Percy Scott - Retirement

Retirement

Scott retired from the navy in 1913 to make way for the promotion of younger men. but continued to be employed by the Navy in connection with his director-firing work. He also directed his attention to the issue of submarines against which there was no effective defence at the time. Aware that the Germans were constructing a large fleet of submarines the introduction of which he believed "...revolutionised naval warfare and put into the hands of the Germans a weapon of far more use to them than their fleet of battleships." he set about trying to persuade the Admiralty of the need for more aeroplanes to spot submarines and destroyers to attack them. Unable to convince the Admiralty that submarines were anything more than a toy, Scott once again went direct to the politicians to secure money in the naval budget to fund submarine defences. In an angry response the Admiralty dispensed with Scott's services in director firing at the end of 1913 at which point only two ships had been fitted with the new equipment and the designs still to be started for a number of ship classes.

In June 1914, following the publishing of the 1914-1915 Naval Estimates, Scott had a letter published in the London Times criticising the lack of provision for submarines and aircraft. He argued that submarines represented a potent threat to the fleet and that no fleet could hide from the eye of the aeroplane: "probably if we went to war, we should at once lock our battleships up in a safe" For this he received an avalanche of critical denials.