SIGNALLING AT SEA.
The wonderful improvements which have been effected in modes of communication during the latter part of the present century have resulted in bridging over space, and bringing the dwellers on this planet into closer and more constant intercommunion. Submarine cables, telegraphs, and telephones have each contributed their aid towards the realisation of Puck’s idea of putting ‘a girdle round the earth;’ and, as might have been expected, the inventive faculty has been directed, in some measure at least, towards enabling those ‘who go down to the sea in ships’ to communicate with each other on the ocean highways with such facility as might be found practicable under the ever-varying conditions which obtain at sea.
At no very remote date, the appliances at the command of a shipmaster who might desire to convey a request to a passing vessel consisted mainly of a pair of strong lungs and a speaking-trumpet. A variation was occasionally attempted by the introduction of a plank and a lump of chalk. The writer remembers having seen an English brig in the South Atlantic, during a strong gale, attempting to convey to a stately frigate an intimation that the brig’s chronometer was broken, and that, in consequence, her worthy captain was at sea, in more senses than one. The brig, which had been running before the wind, braced up on the port tack, and ran as close under the frigate’s stern as was deemed prudent under the circumstances. The captain, clinging to the weather main rigging with one hand, and using the other as a speaking-trumpet, yelled forth a sentence or two which met the fate of most utterances under similar conditions. ‘I’—‘of’—and ‘the’ were faithfully re-echoed from the hollow of the frigate’s mainsail, but the vital words of the message were borne away on the wings of the gale. A similar attempt failed; and finally it occurred to the skipper to write with chalk upon a tarpaulin hatch-cover the words, ‘Chronometer smashed, bound Table Bay.’ The tarpaulin with the foregoing legend was exhibited over the side for a few brief seconds, till a fiercer blast than usual whirled it high in air, and then bore it away to leeward. Fortunately, the purport of the writing had been understood on board the frigate, and no time was lost in displaying a black board with the latitude, longitude, and magnetic course for Table Bay inscribed thereon. Now, if the brig had been provided with the International Code of Signals, the trouble and delay involved in the attempts to communicate by hailing or by written signs, would have been obviated; and whilst holding on her course, the hoisting of a few flags would have completed the entire business in less than five minutes. The Code was certainly in existence at the date referred to, but its use was neither general nor compulsory.
The peculiar requirements of the service upon which ships of war are engaged, and the practice of cruising together in fleets or squadrons, necessitate the establishment of a system of signalling which shall be both rapid and effective. Such a system has been in operation in the Royal Navy for many years. Numerous modifications have been made latterly in the Admiralty signal books; those changes being rendered necessary by the altered conditions of naval warfare and the scientific precision which is desirable in the movements of a fleet of warships. An admiral in command of a fleet has now at his disposal such an effective equipment and complete organisation as would enable him to manœuvre his ships in presence of the enemy with almost mathematical exactitude. The ‘signal staff’ on board the ship which carries the flag of the commander-in-chief consists of about twenty persons, officers and men, whose duty it is to convey the admiral’s orders to the captains under his command by the varied systems of signalling prescribed for use in Her Majesty’s ships. The ‘staff’ is divided into ‘three watches;’ and by day and night, in harbour and at sea, a vigilant ‘lookout’ is kept, not only on board the flagship, but on every vessel in the fleet. Each ship on being commissioned is provided with a General Signal Book, Vocabulary Signal Book, and a semaphore. For use at night, a flashing lamp, and recently, an electrical apparatus, are supplied. By an ingenious arrangement, any of the signals contained in the books may be made during thick weather by the steam whistle or the fog-horn.
Before putting to sea, a ‘fleet number’ is assigned to each ship, the admiral’s ship being No. 1, the remaining numbers being distributed according to the seniority of the respective captains. If the commander-in-chief wishes his squadron to sail in one line, he makes the signal, ‘Single column in line ahead,’ by means of three ‘numeral’ flags. This signal, like every other evolutionary signal, is kept flying at the mast-head until the signal officer reports, ‘All answered, sir.’ The fact that the admiral’s signal is seen and understood is signified, in the case of tactical orders, by each ship repeating the flags. When the proper moment arrives for executing the movement, the flagship’s signal is swiftly hauled down, the helms are put ‘hard over,’ the ships swing round in the admiral’s wake, and the evolution is complete.
Communication between the vessels of the fleet is effected at night by means of the flashing light worked on the short and long flash principle, invented by Captain Colomb, R.N. There are few sights more suggestive of the advance in modes of communication and the development of the inventive faculty than that of the admiral ‘talking’ to his captains by means of the flashing lamp in the darkness of the night and far out on the trackless ocean. It may be necessary during the night to alter the course of the squadron. If the course indicated at sunset be due north, and it be required to alter the direction to west, all lights on board the flagship, except the flashing light, are carefully obscured, and the brilliant rays of a solitary lamp leap through the darkness conveying the order, ‘Alter course to west.’
The instructions contained in the General Signal Book are varied and comprehensive. Upwards of a thousand separate signals, adapted to every probable change of condition and circumstance in times of peace and in the exigences of battle, are concisely set forth, every tactical order being elucidated by diagrams showing the direction to be taken and the position to be assumed by each ship. The Vocabulary Signal Book, as its name indicates, is a sort of dictionary, but possessing also the character of a lexicon, as not only words in alphabetical order, but phrases under their proper heading, are methodically arranged in its pages. For example, under the heading of ‘Admiral,’ which word is represented in ‘flag language’ by A.H.V., will be found, ‘Admiral desires,’ ‘Admiral intends,’ and the cheerful announcement, ‘Admiral requests the pleasure of your company to dinner.’
It will be seen from the foregoing observations that the signal system adopted in the Royal Navy approaches as near to perfection as is possible under the circumstances; and therefore, when the occasion arose for a revision of the mercantile signal code, the Committee appointed by the Board of Trade for that purpose had recourse to the Admiralty Codes as a basis for the International Code of Signals, which is now used by most of the maritime countries of the world. This Code is the universal means of communication between the ships and signal stations of all nations. Translations of it have been made by France, Germany, Italy, Austria, Denmark, Holland, Spain, Portugal, Sweden, and Norway. The captain of a British vessel being desirous of conveying a message to an Italian ship, for example, may do so by simply hoisting the flags indicating the letters which are found opposite the words that express his meaning in the Code; and, similarly, vessels of any nationality may communicate with the utmost facility, although the parties so signalling may be totally unacquainted with any language but their own. For signalling purposes, eighteen flags and a copy of the Code are required. The combinations which are possible with that number of flags amount to the extraordinary number of seventy-eight thousand six hundred and forty-two, using two, three, and four flags at one hoist. The Code is divided into four parts: (1) Brief signals; (2) vocabulary; (3) distant and boat signals; (4) an appendix containing the distinguishing letters of every vessel to which a Code signal has been allotted. ‘Urgent signals’ are made by means of two flags only, and in the following manner: J.D., You are standing into danger; N.S., I have sprung a leak; H.M., Man overboard; P.C., Want assistance; mutiny. The square shape of the uppermost flag, and the number of flags used, indicate the urgent character of the message, and its specific meaning is ascertained by reference to the book. Latitude and longitude, geographical and time signals, are made by three flags. A vocabulary message is transmitted by using four flags, thus: D.R.Q.L., If you do not carry sail, we shall part company.
The vocabulary section of the Code is frequently used for messages which do not strictly refer to matters maritime. The valedictory ‘Farewell’ or the cheerful ‘Welcome’ may be transmitted with quite as much ease as the purely nautical ‘Square your mainyard.’ Even in departments of human activity so far removed from marine affairs as art or politics, the Signal Code may find some application. During the summer cruise of the British fleet in the Mediterranean in 1869, and whilst the ships were steaming through the Straits of Messina, a steamer flying the Turkish flag was sighted steering towards the harbour. The Code ‘pennant’ hoisted under her ensign indicated a desire to communicate; and on the signal being answered from the flagship of the commander-in-chief, the Turkish vessel made the following communication: D.G.N.H. = Irish; C.P.B.R. = Church; C.S.L.P. = dislocated; D.J.K.P. = Her Majesty’s government; D.M.G.T. = surplus. This being rendered into the vernacular, was understood to mean that the Irish Church Disestablishment Act had been passed by a large majority. The captain of the steamer, who was an Englishman in all probability, was laudably anxious to communicate a piece of information which could not fail to be full of interest to the people of the English squadron. His use of the verb ‘dislocated’ was forced upon him by the absence of the word ‘disestablished’ from the Code; and a similar reason necessitated the substitution of ‘surplus’ for ‘majority.’ Having regard to the circumstances, it will probably be admitted that the courteous captain’s arrangement, if not strictly syntactical, was certainly apposite.
Strenuous efforts have been made by the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty, the Board of Trade, and the Committee of Lloyd’s Registry to instruct the officers of the mercantile marine in the use of the International Code. The Admiralty has ordered that all men belonging to the Royal Naval Reserve shall receive instruction in its use; and all candidates for officers’ certificates of competency are required by the Board of Trade to pass a satisfactory examination in signalling. Notwithstanding these regulations, there is good reason for believing that many officers in the merchant service are not so well acquainted with the working of the Code as they ought to be. Blunders are frequently committed, either in selecting the wrong signal or confusing the flags, which lead to serious inconvenience, not to say danger. A very superficial acquaintance with the Signal Book led the captain of an English steamer to neglect the ‘vocabulary’ part of the Code, and have recourse to the singular expedient of using the flags as a medium for spelling his communication. As read on board the New York liner to which the signal was directed, it took the cabalistic form of ‘MCHDRGDWNTW.’ As no flags denoting the vowels are contained in the Code, the difficulties of spelling were obviously increased; and it was only by the ingenuity of a passenger on board the liner that a translation was effected in the shape of, ‘Machinery deranged; want tow.’ On another occasion, the master of a timber-laden ship bound from Quebec to Liverpool had been prevented by foggy weather from taking solar observations for the purpose of verifying his position, and having sighted a steamer bound to the westward, he hoisted the prescribed signal, asking the steamer to indicate the latitude and longitude at the time of meeting. Either through carelessness in manipulating the flags or from an imperfect acquaintance with the Code, a position was signalled which located the ship in the immediate vicinity of Mont Blanc!