l82 



NATURE 



[October 30, 1919 



and, against all precedents, proved them to be trust- 

 worthy and practical under the most adverse condi- 

 tions. The Stokes gun, on the other hand, superseded 

 all other trench-mortars by simplicity of design of 

 manufacture and convenience in handling ; 20,000 of 

 these guns were used during the war. 



Transport. — On August 4, 19 14, the Government 

 assumed control of the railway systems in this 

 country, but the working and management were left 

 in the hands of the railway officials, and to them is 

 due the smooth working of the lines during a long 

 period of exceptional difficulty. British engineers, 

 civil or militarv, have been responsible for the trans- 

 port through France, and during the last two years 

 of the war large numbers of engines were sent across 

 the Channel and miles of track were taken up in 

 England and relaid in France. Road transport was 

 organised on an unprecedented scale, and icki,ooo new 

 vehicles were delivered. A network of narrow-gauge 

 railways was carried right up to the trenches, and 

 •numerous new roads, railway lines, and bridges con- 

 structed. Railway construction formed an important 

 factor in connection with the advances in Mesopotamia 

 and Palestine ; in the latter case the entire water- 

 supply had for a long period to be drawn from the 

 Egyptian base through a specially laid pipe-line. 



In France and elsewhere the armies were primarily 

 dependent upon sea transport for their food and equip- 

 ment. This service, organised by the Navy, cul- 

 minated in the unique effort which brought American 

 troops at the rate of 300,000 per month, and thus 

 overbore the balance which for four years had been 

 oscillating between defeat and victory. 



.^mong the notable new departures the cross- 

 Channel train ferry and the portable steel bridges, 

 principally of the Inglis type, should be specially 

 mentioned. 



Navy. — At the outbreak of war the Navy was ill- 

 prepared with regard to anti-submarine defence and 

 mining The influence of the submarine on naval 

 warfare had been under-estimated, and mines were 

 regarded as a somewhat discreditable means of 

 destruction; but during 1915 the depth-charge and 

 the paravane were developed by the Naval Experi- 

 mental Department at Portsmouth, and later thou- 

 sands of these were brought into use. In principle 

 the depth-charge consists of a canister containing a 

 large charge of explosive and a pistol actuated by a 

 hydrostatic valve. The merit of the invention resides 

 in the simplicity, safety, and trustworthiness of the 

 mechanism. In designing the paravane the body 

 was borrowed from a torpedo, and wings, rudder, 

 and elevator from an aeroplane. The secret of the 

 device lies in the stabilising mechanism, which en- 

 ables it to keep its position when the ship is running 

 at high speeds. The paravane enabled most ships to 

 pass unscathed through a minefield, and in a slightly 

 modified form it served to seek out and destroy sub- 

 marines under the water. 



Sound-location proved to be one of the most valu- 

 able inventions developed by the Board of Invention 

 and Research. By its means the position of a sub- 

 marine explosion off the coast of Belgium could be 

 found within a few hundred yards by observers on 

 the English coast ; passing ships or submarines 

 could also be identified and located. Sound-locators 

 were also used on board anti-submarine craft, but at 

 the time of the armistice were for this purpose being 

 superseded by other methods. 



Mine construction, laying, and sweeping formed 

 the object of many successive improvements. Mines 

 of speqial construction, which cannot be swept 

 by ordinary means and explode without actual 

 contact, were used in large numbers in 1918, and 

 were particularly effective against submarines. 

 NO. 2609, VOL. 104] 



Various new types of oscillating mines were also 

 developed. 



Many of the newer fighting units of the Navy were 

 designed for speeds far in excess of anything that had 

 been previously contemplated; the attainment of the 

 required horse-power was rendered possible bv im- 

 provements in boiler construction., by the development 

 of oil-firing, and by the invention of the geared tur- 

 bine. At the present time the horse-power of some 

 of the fastest destroyers equals that of any pre-war 

 Dreadnoughts. 



Numbers of strange craft were designed for special 

 purposes. The monitor was used as a floating fortress, 

 and ships without funnels or masts formed cruising 

 aerodromes. The torpedo-net was known to be in- 

 effective as well as inconvenient, but some years 

 elapsed before ships were rendered immune frorri tor- 

 pedo attacks by a wide outer sheath of resilient con- 

 struction. Some protection was first given to mine- 

 sweepers by fitting the vessels with a false prow ; 

 the newer minesweepers were rendered nearly unsink- 

 able by the provision of numerous bulkheads. The 

 submarine was developed with regard to size, range, 

 and speed. The latest, and perhaps the strangest, 

 craft was the submarine fitted with a heavy calibre 

 gun which could be fired when all but the muzzle was 

 submerged. 



Aircraft. — The rapid progress and expansion, of 

 aeronautical science and construction are perhaps the 

 most remarkable achievements of engineering during 

 the war. 



In 1909 Bleriot flew the Channel. In 1910 Cody 

 won the British Michelin Cup by a flight of 185 miles. 

 The Royal Flying Corps was formed in 1912, and it 

 was decided that the equipment should consist of 

 seventy-two aeroplanes and two airships. The number 

 of aeroplanes available in 1914 was less than 200 ; the 

 number ultimately required proved to be more than 

 .3000 a month. The aeroplanes which were sent out 

 with the Expeditionary Force in 1914 had a maximum 

 speed of some 80 miles an hour, a rate of climb t.t 

 ground-level of 300 ft. or 400 ft. a minute ; thev 

 were equipped with engines of 60 h.p. to 100 h.p. 

 In 1918 the fast rnachine had a maximum speed of 

 140 miles an hour, a rate of climb at ground-level of 

 2000 ft. a minute ; single-seaters were fitted with 

 engines of 200 h.p to 300 h.p., and the largest 

 machines were equipped with a power plant develop- 

 ing more than 1300 h.p. The maximum height attain- 

 able had increased from 5000 ft. to 25,000 ift. 



The Atlantic flight has given the measure of the 

 success achieved in the design of long-range bombing 

 machines. Tw'o types were evolved : the fast dav 

 bomber, capable of carrying a useful load of about 

 3000 lb. at a speed of 130 miles an hour, and th.=! 

 night bomber with a larger load and slower speed. 

 The largest aeroplane manufactured in numbers was 

 the Handley Page V/1500, w-ith a weight of ti tons 

 and a power plant of 1300 h.p. Three days before the 

 armistice two of these machines stood fullv equipped 

 waiting for the order to start for Berlin. The largest 

 bombs in use weighed more than a ton, and dvirinf the 

 war 8000 tons of explosives were dropped on the 

 enemv. The experience which thev had gained in the 

 construction of the high-powered engines required for 

 airship work proved to be a valuable asset for the 

 Germans. Initially also their rate of production, both 

 of aeroplanes and engines, was far superior to ours, 

 and, faced with the menace of otherwise being for a 

 period deprived of machines, we were bound to con- 

 tinue the use of a certain standardised types longer 

 than was desirable. 



The labour difficulty was overcome by the intro- 

 duction of a large proportion of female labour, which 

 proved to be very suitable for aeroplane manufacture, 



