The Sun.
London, England, 1841-01-28 00:00:00

THE AMERICAN NAVY.

(From the United Service Gazelle.)
We have been favoured by a valued Correspondent
at Portsmouth, to whom we were indebted some time
ago for a table of the armaments of all the vessels of
war in the British navy, for the following interesting
account of the dimensions and armaments of the various
classes of ships in the American navy, derived from
an Gffieial source. It has been the fashion of late,
among writers on nautical subjects, to contrast our own
ships of war with those of America, and to assign
the superiority in point of- dimension and armament
to the vessels of the letter. We have, indeed, been
ourselves misled by more than one of our correspon-
dents into the publication of statements to this effect ,
and, as all honest and conscientious writers ought to
do—profiting by 'the opportunity which the publication
of the undermehtioned data affords us—we acknow-
ledge with cheerfulness and alacrity our misapprohen-
sion. From the dimensions hereafter given, it will be
seen that we are not only equal in most, but greatly
superior in toady points, and so far as our more re-
cently constructed ships. are concerned, more especi-
ally ; every class of which are much finer than those
of the same classes in the American navy, carrying
heavier armaments with infinitely more convenient
quarters, more space between decks, and guns much
higher from the water.
The first-class line of battle ships, as Ohio, &c., are

or were evidently designed from Our 84's, Gwgcs class,
with the addition of two feet more beam, thus consi-
derably increasing their tonnage ; but, either from some

injudicious alterations or ba-il model, they have not
proved the ships they ought to have been, carrying
their lower deck midship ports only feet 6 inches
from the water, whereas our 84's carry theirs 6 feet
2 inches, and Vanguard 7 feet. The tonnage of these
ships is 2,600, the same as our 92's, Rodey class,
within a few tons; but their dimensions are the same
as the 120's, and they carry their lower deck mid-
ports 7 feet from the water, and aro evidently a su-
perior description of ship to American two. deckers.
The armament of the latter is very heavy, having
42-pounders on their lower decks, and carrying guns
on their upper :leeks all through ; making three en-
tire tiers ; perhaps their armament is too heavy—
give our 92's guns in waist, and they would then mount
100 -. but gYilling
,up _ the waist is a very ques-
lientitre coarse. and one to which re decidedly object.
The second-class line-of-battle ships, of which there
are but three; are fine vessels, about the size of our 80's,
as Indus, Bellerophon, but with one foot more beam,
making them about 100 tons larger. These ships also
have guns all through on their upper decks, but from
some cause (perhaps being overweighted) carry their
lover deck ports only 5 feet from the water, being 4
inches less than our old 74's, and 1 foot lower than the
Bellerophon.
The first-class frigates are fine vessels, about the size
of our razees, but with 2 feet less beam, and therefore
inferior, also carrying their main-deck midship
ports 1 foot 3 inches lower than our razees ; these ships
are ail double banked, and have carronadcs on the upper
deck. There are but two second-class frigates in the
American navy ; Macedonian, captured from us during
the late war, and Constellation, one of their earliest ;

both these are rated 36's, carrying about 46 or 50 guns,
and arc about the size of our Blonde ; both very inferior
to the Pique and her class.
The first-class sloops of war of the United States are
neither so large nor so powerful as our razees, such as
the Magicicnne, but they are larger than our other
corvettes in point of armament and force. Again, they
are vastly inferior as fighting vessels to oar new 26's,
like the Vestal, which carry long 32's and two 68's.
The American corvettes are, moreover, heavy sailers,
and carry their midports 1 foot 4 inches lower than
the Vestal and her class, so that their whole battery is
exposed to a vast disadvantage. Indeed, our new 26's
are superior to any foreign corvettes in the world.
The second-class of American corvettes are nearly
similar to our Pearl and Tweed, of 20 guns. There is
nothing between them and schooners. The Americans
have no sloops of war brig-rigged—their small sloops
carry 16 guns, but are ships.
The American schooners are very inferior in every
respect to our new 10-gun brigs, as Pantaloon, Rapid,
&c., heir g upwards of 100 tons inferior in hurdler), also
in length and breadth, and their ports more than a foot
lower in water ; their height between decks also less
by nearly two feet. They are, in fact, hardly equal to
our old 10 gun brigs.
The first-class war steamers building will, doubtless,
be noble vessels ; very much larger than any we have,
being 30 feet longer than the Cyclops, 4 feet more
beam, and 600 tons more burthen ; they will, doubt-
less, be very heavily armed, perhaps carrying 30 or 40
guns. These arc the only two steamers the Americans
have in their navy ; but although in this branch we are
far ahead of them, having at least 20 to their two, still
we should at once lay down some five or six of an
equal size. It is not a little odd that the dimensions of
these two American war steamers are as nearly as pos-
sible the same as the steamer by Captain Hendrie,
R.N. To conclude, we have nothing to fear from the
Americans, come a contest when it may. With our
ships properly armed and fully manned, we may defy
them and the world.