LONDON, Oct 29 — The British
Admirality has made all arrangements
for installing wireless telephones in
some of the vessels of the fleet and
the work is being carried out by the
Radio Telegraph Company. It is as-
serted that by these wireless tele-
phones conversation can be carried on
between two vessels that are thirty
miles apart.
The voices heard on these wireless
telephones are clear and distinct,
and telephoning is in many respects
easier at sea than on land. The wire-
less telephone may be of great use to
vessels in foggy weather. They can
speak to one another at considerable
distance, and the admiral of the
squadron might from his cabin talk
to every vessel of his fleet.
Preparations are being made for
laying down the two new Dread-
noughts which form part of the Gov-
ernment's naval policy of the year.
It is usually regarded as sufficient if
new vessels are laid down within the
financial year, but in this case the
keels of the new vessels will be in
place in the course of November.
To Rush Completion
Substantial progress will be made
with these vessels in the course of this
year, and the result will be that be-
fore the end of the new financial
year Great Britain will be in the pos-
ession of six Dreadnoughts.
|
But perhaps the most remarkable
ship that the British navy possesses
has lately been launched almost with-
out notice. This is the new repairing
shop, the Cyclops, now being taken
round to Portsmouth from Tyne. This
ship is unique of its kind, and is de-
signed to carry out almoat any kind
of repairs at sea, save, of course,
those that demand dry docking. It
is proposed to attach this ship, for
the time being at any rate, to the
home fleet, as the Channel fleet
already has its repair ship, Assist-
ance, while a sister vessel may short-
ly be built for services with the Medi-
terranean fleet, which at one time
always had one of these vessels at-
tached to it.
On board the Cyclops is one of the
most powerful of repairing plants yet
invented and the whole ship is one
huge floating workshop, while the
shears are powerful enough to lift a
small vessel, such as a torpedo des-
troyer, clear out of the water if re-
quired.
The value of such a ship as this
to a fleet during war time can scar-
cely be overestimated, since repairs
could be carried out almost instantly
and without the necessity for the ves-
sel steaming or being towed to the
nearest friendly port.
The Cyclops is designed to keep the
(Continued on Page Nine)
|
