The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1870-09-10
Dtmensions and Armament of the VesseI-Thc
Fatal Defects.

One Of the largest and most powerfully armed
ali her complement OF 500 men Apart from any
other explanation, we are entitled to suppose that
tain defects in her construction, which competent
Judges pronounced fatal-defects which have lately
formed the subject OF an acrimonious newspaper
of Birkenhead and the Chief Constructor of the
British navy, &. j. Reed. Captain Coles, the de
sgner Of this and Of the other British ships con-
structed on the turTet principle, has gone down
along with the latest and most unfortunate evidence
The history of the Captain is briefly this:-In
April, 1885, the Admiralty decided to give Captain
Coles an opportunity Of reducing to practice hts
own views Of what sea-going turret cruiser should
be, the conditions under which she was to be de-
signed and built were these:-
That provision should be made for the eff protsc
of the vital parts of the ship from heavy shot.
For the health and comfort OF crew sufficient in num-
and to keep her in the order required for efficient
That she should have sufficient speed. aad that she
shopld posses the seagons qualities Of good cruiser
builders furnish the following fgures-
Tonnage 42I2
Area of midship section, feet. L1s5
Nominal horse power. er.......................... 900
Indicated horse-po .................... 59S9
She was fully plated, her armor being on the i'm
| porfant parts, eight inches thick
She carried in her turrets four PISTON guns, oapa
BILE of throwing 60O-pound shot. For bow and stern
fire she carried single finch guns forward and att
| She was heavily masted, in addition to her great
| engine power and her pair OF screws, and 1t was
claimed that while her trial cruise she could tack
under sail on a circle round supposed antagonist"
as handy as one of the old style OF wooden frgates
The sane observer described her mode of attack as
| follows
decl the time by the continuous fire from the
BEHIND the hammock Sr. saroandiSg the
dsSk 16sys the Srss SS in 5 the nD sSgs Il
ret the upper deck as sail trimmers and men
| no confusion"
Yet with all the favorable reports of friendly
critics. the Captain was pronounced failure by the
chief practical authority OF the British Navy. The
most conclusive facts against her that she had
been made 500 TO 900 tons too heavy, and that thus
she ioated two feet deeper than was Intended. The
Messrs Laird did not attempt to deny the mscalcu-
laton OF weght-grOss as II must appear to any one
| conyersant with naval architecture-but ATTEMPTED
| to shield themselves under the actual results she
| had achieved In point OF speed and manRuvring.
They adduced the testimony of an Admiral to the
1.-The Cs plain is q most formidable ship and could
believe By her supe,ioE destroy all the broad
easy in seas ana can gsS o 5sr guns in any sea IN which
cleared for action in five mir The arranse O.
nents for battle are yer good. There is much
con fort and accommodation on board officers and ships
| company we'll bertbed"
MIR Reed brings the report of another Admiral in
rebutta and, in view OF the Captains actual fate, IL
reads very much ike prophecy
The weak point in the Captain Seems to be the
armed as the Captain cannot advance endon in line
With G s sd @ ho Of
her 70 pungng fire through the decks at the base Of
tne turSSs, noin anesS' .ha trrrats ~ th.sS anu
opinion, endangered The masting is much over
| done beyond the strength Of her complement,
(6OO much with her steamng head
| wind The spare are preparations for bon
fire; studdipg sails and their gear great encumbrance
and The wreck of such large falling
might be fatal stopping the turrets masking their
screws and should at once be removed . On a
wind under sail only the ship do little nothing
| Nyindward. The hurricane deck and boats seem
10 me In much danger of destruction by fire in action
euch has been the omnous controversy that has
been waged over the l-faGed Captain, and it is TO
be feared that her loss will more than justify the
severest reflections that have been cast upon her
designer and builders. That every soul ON board
seems TO have perished with her is a melancholy
commentary ON the construction of such hOating
engines of havoc and slaughter that prove as fatal
to their inmates as TO the objects OF
more than one instance OF how certain
death was to the crew OF sunk monitor and with
all her preposterous combination OF the cruiser with
the monitor the Captain could scarcely fail TO be
equally nfailible in the drowning of the men under
her armOr- o lated decks we have supped so full OF
horrors during the last few weeks that hve hundred
| men seems but a slender tale OF slaughter; but a
peaceful tragedy like this has in II something more
terrible than the ravages OF actua war. Ana more
especially is this so when We read the
accusation against her builders, penDed fortnight ago
The ships capabilities impaired by this miscacu
brought the that il found desirable
first she went down the channel to turn her
position in order 70 enable 2he gunnors "a
! load without beng deiuged By the sea"