§ MR. YERBURGH (Chester)To ask the Secretary to the Admiralty whether the gunnery trials of the "Donegal," near Plymouth Harbour, were postponed in consequence of the sights being incorrect; and, if so, who is responsible for the supply of the defective apparatus.
(Answered by Mr. Arnold-Forster.) The gunnery trials of the "Donegal" were not postponed, but were carried out on the 1st July. Certain experimental fittings, designed to facilitate sighting, were to have been tried in this ship, but it was found that the fittings referred to could not be prepared by the date fixed for gun trials. The special series was therefore not tired in this ship, but will be carried out in another of the same class. I may add that the twin mountings carried on this ship and others of her class are of novel design, and the sighting arrangements are, therefore, to a large extent experimental, as they have to be adjusted to the peculiar form of turret and mounting.