"Damn Your Coaling Stations!" 



COMING REVOLUTION IN THE BRITISH NAVY.* 



THERE is at present preparing the greatest 

 of changes in the British Navy since the 

 adoption of steam and the abandonment of 

 sails. Lord Fisher of Kilverstone, the Grand 

 Old Man of the N'avy, has returned to preside over a 

 special Royal Commission to inquire into the use of oil 

 fuel and internal-combustion propulsion engines for war- 

 ships. It is an open secret that Lord Fisher, before 

 his retirement, was an ardent ad\ocatc both of oil 

 fuel and of internal-combustion engines, especially 

 the latter. After he retired it is reported that he 

 declared that, excluding of course war necessities, 

 nothing would bring him back to active participation 

 in the naval affairs of the country except to be respon- 

 sible for the accomplishing of the revolution culmina- 

 ting in the total abandonment of coal for oil and the 

 motor warship. Lord Fisher has come back, and the 

 inference to be drawn from his return is all the more 

 unmistakable when we know that Mr. Winston 

 Churchill, whose occupancy of the Admiralty is 

 winning him golden opinions in the Ser\ice, is, if any- 

 thing, more enthusiastic about oil than is the veteran 

 Admiral. And the Royal Commission is a notable 

 one in every sense of the word ; it is one to get 

 things done, to accomplish even the impossible. The 

 following arc the members :— Lord Fisher of Kilver- 

 stone : Admiral of the Fleet and ex-First Sea Lord of 

 the Admirali)-. .\Ir. George Lambert, M.P. : Civil 

 Lord of the Admiralty ; Liberal member for South 

 Molton. Sir Hoverton Redwood, ]5art. : Adviser on 

 petroleum to the Admiralty, Home Office, and India 

 (JfFice, and on petroleum transport to the Port of 

 London .\utliorily. Sir Philip Watts : Designer of 

 the Dreafiiioiti^lit ; adviser on naval construction to 

 the Admiralty. ICngineer Vice-Admiral Sir H. ]. 

 Oram : Eni.'ineer-in Chief of the Fleet. Vice-Admiral 

 Sir f. k. jcllicoc : Ex-Controller of the Nav\ . Sir 

 William Matthews : Consulting engineer for harbour 

 and dock works. Chief engineer of the new Dover 

 Harbour. Sir T. H. Holland: Profes.sbr of geology 

 at Manchester, and author of works on petrology. 

 Sir T. E. Thorpe : Director of the chemical laboratories 

 of the Imperial College of Science and Technolog)' ; 

 late director of Government laboratories. Mr. .Alex- 

 ander Gracic : Managing director of the Fairfield 

 ShipbuildiiiLT Comp.iny. Mr. A. F. Yarrow: Head 

 of the Yarrow lirm of torpedo craft builders. .Mr. II. (). 

 Jones : Lecturer on chemistry at Cambridge. 



• A most eminent Kiiropcan naval man ci^resml himself 

 as follows: "(•ivr nic wariihips burning oil, ami ibmn ymir 



co» ■•«{ slatioiis 



The terms,jof reference are very definite : — " To 

 report on the means of supply and storage of liquid 

 fuel in peace and war, and its application to warship 

 engines, whether indirectly or by internal combustion." 



THE D.\Y OF COAL ENDED. 



We may take it as certain that the day of coal in 

 the Navy has ended, and that the intermediate stage 

 has arrived when oil will be used to raise steam. 

 How long we will be before the final stage is reached, 

 when steam disappears and all the vessels are propelled 

 by that most economical of all methods, the internal- 

 combustion propulsion engine, depends upon the 

 science and invention of the constructors, who must 

 devise and scheme to secure a minimum of i.ooo h.p. 

 per cylinder. The little more, the minor details, 

 these are all that block the way, and those responsible 

 for the tremendous increase in power from coal-fired 

 boilers which has marked the last few years can 

 surely be trusted to overcome the last difficulties. 

 Already the British Na\ y possesses in the submarines 

 what are perhaps the best marine motor-engines of 

 any country, and there is no motor-engine in use of 

 pureh- British invention. 



Much interest has been aroused by the Selaiidia, 

 the inotor-ship of the East Asiatic S.S. Company, 

 but we believe we are right when we say that her 

 motor-engines are much inferior to those in the newer 

 submarines, developing many horse-power less per 

 ton ^vcight. But to the public the SHandia spells 

 successful achievement and the coming of the motor- 

 liner ; in any case, most of the members of the Royal 

 Commission have not only visited this vessel, but 

 have travelled in her. 



ENORMOUS S.WING IN STOKERS. 



Pending the final experiments, we may assume that 

 the British Navy will shortly he burning altogether 

 oil and raising .steam without stokers. In German\ . 

 the United Stales, an<l japan there exist to-day maiiv 

 warships luirning exclusivel\- oil. But to adopt this 

 system in the British Fleet means to abandon what 

 has alwa)s been considered the greatest advantage— 

 the possession of VN'elsh steam coal. Needs must when 

 the devil drives, and the exigencies of economy of 

 space, of weight, and. above all, the diftlcultv of 

 securing enough men for the Fleet, have forced thi.s 

 decision upon the .\<lmiralty. The question of the 

 stokehold is of supreme importance. .\n oil-fired vessel 

 nceils thirty greasers as ag.iinst the three hundred or 

 more stokers and trimmers needed for coal furnaces. 

 This means in the entire liritish Navy a saving of 



