The Passing of the Dreadnaught
It was only nine years ago, in 1905, that Great Britain started a new epoch in naval construction by the building of the first so-called dreadnaught. The appearance of this new and terrible fighting machine virtually consigned all the old battleships to the scrap heap, but it seems now that the dreadnaught itself, according to naval experts, has about served its purpose, and is no longer to be dreaded as formerly. Admiral Sir Percy Scott, a hero of the Boer war, deals with this question in an article which was given the post of honor on the editorial page of the London Times. He argues that in the scouting aeroplanes, and particularly in the submarines, the dreadnaughts of the future will find competitors which will far outclass them in effective fighting power. Says this authority:— In war time the scouting aeroplanes will always be high above on the lookout, and the submarines in constant readiness, as are the engines at a fire station. If an enemy is sighted, the gong sounds and the leash of a flotilla of submarines will be slipped. Whether it be night or day, fine or rough, they must go out to search for their quarry; if they find her, she is doomed, and they give no quarter; they cannot board her and take her as a prize, as in the olden days; they only wait till she sinks, then return home without even knowing the number of human beings that they have sent to the bottom of the ocean. Will any battleship expose herself to such a dead certainty of destruction? I say No. Not only is the open sea unsafe; a battleship is not immune from attack even in a closed harbor, for the so-called protecting boom at the entrance can easily be blown up. With a flotilla of submarines commanded by dashing young officers, of whom we have plenty, I would undertake to get through any boom into any harbor, and sink or materially damage all the ships in that harbor. If a battleship is not safe either on the high seas or in harbor, what is the use of a battleship?