The Norfolk post. [volume] (Norfolk, Va.) 1865-1866, 1866-02-15
Che Murtolk gost.
TUESDAY. FEBRUARY Is. 1868
ARMORED VESSELS.

ARMORED VESSELS.
what the Great Powers are Doing In Iron-Clad Wa
ships-The shot-Proof Fleets Of the United States
France and England contrasted-No Foreign War Yes
sci Of any Description Matchfor the pundsrbers
The following important letter from
Donald Mckay, the renowned ship
builder, is Of great and absorbing inter.
est, particularly at this time:
| According to my promise herewith
furnish you with few facts relating to
the English and French iron-clad fleets,
which / have recently inspected, aud
find many vessels completed which dur
ing previous visits were In process oil
construction, the names and particulars
of which gave you in former letters
several years ago. also saw several
new. iron-clads in progress, differing
materially in construction and armor
from the first. am more convinced
than ever that those iron clad fleets fully
meet my views as to efficiency and sea
service, as stated In my previous com.
munications to you.
While viewing these, their style of
construction, equipment, &c, / felt
proud that our Navy Department. since
| 1851 have constructed, built, and equip
| defence and sea.going service, more
powerful than all the iron clad navies of
the world; and strongly recommend To
| the Government, as profitable and ju-
dicious expenditure, and one which will
prove to be the strongest guarantee OF
peace and just neutrality, a continuance
Of building and adding to our iroD-clad
sea going fleet, thps keeping pace with
other nations.
/ can allude with pride to that Won
derful production Of human genius, the
| Dunderberg, now In process OF cOnsruc
| ton by Mr.. VIM. II. Webb, of New
York. 1 have personally inspected all
the iron-clads Of England and France,
but have not seen one of them which,
In originality of design, power and COM
pleteness of detail, begins to compare
with her. She combines the impregna-
bility of the turret system with the ad-
vantages of the broadsides and ends. In
short, she can bring guns to bear from
every point of the compass without
| changing her position. From the ap-
pearance of her model it is evident TO
me that she must be an excellent sea
boat, of superior speed, and. notwitl-
standing her great size, easily managed.
| 1t is said she will cost over two millions
of dollars; but this is not high when
, compared with the sums lavished upon
the large iron-clads ofthe Old World,
which are far inferior to her as vessel
0f-war. I consider her match for a
| fleet of such vessels as some of the best
| produced in France.
am pleased to find that the honorable
Secretary in his report has recommended
the enlargement Of our navy yards,
workshops, dry-docks, DC. also build
ing yard of proper size for the constrnc-
| ton and fitting complete Of the largest
| iron clad ships, for the machinery and
furnaces for forging and rolling plates
equal in size and thickness to those used
by the English Navy. In this way We
could get the finest qualities of iron SO
essential for armored ships. A plate of
the best quality of Illuminated iron, four
inches thick, will protect ship'e side
and resist solid shot equal to the common
manufactured plates of six inches in
thickness. This test was made in Eng
land. Large quantities of iron for both
hull and armor, made by different con-
tractors, which did not come up to the
standard quality, i have seen condemned
in England. l believe that the means
and facilities for the manufacturing Of
iron plates and armor should be owned
by and under the control of the Govern
ment.
+ Over forty large wooden screw-ships
| without armor, are under construction
now In the Government yards, and
many are we'll advanced toward COM
pletion. The hulls were designed by
Mr.. John Lenthall, chief of the bureau
of construction and repairs, on the Ala
bama principle for speed, and The mo-
tive power by Mr.. b F. sherwood,
chief of the bureau of steam engineer
ing. Having inspected these ships and
their machinery, have no hesitation
In saying they will be the fastest war
ships in the world. The class carrying
the two one-hundred inch cylinders will
attain a regular sea-going speed up
wards of fifteen knots.
With all that we have done and are
doing in the increasing Of our navy
see, with our honorable Secretary
one fearful deficiency, in basins or dry
docks. Surprising that we had hard
naval engagement, resulting in the
damaging of many vessels, we have
only dry docks enough to repair few
ships and for this reason we would at
once become comparatively weak at
| ecu niiu Vile 40 q hiatSOA htNh
receive our early attention. France
and England, while adding to the
strength and number of their ships,
keep pace with the increase of their dry
docks and basins. Unless we adopt this
system, the additions to our navy, so
literally appropriated for by Congress,
will avail but little. The French dry
docks contain space sufficient for fifty
of the largest class ships at one time,
and England is fast approaching this
ALSO.
On Mr.. Z. J. Reeds accession to the
chief constructorship of the British
navy, the Board Of Admiralty author
lied him to alter some Of the small
wooden ships partially built, still on the
stock, for arinor-plating on plan pro-
posed by himself for new vessels of two
thousand tons. The conversion of these
into iron-clads by the new constructor
was rather difficult task, and should
not be expected to equal new designs,
yet they proved to be very successful
sea going ships. The Enterprise was
the first taken in hand. She carries her
armament and armor at somewhat less
the contemplated draught Sixteen feet),
and steaming only one-fourth of knot
less than other vessels of her class, car
rying no armor ut all. Her armor is four
and half inches thick, and extends
over the whole length Of the hull at the
water line, and over battery of -four