WARSHIPS : NEW AND OLD.*
THESE two books deal with warships in an entirely different fashion and appeal to distinct classes of readers. Fighting Ships has reached its fifteenth year of issue, and its utility as a book of reference depends upon an annual revision of drawings and data respecting existing war fleets. Mr. Jane has made a close study of these subjects for years, has worked upon a definite plan, and has continuously invited suggestions and corrections from those who use the volume, with a view to (1) Fielding &lips. By Fred T. Jane. London: Sampson Low, Narstgn nud Co. prs. net.)—(2) The Battle Ship. By Walter Wood. London: Kegan rani, Trench and Co. [128. 6d. net.] its steady improvement. In The Battle Ship Mr. Wood hats attempted to tell "the story of the greatest naval weapon from the first ship-of-the-line to the present-day Leviathans" in a popular fashion. In the Introduction it is frankly admitted that he "had neither the wish nor the qualification to provide" much technical detail, and that admission is confirmed :by a perusal of the volume. Indeed, it may be fairly said that no harm would have resulted if the writer had possessed a larger acquaintance with shipbuilding technology and naval history. i His industry has been considerable. From many sources— most of them well known and previously utilized—he has brought together much interesting information ; and the facts have been summarized in a readable manner. Numerous and excellent illustrations by Mr. Frank H. Mason add greatly to the attractiveness of the book, which is in all respects well produced. On the other hand, the treatment of many matters is characterized by a lack of proportion and of due sense of their relative importance. Elaborate details are given in cases where compression was both desirable and possible, while matters of first importance are summarily dealt with. Not a little of the information respecting modern warships and war materiel, necessarily originating with private firms, is dealt with in a fashion which approximates-- doubtless unintentionally—to an advertisement. Speeches in Parliament which can claim little permanent interest are reproduced at considerable length in the form of quotations. Official reports and documents are drawn upon, but not digested. An author may reasonably be expected to take more trouble in dealing with his facts than is displayed again and again in this volume. Mr. Wood laid down an ambitious programme when be undertook the history of the battleship extending over four hundred years, and he cannot be said to have fully succeeded. Still, it is probable that, as it stands, a considerable number of readers, especially boys and girls, may be interested in the volume, and it may serve a useful purpose in leading people to extend their studies of naval history in other directions.
Turning to Fighting Ships, it is interesting to note that in the latest edition Mr. Jane has adopted a suggestion made in these columns some time ago when reviewing an earlier volume of the series. There are no examples of what he himself describes as "intelligent anticipations " of warship designs for which authoritative official details are as yet unpublished, and that restriction is certainly an improvement. It is also stated that " by the courtesy of the various Admiralties con- cerned the proofs of most of the ship pages have been officially revised." Reference to these ship pages, however, shows that there still remain two notable exceptions to this official revision. In Great Britain and Germany the authorities still adopt that policy of secrecy which was initiated here about eight years ' ago; so that official details are lacking for the latest types of ships in these two fleets. For all other fleets information is given freely, and one wonders whether any real gain results from a continuance of the policy of secrecy. France, Italy, Russia, Japan, the United States, Austria. Spain, Turkey, Brazil, Chili, and Argentina all agree that secrecy is not worth attempting.
Two interesting papers by well-known writers form the con- : chiding section of Fighting Ships. The first, by Mr. Sella, admirably summarizes recent progress in marine engineering, and those who desire to understand why steam turbines still hold their own for ship-propulsion in the contest with oil- engines, of which so much has been said and written recently, cannot do better than study Mr. Sells's statement. The second original contribution is from the pen of Signor Cuniberti, a leading Italian naval architect, who (as Mr. Jane recalls) " foreshadowed in the 1903 edition of Fighting Ships" the types of battleship now classed as Dreadnoughts. Signor Cuniberti makes a fresh forecast of developments in battleship designs likely to be made in the immediate future, and all who follow the progress of warship design will be interested in reading his brief but clear state- ment. All that can be said here is that many of the features described by Signor Cuniberti as likely to be adopted in coming battleships have a close resemblance to those which were embodied in ships of the "central citadel " type built about thirty-five years ago. Of course, differences are also . anticipated, in important features of these ships of the future, because of great advances in armour, guns, marine engineering; and torpedoes made since 1875 ; but to a great extent, if Signor Ouniberti proves right, naval history is likely to repeat itself.
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