CHAPTER VI THE ROMANCE OF DESIGN ‘For a scrutiny so minute as to bring an object under an untrue angle of vision, is a poorer guide to a man’s judgment, than the most rapid and sweeping glance which sees things in their true proportions.’ KINGLAKE. The Big Punch—The 15–inch Gun—An Anxious Decision—The Design of a Battleship—Gun-power and Speed—The Argument for the Fast Division—The Fifth Turret—Liquid Fuel—The Oil Problem—Financial Entanglements—The Royal Commission on Oil Supplies—The Anglo-Persian Convention—A Golden Reward—The Fast Division at Jutland—Swifter Destroyers—Cruiser Design—Correspondence with Lord Fisher—The Light Armoured Cruisers—The _Arethusa_. Until I got to the Admiralty I had never properly appreciated the service which Mr. McKenna and Lord Fisher had rendered to the Fleet in 1909 by their big leap forward from the 12–inch to the 13·5–inch gun. To illustrate this I set out the weight of the shell fired by the principal guns in the British and German navies:— The 1–inch gun fires a 1–pound shot. The 2–inch gun fires a 6–pound shot. The 3–inch gun fires a 12– or 15–pound shot. The 4–inch gun fires a 28 to 32–pound shot. The 5–inch gun fires a 50–pound shot. The 6–inch[17] gun fires a 100–pound shot. The 7·5–inch gun fires a 200–pound shot. The 9·2–inch gun fires a 380–pound shot. The 10–inch gun fires a 500–pound shot. The British 12–inch gun fires a 850–pound shot. The German 12–inch gun fires approximately a 1,000–pound shot, but this is asking a lot of the gun. The 13·5–inch gun fired a 1,250–pound shot; and its later marks fired a 1,400–pound shot. The increase of 1½ inch in the calibre of the gun was enough to raise the British shell from 850 pounds to 1,400 pounds. No fewer than twelve ships were actually building on the slips for the Royal Navy armed with these splendid weapons, quite unsurpassed at that time in the world, and firing a projectile nearly half as heavy again as the biggest fired by the German Fleet.