Scouting At Sea (1890-2018)
Naval warfare occurs across vast distances and in many cases merely finding the enemy is a complex and critical task. Over the past century, scouting has been performed by a variety of systems from steam cruisers to UAV's. A look at the changes reveals both the early acceptance of naval airpower as well as yet another example of the gradual shift from platforms to systems. Early Steam Fleet operations in late 19th century differed little from those of the Napoleonic wars. There were no aircraft or radios and even electric lighting was still a novel technology. The most advanced sensor system was a lookout with binoculars and communications were limited to signal flags, lights, and semaphore. In that time, scouting was performed by a screen of 2nd class cruisers operating ahead of the battleline, much like the frigates of Nelson's day. The protected cruiser HMS Retribution These ships were generally capable of around 20 knots, but their triple expansion engines were unr...