Part 20

=CONVERSION OF MERCHANTMEN.= The right or practice of converting merchant vessels into warships on the high seas or in neutral ports.

=CONVOY.=--A number of merchant steamers crossing the ocean under the protection of warships.

=CORDITE.=--The explosive used in guns for discharging projectiles.

=COUNTER.=--That portion of a vessel which overhangs the keel towards the stern (q.v.).

=COUNTER MINING.=--To lay out and explode mines in the vicinity of hostile ones, in order to destroy them by percussion.

=CRANK.=--A vessel is said to be crank when she lists over easily.

=CRUISER.=--A warship of high speed, usually employed in scouting, commerce protection, and special service. They fall into various categories:--

(_a_) Armoured Cruiser, a vessel having vertical external armour. See also “Battle-Cruiser.”

(_b_) Light Cruiser, a vessel with deck protection only; or, if armoured, of but small size and with a thin belt.

(_c_) Unprotected Cruiser, a cruising vessel having no armour; included in the Light Cruiser class.

=CRUISING SPEED.=--The most economical speed from the point of view of fuel consumption at which a ship can travel.

=DEMURRAGE.=--Compensation paid to the owner of a vessel when she has been detained longer than her time for unloading.

=DERELICT.=--A ship whose crew have abandoned her when at sea.

=DESTROYER.=--A large type of torpedo-boat originally intended to destroy such craft by gun-fire--now, with submarines, the chief medium for torpedo-attack.

=DEVIATION OF THE COMPASS.=--The amount of the variation of a ship’s compass from the true magnetic meridian, caused by the proximity of iron.

=DIRECTOR TOWER.=--An armoured compartment in a ship whence torpedoes are fired.

=DISPLACEMENT.=--The weight of water a ship displaces when floating.

=Normal Displacement.=--The weight of water a ship displaces when she has her normal amount of stores, etc., on board.

=DOCK.=--A place in which a ship may be placed for repair or loading and unloading. See “Floating Dock” and “Graving Dock.”

=DOCKYARD.=--The works, etc., where ships are built or repairs can be carried out. In the Government dockyards ships are commissioned and supplied with stores, ammunition, coal, etc.

=DRAUGHT.=--The vertical distance between the lowest portion of the keel and the water line.

“=DREADNOUGHT.=”--Battleships and cruisers evoked by H.M.S. =Dreadnought=, which was the first ship to be armed with one type of big gun. “A.B.G. ships”--All-big-gun-ships.

=“DREADNOUGHT” CRUISERS.=--Cruisers derived from the principle of design of H.M.S. _Dreadnought_, now called Battle Cruisers (q.v.).

=ECHELON.=--Guns are said to be mounted =en echelon= when they are not mounted symmetrically but are placed diagonally athwart-ship.

=ENGINES.=--The reciprocating, turbine, or internal-combustion machinery for propelling vessels.

=ENSIGN.=--(Usually pronounced “ens’n.”) The flag carried by a ship as the insignia of her nationality or the nature of her duties.

=ESTIMATES.=--The annual estimate or expenditure on the Royal Navy for its administration, personnel, and for the upkeep or building of new vessels.

=FIRST LORD OF THE ADMIRALTY=--The Cabinet Minister who presides over the Board of Admiralty. See “Admiralty.”

=FIRST SEA LORD.=--The Senior =Naval Officer= serving on the Board of Admiralty.

=FLARE.=--The over-hang of the upper part of a ship’s sides beneath the forecastle. The peculiar outward and upward curve in the form of a vessel’s bow. When it hangs over she is said to have a “Flaring Bow.”

=FLEET.=--A number of vessels in company, be they war or other vessels.

=FLEET IN BEING.=--An inferior naval force, capable of action and influencing or impeding the operations of an enemy.

=FLEET RESERVE.=--Short-service men who have left continuous service, but are liable to be called upon in case of war.

=FLEET-UNIT.=--A vessel fit to form a unit in a fleet.

=FLOATING DOCK.=--An oblong floating structure in which a ship may be placed, and out of which the water may be pumped, bringing her above water-level, so that the bottom of the ship can be repaired, etc.; they have usually no motive power.

=FLOTTENVEREIN.=--The German Navy League.

=FLUSH DECK.=--A deck having neither raised nor sunken part, so that it runs continuously from stem to stern.

=FORE AND AFT.=--In the direction of a line drawn from stem to stern of a vessel--at right angles to athwartships.

=FORWARD.=--In front of--the forepart, in the vicinity of the bows of a vessel.

=GRAVING DOCK.=--A dock excavated out of the land into which entry is made from seaward.

=GUN.=--A weapon used for firing shot or shell. See “Breech-loader” and “Q.F. Gun.”

=GUNBOAT.=--A small type of slow cruiser armed with light guns, specially adapted for harbour or river service.

=GUN-COTTON.=--A high explosive used in torpedoes and submarine mines, etc.

=Wet Gun-Cotton.=--Gun-Cotton with a certain percentage of moisture in it; it is useless as an explosive unless dry gun-cotton is present to detonate it.

=GUNLAYER.=--A man specially qualified to train (lay) and fire a gun.

=Gunlayers’ Test.=--An annual practice carried out in every ship to test the efficiency of the gun-layers individually.

=GUN-POWER.=--The fighting efficiency of a ship expressed in the total weight of metal capable of being discharged in a single broadside or a specified period of time.

=HALYARD.=--A rope with which a sail, flag, or yard is hoisted.

=HARVEYISED.=--Armour made by the “Harvey” process. Now obsolete.

=HATCH, HATCHWAY.=--An opening in the deck of a ship through which persons or cargo may descend or be lowered.

=HEAVY GUN.=--Any gun greater than and including a 4-in. Q.F. or B.L.

=HOG.=--When a vessel has a tendency to droop at her ends she is said to hog.

=HORNPIPE.=--The dance once popular among the sailors of the British Navy and still sometimes performed at festive times.

=HOSPITAL SHIP.=--An auxiliary vessel specially designed for the reception of sick and wounded men; by nature of her duties and under rules of International Law she is immune from attack.

=HULL.=--The body, framework, and plating of a vessel.

=HURRICANE DECK.=--In large steamships a light upper deck extending across the vessel amidships.

=HYDRO-AEROPLANE.=--A seaplane. (q.v.)

=HYDROPLANE.=--A type of boat the flattened keel of which is so constructed that, after a certain speed has been attained, the hull rises in the water and skims lightly over the surface, thus driving forward _above_ rather than _through_ the water. The hydroplane =cannot= rise into the air and fly.

=IDLERS.=--Those, being liable to constant duty by day, who are not required to keep the night watches, such as carpenters, sail-makers, etc., also called “Daymen.”

=JACK-STAFF.=--A flagpole for flying the Union Jack, invariably at the bows of the ship.

=KEEL.=--That portion of a ship running fore and aft in the middle of a ship’s bottom.

=KEEL-PLATE.=--The lowest plate of all in the keel; this plate is the first to be laid down when building is commenced.

=KNOT.=--The unit of speed for ships. A ship is said to be going =x= knots, when she is going =x= sea (or nautical) miles in one hour. One sea mile = 6,080 ft.

N.B.--The word =knot= should never be used to indicate distance.

=KRUPP STEEL.=--Steel hardened by a special process discovered and applied at Essen.

=LABOUR.=--When a vessel pitches or strains in a heavy sea she is said to “labour.”

=LANDLOCKED.=--Sheltered on all sides by the land.

=LARBOARD.=--The old term for port. (q.v.)

=LATITUDE.=--Distance north or south of the equator, expressed in degrees.

=LAUNCH.=--To place a ship in the water for the first time.

=LAY DOWN.=--To commence building a ship.

=LEE.=--Or Leeward (pronounced Loo’ard). The side of a vessel opposite to that upon which the wind blows.

=LIGHTER.=--A powerful hull or barge with a flat bottom, used for transporting heavy goods, such as coal, ammunition, etc.

=LIST.=--A vessel is said to have a list if she heeled temporarily or permanently to one side.

=LOG.=--The instrument used to measure a vessel’s speed through the water. Also the ship’s daily journal.

=LONGITUDE.=--Distance east or west of a first meridian, expressed in degrees.

=MAGAZINE.=--The place on board ship or on shore where ammunition is stored.

=MAN.=--To place the right complement of men in a ship or boat to work her.

=MARINE.=--A soldier specially trained for sea service. “Soldier and sailor too.”

=MAST.=--The tall structure in a ship formerly for the carrying of sail, but now carrying control stations, fighting tops, and wireless telegraphy apparatus.

=MASTER.=--The Captain of a merchant vessel who holds a master’s or extra master’s certificate.

=MINE.=--A weapon of war which is placed in the sea by the enemy, and explodes on a ship striking it; or can be fired from the shore or ship by means of an electric current.

=MINEFIELD.=--A space near a harbour specially devoted to mining operations.

=MINE-LAYER.=--A ship specially fitted to lay mines out.

=MINE-SWEEPER.=--A ship whose duty it is to discover and destroy the enemy’s mines in order to leave a clear passage for friendly craft.

=MOLE.=--A stone break-water or sea-wall.

=MOOR.=--To anchor a ship with two anchors.

=MOTHER-SHIP.=--A depot ship for torpedo craft, submarines, etc., victualling and issuing stores to the crews of the vessels under her command controlled by her officers.

=MUZZLE ENERGY.=--The force which is propelling the projectile when it leaves the gun.

=MUZZLE VELOCITY.=--The speed at which a projectile is travelling when it leaves the gun.

=NAUTICAL MILE.=--One sixtieth of a degree of latitude. It varies from 6,046 ft. at the equator to 6,092 ft. in lat. 60° N. or S. The nautical mile for speed trials, generally called the Admiralty Measured Mile, = 6,080 ft., 1.151 statute miles, 1,833 metres.

=NAVIGATION.=--That branch of science which teaches the sailor to conduct his ship from place to place.

=NAVY LEAGUE, THE.=--A strictly non-party organisation formed in January, 1895, with Admiral of the Fleet, Sir G. Phipps Hornby, G.C.B., etc., as its first President, for the purpose of urging upon the Government and the electorate the paramount importance of a supreme Fleet as the best guarantee of peace.

Its agencies are employed in all parts of the Empire spreading information on matters affecting the Royal Navy.

=NUCLEUS CREW.=--The essential part of a crew of a ship such as the gun-layers, petty officers, etc. Some ships are manned by nucleus crews only, being completed to full strength in case of mobilisation. Such ships are sometimes colloquially known as “Nucoloid.”

=OAKUM.=--The substance to which old ropes are reduced when unpicked.

=OCEAN GOING DESTROYER.=--A large type of torpedo boat destroyer, specially designed for service in any wind or weather.

=ORDNANCE.=--A general term applied to guns collectively, and to the Department concerned with them.

=ORLOP DECK.=--The lowest deck in the ship.

=PAY OFF.=--To end a “Commission.”

=PENDANT OR PENNANT.=--A long, pointed flag.

=Paying-off Pennant.=--A long streamer hoisted at the mainmast of a war vessel to denote she is “paying off.”

=POOP.=--An extra deck on the after part of a vessel.

=PORT.=--The left-hand side of the ship as you stand looking forward.

=PRIMARY (or main) ARMAMENT.=--The largest guns mounted in a ship.

=PRIZE.=--In war time, any vessel taken at sea from an enemy.

=PROJECTED.=--A ship is said to be “projected” before keel plate is actually laid.

=PROTECTIVE DECK.=--See “Armoured Deck.”

=PROW.=--The beak or pointed cutwater of a ship.

=Q.F. GUN.=--Quick-firing gun. A gun the cartridge of which is contained in a metal cylinder, as opposed to the B.L. gun.

=QUARTERS.=--A term indicating those portions of a vessel immediately on either side of her stern (q.v.). Differentiated in association with the terms “Port” or “Starboard.” “Quarters” also designates the living space for the personnel and the stations of the crew when in action.

=RAKE.=--The inclination of the mast (or funnels) from the perpendicular; the “rake” is very nearly always in a direction aft, but when the mast slants forward it is said to have a “Forward rake.”

=RAKISH.=--Having a smart or fast appearance. (Applied to ships.)

=RANGE.=--The distance in yards of the object fired at. The extreme range is the longest distance to which a projectile can be fired by any particular gun.

=RANGE-FINDER.=--An instrument used for determining ranges.

=RATE.=--The classification of a vessel for certain purposes.

=RATLINES.=--Small lines crossing the shrouds of a ship and thus forming ladders.

=REFIT.=--To place a ship in dockyard hands for overhauling her machinery, etc.

=REPAIR SHOP.=--A Fleet auxiliary (q.v.) which is fitted with a foundry, etc. on board, and can carry out minor repair work.

=RIBS.=--The timbers which form the skeleton of a ship or boat.

=RICOCHET.=--A leap or bound such as a flat piece of stone makes when thrown obliquely along the surface of the water. Generally spoken of with reference to projectiles. A “_ricochet hit_” is made when a projectile hits the enemy or target after it has first struck the water.

=RIG.=--The rig of a vessel is the manner in which her masts and sails are fitted to her hull.

=RIGGING.=--The system of ropes in a vessel whereby the masts are supported and the sails hoisted. There are two kinds of rigging, viz., standing rigging and running rigging, the latter term including all movable ropes.

=ROLL.=--The oscillation of a vessel in a heavy sea.

=SAG.=--A drooping or depression. A ship is said to sag when her centre tends to droop below the line joining her stem and stern; the opposite to hogging.

=SALVO.=--A discharge of fire from several guns simultaneously.

=SCOUT.=--A light, swift, protected cruiser specially adapted for scouting work.

=SCREENING CRUISERS.=--Cruisers separated from the battle fleet to deceive the enemy as to the Fleet’s position.

=SEAPLANE.=--The official naval designation of the Hydro-aeroplane which is a man-carrying apparatus equally capable of flight in the air and navigation on water. Also called Navyplane, Waterplane, Flying-Boat, Airboat.

=SEARCH, RIGHT OF.=--The right to search neutral vessels for the discovery of contraband.

=SECONDARY ARMAMENT.=--The guns which support the primary armament.

=SHEET.=--The rope attached to a sail so that it can be “worked” as occasion demands.

=SHROUDS.=--Strong ropes (generally wire) which support the mast laterally.

=SLIP.=--The wooden “way” on which a ship is built.

=SPEED TRIALS.=--Trials carried out periodically to test a vessel’s speed.

=SQUADRON.=--A number of ships under command of a single officer.

=STANCHION.=--An upright post supporting the deck above in a ship.

=STARBOARD.=--The right-hand side of the ship as you stand looking forward.

=STAYS.=--Strong ropes supporting spars and masts in a ship.

=STEM.=--The “nose” or “cutwater” of any ship.

=STERN.=--The aftermost part of a vessel.

=STRAKE.=--A line of planking extending the length of a vessel.

=STRATEGY.=--The disposition and handling of Squadrons or Fleets to dominate the forces of an enemy or control the time or place of an engagement. The broad disposition of naval forces.

=SUBMARINE.=--A war-vessel the chief work of which is to operate below the surface.

=SUBMERGED SPEED.=--The speed at which a submersible or submarine can travel under water.

=SUBMERSIBLE.=--A vessel which can be made to dive but which generally navigates on the surface.

=SUPERIMPOSED BARBETTES.=--Barbettes or turrets mounted behind and above other barbettes or turrets so that the guns in the first are enabled to fire over those in the second.

=SURFACE SPEED.=--The speed at which a submersible or submarine can travel when navigating on the surface.

=TACTICS.=--The handling and conduct of ships or squadrons in actual contact with an antagonist, or exercises for training for such engagements.

=TENDER.=--A vessel attached to a parent ship.

=TOP.=--A position or platform on the mast of a vessel. A fighting top in a top armed with light guns.

=TOPHAMPER.=--The upper works of the ship, such as masts, funnels, bridges, cowls, etc.

=TORPEDO.=--An engine of war which is discharged from a tube (submerged or above water) and which travels under water; it is loaded with a charge of gun-cotton which explodes on impact.

=TORPEDO-BOAT.=--A vessel specially designed for attack on larger ships by means of torpedoes.

=TORPEDO BOAT DESTROYER= (=T.B.D.=)--See “Destroyer.”

=TORPEDO-NET.=--A steel wire net which is thrown over the side of a ship and held extended by means of booms; it hangs down about 20 to 30 ft. below the surface, and acts as a defence against torpedoes.

=TORPEDO TUBE.=--A tube from which torpedoes are ejected either by means of a small charge of gunpowder or compressed air.

=TRAJECTORY.=--The line of flight of a projectile after leaving the gun.

=TROUGH.=--The hollow between two waves.

=TRUCK.=--The cap at the head of the mast or a flagstaff. It generally contains one or more holes for the reception of signal halyards.

=TURRET.=--The revolving armoured structure in which big guns are mounted, including the turn-table, ammunition hoists, etc. See “Barbette.”

=TWO-KEELS-TO-ONE-STANDARD.= The standard under which the British Fleet should be maintained at a strength, as against the next strongest Power, of two completed capital-ships to one.

=TWO-POWER STANDARD.=--The standard which indicated that the British Fleet was equal in strength to the fleets of the two next strongest Powers. This standard has been abandoned.

=WAIST.=--That portion of a ship on the upper deck between the forecastle and quarter deck.

=WATER-TUBE BOILER.=--A boiler in which the water is contained in tubes round which the hot gases circulate.

=WAY (Momentum).=--It is important to note the difference between this and the term “_weigh_,” the two being very often confounded. A vessel in motion is said to have “way” on her; and when she ceases to move to have “no way.” But a vessel under weigh in one not at anchor or secured to the shore.

=WEATHER-SIDE.=--The side on which the wind blows.

=WEEPING (or Sweating).=--Drops of water oozing through the sides of a vessel or caused by condensation on the surface of the beams, etc.

=WEIGH.=--To lift the anchor from the ground.

=WIRE-WOUND.=--All big British guns are made by winding miles of steel wire or ribbon round a tube over which the exterior tubes are afterwards shrunk.

=YARD.=--A spar suspended to a mast for the purpose of hoisting or extending a sail, or to which signal halyards can be taken.

From “The Navy League Annual,” by the courtesy of Alan H. Burgoyne, Esq., M.P.

Netherwood, Dalton & Co., Rashcliffe, Huddersfield.

FOOTNOTES

[1] All statements as to King Alfred’s navy are taken directly from the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, Asser, and Florence of Worcester.

[2] An interpolated passage

[3] Wace.

[4] Guyot de Provins _ex_ Nicholas.

[5] _ex_ Nicolas.

[6] Henry VIII introduced a new form of warship in the “pinnaces,” which were, to a certain extent, analogous to the torpedo craft of to-day.

[7] Records of the Drake family.

[8] The italics are mine.--F.T.J.

[9] So far as I am aware nothing about this appears in any official account. I have no Japanese confirmation, but accounts gleaned at the time from the Russian auxiliaries--who, being foreigners had no object in lying--make it perfectly clear to my mind that the Russian admirals believed that the Japanese were astern of them till they met them at Tsushima. It is the only logical explanation of why Rodjestvensky essayed the narrow passage with his best ships, when he could equally well have gone round Japan with them unopposed, and so secured at Vladivostok that refit of which he was so much in need.

[10] It was badly weather-beaten, of course, and in sore straits on account of its lengthy voyage.

[11] In 1620 the first submarine appeared. It was invented by a Dutch physician, C. Van Drebel; and James I went for a lengthy underwater trip in a larger replica.--See _Submarine Navigation_, by Alan H. Burgoyne.

[12] In this connection, _see_ The First Dutch War, a few pages further on.

[13] It is interesting to note that this particular argument, seemingly rather hyperbolical to-day on account of railways, is so _only if the hostile ships can be kept under observation_.

[14] This practice appears to have been allowed to die out. At any rate it was re-introduced in the time of Queen Anne.

[15] Admiral Colomb (_Naval Warfare_) traced the Dutch defeat--or perhaps one should write, “lack of advantage”--mainly to the fact that the Dutch had a larger mercantile marine to protect, and merely mentions incidentally the constant complaints of Van Tromp and others to the inferiority of Dutch warships compared to English ones. But since so many of the Dutch merchantmen carried very fair armaments, and as “tactics” played no part in this war, I prefer to accept the explanation of the Dutch Admirals, none of whom assigned failures to the more obvious excuse of being hampered by convoys. Dutch contemporary accounts of this and following wars appear generally to be nearer the actual truth than English ones.

[16] Churnock, _ex_ Fincham.

[17] Charles II always had an eye for and interest in improvements in detail, and himself invented new forms of hull, which, however, did not come up to his expectations. Both he and James wore devoted to yachting and steered their own boats.

A singular defect of all the Stuarts in naval matters was their inability to appreciate the importance of the human as well as the material element. In the Cromwell régime, all the old abuses in connection with food, clothing and delayed pay, wore done away with; to re-appear, however, almost as bad as ever soon after the Restoration.

[18] ENGLISH.

Ships 62 Men 27,725 Guns 4,500 Frigates, etc. 23

DUTCH.

Ships 36 Men 12,950 Guns 2,494 Frigates, etc. 14

[19] See Crimean War in a later chapter for a revival of this.

[20] Fincham.

[21] He was Master of the fleet at Beachy Head and also at Cape La Hogue.

[22] The _Pembroke_ (sixty-four) captured by the French in 1710, in this war, had her armament reduced to fifty guns by them.

[23] This extraordinary story of a soldier saving the fleet is made all the stranger by the fact that Sir Hovenden Walker, the Admiral, was a teetotaller and a vegetarian, an almost unheard of thing in those days.

[24] Fincham.

[25] See later references to Sir William White and Sir Philip Watts.

[26] Their recklessness was such that Peter had to give orders that no Swedish ship was to be boarded unless the superior officers were killed. Swedish captains, attacked by superior forces, made a regular practice of allowing themselves to be boarded and then blowing up their ships!

[27] Colomb.

[28] For a very full and detailed account see Chapter XV. of Colomb’s _Naval Warfare_.

[29] The treasure ship was well armed and did not hesitate to engage him. Anson’s success was in some considerable measure attributable to the fact that not having enough men for the broadside firing of the period, he ordered independent firing. It was the Spanish custom to lie down as the enemy fired a broadside, then jump up and fire back. Anson’s independent firing caused much unexpected slaughter on them. This rule of “broadsides” compares interestingly with the salvo firing of the present day.

[30] See earlier reference to the same thing in Raleigh’s time.

[31] Is the well-known _Royal George_, which capsized at Spithead, in 1782.