The Abilene reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1883-1888, 1886-07-29
MODERN WAR SHIPS.
What Would be the Cost of Pc feet We
sci Suitable for Wa Purposes.

What Would be the Cost of Pc tfect Yes
sci Suitable for Wa Purposes.
The best rough measure of the value
of modern war ship is the weight of
water she displaces. for this equals the
weight of the ship and her contents,
and the greater it is the larger her hull
can be, the thicker her armor. the more
powerful her engines. the heavier her
guns and the greater her coal and am
munition capacity.
Aperfect war ship would be one able
to resist any prOiectile or torpedo and
to pierce any armor made, and at the
same time to throw greater weight of
metal per minute, to turn more rapidly
and to steam faster and further than
any other.
Ability to resist any projectile or
torpedo would necessitate great thick
ness of armor and a heavy inner bot
tom; ability to pierce any armor would
require very large guns; ability to
throw greater weight of metal per
minute than any foreign war ship would
render necessary considerable num-
Der of guns. and these would require
considerable space to be protected,
which means a considerable extent of
armor.
We can see at a glance that the
weight of guns and arm0r alone would
be enormous, and that in consequence
the ship would be immense, since she
must be not only as large as a volume
of water of equal weight, but larger. in
order that she may possess sufficient
reserve buoyancy to float her when a
sea comes on board, or when water
tight compartment fills after torpedo
explosion or collision. But the ship
must be large enough to float, in addi-
ton, her machinery and coal, and these
would be very heavy, since the boilers
and engines must be very powerful in
order to secure the necessary speed.
and must have an enormous supply of
coal at hand in order TO steam the
necessary distance.
Clearly, perfect war ship would be
an exceedingly heavy and expensive
one. An English naval architect in a
College stated that a war ship, to be
even approximately perfect, would
weigh about $4,000 tons, and cost at
least 82,000,000!
Since perfection can not at any prac-
ticabie cost be attained in any one war
ship, the only thing TO do is to design
a number for different purposes, seek
ing in each certain eXcellencies, and
resigning others. In heavily-arm-
ored ship, in which power of offense
and defense must be very great, the
weight allowed must be expended prin-
cipally in guns and armor, so that
great speed and coal endurance have
to be abandoned. In cruiser, on the
other hand, speed and coal endurance
are essential. so that armor and heavy
guns must be resigned; while in a
gun-boat heavy guns and great speed |
must be secured. and armor and coal !
sacrificed.
Furthermore, speed is comparatively |
an easy thing to get in ship, if we are |
at liberty to make her as long, as mar
row and as deep as we please, and TO
place the boilers, engines and steam
pipes in convenient positions. But |
long ship will not turn so quickly as a
shorter one, yet hardness is almost as |
important in war ship as speed; a
long ship can not have so thick armor
as a shorter one carrying an equal
weight of armOr, and she is easier to
hit. To make war ship deep forces
On her the naval disadvantage of great |
iraught, which prevents her from en-
tering some harbOrs and from chasing
vessels near some coasts; and boilers.
engines and steam-pipas have to be
crowded below the water line to pro-
5ect them from prOjectiIes. Is it mat
ter for wonder, then, that war ships
ire not so fast as some passenger
steamers whose requirements are 50
simple?
1t is sometimes urged that war ships
should carry Il great deal of sail in or
Ter to be able to stay long time ut
sea without going into port for coal.
But mastS and spars arc very heavy;
they fall on deck when struck in action
and kill men. and they present such
resistance to the air that they decrease
the speed when a ship is fighting under
steam alone-which is the only way in
which a ship can fight. Moreover, if
l war ship should be caught under sail
oy hostile war ship under steam
,lone, she would simply be in the posi-
ion of ship unprepared meeting a
'hip thoroughly prepared to fight; and
while she had her men aloft furling
'ail and clearing ship for action"
he other could be knocking holes in
Ter hull with heavy guns and killing
he men aloft with Hotchkiss and Cat
ING machine guns.-B. Il. Fiske, Lieu
enaRt U S. ". in " Y Post