Reconstructed Vessels to Serve as Reserve For Home Waters Convoy Duties in War London, July 25.
Even as Britain constructs and lays down more new war vessels, destined to maintain the power of the Navy uncontested by other countries' fleets, several older naval units are being speedily modernized so as to form a "reserve ficer."
The new warships will serve chiefly te protect the long maritime routes connecting the British Isles with far outposts of the Empire and distant trading posts. The modernized units, however, will be used, in the main, to escort merchant vessels in home waters. and in the Atlantic between southern Ireland and Gibraltar.
Among these modernized vessels are to be seen antiquated cruisers of the Coventry and Enterprise type. and several old destroyers, The Coventry type vessels are armed chiefly with turrets mounting two guns of four-inch calibre, able to fire at various angles, even at submarines, Cruisers of the Hawkins type are also being brought up-to-date, in this class the Effingham having just been fitted out with new armaments with Tiz-inch guns replaced by six-inch guns in order to conform with treaty stipulations and to make uniform the cruiser fleet, so that the supplying of ammunition will i supply: mn will be faci-
The number of torpedo-tubes hes also been reduced, from five to four however, four-inch anti-aircraft batteries have been added to these yessels' armaments, On the whole, the weight carried by these ships has been greatly diminished and three light seaplanes will therefore be placed on board.
The Admiralty is also proceeding with the formation of reserve corps to man these modernized craft. Sailors and petty officers whose terms of active service have been completed are encouraged to join these reserve groups.—Havas, New List Gazetted with 37 Generals
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.