostilities had
been the subject of enquiry by a sub-committee of the Committee of
Imperial Defence. When war was inevitable, the Government produced this
report, and relying on our sea power, immediately carried into effect
the far-reaching and statesmanlike recommendations which had been made,
for the State itself bearing 80 per cent. of the cost of insurance of
hull and cargoes due to capture by the enemies. Thus at the moment of
severest strain--the outbreak of war--traders recognised that in
carrying on their normal trading operations overseas they had behind
them the wholehearted support of the British Government, the power of a
supreme fleet, and the guarantee of all the accumulated wealth of the
richest country in the world. None of the dismal forebodings which had
been indulged in during peace were realised. Traders were convinced by
the drastic action of the Government and by the ubiquitous pressure of
British sea power on all the trade routes that, though some losses might
be suffered owing to the action of German cruisers and converted
merchantmen, the danger was of so restricted a character and had been so
admirably covered by the Government’s insurance scheme that they could
“carry on” in calm courage and thus contribute to the success of British
arms. Navies and armies must accept defeat if they have not behind them
a civil population freed from fear of starvation.

Even more remarkable, perhaps, than either of these victories of British
sea power was the safe transportation to the Continent of the
Expeditionary Force as detailed for foreign service. Within a fortnight
of the declaration of war, while we had suffered from no threat of
invasion or even of such raids on the coast as had been considered
probable incidents in the early stage of war, the spearhead of the
British Army had been thrust into the Continent of Europe.

It is often the obvious which passes without recognition. The official
intelligence that the Expeditionary Force had reached the Continent
fired the imagination of Englishmen, and they felt no little pride that
at so early a stage in the war the British Army--the only long-service
army in the world--should have been able to take its stand beside the
devoted defenders of France and Belgium.

It is, of course, obvious that the army of an island kingdom cannot
leave its base except it receive a guarantee of safe transport from the
Navy. The British Army, whether it fights in India, in Egypt, or in
South Africa, must always be carried on the back of the British Navy.
If during the years of peaceful dalliance and fearful anticipation it
had been suggested that, in face of an unconquered German fleet, we
could throw an immense body of men on the Continent, and complete the
operation within ten days or so from the declaration of war, the
statement would have been regarded as a gross exaggeration. This was the
amazing achievement. It reflected credit on the military machinery; but
let it not be forgotten that all the labours of the General Staff at the
War Office would have been of no avail unless, on the day before the
declaration of war, the whole mobilised Navy had been able to take the
sea in defence of British interests afloat.

We do well not to ignore these obvious facts, because they are
fundamental. The Navy must always be the lifeline of the Expeditionary
Force, ensuring to it reinforcements, stores, and everything necessary
to enable it to carry out its high purpose. That the Admiralty, with the
approval of Admiral Sir John Jellicoe, felt itself justified in giving
the military authorities a certificate of safe transport before the
command of the sea had been secured indicated high confidence that when
the German fleet did come forth to accept battle the issue would be in
no doubt, though victory might have to be purchased at a high price.

Nor was this all. Thanks to the ubiquitous operations of the British
Navy, the Government was able to move two divisions of troops from
India, and to accept all the offers of military aid which were
immediately made by the Dominions. It was realised in a flash by all
the scattered people of the Empire that the Fleet, with its tentacles in
every sea, maintains the Empire in unity: when “the earth was full of
anger,” the seas were full of British ships of war.

  [Illustration]

  _H.M.S. King George V._

  _Photo: Cribb, Southsea._

  =KING GEORGE V CLASS.=

  KING GEORGE V, CENTURION, AUDACIOUS, AJAX.

  Displacement: 23,000 tons.

  Speed: 22 knots; Guns: 10 13·5in., 16 4in.; Torpedo tubes: 5.

  [Illustration]

  Astern fire:  Broadside:  Ahead fire:
  4 13·5in.     10 13·5in.  4 13·5in.

It was in these circumstances that the war opened. Every incident tended
to remind the people of the British Isles and the subjects of the King
who live in the far-flung Dominions and those who reside in the
scattered Crown Colonies and Dependencies of the essential truth
contained in the phrases which had come so trippingly to the lips in
days of peace. Men recognised that the statement of our dependence upon
the sea as set forth in the Articles of War was a declaration of policy
which we had done well not to ignore:

  “It is upon the Navy that, under the good Providence of God, the
  wealth, prosperity and peace of these islands and of the Empire do
  mainly depend.”

How true these words rang when, in defence of our honour, we had to take
up the gage thrown down by the Power which claimed supremacy as a
military Power and aspired to primacy as a naval Power. Those who turned
to Mr. Arnold White’s admirable monograph on “The Navy and Its Story,”
must admit that this writer, in picturesque phrase, had set forth
fundamental facts:

  “Since the first mariner risked his life in a canoe and travelled
  coastwise for his pleasure or his business, Britain has acquired half
  the seaborne traffic of the world. She relies on her Navy to fill the
  grocer’s shop, to bring flour and corn to our great cities and to keep
  any possible enemy at a distance. So successfully has the British Navy
  done its work that many generations of Englishmen have grown up
  without hearing the sound of a gun fired in anger. Every other nation
  in Europe has heard the tramp of foreign soldiery in the lifetime of
  men still living and felt the pain and shame of invasion.

  “Five times in the history of England the British Navy has stood
  between the would-be master of Europe and the attainment of his
  ambition. Charlemagne, Charles V., Philip II. of Spain, Louis XIV. of
  France, and Napoleon--all aspired to universal dominion. Each of these
  Sovereigns in turn was checked in his soaring plans by British sea
  power.”

When the British peoples awoke to the fact that they owed it to
themselves and their past to join in humbling another tyrant, they
gained confidence in the task which confronted them from the glorious
record of the past achievements of those who, relying upon command of
the sea, had crushed in the dust the mightiest rulers that had ever
tried to impose their yoke on humanity.

  [Illustration]

  _H.M.S. Orion._

  _Photo: Sport & General._

  =ORION CLASS.=

  ORION, CONQUEROR, MONARCH, THUNDERER.

  Displacement: 22,500 tons.

  Speed: 22 knots; Guns: 10 13·5in., 16 4in.; Torpedo tubes: 3.

  [Illustration]

  Astern fire:  Broadside:   Ahead fire:
  4 13·5in.     10 13·5in.   4 13·5in.

In a spirit of calmness, patience and courage the British people took up
the task which their sense of honour forced upon them all
unwillingly. Glancing back over the record of naval progress during the
earlier years of the twentieth century we cannot fail to recognise that,
in spite of many cross currents and eddies of public opinion, fate had
been preparing the British peoples, all unconsciously, for the
arbitrament of a war on the issue of which would depend all the
interests, tangible and intangible, of the four hundred and forty
million subjects of the King--their freedom, their rights to self
government, their world-wide trade, and that atmosphere which
distinguishes the British Empire from every other empire which has ever
existed. In the years of peace men had often asked themselves whether a
new crisis would produce the men of destiny to defend the traditions we
had inherited from our forefathers. While peace still reigned, they
little realised that the men of destiny were quietly, but persistently,
working out our salvation. When the hour struck England was fully
prepared, confident in her sea power, to take up the gage in defence of
all the democracies of the world against the tyrant Power which sought
to impose the iron caste of militarism and materialism upon nations that
had outgrown mediæval conditions.

If we would realise the bearing of British naval policy in the years
which preceded the outbreak of war, we shall do well to cast aside all
party bias and personal animosities and study the sequence of events
after the manner of the historian who collates the material to his hand,
analyses it without fear or favour, and sets down his conclusions in
all faithfulness. Pursuing this course we are carried back to the year
1897. Since the German Emperor had ascended the throne in 1888, he had
endeavoured to communicate to his subjects the essential truths as to
the influence of sea power upon history which he had read in Admiral
Mahan’s early books. His educational campaign was a failure. In spite of
all the efforts of Admiral von Hollmann, the Minister of Marine, the
Reichstag refused to vote increased supplies to the Navy. At last, when
he had been finally repulsed, first by the Budget Committee and then by
the Reichstag itself, Admiral von Hollmann retired admitting defeat.
The Emperor found a successor in a naval officer who, then unknown, was
in a few years to change radically the opinion of Germans on the value
of a fleet. Born on March 19th, 1849, at Custrin, and the son of a
judge, Alfred Tirpitz became a naval cadet in 1865, and was afterwards
at the Naval Academy from 1874 to 1876. He subsequently devoted much
attention to the torpedo branch of the service, and was mainly
responsible for the torpedo organisation and the tactical use of
torpedoes in the German Navy--a work which British officers regard with
admiration.[1] Subsequently he became Inspector of her Torpedo Service,
and was the first Flotilla Chief of the Torpedo Flotillas. Later he was
appointed Chief of the Staff at the naval station in the Baltic and of
the Supreme Command of the German Fleet. During these earlier years of
his sea career, Admiral Tirpitz made several long voyages. He is
regarded as an eminent tactician, and is the author of the rules for
German naval tactics as now in use in the Navy. In 1895 he was promoted
to the rank of Rear-Admiral, and became Vice-Admiral in 1899. In 1896
and 1897 he commanded the cruiser squadron in East Asia, and immediately
after became Secretary of State of the Imperial Navy Office. In the
following year he was made a Minister of State and Naval Secretary, and
in 1901 received the hereditary rank of nobility, entitling him to the
use of the honorific prefix “Von.”

  [1] German Sea Power: Its Rise, Progress and Economic Basis, by
  Archibald Hurd and Henry Castle (London: John Murray 1913).

With the advent of this sailor-statesman to the Marineamt, the whole
course of German naval policy changed, and in 1898 the first German Navy
Act was passed authorising a navy on a standard which far exceeded
anything hitherto attained. It provided for the following ships:

  THE BATTLE FLEET

  19 battleships (2 as material reserve).
   8 armoured coast defence vessels.
   6 large cruisers.
  16 small cruisers.

  FOREIGN SERVICE FLEET

  LARGE CRUISERS

  For East Africa                    2
  For Central and South America      1
  Material reserve                   3
                                    --
      Total                          6

  SMALL CRUISERS

  For East Asia                      3
  For Central and South America      3
  For East Africa                    2
  For the South Seas                 2
  Material reserve                   4
                                    --
      Total                         14

  1 Station ship.

This dramatic departure in German naval policy aroused hardly a ripple
of interest in England. Then occurred the South African War, the seizure
of the “Bundesrat,” and other incidents which were utilised by the
German Emperor, the Marine Minister, and the official Press Bureau, with
its wide extending agencies for inflaming public opinion throughout the
German Empire against the British Navy. The ground having been well
prepared, in 1900 the naval measure of 1898, which was to have covered
a period of six years, was superseded by another Navy Act, practically
doubling the establishment of ships and men. This is not the time, nor
does space permit, to trace the evolution of German naval policy during
subsequent years or to analyse the successive Navy Acts which were
passed as political circumstances favoured further expansion. The
story--and it is a fascinating narrative in the light of after
events--may be read elsewhere. The fact to be noted is that the British
peoples generally viewed the early indications of German naval policy
without suspicion or distrust. Most men found it impossible to believe
that any Power could hope to challenge the naval supremacy which had
been won at such great sacrifice at the Battle of Trafalgar, and which
the British people had continued to enjoy virtually without challenge
throughout the nineteenth century.

Happily, the hour when preparations had to be made, if made at all, to
maintain in face of any rivalry our sea command, produced the man. In
the autumn of 1901 Lord Selborne, then First Lord of the Admiralty, paid
a special visit to Malta to discuss the naval situation with a naval
officer with whose name not a thousand people in the British Isles were
then familiar. Sir John Fisher had, as recently as 1899, taken over the
command of the Mediterranean Squadron; he had already made a great name
in the service as a man of original thought and great courage,
possessing a genius for naval politics and naval administration. He had
represented the British Navy at the Hague Peace Conference, but he
might have walked from end to end of London, and not a dozen people
would have recognised him. In the following March, thanks to Lord
Selborne, he became Second Sea Lord, and a naval revolution was
inaugurated. Elsewhere I have recapitulated the remarkable Navy of the
renaissance of British sea power.[2]

  [2] _Fortnightly Review_, September, 1914.

First, attention was devoted to the _personnel_. New schemes of training
for officers and men and for the Naval Reserve were introduced. A new
force--the Royal Fleet Reserve--was established, consisting of naval
seamen and other ratings who had served afloat for five years or more; a
Volunteer Naval Reserve was initiated; steps were taken to revise the
administration of the naval establishments ashore, and to reduce the
proportion of officers and men engaged in peace duties, freeing them for
service in ships afloat. On the anniversary of Trafalgar in 1904, after
a short period in command at Portsmouth in order to supervise personally
the reforms in training and manning policy already introduced, Sir John
Fisher--Lord Fisher as he is now known--returned to the Admiralty as
First Sea Lord. Instantly, with the support of Lord Selborne and Mr.
Balfour, then Prime Minister, to whom all honour is due, the new Board
proceeded to carry into effect vast correlated schemes for the
redistribution of the fleets at sea and the more rapid mobilisation of
ships in reserve, the reorganisation of the Admiralty, and the
re-adjustment of our world naval policy to the new conditions in
accordance with a plan of action which the new First Sea Lord had
prepared months in advance.

Our principal sea frontier has been the Mediterranean. It was necessary
to change it, and the operation had to be carried out without causing
undue alarm to our neighbours--at that time we had no particular
friends, though the foundations of the Entente were already being laid.
Without asking your leave from Parliament, the great administrative
engine, to which Lord Fisher supplied fuel, proceeded to carry out the
most gigantic task to which any Governmental Department ever put its
hand. Overseas squadrons which had no strategic purpose were
disestablished; unimportant dockyards were reduced to cadres; ships too
weak to fight and too slow to run away were recalled; a whole fleet of
old ships, which were eating up money and adding nothing to our
strength, were scrapped; the vessels in reserve were provided with
nucleus crews. With a single eye to the end in view--victory in the main
strategical theatres--conservative influences which strove to impede
reform were beaten down. With the officers and men taken out of the weak
ships, and others who were wrenched from comfortable employment ashore,
a great fleet on our new frontier was organised.

In the preamble to the German Navy Act of 1900 it had been stated:

  “It is not absolutely necessary that the German Battle Fleet should be
  as strong as that of the greatest naval Power, for a great naval
  Power will not, as a rule, be in a position to concentrate all its
  striking force against us. But even if it should succeed in meeting us
  with considerable superiority of strength, the defeat of a strong
  German Fleet would so substantially weaken the enemy that, in spite of
  the victory he might have obtained, his own position in the world
  would no longer be secured by an adequate fleet.”

Lord Fisher had not studied the progress of the German naval movement
without realising that in this passage was to be found the secret of the
strategic plan which the German naval authorities had formed. With the
instinct of a great strategist, he reorganised the whole world-wide
machinery of the British Navy, in order to suit the new circumstances
then developing.

The war in the Far East had shown that changes were necessary in the
design of British ships of all classes. The First Sea Lord insisted that
the matter should have immediate attention, and a powerful committee of
naval officers, shipbuilders, and scientists began its sittings at the
Admiralty. The moment its report was available, Parliament was asked for
authority to lay down groups of ships of new types, of which the
“Dreadnought” was the most famous. _In the preceding six years, sixteen
battleships had been laid down for Great Britain, while Germany had
begun thirteen; our sea power, as computed in modern ships of the line,
had already begun to shrink._ Secretly and rapidly, four units of the
new type--the “Dreadnought,” with her swift sisters, the “Indomitable,”
“Inflexible,” and “Invincible”--were rushed to completion. No battleship
building abroad carried more than four big guns; the “Dreadnought” had
ten big guns, and her swift consorts eight.[3] Thus was the work of
rebuilding the British Fleet initiated. Destroyers of a new type were
placed in hand, and redoubled progress was made in the construction of
submarines, which Lord Fisher was the first to realise were essential to
this country, and were capable of immense development as offensive
engines of warfare. We gained a lead of eighteen months over other
Powers by the determined policy adopted.

  [3] It is officially admitted by the United States Navy Department
  that it had prepared plans for a ship similar in armament to the
  Dreadnought in 1904, and was awaiting the approval of Congress before
  beginning construction. American officers had come to the same
  conclusions as to the inevitable tendency of battleship design as the
  British Admiralty.

  Owing to the delay imposed by the necessity of obtaining the consent
  of Congress, the United States lost the advantage; in the exercise of
  its powers, the British Admiralty acted directly the designs of the
  new ships were ready.

Just as the task of rebuilding the Fleet had been initiated, a change of
Government occurred, and there was reason to fear that the stupendous
task of reorganising and re-creating the bases of our naval power would
be delayed, if not abandoned. In Lord Fisher the nation had,
fortunately, a man of iron will. Though Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman,
above all things desirous of arresting the rivalry in naval armaments,
was Prime Minister, and Lord Tweedmouth was First Lord of the Admiralty,
Lord Fisher, supported by his colleagues on the Board, insisted on
essentials. Delays occurred in German shipbuilding, and the Admiralty
agreed that British shipbuilding could be delayed. In 1906, 1907, and
1908 only eight Dreadnoughts were begun. Subsequent events tend to show
that this policy was a political mistake, though we eventually obtained
more powerful ships by the delay. Germany was encouraged to believe that
under a Liberal Administration she could overtake us. _Between 1906 and
1908 inclusive we laid down eight large ships of the Dreadnought type;
and Germany laid down nine, and began to accelerate her programme of
1909._

Then occurred a momentous change in British affairs. Lord Tweedmouth,
after the famous incident of the German Emperor’s letter, retired from
office (1908), and his place was taken by Mr. Reginald McKenna, who was
to show that a rigid regard for economy was not incompatible with a high
standard of patriotism. In association with the Sea Lords, he surveyed
the naval situation. In the following March occurred the naval crisis.
Germany had accelerated her construction, and our sea power was in
peril. The whole Board of Admiralty determined that there was no room
for compromise. Mr. McKenna, it is now no secret, found arrayed against
him a large section of the Cabinet when he put forward the stupendous
programme of 1909, making provision for eight Dreadnoughts, six
protected cruisers, twenty destroyers, and a number of submarines. The
naval crisis was accompanied by a Cabinet crisis, in spite of the fact
that Sir Edward Grey, as Foreign Secretary, gave the naval authorities
his full support. _Unknown to the nation, the Admiralty resigned, and
for a time the Navy had no superior authority._ This dramatic act won
the day. The Cabinet was converted; the necessity for prompt, energetic
action was proved. The most in the way of compromise to which the Board
would agree was a postponement in announcing the construction of four of
the eight armoured ships. But from the first there was no doubt that,
unless there was a sudden change in German policy, the whole octette
would be built. When the programme was presented to the House of
Commons, the Prime Minister and Sir Edward Grey gave to Mr. McKenna
their wholehearted support; either the Government had to be driven from
office, or the Liberal Party had to agree to the immense commitment
represented in the Navy Estimates. The programme was agreed to.

This, however, is only half the story. Neither the Government nor the
Admiralty was in a position to tell the country that, though all the
ships were not to be laid down at once, they would all be laid down in
regular rotation, in order that they might be ready in ample time to
meet the situation which was developing. Perhaps it was well in the
circumstances that this fact was not revealed. Public opinion became
active. The whole patriotic sentiment of the country was roused, and the
jingle was heard on a thousand platforms, “We want eight and we won’t
wait.” The Admiralty, which had already determined upon its policy,
remained silent and refused to hasten the construction of the ships.
Quietly, but firmly, the Board resisted pressure, realising that it, and
it only, was in possession of all the facts. Secrecy is the basis of
peace as well as war strategy. The naval authorities were unable to
defend themselves by announcing that they were on the eve of obtaining a
powerful weapon which could not be ready for the ships if they were laid
down at once. By waiting the Navy was to gain the most powerful gun in
the world.

In order to keep pace with progress in Germany, it was necessary to lay
down two of the eight ships in July, and be satisfied with the 12-inch
guns (projectile of 850 lbs.) for these units. The construction of the
other six vessels was postponed in order that they might receive the new
13·5-inch gun, with a projectile of about 1,400 lbs. Two of the
Dreadnoughts were began at Portsmouth and Devonport Dockyards in the
following November, and the contracts for the remaining four were not
placed until the spring, for the simple reason that the delivery of the
new guns and mountings and their equipment could not be secured for the
vessels, even if their hulls were started without a moment’s delay. Thus
we obtained six battleships which are still unique; in no other Navy is
so powerful a gun to be found to-day as the British 13·5-inch weapon. In
1910 and in 1911 Mr. McKenna again fought for national safety, and he
won the essential provision for the Fleet. He risked his all in defence
of our sea power. He was probably during those years of struggle the
most unpopular Minister the Liberal Party ever had. What has been the
sequel of his tenacity and courage and patriotism? What has been gained
owing to the bold front which Lord Fisher presented, as First Sea Lord,
supported by his colleagues? Sixteen of the eighteen battleships and
battle-cruisers of the Dreadnought type, the fifteen protected cruisers,
and the sixty destroyers, with a group of submarines, which the Board
over which Mr. McKenna presided secured, constituted the spearhead of
the British Fleet when the crisis came and war had to be declared
against Germany in defence of our plighted word.

With the addition of one more chapter, this story of the renaissance of
British sea power is complete. In the autumn of 1911, over seven years
after Lord Fisher had begun to shake the Navy into renewed life,
encouraged Sir Percy Scott in his gunnery reforms, and brought to the
Board the splendid intellect of Sir John Jellicoe, Mr. Winston Churchill
replaced Mr. McKenna as First Lord. Thus the youngest statesman of the
English-speaking world realised his ambition. Lord Fisher, under the age
clause, had already been compelled to vacate his seat on the Board,
retiring with a peerage, and his successor, Sir Arthur Wilson, was also
on the eve of retirement. Mr. McKenna had to be freed to take over the
Welsh Church Bill and to place his legal mind at the service of the
country at the Home Office. He had done his work and done it well. Mr.
Winston Churchill proved the ideal man to put the finishing touches to
the great task which had been initiated during Lord Selborne’s period of
office. Perhaps the keynote of his administration is to be found in the
attention which he devoted to the organisation of the War Staff, the
elements of which had been created by former Boards, and the
readjustment of the pay of officers and men. No service is efficient for
war in which there exists a rankling feeling of injustice. The rates of
pay of officers and men were revised and increased; facilities were
opened up for men of the lower deck to reach commissioned rank. About
20,000 officers and men were added to the active service of the Fleet.
At the same time with the ships provided by former Boards, the
organisation of the ships in Home waters was placed on a higher standard
of efficiency, particular attention being devoted to the organisation of
the older ships so as to keep them efficient for war. The Naval Air
Service was established, and its development pressed forward with all
speed. Thus the work of reform and the task of changing the front of the
British Navy had been brought to completion, or virtual completion, at
the moment when Germany, by a concatenation of circumstances, was forced
into a position where she had to fight the greatest of sea Powers, or
admit the defeat of all her ambitions.

A study of the sequence of events which immediately preceded the
outbreak of hostilities is hardly less interesting than the earlier and
dramatic incidents which enabled us to face the supreme crisis in our
history with a measure of assured confidence. On March 17th, 1914, Mr.
Winston Churchill spoke in the House of Commons on the Navy Estimates.
It is common knowledge that he had just fought a stern battle in the
Cabinet for adequate supplies, and it was assumed at the time, from
various incidents, that he had been compelled to submit to some
measure of retrenchment. He received, however, Cabinet authority
to ask Parliament for the largest sum ever devoted to naval
defence--£51,500,000. In the course of his speech on these Estimates he
made the announcement that there would be no naval manœuvres in 1914. He
stated:

  “We have decided to substitute this year for the grand manœuvres--not,
  of course, for the numberless exercises the Fleet is always carrying
  out--a general mobilisation of the Third Fleet.[4] We are calling up
  the whole of the Royal Fleet Reserve for a period of eleven days, and
  those who come up for that period will be excused training next year,
  and will receive £1 bounty in addition to their regular pay.

  “We have had a most admirable response. 10,170 men, seamen, and
  others, and 1,409 marines, are required to man the ships of the Third
  Fleet. We have already, in the few days our circular has been out,
  received replies from 10,334 men volunteers, and from 3,321 marines. I
  think that reflects great credit on the spirit of the Reserve
  generally, and also reflects credit upon the employers, who must have
  greatly facilitated this operation all over the country. I hereby
  extend to them the thanks of the Admiralty.

  “This test is one of the most important that could possibly be made,
  and it is really surprising to me that it has never been undertaken
  before. The cost, including the bounty of £1, will be about £50,000.
  Having no grand manœuvres yields a saving of £230,000, so there is a
  net saving on the substitution of £180,000.”

  [4] The Third Fleet consists of the oldest ships of the Navy
  maintained in peace with skeleton crews.

It was hardly surprising in the circumstances that many persons thought
the Admiralty was bent merely upon economy. If the naval authorities had
had foreknowledge of the course of events they could not, in fact, have
adopted a wiser course. From March onwards, week by week down to the
middle of July, the elaborate and complicated drafting arrangements were
examined and readjusted. Then, after the assassinations at Sarajevo and
on the eve of the final developments on the Continent, which were to
make war inevitable, the test mobilisation was carried out. The
principal ships passed before the King off the Nab Lightship, a column
of seaplanes and aeroplanes circling high above the ships, and then
disappeared in the Channel to carry out what were believed to be peace
exercises, but were, in fact, to prove the manœuvres preliminary to war.
Later in the same week, the vessels of the Patrol Flotillas were engaged
in testing a new scheme for sealing this narrow exit to the North Sea.

  [Illustration]

  _H.M.S. Neptune._

  _Photo: Sport & General._

  =NEPTUNE CLASS.=

  COLOSSUS, NEPTUNE, HERCULES (slight differences).

  Displacement: 19,200 to 20,000 tons.

  Speed: 22 knots; Guns: 10 12in., 16 4in.; Torpedo tubes: 3.

  [Illustration]

  Astern fire:  Broadside:  Ahead fire:
  8 12in.       10 12in.    6 12in.

A week afterwards the thunderbolt fell; the crisis found the First and
Second Fleets ready in all respects for war, and, after additional
reserves had been called out on Sunday, August 2nd, the Admiralty was
able to give the nation a certificate that by 4 a.m. the following
morning the British Navy had been raised from a peace footing to a war
footing, and was fully mobilised.

Immediately the curtain fell, hiding from view the movements of all
British men-of-war, not only in the main strategical theatre, but in the
outer seas. Two battleships, which had just been completed for Turkey by
those whom Mr. G. H. Perris had denounced only a short time before in
his pamphlet as the “War Traders,” were taken over by the Admiralty,
proving valuable accessions to our naval strength. Two swift
destroyer-leaders were also compulsorily purchased from Chile, the
appointment of Admiral Sir John Jellicoe as supreme British Admiral of
the Home Fleets was announced, and all the preliminaries to the great
war drama on the sea were completed without delay, confusion, or panic.
The nation will remember in gratitude the courage and decision exhibited
by Mr. Churchill in the hour of supreme crisis. He proved himself a
statesman.

This is not the place to relate the story of the renaissance of British
military power. The virtue of the measures adopted by Lord Haldane as
Secretary for War lay in the fact that he did homage to the essential
principle which must underlie all schemes of defence by an island
kingdom, which is the nerve centre of a maritime Empire. As in
Opposition he had been foremost in advertising our dependence upon the
sea, so in office, as Minister responsible for the Army, he based all
his schemes on the assumption that the British Army is the projectile of
a supreme fleet, to be hurled oversea as soon as the naval authority is
able to give guarantee of safe passage. It was in the light of this
essential truth that the Expeditionary Force was organised, and the
Volunteers converted into the Territorial Army. Mistakes were, no doubt,
made; no man who avoids them can ever expect to do anything. But at
practically no additional expense, and without, therefore, withdrawing a
penny from the necessary provision of the fleet, Lord Haldane initiated
and completed military schemes, the value of which became apparent when
we were confronted with the necessity of entering upon a contest with
two of the great military powers of Europe, which possessed fleets of
such a standing that they could offer challenge to our supremacy afloat.

The survey of British naval policy in the years immediately preceding
the war would be incomplete were no reference made to the fact, of which
we were insistently reminded when hostilities opened, that sea power,
even more than military power, must stand defeated from the very outset,
unless it is supplemented by economic power. In the past the weakness of
all democracies when faced by war has been apparent. However great the
power on the sea, however formidable the military arm ashore, the real
strength of a people lies in itself. It must be ready on the instant to
organise every department of life on a war basis. Armed forces which
have not behind them a resolute community are robbed of more than half
their power. A feeling of panic is always apt to infect a democracy, and
then under the palsy of fear the tendency is for pressure to be brought
to bear on the supreme naval and military authorities, with the result
that strategic plans, matured in peace, become confused and ineffective.
An illustration of the influence of the fears of the civil population
upon war policy was furnished during the Spanish-American War. Under the
pressure of nervous public opinion, the Naval Board was compelled to
depart from the sound strategy of concentration upon the main objective,
and to dissipate no little of the power at its command in order to
provide some measure of local protection for various coast towns.
Fortunately, British naval policy had been developed on lines which
minimised this peril, and our economic resources had been surveyed, and
adequate preparations made to afford to our sea power every possible
economic support. As to the first, fear of invasion or raids, the coast
and port guard ships, with little more than skeleton crews, had been
abolished; in their place patrol flotillas of destroyers and submarines
had been created to keep an efficient and active watch and ward along
the sea frontier which the enemy at our door might threaten. This
provision was supplemented by the mobilisation of all our national
resources, under the direction of the Committee of Imperial Defence.
When Mr. Balfour founded this body he builded better than he knew. When
war came not only were the main fleets not tied to our shores, but every
department of State had before it a complete plan of the duty which it
had to perform in order to give that national support to the fleet,
without which it could not hope to achieve victory.

During the years which immediately preceded war the Committee of
Imperial Defence was quietly at work co-ordinating the naval and
military arms, and laying the foundation of a wide-spreading
organisation. On July 25th, 1912, Mr. Asquith, in a speech in the House
of Commons, gave the nation some conception of the character of one
aspect of the work which was then being quietly performed by this small
body, unrecognised by our Constitution, and regarded, as it had been
since its birth, with no little suspicion and distrust. Mr. Asquith
related that the Committee of Imperial Defence had appointed what was
styled “a sub-committee for the co-ordination of departmental action at
the outbreak of war.” Describing this particular work of the Committee
of Imperial Defence, Mr. Asquith added:

  “This sub-committee, which is composed of the principal officials of
  the various Departments of State, has, after many months of continuous
  labour, compiled a War-Book. We call it a War-Book--and it is a book
  which definitely assigns to each Department--not merely the War Office
  and the Admiralty, but the Home Office, the Board of Trade, and every
  Department of the State--its responsibility for action under every
  head of war policy. The Departments themselves, in pursuance of the
  instructions given by the War-Book, have drafted all the
  proclamations, Orders in Council, letters, telegrams, notices, and so
  forth, which can be foreseen. Every possible provision has been made
  to avoid delay in setting in force the machinery in the unhappy event
  of war taking place. It has been thought necessary to make this
  Committee permanent, in order that these war arrangements may be
  constantly kept up to date.”

What happened in the last days of July, 1914? During the period of
strained relations, the War-Book was opened, and every official in every
State Department concerned--eleven in all--had before him a precise
statement of exactly what contribution he had to make in mobilising the
State as an economic factor for war. Proclamations, Orders in Council,
letters, and telegrams flowed forth throughout the British Isles, and to
the uttermost parts of the Empire, in accordance with the pre-arranged
plan which had been so assiduously elaborated. Hardly had the Navy been
mobilised, the Army Reserves called out to complete the regular Army,
and the Territorials embodied, than the nation realised that, without
confusion, it had itself been placed upon a war footing. The creation of
the British War-Book must be acclaimed as a monument to the
perspicacity of Mr. Asquith and the Ministers who assisted him on the
Committee of Defence, and to the splendid labours of the Secretary of
the Committee, Captain Maurice Hankey, C.B., and the small staff
associated with him. This organisation, which owed so much to the “staff
mind” of its former secretary, Rear-Admiral Sir Charles Ottley, imposed
upon the nation a charge of only about £5,000 a year, which was returned
increased by a thousandfold when the crisis came, and the United
Kingdom, existing under the most artificial conditions owing to its
dependence on the sea for food and raw materials, was prepared, for the
first time in its history, to offer to its fleets and armies the
wholehearted and organised support of the richest nation in the world.

When the curtain fell upon the seas, the nation had the assurance that
everything which foresight could suggest had been done to make secure
our essential supremacy. The newspapers preserved a discreet silence as
the Home Fleets took up their stations in the main strategical area.
They were convinced, by irrefutable evidence, that adequate power had
been concentrated in this theatre to enable the North Sea to be sealed,
thus confining the main operations of the naval war to one of the
smallest water areas in the world.

Those who study the conspectus of British sea power at the moment when
the fog of war hid from view all that was occurring in distant waters
would miss the real significance of the picture which British sea power
presented at this dramatic moment if they failed to recognise the means
by which the British Navy was able to impose an iron grip upon the great
highways which are the life blood of British commerce. When war occurred
the British sea power was predominant in all the outer seas in contrast
with every other Power engaged in hostilities. At every point the
British fleet was supreme in contrast with every other Power now engaged
in hostilities. Austria and Italy were hardly represented outside the
Mediterranean; Germany had only one armoured ship and two small cruisers
in the Mediterranean and a few small cruisers in the Atlantic; in the
Pacific, though she had the largest squadron of any Continental Power,
the Admiralty regarded our forces as being at least twice as strong.
This balance of strength was maintained in accordance with the terms of
the Anglo-Japanese Alliance.

From the moment of the ultimatum all the Empire was at war. At a hundred
and one points of naval and military importance a state of war existed.
Wherever the British flag was flying--and it flies over about one
quarter of the habitable globe--officers and men of the sea and land
services stood awaiting the development of events.

What precise orders were issued by the Admiralty cannot be revealed, but
telegrams which were received during the early days of hostilities
indicated that at all the great junctions of the Empire sections of the
British Navy had been concentrated, and their commanding officers
directed to omit no measure necessary to maintain the lifeline of the
Empire.

Under the scheme of concentration which for ten years previously had
been the outstanding feature, not only of British naval policy, but of
the naval policy of all the Great Powers of Europe, the number of ships
in distant seas had been reduced, but the fighting value of the British
units was higher than ever before. The character of the British naval
representation outside home waters when war began may be appreciated
from the following official statement of the composition of the
squadrons which were held on the leash by the Admiralty, awaiting the
development of events:

  MEDITERRANEAN FLEET.

  BATTLE CRUISER SQUADRON.--Inflexible (Flag), Indefatigable,
  Indomitable.

  ARMOURED CRUISER SQUADRON.--Defence (Flag), Black Prince, Duke of
  Edinburgh, Warrior.

  CRUISERS.--Chatham, Dublin, Gloucester, Weymouth.

  ATTACHED SHIPS.--Hussar, Imogene.

  DESTROYER FLOTILLA.--Blenheim (Depot Ship), Basilisk, Beagle, Bulldog,
  Foxhound, Grampus, Grasshopper, Harpy, Mosquito, Pincher, Racoon,
  Rattlesnake, Renard, Savage, Scorpion, Scourge, Wolverine.

  SUBMARINES.--B 9, B 10, B 11.

  TORPEDO BOATS.--Nos. 044, 045, 046, 063, 064, 070.

  GIBRALTAR.

  SUBMARINES.--B 6, B 7, B 8.

  TORPEDO BOATS.--83, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96.

  EASTERN FLEET.

  EAST INDIES SQUADRON.--Battleship Swiftsure (Flag), cruisers
  Dartmouth, Fox; sloops Alert, Espiègle, Odin, Sphinx.

  CHINA SQUADRON.--Battleship Triumph; armoured cruisers Minotaur
  (Flag), Hampshire; cruisers Newcastle, Yarmouth; gunboats, etc.,
  Alacrity, Bramble, Britomart, Cadmus, Clio, Thistle.

  NEW ZEALAND DIVISION.--Cruisers Philomel, Psyche, Pyramus, Torch.

  ATTACHED TO CHINA SQUADRON.

  DESTROYERS.--Chelmer, Colne, Fame, Jed, Kennet, Ribble, Usk, Welland.

  SUBMARINES.--C 36, C 37, C 38.

  TORPEDO BOATS.--Nos. 035, 036, 037, 038.

  RIVER GUNBOATS.--Kinsha, Moorhen, Nightingale, Robin, Sandpiper,
  Snipe, Teal, Woodcock, Woodlark, Widgeon.

  AUSTRALIAN FLEET.

  BATTLE CRUISERS.--Australia (Flag.)

  CRUISERS.--Encounter, Melbourne, Sydney.

  DESTROYERS.--Parramatta, Warrego, Yarra.

  SUBMARINES.--AE 1, AE 2.

  CAPE OF GOOD HOPE.

  CRUISERS.--Hyacinth (Flag), Pegasus, Astræa.

  WEST COAST OF AFRICA.

  GUNBOAT.--Dwarf.

  S.E. COAST OF AMERICA.

  CRUISER.--Glasgow.

  WEST COAST OF AMERICA.

  SLOOPS.--Algerine, Shearwater.

  WEST ATLANTIC.

  ARMOURED CRUISERS.--Suffolk, Berwick, Essex, Lancaster; cruiser
  Bristol.

This narrative of the opening phases of the war between six of the great
fleets of the world would be incomplete were no reference made to the
conditions of the German Fleet. A month before the final cleavage
between the two nations, Kiel had kept high festival in honour of the
British Navy. At the invitation of the German Government, Vice-Admiral
Sir George Warrender had taken some of the finest battleships of the
British Navy into this German port. During the Regatta Week official
Germany entertained the officers and men with the utmost hospitality,
and, for a time, the Emperor had his flag, the flag of an honorary
admiral of the British Navy, flying from the mainmast of one of the
latest “Dreadnoughts,” the “King George V.,” and was in technical
command of this important section of the Home Fleet. Luncheons, dinners,
and receptions filled the days over which the yacht racing extended, and
when Sir George Warrender steamed out of Kiel to meet at a rendezvous at
sea the British squadron, under Rear-Admiral Sir David Beatty, which had
been visiting the Baltic ports of Russia, and the other squadrons which
had been entertained by the peoples of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden,
every indication encouraged the belief that peace was more completely
assured than at any time during this century.

The Kiel festivities at an end, the High Sea Fleet, reinforced by a
number of reserve ships, put to sea for its summer cruise in Norwegian
waters. The Emperor, in the Royal Yacht “Hohenzollern,” also left for
the coast of Norway. These were the conditions when the bolt fell. Can
it be doubted that, when in after years and in full knowledge, the
history of the war is written, it will be concluded that Germany, in
giving her support to Austria-Hungary, had no thought that this would
involve her use of her fleet against the greatest sea Power of the
world? With much labour, and at great sacrifice, she had created a
formidable diplomatic weapon to be brandished in the eyes of a timid and
commercially-minded people--and such she believed the British people to
be; but it was not a fleet of sufficient standing to face the greatest
sea Power with confidence.

The war occurred at an unpropitious moment not only for Germany, but for
her ally, Austria-Hungary, so far as sea power was concerned. This
country had, it is true, almost completed her first programme of four
“Dreadnoughts,” but her navy was still deficient in cruisers--possessing
six only--as well as in torpedo craft. In combination Austria-Hungary
and Italy could have faced the naval forces of France and Great Britain
in the Mediterranean, but in isolation the former’s position was from
the first well-nigh hopeless, and her ships retired to Pola at the
outbreak of the war.

The French fleet was in good condition to take the seas. Under the spur
furnished by German acts and German words it had been strengthened in
ships and men, its administration ashore remodelled, and its fleets at
sea reorganised. The Republican Government had confided the supreme
command of its battle forces to one of the most conspicuously able
sailors of the period, Admiral Boué du Lapeyrère, and could enter on the
war in its naval aspects with confidence and courage.

Russia was not so fortunate. She had only comparatively recently taken
serious steps to replace the fleet she lost in the war with Japan. A
ship-building project, known as the “Minor Programme,” was being carried
out, but so far none of the vessels it comprised had become available
for service. When war occurred, four “Dreadnoughts,” which were begun as
far back as 1909, were not yet ready, and seven others were on the
stocks, but not yet launched. Eight small cruisers laid down under the
“Minor Programme” were building, two of them in a German yard, and the
remainder in Russia, and there was besides a large flotilla of torpedo
craft under construction. With all these vessels in commission, the
Russian Navy would have become once more a factor to be reckoned with.
As it happened, Russia faced the war practically without any
considerable sea power.

When hostilities had begun, a dramatic incident reminded the world that
Japan, the ally of Great Britain in the Far East, was not viewing the
course of events unconcerned. On Monday, August 16th, it was announced
that the Japanese Government had delivered an ultimatum to Germany in
the following terms:

  “We consider it highly important and necessary in the present
  situation to take measures to remove the causes of all disturbance of
  peace in the Far East, and to safeguard general interests as
  contemplated in the Agreement of Alliance between Japan and Great
  Britain.

  “In order to secure firm and enduring peace in Eastern Asia, the
  establishment of which is the aim of the said Agreement, the Imperial
  Japanese Government sincerely believes it to be its duty to give
  advice to the Imperial German Government to carry out the following
  two propositions:

  1. Withdraw immediately from Japanese and Chinese waters the German
  men-o’-war and armed vessels of all kinds, and to disarm at once those
  which cannot be withdrawn.

  2. To deliver on a date not later than September 15th to the Imperial
  Japanese authorities, without condition or compensation, the entire
  leased territory of Kiau-Chau, with a view to the eventual restoration
  of the same to China.

  “The Imperial Japanese Government announces at the same time that in
  the event of its not receiving by noon on August 23rd an answer from
  the Imperial German Government signifying unconditional acceptance of
  the above advices offered by the Imperial Japanese Government, Japan
  will be compelled to take such action as it may deem necessary to meet
  the situation.”

When Germany was confronted with heavy odds, Japan remembered the events
following the war of 1894-5, when this Power, having joined in robbing
her of the spoil of her victory over China, herself entered into
possession of Kiao Chau, as the price for the lives of two murdered
missionaries.

Thus, at the touch of German arrogance, four great sea Powers of the
world arrayed themselves against her--the British, French, and Russian
fleets in European waters, and the great navy of Japan in the Pacific.

In this wise did the struggle for the command of the sea open. Germany
reaped as she had sown. Since 1898 she had boasted how she would
challenge the greatest sea Power. When the day and hour came it was not
the British fleet only, but the navies of France, Russia, and Japan
which confronted her. By her words and acts she had alienated the
sympathies of every nation except her ally, Austria-Hungary. The war
began with her fleets and squadrons sheltering behind the forts of her
naval bases, and with a few cruisers in the Atlantic being hunted by an
overpowering force of British and French ships. Such was the fruit of
her diplomacy and her forward naval policy; her shipping suffered
instant strangulation; her colonies were divorced from the Motherland,
and she was confronted with the approaching ruin of that world-politic
which had been her pride and inspiration.

  [Illustration]

  _H.M.S. Vanguard._

  _Photo: Sport & General._

  =VANGUARD CLASS.=

  ST. VINCENT, VANGUARD, COLLINGWOOD.

  Displacement: 19,250 tons.

  Speed: 22 knots; Guns: 10 12in., 18 4in.; Torpedo tubes: 3.

  [Illustration]

  Astern fire:  Broadside:  Ahead fire:
  6 12in.       8 12in.     6 12in.




CHAPTER I

THE RELATIVE STANDING OF THE BRITISH AND GERMAN FLEETS


The relative strength of the British and German navies at the moment
when war was declared is of historical interest.

The appended particulars have been prepared from “Fighting Ships, 1914,”
and brought up-to-date by the inclusion of the two Turkish battleships
and the two Chilian destroyer leaders, which were purchased on the
outbreak of hostilities by the British Government.

BRITISH NAVY.

  Super-Dreadnought battleships                             11
  Super-Dreadnought battle-cruisers                          3
                                                            --       14
  Dreadnought battleships                                   13
  Dreadnought battle-cruisers                                5
                                                            --       18
                                                                     --
  Total of ships of Dreadnought era:                                 32

  (Three more super-Dreadnoughts near completion, and due to commission
  late in 1914.)

  Pre-Dreadnoughts:

    Powerful ships all completed between 1905 and 1908       8

    Older and less powerful ships completed between 1895
    and 1904                                                30
                                                            --
                                                                      38
                                                                      --
            Total battleships                                         70

  Armoured Cruisers:

    Big, heavily-armed ships completed between 1905 and
    1908                                                     9

    “County” class, slower and less powerful, completed
    between 1903 and 1905                                   15

    “Drake” and “Cressy” class, bigger and better, but
    slightly older ships, completed between 1901 and 1903   10
                                                            --
            Total armoured cruisers                                   34

  Cruisers:

    Big protected cruisers, “Diadem” class, 21 knots, 6in.
    guns (1889-1902)                                         6

    Older and smaller (1890-1892)                            9
                                                            --        15

  Fast Light Cruisers:

    “Arethusa” class, 3,500 tons, 30 knots, burning oil,
    completed 1914                                                     8

    “Town” class, 5,400 to 4,800  tons, 25 knots (1910-
    1914)                                                   15

    25-knot ships, round about 300 tons (1903-1907)         15

                                                            --        30

    20-knot ships, 2,100 to 5,400 tons (1896-1900)                    16

    19-knot ships, 5,600 tons (1895-1896)                              9

    Older ships, 2,500 to 4,300 tons, 16·5 to 19·5 knots
    (1890-1893)                                                        9
                                                                      --
            Total protected cruisers                                  87

  Destroyers, 36 to 25½ knots (1893-1914)                            227

  Torpedo-boats, 26 to 20 knots (1885-1908)                          109

  Submarines, from 1,000 to 200 tons, speed from 20 to
  11·5 knots surface, 12 to 7 knots submerged (1904-1913)             75

  Minelayers                                                           7

  Repair Ships                                                         3

It need hardly be added that a number of these vessels--including the
two Pre-Dreadnought battleships “Swiftsure” and “Triumph” and groups of
cruisers, destroyers, and submarines--were on duty in the outer seas
when war opened.

GERMAN FLEET.

  Super-Dreadnoughts (3 building)                                   None

  Dreadnought battleships                                   13

  Dreadnought battle-cruisers                                5
                                                            --        18

  (Three other battleships are due to commission in 1914.)

  Pre-Dreadnought battleships (1891-1908)                             22

  Old coast defence battleships (1889-1893)                            8

  Armoured cruisers (1897-1909) 8,900 to 15,500 tons,
  24·5 to 19 knots                                                     9

  Big protected cruisers (1892-1910), 6,000 tons, 19 knots   6

  24-knot cruisers (1904-1913), 3,000 to 5,000 tons         25

                                                            --        31

  (Most of these ships have belt armour as thick as that
  of the British “County” class of armoured cruisers.)

  Small cruisers, 21 knots (1893-1910)                                12

  Destroyers (1889-1913), 34 to 26 knots                             152

  Torpedo-boats (1887-1898), 26 to 22 knots                           45

  Submarines, about equal to British in size and speed          30 to 40

  Minelayers                                                           2

All the German Navy, except one battle-cruiser, two armoured cruisers,
and a few light cruisers, were concentrated in the North Sea and Baltic
when war occurred.




CHAPTER II

THE BRITISH NAVY


BRITISH BATTLESHIPS


DREADNOUGHTS


IRON DUKE CLASS.


IRON DUKE (Flagship of Vice-Admiral Sir John Jellicoe,
Commander-in-Chief of the Home Fleets).

MARLBOROUGH. EMPEROR OF INDIA. BENBOW.

(Completed 1914.)

These fine ships are the very latest additions to the British
battle-fleet. The displacement is 25,000 tons, but with a full supply of
coal, ammunition, and stores on board the actual figure is nearly 27,000
tons. The length over all is 645 ft., the maximum breadth is 89½ ft.,
and under normal conditions the ship draws 28 ft. of water. Parsons’
turbines, designed for 29,000 h.p., give a speed of 21 knots, which was
exceeded by over one knot on trial. An extremely powerful armament is
carried. It consists of ten 13·5-in. and twelve 6-in. guns, with some
small quick-firers on high-angle mountings for use against aircraft.

The big guns, mounted in twin turrets, are all on the centre line, and
can thus be trained on either broadside, while four train ahead and the
same number astern. Ten of the 6-in. guns are disposed in an upper-deck
battery forward, the remaining two in casemates right at the stern. This
disposition was adopted owing to the fact that torpedo attacks are
usually delivered from ahead, and it is necessary, therefore, that as
many quick-firing guns as possible can be trained on the approaching
boats before they are able to discharge their torpedoes.

Armour protection is very complete in this class. On the waterline there
is a 12-in. belt, with 10-in. armour rising above this as far as the
upper deck. The belt thins to 6-in. forward and aft, but the extreme
ends of the ship are unarmoured. On the turrets there is 12-in. armour,
with 6-in. plating over the secondary battery. Four 21-in. submerged
torpedo tubes are fitted. The fuel supply is well over 3,000 tons. The
complement of these ships totals more than 1,000 officers and men. They
each cost over £2,000,000 to complete.


AGINGOURT.

(Completed 1914.)

This battleship, although she was only launched in January, 1913, has
had a very chequered career. Originally laid down as the Rio de Janeiro
for the Brazilian Government at Elswick, she was purchased before
completion by Turkey, and was on the point of leaving for Turkish waters
under the name of Osman I., when she was taken over by the British
Admiralty on the outbreak of war with Germany. Turkey is understood to
have made a protest, but the transfer is an accomplished fact, and this
fine vessel has already passed into our battle fleet. She is quite
unique in design. The displacement is 27,500 tons, length 632 ft., and
the designed speed, which was made on trial, 22 knots.

Her main armament consists of no fewer than fourteen 12-in. guns,
mounted in seven double turrets on the centre-line, an arrangement which
permits all fourteen weapons to be fired on either broadside. In the
secondary battery are mounted twenty 6-in. quick-firing guns, and the
tale of weapons is completed by sixteen small quick-firers and three
torpedo tubes. The ship is armoured with 9-in. plates amidships,
tapering to 6 in. and 4 in. at the ends. Armour of the same thickness
(9-in.) protects the 12-in. turrets, and there is 6-in. plating over the
secondary guns. The maximum coal capacity is 3,500 tons. A complement of
1,100 officers and men is required to work this huge vessel, which cost
nearly £2,700,000 to build and equip.


ERIN.

(Completed 1914.)

This vessel was laid down at Barrow for the Turkish Government, and
named Reshadieh, but was taken over by the British Admiralty on the
outbreak of war with Germany. Launched in September, 1913, she displaces
23,000 tons, is 525 ft. long, and has turbines of 31,000 h.p., which
are expected to give a speed of 21 knots. In general her design
corresponds to that of the Iron Duke class. The armament consists of ten
13·5-in., sixteen 6-in., and four 12-pounder guns, with five submerged
torpedo tubes.

The five double turrets in which the big guns are mounted are on the
centre-line, thus allowing all ten weapons to be used on each broadside.
Armour protection is very complete, the main belt being 12 in., the
turrets 12 in., and the secondary battery 5 in. thick. Her coal capacity
is 2,100 tons. The complement is 900 officers and men. The price paid
for this ship has not yet been made public.


KING GEORGE V. CLASS.

(Completed 1912-13.)


KING GEORGE V. CENTURION. AJAX. AUDACIOUS.

These fine vessels are among the most powerful of our super-Dreadnought
battleships. The displacement is nominally 23,000 tons, but when in
service, with maximum fuel, stores, &c., on board, they displace about
25,000 tons. They are 596 ft. in length, with a beam of 89 ft., and
their turbines of 27,000 h.p. drive them at a speed of 21½ knots. The
armament consists of ten 13·5-in. and sixteen 4-in. guns, with three
submerged torpedo tubes.

All the big guns, which are mounted in pairs in turrets on the centre
line, can fire on either broadside. Protection is afforded by a 12-in.
armour belt amidships, with thinner plating above and at the ends. The
turrets are of 11-in. armour. The secondary battery of 4-in.
quick-firers is practically unprotected. A maximum fuel supply of 2,700
tons can be carried. The complement is 900 officers and men. Each of
these ships cost more than £1,900,000 to build and equip.


ORION CLASS.

(Completed 1911-12.)


ORION. MONARCH. CONQUEROR. THUNDERER.

Super-Dreadnoughts of 22,500 tons displacement and 545 ft. in length.
The Orion class, to which these ships belong, inaugurated the
“super-Dreadnought” era by reason of the super-calibre guns with which
they are armed. They are propelled by Parsons’ turbines of 27,000 h.p.
at a speed of 21 knots, but did considerably better than this on the
trial runs. The main armament comprises ten 13·5-in. breech-loading
guns, firing a 1,250 lb. projectile at the rate of two per minute.

These guns are mounted in five twin turrets on the centre line of the
vessel, and all of them can be trained on either broadside. Sixteen
4-in. quick-firers are mounted for use against torpedo craft, and there
are three 21-in. submerged torpedo tubes. The armour belt is 12-in.
thick amidships, the turrets 11-in. Some of the smaller guns are
protected by 4-in. armour. Coal and oil to the amount of 2,700 tons can
be carried. The complement of these ships is 900 officers and men. They
cost complete nearly £2,000,000.


NEPTUNE CLASS.

(Completed 1911.)


NEPTUNE. HERCULES. COLOSSUS.

These are Dreadnought battleships of 20,000 tons displacement. They are
510 ft. in length, and have Parsons’ turbines of 25,000 h.p., which give
them a speed of 21 knots. The main battery consists of ten 12-in. guns,
50 calibres (_i.e._, 50 ft.) long, mounted in five twin turrets. Two of
these turrets are in echelon amidships, the remaining three being on the
centre line, an arrangement that permits all ten guns to come into
action on either broadside through a limited arc.

In the class to which these ships belong the super-posed turret appeared
for the first time in the British Navy. Sixteen 4-in. quick-firers and
three submerged torpedo tubes complete the armament. There is an 11-in.
armour belt on the waterline, similar protection being given to the big
guns. The fuel capacity is 2,700 tons. The complement numbers over 800
officers and men. These vessels cost about £1,700,000 apiece to
complete.


ST. VINCENT CLASS.

(Completed 1910.)


ST. VINCENT. VANGUARD. COLLINGWOOD.

These are Dreadnought battleships with a displacement of 19,250 tons.
They are 500 ft. long, and have Parsons’ turbines of 24,500 h.p., which
give them a top speed of 21 knots. Their main battery comprises ten
12-in. guns of powerful type, mounted in five twin turrets, the
disposition of which allows eight guns to be used on either beam. They
also carry eighteen 4-in. quick-firers, some mounted on top of the
turrets, and others in the superstructure. There are three submerged
torpedo tubes.

The waterline is protected by armour barely 10-in. thick, this being
also the thickness of the turret armour. Coal and oil to the amount of
2,700 tons can be carried. The complement of these battleships numbers
rather more than 800 officers and men. They cost about £1,700,000 to
build and complete.


BELLEROPHON CLASS.

(Completed 1909.)


BELLEROPHON. SUPERB. TEMERAIRE.

These ships are some of our earliest Dreadnoughts. Their displacement is
18,900 tons, length 490 ft. Parsons’ turbines of 23,000 h.p. propel them
at a maximum speed of 21 knots, which they can maintain for several
hours without difficulty. Ten 12-in. guns form the primary armament,
which is mounted in five twin turrets, so disposed as to allow eight
guns to fire on the broadside. They carry, further, sixteen 4-in.
quick-firing guns to repel attack by torpedo craft, and there are three
torpedo tubes below water.

On the waterline and the big-gun positions there is 11-in. armour. The
maximum supply of coal and oil is 2,700 tons. The complement is 800
officers and men. These battleships cost about £1,700,000 to build and
complete.


DREADNOUGHT.

(Completed 1906.)

This famous battleship was laid down at Portsmouth in October, 1905, and
completed by December, 1906, and thus established a record for speedy
construction. She was designed by a committee of experts to meet the
requirements of modern naval tactics, and with various modifications the
main principles she embodied have since been almost universally adopted.
She displaces 17,900 tons, and is 520 ft. long. Parsons’ turbines of
23,000 h.p. give her a speed of 21 knots. She was the first battleship
ever fitted with turbine machinery.

The armament consists of ten 12-in. guns, mounted in five twin turrets,
which are so placed as to give a broadside fire of eight and an axial
fire of six guns. For keeping off torpedo craft a battery of twenty-four
12-pounder quick-firers is provided. There are five submerged torpedo
tubes. Waterline and vitals are protected by 11-in. armour, as also are
the gun turrets. The ship has a great amount of internal protection
against mine or torpedo explosion. She can carry 2,700 tons of coal. The
complement numbers about 800 officers and men. This battleship cost
upwards of £1,800,000 to build and equip.


LORD NELSON CLASS.

(Completed 1908-09.)


LORD NELSON. AGAMEMNON.

These battleships are sometimes called semi-Dreadnoughts, because they
approximate to the Dreadnought type in tonnage and armament. The
displacement is 16,500 tons, length 410 ft., and engines of 16,750 h.p.,
giving a speed of over 18 knots. Each of these vessels is armed with
four 12-in. and ten 9·2-in. breech-loading guns, all mounted in armoured
turrets. The four 12-in. and eight of the 9·2-in. guns are in twin
turrets, the other two 9·2-in. being in single turrets. The disposition
of the armament is such that four 12-in. and five 9·2-in. can fire on
each broadside. An outstanding defect is the smallness of the double
9·2-in. turrets, which hardly give elbow room to the crews and do not
allow full advantage to be taken of the extraordinary rapidity with
which the 9·2-in. piece can be worked when there is plenty of space.

On the whole, however, these ships are extremely powerful units. For
driving off torpedo craft there are twenty-four 12-pounder quick-firers
mounted in the superstructure. Five torpedo tubes are fitted. Armour
protection consists of a 12-in. belt amidships, and there is similar
plating on the 12-in. turrets, the smaller turrets having 8-in. armour.
The fuel capacity is 2,500 tons. Each battleship carries 750 officers
and men and cost £1,650,000 to build and complete.


BATTLE CRUISERS


TIGER.

(Completed 1914.)

This is the largest battle cruiser in the British Navy. She was built at
Clydebank, and was approaching completion at the outbreak of war. The
displacement is 28,000 tons, length 660 ft., and Parsons’ turbines of
100,000 h.p. give a speed of at least 28 knots. Her armament comprises
eight 13·5-in., twelve 6-in., and some smaller guns, with three torpedo
tubes. The big guns are in double turrets on the centre-line, and all
can be fired on either broadside. The 6-in. guns are mounted in an
armoured battery.

For a battle cruiser this ship is heavily armoured. She has a belt at
least 10 in. thick amidships, and the turrets are of equal thickness.
She can store as much as 4,000 tons of coal and oil. The complement is
about 1,100 officers and men. In appearance the “Tiger” is quite unlike
other British battle cruisers. She has three equal-sized funnels and
only one mast. Her total cost is understood to be not less than
£2,200,000.


LION CLASS.

(Completed 1912-13.)


LION. QUEEN MARY. PRINCESS ROYAL.

These battle cruisers displace 27,000 tons, are 660 ft. in length, and
88½ ft. broad. They have turbines of about 70,000 h.p., which enable
them to steam at 28 knots, though this speed has been greatly exceeded
in service. The main armament consists of ten 13·5-in. guns, discharging
a projectile of 1,400 lb. weight, at the rate of two rounds per minute.

  [Illustration]

  _H.M.S. Bellerophon._

  _Photo: Symonds & Co._

  =BELLEROPHON CLASS.=

  BELLEROPHON, TEMERAIRE, SUPERB.

  Displacement: 18,000 tons.

  Speed: 22 knots; Guns: 10 12in., 16 4in.; Torpedo tubes: 3.

  [Illustration]

  Astern fire:  Broadside:  Ahead fire:
  6 12in.       8 12in.     6 12in.

These weapons are mounted in four double turrets on the centre-line, and
can thus be fired on either broadside. Sixteen 4-in. quick-firers are
carried for repelling torpedo attack. There are also two submerged
torpedo tubes. The main armour belt is about 9 in. thick, with 10-in.
plating on the turrets. The full fuel capacity is 3,000 tons, and the
complement numbers 980 officers and men. These ships averaged £2,085,000
to build and complete.


INDEFATIGABLE CLASS.

(Completed 1911-13.)


INDEFATIGABLE. NEW ZEALAND. AUSTRALIA.

These vessels displace about 19,000 tons. They are 555 ft. in length, 80
ft. broad, and are designed for a speed of 25 knots, which was much
exceeded during trials. The main armament consists of eight 12-in. guns,
mounted in four double turrets, two being placed fore and aft, and two
diagonally amidships, thus permitting all eight guns to be discharged on
either broadside.

In addition there are sixteen 4-in. quick-firers mounted in the
superstructure, and two submerged torpedo tubes. A 7-in. armour belt
protects the waterline, the same thickness being on the turrets. The
fuel capacity is 2,500 tons, including oil. A complement of 790 officers
and men is carried. These ships cost about £1,500,000 each to build and
complete.


INVINCIBLE CLASS.

(Completed 1908-09.)


INVINCIBLE. INDOMITABLE. INFLEXIBLE.

The Invincible class were the first battle-cruisers to be built. The
type is a cruiser edition of the Dreadnought, combining great offensive
qualities with high speed. The displacement is 17,250 tons, length 530
ft., and the turbines of 41,000 h.p. are designed for a speed of 25
knots. In service, however, these vessels have steamed at more than 28
knots. They are armed with eight 12-in guns, mounted in four double
turrets, one turret being placed at each end and the other two en
echelon amidships.

This system enables all eight weapons to be fired on either broadside
through a very limited arc. Sixteen 4-in. guns are mounted for repelling
torpedo attack. The waterline and vital parts are protected by 7-in.
armour, this being also the thickness of the turret plates. Coal to the
amount of 2,500 tons can be carried. The complement is 780 officers and
men. These vessels each cost over £1,700,000 to build and equip.


PRE-DREADNOUGHTS.

KING EDWARD CLASS.

(Completed 1904-06.)


KING EDWARD VII. ZEALANDIA. BRITANNIA. HIBERNIA. DOMINION. COMMONWEALTH.
HINDUSTAN. AFRICA.

The King Edward class is considered to be the finest homogeneous group
of pre-Dreadnought battleships in the world. The displacement is 16,350
tons, length 425 ft., and engines of 18,000 h.p. give a speed of over 19
knots. The armament consists of four 12-in., four 9·2-in., ten 6-in.,
twelve 12-pounder, and twelve 3-pounder guns, with four torpedo tubes.

All eight big guns are mounted in armoured turrets, the 6-in. weapons
being in a box battery. Broadside fire is from four 12-in., two 9·2-in.,
and five 6-in. guns. A 9-in. armour belt protects vital parts. On the
main turrets there is 12-in. plating, and the smaller guns also have
good protection. The maximum coal supply is 2,200 tons. A complement of
820 officers and men is carried. These ships each cost about £1,450,000
to build and equip.


SWIFTSURE CLASS.

(Completed 1904.)


SWIFTSURE. TRIUMPH.

These battleships were built for the Chilian Government, but both were
purchased by Great Britain before they were completed. The displacement
is 11,980 tons, length 436 ft., and engines of 12,500 h.p. give a speed
of 20 knots. For their size the armament of these vessels is most
formidable. It comprises four 10-in., fourteen 7·5-in., and fourteen
14-pounder guns, with two torpedo tubes. The 10-in. weapons are in two
twin turrets, the 7·5-in. guns being in an armoured battery.

The waterline and vital parts are protected by 7-in. of armour, which is
increased to 10-in. on the turrets and there is 6-in. plating over the
secondary battery. The coal supply is 2,000 tons. A complement of 700
officers and men is carried. The ships each cost £845,000 to build and
complete. In all but very calm weather they lose much of their fighting
value owing to the nearness of the 7·5-in. battery to the water, a
position which makes it impossible to work these guns in a seaway. In
other respects, too, the type is considered inferior to standard British
design.

  [Illustration]

  _H.M.S. Dreadnought._

  _Photo: Sport & General._

  =DREADNOUGHT.=

  Displacement: 17,900 tons.

  Speed: 22 knots; Guns: 10 12in., 24 12pdrs.; Torpedo tubes: 5.

  [Illustration]

  Astern fire:  Broadside:  Ahead fire:
  6 12in.       8 12in.     6 12in.


DUNCAN CLASS.

(Completed 1903-04.)


DUNCAN. EXMOUTH. CORNWALLIS. ALBEMARLE. RUSSELL.

These are vessels of 14,000 tons displacement, 405 ft. in length, with
engines of 18,000 h.p., and a speed of 20 knots. Their armament consists
of four 12-in., twelve 6-in., and ten 12-pounder guns, with four
submerged torpedo tubes. The 12-in. guns are in turrets, the 6-in. in
casemates. Broadside fire is from four 12-in. and six 6-in. guns.

The class to which these ships belong was designed with a view to speed,
to gain which sacrifices were necessary. Hence the armour protection is
very light, the thickness of the belt being only 7-in. on the waterline.
The turrets are of the same moderate thickness. The maximum fuel
capacity is 2,000 tons. A complement of 750 officers and men is carried.
The average cost was £1,000,000 to build and complete.


FORMIDABLE CLASS.

(Completed 1901-04.)


FORMIDABLE. IMPLACABLE. VENERABLE. PRINCE OF WALES. IRRESISTIBLE.
LONDON. BULWARK. QUEEN.

This class displaces 15,000 tons, is 400 ft. long, and has engines of
15,000 h.p., giving a speed of about 18½ knots. It is armed with four
12-in., twelve 6-in., and sixteen 12-pounder guns, with four submerged
torpedo tubes. The waterline is armoured with 9-in., the turrets with
12-in. plates, and there is 6-in. armour on the casemates containing the
secondary guns. The full coal capacity is 2,100 tons. These ships carry
780 officers and men. They cost more than £1,000,000 to build and equip.


CANOPUS CLASS.

(Completed 1900-02.)


CANOPUS. GOLIATH. VENGEANCE. OCEAN. GLORY. ALBION.

These ships belong to a class of old pre-Dreadnoughts which are rapidly
losing their fighting value. They displace 12,950 tons, are 390 ft.
long, and have engines of 13,500 h.p., which give a speed of nearly 19
knots. The armament comprises four 12-in., twelve 6-in., and ten
12-pounder guns, all of obsolescent pattern. There are four torpedo
tubes. A belt only 6-in. thick protects the waterline, but there is
12-in. armour on the gun turrets. Coal to the amount of 1,750 tons can
be carried. The complement numbers 750 officers and men. These ships
cost about £850,000 each. They were designed with very light draught to
enable them to navigate the Suez Canal. They are still comparatively
fast steamers.


MAJESTIC CLASS.

(Completed 1895-98.)


MAGNIFICENT. MAJESTIC. VICTORIOUS. PRINCE GEORGE. ILLUSTRIOUS. JUPITER.
CÆSAR. MARS. HANNIBAL.

The Majestic class is the oldest group of battleships in the Navy. The
displacement is 14,900 tons, length 390 ft. and engines of 12,000 h.p.
give them a maximum speed of 17½ knots. They are armed with four 12-in.,
twelve 6-in., and sixteen 12-pounder guns of old type, with five torpedo
tubes. The armour belt is 9-in. amidships, and there is 14-in. armour on
the big gun turrets. Coal to the amount of 1,900 tons can be stowed. A
complement of 750 officers and men is carried. The ships cost slightly
more than £900,000 each to build and complete.


ARMOURED CRUISERS


MINOTAUR CLASS.

(Completed 1908.)


MINOTAUR. DEFENCE. SHANNON.

These vessels are armoured cruisers of 14,600 tons, 490 ft. in length,
and have engines of 27,000 h.p., giving a speed of 23 knots. They carry
a very powerful armament, consisting of four 9·2-in., ten 7·5-in., and
sixteen 12-pounder guns. The 9·2-in. and 7·5-in. guns are in armoured
turrets, the four first named being mounted in pairs, the 7·5 in.
singly.

Protection is afforded by a 6-in. belt amidships, with 8-in. armour on
the 9·2-in. turrets, and 6-in. armour on the smaller turrets. The
maximum coal supply is 2,250 tons. A complement of about 800 officers
and men is borne. These ships cost more than £1,400,000 each to build
and complete.


WARRIOR CLASS.

(Completed 1906-07.)


WARRIOR. ACHILLES. NATAL. COCHRANE.

These are armoured cruisers of 13,550 tons. They are 480 ft. in length,
and have engines of 23,000 h.p., giving a speed of 23 knots. The
armament consists of six 9·2-in. and four 7·5-in. guns, all mounted in
single turrets, and so disposed that six heavy guns bear on each
broadside. There are, besides, twenty-four 3-pounder quick-firers for
use against torpedo-craft, and three submerged torpedo tubes. The armour
belt and turrets are 6 in. thick. The maximum coal capacity is 2,000
tons, and a complement of over 700 officers and men is carried. Each
vessel cost about £1,200,000 to build and complete.


BLACK PRINCE CLASS.

(Completed 1906.)


BLACK PRINCE. DUKE OF EDINBURGH.

These armoured cruisers have a displacement of 13,550 tons, are 480 ft.
long, and have engines of 23,000 h.p., giving a speed of 23·3 knots.
They are armed with six 9·2-in., ten 6-in., and twenty 3-pounder guns,
with three torpedo tubes. The big guns are mounted in single turrets,
the 6-in. weapons being in an armoured battery.

Owing to the low freeboard of these ships, their 6-in. guns are too near
the water to be worked in rough weather. They are protected on the
waterline by a 6-in. armour belt, with similar plating on the gun
turrets and battery. The full coal capacity is 2,000 tons. These
cruisers carry 700 officers and men. They cost nearly £1,200,000 to
build and complete.


DEVONSHIRE CLASS.

(Completed 1905-06.)


ANTRIM. CARNARVON. HAMPSHIRE. DEVONSHIRE. ROXBURGH. ARGYLL.

Armoured cruisers displacing 10,850 tons, 450 ft. in length, with
engines of 20,500 h.p., giving a speed of 22·3 knots. The armament is
weak for vessels of this size, and consists only of four 7·5-in. and six
6-in. guns, with twenty small quick-firers and two torpedo tubes.

The 7·5-in. guns are mounted in turrets, the 6-in. weapons in casemates.
There is a 6-in. belt amidships, and 6-in. plating on the turrets and
casemates. The maximum coal capacity is 1,800 tons. A complement of 655
officers and men is carried. The average cost, complete, of these ships
was nearly £900,000.


“COUNTY” CLASS.

(Completed 1903-04.)


KENT. ESSEX. MONMOUTH. BERWICK. SUFFOLK. DONEGAL. LANCASTER. CORNWALL.
CUMBERLAND.

The displacement of this class is 9,800 tons. They are 440 ft. in
length, and have engines of 22,000 h.p., which drive them at a speed of
23 knots. The armament consists of fourteen 6-in., eight 12-pounder, and
three smaller quick-firing guns. Four of the 6-in. weapons are mounted
in twin turrets placed at the bow and stern, the remainder being in
casemates. There are two torpedo tubes.

Protection is very light throughout, there being only a 4-in. belt
amidships, with 5-in. armour on the turrets. The full coal supply is
1,600 tons. A complement of 540 officers and men is carried. Each ship
cost complete about £750,000.


DRAKE CLASS.

(Completed 1902-03.)


DRAKE. LEVIATHAN. GOOD HOPE. KING ALFRED.

These vessels are among the best of the older armoured cruisers. Each
displaces 14,100 tons, is 500 ft. long, and has engines of 30,000 h.p.,
giving a speed of 23 knots. On trial and in service this speed has been
much exceeded, and the ships can still steam at 24 knots. They are armed
with two 9·2-in. breech-loaders, sixteen 6-in., and twelve 12-pounder
quick-firing guns.

The big weapons are in single turrets, one placed at each end of the
ship, the 6-in. guns being mounted in casemates. Two torpedo tubes are
fitted. The armour protection on the turrets, casemates, and belt has a
uniform thickness of 6-in. Coal to the amount of 2,500 tons is stored in
the bunkers. The complement consists of 900 officers and men. These
cruisers averaged about one million sterling complete.


CRESSY CLASS.

(Completed 1901-04.)


CRESSY. SUTLEJ. ABOUKIR. HOGUE. BACCHANTE. EURYALUS.

The Cressy group are the oldest class of armoured cruisers on the active
list. They displace 12,000 tons, are 440 ft. in length, and have engines
of 21,000 h.p., producing a speed of 21 knots, which was exceeded on
trial by one knot. The armament comprises two 9·2-in. breech-loaders,
twelve 6-in., and twelve 12-pounder quick-firing guns, with two torpedo
tubes.

  [Illustration]

  _H.M.S. Agamemnon._

  _Photo: Cribb, Southsea._

  =AGAMEMNON CLASS.=

  AGAMEMNON AND LORD NELSON.

  Displacement: 16,500 tons.

  Speed: 18½ knots; Guns: 4 12in., 10 9·2in.; Torpedo tubes: 5.

  [Illustration]

  Astern fire:  Broadside:  Ahead fire:
  2 12in.       4 12in.     2 12in.
  4 9·2in.      5 9·2in.    4 9·2in.

The big guns are mounted in single turrets fore and aft, the 6-in.
weapons in casemates. There is a 6-in. belt amidships, armour of the
same thickness on the turrets, and 5-in. plating on the casemates. The
coal bunkers can store 1,600 tons. A complement of 750 officers and men
is carried. The cost of this class when complete averaged £750,000.


ARETHUSA CLASS.

(Completed 1914.)


ARETHUSA. AURORA. GALATEA. INCONSTANT. PENELOPE. PHAETON. ROYALIST.
UNDAUNTED.

These are the light armoured cruisers which Mr. Churchill has described
as “destroyers of destroyers.” They displace 3,600 tons, are 410 ft.
long, and have turbines of 37,000 h.p., giving a speed of 30 knots. The
armament consists of two 6-in., six 4-in., and four machine guns, with
four torpedo tubes.

There is a belt of 3-in. armour amidships, with 3½-in. plating above
this. The boilers are fired entirely by oil fuel, of which about 750
tons are carried. The complement numbers about 270 officers and men. The
cost of this class has not yet been made public.


PROTECTED CRUISERS

(With protective decks instead of armoured belts.)


EDGAR CLASS.

(Completed 1893-94.)


EDGAR. HAWKE. THESEUS. ENDYMION. GRAFTON. GIBRALTAR.

These vessels are the oldest cruisers we possess, displacing 7,350 tons,
and having a speed of 19½ knots. They are armed with two 9·2-in., ten
6-in., and seventeen smaller guns, with two torpedo tubes. Coal
capacity, 1,250 tons. Complement, 544 officers and men. Cost over
£400,000.


ROYAL ARTHUR CLASS.

(Completed 1893-94.)


ROYAL ARTHUR. CRESCENT.

This class displaces 7,700 tons, and has a speed of 19½ knots. The
armament is one 9·2-in., twelve 6-in., and seventeen smaller guns, with
two torpedo tubes. There is a steel deck over engines and boilers. Coal
capacity, 1,250 tons. Complement, 560 officers and men. Cost, about
£400,000.


TERRIBLE.

(Completed 1898.)

This is the largest protected cruiser in the British Navy. She displaces
14,200 tons, and can steam at 22 knots. Her armament consists of two
9·2-in., sixteen 6-in., and many smaller guns, with four torpedo tubes.
Over engines and boilers there is a steel deck 6-in. thick. Coal
capacity, 3,000 tons. Complement, 840 officers and men. Cost complete,
£708,000.


DIADEM CLASS.

(Completed 1899-1902.)


DIADEM. NIOBE. AMPHITRITE. ARIADNE. EUROPA. ANDROMEDA. ARGONAUT.
SPARTIATE.

Protected cruisers of 11,000 tons and 20½ knots speed, armed with
sixteen 6-in. and twelve 12-pounder quick-firing guns, with two torpedo
tubes. Engines and boilers are protected by a 4-in. steel deck. Coal
capacity, 2,000 tons. Complement, 677 officers and men. Cost, about
£550,000. The Niobe is now a unit of the Canadian Navy.


MELBOURNE CLASS.

(Completed 1913.)


MELBOURNE. SYDNEY.

These are protected cruisers belonging to the Australian Navy. They
displace 5,600 tons, are 430 ft. long, and have a speed of 25½ knots.
The armament consists of eight 6-in. and some small quick-firers, with
two submerged torpedo tubes.

The coal capacity is 1,000 tons. A complement of 400 officers and men is
carried. They each cost complete about £350,000.


NOTTINGHAM CLASS.

(Completed 1914.)


NOTTINGHAM. BIRMINGHAM. LOWESTOFT.

Three of our latest light cruisers. They are of 5,440 tons, with
turbines of 22,000 h.p., giving a speed of 25½ knots. The armament is
nine 6-in. and four small quick-firers, with two submerged torpedo
tubes. There is a thin armour belt on the waterline. Coal capacity,
1,000 tons. The complement is 400 officers and men.

  [Illustration]

  =LION CLASS.=

  LION, PRINCESS ROYAL.

  Displacement: 26,350 tons.

  Speed: 28 knots; Guns: 8 13·5in., 16 4in.; Torpedo tubes: 3.

  [Illustration]

  Astern fire:  Broadside:  Ahead fire:
  2 13·5in.     8 13·5in.   4 13·5in.


CHATHAM CLASS.

(Completed 1912-13.)


SOUTHAMPTON. CHATHAM. DUBLIN.

These vessels are light cruisers of 5,400 tons, with turbines of 22,000
h.p., and a speed of 25½ knots. They carry an armament of eight 6-in.
and four small quick-firers, with two torpedo tubes submerged. Coal
capacity, 1,000 tons. Complement, 400 officers and men. Cost complete,
about £350,000.


FALMOUTH CLASS.

(Completed 1911-12.)


FALMOUTH. WEYMOUTH. DARTMOUTH. YARMOUTH.

Light cruisers displacing 5,250 tons, driven by turbines of 22,000 h.p.
at a speed of 24¾ knots. They are armed with eight 6-in. and four small
quick-firers, and two submerged torpedo tubes. The coal capacity is
1,000 tons. Complement, 390 officers and men. Cost complete, about
£335,000.


BRISTOL CLASS.

(Completed 1910.)


GLASGOW. LIVERPOOL. BRISTOL. GLOUCESTER. NEWCASTLE.

These vessels are light cruisers of 4,800 tons, propelled by turbines of
22,000 h.p., at a speed of 25 knots. The armament is two 6-in., ten
4-in., and some small quick-firers, with two submerged torpedo tubes.
Coal capacity, 850 tons. Complement, 375 officers and men. Cost
complete, over £350,000.


ACTIVE CLASS.

(Completed 1911-12.)


ACTIVE. FEARLESS.

These vessels belong to the Scout category, and displace 3,440 tons.
Their turbines of 18,000 h.p. give a speed of 25 knots, but this is
often exceeded. They are armed with ten 4-in. and four smaller
quick-firers, and have two deck torpedo tubes. Coal capacity, 600 tons.
Complement, 320 officers and men. They averaged complete about £270,000.
The ill-fated Amphion was a sister-ship.


BLANCHE CLASS.

(Completed 1910-11.)


BLANCHE. BLONDE.

Light cruisers of the Scout type. They displace 3,350 tons, and have
turbines of 18,000 h.p., giving a speed of 25 knots. The armament is ten
4-in. and four 3-pounder quick-firers, with two torpedo tubes mounted on
deck. Coal capacity, 600 tons. Complement, 285 officers and men. Cost
complete, about £275,000.


BOADICEA CLASS.

(Completed 1909-10.)


BELLONA. BOADICEA.

Light cruisers of the Scout type, displacing 3,300 tons, and having a
speed of 25 knots, which is frequently exceeded by two knots. Armament:
Six 4-in., four 3-pounder quick-firing guns, two deck torpedo tubes.
Coal capacity, 600 tons. Complement, 263 officers and men. Cost
complete, £330,000.


SENTINEL CLASS.

(Completed 1905-06.)


ADVENTURE. ATTENTIVE. FORESIGHT. FORWARD. PATHFINDER. PATROL. SENTINEL.
SKIRMISHER.

These vessels were the first fleet scouts. They are of about 3,000 tons
displacement, and have engines of 16,500 h.p., which give them a speed
of 25 knots. As originally armed, they carried a battery of 12-pounders,
but these were replaced recently by nine 4-in. quick-firers, a change
which much increased the fighting value. The coal supply is 400 tons,
and they have a complement of 268 officers and men. The average cost,
complete, was over £270,000.


“GEM” CLASS.

(Completed 1905.)


AMETHYST. TOPAZE. DIAMOND. SAPPHIRE.

Light cruisers of 3,000 tons, with a speed of 22 knots. Armed with
twelve 4-in. and some smaller quick-firing guns, with two torpedo tubes
on deck. The coal supply is 500 tons, the complement 296 officers and
men, and the average cost, complete, was about £235,000.


CHALLENGER CLASS.

(Completed 1904-06.)


CHALLENGER. ENCOUNTER (Australian Navy).

These vessels are protected cruisers of 5,880 tons, capable of steaming
21 knots. The armament consists of eleven 6-in. and some smaller
quick-firing guns. Over the engines and boilers there is a 3-in. steel
protective deck. The coal capacity is 1,225 tons, the complement 454
officers and men, and they averaged, complete, £360,000.


HIGHFLYER CLASS.

(Completed 1900-01.)


HERMES. HYACINTH. HIGHFLYER.

These protected cruisers displace 5,600 tons. They have a speed of 20
knots, and are armed with eleven 6-in., several smaller quick-firing
guns, and two torpedo tubes. The coal capacity is 1,100 tons. They carry
a complement of 456 officers and men, and each ship cost, complete, over
£280,000.


PELORUS CLASS.

(Completed 1897-1901.)


PROSERPINE. PELORUS. PEGASUS. PYRAMUS. PANDORA. PERSEUS. PROMETHEUS.
PSYCHE. PIONEER.

The displacement of this class is about 2,200 tons, speed 20 knots, and
the armament consists of eight 4-in. and some smaller quick-firing guns,
with two torpedo tubes mounted on deck. The coal capacity is 520 tons.
They have a complement of 234 officers and men, and each vessel cost
complete, about £150,000.


ARROGANT CLASS.

(Completed 1898-99.)


FURIOUS. VINDICTIVE.

Protected cruisers of 5,750 tons and 19 knots speed, armed with ten
6-in. and some smaller quick-firing guns, and two torpedo tubes. Coal
capacity is 1,175 tons. The complement consists of 429 officers and men.
Each cost complete, over £280,000.


TALBOT CLASS.

(Completed 1897-98.)


ECLIPSE. MINERVA. TALBOT. DIANA. DORIS. JUNO. VENUS. ISIS. DIDO.

These vessels are protected cruisers of 5,600 tons, with a speed of 19½
knots. They are armed with eleven 6-in. and some smaller guns, and have
two torpedo tubes. The coal capacity is 1,050 tons, and the complement
416 officers and men. Each cost complete about £275,000.


ASTRÆA CLASS.

(Completed 1894-95.)


ASTRÆA. CAMBRIAN. CHARYBDIS. FLORA. FOX. HERMIONE.

The displacement of these cruisers is 4,360 tons. They have a speed of
19½ knots, and are armed with two 6-in., eight 4·7-in., and some smaller
guns. The coal capacity is 1,000 tons. A complement of 312 officers and
men is carried. They averaged complete about £225,000.


SAPPHO CLASS.

(Completed 1893.)


SAPPHO.

A light cruiser of 1,400 tons displacement, with a speed of 19½ knots.
She is armed with two 6-in., eight 4·7-in., and some smaller guns, and
has four torpedo tubes. The coal supply is 1,000 tons. Her complement is
273 officers and men. She cost complete £176,000.


ÆOLUS CLASS.

(Completed 1892-93.)


ÆOLUS. RAINBOW (Canadian Navy). SIRIUS. MELPOMENE. BRILLIANT.

These light cruisers displace 3,600 tons, and have a speed of 20 knots.
They are armed with two 6-in., six 4·7-in., and some smaller guns,
besides four torpedo tubes. The coal capacity is 535 tons. The
complement is 273 officers and men.


PEARL CLASS.

(Completed 1892.)


PHILOMEL.

A light cruiser of 2,575 tons, with a speed of 19 knots. Armament: Eight
4·7-in., and thirteen smaller guns. Two torpedo tubes. Coal capacity 440
tons. The complement is 217 officers and men, and the ship cost complete
about £164,000. She is the only vessel of the Pearl Class remaining on
the active list.


MEDEA CLASS.

(Completed 1889.)


MEDEA.

This is the oldest light cruiser on the active list. She displaces 2,800
tons, has a speed of 19 knots, and is armed with six 4·7-in., and
fourteen smaller guns, besides four torpedo tubes. The coal capacity is
400 tons. The complement is about 200 officers and men.


DESTROYERS.

“L” CLASS.

(Completed 1914.)


LLEWELLYN. LENNOX. LOYAL. LEGION. LAFOREY. LAWFORD. LOUIS. LYDIARD.
LEONIDAS. LUCIFER. LAERTES. LYSANDER. LANCE. LOOKOUT. LAUREL. LIBERTY.
LARK. LANDRAIL. LAVEROCK. LINNET.

These are among the very latest destroyers. They were launched in 1913,
and have a displacement of 965 tons. The designed speed is 29 knots,
which was exceeded on trial. They consume oil fuel only. The armament
consists of three 4-in. guns and four torpedo tubes, and they carry 100
officers and men.


“K” CLASS.

(Completed 1913.)


ACASTA. ACHATES. AMBUSCADE. ARDENT. FORTUNE. CHRISTOPHER. COCKATRICE.
CONTEST. GARLAND. PARAGON. PORPOISE. UNITY. VICTOR. LYNX. MIDGE. OWL.
SHARK. SPARROWHAWK. SPITFIRE. HARDY.

These destroyers were built under the 1911 programme. The displacement
is 935 tons, and they can steam at more than 30 knots. The armament is
three 4-in. guns and two torpedo tubes. Oil fuel only is consumed. The
complement is 100 officers and men.


“I” CLASS.

(Completed 1911-12.)


LURCHER. FIREDRAKE. OAK. BADGER. BEAVER. ACHERON. ARIEL. ARCHER. ATTACK.
GOSHAWK. HIND. FORESTER. HORNET. HYDRA. DEFENDER. DRUID. JACKAL.
TIGRESS. LAPWING. LIZARD. SANDFLY. PHŒNIX. FERRET.

Ocean-going destroyers of about 700 tons, with a speed of more than 30
knots. The armament consists of two 4-in. and two 12-pounder guns, with
two torpedo tubes. Oil only is consumed. The complement is seventy-two
officers and men. These boats were built under the 1910 programme.


“H” CLASS.

(Completed 1910-11.)


ACORN. ALARM. BRISK. CAMELEON. COMET. FURY. GOLDFINCH. HOPE. LARNE.
LYRA. MARTIN. MINSTREL. NEMESIS. NEREIDE. NYMPHE. REDPOLE. RIFLEMAN.
RUBY. SHELDRAKE. STAUNCH.

These destroyers were built under the 1909 programme. Their displacement
is 760 tons, the designed speed 27 knots. The armament is two 4-in. and
two 12-pounder guns, with two torpedo tubes. Oil only is consumed. The
complement is 76 officers and men.


“G” CLASS.

(Completed 1910.)


BASILISK. BEAGLE. BULLDOG. FOXHOUND. GRASSHOPPER. HARPY. MOSQUITO.
GRAMPUS. PINCHER. RACOON. RATTLESNAKE. RENARD. SAVAGE. SCORPION.
SCOURGE. WOLVERINE.

These destroyers, which were built under the 1908 programme, have a
displacement of 976 tons and a speed of 27 knots. They are armed with
one 4-in. and three 12-pounder guns, and two torpedo tubes. The
complement is 96 officers and men.


“F” CLASS.

(Completed 1908-9.)


AFRIDI. COSSACK. GHURKA. MOHAWK. TARTAR.

These are ocean-going destroyers, displacing about 880 tons, with a
speed of more than 33 knots. They are armed with five 12-pounder guns
and two torpedo tubes. Oil only is consumed in the furnaces. Complement,
60 officers and men.


“F” CLASS.

(Continued.)


SARACEN. AMAZON. NUBIAN.

These destroyers are of 975 tons displacement, and have a speed of more
than 33 knots. The armament is two 4-in. guns and two torpedo tubes. Oil
only is consumed. The complement is 67 officers and men.


“F” CLASS.

(Continued.)


CRUSADER. MAORI. ZULU.

Ocean-going destroyers of more than 1,000 tons displacement, with a
speed of nearly 34 knots. They burn oil fuel only. Armed with two 4-in.
guns and two torpedo tubes. Complement, 71 officers and men.


“F” CLASS.

(Continued.)


VIKING.

An ocean-going destroyer of 1,090 tons and a speed of 34 knots. She is
armed with two 4-in. guns and two torpedo tubes. Oil only is burned. The
complement is 71 officers and men.


SWIFT.

(Completed 1908.)

This is the largest destroyer in the British Navy, and also the fastest.
She displaces 2,170 tons, and is designed for a speed of 36 knots, but
is said to have done as much as 39 knots in service. The armament is
four 4-in. guns and two torpedo tubes. She is officially classed as a
flotilla leader.


“E” CLASS.

(Completed 1902-5.)


ARUN. BOYNE. CHELMER. CHERWELL. COLNE. DEE. DERWENT. DOON. EDEN. ERNE.
ETTRICK. EXE. FOYLE. GARRY. ITCHEN. JED. KALE. KENNET. LIFFEY. MOY.
NESS. NITH. OUSE. RIBBLE. ROTHER. STOUR. SWALE. TEST. TEVIOT. URE. USK.
WAVENEY. WEAR. WELLAND.

These destroyers comprise the “River” class. They displace about 550
tons, have a speed of 25½ knots, and are armed with four 12-pounder guns
and two torpedo tubes. The complement is 72 officers and men.

  [Illustration]

  _H.M.S. Indefatigable._

  _Photo: Cribb, Southsea._

  =INDEFATIGABLE CLASS.=

  INDEFATIGABLE, AUSTRALIA, NEW ZEALAND.

  Displacement: 18,750 tons.

  Speed: 28 knots; Guns: 8 12in., 16 4in.; Torpedo tubes: 3.

  [Illustration]

  Astern fire:  Broadside:  Ahead fire:
  6 12in.       8 12in.     6 12in.


“D” CLASS.

(Completed 1897-1900.)


ANGLER. COQUETTE. CYGNET. CYNTHIA. DESPERATE. FAME. MALLARD. STAG.

These boats represent the older type of destroyers. They displace more
than 300 tons, have a speed of 30 knots, and are armed with one
12-pounder, five smaller guns, and two torpedo tubes. The complement is
60 officers and men.


“C” CLASS.

(Completed 1897-98.)


ALBATROSS. AVON. BAT. BITTERN. BRAZEN. BULLFINCH. CHEERFUL. CRANE. DOVE.
ELECTRA. FAIRY. FALCON. FAWN. FLIRT. FLYING FISH. GIPSY. GREYHOUND.
KESTREL. LEOPARD. LEVEN. MERMAID. OSPREY. OSTRICH. RACEHORSE. RECRUIT.
ROEBUCK. STAR. SYLVIA. THORN. VELOX. VIGILANT. VIOLET. VIXEN. VULTURE.

A comparatively old group of destroyers of 30 knots speed. Armed with
one 12-pounder, five smaller guns, and two torpedo tubes. The
complement is about 60 officers and men.


“B” CLASS.

(Completed 1895-1900.)


ALBACORE. ARAB. BONETTA. EARNEST. EXPRESS. GRIFFON. KANGAROO. LIVELY.
LOCUST. MYRMIDON. ORWELL. PANTHER. PETEREL. QUAIL. SEAL. SPITEFUL.
SPRIGHTLY. SUCCESS. SYREN. THRASHER. WOLF.

An early class of destroyer, with a speed of 30 knots. Armament: one 12
pounder, five 6 pounder guns, two torpedo tubes. Complement: about 60
officers and men.


“A” CLASS.

(1894-5.)


CONFLICT. FERVENT. LIGHTNING. OPOSSUM. PORCUPINE. RANGER. SUNFISH.
SURLY. ZEPHYR.

These are our oldest destroyers, having been launched nearly twenty
years ago. The speed is 27 knots. Armament: one 12-pounder, five smaller
guns, two torpedo tubes. Complement, 50 officers and men.

  [Illustration]

  _H.M.S. Indomitable._

  _Photo: Symonds & Co._

  =INDOMITABLE CLASS.=

  INDOMITABLE, INFLEXIBLE, INVINCIBLE.

  Displacement: 17,250 tons.

  Speed: 28 knots; Guns: 8 12in., 16 4in.; Torpedo tubes: 3.

  [Illustration]

  Astern fire:  Broadside:  Ahead fire:
  6 12in.       8 12in.     6 12in.


FLOTILLA LEADERS.

(Completed 1914.)


KEMPENFELT. NIMROD.

These two large destroyers were ordered by the Chilian Government from
Messrs. White & Co., and purchased by the British Admiralty on the
outbreak of war. The displacement is 1,850 tons, speed more than 31
knots, and the armament consists of six 4-in. quick-firers, two Maxims,
and three torpedo tubes. The complement is about 110 officers and men.


SUBMARINES.

“A” CLASS.--These submarines are the oldest in commission. The
displacement is 204 tons, and on the surface they can travel at 12
knots, below water at 9 knots. They are armed with two torpedo tubes.
Complement: 11 officers and men.

“B” CLASS.--These boats displace 314 tons, and have a surface and
submerged speed of 13 and 9 knots respectively. They are armed with two
torpedo tubes. Sixteen officers and men are carried.

“C” CLASS.--This class has a displacement of about 320 tons. Above water
their speed is 14 knots, below it is 10 knots. They are fitted with two
torpedo tubes, and have a crew of 16 officers and men.

“D” CLASS.--These are fairly new boats of about 550 tons displacement.
On the surface the speed is 16 knots, below water it is 10 knots. They
are armed with three torpedo tubes, and are also believed to have a
quick-firing gun. The complement is about 20 officers and men.


“E” CLASS.

The “E” class comprises our latest boats, and no official details of the
class have been published. The displacement, however, is about 800 tons,
and the surface speed 16 knots. There are four torpedo tubes and two
quick-firing guns, the latter being on disappearing mountings. About 25
officers and men are carried.


A.E. 1 and A.E. 2.

(Australian boats.)

These boats are identical with the “E” class.


NAUTILUS. “F” CLASS. SWORDFISH.

These boats, although not officially described, are known to be of
extremely powerful type. They displace nearly 1,000 tons, can travel at
18 or 19 knots on the surface and 12 below, and are armed with six
torpedo tubes and two guns. The complement is about 27 officers and
men.




CHAPTER III

THE GERMAN NAVY


GERMAN BATTLESHIPS.


DREADNOUGHTS.


KÖNIG CLASS.

(Completed 1914-15.)

GROSSER KURFÜRST. KÖNIG. KRONPRINZ. MARKGRAF.

The “König” class, to which these vessels belong, are the last
battleships to carry the 12-in. gun, as the battleships laid down since
are to be armed with 15-in. weapons. The “Königs” are considered by
German experts to be very successful ships. The displacement is 25,500
tons, the length on the water-line 574 ft., and the engines are intended
to develop 28,000 s.h.p. = 20½ knots.

The normal coal supply is 1,000 tons, but, if necessary, no fewer than
3,600 tons of fuel, including oil, can be carried. Ten 12-in. guns, 50
cals. long, represent the main armament. They are mounted in five twin
turrets, all on the centre line, so arranged that four guns can fire
ahead or astern, and all ten on either broadside. Fourteen 5·9-in.
quick-firing guns are mounted in an armoured broadside battery, seven
being available on either beam.

There are also ten 21-pounder quick-firers for repelling torpedo attack.
Five submerged torpedo tubes, to discharge the 19¾-in. torpedo, are
fitted.

These ships are strongly armoured, having a belt 13¾ in. thick
amidships, with good protection to guns and main fighting stations. The
last vessel of this class, the “Kronprinz,” is not expected to be ready
before next year.

The complement numbers 1,130.


KAISER CLASS.

(Completed 1912-13.)


KAISER. FRIEDRICH DER GROSSE. KAISERIN. PRINZREGENT LUITPOLD. KÖNIG
ALBERT.

In design the ships of this class are very similar to our “Neptune”
class, but are much larger, the displacement being 24,300 tons. The
designed speed is 20½ knots, but some ships of the class did much better
than this on trial, one of them, the “Kaiser,” steaming at 23½ knots for
a short period. These were the first German battleships to be fitted
with turbines.

The armament consists of ten 12-in. guns, fourteen 5·9-in., and twelve
21-pounder quick-firers, with five submerged torpedo tubes. The big guns
are twin-mounted in five turrets, two of which are placed diagonally
amidships, whilst the other three turrets are on the centre line. By
this means all the big guns can be trained on either broadside, through
a fairly wide arc. Stern fire is nominally from eight, bow fire from six
guns. The 5·9-in. quick-firers are in an armoured battery.

A feature of this class is the very strong armour belt, which is 13¾ in.
over vital parts amidships. Each ship carries 1,080 officers and men,
but the Friedrich der Grosse, which is the flagship of the
commander-in-chief, has a complement of more than 1,100.

Two vessels of this class, “Kaiser” and “König Albert,” recently
completed an ocean cruise of 20,000 miles, and are said to have proved
excellent sea boats. Their maximum fuel capacity is 3,600 tons.


HELGOLAND CLASS.

(Completed 1911-12.)


HELGOLAND. OSTFRIESLAND. THÜRINGEN. OLDENBURG.

The “Helgoland” class, to which these vessels belong, represents the
second group of German Dreadnoughts. They are undoubtedly powerful
units, but the design has been sharply criticised in Germany. Displacing
22,440 tons, and with a designed speed of twenty knots, which has been
slightly exceeded in service, this class is armed with twelve 12-in.,
fourteen 5·9-in., fourteen 21-pounders, and six submerged torpedo
tubes.

The big guns are in twin turrets, of which four are placed on the
broadside, and two on the centre-line. This disposition allows only
eight guns to be trained on either beam; in other words, only 66 per
cent. of the heavy armament is available on the broadside. The designers
have explained this apparent defect by pointing out that if the ship
were attacked on both sides simultaneously it could reply effectively on
each broadside. Nevertheless, this system was not approved by German
experts, and was subsequently abandoned in favour of a turret
disposition which permits the free use of all big guns on each beam, as
in the “Kaiser” and “König” classes.

The “Helgolands” have 11¾-in. armour on the water-line. They are very
steady in rough weather, and all have done well at gunnery. The maximum
coal supply is 3,000 tons. A complement of 1,106 officers and men is
carried.


NASSAU CLASS.

(Completed 1909-10.)


NASSAU. WESTFALEN. RHEINLAND. POSEN.

The “Nassau” class, to which these vessels belong, were the first
Dreadnoughts to be built by Germany. For their size they have an
extremely powerful armament, but too much was obviously attempted on
the displacement, and they are admittedly failures.

These ships displace 18,600 tons. They have exceeded their designed
speed of nineteen knots by more than one knot.

The armament comprises twelve 11-in., twelve 5·9-in., sixteen
21-pounders, and six submerged torpedo tubes. Owing to the disposition
of the four broadside turrets only eight of the big guns can be used on
one broadside, so that the ships, in spite of their more numerous
armament, can train only the same number of heavy guns on the beam as
the British Dreadnought. So much room is taken up by the gun positions
and their magazines, &c., that space between decks is very limited, and
the officers and men can scarcely be accommodated.

Over vital parts of the hull there is 11½-in. armour, but the turrets
have much thinner protection. It is held by experts that these ships
would be quickly put out of action if subjected to heavy fire, and it is
considered doubtful whether they would be able to stand for long the
concussion of their own numerous heavy guns.

The complement is 966 officers and men. The full coal capacity is 2,700
tons.


BATTLE-CRUISERS.


DERFFLINGER.

(Completed 1914.)

The “Derfflinger” is Germany’s newest battle-cruiser. Laid down at the
end of 1911 at Hamburg, she was intended to be launched on June 14th
last year, but, owing to a mishap to the slipway, she did not go afloat
until a fortnight later.

She was performing her trials when war broke out, but was then no doubt
hurriedly completed and placed in commission. Her displacement is 26,200
tons, and she has a length on the waterline of 689-ft., with a maximum
breadth of 95-ft.

High speed and great fuel endurance are the outstanding features of this
ship, which in proportion to her size is by no means heavily armed. The
main battery consists of eight 12-in. guns in four double turrets, all
on the centre line. Twelve 5·9-in. quick-firers represent the secondary
battery, and twelve 21-pounders the anti-torpedo armament. There are in
addition some special anti-aerocraft guns. Four submerged torpedo tubes
are fitted.

The maximum thickness of the armour belt is 12-in., but great attention
has been paid to the protection of the guns and other important
positions. The fuel capacity reaches the enormous figure of 4,300 tons,
which includes about 1,000 tons of oil. The turbines are of a new
pattern, designed to work up to 63,000 shaft horse-power, giving a speed
of 26½ knots; but there is every reason to suppose this figure will be
exceeded in service.

A peculiarity is the straight stem, no ram being fitted. The appearance
of this huge vessel is strikingly formidable, and she is undoubtedly a
most valuable addition to the German cruiser squadron, though in
armament she is outclassed by contemporary British battle-cruisers.
Complement, 1,125 officers and men.


SEYDLITZ.

(Completed 1913.)

The battle-cruiser Seydlitz is in a class by herself, though her design
closely resembles that of the Moltke and the Goeben, of which she is a
slightly larger edition. Her displacement is 24,600 tons, length 656
ft., and she has Parsons’ turbines of 63,000 h.p., designed for a speed
of 26½ knots, though she is reported to have attained over twenty-eight
knots on trial.

She was built at the Blohm and Voss yard, Hamburg, and was commissioned
last year. Her armament comprises ten 11-in., twelve 5·9-in., and twelve
21-pounder guns, with four submerged torpedo tubes. The big guns,
mounted in double turrets, are so disposed that all can be fired on
either broadside, whilst eight can be trained astern and six ahead.

On the waterline amidships there is a 12-in. armour belt. The gun
positions are also well protected. The maximum fuel capacity is 3,350
tons, equivalent to a steaming radius of 12,000 miles at moderate speed.

This ship, however, is a notorious “coal-eater,” and consumes an
enormous amount of fuel when running at high speed.

Her complement numbers 1,108 officers and men.


MOLTKE CLASS.


MOLTKE. GOEBEN.

(Completed 1911-12.)

These ships displace 22,640 tons, the length on water line is 610 ft.,
and the extreme breadth 96½ ft. They are propelled by Parsons’ turbines,
of 52,000 h.p., designed to give a speed of twenty-five knots, but on
trial the maximum speed was slightly over twenty-eight knots, and since
being in service these two battle-cruisers are said to have proved
themselves to be the fastest armoured vessels in the German fleet. The
fuel capacity is over 3,000 tons, and at economical speed the vessels
can cover 12,000 miles without replenishing their bunkers.

The armament is fairly powerful. It consists of ten 11-in., twelve
5·9-in., and twelve 21-pounder guns, with four submerged torpedo tubes.
Two turrets amidships are en echelon, the remaining three being on the
centre line, so that all ten big guns can be fired on either broadside.
These ships are reported to have special arrangements for rapidly
loading the heavy guns, but the report is not authenticated.

For battle-cruisers the protection is remarkably good, there being
11-in. armour on the waterline. In every respect these vessels are among
the most powerful units of the German fleet.

They have a complement of 1,013 officers and men.


VON DER TANN.

(Completed 1910.)

The Von der Tann was the first battle-cruiser built by Germany. She was
launched in 1909 and commissioned in the following year. The design of
the British Invincible was closely followed, but certain improvements
were introduced.

On a displacement of 19,100 tons there is carried an armament of eight
11-in. and ten 5·9-in guns, with sixteen 21-pounders for repelling
torpedo attack. Four submerged torpedo tubes are fitted. The vessel has
a length of 560 ft. She is equipped with Parsons’ turbines of 43,600
h.p., designed for a speed of twenty-five knots. On trial she touched
twenty-eight knots, and has done even better than this since.

The four double turrets are so disposed that all eight guns are
available on either broadside through a very wide arc. The vitals of the
ship are protected by an armour belt 9¾-in. thick. She can carry 2,600
tons of fuel, which enables her to steam about 11,000 miles at
economical speed.

Her complement numbers 911 officers and men. The Von der Tann flies the
flag of Rear-Admiral Tapken, Junior Admiral of the Scouting Squadron.


PRE-DREADNOUGHTS.


DEUTSCHLAND CLASS.

(1906-08.)


DEUTSCHLAND. POMMERN. SCHLESWIG-HOLSTEIN. SCHLESIEN. HANNOVER.

The main characteristics of the “Deutschland” class, to which these
vessels belong, are as follow: Displacement, 13,000 tons; speed, 19½
knots; armament, four 11-in., fourteen 6·7-in., twenty 21-pounder guns,
and six submerged torpedo tubes. The armour belt is 9¾ in. at its
thickest, with 11-in. armour on the turrets. The 6·7-in. guns are in a
broadside battery, protected by 6¾-in. plates.

[Illustration: =VICE-ADMIRAL INGENOHL.=

Commander-in-Chief, German High Seas Fleet.]

These are popular ships in the German navy, owing to their handiness,
good speed, and sea-keeping qualities. The armament is not so formidable
as it looks, owing to the slow rate of fire from the secondary battery.
The 6·7-in. projectile weighs 154 lbs., and is thus too heavy to be
handled by manual power, a fact which takes this gun out of the
quick-firing category.

In fighting value the ships compare with our Formidables. The coal
supply is limited to 1,750 tons. The complement is 743 officers and men.
The “Deutschland” was for some years flagship of the High Sea Fleet.


BRAUNSCHWEIG CLASS.

(Completed 1904-06.)


BRAUNSCHWEIG. ELSASS. PREUSSEN. HESSEN. LOTHRINGEN.

The same in every respect as the “Deutschland” class, except that the
armour belt is only 9-in. thick.


WITTELSBACH CLASS.

(Completed 1902-03.)


WITTELSBACH. WETTIN. ZÄHRINGEN. SCHWABEN. MECKLENBURG.

The “Wittelsbach” class, to which these vessels belong, has the
following characteristics: Displacement, 11,643 tons; speed 18 knots;
armament, four 9·4-in., eighteen 5·9-in., twelve 21-pounders, and six
submerged torpedo tubes. Amidships there is a belt of 9-in. armour, with
10-in. plating on the big-gun turrets.

Although the heavy guns are too weak for modern tactics, the
exceptionally powerful secondary battery was considered to compensate
for this defect. To older ships of the pre-Dreadnought period the
“Wittelsbach” class might still prove formidable opponents.

In service they have been found defective in sea-keeping qualities, and
the high freeboard and lofty superstructure offer an inviting target to
hostile guns.

Normally these ships form part of the reserve fleet. Proposals to
reconstruct and modernise them two years ago were rejected, on the
ground of their insignificant fighting value.

The coal supply is 1,800 tons. A complement of 683 officers and men is
borne.


KAISER FRIEDRICH CLASS.

(Completed 1898-1901.)


KAISER FRIEDRICH III. KAISER WILHELM II. KAISER WILHELM DER GROSSE.
KAISER KARL DER GROSSE. KAISER BARBAROSSA.

Particulars of the Kaiser Friedrich class, of which these ships are
representatives, are as follows: Displacement, 10,600 tons; speed, 17
knots; armament, four 9·4-in., fourteen 5·9-in., fourteen 21-pounder
guns and five submerged torpedo tubes. Protection is afforded by a
narrow belt 12-in. thick amidships, which tapers to 4-in. at the bows.
The stern has no side armour.

  [Illustration]

  =KAISER CLASS.=

  KAISER, FRIEDRICH DER GROSSE, KAISERIN, PRINZREG-LUITPOLD, KÖNIG
  ALBERT.

  Displacement: 24,200 tons.

  Speed: 21 knots; Guns: 10 12·2in., 14 6in., 12 24pdrs.; Torpedo tubes:
  5.

  [Illustration]

  Astern fire:  Broadside:  Ahead fire:
  8 12·2in.     10 12·2in.  6 12·2in.
  4 6in.        7 6in.      4 6in.

In their original form each ship carried eighteen 5·9-in. guns, but all,
excepting the Kaiser Karl der Grosse, underwent complete reconstruction
six or seven years ago, when four 5·9-in. guns and much of the clumsy
top-hamper were removed. This reduction in weight brought the lower edge
of the armour belt dangerously near the surface, with the result that
when the ships are rolling the belt comes out of the water, and the
lower hull is thus exposed to the smallest projectile.

Owing to this grave defect the ships were withdrawn from active service,
and have been in reserve ever since they were reconstructed.

Maximum coal capacity is 1,000 tons. The complement numbers 622 officers
and men.


BRANDENBURG CLASS.

(Completed 1893-94.)


BRANDENBURG. WÖRTH.

These vessels are the two oldest battleships in the German navy. The
class consisted originally of four ships, but two of them (Kurfürst
Friedrich Wilhelm and Weissenburg) were sold to Turkey in 1910, and are
now included in the Turkish fleet as the Haireddin Barbarossa and Torgut
Reis. The displacement is 9,870 tons, the present speed about 16 knots.

Six 11-in. guns of obsolete type form the main armament, which is
mounted in three double turrets on the centre line. This disposition
enables all six heavy guns to fire on either beam. There are also eight
4·1-in. and eight 21-pounder guns, with two submerged and one
above-water torpedo tubes.

On the water-line amidships is a 16-in. belt of compound armour, and the
big gun positions are protected by 12-in. plating. About 1,050 tons of
coal can be stored. The complement is 585 officers and men. The fighting
value of this class under modern conditions is practically nil.


COAST DEFENCE SHIPS.

(Completed 1890-7.)


AEGIR. HAGEN. HILDEBRAND. BEOWULF. ODIN. HEIMDALL. FRITHJOF. SIEGFRIED.

These vessels comprise the very oldest class of German armoured ships,
and are used only for the local defence of harbours and coasts. The
displacement is 4,000 tons. The speed originally was 15 knots, but is
now considerably less.

The armament consists of three old 9·4-in. and ten 21-pounder guns, with
four torpedo tubes. A narrow belt of 9-in. armour protects the
waterline, but elsewhere the hull has very little protection.

The complement numbers 307 officers and men.


GERMAN ARMOURED CRUISERS.


BLÜCHER.

(Completed 1909.)

The “Blücher” is the most modern of Germany’s armoured cruisers, as
distinct from the battle-cruiser class. She was laid down in 1906, at
Kiel, as a “reply” to the British “Invincibles,” then building.

At that date the details of the new British ships were carefully
guarded, with the result that the Germans, acting on incorrect
information, designed a cruiser which was far behind the “Invincible” in
every respect. The Blücher displaces 15,550 tons, and is 527-ft. in
length.

She has reciprocating engines of 32,000 h.p., for a designed speed of 24
knots, which was increased to 25·8 knots on trial.

The armament consists of twelve 8·2-in., eight 5·9-in., and sixteen
21-pounder guns, with four submerged torpedo tubes. The 8·2-in. guns
are twin-mounted in armoured turrets, so arranged that eight of these
weapons bear on the broadside. The 5·9-in. guns are in an armoured
battery.

A 7-in. belt protects the waterline and vitals, and there is plating of
equal thickness on the turrets. The coal supply is 2,200 tons.

The complement numbers 888 officers and men. The “Blücher,” which until
lately was used for gunnery training purposes, is the only German
warship to be fitted with a tripod mast and a fire-control station on
the British pattern.


SCHARNHORST. GNEISENAU.

(Completed 1907-08.)

Both these armoured cruisers were launched in 1906. They displace 11,400
tons, and are 470-ft. in length. With engines designed for 28,000 h.p.,
the trial speed was 23 knots. The armament is very powerful for a ship
of this class, and consists of eight 8·2-in., six 5·9-in., and eighteen
21-pounder guns, with four submerged torpedo tubes.

Four of the big guns are mounted in twin turrets, the remaining four in
broadside casemates. Six of these weapons can be fired on either
broadside. The 5·9-in. guns are in an armoured battery.

Six-inch armour protects the waterline and vital parts, the same
thickness being on the main gun positions. The maximum coal supply is
2,000 tons.

A complement of 764 officers and men is carried.

The “Scharnhorst” flies the flag of the admiral in command of the
cruiser squadron in China, and the “Gneisenau” is also a unit of the
China squadron.


YORCK. ROON.

(Completed 1905.)

The principal details of these ships are: Displacement, 9,350 tons;
length, 417-ft.; designed h.p., 19,000; speed, 21 knots. Armament
consists of four 8·2-in., ten 5·9-in., and fourteen 21-pounder guns,
with four submerged torpedo tubes. The 8·2-in. guns are mounted in two
double turrets placed forward and aft, the 5·9-in. being in an armoured
battery.

Protection is very poor. At its thickest the belt is only 4 ins., but
there is 6-in. armour on the turrets. The general design of these ships
is faulty, and they have not proved successful in service. The maximum
coal capacity is 1,400 tons.

A complement of 633 officers and men is carried.


PRINZ ADALBERT. FRIEDRICH KARL.

(Completed 1903.)

These are vessels of 8,850 tons displacement, and 410-ft. in length.
They have engines of 17,000 h.p., giving a speed of 21 knots. Their
armament comprises four 8·2-in. guns in twin turrets, ten 5·9-in., and
twelve 21-pounder quick-firers, with four torpedo tubes. The armour belt
is only 4 ins. thick, but the two turrets are protected by 6-in. armour.

Coal capacity is 1,600 tons with bunkers full. A complement of 591
officers and men is borne.


PRINZ HEINRICH.

(Completed 1902.)

This vessel is one of the earliest German armoured cruisers. She was
built specially for service abroad, and was formerly on the China
station. She displaces 8,760 tons, is 410-ft. in length, and originally
steamed at 20½ knots, but is now considerably slower.

Her armament consists of two 9·4-in., ten 5·9-in., and ten 21-pounder
guns, with four torpedo tubes, three of them submerged. The big guns are
in single turrets placed at each end, whilst the secondary armament is
mounted partly in small turrets, and partly in battery.

There is only a 4-in. belt on the waterline, with 6-in. plating on the
heavy turrets. The full fuel supply is 1,450 tons. Her complement
numbers 567 officers and men.


FÜRST BISMARCK.

(Completed 1900.)

This is the oldest armoured cruiser in service. She is at present being
converted into a torpedo training ship, and may not have her full
armament on board. The displacement is 10,750 tons, length 411-ft.,
speed 19 knots. She carries four 9·4-in., twelve 5·9-in., ten
21-pounders, and six torpedo tubes. The big guns are in two twin
turrets. An 8-in. belt protects the waterline, and the main gun
positions have plating of equal thickness. This vessel was completed in
1900, having taken more than four years to build. Her present fighting
value is small. The complement is 594 officers and men.


PROTECTED CRUISERS.


KAISERIN AUGUSTA.

(Completed 1893.)

This is the oldest German protected cruiser in service. Launched in
1892, she has a displacement of 5,900 tons, and a speed of 20 knots. She
is armed with twelve 5·9-in. quick-firing guns, and eight 21-pounders,
with three torpedo tubes. There is a thick steel deck, which extends
from bow to stern. The complement is 439 officers and men.


VICTORIA LUISE. HERTHA. VINETA. HANSA. FREYA.

(Completed 1898-99.)

These are vessels of 5,600 tons displacement, and belong to the training
squadron for cadets and boys. They can steam at about 19 knots, but the
small coal capacity of 900 tons limits their radius of action. The
armament consists of two 8·2-in. guns in single armoured turrets, six
5·9-in., and fourteen 21-pounder quick-firers with three torpedo tubes.

Amidships there is a 4-in. protective deck, and armour of the same
thickness protects the guns. A complement of 465 officers and men is
carried.


GEFION.

(Completed 1894.)

This is a protected cruiser of 3,700 tons, with a speed of about 19
knots, armed with ten 4·1-in. and six smaller quick-firers. There are no
torpedo tubes. A complement of 296 officers and men is carried.


HELA.

(Completed 1896.)

The “Hela” is a small cruiser of 2,000 tons, with a nominal speed of 20
knots. She is armed with two 21-pounder and four smaller guns, and has
three torpedo tubes. There is a steel deck over boilers and machinery.
The complement is 191 officers and men.


GAZELLE. NIOBE.

(Completed 1898-1901.)

These vessels were the first fast light cruisers which Germany has built
in such numbers during recent years. The displacement is 2,600 tons,
and the present speed about 20½ knots. They are armed with ten 4·1-in.
quick-firing guns and two submerged torpedo tubes. With coal bunkers
full the steaming radius at moderate speed is 4,000 knots. A 2-in. steel
deck protects boilers and engines from shell fire. Complement: 270
officers and men.


NYMPHE. THETIS. ARIADNE. AMAZONE. MEDUSA. FRAUENLOB. UNDINE. ARKONA.[5]

(Completed 1901-03.)

These ships are protected cruisers of 2,620 tons, with a speed of about
21½ knots. Armament: Ten 4·1-in. quick-firers and two torpedo tubes.
There is a 2-in. curved deck over boilers and machinery spaces. With a
full coal supply on board, these cruisers have a steaming radius at low
speed of slightly more than 4,000 knots. The complement numbers 275
officers and men.

  [5] Fitted as a mine-layer.


HAMBURG. BREMEN. BERLIN. DANZIG. MÜNCHEN. LÜBECK. LEIPZIG.

(Completed 1904-06.)

These are protected cruisers of 3,200 tons, with a speed of over 22
knots. They are armed with ten 4·1-in. guns and two torpedo tubes.
Starting with coal bunkers full, they are capable of steaming 5,000
knots at low speed without re-coaling. A complement of 303 officers and
men is carried.


KŒNIGSBERG.

(Completed 1907.)

A protected cruiser of 3,350 tons, with a maximum speed of 24 knots. She
was launched in 1905. Armed with ten 4·1-in. quick-firing guns and two
torpedo tubes. The radius of action at low speed is 5,000 knots.
Complement: 322 officers and men.


STUTTGART. STETTIN. NURNBERG.

(Completed 1908.)

Protected cruisers of 3,350 tons, which are able to travel at nearly 25
knots. They are armed with ten 4·1-in. quick-firing guns and two torpedo
tubes. The steaming radius at economical speed is 5,500 knots.
Complement, 322 officers and men.


DRESDEN. EMDEN.

(Completed 1907-08.)

Protected cruisers of 3,540 tons, with a maximum speed of 24½ knots. The
armament consists of ten 4·1-in. quick-firing guns and two torpedo
tubes. The steaming radius at low speed is about 5,800 knots.
Complement, 361 officers and men.


KOLBERG. MAINZ. AUGSBURG. CÖLN.

(Completed 1909-11.)

Protected cruisers of 4,280 tons, turbine driven, with a trial speed of
nearly 27 knots. They are armed with twelve 4·1-in. quick-firing guns
and two torpedo tubes. Their radius of action with bunkers full is
nearly 6,000 knots. The complements consists of 379 officers and men.


MAGDEBURG. BRESLAU. STRASSBURG. STRALSUND.

(Completed 1912.)

Fast cruisers of 4,478 tons, able to steam at nearly 28 knots. They are
armed with twelve 4·1-in. quick-firing guns and two torpedo tubes. On
the water-line there is 4-in. vertical armour, so that these vessels
are, strictly speaking, armoured cruisers. They have a large coal
supply, and can cover more than 6,000 knots without taking in fresh
fuel. Complement: 370 officers and men.


ROSTOCK. KARLSRUHE. GRAUDENZ. REGENSBURG.

(Completed 1913-14.)

These are the very latest fast light cruisers. They have a maximum speed
of 28 knots. The armament is twelve 4·1-in. quick-firing guns and two
torpedo tubes. At the water-line there is an armour belt 4-in. thick,
and much internal protection. The radius of action at economical speed
is 6,500 knots. A complement of 373 officers and men is carried.


GUNBOATS.


CONDOR. CORMORAN. SEEADLER. GEIER.

(Completed 1892-95.)

Gunboats of 1,600 tons, having a speed of 15 knots. They are armed with
eight 4·1-in. quick-firing guns and two torpedo tubes. Complement: 162
officers and men.


ILTIS. JAGUAR. TIGER. LUCHS.

(Completed 1898-00.)

Gunboats of 880 tons, with a speed of about 14 knots, and armed with
small quick-firing guns. The complement numbers 126 officers and men.


PANTHER. EBER.

(Completed 1902-3.)

Gunboats of 900 tons and 14 knots speed. They carry two 4·1-in. and some
smaller guns. Complement: 130 officers and men.


TORPEDO-BOAT DESTROYERS.


G 37-42. V 43-48.

Launched 1914. Displacement 650 tons, speed 32½ knots. Armament: Five
torpedo tubes, two 21-pounder quick-firers, and four machine guns.
Complement, 73.


V 29-30. S 34-36.

Launched 1913. Displacement 650 tons, speed 32½ knots. Armament: Five
torpedo tubes, two 21-pounder quick-firers, and four machine guns.
Complement, 73.


V 25-28. S 21-33.

Launched 1913. Displacement 620 tons, speed 32½ knots. Armament: Five
torpedo tubes, two 21-pounder quick-firers, and four machine guns.
Complement, 73.


S 13-24. G 7-12. V 1-6.

Launched 1912. Displacement 550 tons, speed 32½ knots. Armament: Five
torpedo tubes, two 21-pounder quick-firers, and two machine guns.
Complement, 73.


G 192-197. V 186-191.

Launched 1910. Displacement 645 tons, speed 32½ knots. Armament: Four
torpedo tubes, two 21-pounder quick-firers, and two machine guns.
Complement, 83.


V 180-185. S 176-179.

Launched 1909. Displacement 630 tons, speed 32 knots. Armament: Four
torpedo tubes, two 21-pounder quick-firers, and two machine guns.
Complement, 83.


G 174-175.

Launched 1910. Displacement 645 tons, speed 31½ knots. Armament: Four
torpedo tubes, two 21-pounder quick-firers, and two machine guns.
Complement, 83.


G 169, 170, 172, 173.

Launched 1908. Displacement 628 tons, speed 30 knots. Armament: Three
torpedo tubes, two 21-pounder quick-firers, and two machine guns.
Complement, 83.


S 165-168.

Launched 1908. Displacement 600 tons, speed 32 knots. Armament: Three
torpedo tubes, two 21-pounder quick-firers, and two machine guns.
Complement, 83.


V 162-164.

Launched 1909. Displacement 600 tons, Speed 30 knots. Armament: Three
torpedo tubes, two 21-pounder quick-firers, two machine guns.
Complement, 83.


V 150-161.

Launched 1907. Displacement 545 tons, speed 30 knots. Armament: Three
torpedo tubes, two 21-pounder quick-firers, and two machine guns.
Complement, 83.


S 138-149.

Launched 1906. Displacement 515 tons, speed 30 knots. Armament: Three
torpedo tubes, one 21-pounder quick-firer, three 4-pounder
quick-firers, and two machine guns. Complement, 80.


G 137.

Launched 1906. Displacement 565 tons, speed 30 knots. Armament: Three
torpedo tubes, one 21-pounder quick-firer, three 4-pounder quick-firers,
and two machine guns. Complement, 80.


G 136.

Launched 1906. Displacement 480 tons, speed 27 knots. Armament: Three
torpedo tubes, four 4-pounder quick-firers, and two machine guns.
Complement, 68.


G 135.

Launched 1906. Displacement 480 tons, speed 27 knots. Armament: Three
torpedo tubes, one 24-pounder quick-firer, two 4-pounder quick-firers,
and two machine guns. Complement, 68.


G 132-134.

Launched 1906. Displacement 480 tons, speed 27 knots. Armament: Three
torpedo tubes, four 4-pounder quick-firers, and two machine guns.
Complement, 68.


S 125-131.

Launched 1904. Displacement 480 tons, speed 27 knots. Armament: Three
torpedo tubes, three 4-pounder quick-firers, and two machine guns.
Complement, 60.


S 120-124.

Launched 1904. Displacement 460 tons, speed 27 knots. Armament: Three
torpedo tubes, three 4-pounder quick-firers, and two machine guns.
Complement, 60.


S 114-119.

Launched 1903. Displacement 415 tons, speed 26 knots. Armament: Three
torpedo tubes, three 4-pounder quick-firers, and two machine guns.
Complement, 56.


G 108-113. S 102-107. S 90-101.

Destroyers of 400 tons, launched in 1901. The maximum speed is 26 knots.
Armament: Three small quick-firers, two machine guns, three torpedo
tubes. The complement is 56 officers and men.

TAKU.--This is a destroyer of 280 tons and 30 knots speed. She carries
three small guns, and two torpedo tubes. Complement: 49 officers and
men. She was captured from the Chinese during the Boxer campaign.

D 10.--A destroyer of 350 tons and 28 knots speed, armed with five small
guns, two machine guns, and two torpedo tubes. Complement, 60 officers
and men.

D 9.--An old destroyer of 375 tons and 24 knots speed. She carries three
small guns, two Maxims, and three torpedo tubes. Complement, 49 officers
and men.

D 3-8.--Very old destroyers, of more than 300 tons displacement and
about 22 knots speed. They carry some small guns and three torpedo
tubes. Complement, 49 officers and men.

  [Illustration]

  _Helgoland._

  _Photo: Topical War Service._

  =HELGOLAND CLASS.=

  HELGOLAND, OSTFRIESLAND, THÜRINGEN, OLDENBURG.

  Displacement: 21,000 tons.

  Speed: 21 knots; Guns: 12 12·2in., 14 6in., 14 24pdrs.; Torpedo tubes:
  6.

  [Illustration]

  Astern fire:  Broadside:  Ahead fire:
  6 12·2in.     8 12·2in.   6 12·2in.
  4 6in.        7 6in.      4 6in.


D 1 (CARMEN). D 2 (ALICE ROOSEVELT).

Very old destroyers, displacing 225 tons, with a speed of 21 knots.
Armament: five small guns and three torpedo-tubes. Complement, 46.


SUBMARINES.

U 1-2.--These are the earliest German submarines, and displace about 150
to 200 tons. The speed above water does not exceed 9 knots, and two
torpedo-tubes are carried. There is a crew of 11.

U 3-8.--These boats belong to the second German type. The displacement
is about 250 tons, and the surface and submerged speeds are 12 and 8
knots respectively. Three torpedo-tubes are fitted. Complement, 14
officers and men.

U 9-20.--These boats are believed to be of about 400 tons, with a
surface speed of 15 knots, and to be armed with three or four
torpedo-tubes. The crew consists of 17 officers and men.

U 21-26.--These submarines displace about 800 tons, and are said to be
able to travel at 18 knots on the surface. They are armed with four
torpedo-tubes and two small quick-firing guns. The complement is about
22 officers and men.

U 27-36.--These boats are the very latest type. The displacement is
about 900 tons, the surface speed 18 knots, and they can travel at 12
knots when submerged. The armament consists of four torpedo-tubes and
two quick-firing guns on high-angle mountings. About 30 officers and men
are carried.


MINE-LAYERS.

PELIKAN.--This is the oldest German mine-layer in commission. She was
launched in 1890, displaces 2,300 tons, and can steam at 15½ knots. The
armament consists of four 21-pounder quick-firing guns, and, of course,
a large number of mines charged with high explosives. She is used as a
sea-going training ship for mine work. The complement is 195 officers
and men.

NAUTILUS.--This ship was specially built for mine-laying work, and was
launched in 1906. Her displacement is 1,935 tons, the designed speed 20
knots. She carries eight 21-pounder guns, and has magazines for a large
number of naval mines, with special gear for dropping them. Her crew
numbers 198 officers and men.

ALBATROSS.--This ship, which was specially built for mine-laying work,
was launched in 1907. The displacement is 2,185 tons, the designed speed
20 knots. She is armed with eight 21-pounder quick-firers, and has
magazines for a large number of naval mines, with special gear for
dropping them. The crew numbers 198 officers and men.




CHAPTER IV

ADMIRAL SIR JOHN JELLICOE


Immediately the Home Fleets had been mobilised the Admiralty issued the
following announcement:

  With the approval of his Majesty the King, Admiral Sir John R.
  Jellicoe, K.C.B., K.C.V.O., has assumed supreme command of the Home
  Fleets, with the acting rank of Admiral, and Rear-Admiral Charles E.
  Madden, C.V.O., has been appointed to be his Chief of the Staff.

His Majesty immediately sent an inspiring message to Admiral Sir John
Jellicoe, as representing the whole Navy, and it was communicated to the
officers and men of the squadrons in all parts of the world.

  At this grave moment in our National history I send to you, and
  through you to the officers and men of the Fleets of which you have
  assumed command, the assurance of my confidence that under your
  direction they will revive and renew the old glories of the Royal
  Navy, and prove once again the sure shield of Britain and of her
  Empire in the hour of trial.

  GEORGE R.I.

Admiral Sir John Jellicoe’s reply to the King’s message was as follows:

  On behalf of the officers and men of Home Fleet, beg to tender our
  loyal and dutiful thanks to your Majesty for the gracious message,
  which will inspire all with determination to uphold the glorious
  traditions of the past.

  (Signed)

  Commander-in-Chief,
  Home Fleet.

Sir John Jellicoe, on whom the eyes of the nation are fixed, is one of
the most distinguished admirals of the sea service. He has wide sea
experience, is a splendid administrator, and is at the same time a man
of cool and determined judgment.

The appointment of Sir John Jellicoe was in itself of the nature of a
romance. He had no small share in shaping the instrument he now
commands, and he chose as his Chief of Staff another most distinguished
officer, who happens to be his brother-in-law. Sir John Jellicoe and
Rear-Admiral Charles Madden served together at the Admiralty on more
than one occasion, both having, indeed, been Sea Lords, and they married
daughters of Sir Charles Cayzer, Bt.

The Admiralissimo and his chief staff officer are known to be in the
most complete accord on matters of strategy and tactics, and were both
associated in the creation and equipment of the ships of the Home Fleets
on which the fortunes of the British Empire will depend. They were
members of the famous Dreadnought Design Committee, and were associated
with Admiral of the Fleet, Lord Fisher of Kilverstone, in his many
reforms in naval administration.

No officer whom the Admiralty could have selected to go afloat at a
juncture of such transcendent importance enjoys so completely the
confidence of the naval service as Sir John Jellicoe. In December, 1912,
he became a member of the Board of Admiralty, and then vacated the
command of the Second Division of the Home Fleet, to which he was
appointed over the heads of eleven vice-admirals--a fact which in itself
points to the high estimation in which he is held by the naval
authorities.

Born on December 5, 1859, he is the son of Captain J. H. Jellicoe.
Educated at Rottingdean, Sir John Jellicoe entered the Royal Navy as a
cadet on July 15, 1872, passing out of the “Britannia” first of his
“batch” by over a hundred marks. In the examination for sub-lieutenant,
which rank he attained six years later (December 5, 1878), he took three
“firsts,” in itself a remarkable achievement.

On August 23, 1880, he was promoted lieutenant, and two years
afterwards, as a lieutenant on board the “Agincourt,” he served in the
Egyptian War. He was awarded the Egyptian medal and the Khedive’s bronze
star. On his return to England, in the following year, he studied at the
Royal Naval College, Greenwich, where he won the special £80 prize for
gunnery lieutenants. In May, 1886, while serving on board the “Monarch,”
he was awarded the Board of Trade silver medal for gallantry in saving
life at sea, by commanding a gig which went to the rescue of a stranded
ship near Gibraltar, the sea being so heavy that the boat was capsized,
but he and the crew were washed ashore. He served also as gunnery
lieutenant of the “Colossus,” and on the staff of the “Excellent”
gunnery establishment.

Gazetted a commander in 1891, he was for a time employed as assistant to
the Director of Naval Ordnance, being subsequently appointed first
lieutenant to the “Sans Pareil,” and later to the ill-fated “Victoria,”
Admiral Sir George Tryon’s flagship, on the Mediterranean station, which
was sunk off Tripoli, on the Syrian coast, in collision with the
“Camperdown,” when the admiral, twenty-one officers, and 350 men were
drowned. At the time of the collision Commander Jellicoe was on the sick
list in his cabin. When the ship capsized he, with the aid of Mr. West,
a midshipman, contrived to keep himself afloat till picked up. Commander
Jellicoe’s silver medal was lost with other effects in the “Victoria,”
and the Board of Trade, so it was reported at the time, intimated that
another medal could be obtained on payment.

After serving as commander of the “Ramillies” flagship in the
Mediterranean, he was promoted to the rank of captain (January 1st,
1897), and joined the Ordnance Committee. Admiral Sir E. H. Seymour
selected him as flag captain in the “Centurion” on the China station.
During the expedition to succour the Legations at Pekin in 1900, in
which he narrowly escaped death by a severe gunshot wound, Captain
Jellicoe commanded the Naval Brigade and acted as Chief Staff Officer,
when he gained not only the C.B., but was awarded by the German Emperor
the second class of the Red Eagle with crossed swords.

Returning from China at the end of 1901, he was, in November of that
year, appointed to superintend the building by contract of ships of war;
he next served as Naval Assistant to the Controller of the Navy, which
post he vacated in August, 1903, to take command of the “Drake,” and in
February, 1905, he took up the post of Director of Naval Ordnance and
Torpedoes, in succession to Captain Barry.

Much has been said about the improvement of good shooting in the Navy,
and in this connection considerable praise is due to Admiral Jellicoe.
Without his help--so a writer in the _United Service Journal_ once
remarked, reflecting a judgment which is known to be well founded--the
good work fostered by Admiral Sir Percy Scott would have been heavily
handicapped--in fact, impossible; for the then Director of Naval
Ordnance proved himself a man of original thought and prompt action, and
one of the most capable gunnery experts in the Navy.

During the time he was in command of the “Drake,” he turned it into one
of the best shooting ships of the Navy, and while he was at the
Admiralty as Director of Naval Ordnance Captain Jellicoe did all that
was possible to ensure the guns mounted in ships in the first fighting
line being fitted with the most up-to-date day and night sights, as well
as to instal a fire-control set of instruments in each ship for
“spotting” and controlling at long-range shooting. The fittings of the
guns and gunnery appliances generally were also greatly improved during
the tenure of his appointment.




CHAPTER V

OFFICERS AND MEN OF THE BRITISH NAVY


From the current Navy Estimates the following particulars are taken of
the number of officers and men voted in 1914-15 for the naval service.
First the strength of the Reserves is given, then the number of active
service ratings and lastly the aggregate mobilised for war:


ROYAL NAVAL RESERVE

(Consisting of Merchant Seamen, Yachtsmen, etc.)

  HOME FORCE--GENERAL SERVICE

                                                     Numbers    Numbers
                                                      Voted    borne on
                                                      1914-    1st Jan.,
                                                      1915.      1914.
                             OFFICERS.
  Executive Officers          1,340 }
  Com. Engr. Officers           140 }       1,790
  Accountant Officers           120 }
  Warrant Engineers             190 }

                                MEN.
  Leading Seamen                220 }
  Seamen                     10,780 }
  Wireless Tel. Operators       120 }      17,280
  Engine Rm. Art.               560 }
  Ldg. Strs.                    110 }
  Stokers                     5,490 }

  HOME FORCE--TRAWLER SECTION

  Officers                                    142
  Men                                       1,136

  COLONIAL BRANCHES

  NEWFOUNDLAND:
    Men                                       600
  MALTA:
    Men                                       400
  AUSTRALASIA:
    Officers                                   --
    Men                                        --
                                             ----     21,348      19,467

ROYAL FLEET RESERVE

(Consisting of Naval Seamen and others who have served in the Fleet for
five years or more)

    MEN

  Class A.--Pensioners.
    Seamen Class              3,800 }
    Stoker Class              2,500 }
    Police rat.                 187 }       8,327
    Royal Marines             1,840 }

  Class B.--Non-Pensioners.
    Seamen Class              9,150 }
    Stoker Class              6,500 }
    Police rat.                  10 }      18,710
    Royal Marines             3,050 }

  Immediate Class.--Non-Pensioners.
    Seamen Class              1,600 }
    Stoker Class              1,870 }       4,070
    Royal Marines               600 }
                                           ------     31,107      27,734

  ROYAL NAVAL VOLUNTEERS

  Officers and Men (efficients)          [6]4,500
                                            -----      4,500       4,605

  PENSIONERS

  Seamen                                    6,376
  Royal Marines                             1,734
                                            -----      8,110       8,740
                                                      ------      ------
          Total                                       65,065      60,546
                                          ------------------------------
  Total, Active Service Ratings           151,000                144,871
  Total Reserves                           65,065                 60,546
                                          -------                -------
                  Grand total          [7]216,065                205,417

  [6] Includes 300 South African Division.

  [7] 1,562 Ranks and Ratings on the Active List. Royal Fleet Reserve
  Men and Pensioners have been lent for service under Colonial and
  Foreign Governments.

When war was declared there was no dearth of officers and men for the
British Fleet. The presentation of a Supplementary Estimate to
Parliament by the Admiralty, after the declaration of hostilities, gave
rise to a misunderstanding. This action was a mere formality in order to
keep the right side of Treasury procedure, and it did not mean that
67,000 additional officers and men were going to be raised. What
happened was that Reservists to the number of about 60,000 were called
up and they were forthwith transferred to Vote A., which fixes the
number of active service officers and ratings and provides pay for them.

Whereas Parliament provided in the spring of 1914 for an active
personnel of 151,000 with 60,000 Reservists, the two totals had to be
added together so as to obtain Parliamentary sanction for full pay being
provided for 211,000. In addition the new vote left room for a slight
actual expansion--consisting of a number of retired officers and a quota
of artisan and other skilled ratings to be forthwith raised.

Thus we get an aggregate of 218,000 officers and men for service ashore
and afloat. This total includes cadets and boys under training, and
approximately 200,000, it may be assumed, were available for service in
the Home Fleets and the squadrons in distant seas. It is an axiom that
in peace we have more ships than we can man, while in war we shall have
a good surplus of men after manning all the ships. When passing from a
peace to a war footing, Royal Fleet reservists--well-trained men with
from five to seven years’ service--and others became available and the
Fleet was fully mobilised, having no inconsiderable surplus to make good
the casualties of battle.




CHAPTER VI

THE COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF OF THE GERMAN FLEET


There is a certain parallel between the circumstances which have brought
the commanders-in-chief of the British and German battle fleets into the
positions they respectively hold to-day. Just as Admiral Sir John
Jellicoe was long since “ear-marked” for the supreme command of the Home
Fleets, so was Admiral Friedrich von Ingenohl selected for the control
of the German High Seas Fleet years before his appointment was actually
gazetted.

The German commander-in-chief, whose flag now flies in the Dreadnought,
Friedrich der Grosse, is without doubt one of Europe’s most
distinguished naval officers. In a navy where more than elsewhere, a
premium is placed upon scientific leadership, this officer early
attracted the attention of his superiors by reason of the skill and
resourcefulness he displayed during manœuvres. He is said to have
specialised in cruiser tactics, and to have been one of the first
officers to urge upon the Navy Department the wisdom of adopting the
battle-cruiser design when that novel conception materialised in the
British “Invincible.” He is also known as the leading advocate of that
system of tactics which is known in Germany as the “rücksichtslose
Offensive,” and which in homely idiom may be translated as “going for”
the enemy hammer and tongs.

In a word, Admiral von Ingenohl is the embodiment of the strikingly
progressive spirit which pervades the modern German navy. It is by no
means a spirit of mere reckless dash, which reckons on gaining a victory
solely by impetuous onslaught. Under modern conditions, tactics such as
these might well be fatal to those who employed them, owing to the
deadly precision of heavy guns and the development of the torpedo. The
German school of naval thought favours, instead, a preliminary period of
“mosquito warfare,” seeking thus to reduce both the material and the
moral strength of an enemy before the actual clash of armoured squadrons
takes place. That this idea is faithfully to be adhered to is clear from
the opening incidents of the present campaign at sea, which have already
shown that reliance is placed on the torpedo and the mine as a
preliminary means of diminishing our preponderance in big ships. So far,
indeed, the German plan of campaign has been singularly true to the
principles advocated by the leading German authorities who have written
of naval warfare. They lead us to anticipate a good deal of this
“Kleinkrieg” before the High Seas Fleet emerges from cover. On the other
hand, it were unwise to suppose that the German Fleet will continue to
act strictly by the book, especially in view of the character of its
commander-in-chief.

In German naval circles Admiral von Ingenohl is known as one of the
first German flag officers who completely freed themselves from the
military traditions in which the fleet was cradled and has been reared.
The German navy, as is well known, was founded as a branch of the army,
and its early development proceeded on distinctly military lines. Until
the present Emperor came to the Throne the head of the Admiralty was
always an army officer, and it followed that, in so far as the different
conditions permitted, the strategy and tactics of the fleet were brought
into line with those of the land forces. Ships were regarded primarily
as units for coast defence, in the most limited sense of the word. This
held true far into the nineties, and it is actually less than two
decades since Germany first undertook the construction of ships which
were specially designed to meet and defeat the foe in open sea. It seems
probable that Admiral von Ingenohl owes something of his broader views
on naval strategy to the large amount of foreign service he has seen.

Born in 1857 of comparatively humble parents, he entered the navy at the
age of 17. The service in those days enjoyed nothing like its present
prestige. It offered no attractions to the sons of the upper classes,
and was completely overshadowed by the army, then in the zenith of its
brilliance and popularity, after the successful war against France. The
navy drew a large majority of its officers from a class whose social
status was considered scarcely high enough to give its sons the entrée
to the army. Proof of this will be seen in the conspicuous absence of
naval officers who are hereditary nobles. Admiral von Ingenohl, in
common with Grand-Admirals von Tirpitz, von Koester, and several other
flag officers, received his patent of nobility as a mark of Imperial
favour.

While on his maiden cruise in foreign waters the young officer was
privileged to see some fighting. His ship, the old “Vineta,” was one of
a small German squadron which was assembled to teach the Chinese pirates
a lesson. Nineteen years later he was again in action in the same
quarter of the globe, and against the same opponents, when the gunboat
“Iltis,” which he commanded, shelled a battery at Tamsui, which had
fired on a German steamer. In the intervals of command afloat he was
engaged at the Navy Department, where he put in one spell of nearly
three and a half years as divisional chief of the ordnance board, and
subsequently directed a department of the Admiral Staff. His first
important independent command was the battleship “Wörth,” in her day one
of the best ships in the navy. He was next appointed to the cruiser
“Kaiserin Augusta,” and shortly after to the “Hertha,” a more powerful
ship of the same class. After another short interval of shore work he
was appointed to command the Imperial yacht “Hohenzollern,” where, of
course, he came under the direct eye of the Kaiser, who was quick to
recognise his qualities.

  [Illustration]

  =POSEN CLASS.=

  NASSAU, POSEN, RHEINLAND, WESTFALEN.

  Displacement: 18,900 tons.

  Speed: 20 knots; Guns: 12 11in., 12 6in., 16 24pdrs.; Torpedo tubes:
  6.

  [Illustration]

  Astern fire:  Broadside:  Ahead fire:
  6 11in.       8 11in.     6 11in.
  4 6in.        6 6in.      4 6in.

As early as 1889 he had been a lieutenant in the old Imperial yacht in
which the Emperor made his first long cruises. On leaving the
“Hohenzollern” in 1908 he was promoted to Rear-Admiral, and placed in
charge of the second division of the First Squadron. In the following
year he hoisted his flag as admiral of the cruiser squadron in China,
whence he was recalled twelve months later to assume charge of the
Second Battle Squadron in home waters. The commander-in-chief of the
High Sea Fleet was then Admiral von Holtzendorff, who, after
Grand-Admiral von Koester (the president of the Navy League), is
considered to be the finest naval strategist in Germany. Under this
officer the battle fleet is said to have increased remarkably in
efficiency, both in regard to gunnery, seamanship, and general
smartness. This period witnessed the introduction into the fleet of
up-to-date shooting methods, and notably of long-range practice. In the
manœuvres of 1912 the Second Squadron, commanded by Admiral von
Ingenohl, was held to have scored a decisive success against a much
stronger fleet, which included seven Dreadnought battleships, whereas
his own squadron was composed of older and weaker ships. In January,
1913, Admiral von Holtzendorff hauled down his flag, and was succeeded
by Admiral von Ingenohl as commander-in-chief.

The leader of the German battle fleet has, therefore, held his present
appointment for upwards of eighteen months, and it is to be supposed
that he is thoroughly familiar with every unit of his fine force,
especially as the ships in active commission spend more than nine
months of the year at sea. The fleet certainly stands to benefit by this
comparatively long period of single command. It will feel the confidence
born of experience in its distinguished leader, and he in turn, knowing
exactly what his ships can do, need fear no check to his plans by
unsuspected defects in personnel or material. Whatever the near future
may bring, it is certain that the German navy will put forth its utmost
effort to fulfil the hope placed in it by the nation, and those who
anticipate a cheaply purchased naval victory for us are laying up a rude
disappointment for themselves. The material resources of the German
fleet alone can give some idea of its formidability, but its
potentiality will be incalculably increased if the leadership is of the
high order which the reputation of the present commander-in-chief leads
us to expect.




CHAPTER VII

OFFICERS AND MEN OF THE FOREIGN NAVIES

PERSONNEL OF THE NAVIES

  ---------------+----------+----------------+---------
                 | Officers |Non-commissioned| Total
                 |(including| officers and   | (all
                 | cadets). |      men.      |ranks).
  ---------------+----------+----------------+---------
  Germany        |   4,491  |     74,895     |79,386[8]
  ---------------+----------+----------------+---------
  France         |   2,844  |     62,611     |65,455
  ---------------+----------+----------------+---------
  Russia         |   3,404  |     57,000     |60,404
  ---------------+----------+----------------+---------
  Austria-Hungary|   1,377  |     19,132     |20,509
  ---------------+----------+----------------+---------
  Japan          |   4,713  |     49,950     |54,663
  ---------------+----------+----------------+---------

  [8] Including 7,726 “Seamen Artillerists” and “Marines” who do not
  serve at sea.

NOTES TO PERSONNEL STATISTICS

GERMANY.--The Imperial German Navy is manned largely by conscription.
About 25 per cent. of the non-commissioned personnel consists, however,
of volunteers, or long-service men, who have made the Navy their
profession. These “professionals,” as they are called, are the backbone
of the fleet. They fill all the really important posts, such as that of
gun-captain, gun-layer, torpedo-gunner, leading signalman, and they are
responsible for the efficiency of the conscripts under their charge.
Seventy-five per cent. of the personnel is represented by conscripts
mainly from the inland districts whose term of service is three years,
and who see the sea for the first time after entering the Navy.
Enrolment takes place each October, and after two or three weeks of
rudimentary instruction on shore, they are distributed among the
battle-fleet and the torpedo flotillas. Hence, at the outbreak of war,
25 per cent. of the German personnel had been under training about 34
months, 25 per cent. about 22 months, and 25 per cent. no longer than 10
months.

Owing to the limited period of service German naval training is
extremely strenuous and intensive. Every effort is made to specialize,
newcomers being selected for certain duties according to the aptitude
they display. The German bluejacket is not a “handy man” in the sense
that the British sailor is, but he is said to be efficient in his own
particular groove. Discipline is exceedingly strict, and the relations
between officers and men are rarely cordial.

The officers are well educated and very scientific in their methods.

FRANCE.--The French Navy is manned principally on the conscript system,
but as France has a large maritime population, the majority of the naval
recruits are men who have followed the sea since boyhood and who,
therefore, adapt themselves very quickly to service in the Fleet. There
is also a large percentage of long-service volunteers. The period of
compulsory service was, until lately, two years, but under the new Law
this has been raised to three years. Authorities speak highly of the
French bluejacket’s intelligence and courage. Discipline is good, but
not so strict as in the German Navy. The officers are, as a rule, men of
high scientific attainments and very keen on their work.

RUSSIA.--The Russian Navy is manned almost exclusively by conscripts,
who serve for five years afloat. Although his education generally leaves
much to be desired, the Russian sailor has many excellent qualities. He
is obedient, courageous, and never gets into a panic. Since the
disastrous war with Japan, the Navy has been purged of many of the
elements which impaired efficiency. The officers are now capable and
zealous. The change which has come over the Fleet is evidenced by an
“order of the day,” recently promulgated, which enjoins all naval
officers never to surrender their ships under any circumstances, but to
sink them if capture is imminent.

AUSTRIA-HUNGARY.--The Austro-Hungarian Navy is manned by conscripts and
volunteers, the former largely predominating. Four years is the period
of service. The men are drawn almost exclusively from the Dalmatian
coast, and represent a very hardy and courageous type. The average of
education is, however, very low, the percentage of illiterates being
abnormal. Although Italian is the mother tongue of the majority, German
is the official language of the Navy. All-round efficiency is maintained
on a high level. The officers are men of excellent education, wide
knowledge, and unlimited zeal.

JAPAN.--The Japanese Navy is principally manned on a compulsory basis,
the term of active service being three years. The men are excellent in
every way, smart, intelligent, resourceful, and amenable to discipline.
They display a wonderful aptitude for manipulating the complex mechanism
of a modern warship, as was proved in the campaign against Russia. The
officers are highly trained and enterprising.




CHAPTER VIII

GERMAN NAVAL BASES


KIEL

Kiel, in spite of the growing importance of Wilhelmshaven, still retains
its position as Germany’s premier “Reichskriegshafen,” or Imperial War
Port. Its superb harbour, and the international regatta, known as the
“Kieler Woche,” which is held each June, have made Kiel one of the best
known ports of Europe. This year’s regatta, it will be remembered, was
rendered memorable by the presence of the British Second Battle Squadron
and some of our light cruisers. The Imperial Dockyard at Kiel is said to
be one of the best-equipped establishments of its kind in the world.

It has two large building slips, on one of which the Dreadnought
battleship “Kaiser” was constructed, and there are other slips for the
building of smaller vessels. Of the six graving docks, two are large
enough for Dreadnoughts. There is also a mammoth floating dock capable
of raising vessels up to 39,500 tons, and five other pontoon docks for
ships of smaller dimensions. Upwards of 10,500 officials and hands are
employed at the yard, which specialises in repair and refitting work,
though a good deal of new construction is also undertaken.

Kiel is the official residence of Prince Henry of Prussia, the Kaiser’s
brother, who is Inspector-General of the Fleet. Some four miles down the
harbour is Holtenau and the locks of the Kaiser Wilhelm Canal. Kiel is
very strongly defended against both land and seaward attack. The harbour
entrance is guarded by the batteries of Friedrichsort on the west, and
those of Laboe and Möltenort on the east. At Friedrichsort the fairway
is less than 1,000 yards wide, so that ships attempting to force an
entrance would have to run the gauntlet of the heavy fortress guns at
almost point-blank range. Friedrichsort is the home of the State torpedo
factory, which supplies practically the entire navy with these weapons.

In normal times the Second and Third Battle Squadrons are based in Kiel,
which is also the base for the Baltic Reserve Squadron, the First
Torpedo Division, and the submarine flotillas. Besides the State yard,
there is the immense shipbuilding and engineering establishment known as
the Germania Yard, owned by Krupp, and the Howaldt Yard, both of which
construct warships of the largest size. Hence the building and repairing
facilities at Kiel are very extensive, and they pass automatically under
State control in wartime. Kiel itself is a large and thriving city, with
a population of 180,000. Its growth dates from 1866, when it was wrested
from Denmark by Prussia, with the whole of the Schleswig-Holstein
province.


HELIGOLAND.

Heligoland is the most remarkable of Germany’s naval strongholds. This
island, it will be remembered, was ceded to Germany by us in 1890. At
that date the sea had made such inroads on the soft cliffs that the
complete disappearance of Heligoland at no very distant date was freely
predicted.

With characteristic thoroughness the Germans took measures to preserve
their new acquisition. Immensely strong breakwaters and sea-walls were
built all round the coast, but violent gales demolished much of the
work, which had to be replaced at great expense, and it is only in
recent years that the ravages of the sea have been completely checked.

Simultaneously with this work a good deal of land reclamation went on,
with the result that the area of the island has been greatly increased.

A large harbour for torpedo-boats and submarines has been enclosed by
two long moles. Inside there is a miniature dockyard, with repair shops,
magazines, stores, &c. Outside this harbour there is a safe anchorage
for warships of great size. It is estimated that from beginning to end
the naval works at Heligoland have cost Germany something like
£10,000,000 sterling.

Fortifications of remarkable strength have been erected. These consist
chiefly of heavy guns, mounted in steel turrets, well concealed from the
view of an enemy at sea, and so placed that every approach to the island
is swept by their fire. As these guns are mounted on the plateau they
have a high command, and attacking ships would have to encounter a
plunging fire.

Numerous bomb-proof control stations and magazines have been excavated.
It is understood that, given an ample supply of ammunition and
provisions, Heligoland is in a position to resist attack by the
strongest naval force for an indefinite period.

There is a powerful wireless station, a naval flying depot, and a large
naval hospital. The garrison consists in the main of four companies of
seamen gunners. The commandant is Rear-Admiral Jacobson.

The high strategical importance of Heligoland is self-evident. Its
position, some thirty-five miles from the mainland, is that of a strong
outpost, defending the estuaries of the Elbe and Weser. A flotilla of
destroyers or submarines based on the island could make things very
uncomfortable for a fleet endeavouring to blockade the German coast, and
it was the recognition of this fact which led to the construction of the
new torpedo harbour.

Thanks to the wireless station, communication can always be maintained
with the mainland, and also by means of aircraft.

In common with most military nations, Germany appears to place undue
reliance on fixed defences as an element of sea power, but it is
obvious, from the vast sums of money she has spent on its development,
that Heligoland plays a leading part in the German plan of naval
strategy.


BORKUM.

The island of Borkum came into prominence a few years ago as the result
of an alleged case of espionage, in which two young British naval
officers were concerned.

Borkum is the first German island of the Frisian group. It commands the
approach to the Ems, and would offer a convenient _point d’appui_ for
naval operations against the German coast. This, apparently, explains
why it has been strongly fortified by the Germans.

Its guns are said to be numerous, and are well placed among the lofty
sand dunes which are a feature of the island. The garrison is supplied
by the army, and includes some batteries of field artillery and machine
guns.

The experience gained during naval manœuvres has shown that Borkum would
be a difficult place to surprise. According to report, some of the guns
in position are powerful enough to inflict serious damage on the largest
warships.


EMDEN.

Emden, the southernmost port of Germany on the North Sea, has of late
years acquired considerable naval importance. There have been frequent
reports of the pending establishment of a State dockyard there, in
connection with the Ems-Jade canal, which was to be deepened
sufficiently to allow fairly large warships to traverse it. So far,
however, this project has not been carried out.

Two years ago Emden became a mine station, and the headquarters of the
“Arkona,” a light cruiser converted into a mine-layer. Harbour works on
a grand scale have lately been completed at Emden. There is a commodious
basin fronted by wharves and warehouses, and fitted with up-to-date
coaling plant. The canal which connects the port with the river is deep
enough to allow the largest ships to come up.

During the present war it is probable that Emden is being used both as a
mine and torpedo base. It relies for its defence on the batteries at
Borkum, some miles out at sea, as ships entering the River Ems are
compelled to pass close to this island.

The railway connections of Emden are very good, so good, in fact, that
they are believed to have been dictated by strategical considerations.
Emden has often been spoken of by German writers as a sally port, and as
a convenient point of assembly and embarkation for an army of invasion.


WILHELMSHAVEN.

Wilhelmshaven ranks officially as Germany’s second war harbour, though
its strategical position makes it, in fact, the principal base of a
German fleet operating in the North Sea. It began its career as a naval
station as late as 1869, since when enormous sums of money and infinite
labour have been expended on its development.

In area the dockyard is almost four times as large as that of Kiel, and
it is even more modern in equipment. It contains a bewildering number
of docks and basins, together with building slips, repair shops, depots,
and store-houses. There are three Dreadnought graving docks and four
smaller ones, and five floating docks, of which the latest can raise
vessels up to 39,500 tons.

Only one of the building slips is available for constructing
Dreadnoughts, but a second is being lengthened sufficiently for this
purpose. The total number of officials and workmen is about 10,500 under
peace conditions. At Wilhelmshaven were built the Dreadnought
battleships “Nassau,” “Ostfriesland,” and “König,” and at the present
moment the battle-cruiser “Ersatz Hertha” is building there.

The terminus of the Ems-Jade Canal is inside the dockyard, but so far as
is known this waterway is too shallow to permit the passage of any class
of warship.

The Jade Channel, which leads to Wilhelmshaven, is exceedingly difficult
to navigate, owing to the innumerable and constantly shifting shoals
with which it is infested. To keep this channel clear elaborate dredging
operations have to be carried on throughout the year, as otherwise it
would speedily silt up and become impassable. Access to the harbour is
gained through huge locks, most of which can be used, if necessary, as
emergency docks for repairing damaged ships. When these locks are closed
the harbour is entirely cut off from the sea, thus affording the ships
inside complete security against torpedo attack.

Commodious as the harbour is, however, it is not large enough to contain
the whole fleet, and consequently extra moorings were recently laid
outside for cruisers and other small craft. The locks are designed on so
large a scale, and are so efficiently operated that several squadrons of
big ships can be passed through in a few hours.

Wilhelmshaven is the base of the First Battle Squadron, the Scouting
Squadron (_i.e._, all the battle-cruisers and other cruisers of the High
Sea Fleet), the 2nd Torpedo Division, and of a submarine flotilla. It is
very heavily fortified.

The approach to the Jade Channel is commanded by the batteries of
Wangerooge, an island garrisoned by seamen gunners, and said to have
very powerful guns. There is a flying station at Wilhelmshaven, with
hangars for a dozen seaplanes.


CUXHAVEN

Cuxhaven has lately become an important German naval base. Situated as
it is at the extreme entrance of the Elbe estuary, it commands the
approach to the great commercial port of Hamburg, seventy miles up the
river.

Cuxhaven has no dockyard of its own, but it possesses a harbour large
enough to accommodate great ships of war, and certain facilities for
carrying out repairs are provided by the depot of the Hamburg-Amerika
Line, of which it is the headquarters.

A mile or two west of the harbour are the batteries of Döse, mounting a
number of heavy guns and quick-firers. These defences are controlled by
the navy, and are garrisoned by five companies of seamen gunners.

Although the mouth of the Elbe is wide, only a narrow channel is
available for vessels of moderate draught, and the defences have
consequently been designed to bring an overwhelming fire to bear on
hostile vessels using this navigable approach.

For some years Cuxhaven has been the principal mine station of the
German navy. It is the base for the mine-laying and mine-sweeping
divisions, composed of special ships and a large number of old
torpedo-boats equipped for the work. This station is responsible for the
observation mine-fields which close the Elbe to hostile ships in war. It
contains an artillery depot, a powerful wireless station, and barracks
for a large contingent of seamen gunners and marines.

Cuxhaven, moreover, is the principal base of the German air fleet. An
immense shed, 590-ft. long, 98-ft. high, and capable of sheltering two
of the largest dirigibles, is approaching completion. This structure is
of the revolving type, thus permitting airships to dock or emerge
without being exposed to the wind. It rests in an excavation. When the
shed is lowered the roof is on a level with the surrounding country, and
by this means the location of the shed is hidden from hostile aircraft.

Near at hand there are permanent hangars for a number of seaplanes, with
workshops for repairing and fitting aircraft of every description.

The German authorities are credited with the intention of gradually
developing Cuxhaven into a first-class naval base, in order to relieve
the congestion at Wilhelmshaven.


BRUNSBÜTTEL.

Brunsbüttel is the western terminus of the Baltic-North Sea canal. It is
situated about ten miles up the River Elbe, on the Schleswig-Holstein
shore. Some batteries are believed to exist at this point, armed with
guns powerful enough to repel torpedo craft, but the real defences of
the canal locks are the forts at Cuxhaven, at the mouth of the river.

The widening of the canal, which is now practically completed,
necessitated the construction of new locks on a gigantic scale at each
end. Those at Brunsbüttel were completed early this year, in advance of
the locks at the Kiel end.

Brunsbüttel has a harbour nearly 1,700-ft. long and 680-ft. wide. Large
supplies of coal and oil are kept here, and there is a well-equipped
coaling plant which enables vessels to coal with great rapidity. The
canal locks are of such massive construction that it is doubtful whether
they could be seriously damaged by torpedo attack.

  [Illustration]

  _Moltke._

  _Photo: Central News._

  =MOLTKE CLASS.=

  MOLTKE AND GOEBEN (slight differences).

  Displacement: 23,000 tons.

  Speed: 28 knots; Guns: 10 11in., 12 6in., 12 24pdrs.; Torpedo tubes:
  4.

  [Illustration]

  Astern fire:  Broadside:  Ahead fire:
  8 11in.       10 11in.    6 11in.
  2 6in.         6 6in.     2 6in.




CHAPTER IX

THE KIEL CANAL


Although it is a generally accepted fact that the Kiel Canal forms one
of Germany’s most valuable naval bases, it is just possible that its
value in war will be found to be greatly overrated. There is no question
that the size of the locks and the depth of the canal, viz., 36 ft.,
will allow battleships of the greatest draught to pass through; but, to
make the point clear, it is necessary to consider the nature of the
navigable channels leading to both the Baltic and the Elbe entrances to
this great strategical undertaking.

Dealing with the Kiel end of the canal first, the entrance is situated
some seven or eight miles up the estuary leading into Kiel Bay. From
Kiel Bay to the North Sea a vessel has, according to her draught of
water, the choice of three routes into the Kattegat, viz., Little Belt,
Great Belt and the Sound. The first-named could only be used by small
light draught vessels, such as destroyers and submarines. The passage
through the Great Belt, and also that via the Sound, would have to be
navigated by a heavy battleship on a favourable state of the tide. The
least width across the Little Belt is abreast of the town of Fredericia,
in Denmark, where the passage is less than three-quarters of a mile
wide. In the Great Belt the navigable channels are restricted in places
to about a mile or even less in width. Between Helsingor, in Denmark,
and Helsinborg, in Sweden, the Sound is but little over a mile wide and
only about 20 ft. deep at low water. The eastern channel of the Kattegat
has deep water, and the distance between the Scaw, the northern end of
Denmark, and the nearest outlying island off the Swedish coast, is about
twenty-five miles.

From the above showing, it will be seen that the narrow and tortuous
passages which a warship must use if she wishes to proceed from Kiel Bay
to the North Sea present an easy problem to render them unnavigable by
the use of submarine mines. And, again, the narrowness of the entrance
to the Kattegat lends itself to easy watching by the scouts of a fleet
in the North Sea. German naval authorities, of course, realised the
geographical disadvantages of Kiel years ago, and, in an attempt to
remedy the evil, widened and deepened the Kiel Canal.

The Elbe entrance of the canal, which is situated at Brunsbüttel, is
some seventeen miles from Cuxhaven, which, as is well known, is the
Gravesend of Hamburg. The channels between Brunsbüttel and Cuxhaven,
which are very narrow, have a sufficient depth at low water for vessels
of a moderate draught, and the anchorage room, except for ships drawing
but a few feet of water, is somewhat limited. A big battleship, drawing
30 ft. or more, as she would do with stores and ammunition on board,
would have to navigate the distance from the canal entrance to Cuxhaven
on a flood tide, and if required to bring up would have to moor in the
usual manner with two anchors. In fact, the same navigational procedure
would have to be followed after passing Cuxhaven until the ship would
nearly reach No. 2 Lightship at the mouth of the Elbe.

Of course, the Germans have no need to block all the available room in
the Elbe with big ships, for they have many other deep-water anchorages
close at hand. The entrance of the Weser River, from Roter Sand
Lightship to Hohe Weg Lighthouse, and Schillig Road, in the Jade River,
are both excellent big ship anchorages. Turning to available shelter for
smaller craft on the German North Sea coast, this can be found in
numerous inlets and channels from the borders of Denmark in the north to
the entrance of the Ems in the south.

But now we have reached an important point. We know that the long chains
of off-shore lightships along the German coast have been withdrawn from
their stations, and that the navigation lights on shore have been
discontinued. Should German warships, which we may assume are spread
about in the various anchorages already referred to, make a dart to sea,
especially at night-time, there is every probability of some of them
stranding on the numberless flats and shoals which extend for many miles
seaward from the low-lying shore of Germany. And, with the absence of
lights and with mine-sown channels to navigate, getting back on a dark,
dirty night to their havens would inevitably cause destruction to many a
ship, whether large or small. The wilder the weather, the more toll
would this dangerous coast claim. The British cruisers, when chasing
their quarry, would hold the whip-hand. The sounding machine and
hand-lead would tell them when to ’bout ship.

[Illustration: Map of Kiel Canal.

COPYRIGHT: SPECIALLY PREPARED FOR ^The Daily Telegraph^ by ‘GEOGRAPHIA’
L^{TD} 33 STRAND LONDON W.C.

ALEXANDER GROSS. F.R.G.S.]

It is interesting to mention that for two-thirds of the fifty-six miles
in length of the Kiel Canal the banks on either side are practically
flat, and, owing to the nature of the soil, which is largely peat, they
are constantly subsiding into the channel. This, besides necessitating
constant dredging, in order to maintain the great depth of water
required for battleships, forces vessels to proceed at their slowest
speed possible. A battleship would take, therefore, the best part of
twelve hours to get through from the Elbe to Kiel.

In view of the fact that the distance from Kiel to the Scaw, via the
Sound passage, is 325 miles--from Kiel to the Scaw via the intricate
channels of the Great Belt is about 245 miles--a battleship would occupy
thirty-six hours fully, under the best conditions of tide and weather,
to reach the waters of the North Sea. In these days a naval battle can
be decided in a fractional part of that time.




CHAPTER X.--THE GREAT FLEETS ENGAGED; TABULAR STATEMENT.


THE BRITISH NAVY.


BRITISH BATTLESHIPS (Dreadnought Type).

  ---------------+------+------+-----+-------+------------+-------------
  Name.          | Ton- | Speed|Com’-| Com-  |  Armour.   |  Armament.
                 | nage.|(kts.)|ment.|pleted.|            |
  ---------------+------+------+-----+-------+------------+-------------
  =Queen Eliza-  |      |      |     |       |            |
  beth Class.=   |      |      |     |       |            |
  _Barham_[9]   }|27,500|  25  |  900|  1915 |Belt: 13½-  |15-in.,
  _Malaya_[10]  }|      |      |     |    „  |in.; P.D.,  |eight; 6-in.,
  _Queen Eliza- }|      |      |     |       |2¾-in.; Guns|sixteen; 12
    beth_[11]   }|      |      |     |  1914 |13½-in.;    |pr., twelve;
  _Warspite_[12]}|      |      |     |    „  |G.T. 13½-in.|torpedo
  _Valiant_[13] }|      |      |     |  1915 |            |tubes, five.
  Agincourt[14]  |27,500|  22  |1,100|  1914 |Belt: am. 9-|12-in., four-
                 |      |      |     |       |in.; P.D.,  |teen; 6-in.,
                 |      |      |     |       |2½-in.; tur-|twenty;3-in.,
                 |      |      |     |       |rets 9-in.  |ten.
                 |      |      |     |       |            |
  =Iron Duke     |      |      |     |       |            |
  Class.=        |      |      |     |       |            |
  Benbow        }|25,000|  22·5|  900|  1914 |Belt: 12-   |13·5-in.,
  Emperor of    }|      |      |     |       |in.; P.D.,  |ten; 6-in.,
    India       }|      |      |     |    „  |2¾-in.; Guns|twelve; 3-
  Marlborough   }|      |      |     |    „  |12-in.; C.T.|in. anti-
  Iron Duke     }|      |      |     |    „  |12-in.      |aerial, two
                 |      |      |     |       |            |torpedo
                 |      |      |     |       |            |tubes, four.
                 |      |      |     |       |            |
  =King George V.|      |      |     |       |            |
  Class.=        |      |      |     |       |            |
  Ajax          }|23,000|  21  |  900|  1913 |Belt: 12-   |13·5, ten;
  Audacious     }|      |      |     |    „  |in.; P.D.   |4-in., six-
  Centurion     }|      |      |     |    „  |2¾-in.; Guns|teen; 3 pr.,
  King George V.}|      |      |     |    „  |12-in.; C.T.|four; tor-
                 |      |      |     |       |12-in.      |pedo tubes,
                 |      |      |     |       |            |three.
  Erin[15]       |23,000|  21  |  870|  1914 |Belt: 12-   |13·5-in.,
                 |      |      |     |       |in.; P.D.,  |ten; 6-in.,
                 |      |      |     |       |3-in.       |sixteen.
                 |      |      |     |       |            |
  =Orion Class.= |      |      |     |       |            |
  Conqueror     }|22,500|  21  |  800|  1912 |Belt: 12-   |13·5-in.,
  Monarch       }|      |      |     |    „  |in.; P.D.   |ten; 4-in.,
  Thunderer     }|      |      |     |    „  |2¾-in.; Bar-|sixteen; 3
  Orion         }|      |      |     |  1911 |bette 10-in.|pr., four;
                 |      |      |     |       |            |torpedo
                 |      |      |     |       |            |tubes, three.
                 |      |      |     |       |            |
  =Colossus      |      |      |     |       |            |
  Class.=        |      |      |     |       |            |
  Colossus      }|20,000|  21  |  780|  1911 |Belt: am.   |12-in., ten;
  Hercules      }|      |      |     |    „  |10-in.; f.  |4-in., six-
  Neptune       }|19,900|      |     |    „  |8-in.; a. 7-|teen; 3 pr.,
                 |      |      |     |       |in.; P.D.   |four; tor-
                 |      |      |     |       |2¾-in.; Bar-|pedo tubes,
                 |      |      |     |       |bette and   |three.
                 |      |      |     |       |C.T. 11-in. |
                 |      |      |     |       |            |
  =St. Vincent   |      |      |     |       |            |
  Class.=        |      |      |     |       |            |
  Collingwood   }|19,250|  21  |  724|  1910 |Belt: am. 9¾|12-in., ten;
  Vanguard      }|      |      |     |    „  |in.; f. 6½- |4-in., eigh-
  St. Vincent   }|      |      |     |  1909 |in.; a. 6½- |teen; 3 pr.,
                 |      |      |     |       |in.; P.D.   |four;
                 |      |      |     |       |2¾-in.; Bar-| machine,
                 |      |      |     |       |bette 11-in.|six; torpedo
                 |      |      |     |       |            |tubes, three.
                 |      |      |     |       |            |
  =Bellerophon   |      |      |     |       |            |
  Class.=        |      |      |     |       |            |
  Bellerophon   }|18,600|  21  |  780|  1909 |Belt: am.   |12-in., ten;
  Téméraire     }|      |      |     |    „  |11-in.; f.  | 4-in., six-
  Superb        }|      |      |     |    „  |6-in.; a. 4-|teen; 3 pr.,
                 |      |      |     |       |in.; P.D.   |four; tor-
                 |      |      |     |       |2¾-in.; Bar-|pedo tubes,
                 |      |      |     |       |bette 11-in.|three.
  Dreadnought    |17,900|  21  |  770|  1906 |  „      „  |12-in., ten;
                 |      |      |     |       |            |12 pr.,
                 |      |      |     |       |            |twenty-four;
                 |      |      |     |       |            |torpedo
                 |      |      |     |       |            |tubes, five.
  ---------------+------+------+-----+-------+------------+-------------

  [9-13] Not yet completed, but due for completion 1914-15.

  [14] Ex-Turkish _Osman Birindieh_.

  [15] Ex-Turkish _Reshadieh_.

  Note to Armour details: am. = amidships, f. = forward, a. = aft, P.D.
  = protective deck, C.T. = conning-tower.


BATTLESHIPS (Pre-Dreadnought Type)

  ---------------+------+------+-----+-------+------------+-------------
  Name.          | Ton- | Speed|Com’-| Com-  |  Armour.   |  Armament.
                 | nage.|(kts.)|ment.|pleted.|            |
  ---------------+------+------+-----+-------+------------+-------------
  =Lord Nelson   |      |      |     |       |            |
  Class.=        |      |      |     |       |            |
  Agamemnon     }|16,500|  18  |  865|  1907 |(Krupp)     |12-in., four;
  Lord Nelson   }|      |      |     |    „  |Belt: am.   |9·2, ten; 3-
                 |      |      |     |       |12-in.; f.  |in., twenty-
                 |      |      |     |       |4-in.; a. 4-|four; tor-
                 |      |      |     |       |in.; P.D. 2-|pedo tubes,
                 |      |      |     |       |in.; Bar-   |five.
                 |      |      |     |       |bette 12-   |
                 |      |      |     |       |in.; C.T.   |
                 |      |      |     |       |12-in.      |
                 |      |      |     |       |            |
  =King Edward   |      |      |     |       |            |
  VII. Class.=   |      |      |     |       |            |
  Africa        }|16,350|  18  |  825|  1906 |(Krupp)     |12-in., four;
  Britannia     }|      |      |     |    „  |Belt: am. 9-|9·2, four; 6-
  Commonwealth  }|      |      |     |  1905 |in.; f. 6-  |in., ten; 12
  Dominion      }|      |      |     |    „  |in.; a. 2-  |pr., four-
  Hibernia      }|      |      |     |  1906 |in.; P.D. 2-|teen; 3 pr.,
  Hindustan     }|      |      |     |  1905 |in.; Bar-   |fourteen;
  King Edward   }|      |      |     |       |bette 12-   |Maxims, two;
    VII.        }|      |      |     |  1904 |in.; C.T.   |torpedo
  Zealandia     }|      |      |     |  1905 |12-in.      |tubes, four.
                 |      |      |     |       |            |
  =Swiftsure     |      |      |     |       |            |
  Class.=        |      |      |     |       |            |
  Swiftsure     }|11,800|  20  |  700|  1904 |(Krupp)     |10-in., four;
  Triumph       }|      |      |     |    „  |Belt: am. 7-|7·5, four-
                 |      |      |     |       |in.; f. 3-  |teen; 14 pr.,
                 |      |      |     |       |in.; a. 2-  |fourteen; 12
                 |      |      |     |       |in.; P.D. 3-|pr., two; 6
                 |      |      |     |       |in.; Bar-   |pr., four;
                 |      |      |     |       |bette 10-   |Maxims, four;
                 |      |      |     |       |in.; C.T.   |torpedo
                 |      |      |     |       |10-in.; Cas.|tubes, two.
                 |      |      |     |       |7-in.       |
                 |      |      |     |       |            |
  =Formidable    |      |      |     |       |            |
  Class.=        |      |      |     |       |            |
  Bulwark       }|15,000|  18  |  781|  1902 |(Krupp)     |12-in., four;
  Formidable    }|      |      |     |  1901 |Belt: am. 9-|6-in.,
  Implacable    }|      |      |     |    „  |in.; f. 6-  |twelve; 12
  Irresistible  }|      |      |     |  1902 |in.; P.D. 3-|pr., eigh-
  Queen         }|      |      |     |    „  |in.; Bar-   |teen; 3 pr.,
  Prince of     }|      |      |     |       |bette 12-   |two; Maxims,
    Wales       }|      |      |     |  1904 |in.; C.T.   |two; torpedo
  London        }|      |      |     |    „  |12-in.;     |tubes, four.
  Venerable     }|      |      |     |  1902 |Casemates 6-|
                 |      |      |     |       |in.         |
                 |      |      |     |       |            |
  =Duncan Class.=|      |      |     |       |            |
  Albemarle     }|14,000|  19  |  750|  1903 |(Krupp)     |12-in., four;
  Cornwallis    }|      |      |     |  1904 |Belt: am. 7-|6-in.,
  Duncan        }|      |      |     |  1903 |in.; f. 5-  |twelve; 12
  Exmouth       }|      |      |     |    „  |in.; a. 1½- |pr., twelve;
  Russell       }|      |      |     |    „  |in.; P.D.   |3 pr., six;
                 |      |      |     |       |2½-in.; Bar-|Maxims, two;
                 |      |      |     |       |bette 11-   |torpedo
                 |      |      |     |       |in.; C.T.   |tubes, four.
                 |      |      |     |       |11-in.;     |
                 |      |      |     |       |Casemates 6-|
                 |      |      |     |       |in.         |
                 |      |      |     |       |            |
  =Canopus       |      |      |     |       |            |
  Class.=        |      |      |     |       |            |
  Albion        }|12,950|  18  |  700|  1901 |(Harvey     |12-in., four;
  Canopus       }|      |      |     |  1899 |Nic.) Belt: |6-in.,
  Glory         }|      |      |     |  1900 |am. 6-in.;  |twelve; 12
  Goliath       }|      |      |     |    „  |f. 2-in.; a.|pr., twelve;
  Ocean         }|      |      |     |    „  |13-in.; P.D.|3 pr., six;
  Vengeance     }|      |      |     |  1902 |2½-in.; Bar-|Maxims, two;
                 |      |      |     |       |bette 12-   |torpedo
                 |      |      |     |       |in.; C.T.   |tubes, four.
                 |      |      |     |       |12-in. Case-|
                 |      |      |     |       |mates 5-in. |
  =Majestic      |      |      |     |       |            |
  Class.=        |      |      |     |       |            |
  Cæsar         }|14,900|  17  |  750|  1898 |(Harvey)    |12-in., four;
  Hannibal      }|      |      |     |    „  |Belt: am. 9-|6-in.,
  Illustrious   }|      |      |     |    „  |in.; P.D. 4-|twelve, 12
  Jupiter       }|      |      |     |  1897 |in.; Bar-   |pr., sixteen;
  Magnificent   }|      |      |     |  1895 |bette 14-   |3 pr., four;
  Majestic      }|      |      |     |    „  |in.; C.T.   |Maxims, two;
  Mars          }|      |      |     |  1897 |14-in. Case-|torpedo
  Prince George }|      |      |     |  1896 |mates 6-in. |tubes, five.
  Victorious    }|      |      |     |  1897 |            |
  ---------------+------+------+-----+-------+------------+-------------

  Note to Armour details: am. = amidships, f. = forward, a. = aft, P.D.
  = protective deck, C.T. = conning-tower.


BATTLE CRUISERS.

  ---------------+------+------+-----+-------+------------+-------------
  Name.          | Ton- | Speed|Com’-| Com-  |  Armour.   |  Armament.
                 | nage.|(kts.)|ment.|pleted.|            |
  ---------------+------+------+-----+-------+------------+-------------
  =Queen Mary    |      |      |     |       |            |
  Class.=        |      |      |     |       |            |
  Queen Mary    }|27,000|  28  |1,000|  1914 |Belt: 9-in.;|13·5, eight;
  Tiger         }|      |      |     |  1913 |P.D. 3-in.; |4-in., six-
                 |      |      |     |       |Turrets 9-  |teen; 13·5,
                 |      |      |     |       |in.         |eight; 6-in.,
                 |      |      |     |       |            |twelve; tor-
                 |      |      |     |       |            |pedo tubes,
                 |      |      |     |       |            |two.
  =Lion Class.=  |      |      |     |       |            |
  Princess Royal}|26,350|  28½ |  980|  1912 |Belt: 9-in.;|13·5, eight;
  Lion          }|      |      |     |  1911 |Turrets 9-  |4-in., six-
                 |      |      |     |       |in.; P.D. 3-|teen; torpedo
                 |      |      |     |       |in.         |tubes, two.
                 |      |      |     |       |            |
  =Australia     |      |      |     |       |            |
  Class.=        |      |      |     |       |            |
  Australia     }|19,200|  25  |  780|  1912 |Belt: 8-in.;|12-in.,
  New Zealand   }|18,800|      |     |    „  |P.D. 3-in.; |eight; 4-in.,
                 |      |      |     |       |Turrets, 10-|sixteen;
                 |      |      |     |       |in.         |torpedo
                 |      |      |     |       |            |tubes, two.
  =Invincible    |      |      |     |       |            |
  Class.=        |      |      |     |       |            |
  Indefatigable }|18,750|  25  |  790|  1911 |(Krupp)     |12-in.,
  Invincible    }|      |      |     |  1908 |Belt: am. 7-|eight; 4-in.,
  Inflexible    }|17,250|  25  |  780|    „  |in.; f. 6-  |sixteen; tor-
  Indomitable   }|      |      |     |    „  |in.; a. 4-  |pedo tubes,
                 |      |      |     |       |in.; Turrets|two.
                 |      |      |     |       |7-in.; P.D. |
                 |      |      |     |       |2½-in.      |
  ---------------+------+------+-----+-------+------------+-------------

  Note to Armour details: am. = amidships, f. = forward, a. = aft, P.D.
  = protective deck, C.T. = conning-tower.


ARMOURED CRUISERS.

  ---------------+------+------+-----+-------+------------+-------------
  Name.          | Ton- | Speed|Com’-| Com-  |  Armour.   |  Armament.
                 | nage.|(kts.)|ment.|pleted.|            |
  ---------------+------+------+-----+-------+------------+-------------
  =Minotaur      |      |      |     |       |            |
  Class.=        |      |      |     |       |            |
  Defence       }|14,600|  23  |  850|   1908|(Krupp)     |9·2, four;
  Shannon       }|      |      |     |     „ |Belt: am. 6-|7·5, ten; 12
  Minotaur      }|      |      |     |     „ |in.; f. 4-  |pr., sixteen;
                 |      |      |     |       |in.; a. 3-  |torpedo
                 |      |      |     |       |in.; P.D.   |tubes, five
                 |      |      |     |       |1¾-in.; Bar-|(submerged).
                 |      |      |     |       |bette 8-in. |
                 |      |      |     |       |            |
  =Duke of Edin- |      |      |     |       |            |
  burgh Class.=  |      |      |     |       |            |
  Achilles      }|13,550|  23  |  704|   1907|(Krupp)     |9·2, six;
  Cochrane      }|      |      |     |     „ |Belt: am. 6-|7·5, four; 3
  Natal         }|      |      |     |     „ |in.; f. 4-  |pr., twenty-
  Warrior       }|      |      |     |   1906|in.; a. 3-  |four; torpedo
                }|      |      |     |       |in.; P.D. ¾-|tubes, three.
  Duke of Edin- }|      |      |     |       |in.; Bar-   |9·2, six; 6-
    burgh       }|      |      |     |   1905|bette 6-in. |in., ten; 3
  Black Prince  }|      |      |     |   1906|            |pr., twenty;
                 |      |      |     |       |            |torpedo
                 |      |      |     |       |            |tubes, three
                 |      |      |     |       |            |(submerged).
                 |      |      |     |       |            |
  =Devonshire    |      |      |     |       |            |
  Class.=        |      |      |     |       |            |
  Antrim        }|10,850|  23  |  655|  1905 |(Krupp)     |7·5, four; 6-
  Argyll        }|      |      |     |    „  |Belt: am. 6-|in., six; 3-
  Carnarvon     }|      |      |     |    „  |in.; f. 2-  |pounders,
  Devonshire    }|      |      |     |    „  |in.; P.D. 2-|twenty;
  Hampshire     }|      |      |     |    „  |in.; Bar-   |Maxims, two;
  Roxburgh      }|      |      |     |    „  |bette 5-in.;|torpedo
                 |      |      |     |       |Casemates   |tubes, two
                 |      |      |     |       |5-in.       |(submerged).
                 |      |      |     |       |            |
  =Monmouth      |      |      |     |       |            |
  Class.=        |      |      |     |       |            |
  Berwick       }| 9,800|  23  |  537|  1903 |(Krupp)     |6-in., four-
  Cornwall      }|      |      |     |  1904 |Belt: am. 4-|teen; 12 pr.,
  Cumberland    }|      |      |     |    „  |in.; f. 2-  |eight; pom-
  Donegal       }|      |      |     |  1903 |in.; P.D. 2-|poms, ten; 3
  Essex         }|      |      |     |    „  |in.; Bar-   |pr., three;
  Kent          }|      |      |     |    „  |bette 5-in.;|torpedo
  Lancaster     }|      |      |     |  1904 |Casemates,  |tubes, two
  Monmouth      }|      |      |     |  1903 |4-in.       |(submerged).
  Suffolk       }|      |      |     |  1904 |            |
                 |      |      |     |       |            |
  =Drake Class.= |      |      |     |       |            |
  Drake         }|14,100|  24  |  900|  1902 |(Krupp)     |9·2, two; 6-
  Good Hope     }|      |      |     |    „  |Belt: am. 6-|in., sixteen;
  King Alfred   }|      |      |     |  1903 |in.; f. 2-  |12 pr.,
  Leviathan     }|      |      |     |    „  |in.; P.D. 2-|twelve; 3
                 |      |      |     |       |in.; Bar-   |pr., two;
                 |      |      |     |       |bette 6-in.;|machine, six;
                 |      |      |     |       |Casemates   |torpedo
                 |      |      |     |       |6-in.       |tubes, two
                 |      |      |     |       |            |(submerged).
  =Cressy Class.=|      |      |     |       |            |
  Aboukir       }|12,000|  21  |  755|  1902 |(Krupp)     |9·2, two; 6-
  Bacchante     }|      |      |     |    „  |Belt: am. 6-|in., twelve;
  Cressy        }|      |      |     |  1901 |in.; f. 2-  |12 pr.,
  Euryalus      }|      |      |     |  1904 |in.; P.D. 3-|twelve; 3
  Hogue         }|      |      |     |  1902 |in.; Bar-   |pr., three;
  Sutlej        }|      |      |     |    „  |bette 6-in.;|machine,
                 |      |      |     |       |Casemates   |four; tor-
                 |      |      |     |       |5-in.       |pedo tubes,
                 |      |      |     |       |            |two (sub-
                 |      |      |     |       |            |merged).
  ---------------+------+------+-----+-------+------------+-------------

  Note to Armour details: am. = amidships, f. = forward, a. = aft, P.D.
  = protective deck, C.T. = conning-tower.


CRUISERS.

  -------------------+------+------+-----+-------+----------------------
  Name.              | Ton- | Speed|Com’-| Com-  |  Armament.
                     | nage.|(kts.)|ment.|pleted.|
  -------------------+------+------+-----+-------+----------------------
  =Powerful Class.=  |      |      |     |       |
  Terrible           |14,200|  22  |  840|  1898 |9·2, two; 6-in., six-
                     |      |      |     |       |teen; 12 pr., four-
                     |      |      |     |       |teen; 3 pr., twelve;
                     |      |      |     |       |torpedo tubes, four
                     |      |      |     |       |(submerged).
                     |      |      |     |       |
  =Diadem Class.=    |      |      |     |       |
  Amphitrite        }|11,000|  21  |  680|  1900 |6 in., sixteen; 12
  Andromeda         }|      |      |     |    „  |pr., twelve; 3 pr.,
  Argonaut          }|      |      |     |    „  |six; Maxims, two; tor-
  Ariadne           }|      |      |     |    „  |pedo tubes, two.
  Diadem            }|      |      |     |  1899 |
  Europa            }|      |      |     |    „  |
  Spartiate         }|      |      |     |  1902 |
                     |      |      |     |       |
  =Edgar Class.=     |      |      |     |       |
  Crescent[16]      }| 7,350|  20  |  550|  1893 |9·2, two; 6-in., ten;
  Edgar             }|      |      |     |    „  |6 pr., twelve; 3 pr.,
  Endymion          }|      |      |     |  1894 |five; Max., two; 22
  Gibraltar         }|      |      |     |    „  |torpedo tubes, two
  Grafton           }|      |      |     |    „  |(submerged).
  Hawke             }|      |      |     |  1893 |
  Royal Arthur[17]  }|      |      |     |    „  |
  St. George        }|      |      |     |  1894 |
  Theseus           }|      |      |     |    „  |
                     |      |      |     |       |
  =Challenger Class.=|      |      |     |       |
  Challenger        }| 5,880|  21  |  454|  1904 |6-in., eleven; 12 pr.,
  Encounter         }|      |      |     |       |eight; Maxims, two;
    (Australian     }|      |      |     |       |torpedo tubes, two
    Navy).          }|      |      |     |  1906 |(submerged).
                     |      |      |     |       |
                     |      |      |     |       |
  =Highflyer Class.= |      |      |     |       |
  Hermes            }| 5,600|  20  |  456|  1900 |6-in., eleven; 12 pr.,
  Highflyer         }|      |      |     |    „  |eight; Maxims, two;
  Hyacinth          }|      |      |     |  1901 |torpedo tubes, two
                     |      |      |     |       |(submerged).
                     |      |      |     |       |
  =Arrogant Class.=  |      |      |     |       |
  Furious           }| 5,750|  20  |  430|  1899 |6-in., ten; 12 pr.,
  Vindictive        }|      |      |     |  1898 |eight; Maxims, two;
                     |      |      |     |       |torpedo tubes, three
                     |      |      |     |       |(two submerged).
                     |      |      |     |       |
  =Talbot Class.=    |      |      |     |       |
  Diana             }| 5,600|  19·5|  412|  1898 |6-in., eleven; 12 pr.,
  Dido              }|      |      |     |    „  |nine; 3 pr., seven;
  Doris             }|      |      |     |    „  |Maxims, two; torpedo
  Eclipse           }|      |      |     |  1897 |tubes, three.
  Isis              }|      |      |     |  1898 |
  Juno              }|      |      |     |    „  |
  Minerva           }|      |      |     |  1897 |
  Talbot            }|      |      |     |    „  |
  Venus             }|      |      |     |  1898 |
                     |      |      |     |       |
  =Chatham Class.=   |      |      |     |       |
  Birmingham        }| 5,400|  25  |  400|  1914 |6-in., eight; 3 pr.,
                    }|      |      |     |       |four.
  Chatham           }|      |      |     |  1912 |6-in., eight; nine
  Dublin            }|      |      |     |  1913 |smaller guns.
  Lowestoft         }|      |      |     |  1914 |Birmingham, Lowestoft
  Nottingham        }|      |      |     |  1914 |and Nottingham: 6-in.,
  Southampton       }|      |      |     |  1913 |nine.
                     |      |      |     |       |
  =Bristol Class.=   |      |      |     |       |
  Bristol           }| 4,800|  27  |  375|  1910 |6-in., two; 4-in.,
  Glasgow           }|      |      |     |    „  |ten; machine, four.
  Gloucester        }|      |      |     |    „  |
  Liverpool         }|      |      |     |    „  |
  Newcastle         }|      |      |     |    „  |
                     |      |      |     |       |
  =Weymouth Class.=  |      |      |     |       |
  Dartmouth         }| 5,250|  25  |  390|  1911 |6-in., eight; smaller
  Falmouth          }|      |      |     |    „  |guns, nine.
  Weymouth          }|      |      |     |    „  |
  Yarmouth          }|      |      |     |  1912 |
                     |      |      |     |       |
  =Colonial Class.=  |      |      |     |       |
  Brisbane[18]      }| 5,400|  25·5|  350|    ?  |6-in., eight; Q.F. and
  Melbourne         }|      |      |     |  1912 |machine, nine.
  Sydney            }|      |      |     |    „  |
                     |      |      |     |       |
  =Arethusa Class.=  |      |      |     |       |
  Royalist          }| 3,750|  29  |  280|  1914 |6-in., two; 4-in.,
  Inconstant        }|      |      |     |    „  |six; torpedo tubes,
  Phaeton           }|      |      |     |    „  |two.
  Penelope          }|      |      |     |    „  |
  Galatea           }|      |      |     |    „  |
  Undaunted         }|      |      |     |    „  |
  Arethusa          }|      |      |     |    „  |
  Aurora            }|      |      |     |    „  |
                     |      |      |     |       |
  =Boadicea Class.=  |      |      |     |       |
  Active            }| 3,440|  26  |  320|  1911 |4-in., ten; 3 pr.,
  Amphion[19]       }|      |      |     |  1912 |four.
  Bellona[20]       }|      |      |     |    „  |
  Blanche           }|      |      |     |    „  |
  Blonde            }|      |      |     |  1911 |
  Boadicea[21]      }|      |      |     |  1909 |
  Fearless          }|      |      |     |  1903 |
                     |      |      |     |       |
  =Astræa Class.=    |      |      |     |       |
  Astræa            }| 4,360|  19·5|  312|  1894 |6-in., two; 4·7,
  Bonaventure       }|      |      |     |    „  |eight; 6 pr., eight; 3
  Cambrian          }|      |      |     |    „  |pr., one; torpedo
  Charybdis         }|      |      |     |  1895 |tubes, four (above
  Flora             }|      |      |     |    „  |water).
  Forte             }|      |      |     |    „  |
  Fox               }|      |      |     |    „  |
  Hermione          }|      |      |     |    „  |
                     |      |      |     |       |
  =Apollo Class.=    |      |      |     |       |
  Æolus             }| 3,400|  20  |  275|  1893 |6-in., two; 4·7, six;
  Brilliant         }|      |      |     |    „  |6 pr., eight; 3 pr.,
  Melpomene         }|      |      |     |  1892 |one; machine, four;
  Latona            }|      |      |     |  1893 |torpedo tubes, four
  Sappho            }|      |      |     |    „  |(above water).
  Scylla            }|      |      |     |  1892 |
  Sirius            }|      |      |     |    „  |
  Terpsichore       }|      |      |     |    „  |
                     |      |      |     |       |
  =Sentinel Class.=  |      |      |     |       |
  Adventure         }| 2,700|  25  |  268|  1905 |4-in., nine; smaller
  Attentive         }|      |      |     |    „  |guns, six; torpedo
  Foresight         }|      |      |     |    „  |tubes, two.
  Forward           }|      |      |     |    „  |
  Pathfinder        }|      |      |     |    „  |
  Patrol            }|      |      |     |    „  |
  Sentinel          }|      |      |     |    „  |
  Skirmisher        }|      |      |     |    „  |
                     |      |      |     |       |
  =Topaze Class.=    |      |      |     |       |
  Amethyst          }| 3,000|  23  |  300|  1905 |4-in., twelve; 3 pr.,
  Diamond           }|      |      |     |    „  |eight; Maxims, two;
  Sapphire          }|      |      |     |    „  |torpedo tubes, two.
  Topaze            }|      |      |     |    „  |
  -------------------+------+------+-----+-------+----------------------

  [16, 17] Crescent and Royal Arthur displace 7,700 tons and have one
  9·2-in. and twelve 6-in. guns.

  [18] Date of completion uncertain.

  [19] Sunk by German Mine, August 6th, 1914.

  [20, 21] Bellona and Boadicea carry only six 6-in. guns.


TORPEDO-BOAT DESTROYERS.

  =“M” Class= (1913-14) (Displacement, 1,200-1,350 tons; H.P., 27,000;
  34 knots; armament, four 4-in.; four 21-in. torpedo tubes):--Manly,
  Mansfield, Marksman, Mastiff, Matchless, Menace, Mentor, Meteor,
  Milne, Minos, Miranda, Monitor, Moorsom, Morris, Murray, Myngs.

  =“L” Class= (1912-13) (Displacement, 965 tons; H.P., 25,000; 29 knots;
  armament, three 4-in.; four 21-in. torpedo tubes):--Laertes, Laforey,
  Lance, Landrail, Lark, Laurel, Laverock, Lawford, Legion, Lennox,
  Leonidas, Liberty, Linnet, Llewellyn, Lookout, Louis, Loyal, Lucifer,
  Lydiard, Lysander.

  =“K” Class= (1912-13) (Displacement, 935 tons; H.P., 24,500; 30-32
  knots; armament, three 4-in.; two 21-in. torpedo tubes):--Acasta,
  Achates, Ambuscade, Ardent, Christopher, Cockatrice, Contest, Fortune,
  Garland, Hardy, Lynx, Midge, Owl, Paragon, Porpoise, Shark,
  Sparrowhawk, Spitfire, Unity, Victor.

  =“I” Class= (1911) (Displacement, 750-850 tons; H.P., 16,500-20,000;
  30-35 knots; armament, two 4-in.; two 12 pdrs.; two 21-in. torpedo
  tubes):--Acheron, Archer, Ariel, Attack, Badger, Beaver, Defender,
  Druid, Ferret, Firedrake, Forester, Goshawk, Hind, Hornet, Hydra,
  Jackal, Lapwing, Lizard, Lurcher, Oak, Phœnix, Sandfly, Tigress.

  =“H” Class= (1910) (Displacement, 780 tons; H.P., 13,500; 27-29 knots;
  armament, two 4-in.; two 12 pdrs.; two 21-in. torpedo tubes):--Acorn,
  Alarm, Brisk, Cameleon, Comet, Fury, Goldfinch, Hope, Larne, Lyra,
  Martin, Minstrel, Nemesis, Nereide, Nymphe, Redpole, Rifleman, Ruby,
  Sheldrake, Staunch.

  =“G” Class= (1909) (Displacement, 900-1,000 tons; H.P., 2,100; 27
  knots; armament, one 4-in.; two 21-in. torpedo tubes):--Basilisk,
  Beagle, Bulldog, Foxhound, Grasshopper, Harpy, Mosquito, Grampus,
  Pincher, Racoon, Rattlesnake, Renard, Savage, Scorpion, Scourge,
  Wolverine.

  =“F” Class= (1907-09) (Displacement, 865-1,090 tons; H.P.,
  14,000-15,500; 33-35 knots; armament, five 12 pdrs. (or two 4-in.);
  two 18-in. torpedo tubes):--Afridi, Amazon, Cossack, Crusader, Ghurka,
  Maori, Mohawk, Nubian, Saracen, Tartar, Viking, Zulu.

  =“E” Class= (1903-08) (Displacement, 530-560 tons; H.P., 7,500; 25
  knots; armament, four 12 pdrs.; two 18-in. torpedo tubes):--Arun,
  Boyne, Chelmer, Cherwell, Colne, Dee, Derwent, Doon, Eden, Erne,
  Ettrick, Exe, Foyle, Garry, Itchen, Jed, Kale, Kennet, Liffey, Moy,
  Ness, Nith, Ouse, Ribble, Rother, Stour, Swale, Test, Teviot, Ure,
  Usk, Waveney, Wear, Welland.

  =“D” Class= (1895-01) (Displacement, 300-400 tons; H.P., 6,000; 30
  knots; armament, one 12 pdr.; five 6 pdrs.; two 18-in. torpedo
  tubes):--Angler, Coquette, Cygnet, Cynthia, Desperate, Fame, Mallard,
  Stag.

  =“C” Class= (1895-01) (Displacement, 300-400 tons; H.P., 6,000; 30
  knots; armament, one 12 pdr.; five 6 pdrs.; two 18-in. torpedo
  tubes):--Albatross, Avon, Bat, Bittern, Brazen, Bullfinch, Cheerful,
  Crane, Dove, Electra, Fairy, Falcon, Fawn, Flirt, Flying Fish, Gipsy,
  Greyhound, Kestrel, Leopard, Leven, Osprey, Ostrich, Mermaid,
  Racehorse, Recruit, Roebuck, Star, Sylvia, Thorn, Velox, Vigilant,
  Violet, Vixen, Vulture.

  =“B” Class= (1895-01) (Displacement, 300-400 tons; H.P., 6,000; 30
  knots; armament, one 12 pdr.; five 6 pdrs.; two 18-in. torpedo
  tubes):--Albacore, Arab, Bonetta, Earnest, Express, Griffon, Kangaroo,
  Lively, Locust, Myrmidon, Orwell, Panther, Peterel, Quail, Seal,
  Spiteful, Sprightly, Success, Syren, Thrasher, Wolf.

  =“A” Class= (1894-95) (Displacement, 275-350 tons; H.P., 4,500; 27
  knots; armament, one 12 pdr.; five 6 pdrs.; two 18-in. torpedo
  tubes):--Conflict, Fervent, Lightning, Opossum, Porcupine, Ranger,
  Sunfish, Surly, Zephyr.


TORPEDO BOATS.

  =Nos. 1-12= (1906-07) Displacement, 247-263 tons; H.P., 3,750; 27-28½
  knots; two 12 pdrs.; three 18-in. torpedo tubes.

  =Nos. 13-36= (1907-08) Displacement, 260-308 tons; H.P., 4,000; 26-27
  knots; two 12 pdrs.; three 18-in. torpedo tubes.

  =Nos. 98, 99, 107-117= (1901-03) Displacement, 178-205 tons; H.P.,
  2,850-2,900; 25-26 knots; three 3 pdrs.; three torpedo tubes.

  =Nos. 88-97= (1893-95) Displacement, 112-172 tons; H.P., 1,500-2,500;
  23-24½ knots; three 3 pdrs.; three torpedo tubes.


SUBMARINES.

  ------+------+-------+----------------------+----------+---------+
        |  No. | Date  |                      |   Dis-   |         |
  Class.|  in  |   of  |   Speed in Knots.    |  place-  |  Horse  |
        |Class.| Build-|                      |  ment.   |  Power. |
        |      |  ing. |                      |          |         |
  ------+------+-------+----------------------+----------+---------+
    =A= |   9  |1904-06|Submerged 9-12 surface|  200 Tons|150-500  |
    =B= |  10  |1904-06|    „     9-13   „    |  314   „ |189-600  |
    =C= |  37  |1906-09|    „    10-14   „    |  320   „ |300-600  |
    =D= |   8  |1910-11|    „    10-16   „    |  580   „ |550-1,200|
    =E= |  16  |1911-13|    „    10-16   „    |  800   „ |  1,950  |
    =F= |   6  |1913-14|    „    12-20   „    |1,000   „ |  5,000  |
  ------+------+-------+----------------------+----------+---------+

  ------+------+--------
        |      |
  Class.|Tubes.|Guns.
        |      |
        |      |
  ------+------+--------
    =A= |   2  |
    =B= |   2  |
    =C= |   2  |
    =D= |   3  |
    =E= |   4  |Two 3-in.
    =F= |   6  |Two 3-in.
  ------+------+---------


THE GERMAN NAVY.


BATTLESHIPS (Dreadnought Type).

  ---------------+------+------+-----+-------+------------+-------------
  Name.          | Ton- | Speed|Com’-| Com-  |  Armour.   |  Armament.
                 | nage.|(kts.)|ment.|pleted.|            |
  ---------------+------+------+-----+-------+------------+-------------
  _Ersatz        |      |      |     |       |            |
  Wörth_[22]    }|29,000|  23  | ----|  1916 |            |15-in.,
  “_T_”[23]     }|      |      |     |       |            |eight; 5·9-
                 |      |      |     |       |            |in., sixteen.
                 |      |      |     |       |            |
  Markgraf      }|25,600|  21  |1,130|  1914 |Belt: 13¾-  |12-in., ten;
  Grosser Kur-  }|      |      |     |       |in.         |5·9-in.,
    fürst       }|      |      |     |    „  |            |fourteen;
  König         }|      |      |     |    „  |            |3·4-in., ten;
  _Kron-        }|      |      |     |       |            |torpedo
  prinz_[24]    }|      |      |     |  1915 |            |tubes, five.
                 |      |      |     |       |            |
  König Albert  }|24,312|  21  |1,080|  1913 |Belt: 13¾-  |12-in., ten;
  Kaiserin      }|      |      |     |    „  |in.; P.D. 3-|5·9-in.,
  F. der Grosse }|      |      |     |  1912 |in.; Tur-   |fourteen;
  Kaiser        }|      |      |     |    „  |rets, 12-   |3·4-in.,
  P. Regent     }|      |      |     |       |in.; C.T.   |twelve; tor-
    Luitpold    }|      |      |     |  1913 |12-in.      |pedo tubes,
                 |      |      |     |       |            |five.
                 |      |      |     |       |            |
  Helgoland     }|22,435|  20·5|1,106|  1911 |Belt: 11¾-  |12-in.,
  Oldenburg     }|      |      |     |  1912 |in. P.D. 3- |twelve; 5·9-
  Ostfriesland  }|      |      |     |  1911 |in.; Tur-   |in., four-
  Thüringen     }|      |      |     |    „  |rets,11-in.;|teen; 3·4-
                 |      |      |     |       |C.T. 12-in. |in., four-
                 |      |      |     |       |            |teen; torpedo
                 |      |      |     |       |            |tubes, six.
                 |      |      |     |       |            |
  Nassau        }|18,600|  19  |  966|  1909 |(Krupp)     |11-in.,
  Posen         }|      |      |     |  1910 |Belt: am.,  |twelve; 5·9-
  Rheinland     }|      |      |     |    „  |11-in.; f.  |in., twelve;
  Westfalen     }|      |      |     |  1909 |6-in.; a. 4-|3·4-in., six-
                 |      |      |     |       |in.; P.D. 4-|teen; torpedo
                 |      |      |     |       |in.; Bar-   |tubes, six.
                 |      |      |     |       |bette, 12-  |
                 |      |      |     |       |in.; C.T.   |
                 |      |      |     |       |12-in.      |
  ---------------+------+------+-----+-------+------------+-------------

  [22, 23] To be completed 1916.

  [24] To be completed 1915.

  NOTE TO ARMOUR.--am. = amidships; f. = forward; a. = aft; P.D. =
  Protective decks; C.T. = conning tower.


BATTLESHIPS (pre-Dreadnought Type).

  ---------------+------+------+-----+-------+------------+-------------
  Name.          | Ton- | Speed|Com’-| Com-  |  Armour.   |  Armament.
                 | nage.|(kts.)|ment.|pleted.|            |
  ---------------+------+------+-----+-------+------------+-------------
  Deutschland   }|13,000|  18  |  743|  1906 |(Krupp)     |11-in., four;
  Hannover      }|      |      |     |  1907 |Belt: a.m.  |6·7-in.,
  Pommern       }|      |      |     |    „  |9¾-in.; f.  |fourteen;
  Schlesien     }|      |      |     |  1908 |4-in.; a. 4-|3·4-in.,
  Schleswig-Hol-}|      |      |     |       |in.; P.D. 3-|twenty; tor-
  stein         }|      |      |     |    „  |in.; Bar-   |pedo tubes,
                 |      |      |     |       |bette, 11-  |six.
                 |      |      |     |       |in.; case-  |
                 |      |      |     |       |mates 6½-   |
                 |      |      |     |       |in.; C.T.   |
                 |      |      |     |       |12-in.      |
                 |      |      |     |       |            |
  Braunschweig  }|13,000|  18  |  743|  1904 |(Krupp)     |11-in., four;
  Elsass        }|      |      |     |    „  |Belt: a.m.  |6·7-in.,
  Lothringen    }|      |      |     |  1906 |9-in.; f. 4-|fourteen;
  Hessen        }|      |      |     |  1905 |in.; a. 4-  |3·4-in.,
  Preussen      }|      |      |     |    „  |in.; P.D. 3-|eighteen;
                 |      |      |     |       |in.; Bar-   |torpedo
                 |      |      |     |       |bette, 11-  |tubes, six.
                 |      |      |     |       |in.; case-  |
                 |      |      |     |       |mates 6-in.;|
                 |      |      |     |       |C.T. 12-in. |
                 |      |      |     |       |            |
  Mecklenburg   }|11,650|  18  |  683|  1903 |(Krupp)     |9·4-in.,
  Wettin        }|      |      |     |  1902 |Belt: a.m.  |four; 6-in.,
  Wittelsbach   }|      |      |     |    „  |9-in.; f. 4-|eighteen; 15-
  Schwaben      }|      |      |     |  1903 |in.; a. 4-  |pdr., twelve;
  Zähringen     }|      |      |     |  1902 |in.; P.D. 5-|torpedo
                 |      |      |     |       |in.; Bar-   |tubes, six.
                 |      |      |     |       |bette 10-   |
                 |      |      |     |       |in.; case-  |
                 |      |      |     |       |mates 6-in.;|
                 |      |      |     |       |C.T. 10-in. |
                 |      |      |     |       |            |
  K. Barbarossa }|10,600|  18  |  622|  1901 |(Krupp)     |9·4-in.,
  K. Friedrich  }|      |      |     |       |Belt: am.   |four; 5·9-
    III.        }|      |      |     |  1898 |12-in.; f.  |in., four-
  K. Karl der   }|      |      |     |       |4-in.; a. 4-|teen; 3·4-
    Grosse      }|      |      |     |  1901 |in.; P.D. 3-|in., four-
  K. Wilhelm II.}|      |      |     |  1900 |in.; Bar-   |teen; tor-
  K. Wilhelm der}|      |      |     |       |bette, 10-  |pedo tubes,
    Grosse      }|      |      |     |  1901 |in; case-   |five.
                 |      |      |     |       |mates, 6-   |
                 |      |      |     |       |in.; C.T.   |
                 |      |      |     |       |10-in.      |
  ---------------+------+------+-----+-------+------------+-------------

  NOTE TO ARMOUR.--am. = amidships; f. = forward; a. = aft; P.D. =
  Protective decks; C.T. = conning tower.


BATTLE-CRUISERS.

  ---------------+------+------+-----+-------+------------+-------------
  Name.          | Ton- | Speed|Com’-| Com-  |  Armour.   |  Armament.
                 | nage.|(kts.)|ment.|pleted.|            |
  ---------------+------+------+-----+-------+------------+-------------
  E. Hertha[25] }|28,000|  27  |     |       |            |12-in.,
  E. Victoria   }|      |      |     |       |            |eight; 5·9-
  Louise[26]    }|      |      |     |       |            |in., twelve.
  Derfflinger  } |26,200|  26½ |1,125|  1914 |Belt, 12-in.|12-in.,
  Lützow[27]   } |      |      |     |  1915 |            |eight; 5·9-
                 |      |      |     |       |            |in., twelve;
                 |      |      |     |       |            |3·4-in.,
                 |      |      |     |       |            |twelve; tor-
                 |      |      |     |       |            |pedo tubes,
                 |      |      |     |       |            |four.
                 |      |      |     |       |            |
  Seydlitz       |24,600|  27  |1,108|  1913 |Belt, 12-   |11-in., ten;
                 |      |      |     |       |in.; P.D.,  |5·9-in.,
                 |      |      |     |       |2½-in.      |twelve; 3·4-
                 |      |      |     |       |            |in., twelve;
                 |      |      |     |       |            |torpedo
                 |      |      |     |       |            |tubes, four.
                 |      |      |     |       |            |
  Goeben        }|22,640|  28  |1,013|  1912 |Belt, 11-   |11-in., ten;
  Moltke        }|      |      |     |  1911 |in., P.D.,  |5·9-in.,
                 |      |      |     |       |2½-in.      |twelve; 3·4-
                 |      |      |     |       |            |in., twelve;
                 |      |      |     |       |            |torpedo
                 |      |      |     |       |            |tubes, four.
                 |      |      |     |       |            |
  Von der Tann   |19,100|  28  |  850|  1910 |Belt: 10-   |11-in.,
                 |      |      |     |       |in.; P.D.,  |eight; 5·9-
                 |      |      |     |       |2½-in.      |in., ten;
                 |      |      |     |       |            |3·4-in., six-
                 |      |      |     |       |            |teen; torpedo
                 |      |      |     |       |            |tubes, four.
  ---------------+------+------+-----+-------+------------+-------------

  [25] To be completed 1916.

  [26] To be completed 1917.

  [27] To be completed 1915.

  NOTE TO ARMOUR.--am. = amidships; f. = forward; a. = aft; P.D. =
  Protective decks; C.T. = conning tower.


ARMOURED CRUISERS.

  ---------------+------+------+-----+-------+------------+-------------
  Name.          | Ton- | Speed|Com’-| Com-  |  Armour.   |  Armament.
                 | nage.|(kts.)|ment.|pleted.|            |
  ---------------+------+------+-----+-------+------------+-------------
  Blücher        |15,550|  25½ |  888|  1909 |(Krupp); am.|8·2-in.,
                 |      |      |     |       |7-in.; f. 4-|twelve; 5·9-
                 |      |      |     |       |in.; a. 4-  |in., eight;
                 |      |      |     |       |in.; P.D.   |3·4-in., six-
                 |      |      |     |       |2½-in.      |teen; tor-
                 |      |      |     |       |            |pedo tubes,
                 |      |      |     |       |            |four.
                 |      |      |     |       |            |
  Gneisenau     }|11,500|  22½ |  764|  1908 |(Krupp)     |8·2-in.,
  Scharnhorst   }|      |      |     |  1907 |Belt: am. 6-|eight; 5·9-
                 |      |      |     |       |in.; f. 3-  |in., six;
                 |      |      |     |       |in.; a. 5-  |small guns,
                 |      |      |     |       |in.; P.D. 2-|eighteen;
                 |      |      |     |       |in.; Bar-   |torpedo
                 |      |      |     |       |bette, 6-   |tubes, four
                 |      |      |     |       |in.; Bat-   |(submerged.)
                 |      |      |     |       |tery, 4-in.;|
                 |      |      |     |       |C.T., 8-in. |
                 |      |      |     |       |            |
  Fürst Bismarck |10,570|  19  |  594|  1900 |(Krupp)     |9·4-in.,
                 |      |      |     |       |Belt: am. 8-|four; 5·9-
                 |      |      |     |       |in.; f. 4-  |in., twelve;
                 |      |      |     |       |in.; a., 4- |3·4-in., ten;
                 |      |      |     |       |in.; P.D.,  |torpedo
                 |      |      |     |       |2-in.; Bat- |tubes, six.
                 |      |      |     |       |tery, 8-in.;|
                 |      |      |     |       |casemates,  |
                 |      |      |     |       |4-in.; C.T.,|
                 |      |      |     |       |8-in.       |
                 |      |      |     |       |            |
  Roon          }| 9,350|  21  |  633|  1905 |(Krupp)     |8·2-in.,
  Yorck         }|      |      |     |  1905 |Belt: am.,  |four; 6-in.,
                 |      |      |     |       |4-in.; f.,  |ten; 3·4-in.,
                 |      |      |     |       |3-in.; a.,  |fourteen;
                 |      |      |     |       |3-in; P.D., |torpedo
                 |      |      |     |       |2¾-in.; Bar-|tubes, four.
                 |      |      |     |       |bette, 6-   |
                 |      |      |     |       |in.; Bat-   |
                 |      |      |     |       |tery, 4-in.;|
                 |      |      |     |       |C.T., 6-in. |
                 |      |      |     |       |            |
  Prinz Adalbert}| 8,851|  21  |  591|  1903 |(Krupp)     |8·2-in.,
  Friedrich Karl}|      |      |     |  1903 |Belt: am.,  |four; 6-in.,
                 |      |      |     |       |4-in.; f.,  |ten; torpedo
                 |      |      |     |       |3-in.; a.,  |tubes, four.
                 |      |      |     |       |3-in.; P.D.,|
                 |      |      |     |       |2-in.; Trt.,|
                 |      |      |     |       |6-in.; Bat- |
                 |      |      |     |       |tery, 4-in.;|
                 |      |      |     |       |G.T., 9-in. |
                 |      |      |     |       |            |
  Prinz Heinrich | 8,760|  20  |  567|  1902 |(Krupp)     |9·4-in., two;
                 |      |      |     |       |Belt: a.m., |6-in., ten;
                 |      |      |     |       |4-in.; f.,  |3·4-in., ten;
                 |      |      |     |       |2-in.; a.,  |torpedo
                 |      |      |     |       |2-in.; P.D.,|tubes, four.
                 |      |      |     |       |2-in.; Trt.,|
                 |      |      |     |       |6-in.; Bat- |
                 |      |      |     |       |tery, 4-in.;|
                 |      |      |     |       |C.T., 6-in. |
  ---------------+------+------+-----+-------+------------+-------------

  NOTE TO ARMOUR.--am. = amidships; f. = forward; a. = aft; P.D. =
  protective deck; C.T. = conning tower.


CRUISERS.

  -------------------+------+------+-----+-------+----------------------
  Name.              | Ton- | Speed|Com’-| Com-  |  Armament.
                     | nage.|(kts.)|ment.|pleted.|
  -------------------+------+------+-----+-------+----------------------
  Kaiserin Augusta   | 6,000|  21½ |  439|  1894 |6-in., twelve; 3·4-
                     |      |      |     |       |in., eight; torpedo
                     |      |      |     |       |tubes, three.
                     |      |      |     |       |
  Freya             }| 5,600|  19  |  450|  1898 |8·2, two; 6-in.,
  Hansa             }|      |      |     |  1899 |six; 3·4, four teen;
  Hertha            }|      |      |     |  1898 |torpedo tubes, three
  Victoria Luise    }|      |      |     |    „  |(submerged).
  Vineta            }|      |      |     |  1899 |
                     |      |      |     |       |
  _E. Gefion_[28]   }| 5,500|  28  |  -- |   --  |5·9-in., ten.
  _E. Hela_[29]     }|      |      |     |       |
                     |      |      |     |       |
  Rostock           }| 4,870|  28  |  373|  1913 |4-in., twelve;
  Karlsruhe         }|      |      |     |    „  |machine, two; torpedo
  Graudenz          }|      |      |     |  1914 |tubes, two.
  Regensburg        }|      |      |     |    „  |
                     |      |      |     |       |
  Breslau           }| 4,520|  27½ |  370|  1912 |4-in., twelve; torpedo
  Magdeburg         }|      |      |     |    „  |tubes, two.
  Strassburg        }|      |      |     |    „  |
  Stralsund         }|      |      |     |    „  |
                     |      |      |     |       |
  Augsburg          }| 4,281|  26  |  379|  1910 |4-in., twelve; torpedo
  Köln              }|      |      |     |  1911 |tubes, two.
  Kolberg           }|      |      |     |  1910 |
  Mainz             }|      |      |     |  1909 |
                     |      |      |     |       |
  Dresden           }| 3,620|  24½ |  361|  1907 |4-in., ten; torpedo
  Emden             }|      |      |     |  1908 |tubes, two.
                     |      |      |     |       |
  Koenigsburg       }| 3,420|  23½ |  322|  1907 |4·1, ten; torpedo
  Nurnburg          }|      |      |     |  1908 |tubes, two.
  Stettin           }|      |      |     |    „  |
  Stuttgart         }|      |      |     |    „  |
                     |      |      |     |       |
  Bremen            }| 3,200|  22½ |  300|  1904 |4·1, ten; torpedo
  Berlin            }|      |      |     |    „  |tubes, two.
  Danzig            }|      |      |     |  1906 |
  Hamburg           }|      |      |     |  1904 |
  Leipzig           }|      |      |     |    „  |
  Lübeck            }|      |      |     |  1905 |
  München           }|      |      |     |    „  |
                     |      |      |     |       |
  Arcona            }| 2,660|  22  |  281|  1903 |4·1-in., ten; torpedo
  Frauenlob         }|      |      |     |    „  |tubes, two.
  Undine            }|      |      |     |  1903 |
                     |      |      |     |       |
  Amazone           }| 2,630|  21  |  275|  1901 |4·1, ten; torpedo
  Ariadne           }|      |      |     |    „  |tubes, two.
  Gazelle           }|      |      |     |  1898 |
  Medusa            }|      |      |     |  1901 |
  Niobe             }|      |      |     |  1899 |
  Nymphe            }|      |      |     |  1901 |
  Thetis            }|      |      |     |    „  |
                     |      |      |     |       |
  Gefion             | 3,750|  19  |  300|  1894 |4·1, ten.
                     |      |      |     |       |
  Hela               | 2,000|  19½ |  191|  1896 |3·4-in., four; smaller
                     |      |      |     |       |guns, six; torpedo
                     |      |      |     |       |tubes, two.
  -------------------+------+------+-----+-------+----------------------

  [28, 29] To be completed 1915.


TORPEDO-BOAT DESTROYERS.

  =12 Boats, S 31-36, V 25-30= (1913-14), displacement, 570 tons; speed,
  32½ knots; armament: two 3·4-in., four machine guns, five torpedo
  tubes. Complement, 75.

  =12 Boats, S 13-24= (1912-13), displacement, 555 tons; speed, 32½
  knots; armament; two 3·4-in., two machine guns, four torpedo tubes.
  Complement, 73.

  =12 Boats, V 1-6, G 7-12= (1911-12), displacement, 560 tons; speed,
  32½ knots; armament: two 3·4-in., two machine guns, four torpedo
  tubes. Complement, 73.

  =12 Boats, G 192-197, V 186-191= (1910-11), displacement, 640 tons;
  speed, 32 knots; armament: two 3·4-in., two machine guns, four torpedo
  tubes. Complement, 83.

  =12 Boats, V 180-185, S 176-179, G 174-175= (1909-10), displacement,
  635 tons; speed, 32 knots; armament, two 3·4-in.; two machine guns,
  four torpedo tubes. Complement, 83.

  =11 Boats, G 169-170, G 172-173, S 165-168, V 162-164= (1908-09),
  displacement, 610 tons; speed, 30 knots; armament, two 3·4-in., two
  machine, three torpedo tubes. Complement, 83.

  =12 Boats, V 150-161= (1907-08), displacement, 545 tons; speed, 30
  knots; armament, two 3·4-in., two machine guns, three torpedo tubes.
  Complement, 83.

  =12 Boats, S 138-149= (1906-07), displacement, 515 tons; speed, 30
  knots; armament: one 3·4-in., five smaller guns, three torpedo tubes.
  Complement, 80.

  =1 Boat, G 137= (1906), displacement, 565 tons; speed, 33 knots;
  armament: one 3·4-in., five smaller guns, three torpedo tubes.
  Complement, 80.

  =47 Boats, G 132-136= (1905-06), =S 126-151= (1904-05), =S 120-125=
  (1903-04), =S 114-119= (1902-03), =G 108-113= (1901-02), =S 102-107=
  (1900-01), =S 90-101= (1898-1900), displacement, 390-475 tons; speed,
  26-27 knots; armament: three 3-pdrs., two machine, three torpedo
  tubes. Complement, 60.

  =8 Boats, D 3-10= (1887-98), displacement, 290-345 tons; speed, 22-28
  knots; armament: three (or five) 3-pdrs., three torpedo tubes.
  Complement, 50-60.

  =1 Boat “Taku”= (1898), displacement, 270 tons; speed, 30 knots;
  armament, two 3-pdrs.; two torpedo tubes. Complement, 49.


SUBMARINES.

  =2 Boats, U 1 and U 2= (1906-08), displacement, 197-236 tons; speeds,
  8-10 knots; armament, two torpedo tubes.

  =6 Boats, U 3-U 8= (1908-11), displacement, 240-300 tons; speeds, 8-12
  knots; armament, two torpedo tubes.

  =12 Boats, U 9-U 20= (1910-12), displacement, 450 tons; speeds, 9-15
  knots; armament, three torpedo tubes.

  =16 Boats, U 21-U 36= (1912-14), displacement, 800 tons; speeds, 18-12
  knots; armament: two guns, four (or five) torpedo tubes.


MINELAYERS.

  =“Nautilus”= (1906), displacement, 1,900 tons; speed, 20 knots;
  armament, eight 3·4-in., 400 naval mines.

  =“Albatross”= (1907), displacement, 2,120 tons; speed, 20 knots;
  armament: eight 3·4-in., 400 naval mines.

  =“Pelikan”= (1890), displacement, 2,300 tons; speed, 15 knots;
  armament: four 3·4-in., 300 naval mines.


THE FRENCH NAVY


BATTLESHIPS.

  ---------------+------+------+-----+-------+------------+-------------
  Name.          | Ton- | Speed|Com’-| Com-  |  Armour.   |  Armament.
                 | nage.|(kts.)|ment.|pleted.|            |
  ---------------+------+------+-----+-------+------------+-------------
  Courbet       }|23,100|  20  |1,000|  1913 |Belt: am.   |12-in.,
  Jean Bart     }|      |      |     |    „  |10½-in.; f. |twelve; 5·5-
  France        }|      |      |     |  1914 |7-in.; a. 7-|in., twenty-
  Paris         }|      |      |     |    „  |in.; P.D.   |two; eight
                 |      |      |     |       |3½-in.      |smaller; tor-
                 |      |      |     |       |            |pedo tubes,
                 |      |      |     |       |            |three.
                 |      |      |     |       |            |
  Condorcet     }|18,400|  19  |  680|  1911 |Belt: am.   |12-in., four;
  Danton        }|      |      |     |    „  |10-in.; f.  |9·4-in.,
  Diderot       }|      |      |     |    „  |6-in.; a. 6-|twelve; 3-
  Mirabeau      }|      |      |     |    „  |in.; P.D. 3-|in., sixteen;
  Vergiaud      }|      |      |     |    „  |in.; Bar-   |torpedo
  Voltaire      }|      |      |     |    „  |bette 12-   |tubes, two.
                 |      |      |     |       |in.; C.T.   |
                 |      |      |     |       |12-in.      |
                 |      |      |     |       |            |
  Démocratie    }|14,870|  18  |  800|  1907 |Belt: 11-   |12-in., four;
  Justice       }|      |      |     |    „  |in.; P.D.   |7·6, ten; 4-
  Vérité        }|      |      |     |  1908 |2½-in.; Tur-|in., eight;
                 |      |      |     |       |ret 12-in.  |smaller,
                 |      |      |     |       |            |twenty-six;
                 |      |      |     |       |            |torpedo
                 |      |      |     |       |            |tubes, five
                 |      |      |     |       |            |(two sub-
                 |      |      |     |       |            |merged).
                 |      |      |     |       |            |
  Patrie        }|14,865|  18  |  800|  1906 |Belt: 11-   |12-in., four;
  République    }|      |      |     |    „  |in.; P.D. 3-|6·4,
                 |      |      |     |       |in.; Turret |eighteen;
                 |      |      |     |       |12½-in.     |smaller,
                 |      |      |     |       |            |twenty-five;
                 |      |      |     |       |            |torpedo
                 |      |      |     |       |            |tubes, five
                 |      |      |     |       |            |(two sub-
                 |      |      |     |       |            |merged).
                 |      |      |     |       |            |
  Suffren        |12,730|  18  |  750|  1903 |Belt: 12-   |12-in., four;
                 |      |      |     |       |in.; P.D. 3-|6·4, ten; 4-
                 |      |      |     |       |in.; Turret |in., eight;
                 |      |      |     |       |12-in.      |smaller,
                 |      |      |     |       |            |twenty-four;
                 |      |      |     |       |            |torpedo
                 |      |      |     |       |            |tubes, four
                 |      |      |     |       |            |(two sub-
                 |      |      |     |       |            |merged).
                 |      |      |     |       |            |
  Charlemagne   }|11,000|  18  |  650|  1899 |(H.) Belt:  |12-in., four;
  Gaulois       }|      |      |     |    „  |am. 12¾-in.;|5·5, ten; 4-
  St. Louis     }|      |      |     |  1900 |f. 10-in.;  |in., eight;
                 |      |      |     |       |a. 10-in.   |smaller, 26;
                 |      |      |     |       |P.D. 2¾-in.;|torpedo tubes
                 |      |      |     |       |Barbette    |four (sub-
                 |      |      |     |       |15¾-in.     |merged).
                 |      |      |     |       |            |
  Bouvet         |12,000|  17½ |  650|  1898 |(H.) Belt:  |12-in., two;
                 |      |      |     |       |am. 15¾-in.;|10·8, two;
                 |      |      |     |       |f. 12-in.;  |5·5, eight;
                 |      |      |     |       |a. 10-in.   |4-in., eight;
                 |      |      |     |       |P.D. 3½-in. |smaller,
                 |      |      |     |       |            |thirty; tor-
                 |      |      |     |       |            |pedo tubes,
                 |      |      |     |       |            |four.
                 |      |      |     |       |            |
  Masséna        |11,700|  18  |  620|       |(H.) Belt:  |12-in., two;
                 |      |      |     |       |am. 17¾-in.;|10·8, two;
                 |      |      |     |       |f. 10-in.;  |5·5, eight;
                 |      |      |     |       |P.D. 3½-in. |4-in., eight;
                 |      |      |     |       |            |torpedo
                 |      |      |     |       |            |tubes, four.
                 |      |      |     |       |            |
  Charles Martel |11,880|  18  |  650|  1896 |(C.) Belt:  |12-in., two;
                 |      |      |     |       |am. 17¾-in.;|10·8, two;
                 |      |      |     |       |f. 13½-in.; |5·5, eight;
                 |      |      |     |       |a. 11-in.;  |torpedo
                 |      |      |     |       |P.D. 2¾-in. |tubes, six.
                 |      |      |     |       |            |
  Carnot         |12,000|  18  |  650|  1896 |(C.) Belt:  |12-in., two;
                 |      |      |     |       |am. 17¾-in.;|10·8, two;
                 |      |      |     |       |f. 10-in.;  |5·5, eight;
                 |      |      |     |       |a. 10-in.;  |smaller,
                 |      |      |     |       |P.D. 2¾-in. |twenty-two;
                 |      |      |     |       |            |torpedo
                 |      |      |     |       |            |tubes, four.
                 |      |      |     |       |            |
  Jauréguiberry  |11,650|  18  |  600|  1896 |(C.) Belt:  |12-in., two;
                 |      |      |     |       |am. 17¾-in.;|10·8, two;
                 |      |      |     |       |f. 9-in.; a.|5·5, eight;
                 |      |      |     |       |9-in., P.D. |smaller,
                 |      |      |     |       |2¾-in.      |twenty; tor-
                 |      |      |     |       |            |pedo tubes,
                 |      |      |     |       |            |six.
  ---------------+------+------+-----+-------+------------+-------------

  Note to Armour details: am. = amidships, f. = forward, a. = aft, P.D.
  = protective deck, C.T. = conning-tower.


ARMOURED CRUISERS.

  ---------------+------+------+-----+-------+------------+-------------
  Name.          | Ton- | Speed|Com’-| Com-  |  Armour.   |  Armament.
                 | nage.|(kts.)|ment.|pleted.|            |
  ---------------+------+------+-----+-------+------------+-------------
  Léon Gambetta }|12,350|  22  |  750|  1904 |(Krupp)     |7·6, four;
  Jules Ferry   }|      |      |     |  1906 |Belt: am.   |6·4, sixteen;
  Victor Hugo   }|      |      |     |    „  |6¾-in.; t.  |smaller
                 |      |      |     |       |3-in.; a. 3-|twenty-four;
                 |      |      |     |       |in.; P.D.   |torpedo
                 |      |      |     |       |2½-in.; Bar-|tubes, five
                 |      |      |     |       |bette 6-in.;|(two sub-
                 |      |      |     |       |casemates 4-|merged).
                 |      |      |     |       |in.; C.T. 8-|
                 |      |      |     |       |in.         |
                 |      |      |     |       |            |
  Amiral Aube   }|10,000|  21  |  600|  1904 |(Krupp)     |7·6, two;
  Conde         }|      |      |     |    „  |Belt: am.   |6·4, eight;
  Gloire        }|      |      |     |  1902 |6¾-in.; f.  |4-in., six;
  Marseillaise  }|      |      |     |  1903 |4-in.; a. 4-|smaller,
                 |      |      |     |       |in.; P.D.   |twenty; tor-
                 |      |      |     |       |2½-in.; Tur-|pedo tubes,
                 |      |      |     |       |ret, 8-in.; |five.
                 |      |      |     |       |cas. 4-in.; |
                 |      |      |     |       |C.T. 9-in.  |
                 |      |      |     |       |            |
  Dupetit       }| 9,519|  21  |  580|       |(H. N.)     |7·6, ten;
    Thouars     }|      |      |     |  1903 |Belt: am.   |6·4, eight;
  Amiral Gueydon}|      |      |     |  1902 |6¾-in.; f.  |4-in., four;
  Montcalm      }|      |      |     |    „  |4-in.; a. 4-|smaller, 22.
                 |      |      |     |       |in.; C.T.   |
                 |      |      |     |       |4-in.       |
                 |      |      |     |       |            |
  Jeanne d’Arc   |11,270|  22  |  620|  1903 |(H.) Belt:  |7·6, two;
                 |      |      |     |       |am. 6-in.;  |5·5, four-
                 |      |      |     |       |f. 5-in.; a.|teen;
                 |      |      |     |       |3-in.; P.D. |smaller,
                 |      |      |     |       |2½-in.; Tur-|twenty; tor-
                 |      |      |     |       |ret 7½-in.; |pedo tubes,
                 |      |      |     |       |cas. 5-in.; |two (sub-
                 |      |      |     |       |C.T. 6-in.  |merged).
                 |      |      |     |       |            |
  Desaix        }| 7,700|  21  |  500|  1904 |(Krupp)     |6·4, eight;
  Dupleix       }|      |      |     |  1903 |Belt: am. 4-|4-in., four;
  Kléber        }|      |      |     |  1904 |in.; f. 3-  |smaller, six-
                 |      |      |     |       |in.; a. 3-  |teen; torpedo
                 |      |      |     |       |in.; P.D.   |tubes, two
                 |      |      |     |       |2¾-in.; Tur-|(above
                 |      |      |     |       |ret 4-in.;  |water).
                 |      |      |     |       |C.T. 6-in.  |
  ---------------+------+------+-----+-------+------------+-------------

  Note to Armour.--am. = amidships; f. = forward; a. = aft; P.D. =
  protective deck; C.T. = conning tower.

  =Protected Cruisers=: _D’Entrecasteaŭx_ (completed 1898), 7,990 tons,
  19½ knots, armament: 2-9·4 in., 12-5·5 in., 16 smaller, 6 torpedo
  tubes. _Gŭichen_ (1902), 8,150 tons, 23 knots, 2-6·4 in., 6-5·5 in.,
  15 smaller, 2 torpedo tubes. _Jurien de la Gravière_ (1901), 5,590
  tons, 22 knots, 8-6·4 in., 10 smaller, 2 torpedo tubes. _D’Estrées_
  (1900) 2,421 tons, 20½ knots, 2-5·5 in., 4-3·9 in., 3 torpedo tubes.
  _Dŭ-Chayla_ (1897) 3,890 tons, 20 knots, 6-6·4 in., 4-3·9 in., 2
  torpedo tubes. _Lavoisier_ (1899), 2,285 tons, 20 knots, 4-5·5, 2-3·9
  in., 2 torpedo tubes. _Friant_ (1894), 3,882 tons, 19 knots, 6-6·4
  in., 4-3·9 in., 2 torpedo tubes. Also: _Alger_, _Sŭrcoŭf_, _Cosmao_,
  very old ships, of small fighting value.

  =Destroyers=: =80 boats= (1901-1914), 310-710 tons, 25-31 knots, armed
  with 9 pdrs. or 3·4-in., guns 2-4 torpedo tubes.

  =Torpedo-Boats=: =90-100 boats= (1890-1909), 90-185 tons, 24-30 knots,
  armed with small quick-firers and 2-3 torpedo tubes.

  =Submarines=: =75 boats= (1903-14), 106-740 tons, 12-18 knots
  (surface), armed with 4-8 torpedo tubes.


THE RUSSIAN NAVY


BATTLESHIPS--PRE-DREADNOUGHTS

  ---------------+------+------+-----+-------+------------+-------------
  Name.          | Ton- | Speed|Com’-| Com-  |  Armour.   |  Armament.
                 | nage.|(kts.)|ment.|pleted.|            |
  ---------------+------+------+-----+-------+------------+-------------
  A. Pervosvanni}|17,400|  18  |  900|  1911 |(Krupp)     |12-in., four;
  Imperator     }|      |      |     |       |Belt: am.   |8-in.,
    Pavel I     }|      |      |     |    „  |8½-in.; f.  |twelve; 4·7,
                 |      |      |     |       |5, a. 4-in.;|twenty; tor-
                 |      |      |     |       |P.D. 3-in.; |pedo tubes,
                 |      |      |     |       |Barbette 12,|five.
                 |      |      |     |       |Bty 5, C.T. |
                 |      |      |     |       |8-in.       |
                 |      |      |     |       |            |
  Slava          |13,500|  18  |  700|  1905 |(Krupp)     |12-in., four;
                 |      |      |     |       |Belt: am. 9-|6-in.,
                 |      |      |     |       |in.; f. 4,  |twelve;
                 |      |      |     |       |a. 4, P.D.  |smaller,
                 |      |      |     |       |4-in.; Bar- |twenty-five;
                 |      |      |     |       |bette 10, T.|torpedo
                 |      |      |     |       |6, C.T. 10- |tubes, four
                 |      |      |     |       |in.         |(two sub-
                 |      |      |     |       |            |merged).
                 |      |      |     |       |            |
  Cesarevitch    |12,912|  18  |  750|  1903 |(Krupp)     |12-in., four;
                 |      |      |     |       |Belt: am.   |6-in.,
                 |      |      |     |       |10, f. 4, a.|twelve; 12-
                 |      |      |     |       |4, P.D. 4-  |pr., twenty;
                 |      |      |     |       |in.; Bar-   |smaller,
                 |      |      |     |       |bette 11-   |thirty; tor-
                 |      |      |     |       |in.; Turret |pedo tubes,
                 |      |      |     |       |6-in.; C.T. |three (two
                 |      |      |     |       |10-in.      |submerged).
                 |      |      |     |       |            |
  [30]Pantelei- }|      |      |     |       |(Krupp)     |12-in.,
    mon         }|12,733|  16  |  700|  1911 |Belt: am. 9,|four; 6-in.,
  [31]Ivan      }|      |      |     |       |f. 2, a. 2, |sixteen; 12-
    Zlatoust    }|      |      |     |  1910 |P.D. 2½-in.;|pr., four-
                 |      |      |     |       |Barbette 12-|teen;
                 |      |      |     |       |in., Battery|smaller, six-
                 |      |      |     |       |5-in., C.T. |teen; torpedo
                 |      |      |     |       |10-in.      |tubes, five
                 |      |      |     |       |            |(two sub-
                 |      |      |     |       |            |merged).
                 |      |      |     |       |            |
  [32]Evstafi    |12,500|  17  |  700|  1911 |(H.) Belt:  | 12-in.,
                 |      |      |     |       |am. 16-in.; |four; 8-in.,
                 |      |      |     |       |P.D. 3-in.; |four; 6-in.,
                 |      |      |     |       |Barbette 16-|twelve;
                 |      |      |     |       |in.; Battery|smaller,
                 |      |      |     |       |5-in.; C.T. |twenty-two.
                 |      |      |     |       |12-in.      |
                 |      |      |     |       |            |
  [33]Rostislav  | 9,000| 16·5 |  600|    „  |(H.) Belt:  |10-in.,
                 |      |      |     |       |15, P.D. 3- |four; 6-in.,
                 |      |      |     |       |in.; Bar-   |eight;
                 |      |      |     |       |bette 15-   |smaller,
                 |      |      |     |       |in.; Battery|thirty; tor-
                 |      |      |     |       |6, C.T. 10- |pedo tubes,
                 |      |      |     |       |in.         |four (above
                 |      |      |     |       |            |water).
                 |      |      |     |       |            |
  [34]G.         |      |      |     |       |(C.) Belt:  |12-in., six;
    Pobiedonosetz|11,200|  16  |  550|  1895 |am. 18-in.; |6-in., seven;
                 |      |      |     |       |f. 10-in.;  |smaller,
                 |      |      |     |       |a. 10-in.;  |twenty; tor-
                 |      |      |     |       |Barbette 12-|pedo tubes,
                 |      |      |     |       |in.; C.T.   |six (under
                 |      |      |     |       |16-in.      |water).
  ---------------+------+------+-----+-------+------------+-------------

  [Four Dreadnoughts were nearly complete when war opened.]

  [30-34] All these ships are in the Black Sea.

  Note to Armour:--am. = amidships; f. = forward; a. = aft; P.D. =
  protective deck; C.T. = conning tower.


ARMOURED CRUISERS.

  ---------------+------+------+-----+-------+------------+-------------
  Name.          | Ton- | Speed|Com’-| Com-  |  Armour.   |  Armament.
                 | nage.|(kts.)|ment.|pleted.|            |
  ---------------+------+------+-----+-------+------------+-------------
  Rurik          |15,000|  22  |  800|  1907 |(Krupp)     |10-in., four;
                 |      |      |     |       |Belt: am. 6,|8·8, eight;
                 |      |      |     |       |f. 4, a. 3, |4·7, twenty;
                 |      |      |     |       |P.D. 1½-in.;|torpedo
                 |      |      |     |       |Barbette 8- |tubes, two
                 |      |      |     |       |in., Battery|(submerged).
                 |      |      |     |       |3, C.T. 8-  |
                 |      |      |     |       |in.         |
                 |      |      |     |       |            |
  Admiral       }| 7,900|  21  |  570|       |(Krupp)     |8-in., two;
    Makaroff    }|      |      |     |  1908 |Belt: am. 8-|6-in., eight;
  Pallada       }|      |      |     |  1910 |in., f. 4;  |smaller,
  Bayan         }|      |      |     |    „  |a. 3; 8-in.,|twenty; tor-
                 |      |      |     |       |f. 4; a. 3; |pedo tubes,
                 |      |      |     |       |P.D. 2-in.; |two (sub-
                 |      |      |     |       |Barbette 7, |merged).
                 |      |      |     |       |Battery 3½, |
                 |      |      |     |       |C.T. 6½.    |
                 |      |      |     |       |            |
  Gromoboi       |12,400|  20  |  800|  1900 |(H.) Belt 6-|8-in., four;
                 |      |      |     |       |in.; P.D. 2-|6-in., six-
                 |      |      |     |       |in.; Case-  |teen; 12-pr.,
                 |      |      |     |       |mates 6-in.;|twenty;
                 |      |      |     |       |C.T. 10-in. |smaller,
                 |      |      |     |       |            |twenty-four;
                 |      |      |     |       |            |torpedo
                 |      |      |     |       |            |tubes, two.
                 |      |      |     |       |            |
  Rossia         |12,130|  20  |  750|  1898 |Belt: am.   |8-in., four;
                 |      |      |     |       |10-in.; f.  |6-in., six-
                 |      |      |     |       |5, a. 4,    |teen; 12-pr.,
                 |      |      |     |       |P.D. 2½-in.;|twelve;
                 |      |      |     |       |Bulkheads 6,|smaller,
                 |      |      |     |       |Casemates 2,|thirty-six;
                 |      |      |     |       | C.T. 8-in. |torpedo
                 |      |      |     |       |            |tubes, six
                 |      |      |     |       |            |(above
                 |      |      |     |       |            |water).
  ---------------+------+------+-----+-------+------------+-------------

  Note to Armour--am. = amidships; f. = forward; a. = aft; P.D. =
  protective deck; C.T. = conning tower.

  =Protected Cruisers=: _Askold_ (completed 1901), 5,905 tons, 23 knots,
  armament: 12-6 in., 26 smaller guns, 6 torpedo tubes. _Diana and
  Aurora_ (1902), 6,700 tons, 20 knots, armament: 8-6 in., 30 smaller
  guns, 4 torpedo tubes. _Oleg, Kagul_[35], _Pamyat Merkurya_,[36]
  (1904-05), 6,645 tons, 24 knots, 12-6 in., 26 smaller guns, 2 torpedo
  tubes. _Zemtchug_ (1903), 3,106 tons, 23 knots, 8-4·7 in., 12 smaller
  guns, 2 torpedo tubes. _Almaz_,[37] (1903) 3,285 tons, 19 knots, 3-4·7
  in., 14 smaller, 2 torpedo tubes.

  =Destroyers=: There are 140 destroyers (1895-1913), 220-1050 tons,
  25-27 knots, armed with 12-pdr. or 4-in. guns and 3-5 torpedo tubes.
  Of this total, 31 boats are in the Black Sea or Far East.

  =Torpedo-Boats=: =29 boats= (1897-1902), 118-186 tons, 24-30 knots;
  armed with small quick-firers and 1-3 torpedo tubes.

  =Submarines=: =14 boats= (1904-10) 150-370 tons, 9-16 knots (surface),
  2-4 torpedo tubes.

  [35-37] All these ships are in the Black Sea.


THE AUSTRO-HUNGARIAN NAVY.


BATTLESHIPS.

  ---------------+------+------+-----+-------+------------+-------------
  Name.          | Ton- | Speed|Com’-| Com-  |  Armour.   |  Armament.
                 | nage.|(kts.)|ment.|pleted.|            |
  ---------------+------+------+-----+-------+------------+-------------
  Prinz Eugen   }|20,000|  22  |  950|  1912 |Belt: am.   |12-in.,
  Tegetthoff    }|      |      |     |  1914 |11-in.; f.  |twelve; 5·9,
  Viribus       }|      |      |     |       |7-in.; a. 6-|twelve;
    Unitis      }|      |      |     |  1913 |in.; gun po-|smaller, 22.
                 |      |      |     |       |sitions and |
                 |      |      |     |       |C.T. 12-in. |
                 |      |      |     |       |            |
  Erz. Ferdinand}|14,500|  20·5|  816|  1910 |(Krupp)     |12-in., four;
  Radetzki      }|      |      |     |  1911 |Belt: am. 9-|9·4 eight;
  Zrinyi        }|      |      |     |    „  |in.; f. 6-  |3·9, twenty;
                 |      |      |     |       |in.; a. 4-  |3 torpedo
                 |      |      |     |       |in.; gun po-|tubes (sub-
                 |      |      |     |       |sitions and |merged).
                 |      |      |     |       |C.T. 10-in. |
                 |      |      |     |       |            |
  Erzherzog     }|10,500|  20  |  875|       |(Krupp)     |9·4, four;
    Friedrich   }|      |      |     |  1906 |Belt: am.   |7·6, 3-in.,
  Erz. Karl     }|      |      |     |    „  |8½-in.; P.D.|fourteen,
  Erz. Ferdinand}|      |      |     |       |2½-in.; Bar-|twelve;
    Max         }|      |      |     |  1907 |bette 9½-   |smaller, 28;
                 |      |      |     |       |in.; Baty.  |torpedo
                 |      |      |     |       |6-in.; C.T. |tubes, two
                 |      |      |     |       |8½-in.      |(submerged).
                 |      |      |     |       |            |
  Habsburg      }| 8,300|  19  |  630|  1903 |(Krupp)     |9·4, three;
  Arpad         }|      |      |     |  1904 |Belt: am.   |6-in.,
  Badenberg     }|      |      |     |  1903 |8¾-in.; f.  |twelve;
                 |      |      |     |       |2-in.; a. 2-|smaller, 28;
                 |      |      |     |       |in.; Bar-   |torpedo
                 |      |      |     |       |bette, 8-   |tubes, two
                 |      |      |     |       |in.; cas. 6,|(submerged).
                 |      |      |     |       |C.T. 8-in.  |
  ---------------+------+------+-----+-------+------------+-------------

  Note to Armour:--am. = amidships; f. = forward; a. = aft; P.D. =
  protective deck; C.T. = conning tower.

  =Cruisers=: _Sankt Georg_ (1906), 7,180 tons, 21 knots, armour belt
  6½-in., armament: 2-9·4 in., 5-7·6 in., 4-6 in., 17 smaller, 2 torpedo
  tubes. _Kaiser Karl VI._ (1900), 6,150 tons, 20 knots, armour belt 8½
  in., armament: 2-9·4 in., 8-6 in., 28 smaller, 2 torpedo tubes.
  _Kaiserin Maria Theresa_ (1895), 5,185 tons, 19 knots, armour belt
  4-in., armament: 2-7·6 in., 8-6 in., 20 smaller, 4 torpedo tubes.
  _Admiral Spaun_, _Saida_, _Helgoland_, _Novara_ (1910-14), 3,500 tons,
  27 knots, 9-4 in. (_Spaun_, 7-4 in.), 2 torpedo tubes, _Aspern_,
  _Zenta_, _Szigetvar_ (1899-1901) 2,300 tons, 20 knots, 8-4·7 in., 12
  smaller, two torpedo tubes, _Kaiser Franz Josef_, _Kaiserin Elisabeth_
  (1890-91) 3,966 tons, 19 knots, 8-6 in., 20 smaller, 4 torpedo tubes.
  _Panther_, _Leopard_, _Tiger_ (1887-89), 1,600 tons, 18½ knots, 4-4·7
  in.

  =Destroyers=: 18 boats (1905-1913), 390-800 tons, 28-32 knots, armed
  with 12 pdr. or 4-in. guns, 2 torpedo tubes.

  =Torpedo-Boats=: 54 boats (1906-1914), 110-250 tons, 26-28½ knots,
  armed with small guns and 2 torpedo tubes.

  =Submarines=: 6 boats (1909-1910), 270 tons, 12 knots (surface), 2-3
  torpedo tubes.


JAPANESE NAVY

  =Dreadnoughts=: _Kawachi_, _Settsu_ (completed 1912), 20,800 tons, 20½
  knots, 12-in. belt, armament: 12-12 in., 10-6 in., 8-4·7 in., 12
  smaller, 5 torpedo tubes. Complement, 960.

  _Satsuma_, _Aki_ (1910-11), 19,500 tons, 20 knots, 9-in. belt,
  armament: 4-12 in., 12-10 in., 8-6 in. (Satsuma has 12-4·7 in.
  instead), 5 torpedo tubes. Complement, 900.

  =Battle Cruisers=: _Kongo_, _Hiyei_ (1913-14), 27,500 tons, 27 knots,
  belt 10 in., armament: 8-14 in., 16-6 in., 16 smaller, 8 torpedo
  tubes. Complement, 1,100.

  =Other Armoured Ships=: 11 Battleships (Aki, Satsuma, Kashima, Katori,
  Iwami, Mikasa, Hizen, Suwo, Sagami, Asahi, Shikishima, Fuji, Tango)
  completed 1898-1906, displacement 10,960-16,400 tons, 17-18½ knots,
  and armed with 12-in., 10-in., and 6-in. guns, also torpedo tubes.
  Thirteen Armoured Cruisers (Kurama, Ibuki, Ikoma, Tsukuba, Asama,
  Tokiwa, Idzumo, Iwate, Azuma, Yakuba, Aso, Kasūga, Nisshin) completed
  1899-1910, displacement 7,700-14,600 tons, 20-24 knots, armed with
  12-in. or 8-in. guns, 6-in. and 4·7-in. quick-firers, and torpedo
  tubes.

  =Protected Cruisers=: 20 Vessels (Chikuma, Hirado, Yahagi, Tone, Yodo,
  Mogami, Otowa, Tsushima, Nŭtaka, Soya, Tsuguru, Kasagi, Chitose,
  Akashi, Suma, Akitsushima, Itsukushima, Hashidate, Chiyoda, Yaeyama),
  1890-1912, 1,230 tons-6,600 tons, speed 18-25 knots.

  There are also 54 destroyers (completed 1898-1913), 42 torpedo-boats
  (1900-1905), and 15 submarines (1904-1914).


British and German Naval Guns

                           BRITISH.

  -------+-------+----------+----------+---------+---------
  Calibre|Weight | Length   |  Weight  | Muzzle  | Muzzle
  of Gun.|(tons).|  (in     |   of     |Velocity | Energy
    in.  |       |calibres).|Projectile|(in foot-|(in foot-
         |       |          | (in lbs.)| seconds)|  tons).
  -------+-------+----------+----------+---------+---------
    15   |   96  |    45    |   1,950  |  2,500  |  84,510
         |       |          |          |         |
         |       |         {|   1,250  |}        |
    13·5 |   76  |    45   {|   1,400  |} 2,800  |  69,000
         |       |          |          |         |
    12   |   68  |    50    |     850  |  2,950  |  51,290
    12   |   58  |    45    |     850  |  2,900  |  49,500
    12   |   50  |    40    |     850  |  2,580  |  39,250
    10   |   34  |    45    |     500  |  3,000  |  30,000
     9·2 |   28  |    50    |     380  |  3,000  |  23,000
     9·2 |   25  |    40    |     380  |  2,350  |  14,520
     7·5 |   15½ |    50    |     200  |  3,000  |  12,500
     7·5 |   14  |    45    |     200  |  2,600  |   9,300
     6   |    8  |    50    |     100  |  3,000  |   6,000
     6   |    7½ |    45    |     100  |  2,750  |   5,250
     6   |    7  |    40    |     100  |  2,200  |   4,300
     4·7 |    2  |    40    |      40  |  2,188  |     --
     4   |    2  |    50    |      31  |  3,000  |   1,900

                            GERMAN.

    15   |   82½ |    45    |   1,675  |  2,920  |  99,000
    12   |   47  |    50    |     860  |  3,084  |  56,660
    12   |   42½ |    45    |     860  |  2,920  |  50,830
    11   |   36  |    50    |     661  |  3,084  |  43,600
    11   |   32¾ |    45    |     661  |  2,920  |  39,000
    11   |   29  |    40    |     661  |  2,756  |  34,800
     9·4 |   18  |    40    |     419  |  2,750  |  22,000
     8·2 |   15  |    50    |     275  |  3,084  |  18,170
     8·2 |   13¾ |    45    |     275  |  2,900  |  16,300
     8·2 |   12  |    40    |     275  |  2,750  |  14,500
     6·7 |    6¾ |    40    |     154  |  2,756  |   6,452
     5·9 |    5  |    45    |     101  |  2,920  |   5,856
     5·9 |    4½ |    40    |     101  |  2,756  |   5,200
     4·1 |    1½ |    40    |      35  |  2,750  |   1,890
     3·4 |    1·1|    40    |      21  |  2,750  |     --
  -------+-------+----------+----------+---------+---------


  _Wyman & Sons Ltd., Printers, London and Reading._




INDEX


  Asquith, Mr., 12, 36, 38

  Balfour, Mr. A. J., 22, 35
  Battenberg, Prince Louis of, 10
  Beatty, Rear-Admiral Sir David, 43
  British Navy, The:
    Armoured Cruisers:
      Aboukir, 76
      Achilles, 73
      Antrim, 74
      Arethusa, 77
      Argyll, 74
      Aurora, 77
      Bacchante, 76
      Berwick, 42, 75
      Black Prince, 40, 73
      Carnarvon, 74
      Cochrane, 73
      Cornwall, 75
      Cressy, 76
      Cumberland, 75
      Defence, 40, 72
      Devonshire, 74
      Donegal, 75
      Drake, 75, 135
      Duke of Edinburgh, 40, 73
      Essex, 42, 75
      Euryalus, 76
      Galatea, 77
      Good Hope, 75
      Hampshire, 41, 74
      Hogue, 76
      Inconstant, 77
      Kent, 75
      King Alfred, 75
      Lancaster, 42, 75
      Leviathan, 75
      Minotaur, 41, 72
      Monmouth, 75
      Natal, 73
      Penelope, 77
      Phaeton, 77
      Roxburgh, 74
      Royalist, 77
      Shannon, 72
      Suffolk, 42, 75
      Sutlej, 76
      Undaunted, 77
      Warrior, 40, 73
    Attached Ships:
      Hussar, 40
      Imogene, 40
    Battle Cruisers:
      Australia, 42, 65
      Indefatigable, 40, 65
      Indomitable, 25, 40, 66
      Inflexible, 25, 40, 66
      Invincible, 25, 66, 142
      Lion, 64
      New Zealand, 65
      Princess Royal, 64
      Queen Mary, 64
      Tiger, 63
    Destroyers:
      Acasta, 91
      Achates, 91
      Acheron, 92
      Acorn, 93
      Afridi, 94
      Alarm, 93
      Albacore, 98
      Albatross, 97
      Amazon, 94
      Ambuscade, 91
      Angler, 97
      Arab, 98
      Archer, 92
      Ardent, 91
      Ariel, 92
      Arun, 96
      Attack, 92
      Avon, 97
      Badger, 92
      Basilisk, 40, 93
      Bat, 97
      Beagle, 40, 93
      Beaver, 92
      Bittern, 97
      Blenheim (Depot Ship), 40
      Bonetta, 98
      Boyne, 96
      Brazen, 97
      Brisk, 93
      Bulldog, 40, 93
      Bullfinch, 97
      Cameleon, 93
      Cheerful, 97
      Chelmer, 41, 96
      Cherwell, 96
      Christopher, 91
      Cockatrice, 91
      Colne, 41, 96
      Comet, 93
      Conflict, 98
      Contest, 91
      Coquette, 97
      Cossack, 94
      Crane, 97
      Crusader, 95
      Cygnet, 97
      Cynthia, 97
      Dee, 96
      Defender, 92
      Derwent, 96
      Desperate, 97
      Doon, 96
      Dove, 97
      Druid, 92
      Earnest, 98
      Eden, 96
      Electra, 97
      Erne, 96
      Ettrick, 96
      Exe, 96
      Express, 98
      Fairy, 97
      Falcon, 97
      Fame, 41, 97
      Fawn, 97
      Ferret, 92
      Fervent, 98
      Firedrake, 92
      Flirt, 97
      Flying Fish, 97
      Forester, 92
      Fortune, 91
      Foxhound, 40, 93
      Foyle, 96
      Fury, 93
      Garland, 91
      Garry, 96
      Ghurka, 94
      Gipsy, 97
      Goldfinch, 93
      Goshawk, 92
      Grampus, 40, 93
      Grasshopper, 40, 93
      Greyhound, 97
      Griffon, 98
      Hardy, 91
      Harpy, 40, 93
      Hind, 92
      Hope, 93
      Hornet, 92
      Hydra, 92
      Itchen, 96
      Jackal, 92
      Jed, 41, 96
      Kale, 96
      Kangaroo, 98
      Kennet, 41, 96
      Kestrel, 97
      Laertes, 90
      Laforey, 90
      Lance, 90
      Landrail, 90
      Lapwing, 92
      Lark, 90
      Larne, 93
      Laurel, 90
      Laverock, 90
      Lawford, 90
      Legion, 90
      Lennox, 90
      Leonidas, 90
      Leopard, 97
      Leven, 97
      Liberty, 90
      Liffey, 96
      Lightning, 98
      Linnet, 90
      Lively, 98
      Lizard, 92
      Llewellyn, 90
      Locust, 98
      Lookout, 90
      Louis, 90
      Loyal, 90
      Lucifer, 90
      Lurcher, 92
      Lydiard, 90
      Lynx, 91
      Lyra, 93
      Lysander, 90
      Mallard, 97
      Maori, 95
      Martin, 93
      Mermaid, 97
      Midge, 91
      Minstrel, 93
      Mohawk, 94
      Mosquito, 40, 93
      Moy, 96
      Myrmidon, 98
      Nemesis, 93
      Nereide, 93
      Ness, 96
      Nith, 96
      Nubian, 94
      Nymphe, 93
      Oak, 92
      Opossum, 98
      Orwell, 98
      Osprey, 97
      Ostrich, 97
      Ouse, 96
      Owl, 91
      Panther, 98
      Paragon, 91
      Parramatta, 42
      Peterel, 98
      Phœnix, 92
      Pincher, 40, 93
      Porcupine, 98
      Porpoise, 91
      Quail, 98
      Racehorse, 97
      Racoon, 40, 93
      Ranger, 98
      Rattlesnake, 40, 93
      Recruit, 97
      Redpole, 93
      Renard, 40, 93
      Ribble, 41, 96
      Rifleman, 93
      Roebuck, 97
      Rother, 96
      Ruby, 93
      Sandfly, 92
      Saracen, 94
      Savage, 40, 93
      Scorpion, 40, 93
      Scourge, 40, 93
      Seal, 98
      Shark, 91
      Sheldrake, 93
      Sparrowhawk, 91
      Spiteful, 98
      Spitfire, 91
      Sprightly, 98
      Stag, 97
      Star, 97
      Staunch, 93
      Stour, 96
      Success, 98
      Sunfish, 98
      Surly, 98
      Swale, 96
      Swift, 95
      Sylvia, 97
      Syren, 98
      Tartar, 94
      Test, 96
      Teviot, 96
      Thorn, 97
      Thrasher, 98
      Tigress, 92
      Unity, 91
      Ure, 96
      Usk, 41, 96
      Velox, 97
      Victor, 91
      Vigilant, 97
      Viking, 95
      Violet, 97
      Vixen, 97
      Vulture, 97
      Warrego, 42
      Waveney, 96
      Wear, 96
      Welland, 41, 96
      Wolf, 98
      Wolverine, 40, 93
      Yarra, 42
      Zephyr, 98
      Zulu, 95
    Dreadnoughts:
      Agamemnon, 62
      Agincourt, 55, 133
      Ajax, 57
      Audacious, 57
      Bellerophon, 61
      Benbow, 54
      Centurion, 57, 134
      Collingwood, 60
      Colossus, 59, 134
      Conqueror, 58
      Dreadnought, 24, 25, 61
      Emperor of India, 54
      Erin, 56
      Hercules, 59
      Iron Duke, 54
      King George V., 43, 57
      Lord Nelson, 62
      Marlborough, 54
      Monarch, 58, 133
      Neptune, 59
      Orion, 58
      St. Vincent, 60
      Superb, 61
      Téméraire, 61
      Thunderer, 58
      Vanguard, 60
    Flotilla Leaders:
      Kempenfelt, 99
      Nimrod, 99
    Gunboats:
      Alacrity, 41
      Bramble, 41
      Britomart, 41
      Cadmus, 41
      Clio, 41
      Dwarf, 42
      Thistle, 41
    Pre-Dreadnoughts:
      Africa, 67
      Albemarle, 69
      Albion, 70
      Britannia, 67, 133
      Bulwark, 70
      Cæsar, 71
      Canopus, 70
      Commonwealth, 67
      Cornwallis, 69
      Dominion, 67
      Duncan, 69
      Exmouth, 69
      Formidable, 70
      Glory, 70
      Goliath, 70
      Hannibal, 71
      Hibernia, 67
      Hindustan, 67
      Illustrious, 71
      Implacable, 70
      Irresistible, 70
      Jupiter, 71
      King Edward VII., 67
      London, 70
      Magnificent, 71
      Majestic, 71
      Mars, 71
      Ocean, 70
      Prince George, 71
      Prince of Wales, 70
      Queen, 70
      Russell, 69
      Swiftsure, 41, 51, 68
      Triumph, 41, 51, 68
      Venerable, 70
      Vengeance, 70
      Victorious, 71
      Zealandia, 67
    Protected Cruisers:
      Active, 82
      Adventure, 84
      Æolus, 88
      Amethyst, 84
      Amphitrite, 79
      Andromeda, 79
      Argonaut, 79
      Ariadne, 79
      Astræa, 42, 87
      Attentive, 84
      Bellona, 83
      Birmingham, 80
      Blanche, 83
      Blonde, 83
      Boadicea, 83
      Brilliant, 88
      Bristol, 42, 82
      Cambrian, 87
      Challenger, 85
      Charybdis, 87
      Chatham, 40, 81
      Crescent, 78
      Dartmouth, 41, 81
      Diadem, 79
      Diamond, 84
      Diana, 87
      Dido, 87
      Doris, 87
      Dublin, 40, 81
      Eclipse, 87
      Edgar, 78
      Encounter, 42, 85
      Endymion, 78
      Europa, 79
      Falmouth, 81
      Fearless, 82
      Flora, 87
      Foresight, 84
      Forward, 84
      Fox, 41, 87
      Furious, 86
      Gibraltar, 78
      Glasgow, 42, 82
      Gloucester, 40, 82
      Grafton, 78
      Hawke, 78
      Hermes, 85
      Hermione, 87
      Highflyer, 85
      Hyacinth, 42, 85
      Isis, 87
      Juno, 87
      Liverpool, 82
      Lowestoft, 80
      Medea, 89
      Melbourne, 42, 80
      Melpomene, 88
      Minerva, 87
      Newcastle, 41, 82
      Niobe, 79
      Nottingham, 80
      Pandora, 86
      Pathfinder, 84
      Patrol, 84
      Pegasus, 42, 86
      Pelorus, 86
      Perseus, 86
      Philomel, 41, 89
      Pioneer, 86
      Prometheus, 86
      Proserpine, 86
      Psyche, 41, 86
      Pyramus, 41, 86
      Rainbow, 88
      Royal Arthur, 78
      Sapphire, 84
      Sappho, 88
      Sentinel, 84
      Sirius, 88
      Skirmisher, 84
      Spartiate, 79
      Southampton, 81
      Sydney, 42, 80
      Talbot, 87
      Terrible, 79
      Theseus, 78
      Topaze, 84
      Torch, 41
      Venus, 87
      Vindictive, 86
      Weymouth, 40, 81
      Yarmouth, 41, 81
    River Gunboats:
      Kinsha, 41
      Moorhen, 41
      Nightingale, 41
      Robin, 41
      Sandpiper, 41
      Snipe, 41
      Teal, 41
      Woodcock, 41
      Woodlark, 41
      Widgeon, 41
    Sloops:
      Alert, 41
      Algerine, 42
      Espiègle, 41
      Odin, 41
      Shearwater, 42
      Sphinx, 41
    Submarines:
      AE 1, 42, 100
      AE 2, 42, 100
      B 6, 41
      B 7, 41
      B 8, 41
      B 9, 40
      B 10, 40
      B 11, 40
      C 36, 41
      C 37, 41
      C 38, 41
      Class “A,” 99
      Class “B,” 99
      Class “C,” 99
      Class “D,” 100
      Class “E,” 100
      Class “F,” 100
      Nautilus, 100
      Swordfish, 100
    Torpedo Boats:
      No. 035, 41
      No. 036, 41
      No. 037, 41
      No. 038, 41
      No. 044, 41
      No. 045, 41
      No. 046, 41
      No. 063, 41
      No. 064, 41
      No. 070, 41
      No. 83, 41
      No. 88, 41
      No. 89, 41
      No. 90, 41
      No. 91, 41
      No. 92, 41
      No. 93, 41
      No. 94, 41
      No. 95, 41
      No. 96, 41

  Campbell-Bannerman, Sir Henry, 25
  Cayzer, Sir Charles, Bt., 132
  Churchill, Mr. Winston, 10, 29, 31, 33

  Fisher, Lord, 21-26, 29, 133

  German Navy, The:
    Armoured Cruisers:
      Blücher, 115
      Friedrich Karl, 117
      Fürst Bismarck, 118
      Gneisenau, 116
      Prinz Adalbert, 117
      Prinz Heinrich, 118
      Roon, 117
      Scharnhorst, 116
      Yorck, 117
    Battle Cruisers:
      Derfflinger, 106
      Goeben, 108
      Moltke, 108
      Seydlitz, 107
      Von der Tann, 109
    Coast Defence Ships:
      Aegir, 114
      Beowulf, 114
      Frithjof, 114
      Hagen, 114
      Heimdall, 114
      Hildebrand, 114
      Odin, 114
      Siegfried, 114
    Dreadnoughts:
      Friedrich der Grosse, 102, 141
      Grosser, 101
      Helgoland, 103
      Kaiser, 102, 151
      Kaiserin, 102
      König, 101, 157
      König Albert, 102
      Kronprinz, 101
      Kurfurst, 101
      Markgraf, 101
      Nassau, 104, 157
      Oldenburg, 103
      Ostfriesland, 103, 157
      Posen, 104
      Prinzregent Luitpold, 102
      Rheinland, 104
      Thüringen, 103
      Westfalen, 104
    Gunboats:
      Condor, 124
      Cormoran, 124
      Eber, 124
      Geier, 124
      Iltis, 124, 144
      Jaguar, 124
      Luchs, 124
      Panther, 124
      Seeadler, 124
      Tiger, 124
    Mine-Layers:
      Albatross, 130
      Arkona, 121
      Nautilus, 130
      Pelikan, 130
    Pre-Dreadnoughts:
      Brandenburg, 131
      Braunschweig, 111
      Deutschland, 110
      Elsass, 111
      Hannover, 110
      Hessen, 111
      Kaiser Barbarossa, 112
      Kaiser Friedrich III., 112
      Kaiser Karl der Grosse, 112
      Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse, 112
      Kaiser Wilhelm II., 112
      Lothringen, 111
      Mecklenburg, 111
      Pommern, 110
      Preussen, 111
      Schlesien, 110
      Schleswig-Holstein, 110
      Schwaben, 111
      Wettin, 111
      Wittelsbach, 111
      Wörth, 113, 144
      Zähringen, 111
    Protected Cruisers:
      Amazone, 121
      Ariadne, 121
      Arkona, 121
      Augsburg, 123
      Berlin, 121
      Bremen, 121
      Breslau, 123
      Cöln, 123
      Danzig, 121
      Dresden, 122
      Emden, 122
      Frauenlob, 121
      Freya, 119
      Gazelle, 120
      Gefion, 120
      Graudenz, 123
      Hamburg, 121
      Hansa, 119
      Hela, 120
      Hertha, 119, 144
      Kaiserin Augusta, 119, 144
      Karlsruhe, 123
      Kœnigsberg, 122
      Kolberg, 123
      Leipzig, 121
      Lübeck, 121
      Magdeburg, 123
      Mainz, 123
      Medusa, 121
      München, 121
      Niobe, 120
      Nurnberg, 122
      Nymphe, 121
      Regensburg, 123
      Rostock, 123
      Stettin, 122
      Stralsund, 123
      Strassburg, 123
      Stuttgart, 122
      Thetis, 121
      Undine, 121
      Victoria Luise, 119
      Vineta, 119, 144
    Submarines:
      Nos. U1, U2, 129
      Nos. U3 to U8, 129
      Nos. U9 to U20, 129
      Nos. U21 to U26, 129
      Nos. U27 to U36, 129
    Torpedo-Boat Destroyers:
      No. D1 (Carmen), 129
      No. D2 (Alice Roosevelt), 129
      Nos. D3 to D8, 128
      No. D9, 128
      No. D10, 128
      Nos. G7 to G12, 125
      Nos. G37 to G42, 125
      Nos. G108 to G113, 128
      Nos. G132 to G134, 127
      No. G135, 127
      No. G136, 127
      No. G137, 127
      Nos. G169, G170, G172, G173, 126
      Nos. G174, G175, 126
      Nos. G192 to G197, 125
      Nos. S13 to S24, 125
      Nos. S21 to S33, 125
      Nos. S34 to S36, 125
      Nos. S90 to S101, 128
      Nos. S102 to S107, 128
      Nos. S114 to S119, 128
      Nos. S120 to S124, 127
      Nos. S125 to S131, 127
      Nos. S138 to S149, 126
      Nos. S165 to S168, 126
      Nos. S176 to S179, 125
      Nos. V1 to V6, 125
      Nos. V25 to V28, 125
      Nos. V29, V30, 125
      Nos. V43 to V48, 125
      Nos. V150 to V161, 126
      Nos. V162 to V164, 126
      Nos. V180 to V185, 125
      Nos. V186 to V191, 123
      Taku, 128
  Grey, Sir Edward, 27

  Haldane, Lord, 33, 34
  Hankey, Captain Maurice, C.B., 38
  “Hohenzollern,” German Imperial Yacht 43, 144
  Hollmann, Admiral von, 18
  Holtzendorff, Admiral von, 145

  Ingenohl, Admiral Friedrich von, 141 _et seq._

  Jacobson, Rear-Admiral, 154
  Jellicoe, Admiral Sir John, K.C.B., K.C.V.O., 14, 29, 33, 54, 131 _et
    seq._, 141

  Koester, Grand-Admiral von, 144, 145

  Lapeyrère, Admiral Boué du, 44

  McKenna, Mr. Reginald, 26, 27, 28, 29
  Madden, Rear-Admiral Charles E., C.V.O., 131

  Ottley, Rear-Admiral Sir Charles, 38

  Perris, Mr. G. H., 33
  Prussia, Prince Henry of, 152

  Scott, Sir Percy, 29, 135
  Selborne, Lord, 21, 22, 30
  Seymour, Admiral Sir E. H., 134

  Tapken, Rear-Admiral, 110
  Tirpitz, Grand-Admiral von, 18, 144
  Tweedmouth, Lord, 26

  Warrender, Vice-Admiral Sir George, 43
  White, Mr. Arnold, 15
  Wilson, Sir Arthur, 29




Transcriber’s Notes


  Footnotes have been moved to under the paragraph or table in which
  they are referenced.

  Inconsistent (Kiao Chau/Kiau-Chau, Nurnburg/Nurnberg, Cöln/Köln) and
  unusual spelling, capitalisation and hyphenation as used in the source
  document have been retained unless mentioned below.

  The inconsistencies between the text and the tabulated data (Chapter
  X.) have been retained, as have been the repeated entries in the
  tabulated data.

  The names of ships have been copied verbatim from the original work
  (except as listed below), although there is some doubt about some of
  the spellings.

  Page 176, Edgar Class, 22 torpedo tubes: it is unclear what the 22
  refers to.

  Page 178, Birmingham: this ship is listed with two different sets of
  armament in the source document (a third set is listed in the body of
  the text).

  Page 197: the breves (ŭ) in the French names were copied from the
  source document.


  CHANGES MADE

  Some minor punctuation and typographical errors have been corrected
  silently.

  Chapter X: Table headers and Note to Armour have been added where
  necessary/relevant.

  The decimal point has been standardised to ·.

  Page  20: Reischstag → Reichstag (2x)
  Page  44: Lapeyrére → Lapeyrère
  Page  50, table: several repeated entries deleted in order to make the
            (sub-)totals correspond with the ones given
  Page  51: Espiégle → Espiègle
  Page  55: £2,000,000 complete → £2,000,000 to complete
  Page 101: KURFURST → KURFÜRST
  Page 111: ZHAHRINGEN → ZÄHRINGEN
  Page 137/138 (table): one blank column inserted on page 137 to match
            page 138
  Page 139: precedure → procedure
  Page 152: based on Kiel → based in Kiel; owned by Krupps → owned by
            Krupp
  Page 162: Brünsbuttel → Brunsbüttel
  Page 163: Brünsbuttel → Brunsbüttel
  Page 168, table: confusing and missing footnote markers in the source
            document; markers have been inserted/corrected for HMS
            Agincourt and HMS Reshadieh (cf. descriptions on pages 55
            and 56, respectively).
  Page 169: HMS Orion included in Orion Class.
  Page 173: Australian Class → Australia Class
  Page 179: Colonial. → Colonial Class.
  Page 184: Heligoland → Helgoland
  Page 190: Munchen → München
  Page 196: Leon Gambetta → Léon Gambetta
  Page 197: Kleber → Kléber
  Page 204: Albermarle → Albemarle
  Page 205: Phæton → Phaeton
  Page 206: Kestral → Kestrel
  Page 208: Temeraire → Téméraire
  Page 209/210: O35-O70 → 035-070
  Page 210: Gniessenau → Gneissenau; Kurfurst → Kurfürst; Schlesin →
            Schlesien
  Page 111: Zhahringen → Zähringen
  Page 212: Lapeyrére → Lapeyrère
  Page 248: Espiégle → Espiègle
  Illustration KAISER CLASS: KONIG → KÖNIG
  Illustration HELGOLAND CLASS: THURINGEN → THÜRINGEN