6 NOTES ON THE ARMAMENTS OF BATTLESHIPS. 



unmanageable or in temporarily destroying the command of maneuvering 

 capability was demonstrated at Tsushima and in the battle of loth August, 

 1904, off Port Arthur. Under the terrible hail of projectiles and of frag- 

 ments of shells containing high explosives it has happened and will happen 

 again that a "joint in the harness" is discovered and the ancient story 

 of the "bow drawn at a venture" is repeated. The Japanese authorities, 

 who may be supposed to have all the facts of the war in their possession, 

 and who are certainly capable of analysing them and drawing therefrom 

 lessons for guidance in future practise, have never departed from the use 

 of powerful secondary armaments. Personal conferences with leading 

 Japanese authorities on naval matters enable me to say that they attach 

 the utmost importance to the association of such armaments with guns of 

 large caliber. In fact the trend of naval opinion throughout the world during 

 recent years has been against the perpetuation of the system which discarded 

 all guns except those of large caliber and 3-inch guns for use against the 

 attacks of torpedo vessels. Consequently there is a danger of appearing 

 "to flog a dead horse" by further advocacy of secondary armaments on 

 this occasion, and no more need be said thereupon. 



As to the most suitable numbers and calibers of guns making up the 

 secondary armaments of modern battleships little need be added. There 

 are obvious objections to the employment of many calibers, each requiring 

 special ammunition and making separate control desirable. In some ships 

 guns of 6-inch, 4.7-inch, 3-inch and smaller calibers have been mounted. 

 Such a multiplication of calibers appears both unnecessary and objec- 

 tionable. Probably the explanation is to be found in an intention to use 

 guns from 4.7-inch downwards as an active defense against the attacks 

 of torpedo vessels, and to supply 6-inch guns as auxiliaries to the 12 -inch 

 guns in action. The writer has long advocated a simpler arrangement 

 which, in his judgment, would fulfil all requirements, and ventures to quote 

 remarks on this head made at the Institution of Naval Architects a few 

 months ago: — 



"The ideal armament, to my mind, is that which embodies a certain 

 and not an extravagant number of heavy guns associated with a considerable 

 battery of 6-inch guns. It does not seem to me a difficult matter to supply 

 these 6-inch guns with ammunition which shall be efficient when used against 

 attacking torpedo vessels. If anything in addition to such a secondary 

 armament of 6-inch guns is wanted I should say 'man-kilHng' guns capable 

 of very rapid fire mght be used for sweeping the decks of torpedo vessels; 

 they could be placed and fought in almost any position and would require 

 only shield protection." 



