The British battle fleet, Vol. 2 (of 2) : its inception and growth throughout…

into a branch by itself. Four small army airships were handed over to it--craft too small to be of any value except for instructional purposes. At the outbreak of war there were two effective dirigibles--one of French type of Astra-Torres design, the other a Parseval purchased in Germany. Neither of these ships is in any way comparable to the German Zeppelins in dimensions or endurance. A number of other dirigibles of varying sizes were on order, but it is inadvisable to publish any particulars on this subject. The designs for these were foreign, but the construction was British. In the matter of aeroplanes a number of special naval stations were established and supplied with seaplanes and landplanes of various types, while strenuous efforts were made towards the training of a large number of efficient pilots. The building of an aeroplane is a matter of only a few weeks, whereas the training of a really efficient pilot is a matter of a year or thereabouts. VII AUXILIARY NAVIES. No account of the British battle fleet would be complete without reference to the various auxiliary navies. Though none of them possesses any very serious fighting value, yet all possess potentialities for the future which can with difficulty be computed. The auxiliary navies may be divided into two main sections--(1) those which are direct branches of the British Navy, and (2) those which belong to the semi-independent colonies. Of the former, the principal is the Royal Indian Marine, which consists of a number of armed troopships. Of these the chief are the _Northbrook_, launched at Clydebank in 1907, 5,820 tons, 16 knot speed, and an armament of six 4-inch and six 3-pounders. The _Dufferin_, which was launched in 1904, is of 7,457 tons, has a speed of 19 knots, and an armament of eight 4-inch and eight 3-pounders. The _Hardinge_, launched 1900, is of 6,520 tons, 18 knots speed, and carries six 4.7-inch guns as well as six 3-pounders and 4 Maxims. There are three older troopships, the _Minto_ (1893), the _Elphinstone_ (1887), and the _Dalhousie_ (1886). These are supplemented by ten small steamers and nine small mining vessels. The germ of this fleet was created in the early seventies when the breastwork monitors _Abyssinia_ and _Magdala_ were sent out for the defence of Indian harbours. These were small predecessors of the _Devastation_, very similar to the home coast-defence monitors of the _Cyclops_ class, and carried four 18-ton muzzle-loading guns. About the year 1888 some new torpedo boats (Nos. 100–106) were lent for the Indian Marine service. These, with their names and numbers, were as follows:--_Baluch_ (100), _Ghurka_ (101), _Kahren_ (102), _Pathan_ (103), _Maharatta_ (104), _Sikh_ (105), and _Rajput_ (106). The two earliest numbers were built by Thornycroft, and were of 92 tons; the others were built by White, of Cowes, and were of 95 tons displacement. In the years 1890–91 two torpedo gunboats, _Plassy_ and _Assaye_, of the _Sharpshooter_ class, were launched at Elswick for the Indian Marine, in which they remained until withdrawn in the early years of the present century. On a similar footing to the Royal Indian Marine are the flotillas, mostly consisting of river gunboats, maintained in North and South Nigeria and in Central Africa, and the gunboats on the Nile under the Egyptian Government. The Colonial Navies are on a different standing. First place in their formation belongs to Australia. The monitor _Cerberus_, practically a sister of the _Abyssinia_ and _Magdala_ already mentioned, was launched at Jarrow in 1868 for Victoria. This vessel (which still exists as a drill ship) is of 3,480 tons, armed with four 18-ton muzzle-loaders, and protected with an 8-inch belt. In 1884 Australia’s local defence was re-inforced with four gunboats as follows:--The _Protector_, of 920 tons, carrying one 8-inch and five 6-inch guns, for South Australia. She, as well as the others, was built at Elswick. For Western Australia a similar vessel of 530 tons, named the _Victoria_, was built, armed with one 18-ton muzzle-loader. The _Gayundah_ and _Paluma_, also of the same type, carrying one old 8-inch and one 6-inch, were built for Queensland. Their displacement is 360 tons each. From that time onward the Australian Navy occasionally sent a few officers and men for training in the British Navy. Towards the end of the eighties interest began to be taken in Australian naval defence, and five cruisers and two torpedo gunboats were ordered for local Australian service while borne on the Royal Navy List. Of these vessels the five cruisers were the _Katoomba_ (ex _Pandora_), _Mildura_ (ex _Pelorus_), _Ringarooma_ (ex _Psyche_), _Tauranga_ (ex _Phœnix_), and the _Wallaroo_ (ex _Persian_), all 2,575 vessels of the old _Pallas_ class, of which at the time of writing the _Philomel_ still exists. These ships had a designed speed of 16.5 knots, a protective deck, and an armament of eight 4.7-inch and some smaller guns. The torpedo gunboat _Boomerang_ (ex _Whiting_) and _Karrakatta_ (ex _Wizard_) belonged to the _Sharpshooter_ class, and were lent under the same conditions as the cruisers. In the course of time all of them wore out and were eventually recalled. Coincident with this the Australians commenced to have a revived interest in Imperial defence, and in the year 1905–6 Australia and New Zealand contributed £240,000 to Imperial naval defence, and a project was put forward for the building of eight destroyers and four torpedo gunboats for Colonial Defence purposes. A few years later this project took a more definite shape, and about the year 1910 the battle-cruiser _Australia_, a sister of the _Indefatigable_, was ordered. As part of the same programme, three protected cruisers of the _Dartmouth_ type, the _Melbourne_, _Sydney_, and _Brisbane_, were also ordered. Previously to this, three destroyers of the _Paramatta_ type had been commenced, and in 1911 three more were ordered, thus forming a nucleus of a serious Australian Navy.[40] New Zealand’s interest in the Imperial Navy may be said to have commenced about the year 1900. It eventuated in paying for the battleship _New Zealand_[41] of the _King Edward_ class, which was laid down in September, 1903. An old gunboat of the _Magpie_ class was purchased, re-christened the _Amokoura_, and used for training purposes, while to replace some old torpedo boats, which had been sent to New Zealand about the same time as similar boats went to Australia, three destroyers of the _Paramatta_ type were ordered. Finally, an offer from the New Zealand Premier to supplement the Dreadnought efficiency of the British Navy culminated in the battle-cruiser _New Zealand_, which was offered to be provided about the same time or a little before Australia offered a similar vessel.[42] [Illustration: BATTLE CRUISER “NEW ZEALAND” ON THE STOCKS--1912.] The Dominion of Canada has always maintained a certain number of small vessels for Customs duties or fishery protection, also for service on the Great Lakes. In 1909 the question of a Canadian Navy became insistent, and two old British cruisers--the _Niobe_ of the _Diadem_ class and the _Rainbow_ of the _Apollo_ class--were purchased as training ships for the Canadian Navy. A project was also brought forward for the creation of Canadian dockyards and building therein four second-class cruisers of the _Dartmouth_ class and six destroyers, though up to the time of writing none of these ships have materialised, and the Canadian Navy is still very much a project in the air. Newfoundland has a naval reserve, trained over many years in the drill-ship, which is ex H.M.S. _Calypso_. The whole subject of Colonial Navies is somewhat involved, owing to the question as to how far they should be under the orders of and part of the British Navy, liable to be used when and where required for Imperial needs, and how far they should be regarded as merely for local defence. It has been argued from one point of view that Colonial Navies acting on their own responsibility might create undesirable Imperial complications--as for instance, Australia with Japan, or Canada with the United States. On the other hand it is argued that it would not be possible to arouse Colonial enthusiasm for a Colonial fleet which was not always on the spot, despite any strategical grounds that might exist for its being elsewhere. New Zealand, in May, 1912, negatived this by presenting her battle-cruiser to the Imperial Navy for use where most needed, but generally speaking Colonials think first of local defence. These two divergent points of view, which are certainly extremely delicate, may be said to be still _subjudice_, but in the year 1911 the following agreement, which is of the nature of a very judicious compromise, was drawn up:--