The Daily bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Hawaii]) 1882-1895, 1884-01-19
WAR SHIPS.


of steel-faced and solid steel plates with hard
faces has considerably altered the conditions
of the attack and defense of ships Where |
as formerly rules were drawn up which were
applicable to all cases, and for ordinary
shaped shot certain amount of energy per
inch of circumference could be laid down
with confidence as sufficient to carry them
through a given thickness of armor, it has
now become clear that plates can be manu-
featured which are practically safe from
danger of perforaton. 1t is, however, inn
possible, so far as is yet known, to build any
ship which can resist the ram of an antag-
onist, and there can be no impossibity in
constructing ordnance which will have the
effect of ram on a small scale. If the
newest armor of the day cannot be pierced,
it can, at least, be driven in by some force
or other. The only question is to find that
force within practical limits. The tendency
has lately been to avoid the difficulties in
herent in a system of carrying very heavy
naval guns by decreasing the caliber and
increasing the velocity of the projectile. BY
this means admirable results are obtained
with the old soft wroughtron plates, because
shot of small diameter and high velocity
will pierce, as an arrow pierces, soft
material. But against material hard
enough to break or turn the point of an
arrow Robin Hood himself could not succeed.
So it is with projectiles from ordnance.
PRoJECTILER DEFIED.
1t now seems that plates can be made
hard enough to resist pelforation by any
proiectile yet made. The chlled-iron of
Tregarini, the still stronger steel of Whit
worth, flying with velocity of some 1 $40
feet second, have equally failed to pierce
the unyielding metal, whether French or
English, though the blow delivered by the
Armstrong 1O0-ton gun has actually been
sufficient to drive in the very strong back
ing of the plates. 1t is possible that pro-
jectile may hereafter be made at once hard
enough and tough enough to do the re-
quired work, but at present there are no
signs of its advent. In the meantime, the
of the ship has not beaten the gun. The
question is, what gun-or, rather what
character of gun?" The question is impor-
tant, for all the latest progress in artillery
has been in the direction of tightening the
piece. Ii the experiments just past are not
wrongly interpreted we shall have to modify
our present ideas and construct ordnance of
such dimensions that the shot shall batter
like rams rather then pierce like arrows.
Unless new discoveries bring with
them new opinions, an impetus which
has now been given will carry every nation
in the direction of extremely large and heavy
guns, and the decision made by almost
every Government to confine it's eXertions
within certain limits of size will have to be
reconsidered. It is not little interesting
to know that Italy, which has steadily kept
at the head of Europe in the size of her
naval guns, should now be the first to de-
monstrate the wisdom of the course her
naval artillerists have pursued. The men
who have consistently worked out the idea
find themselves justified by events, and Ger.
tainly deserve the appreciation of their
countrymen.
TREMENDOUS GUNS.
1T cannot be said that these events come
upon the Italians entirely as a surprise.
When, in the early days of steel armor, it
was found that the steel plate, though not
easily penetrated, cracked and broke up all
over it's surface, an attempt was made to
meet the difficulty by using instead of one
large plate number of small ones, thus
breaking the continuity of the metal and
preventing the spreading of the damage.
The idea was successful, and it's effect was
excellent against small guns But the 100
ton gun simply drove the small plates into
the side of the ship, and the destruction was
even worse than before. The discovery
made within the last few days has been that
even large plates, strong enough to resist
perforation, may so yield to the force of
heavy blow as to drive in the side of the
vessel thOuoh thaU Themselves on1v chow