The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1886-01-30
A Modern Sea Fight.

From Chambers Journal.
People often wonder what would be the
result of 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 proba-
Bile features of fight between two fleets
of modern ironclads Although two hos
tile ironclads 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
independent duels between individual ships.
This is at once apparent when we consider
that most if not all of the ships would
have arms, and it would, therefore, be
highly necessary for captain to have per-
feet control over the movements of his ship
to prevent her being rammed by an enemy.
At the outset of the action the torpedo
boats would probably take very active
part, and until exterminated, which they
certainly would be in time, would engage
great attention and be effective in sinking
few ships. 1t may be safely concluded
that every ship would be steaming fast
during the action, this being necessary to
avoid being rammed, to get into favorable
positions for discharging torpedoes 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 engines got disabled from this
cause would speedily be rammed; and at
this point we consider the great loss of life
would take place, for the reason that the
boats of ship, being always exposed to
the machine gun fire, would at an early
stage of the action be riddled and shattered
with shot, and in the incredibly short time
in which ship sinks after being rammed
it would be impossible for the crew to i'm
provise other means to save themselves
from drowning. No steps seem yet to
have been taken by our admiralty with a
view of providing for this contingency.
1t has been suggested that hospital ship
bearing the Geneva cross should accompa-
ny fleet into action to receive the wound
ed. We would make further suggestion
namely, that this ship should be provid
ed with fast steaming boats, peculiarly
marked to show their pacific nature, which
should proceed to the assistance of sink
ing ship. By this means numbers of the
men might be saved who would otherwise
certainly be drowned. 1t is not probable
that the loss of life from gun fire would be
large, as a great part of the crew of an
ironclad would be under water, the rest be-
ing inside the armored portions of the ship.
Few ships would be able to get into favor
able positions for discharging Whitehead
torpedoes from their tubes, even if they did
so, the course of one Of these machines is
so erratic when discharged from ship in
motion, that it would in nearly every case
miss its mark. The time for the use of
Whiteheads would be from the torpedo
boats at the commencement of the fight.
To sum up, it is the opinion of many
naval men of authority that modern naval
battle would occupy about one-half the
time of the fight in the old Trafalgar days;
that half the ships employed would be sunk
and that most of the remainder would be
so battered as to be unfit for further ser
vice for months to come