Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1885-12-23
The Naval Battle of To-Day.

Chambers ; Journal
People often wonder what would be
the results of a great naval battle at
the present time. Would many ships
be destroyed? Would the loss of life
be great? Let us try to describe
shortly few Of the probable features
of fight between two fleets of modern
ironclads. Although two hostile fleets
might approach one another in some
tactical formation, this could not
be adhered to for any length
of time, and the battle would
soon become series Of indie
pendent duels between individual ships.
This is at once apparent when we con-
slider that most if not all Of the ships
would have rams, and it would there
fore be highly necessary for a captain
to have perfect control over the move
ments of his ship to prevent her being
rammed by an enemy. AT the outset
Of the action the torpedo-boats would
probably take a very active part, and
until exterminated, which they certainly
would be in time, would engage great
attention and be effective in sinking
few ships. It may be safely concluded
that every ship would be steaming fast
during the action, this being necessary
TO avoid being rammed, to get into ia
yorable positions for discharging torpe-
does. and to elude the fire Of an enemy.
Heavy.gun fire would, of course, be
maintained from the commencement of
the action, and those ships whose en-
pines got disabled from this cause would
speedily be rammed; and at this point
we consider that great loss of life would
take place, for the reason that the
boats of ship, being always ex-
posed to machine-gun fire would
at an early stage of the action be
J riddled and shattered with shot, and in
the incredibly short time in which a
ship sinks after being rammed it would
: be impossible for the crew to improvise
: other means to save themselves from
drowning. No steps seem yet to have
been taken by our Admiralty with a
5 view of providing for this contingency.
Q 1t has been suggested that hospital
ship, bearing the Geneva cross,
should accompany fleet into action
S to receive the wounded. We would
j make a further suggestion--name-
r ", that this ship should be provided
n with fast-steaming boats, peculiarl,
IS marked to show their pacific nature
II which should proceed to the assistance 0
'e the crew Of sinking ship; by this mean
% numbers of the men might &c saved wn
g would otherwise certainly be drowned
e, 1t is not probable that the loss OF lif
u from gun-fire would be large, as a gres
n mart Of the crew Of an iron-clad woul
n he under water the rest being insid
In the armored portions of the ship. Fee
81 ships would be able to get into favol
able positions for discharging Whit
head torpedoes from their tubes
10 even if they did so. the cour'
w of one Of these machines is :
:. cratic when discharged from ship
10 motion that it would in nearly ever
's, case miss its mark. The time for Il
mo-. use Of Whiteheads would be from Il
md torpedo-boats at the commencement
ar the fight. To sum up, it is the opinic
ace Of many naval men of authority that
rts modern naval battle would only occup
er- about half the time Of fight in II
ex- old Trafalgar days; that half the shiy
ing employed would be sunk, and tn,
bile most Of the remainder would be {
ye- battered as to be unfit for further Sc
9 . vice for months to come.