THE WORLD'S NAVIES 47 



class to 12 inches in the " Kaiser " class, the latest completed, while in the " S " now 

 building it is alleged that a 15 inch belt is contemplated. Battle cruisers vary from 7 

 inches in the " Von der Tann " to 95 inches in the " Seydlitz." 



American practice has varied considerably. The " Michigan " class have a long, 

 narrow belt of 1 1 inches tapering to 9 inches covering two-thirds of their length. In 

 the " Delaware " the belt is also of n inch armour, long and narrow, but continued 

 upwards about the turret bases. In the " Utah " and " Florida " this extension is 

 again abandoned; in the " Texas " class the thickness of the plate is increased to 12 

 inches, but the belt remains narrow, whereas in the " Nevada " there is a long and wide 

 belt of no less than 14 inches in thickness, and this armour is carried up to the base of the 

 funnels and to the top of the barbettes and conning-tower. These ships will be the 

 most heavily armoured in existence; but American practice has been curiously inconsist- 

 ent in the matter of armour protection. 



The Japanese do not pin their faith to armour. Their " Dreadnought " battleships 

 have a 12 inch belt amidships which covers less than one-third of the ship. It is, how- 

 ever, very wide. The battle cruisers are to have a 10 inch belt amidships. 



The French navy has apparently abandoned its faith in heavy plating, for the new 

 " Dreadnought " battleships of the " Courbet " and " Lorraine " classes only have very 

 short and narrow belts of lof inch armour, the rest of the hull being covered with 7 inch 

 plates. The turrets, however, are protected by 1 2 inch armour in the former class, and 

 by no less than 17 inch in the latter. 



The Italians, true to their tradition, are armouring their new ships of the " Dante 

 Alighieri " and " Conte Cavour " classes very lightly. A short but wide belt 9! inches 

 in thickness is their main defence, and the turrets are equipped in the same manner. 



The Austrian " Viribus Unitis " class has a short and narrow belt of n inches, and 

 the turrets have the same protection. The belt is reduced to 4 inches near the ends, 

 and the extreme bow and stern are unprotected. 



Naval opinion, which tends to uniformity all over the world in the matter of arma- 

 ment;,and speed, is thus seen to be curiously divided as to the value of armour protection 

 and the best way of applying it. 



The Battle Cruiser. In the British Navy the fast armoured cruiser of the " Dread- 

 nought" type has now been definitely distinguished from other classes by the name 

 " battle cruiser." The Germans, on the other hand, retain the name " Panzer-kreuzer " 

 for all armoured cruisers alike. But the functions of the battle cruiser, as understood in 

 Great Britain, are specific. She is neither a heavily armed cruiser nor a lightly armoured 

 and speedy battleship. She is sometimes traced to Italian influence; but she embodies 

 the very antithesis of the Italian conception of including battleships and armoured 

 cruisers alike under the title of "nave di battaglia." 



The term "cruiser" to denote a separate class of ship belongs to the day of the iron- 

 clad. In the sailing era, warships were divided into ships-of-the-line and frigates. The 

 former, up to the 74*3, and in some cases including them, were used frequently for cruis- 

 ing duties. They were detached to act independently if required; they were flung first 

 into battle in a general chase; they were occasionally used, as Nelson proposed to use 

 them at Trafalgar, as a separate light squadron. Battle cruisers are intended to per- 

 form similar duties; they have nothing whatever in common with the frigate, which is 

 to-day represented by the smaller armoured cruiser, the protected cruiser and the scout. 

 In the British Navy, the battle cruiser, with her high' strategical mobility the sum of 

 speed and fuel endurance is particularly marked out for oceanic service, where distances 

 are long, and where rapid reinforcement of a threatened area may be required. If the 

 past is any guide to the future, the Imperial Fleet will be composed, so far as its fighting 

 units go, of battle cruisers. 



So far, only three Powers have adopted the battle cruiser: Great Britain, Germany 

 and Japan. The type has developed into the biggest ship afloat, and is extremely costly, 

 the price of construction running up to 2,500,000 in the case of the German ships. 

 Table III shows the evolution of the type. 



