March 13. 1915. 
LAND AND ,Wi A T E R. 
experts are advising the Austrians to remember Tegethoff 
and how off Liesa he attacked and defeated a numerically 
superior Italian Fleet which was bombarding that island. 
Between Tegethoil and Lissa there was nothing; between 
the Austrians and the Dardanelles there is the bulk of the 
French Navy. 
Tlie Austrian Fleet is In exactly the same strategical 
Eosition as is the German High Sea Fleet. It can stay in 
arbour or it can come out and accept annihilation. 
On March 5 the iirst step at attacking the Narrows was 
made. The Queen Elizabeth opened a long range bombard- 
ment, firing twenty-niua rounds in all, blowing up Hamidieh 
JI Tabia. 
The forts operated against were : — 
Medjidieh Tabia (J). Namazieh (T). 
2 11-in. 1 11-in. 
4 9.4-in. 1 10.2-in. 
5 3.4-in. 11 9.4-in. 
Hauidieh II Tabia (L). 3 8.2-in. 
2 14-in. 3 5.9-in. 
Of these the guns in J and T are probably old Krupp 
pieces. The official report speaks of Hamidieh Tabia (L) 
Deing armed with the "best and heaviest guns" — but 
•pecifies no further. 
We are left in doubt as to whether " best " is used in the 
■ense of best guns in possession of the Turks or best guns 
existing. That is to say, whether Fort L was armed with a 
couple of 14in. 36 calibre Krupps of model 1889, and construc- 
tion some later date, weighing 90 tons but of no very con- 
■iderable range, or the modem 14-in., which most gun factors 
have produced during the last two or three years. Probably 
the guns were the old 90 ton; unless Krupps managed to do 
• deal with Turkey over these 14-in. guns which were intended 
for the German Navy, but never mounted, owing, it is said, 
to a difficulty in connection with the design for naval 
Bouiitings. 
THE SUBMARINE "BLOCKADE." 
So far the " blockade " can hardly be described as suc- 
fcessful. I am by no means sure that every merchant ship 
destroyed has not cost Germany a submarine. 
When one comes to think of it, a fair number of sub- 
marines have in the past been sunk or damaged by merchant 
■hips which have run into them purely accidentally . Now, 
thanks to the example set by Syren and Shipping, not only 
have our merchant ^ips been taught that ' ' attack is the best 
defence," but also they have been taught that there is more or 
less a price on the head of every pirate and outlaw. 
Supposing, of course, that the submarine be sighted, it 
le more or less even odds whether the threatened merchant 
•hip will not knock out the enemy. To be victimised means 
either death or probable trouble; to succeed means money; 
kudos, and the still higher gain of " done my bit." This last 
la also certainly something of which Von Tirpitz did not think 
vhen planning his great " blockade." 
It is never wise to prophesy too directly; but it is difficult 
to get away from the impression that the British Navy and 
the British Mercantile Marine between them are perfectly 
capable of dealing with the " blockade," without any neces- 
•ity of those " retaliatory me.<isures " of which we have, per- 
haps, already heard too much in Parliament and elsewhere. 
GENERAL MATTERS. 
ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. 
J. V. M. (Burgess Hill).— (1) Subject is tahoo. (2) 
Tou may bo quite satisfied that the Queen Mary was not 
funk at the battle of the Dogger Bank. (3) Big special guns 
■re rather like the big gooseberry and the sea serpent which 
we used to hear so much of in more peaceful times. (4) 
What the Germans may accuse us of does not, I think, 
annount to much. So far as I can make out, they intended 
to fall on us suddenly in their own time. We forestalled 
them, and they make up hymns of hate accordingly. From 
their point of view I suppose th» grievance exists. 
A. C. S. S. (Cheltenham).— (1) The fate of the Von 
d«r Tann is purely a matter of speculation. (2) The Dresden 
Is probably in hiding somewhere. (3) The Kolherrj has not 
been sunk. (4) We can only speculate as to how many sub- 
marines Germany has lost, but it must certainly be far more 
than she admits even now. 
B. P. (Leicester). — (1) A gun of any kind in an aero- 
plane means so much extra weight which could otherwise bo 
need for carrying petrol or for bombs. (2) The American 
" Lake " type of f.ibmarine carries tubes which can be 
Irained exactly as you suggest. 
A. J. W. (Hellifield). — Obstructions such as you sug- 
gest would be washed away in next to no time. 
E. C. W. (Gayton).— (1) There is great difficulty in 
classifying the Q'uecn Elizabeths. They are too fast to be 
ordinary battleships; not fast enough to be " battle 
cruisers." That is how they come to be properly designated 
as "battleship cruisers." (2) The Erin was formerly the 
Turkish Rechad V. The Broke and Falkncr were two 
Chilean destroyers completing at White's Yard at Cowes. 
A. 8. G. (Dover). — Your idea is certainly novel, and 
if not practicable for the B.3a might have aerial possibilities. 
You might certainly submit it to the Admiralty. Have the 
specification neatly typed. 
Z. H. L. (Rome).— Theoretically aircraft can detect 
submarines under water quite easily. In practice the chances 
of their coinciding sufficiently are something like ten 
thousand to one agaimst. 
" Protein." — I am not a chemist, but I understand 
that chemical foods are within the region of chemical 
possibilities, certainly near enough should the necessity be 
omnipresent. No doubt they would be no nicer than 
"potato bread," but "needs must when the devil drives." 
The aeroplane would probably still be a toy had it not been 
for its war utility aud the consequent strenuous develop- 
ment. In the same way a peojile faced with starvation on 
account of war would keep on seeking substitutes, chemical 
or otherwise, for ordinary articles of food. 
C. S. (Liverpool). — (1) Submarines have often been down 
a hundred feet and more, but the exact depth to which one 
could go would entirely depend on her construction. All sub- 
marines can go deeper than any practical purpose necessi- 
tates. (2) The depth to which a diver can go depends on 
his experience and en his heart. Fifteen fathoms is as deep 
as most fancy going, though the limit is about twenty-five 
fathoms. But a quarter of an hour is about as long as any 
man could stand it. You will find much interesting informa- 
tion about divers in the pages of " Whispers from the Fleet," 
by the late Admiral Sir Christopher Cradock, who lost his 
life in the Battle of Chile. 
W. H. (Cadford St. Mary).— I do not think there is the 
least danger of German or Austrian submarines managing 
to interfere with the operations in the Dardanelles. 
W. R. J. (Brecon). — Your idea is ingenious. But it, or 
some variation of it, continually reaches me. Some ideas 
are more ingenious than others. The cardinal defect of all 
is the same: " The submarine is too wily a fish to be had 
with lobster pots." It can so very easily improvise a defence. 
The best technical brains of the British Navy have been at 
work on the whole problem for years. Honestly I don't think 
there can be a non-technical civilian idea which the British 
Navy has not already long ago considei-ed, and either flung 
aside as no good or else adopted. Seeing the careful way in 
which you have worked things out, I do not like replying 
to you in this seemingly cavalier sort of fashion, but perhaps 
when I tell you that any number of people write and say: 
" My idea is to put a mine in the way of a submarine: the 
authorities, if they approve, can work out details," you will 
appreciate that the length of this answer puts you into a quite 
different category. 
X. (London, W.). — Leave things to Lord Fisher. Yoa 
are fully entitled to " think that he is an incompetent ass," 
but supposing he had the time for it, what do you think 
he'd think about you? "Democratic lights" may be all 
right in peace time, but just at present we happen to be at 
war, and advice (or orders) to the man at the helm from 
passengers is out of place ! 
L. D. (Halifax).^Noted. But the German spy fever is 
being overdone. Some Ministers, remembering the old party 
political days, may have overdone their talk a bit, but, 
generally speaking, they have not done badly. We should all 
of us labour to keep them up to the scratch, but in my 
opinion criticism qua critici.^m is to be deprecated. When all 
is said and done we have to sink or swim together. 
K. G. (Macclesfield). — From almost prehistoric days 
there have been enthusiasts who believed that ships could 
defeat forts ; but all the teaching of history is that it can only 
be done (as in the Dardanelles) by using overwhelming force. 
Herbert Stephf-nson (Liverpool). — (1) It is never pos- 
sible to arrive at exact particulars, but the bulk of the 
evidence is that the Emden sank the Russian cruiser in Penang 
under the Japanese flag. " War is war " (as Prince Heiuy 
of Prussia said), and in war everyone hits below the belt when 
the chance occurs. The. Zrs-.ians took things that way. We 
cannot do better than follow their example. They reckon to 
return it " in kind " one day. To outrage International Law 
is silly en that accor.nt. (2) I am afraid that the gyrations 
of Lord Ileldane are outaido the province of this article. So 
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