March 6. 1915. 
LAND AND JKATEE. 
THE WAR BY WATER. 
By FRED T. JANE. 
NOTE.— Tliit Article faas been submitted to the Prcti Burean, which does not object to the publication at MiMored, and takes a« 
rcspoDsibiiity tor the correctness ot the statements. 
T 
THE DARDANELLES. 
HE ofScial details now published of the preliminary 
operations in the Dardanelles indicate verv 
cleRi-ly the immense relative superiority of forts 
to ships. 
The forts were : — 
A. Cape Helles 2 9.2 
B. SeddulBahr 6 10.2 
C. Orkanieh Tabia 2 9.2 
D. KumKalossi Tabia 4 10.2 
It is improbable that any of these were modern guns, 
u we know that iu the first bombardment of February 19 
they were outranged. 
The 9.2's are presumably Vinkers guns of about fifteen 
T«ar3 ago. At and about that time Turkey was buying 
V^ickers guns. The 10.2 is an old Krupp size, and as like 
«a not tome of these guns were there when the British Fleet 
went up the Dardanelles in 1878. The 10.2 would appear to 
be identical with the 25 centimetre cast-steel breechloader of 
£2 calibres. There are later 10.2's, "model 1889," of 40 
»nd 50 calibres, v.ith muzzle velocities up to about 2,500; 
but these would (being on shore mountings) hardly be out- 
ranged by the guns of an old battleship like the Vengeance. 
In any case, however, the forts were not " first class," 
•nd in addition thereunto, being Turkish, are most unlikely to 
have been in any high state of efficiency. Yet they sur- 
vived the first heavy bombardment, and were only finally 
reduced after over seven hours' firing from the British ships 
<Qveen Elizaheth, Agamemnon, Irresistible, Vengeance, 
'Albion, and C'ornwallis, and the French ships Gculois, 
Sufren, and Charlemagne — all shijjs making exoelleni 
practice against an indifferent reply. 
From this we can get a clear inkling of the magnitude 
ef the task on which the Allied Fleet is engaged, and — unless 
Turkish resistance suddenly collapses — progress is likely to 
b« eIow and tedious. 
By the 26th four miles had been gained — ^that Is to say, 
twept clear of mines. In addition, Fort Dardanus (E), 
mounting four 5.9-inch (probably old Krupp guns), had 
been more or less silenced by long-range fire from the Albion, 
Majestic, and V engeance. 
The whole of these operations must, however, be regarded 
U merely preliminary. Harder work is probably ahead 
vhen " The Narrows " come into the zone of operations, 
and only good luck combined with the most brilliant tactical 
arrangements ere likely to save us from more or less con- 
■Iderabla losses. 
The public impression that forcing the Dardanelles is a 
mere parade is very erroneous. The actual task is one of 
■tupendous magnitude, perhaps one of the greatest naval 
operations ever undertaken. If it is to be paralleled at all 
we must go back to the fall of Constantinople (Byzantium) 
to the Turks, and reflect that they will lose it mainly owing 
to the prevalence of conditions similar to those by which they 
gained it. However, its slow results will be a useful lesson 
to those misguided people who are wont to demand why the 
British Fleet does not bombard Cuihaven and force the Kiel 
Panal. Ships v. forts must ever be a very hard task for the 
•hips. 
Why our latest Dreadnought, the Queen E2i:aleth, should 
lave been sent to the Dardanelles to join up with a crowd of 
old ships is a matter of considerable public conjecture. The 
probable reason is the most obvious. She is a brand-new 
ehip of an entirely new type just commissioned. Any newly- 
commissioned ship requires time to "shake down." It is 
doubtful whether, had she joined the Grand Fleet right off, 
the Queen Elizabeth would have been of much value. In the 
Dardanelles she can get shaken down and "blooded," and 
a practical experience obtained as to the exact value of 
the 15-inch shell which she is hurling into the Turkish 
fortifications. 
A further complication of the attack, and one which will 
be most acute off Chanak, is that the Turks have abundant 
facilities for placing floating mines to drift down jrith the 
MAP TO ILLUSTRATE THE POSITIONS IN THE DARDANELLES. 
current against the Allied Fleet. Meeting this attack will 
demand unceasing tkill and vigilance. 
GENERAL MATTERS. 
The Recent Air Raid. 
In the issue of February 20 I dealt with the big air raid, 
and mentioned the dislike of the Air Service to the deification 
which is apt to befall any of its members who chance to get 
into the limeliglit. I was endeavouring to convey that it is 
inevitable that this should happen with a new arm and the 
sensational Press, but that the phase will pass. Either I 
worded myself clumsily, or else some people read tilings irre- 
spective of the context. In any case, I deeply regret to find 
that at least one reader ia under the impression that I 
intended to imply that a certain distinguished ofiicer was " on 
the boom." Nothing was further from my thoughts. 
ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. 
H. M. R. (Rugeley). — There is a possibility that a 
sufficiently sensitive instrument could be cou.'^tructed, but I 
should imagine that the motor-boat would sea the periscopa 
long before the detector would work. 
R. P. (Deal). — Your suggestion would not affect mattera 
except in abnormal cases on account of the depth of water. 
W. T. C. (Belfast). — No such appliance is known. 
T. F. H. (Birkenhead). — Very many thanks for your 
letter. The circumstance has already been reported. 
H. N. (Ticehurst). — Although experimentally sub-" 
marines have been detected by aeroplanes, aircraft appear to 
be of very little use for this purpose under war conditions. 
This is due to the fact that in peaco experiments the sub- 
marines would be Eomowhere at a certain time and also tlie 
area of water in which they had to bo looked for was small. 
In war practice, of course, the area of wat«r is very largo 
indeed and the time of the submarine an absolutely indefinite 
quantity. 
W. O. W. (Liskeard). — (1) Discussion on this subject is 
forbidden. (2) The Sulamii was expected to bo completed at 
the end of tliis year. As she was being built by the Vulkan 
Co. at considerably over the normal German rate of construc- 
tion it is improbable that they can expedite her. The Lutzow, 
building at Schichau's at Danzig, was down for completion 
next July, but as her construction could easily be accelerated 
it is quite possible that she is already very nearly completed 
for sea. Three battleships of the Koenig class were com- 
pleted shortly after the outbreak of war. The fourth vessel 
of the class will probably be completed in the course of a 
