The Sun.
London, England, 1863-03-12 00:00:00

THE NAVY-IRON v, WOOD,

The following statement relating to the advan-
tages iron and wood, and the relative cost of these
~terias in the construction of ships for her Ma-
jesty's navy has been issued :
Admiralty, March 2.
Taking it for granted that it is essential for this
country to possess a number of Olipshe fiarmour-plated
equal to that cf any other power, :trst consid-
ration must be with regard to such sh,:ns as we re"
quire, whether they shall be of wood or iron ? These
urn two important points involved in this einside-

ration :-
1. The nature of the material. Iron possesses these ad'
vantages over wood. An iron ship can be built of larger
dimensions than a wooden ship, with no loss of strength,
An iron ship has more rigidity and strength of structure,
as a whole, than a wooden ship, though locally weak arid
liable to be penetrated by blows, which would fall harra-
hasty on a wooden ship. An iron ship has much greater
durat.ility in certain parts of the structure, indeed in all
parts where no wood is in contact with the iron, than ir
wooden ship, and after a lape or' years the iron frame would
have suffered next to nothing as col:nand with a wooden
ship. But a., ainst these advantages mutt be set—The seri-
ous local wealsne,s of the comparatively thin plates of which
the bottom of an iron ship is necessarily composed: the
danger, consequently, of getting on rocks in such ships, and
the necessity which this weakness entails of construcding
double bottoms, thw artship bulkheads, water-tight compair-
ments, sluice-doors, &c., and various other complicated
arrangements, which add both to the weight and cost of an
iron ship : the rapidity with which the bottom of an iron
ship gets foul, and the immense loss of all the ship's quail-
'
ties that follows from the adhesion of marine 50°
phytes ; no practical remedy has been found for this
serious disadvantage ; repeated docking and cleaning is
the only palliative ; the extreme uncertainty as to the
quality of the materials used ; in fact, the small quantity of
really good iron o: the best ship-building qualities that can
be found in the market ; the prodigious ravages caul d
by
the splinters of iron when the plates are broken end
smashed by shot ; and the far greater facility with which
iron ships can be pierced below their armour-plating 11
submarine guns than wooden ; lastly, as the pro-
gress that may be made by artillery, and all destructive
agents of warfare, is quite without a limit, the immeneo
price paid in an iron ship for durability may not be an
advantage, as new forms for ships of war may, before
long, be absolutely requisite—the iron ship of to-
day, for which so large a price has been paid, may
not be the weapon we require to-morrow. It may prove
therefore wiser more economical to supply the wants of
the moment by a cheaper and less durable structure,
which at least is of the same quality as those with which
we may have to contend. The most able designer of
ble O r
ships in Europe, whose success has been so remarka,
Mr. Dupuy de L'Ome, is of this opinion, and constructs
the ships that are to form the French line-of-battle of wood
in preference to iron.
2. The second point to be considered in this question Of
Where and how the ships, whether of wood or iron, shall
be constructed ? If iron is the material preferred, we he/5
the choice of either incurring a large outlay in our doet
yards for the requisite plant or of building by contract. P'
one dockyard only (Chatham) we can build in iron With'
out any fresh expense. If, therefore, we take tr'"
other alternative, and build by contract, the followins
serious disadvantages attend upon our doing so. The
first practical tact that cora• s before us is, that in no on:
instance have the contractors kept to their agreements 04:8 t-
the Government, either as to time or cost. Though
cases are notorious, and will be found in a tabulated f°Pm
annexed to this paper, I will quote one or two instances
The Warrior was ordered on May 11, 1859 ; the contranre':
agreed to deliver he complete in July, 1860. She was dell:
vered on Sept. 20, 1861, and not quite completed till OP'
24, 1861. The contractors agreed to build her for £210,20!
including extras. They claimed, and ultimately received'
£254,728. The Black Prince was ordered on Oct. 6, 1859;
The contractors agreed to deliver her complete on Oct. IT
1860. She was delivered, incomplete, on November :
1861. She was not completed for some months atterWatuci
by the artificers 'of the dockyard. The contractors agree
.:co build her for £230,254. They have claimed for 11°-
,
£259,751, and part of this claim is still under consideration'
she has, however, cost the Admiralty, up to this timer
£249,751. In both of these ships, but more particularly
the Warrior, some delay was occasioned in completing by
alterations made in the course of building. The Defers
was delivered, incomplete, four months after the contra"
tors' agreement. The Resistance was delivered, inci,°T;
plete, 10 months after the contractors' agreement.
Hector, if delivered in the course of the month of goo;
will be seven months behind the time agreed upon 5130,
Valiant should have beendelivered, according to the origin a
contract, in Aug., 1862; the contractors failed, and requeetect
the Admiralty to annul their agreement. Another contrail
was made, with a fresh party, to deliver the ship in Aleterjc
1863; there is no prospect whatever of the vic)",
being finished for six months after that elaf
The same or even greater delay has taken place in the "1;
livery of the Orontes and Tamar, although these are 8
simple construction, and are not armour-plated. Then laf
nn prnQpnr,t that more than ono nht rd the four jrol,
last ordered will be delivered till many month. °dmt r
periods agreed upon. It is not, therefore, one contractor 00.
one shipbuilder, but all who have failed in their
to n`l
ments, and this clearly indicates the great uncertaill
attending this mode of construction.
Two other difficulties present themselves : a hi
1. The general Aovenliness of the work performed
ity
iron shipbuilders rendering the presence of an Adniira et
inspector necessary on the premises wherever the Nana
ships are building, and leading to many difficulties bet Wee
the contractor and the Admiralty and
2. The great temptations that beset the contracrerellta
owing to the cost and difficulty of procuring good iron'
use inferior and cheaper metal. r
Again. after a contract is signed, no alteration 0 b,
provement, however great, can be made without °ello,
mitting to any terms the contractor chooses to 0
e,1.4,
Strikes of workmen, strikes of colliers, disputes tra-to
all interfere with the progress of the work, and ("Woo
the prejudice of the Government. But if wood be 4,
material selected, the place of building will be our own deva
yard, with all the plant, appliances, and materials alreBd,
at hand. No more money will be required than what 0
.
01'
ready appears in the navy estimates ; whereas, if the ird
are built of iron by contract, the whole of the moneYrequ ilia
yabned
diminished the increase
ionf
a the
sln totalo swell deg
eln
en
to do so must beceaotuivmlodateteodnaiseparately, and in addition Wargo
ef
obunynavttrhyye discharge of a limited number
ordinarytif
for
oatmthaeslole'ree of the yards, who in such a case are
of WOP':- to
entitlea
to
retain that large portion of workmen who are enrPloe
pensions or gratuities, for it would still be ocee'B9lin
iv
' repairs, fitting and refitting ships, and in building rir
trade
ler classes which are essential for the protection of °afore'
in the distant corners of the globe. In every NOY' ci iron
fore, the system of building by contract armour-Plat°
ships would be more expensive than building armour-1;41e
ships of wood in our dockyards. The wooden she t, aeite
in some respect inferior in rigidity to the iron, and 3,°'t,,,-'le4
so strong as a whole, is yet, if we may believe the ;or
accounts we have received of such ships as the moire, r
mandie, Magenta, and Solferino, perfectly sufficient °effect
weight it has to bear. Very bad weather has had 110
apd
on the Gloire, a wooden ship plated from stem to stet tried
therefore far more heavily loaded and more severely
than any of our iron armour-plated ships have yet
none of these ships having armour plates at their etrctroe•
ties. Great addition to the strength of the wooden °twee
tures is given by iron beams, iron decks, filling in Delo ell-
the timbers, diagonal bracing, &c.; and, taking all
cumstances of the case into consideration, id seem/3'l°l r
p O
preferable, at the prevent time, to build these shiPBi. jog,'
dockyards of wood, rather than in private yards and °tran
a
As a comparison, the probable cost of the 0800,00,
Valiant, armour-plated ships, has been taker" not )78"
being only partially armour plated, and the account°ato tilea
completed, an addition must be made, to 001°P
with the wooden ships proposed to be built.
Costarmoofura.pslahtie, if built
ship of 4ll63tobeyso,oinrotrnacat.... . 8
ndpar.tif /206:0!)
Add estimate, if wholly plated
;0°
141

Cost of a wooden ship of 4,200 tons,
and of greater strength than those
now building, wholly armour-
plated, for wages and materials
(estimated) .. . • • • •
Add, as in the case of private firms,
for general charges incident to the
17,000
above, 10 per cent.. • '' • •
built in the
Cost of a' wooden ship ,a7,00°
w rao
dockyard ~ • • Or'
The cost of building t he Royal Oak, as furnished d 0'
accountant of Chatbam Dockyard, for labour till O, tlO
perai 8 cent.
already add
provideded ,
terials, wiinthat2eiiis £151,970, illeiudttt7sioll
value of
commenced ; adding to this 10 per cent. for ge f tile
before the eOnleoral
charges, as a private builder would de, the °et:llb?
Royal Oak for building amounts to about £10,0009
ototo
to any corrections arising from the auditing the e.cid Of
when they are completed. The time required to bill se o'
iron ship by contract has been 25 months (in the ease
to
the Hector). To build the wooden ship leisurat if itO
the best advantage would take about as long; buts
much pressed as the contractors have been for the Period
and if the workmen were entirely uninterrupted, the P
might be h s ortened to 21 months. 064
A -- the Iltt ff;
tabular statement is appended, mentioning - oveor,
of the iron ships built and building by contractor the
from this that the cost actually incurred upon 249,1,1itte
rior has been £254,728 ; the Black Prince, .?„,.6. 1 0
the Defence, X 173,478; and the Resistance, £178,' tor, t
gee est
" cost by contract, including extras," of the ‘, ,0 ,i,
£172,677, and the time of delivery is during the deli'
month; the cost of the Valiant is £207,212, n°,73:71-09,64
vered ; the Dromedary, £11,325; the Orontes, XL riao3,'4
will probably be delivered in April next; tu'ouoill'rt,
£68,188, to be delivered at the same time. The, ioaoll A
-vessels have also not yet been delivered The -gboan't
£3.29,393 ; the Minotaur, £321,117 ; the Northum"
£295,`295; and the Prince Albert, £113,187.

£173,000