The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1861-10-22
IRON CLAD SHIPS.
IRON-CLAD VESSEIS-OF-W IN ENGLAND,
I. FRANCE AND THE UNITED STATES.


this subject impart an interest 10 the subject which the
position Of tho enemy against whom have 10 contend
well the geography OF tho country he occupies, Is
calculated TO increase. Whether river sea, be-
fore fortress close TO the shore, protection TO
landing or rs foaiing fortihcaton the ronclad ship
seems destined TO play important part in military ope
ratons but especially in those concerning the siege Of
city OF stronghold Though the experience in the
Of this kind Of ships is Il short one know already
enough OF them to the highest dea Of their
funess and sustained in this by the example Of
the nations Of the Europe particularly of England,
whose haste in casing her ships with iron and in plating
her old wooden vessels shows better than any argument
we could advance how feels behind the wooden
walls Of her navy.
The great utility of the ironclad ship consists in It's
being able to stand any length of time before fortress
and to sustain fire, which, the discovery of the
explosive ball and shells filed with liquid ron
say nothing Of red hot shot looked upon by all naval
officers the most hazardous Of undertakings. How
for instance could Secretary Of the Navy send Of
war, valued at million Of dollars, TO the siege OF
fortress, with the conviction that single shot from
Paxhn gun would sink her in Ave minutes and endanger
the lives Of valuable and still more valu-
able olcersS There was a time, indeed, and that
not long since, when the wooden walls OF
would stand without much injury the re Of the strongest
fortifcations This before science had endowed tho
ball with the faculty OF blowing up and setting
to any quantity OF nfammabie matter. But these days
Instead OF tho parativey harmless giobu
lar baIthe hoie Of which nearly closes scif-we have
now the couica explosive ball. which leaves behind
Il passage sufficiently large for ciephan. to get
Who does recoec the terrible effect they produced
at tho time OF tho Crinean war when the Russian fleet
armed with Paixhan guns, sunk and burned In few
hours the whole Turkish fleet anchored tho harbor OF
Snopeg ftH
great calamities often productive much good
The disaster Of Snope be the starting point OF
complete revolution in the nnyes of the world The saga
cious mind Of the Emperor of the French struck with the
perious condition in which the Paixhan gun
for firing shesinto ships direct like solid shot had placed
the wooden navy sought for means of obvating this
danger. Fortunately the French annals supplied him
with precedent applicable to the circumstance Iron
cased ships had been used the French the siege Of
Gibraltar but steam had not yet been applied to nav
CATION, and they too clumsy to obey the wind
they proved % be q very little USE and finally aban
dored Bot The diculty which existed fifty years ago
having been removed by the introduction Of powerful
motive power, there for not renewing
the attempt this time with complete success 1t is one
Of the glores Of Louis NAPOLEON that he solved THIS
problem few days after the naval battle snope he
issued decree ordering the construction Of three iron
clad steamers, which were called la Devastation, La
Lave and La Tonnante They OF light draught with
bombprof decks and cased with iron all over except in
the neghborhood OF the PROV They had single range Of
cannons placed little above the water edge with very
low portfolio They sent TO the Crmea. and co-ope
rated with the AngloFrench feet front of which they
stood on the 18th Of October 1856 the bombardment
Of Kinburn then occupied by. the Russians Such was
tbs effect OF their fire that in twenty Ave minutes the
enemy was sienced, his gunners nearly all killed,
his pieces dismountod. and tho ramparts themselves
partly demolished. This due to the advanced posi-
ton they occupied In front of all other position
which enabled them to aim with moro accuracy and to
cause greater damage but before all, it to tho
immunity with which they stood the arc Russians,
whose Shots falling powerless against their iron arrnor
feet composure. This success caused much wonder
among the Allies, especially among the English whom
the appearance Of the three French vessels had
not at all convinced of their power Of resisting unin
red, the powerful batteries Of the Russians though
previous to their construction the French government
had sent communication to the English Cabinet, in
forming 1t of tho successful experiments made at Vim
cennes in testing the power Of iron plate against cannon
balls and Of intention to send small aeet Of iron
plated craft TO the Crimea
Tho fact Of iron plates resisting the largest balls
havins been satisfactorily tested another problem
NAMED to be solved. La Devastation La Lave and La
Tonnantc, having special objectthat Of serving as
floating hattereshad not been built view Of going 10
sea; their machinery in consequence small and OF
very little power and their shape rough and heavy The
idea Of fast sailing plated vessel had not yet been
realized; against II arrayed the majority Of the Off
OF the navy who did not think IL possible for an iron
steamer TO possess the speed wooden ones The
iron frgae la Gloire, built year after the Crmean
war, showed how groundless was their belief. La
Glore, entirely clad with ron proved to BIO swift
as any other vessel OF the burthen and
besides proof against red hot bullets round and conica
cannon bas-n fact, against all kinds of projecties
Her appearance in the English Channel profound
sensation among Englshmen, who did not hesitate in
procaimng her superior TO any wooden ship afoat In
their eyes, well in those OF the world the expert
successful one henceforward was to be
considered better material than wood in the con-
struction Of the steam navy. 1t long before Eng
land following the example of France built the Warrior
iron plated vessel, of larger size and said to be
superior to La Gloe. Then the Defence, the Resistance
and the Black Prince followed the Warrior and six new
ships Of the description afterwards ordered,
and progress Of construction in tho English
navy yards
by the London Times of October we have the follown
intelligence
Yesterday the operation Of panking the steam
frigate Royal Oak 81, building at Chatham was com.
menced by the shipwrighs employed On her, OF whom
there are upwards OF two hundred. The plankng on
which her iron plates viii be placed will be of teak
twelve inches in thickness, taperng down TO a minimum
thickness o. i've inches at depth OF Eve feet below the
water line The object Of boiling the iron plates on teak
instead Of oak pankng is that the peculiar from the
former wood is expected to act preservatve to
the iron while the acids from oak panking are found 10
be exceedingly injurious to iron, on htch they haze sin
0ulGtly Destructive effect. The energy with which the
building OF the Royal Oak is carried leaves little
room doubt that she will be completed and nioat in
very little more than twelve months
This hint ought not to be lost sight Of by our govern.
ment
If must believe the fear lately manifested by Lord
Pamerston in ht visit to the Cirque Ports and in the
speeches he this OCCASION France ID ac
lively engaged In covering her navy with ronplaed
1t is. however difficult to know exactly what has
been the progress Of France in that way So profound IL
the seclesy observed this matter that it is almost i'm.
possible for any to know TO what degree Of perfection
the improvements ronclad navy have been carried on