Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1889-04-09
T00HEAVY ARMAMENT
COMMENTS ON THE RECENT REPORT OF
THE BRITISH ADMIRALTY.
Gunboas Not Strong Enough for the Great Weights
They Have 10 Bsar-GuDs Of Smaller
Bore Ought to bs Carried-Ths
United States Vessels.

WASHINGTON, April S.-Copies of the
official report to the British Admiralty of
the committee on the recent English naval
man have Just been received at the
Navy Department, and are being read
with a gCeat deal of interest, as they have
a very practical bearing on some OF the
vessels in the United States Navy.
The Yorktown aud her two sisters, the
Concord and the Bennington. are identical
with the Archer class of the English Navy.
Six of those vessels took part in the ma
poeuvres and concerning them the Com
mittee of Admirals say: ut is reported,
unanimously, that the armament is too
heavy, and consequently the vessels are
crank; that the weights on the forecastle
are too great, and the foIecastle itself is
not strong enough for the weight it has to
bear"
Ofthe Rsccoon, the only vessel of the
class which appears to have experienced
anything like heavy sea, it is reported
that on one occasion, while going ten or
eleven knots against moderate swell, a
sea was taken on board which carried
away everything movable on the forecas-
tie, broke in the fore hatch, which was bat
tened down, tore away the iron stanchions
supporting the fOrecsstle and bent the
beam down three inches. The committee
is of the opinion that much of this weight
in the eyes of the ship should be reduced,
and suggests that the bowers should be
slowed further aft, the spar anchor moved
to position near the main mast, and that
the six-inch guns on forecastle should be
replaced by five inch, by which means
alone saving of over $50 tons would be
effected" It's advices also, to substitute
ive-inch for six-inch guns throughout is,
in view of the ''crank" nature of these
vessels, as reported by their late captains,
worthy of the most serious considerations.
Admiral Sir Arthur Hood in his obser-
vatiOns of the report of the committee,
says of the Archer class: 81 quite concur
in the view that these vessels are too heav-
lily weighted forward and should have pre-
ferred the substitution of five inch guns
for six-incb, one epilot house instead of two,
and the anchors, especially She sheet
anchor, slowed further away aft."
These criticisms bear out The arguments
advanced by some of our naval officials at
the time the construction of our eunbOats
was undertaken. They held that the
Yorktown and her class ought not TO car
ry guns of any larger sizs than five inches,
and that the little Petrol should
not carry guns over four ard one
half inches at the most, while the
English Maggie, of the same class, carry
only four-inch guns. The action of the
British Admiralty is reviving the discus
sicn of the question Of how heavy srms-
ments of our gunhoats should be. 1t is
not likely, however, that any change will
be made in the present plans before the
Yorktown has been given trial at sea
with her batteries on board. If she does
not behave better than her prototypes in
the British navy it is safe TO say that the
weight of the armsments of her sister boats,
snd of the little Petrol, will be much re-
duced. Thus far the only change made in
the line suggested by the Enlish report
has been the location of the anchors furth-
er aft than was originally contemplated.