Elsewhere will be found an account of the rise and progress of the Hamburg-American and North German Lloyd lines. Next in importance to these great German shipping combinations is the Hamburg-South American line which was founded in 1871. The next year the Kosmos line was started to the west coast of South America. 1882 witnessed the commencement of the Woermann line service to Africa. Six years later came the German Australian Steamship Line to be followed in 1890 by the German East African Company.

At the outbreak of the war, Hamburg and Bremen were the home ports of 85 per cent of all German merchant tonnage. While half the world's merchant shipping was owned by liner companies in 1914, four-fifths of Germany's merchant shipping was thus controlled. As admitted by Lord Inverclyde, Germany was Great Britain's greatest rival from the liner point of view before the war. The German companies were showing great enterprise in the construction of large, fast, and luxurious liners when the war broke out. These vessels were, if anything, more sumptuously equipped and fitted with modern appliances, etc., than corresponding British liners in the same trades.

On June 30, 1914, the tonnage of the various German liner fleets was reported as follows:

Whether German Shipping will recover from its war losses and again become an important factor in the carrying trade of the world is as yet problematical. Its future is entirely dependent on what will take place at the Peace Conference. If Germany is stripped of her shipping and her 'vessels excluded from the high seas as proposed in certain quarters, very few ships will be found afloat hereafter flying the German flag. In that event, German shipowners will in all likelihood place their ships under a neutral flag.-Nautical Gazette, 15/2.

GREAT BRITAIN

BRITISH NAVAL ESTIMATES.-The British naval estimates, issued tonight, provide for a personnel of 280,000 and a total expenditure for the year of £149,200,000. This sum includes £68,000,000 for ship building, repairs, and maintenance.-N. Y. Times, 8/3.

STEAM SUBMARINES.-"The 4th August, 1916, saw the commissioning of a boat which was a revolution in submarine design. This was the first K-boat. This class was designed for the expected fleet action: their qualities were to be-that they should have several knots in hand over the speed of the battle fleet, that they should be seaworthy and able to cruise with the fleet, and that they should have the necessary submarine qualities to enable them to deal with the high sea fleet when it should be met. These qualities they have; but it is regretted that the enemy gave them no chance of trying their luck in action. They were used on patrol during the long wait for their

"Day," and their experiences on patrol and when at sea on the periodic occasions when the fleet went hurrying out in reply to reported enemy activity, have given invaluable data for future construction of large and fast submarines. These boats are of 1880 tons (surface) and 2550 tons (submerged) displacement. They have a speed of slightly over 24 knots on the surface, can carry a good gun-battery if required, and their hulls, being low and well stream-lined, and their torpedo armament powerful, they can act both as destroyers by night or as submarines by day. These boats have a battery capacity sufficient for a day's fleet battle, but no more. They may be described as having great strategic speed and capacity, but small tactical radius; that is, they can get to the place where they are wanted quickly, but are circumscribed in their capabilities of remaining submerged in that spot for long, or of moving fast submerged for more than one attack without rising to recharge their batteries. In submarine design as well as in that of surface ships, you can't have everything; each type is a compromise."

The foregoing description omits to mention one of the most interesting features of the "K" class, viz., the installation of steam machinery for surface propulsion in place of the internal combustion engines fitted to all previous British submarines. Beyond the fact that geared turbines are employed in conjunction with oil-fired boilers, no details of the machinery can be given, but we understand that the installation as a whole closely resembles that of a modern torpedo-boat destroyer. Auxiliary engines of the internal combustion type are fitted in order to charge the accumulators for submerged cruising. When running on the surface a K" boat may be identified by her two small funnels, which are folded back along the superstructure before diving. Other data relating to this class are as follows, all figures being unofficial and only approximate: Length about 330 feet, beam 332 feet, draft 20 feet, armament eight torpedo tubes, of which four are on the beam; four medium quick-firing guns, including two on high angle mounts for use against aircraft. In this class of boat the living quarters leave nothing to be desired from the points of view of comfort, convenience, and health. The commanding officer has his own cabin, there is quite a roomy ward-room for the officers, and there are separate messes for the petty officers, engine-room artificers and seamen. As first commissioned the boats had low bows, but subsequently they were raised to improve the sea-going qualities. Vessels of the "K" class have a very extensive radius of action on the surface, in which respect they are equal, if not superior, to the German "submersible cruisers." The experiment of equipping them with steam machinery was naturally condemned by Diesel enthusiasts as a retrogressive step, which, nevertheless, appears to have been justified by the behavior of these vessels on active service. It is interesting to note that one of the most successful submarines-judged by her war record, which includes two "mentions" in orders of the day-in the French Navy is the Archimede, which is also propelled on the surface by steam, her plant consisting of two sets of triple-expansion engines of 1700 indicated horsepower. It is generally understood that about 22 K-boats have been built, though the actual total may be larger.-The Engineer, 21/2.

"BLISTERS."-The following notes on the "blister" protection fitted to vessels of the British Navy may be of interest. In its earliest form this system was first applied to four old cruisers, Edgar, Endymion, Thesus, and Grafton. Curiously enough, more than two years elapsed before a ship so fitted was attacked by hostile submarines, and it was not until June, 1917, that the efficacy of the "blister was tested. In that month the Grafton was torpedoed squarely amidships. A large hole was blown in the bulge, but the ship herself was practically undamaged. On subsequent occasions several of the monitors were torpedoed, but in no case with fatal, or even with serious results. Recognizing the futility

of torpedoes against these vessels, the Germans evolved a new weapon, from which they expected better results. This was the electricallycontrolled moon-boat, the advent of which was duly reported in an official communiqué during 1917. Capable of very high speed, loaded with a heavy charge of explosives, and under perfect control from a shore station, this novel instrument threatened to become more formidable than the conventional torpedo. One of them struck the Erebus, demolishing part of the "blister." An examination showed, however, that the injury was less serious than had been feared, and the Erebus was soon in service again. After this experience all the monitors were fitted with a strong guard rail running round the bulge, and thereafter the electric boat "torpedoes" appear to have been less dangerous.-The Engineer, 14/2.

U-BOATS SOLD FOR JUNK.-Purchasers of 47, Held by British Promise to Break Them Up.—A number of German submarines lying in a British port are to be handed over to the Allied governments, some being sent to Italy, Japan, and other countries. Forty-seven submarines, of all sizes, up to the big ocean-going submarines, have been sold under the condition that they be broken up. The Admiralty will first remove their engines.-N. Y. Times, 5/3.

GERMAN ANTI-AIRCRAFT DEFENCES.-Now that the cessation of hostilities against the Central Powers permits the issue of sundry details concerning the work of the Royal Air Force against the German defences in Belgium the public will be able to realize better than during the actual course of the war the tremendous opposition which our airmen had to face in the performance of their duties. During the war no less than 30,000 bombs were dropped by our Dunkerque squadron-principally upon Ostende, Bruges, and Zeebrugge, which were the bases of the German destroyer flotillas operating off the Belgian coast, and contained their submarine depots, and all our aerial operations against this coastal sector were carried out in the teeth of a powerful and carefully-organized system of antiaircraft defences. The number of anti-aircraft batteries was very large and included some guns of 8-inch caliber. One well-known gun at Westende could throw a shell up to 22,000 feet, and the local defences, both fixed and mobile, were formidable to a degree. To take one example of a closely defended locality, there were concentrated at Bruges alone within a small radius more than 50 powerful searchlights, over 50 guns of various calibers, about 40 kite balloons carrying nets, and innumerable machineguns and tracer pom-pom guns. Yet, in spite of the intensive barrage which the enemy could put up, Bruges was on one occasion bombed from a height of only 200 feet.-Army and Navy Gazette, 8/2.

SHIFTS ON GERMAN FLEET.-Britain May Let France and Italy Have Some Ships, but Sink Her Own.-A change in the attitude of the British Government regarding the plan to sink interned German warships has been noticed since the return of Premier Lloyd George to Paris. It now appears likely that instead of the German craft being sunk Great Britain will be willing to permit France and Italy to keep some of the ships, but will consent to sink her own allotment.

In this way, it is said, Great Britain would relieve the United States of the necessity of carrying out her projected great naval building program, which, it is understood, was based on the intention of preventing any one nation from having such a predominant navy as would give her control of the seas against the powers of the League of Nations.

The addition of some of the German warships to the French and Italian navies would not sensibly disturb the balance of naval power, excluding Austria and Germany.

The desire of American naval experts that the German ships shall be eliminated, it is said, is based on considerations of economy, as they hold

that if the German ships are given to Great Britain in the proportion proposed the United States would be compelled to spend $1,000,000,000 to maintain her place in the naval lists.-N. Ý. Times, 11/3.

AERONAUTICS.-Although the government still finds it necessary to place a ban on civilian flying, several more or less unofficial performances during the past month are worthy of note. Of them one of the more technically interesting was the ascent on the 2d of a British_machine from a point near Ipswich with the pilot, Captain Lang, R. A. F., and an observer, Lieutenant Blowes, to a height of 30,500 feet, thus establishing a world's altitude record for an aeroplane. The machine used was a De Havilland 9 biplane, made by the Aircraft Manufacturing Company, and equipped with a Napier "Lion" engine developing 450 horsepower. The first 10,000 feet was accomplished in 6 minutes 18 seconds, the first 20,000 feet in 19 minutes 40 seconds, and the maximum of 30,500 feet in 66 minutes 55 seconds. The oxygen apparatus and the electrical heating apparatus both gave trouble, and at the maximum height the engine stopped running by reason, it is stated, of the failure of the small propeller-driven petrol and oil pumps. The feat was accomplished, it is interesting to note, in a wind blowing, on the ground, at 35 miles an hour. Another notable performance was the flight on the 18th of a large Handley-Page machine from Belfast to Sheffield, and thence at a later date to the east coast of England. The machine was fitted with four Rolls-Royce engines, developing a total of 1600 horsepower, and was built by Messrs. Harland and Wolff. It was one of a number constructed for the bombing of Berlin, and was of the same design as the machine which in November flew over London with forty passengers on board. Fully loaded it weighs over fourteen tons, and carries sufficient fuel for a flight of 1500 miles. On the journey from Belfast the machine carried a crew of seven with half a ton of luggage, the pilot being Mr. C. B. Prodger, the well-known aviator. The weather was bitterly cold and windy at the start, and. later, especially over the Midlands, heavy banks of fog were encountered. The journey was made via the Isle of Man, Blackpool, Preston, and Manchester, and was commenced a few minutes after noon. At 3.25 p. m. the pilot brought the machine to land at Sheffield, having spent 25 minutes in the endeavor to find the aerodrome. The journey of 300 miles was thus accomplished at the rate of 100 miles an hour. During much of the course the ground was invisible and the pilot had to steer by his compass. Bad weather prevented the continuation of the journey to the east coast for some days-it had been intended to accomplish the whole trip in one stage-but eventually the remaining portion of the journey, a course of 130 miles, via Lincoln, Skegness, and the coast line southwards, was successfully achieved, in spite of gusty winds, storms and low-lying mist, the time taken being one hour forty minutes.-The Engineer, 7/2.

8000 GERMAN PLANES BAGGED.-Britain Reports 2800 of Her Aircraft Were Lost.-London, March 13.-During the war 8000 enemy airplanes were shot down by the British air forces, while 2800 British air machines were missing, Brig.-Gen. J. E. B. Seeley announced in the House of Commons to-day in introducing the army's estimates of £66,500,000. General Seeley said that if the war had continued the estimate would have been £200,000,000.

When the armistice was signed, he added, England was turning out 4000 airplanes a month and had 200 squadrons in commission compared to six at the beginning of the war.-Baltimore Sun, 13/3.

THE CLYDE-BUILT AIRSHIP "R.-34."-The new Clyde-built airship R.-34, says The Glasgow Herald, is expected to have a speed of 80 m. p. h. to 90 m. p. h. under average weather conditions, and to be capable of cross

ing the Atlantic from Scotland to New York and returning without stopping. She is 670 feet in length, 79 feet in diameter, and of 2,000,000 cubic feet capacity. She has a lifting power of 50 tons, and a total horsepower-in five engines-of 1250. Four cars or gondolas are suspended from the framework, the forward being the navigating or control car from which the vessel is operated, and in which there are also the wireless telegraphy and wireless telephony cabin and the ballast and bomb controls. From each car there runs to the top of the vessel a wire ladder, which leads also into a corridor that runs all the length of the ship. At the extreme stern, near the rudder and the elevating planes, there is a machine-gun platform, while right on the top there is another platform for machine guns and also for a 2-pounder gun. There are water ballast tanks having a capacity of 2000 pounds, and petrol tanks capable of carrying fuel sufficient for eight days' continuous running. All these tanks can, if necessary, be released at any time and dropped clear of the ship. If caught at sea in fog the R.-34 can stay in the air for three weeks at a time, or can throw out a sea anchor and ride out a storm, keeping in touch with the land by wireless, or asking for whatever assistance may be desired.— Engineering, 21/2.

A BONUS FOR THE NAVY.-That the Admiralty have officially admitted the pay of the officers and men to need "thorough and expeditious revision" should go far to quiet the unrest in the navy. It will be held satisfactory also that at the same time this admission is made notice is given of a temporary increase, or bonus, pending the conclusion of the investigations now being held in the matter. The official announcement adds that "this bonus must not be taken as representing the increase which the board may ultimately consider necessary before they can be satisfied that the officers and men of the Naval Service are receiving that just and equitable remuneration which their services so well merit." Assuredly the increase now given does not nearly meet the standard which the officers and men themselves consider an adequate remuneration for their services, nor in the case of the men does it meet the claim they have made as a body in public meeting. Apparently not less than 50 per cent on the substantive pay of the officers, and 100 per cent on that of the men will satisfy their own expectations of equitable treatment. It is much to be regretted that an advance was not made before the men began to agitate for it, and whether the board have taken an altogether wise course in dealing with the movement only time will show.-Army and Navy Gazette, 11/2.

LORD JELLICOE'S CASE.-By Arthur Pollen.-Those who think the British Navy was never truly prepared for war, nor in war commanded on right principles until it was too late, base their opinions upon the following familiar considerations:

From 1905 onwards, they say, the Admiralty was dominated by a group who thought of naval war as a state of things in which Great Britain would somehow, and inevitably, command the sea. They never thought of it in terms of victorious fighting, by which alone command of the sea can be assured. Hence their preparations, their plans, and their theory of command were based upon false premises. As fighting was omitted from their calculations, they thought of ships only in terms of number, size and speed, and of weapons only in terms of range and the weight and explosive capacity of the projectiles. They did not concern themselves with finding a strategy that should force their enemy to battle, nor with tactics by which the unthought-of battle should be fought, nor with methods by which their battle weapons should be used. Not only did they not prepare to fight: they did not expect that the enemy would do so. So long as their fleet was sufficiently numerous and, according to