BOOK DEPARTMENT
Members of the Institute, both regular and associate, may save money by ordering books through its Book Department, which will supply any obtainable book. A discount of 10 per cent is allowed on books published by the Institute, and 5 per cent on books of other publishers (government and foreign publications excepted). Address Secretary-Treasurer, U. S. Naval Institute, Annapolis, Maryland.
SKAGERRAK. By Rear Admiral von Friedrich Luetzow, Munich: Albert Langen, Georg Mueller, Die Junge Reihe series, 1936.
Reviewed by Lieutenant Commander Charles Moran, U. S. Naval Reserve
In an attractive little volume of eighty odd pages, Rear Admiral Luetzow gives us a skillfully condensed and interestingly told version of the Battle of Jutland in which he participated as a younger officer on board the light cruiser Hamburg. The book contains six simple but well-drawn sketches which give the average reader all the graphic information he will require concerning the ship movements involved. A most commendable spirit of conciliation and fairness permeates the entire work; not a tinge of gloating over the successes of the German battle cruisers in the opening phase of the engagement can be detected. In fact, the author goes out of his way to agree with Lord Kitchener’s statement that the World War was a civil war between the white races.
Although most foreign readers will find it difficult to follow Admiral Luetzow’s line of reasoning when he attempts to show some tangible advantages accruing to Germany as a result of the battle, no dissenting voice is likely to be raised when he stresses the inspirational value the splendid performance of the German fleet has been to the Fatherland. “The Battle of Skagerrak is irrefutable proof that the German Navy and the German people it serves have an aptitude for the sea. No one has any right henceforth to claim that the sea is foreign to us.”
In spite of the small compass of the work, Admiral Luetzow has found space to express two somewhat novel opinions. The carefully rehearsed “Gefechtskehrtwendung,” the author assures us, was not conceived for the purpose of breaking off an engagement with a superior force, as the British have claimed, but to enable the inferior force to “cross the T” of a more numerous adversary. While maintaining a sportsman-like attitude throughout, Admiral Luetzow cannot refrain from claiming that “at the turning point of the battle, Fortune smiled on the British.” The torpedo-boat attack of the II, VI, and IX flotillas, instead of falling upon Jellicoe while engaged in the critical task of deploying, ran into the III Battle Cruiser Squadron of Admiral Hood which “through a shameful miscalculation in the position of the various units” had failed to connect with Beatty and unintentionally received the shock of the German torpedo attack. “What would have been the result of the battle had Hipper, Behncke and the torpedo boats fallen upon Jellicoe’s vessels which were not yet ranged in battle order!”
Though of undoubted interest to the naval profession, the book is primarily intended for the German layman and in this connection it may not be amiss to congratulate a navy that can reach its public with a dignified and authoritative work published at the remarkably moderate selling price of 50 pfennigs.
NAVIGATION NOTE BOOK. By Lieutenant Commander P. V. H. Weems, U. S. Navy (Retired). Annapolis: Weems System of Navigation. 1936. $2.50. Mark II Plotter, $3.90. Note Book and Plotter, $5.00.
Reviewed by Lieutenant Commander L. H. McDonald, U. S. Navy (Retired)
The Weems System of Navigation has offered a new and practical navigation note or work book for the use of navigators. A suitable work book has been discussed in various articles of the Naval Institute PROCEEDINGS, and this would seem to come closer to that desired by the writers than the few now in existence.
The basic idea of this book seems to be patterned somewhat along the lines of the work book in use by the midshipmen fit the Naval Academy, with improvements which should be pleasing to the practical navigator.
It consists of 144 pages, one half of which are printed as plotting charts, with a large compass rose the width of the page. The remaining pages are lined and arranged for working sights, it being possible to compute 12 sights on each page in an orderly manner.
The pages are ruled to a definite scale, 1:1,000,000 or about 16 miles to the inch, the lines on the work pages being an extension of the same scale as used on the plotting pages. The lines of the work pages showing faintly through the paper, and coinciding with the compass rose, serve as an aid in plotting since they are spaced at intervals of 4 miles horizontally and 20 miles vertically.
A plotter, which fits in a pocket of the inside front cover, is supplied with the book if desired, and the scales of the plotter fit those of the book. Courses and distances are quickly laid off and measured with this plotter and thereby a permanent record is kept of the plotting as well as the computations. Dividers and parallel ruler will accomplish the same purposes as the plotter.
The plotting page is constructed as a small area plotting chart would be, and is quite accurate for the amount of latitude covered by the page. The distance in longitude covered is not quite twice the latitude. Minutes of latitude and longitude may be quickly laid off by means of the plotter on any part of the page, or by means of dividers from scales printed on the chart.
Full instructions for the use of the book, plotting page, and plotter are contained in the cover pages, together with sample problems of 10 different methods of working a sight. A form for each of these methods is included, and the navigator may cut out and use that form which he prefers, thus saving the bothersome entry on each page for his computations. The inside covers, front and back, are left blank, that tables in constant use, such as sun and star hour angle corrections, altitude corrections, time to arc conversion tables, etc., may be pasted in, thereby increasing the utility of the book. These tables may be clipped from old almanacs as they do not change from year to year.
Some navigators prefer a loose-leaf work book, and this omission is the only criticism the writer can find with the note book here reviewed.
CUGLE’S PRACTICAL NAVIGATION. By Charles H. Cugle. New and enlarged edition. New York: E. P. Dutton & Co., Inc. 1936. $7.00.
Reviewed by Lieutenant Delwyn Hyatt, U. S. Navy
This handy reference volume contains a large fund of useful information.
As an aid in preparing for merchant marine examinations, the book is of undoubted value. It is not, however, considered indispensable to naval officers, as implied in the cover. There still remain many differences between naval and merchant marine phraseology even in so concise a subject as navigation; different ways of saying the same thing, which, after all, is the only difference between English and Chinese.
There is a clear and concise explanation of the main tables in Bowditch, and a rich fund of problems with definite rules for solution, and examples. The sample problem covering H.O. 211, however, uses assumed positions, while this method is intended to be applied only to dead-reckoning positions. There is no loss of accuracy by doing this, but for assumed positions H.O. 211 is inferior to H.O. 208.
Deserving a definite place in the bookshelves of all mariners and aspirants for merchant marine commissions, this splendid volume represents the latest and most up-to-date thought on the subject of navigation from one who is recognized today as a successful practical navigator himself.
DIESEL AIRCRAFT ENGINES. Edited and published by Paul H. Wilkinson, 160 Jay Street, Brooklyn, New York. 1936. $3.50.
Reviewed by Lieutenant Commander Roscoe F. Good, U. S. Navy
The history of the development and use of Diesel engines for aircraft propulsion is traced from the first attempts in Germany near the close of the World War through the year 1935. Accomplishments of importance in the United States and foreign countries are discussed individually. The fourteen modern aircraft Diesel engines which have demonstrated acceptable performance are described in detail and illustrated by exterior and cross-sectional views. These data are arranged in convenient tabular form in both English and metric units in order that the reader need not be delayed by the necessity of converting from one system to the other. The data are quite complete and are stated to be authentic in all cases where exceptions are not specifically noted. Details of structural and moving parts and materials of construction are discussed at some length, with particular attention to fuel injection systems, superchargers, and the less vital auxiliaries. Authentic tabular data are also presented covering the aircraft (both lighter and heavier than air) which are now in service with Diesel power plants. The section devoted to fuels for aircraft Diesel engines is not on a par with the remainder of the subject matter. More complete and up-to-date information is available to naval officers in Bureau of Aeronautics Specification M-306 and reports of the Diesel Fuel Investigation conducted at the Engineering Experiment Station at Annapolis for the Bureau of Engineering. The trends of future developments are predicted, apparently logical conclusions being drawn from the accumulated facts.
The discussion of the relative advantages and disadvantages of gasoline and Diesel engines for aviation applications is rather academic and the quoted results of isolated tests seem insufficient to support all the general conclusions drawn therefrom. In general, the volume is suitable for use as a handbook of facts concerning engines now in service. The author’s ability as a prophet must stand the test of time.