The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1862-10-23
PACIFIC
Commercial Advertiser.
New Discovery in Iron-CIad Ships.

\ new davelopement in the history of iron,
clad ships has been made, for which the country
IL Indebted To- the genius OF Porter,
the gallant destroyer of the once formidable
rebel ram ARKANSAS. by the official report to
Navy Department of his daring attack, single
handed, upon the arkansas, under the heavy
batteries at Ticksburg, on the ODD Of July, we
learn the following important facts
The ESSer, although clad with iron plating
only one inch thick al the thickest part, was for
two hours and a half under fire Of 20 heavy
guns in battery, 20 field pieces and 3 heavy guns
on board the ram" The fire was indeed terrific.
In the intrepid COmmOdDre's words, so rapid
was this fire that for half an hour the hull Of
the ship was; completely enyeloped in the heavy
Jets OF water thrown over her by the enemy's
shot, shell and balls" At one time this cannon
aiding was at " short a range that he says. = We
were SO close that the flashes Of the enemy guns
through my zun-holes drove my men from the
guns"
These Astonishing results are due TO the scien-
tiic skill Of Commodore Porter in constructing
the now famous ESSer. She was completed I'M
der his own eye and according to his own plans.
Unable TO adopt for service in the western rivers
the heavy plating used upon the Monitor and
the Iron SIdes, Com. Porter conceived the idea OF
constructing the ESSer in such Il manner that
most Of the shDt would be received at an angle
and be compelled TO glance off by an elastic
backing to the plates. By careful experiments
upon targets he found that by using a peculiarly
VFeDUTEH LNfN4 OF tNufd 1uDOtT DttIteH n HOH
plates and The Eooden backing, an iron armOr of
only one inch thick would not be affected by a
shot that would penetrate five inches Of solid
iron. The immense saving Of weight and Of ex-
pense effected by this important discovery will at
once be appreciated. Indeed, it is the only
method by which the use of iron clad gunboats
on our Westerns rivers is practicable. GunbOats
plated in the ordinary manner with one inch
iron, have proved worthless, and the experiment
will no longer pc repeated. For patriotic rca-
1T III
the mode Of construction adopted by Com. POr-
ter it is enough to announce the great fact.
The success of this practical experiment of the
EsseI for two hours and Il half under the imprcg-
nable batteries Of Vicksburg is decisive.
The result of this terrific fire from " a battery
not over 100 fest or is thus described in the
official report 50 \ heavy 1O-inch shot from the
nearest battery struck my forward casemate about
four feet from the deck but fortunately did not
penetrate \ rifle u inch shot from the same
battery struck the casemate about nine feet from
the deck it PENETRATED the iron, but did not get
through, although so severe was the blow that it
started q 4-inch plank . inches thick and Is feet
long on the inside. \ conical shell struck the
clsemate on the port side, also, as we were
rounding, penetrated the I inch iron and came
half way through the wooden side it exploded
through killing one man and slightly wOunding
three" During the heavy cannonading most
Of the shot glanced from the sides of the EsSeT,
but 80 during that time this vessel was heavily
struck ~ times and only penetrated twice"
This penetration was by the II inch shot and the
conical shell above described.
We believe that the annals of the war record
no exposure OF It gunboat to a cannOnading so
.eyere rs this, and the results are regarded by
men as perfectly conclusive and ~satisfac-
'ory. We learn that our Navy Department
nave already adopted some of the features of this
in the new iron-clad steamers, and that the
han plating Of The deck IS TO be protected bY an
indeT SheGkhing of india rubber. This will remove
me or the great sources of annoyance which has
found in the Monitor from the leaking of
Ter decks, and il will effectually prevent any
urther Notifying occurrences like the penetra-
ion of the deck of the GaLena from the fire of
Darling.-SaeHtifc American.