Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1888-12-17
THE NEW NAVAL TERROR.
IL VIII Have an Explosive Energy Of
3, 400 Pounds Of Dynamite.

Park Benjamin in the Forum.
There is now approaching completion for
the United States governments vessel which,
it Is predicted, will exercise a. potent an infu-
ence in revolutionizing naval. warfare as did
the famous Monitor. Unlike the Monitor,
however, which in her build presented feat
ures of entire novelty, the so-called dynamite
cruiser" vesuvius owes her importance to the
weapons which she carries and to their capa-
bility for the projection of aerial torpedoes
charged with enormously powerful explo-
sives.
It is not difficult to conceive that a hostile
vessel approaching our coasts and encounter
ing the dynamite cruiser may find herself in a
very disagreeable situation. True, she may
open fire at Q range much greater than that
over which the dynamite shells can be pro-
iected but the low, raftlike craft coming bow
on toward her, at the rate Of % miles an hour,
and showing a breadth of but 261s feet, offers
a target exceedingly difficult to hit II the
deck Of the dynamite ship be protected by a
curved turtleback shield of steel inches'in
thickness, as is contemplated in future con-
struction shot and shell fired at sharp angles
may easily glance from it. To reach the hull
with movable submarine torpedo of the
Whitehead type is even more difficult still. The
range of such torpedo is only about 800 yards,
80 that the dynamite ship would come within
easy firing distance and be enabled to throw
her projectiles long before the torpedo could
be effective.
motionless she will necessarily have but a
few minutes, after sighting her opponent, to
90 a fatal injury. II she advances this period
will necessarily be shorter still. The moment
the Vesuvius finds herself within 15OO yards of
her mark she can launch / 800 pounds of nitro
gelatine, the explosive energy of which equals
that of about 3,4O0 pounds of dynamite, or
more than 10 tons of gunpowder, and this can
be repeated every two minutes; or, if the guns
be discharged singly, compound shell can be
fired every 40 seconds. 1t is not at all improb-
able that after few of these projectiles had
exploded in her immediate vicinity there would
be no ironclad.
The foregoing represents the capacity of the
particular weapons of the Vesuvius for pro-
jectlng the large amounts Of explosives noted.
Shells containing smaller quantities can be
thrown over much greater distances, the range
nitro-gelatine being mile and half, and that
OF one containing 100 pounds of the same sub
stance, two miles. The rapidity of fire de-
ponds upon the construction of the gun, which
is practically huge revolver. BY increasing
the number of chambers in the rotating breech
mechanism it is possible to fire even the heav-
lest shell three times per minute.
Lieut.: Bradley A. Fiske, of the navy, has re-
Gently discovered wonderful application of
electricity which will prevent the effects of the
ships motion upon the gun.
The possibility of controlling the range of the
projectile with nicely renders it probable that
the dynamite ship will play an entirely novel
role in an attack upon a harbor protected by
fixed submarine torpedoes-that is, she may
destroy torpedoes by torpedoes. One hundred
pounds OF nitro glycerine exploding under
water will, it is said, destroy torpedo cases and
blow up torpedOes existing anywhere within a
radius of so feet. The ship on arriving off a
harbor entrance known to be studded with ex-
plosive mines would anchor herself and pro-
coed to drop shells at regular distances of 100
feet apart in longitudinal and lateral direc-
tions. 1t is claimed that in this manner she
could clear of torpedoes channel 800 feet wide
at the rate Of mile an hour, and advancing
into the passage as fast as she renders it safe
from which her shells could be thrown directly
into the city or Notifications.