The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1878-06-01
IL the Iron-clad War ship . FALL


ming with the days of Henry VIII, OF
England, is chiefly marked by the develop
ment of that great embodiment OF force,
the ship Of war. Beyond doubt ship
building for naval, as distinct from mercan-
tile purposes, has been governed by the
advances made in the science OF gunnery
and the manufacture of heavy artillery. and
| is to-day more than ever under these infiu-
ences. AT time when the bow and pike
| were the weapons Of offence the open
| decked vessel was necessary for securing
the greatest degree of mobility in the
| fighting crew and the delivery OF the
most effective discharges of arrows and other
missiles But when the forces of the COM
bat were concentrated in artillery and mus
kets, cover and impenetrability became tho
great objects to be attained in building war
ships, next to making them rs seaworthy as
possible. Hence the famous wooden
walls" which represented the might OF
England as the first naval Power in the
world after the decline Of the Dutch navy.
The power Of penetration developed in the
gun has. however, kept steadily ahead OF the
power Of resistance possessed by the wooden
walls, and although the latter were strength
ened up to their utmost limit it was
found that the gun still maintained its
superiority. Without entering into the
details of the progress of artil-
lery we may say that the invention
of the long range Lancaster gun and the
necessity of fighting granite-clad forts at
Sebastopol during the Crimean war COM
PEELED the adoption of armor plating as
defence, first on the floating batteries and
finally on the regular war ships of European
Powers Let us suggest also that steam as
motor has contributed largely toward sus-
tanning the dominating influence of the gun
over the naval architecture OF modern times,
because it was soon discovered that a single
gun mounted by vessel propelled by
steam was worth in action an entire broad
side of cumbersome and slow moving
sailing ship.
The limit of the power of guns is far from
being reached if we may judge by the
advances made in their construction during
the last FIVE years. But we cannot fail to
notice that in the contest for supremacy
that commenced between artillery and
armor- plating when the Gloire was built
the latter is now far behind, and we might
say hopelessly distanced. Indeed, we be-
leve the time has arrived when dispas-
sionate investigation, which fortunately our
naval officers are in position to undertake,
will lead to the conclusion that the IRON
clad ship Of war, as represented by even
the best types now owned by European
nations, has attained its highest degree Of
perfection, and that it no longer possesses
even the relative merit which it once had as
an offensive-defensive engine Of naval war
fare. This has become such an important
question for us that we pay take advantage
even of the deplorable disasters that from
time to time befall the great iron-clad ships
Of European nations and learn useful les
sons therefrom for our own guidance.
Many considerations combine to Justify our
satisfaction that the United States are not
ut present burdened with enormously
costly fleets of iron-clads, which the expert
ences Of to-day render Of doubtful value
and those Of the immediate flu
valueless, but dangerous to our national
interests. The invention Of the torpedo in
its present stage of perfection and the in
crease in the penetrative power and weight
of projectiles has revolutionized naval con-
struction and tactics so much that we are
warranted in waiting patiently until Europe
completes her costly experiments before we
begin to form q new navy. The worthless
ness of iron-cad fleets Of the present type
has been proved by the events of 1870 and
of the late Russo-Turkish war, and We re-
gard even the great fleet of England as in
capable of forcing the Bosphorus against
Russian guns and torpedoes. There is
plainly to be seen, then, that even the
Powers most interested in maintaining the
prestige of the iron-clad are losing faith in
it after all their enormous expenditures.
There are three elements necessary to
constitute superiority of naval force, and
each ship of fleet or squadron must
possess them. They are the highest attain
able powers of offence, of defence aud Of
mobility. without these special powers at
command no absolute supremacy can
be Justly claimed. With them tn suprem-
acy will never be disputed. The highest
power of offence embraces many condi-
tions. but the chief ones are superiority in
artillery and speed and the ability to reach
the enemy in his place of refuge by means
similar to those he employs to defend him.
self-namely, the auxiliary torpedo boat. A
superior defensive power obviously means
an ability to resist with success the great
est efforts of the enemy to inflict damage
and to choose the time and opportunity for
action. The superior power Of moving ut
will consists in being able to change posi-
ton with rapidity and advantage, to attack
when desirable, to retreat when necessary.
To pursue with success and to escape with