The Sun.
London, England, 1862-05-01 00:00:00

`FITS SUN, LONDON, THU

IRON'PLATED SHIPS OF WAR.

Mr. E. J. Reid, in a letter to the Times, says :
In the first place I find it necessary to mention that
my plans have nothing whatever to do with
mere coast defence vessels. Vessels of this descrip-
tion have, in my humble opinion, far too many ad•
vocates already, I know of nothing which is likely
to endanger our coasts at present, and, if anything
should arise, the 15 iron-cased frigates already built
or building ought to afford us ample protection at
home, for none of them is likely to be long abroad.
If this fleet is insufficient for the purpose..., I dare say
we should know how, in the hour of danger, to pro-
duce scores of-Merrimacs or Monitors out of the oil
wooden hulls that crowd our harbours, and are fir
for little else. The real danger to which England
seems to me to be exposed at this crisis is that of
letting her pre.eminent power upon the seas pass
heedlessly away from her by neglecting her sea-
going navy; and it is with the view of averting, if
it be possible, this calamity that I have developed
my proposals, aad placed them before the Admi-
ralty. It should be remembered that unprotected
wooden ships of war have been virtually condemned
for at least three years ; yet, until a fortnight since,
we had not begun to build a single protected vessel
of less than 4,000 tons. To me this seems an appal-
ling fact, and somebody must bear the blame of it.
It has been stated over and over again—and
•the Board, of Admiralty seem to have believed the
statemstiatkailWeiaParati--91v tall '‘d

Avely sm, an, cheap
protected ships of war cannot be built. Against
this doctrine I have privately protested, and have

for nearly two years urged the construction of such
vessels. They cannot, we know perfectly well,
be protected all over, and still be rigged and rendered
seaworthy; but all their vital parts can be covered
with armour, and that ought to be, and must be, held
sufficient. Even the Warrior is not protected from
end to end, and although the Minotaur and other
vessels are to be, it is doubtful whether they will,
on the whole, be benefited by the change. Most
probably they will labour fearfully in a sea-
way. But, whether they will or will not, we have
no choice ad regards corvettes, sloops, and gunboats.
These small craft can onlyreceive partial protection.

Recognising this, I have endeavoured to make the
best possible use of the armour which such vessels
can carry, and have employed it in shielding, both
from shell and from ordinary shot, the following
vital parts—viz., the engines and boilers, the guns,
the magazine, the rudder head, the steering appa-
ratus, and the whole length of the ship between
wind and water. How Ido this is a question which
I must respectfully decline to answer for the pre,
sent, because in this age of sharp naval competition
even a few weeks of silence on such a subject may
be of real advantage to us. I may mention, how-
ever, that in order to reduce as much as possible
the quantity of armour which it is necessary to em-
ploy, I have placed the gun platform in a novel
positioß ; and by another device have made the
whole of the broadside guns available for fore and
aft fire. The consequence is that the armament of
the new plated ship will be even more effective
than that of the present combustible vessel of the
same class. For example, while the present broad-
side of a 17 gun sloop discharges 2881 b. of metal in
nine small masses, the plated sloop of like dimen-
sions will deliver 2201 b. of metal in two masses
only, and while the former ship can only fire one
32-pounder shct forward in the direction in which
she is going and a similar one aft, the latter can fire
two 110-pounders ahead and two more astern.

In order to make the armament of this powerful
character I have been obliged, in the particular class
of vessel just mentioned, to sacrifice about a knot
per hour of speed, for without some magic art it is
impossible to put 200 or 300 tons of armour upon a
ship and still preserve all her qualities unchanged,
but there is nothing whatever in the plan to pre-
vent any desired rate of speed being obtained pro-
vided sufficient engine power be given.
Another feature,concerning which manyinquiries
have been wade, is the wooden bottom which has
been given to the hull of the new ship. Some of
my correspondents seem to think this unnecessary;
others, I am glad to find, very strongly approve it.
All I can say is that five-sixths of her Majesty's
ships in commission, including all the small craft of
course, necessarily run great risks of getting ashore,
and that when a ship does go ashore she is very
likely to profit immensely by having a thick, solid
wooden bottom under her. Let any one read Mr.
Oliphant's account of Lord Elgin's mission to
China, for instance, and note how common a thing
it was for the war vessels employed in that expe-
dition to ground on harbour-bars, charge sand-
banks at full speed, poise themselves upon the peaks
of rocks, and otherwise test their strength below
water; and then let him say if a thin sheet-iron
bottom alone is fit for such services. Ido not
contend that iron is an altogether unfit material for
the purpose, but I believe that if it is to be used
it must be protected with a stout sheathing of wood,
and thus have the necessary strength and security
afforded to it. This being so, and with the ship-
wrights of the royal dockyards needing employ-
ment (to say nothing of the timber in store there),
it was an obvious advantage to keep the hull of the
new ships of wood below, especially as we were
thus enabled at the same time to protect the bottom
from fouling by applying metallic sheathing in the
usual way. I know it will be easy to raise objec-
tions to the course which has been taken is this
respect, and I know also that the " iron at any
price" party are pretty sure to find fault with it,
but practical seamen and disinterested shipbuilders
take the opposite view.

But, while the wooden bottom has been pre-
served, it has been deemed undesirable to build the
exposed portion of the ship of combustible material,
and this, therefore, will be of iron. Some persons
doubt, I find, whether the connexion between the
two materials can be made good ; but I must con-
fess that such a doubt seems to me not only ground-
less, but almost frivolous under present circum-
stances. For my part I should hesitate before I
cast a doubt even upon the practicability of Punch's
notion of building " platinum ships with diamond
cement," provided its realisation seemed serviceable
to the nation at such a crisis as this ; and I cer-
tainly receive with impatience the suggestion that
the naval architects of 1862 may not be able to
raise an iron bulwark upon a wooden bottom ! The
best answer to the objection is, however, that highly
experienced shipbuilders are quite satisfied with
the new arrangement.
The most passing and certainly the most impor-
tant inquiries that have been made are these—hour
many of these plated seagoing vessels are to be
built, and how soon will they be ready ? To these
questions, however, I am wholly unable to reply.
They are for the Admiralty to answer, not me. I
may state, however, that as soon as the new form
of vessel was submitted to Admiral Robinson, the
Controller of the Navy, he gave it instant and
earnest consideration, and equal attention was be-
stowed upon it by the Board of Admiralty, nothing
in the shape of routine being allowed to obstruct it.
The consequence was that an order for its adoption
in a vessel to be called the Enterprise was speedily
issued, as already announced by you. Since that I
have done my best to forward the preparation of
the detailed drawings which are necessary, and to
arrange for the commencement of the vessel. More
than this I cannot state.

I would avail myself of this opportunity of re-
marking, however, that the prompt and " enter-
prising" spirit which the Admiralty have thus far
displayed in this matter is extremely necessary just
now. lam afraid to mention the many changes
and improvements in our war ships which seem to
me to be in the highest degree desirable, but which
short of a most enlightend and vigorous
naval
administration can effect. In the race which
nothingt
nations are now running we are bound by the
most solemn interest to take and to keep the first
place, and Pus cannot possibly be done if we are to