THE DREADNOUGHT AND VICTORY COMPARED
| DREADNOUGHT. | VICTORY. | |
|---|---|---|
| Time Building | 16 months | Five years ten months |
| Total Cost | £1,797,497 | £89,000 |
| Displacement | 17,900 tons | 3400 tons. |
| Total Weight Broadside | 6800 lb. | 1160 lb. |
| Extreme Range of Guns | 25 miles | 3 miles. |
| Penetration of armour at six miles | 9 in. Krupp Steel | |
| Penetration at all distances | Nil. | |
| Heaviest Gun | 12 inch | 6 inch. |
| Weight of Charge | 265 lb. (M.D. cordite). | 10½ lb. (gunpowder). |
| Time to make Gun | 12 to 15 months | Four guns a week. |
| Cost per Gun | £11,000 | £57. 15s. |
| Average Weight per Gun | 58 tons | 56 cwt. |
| Complement | 780 men | 850 men. |
| Length | 490 ft. | 226 ft. 6 in. |
| Breadth | 82 ft. | 52 ft. |
| Mean Load Draught | 26 ft. 6 in. | 25 ft. |
| Number of Guns | 37 | 104 |
| Speed | 21½ knots | 10 knots. |
II
“KENT CLAIMS THE FIRST BLOW!”
“The Kentishe Menne in Front!”
“Kent claims for itself the first blow in battle against alien enemies.” The hand that penned these words has lain in the grave for over seven centuries; but old William Fitz-Stephen of Canterbury knew what he meant, and meant what he wrote. They are words that our fine “county cruiser” the Kent of to-day—to which the ladies of Kent have presented a silken battle flag and the Men of Kent a silver shield and other gifts, to incite the Kent’s bluejackets to shoot straight—might well adopt and make the ship’s motto. It was from the County of Kent that the initiative came in the movement which has had such excellent results in inducing the county people in other counties all over Great Britain and Ireland to display a practical interest in the warships that bear the county names; and the idea has since spread in other cases throughout the Empire.
The county “Association of Men of Kent and Kentish Men” of their own accord took the initial step in the spring of 1899 by approaching the late Lord Goschen, then First Lord of the Admiralty, with a request that one of four cruisers of a new type, to be built under the supplemental programme of the previous August, might be named after the County of Kent. The request was heartily received, and in response the name Kent was announced for the first of the new ships. A little later the Men of Kent made a second proposal. They asked permission to establish among themselves a “county memorial for the new county-cruiser Kent,” expressing their “desire and intention to do something to keep up a continual connection between the county and the good ship, and to cause a sustained interest to be taken in her fortunes and the welfare of those on board.” Lord Goschen acceded to that request, and a county subscription was immediately set on foot by Lord Harris, the president of the Association for the year, to form a Kent county trophy fund for the cruiser Kent. It was proposed to present the ship, on commissioning, with a challenge trophy in silver, to be competed for annually among the gun crews of the ship, the champion gun team for each year to have their names inscribed on the trophy and receive a special monetary reward from a county fund established with the trophy. The trophy itself was to be kept on board and to be displayed on special and festive occasions in the mess of the winning team. Whenever the Kent was out of commission the trophy would be cared for by the Captain of the Royal Naval Barracks, Chatham, or at Greenwich Naval College.[4] The movement received cordial support from Lord Selborne, Lord Goschen’s successor at the Admiralty, and from the late Earl Stanhope, the then Lord Lieutenant of Kent, and the late Lord Salisbury, then Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports. More than that, indeed. Interested by the patriotic action taken by the County of Kent on behalf of its cruiser namesake, His Majesty the King was himself graciously pleased to command that in the cases of future ships bearing the names of counties the Lords Lieutenant of the counties concerned were to be requested by the Admiralty to nominate in each case some lady connected with the county to perform the naming and launching ceremony.
THE COUNTY AND ITS SHIP. THE KENT TROPHY CHALLENGE SHIELD
