Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1889-08-25
ABOUT A WAR-SHIP.
AN UNsclENTlFlc DESCRIPTION OF
OUR NAVY.
Monsters Of Iron, Steel ana "ood ms big
rs Flock OF HOuses->peed OF
Modern Cruiser.
New York Times. ]

Texas will be "an armored ship OF
E. 800 tons displacement and S,6J0 lndl-
Gated horsepower. or that the Boston,
one Of our latest vessels, IS a partially
protected cruiser. IL may, therefor, he
not inappropriate to give bnei account
of some of the different types OF mo Tern
war ships which this country IS building
or owns or which are III foreign naylcs.
An armored ship is one which Is pro-
tected either along It's entire watcr-line
or along q part Of it with plates Of iron
or steel OF from to Il or more inches
in thickness ~
To saw that q ship is Of G,300 tons dis
placement means that when she floats
the amount Of water displaced " by
her hill weighs $500 tons. \ ship,
however. is far from thus displacing
quantity of water equal to hcr total
volume, II she did so she would no
longer float except on a level with tho
surface OF the water. FIX thousand
three hundred tons displacement means
that the body of the ship, roughly
stated. is about 800 feet long, go feet
wide. and 80 feet high-that is, 1t means
n massive structure of iron and steel
and wood which occupies as much space
"a n row of fifteen city houses three sto-
RES high, twenty feet vide, ana three
large rooms deep.
This mass is propelled Ivy engines
equal in power to a hundred large-slzed
locomotives. 1t can be moved at the
rate of eighteen miles an hour, and
while it can be handled il turning 10
right and lett Tor, to use nautical terms,
TO ssarboard or port with the greatest
ease. still. should it be necessary 10 stop
the ship while going at full speed, she
would travel mile even though her
ENGINES were reversed.
A ship like the Texas, which IS to be
built at Norfolk, aud which can Doe taken
asatypical all-round fighting ronclad, -
built entirely Of iron and steel The
ribs of the vessel ore steel, her keel - OF
the same metal; 50. too, the beams OF
the deck end the masts. There IS steel
deck called protective deck RAINING
from stem to stern at about the water
line and arched like turtles back. 1t
covers the engines, boilers. magazines,
shell rooms, &C.. and Is several inches
thick.
On the sides OF the ship are huge
masses of steel plates L. inches thick and
s. feet HIGH. back of which are q inches
Of wood and thin plating OF IRON or
the amor of the Texas III smooth water
. feet would be above the water-ilne and
q; feet below it, IL IS 100 4ett long
that IL. only about one third OF the YES
sci is armored. The rest of the hull or
BODY of the Texas is undrmored, but on
her upper deck technically known AS the
spar deck are two circular tuTcta, the
walls of which are composed OF twelve
inch steel plates. Thess turrets are
about twenty-five feet in diameter aud
somewhat higher than n tail man. Ihe
turrets are placed on either side and near
the centre Of the ship. the smokcstack
rising between them. Below the turrcts
are what are called "redoubts that Is,
large oval-shapcd armored cham 9crs, III
which is the machinery for turning the
/ turret, hosting the shot, and manlpI'
lating the guns.
In each turret is one heavy riied gun.
During the late war the Union had
many vessels with armOr eleven inches
! thick. This armOr, which was carried
on the turret of the old monitors, va
made up Of eleven One-iIch wrought
/ iron plates. Modern armor is usually 3
/ solid plate rarely two plates one behinc
the other. made Of metal OF quality
often as fine as that used for penkulie
In 1863 the largest United States gur
( aGoat threw shot - inches IN diane
ter, weighing 4jJ pounds. and driven bl
a charge OF 30 pounds OF powder. Even
such "A shot at the distance Of 500 yarGi
would not have penetrated the turret o
an old-fashioned monitor. A modern
Gun Of bore Of - inches throws 4 sho
1 feet long aud - inches in diameter
weighing nearly ton and requiring
charge IN the gun OF about 800 pound
of powder. 1t can DO what the Swami
ANGEL could barely accomplish, anC
throw shell eight miles without din
Guilty. At a range OF mile that sho
would punch a round hole in an Old
fashioned monitor tuTet, and would Il
ell probability leave buta slightly raSgc'
edge
Such pun weighs about 90 tons an
is 80 feet in length. The old 1j-incl
smooth-bore guns were about II fee
long and weighed about II tons. TIL
old guns fired a round shot, the ne'
guns fire n long, pointed shell. Thes
guns are loaded at the breech the ole
guns were muzzle-loaliug cannon, eX
actly as were those Of the Armada or o
the English at Greasy.
The modern un-carriaCcs are a. ditie
ent from those carried by our old ship
rs are the guns. They are Of steel an
iron, and made up OF mass Of bear
ings, cranks, cog-wheels, and lever.
which look bewidcring when compare.
TO the simple, old-iasnioned tackle O! tn
old guns. The rccOh cor kick OF thes
great modern guns, is. Of course, enol
nous. To stop It, cylinders filed Wit
water, glycerine. or sometimes wit
cir merely, III which n pisto
works. are used. The largest guns n
thus stopped after a recoil OF less tina
six feet. The guu-carrlages rest O
heavy steel or bronze tracks, and they
with the heavy guns, are turned by m'
chinerv tie guns are elevated and d.
pressed by machinery are run IN an
ont by machinery; they are loaded i
many instances by hammers driven b
machinery; the shot and shell al
hoisted to the gun by machinery; II
gun can even he fired by electricity, an
not by the pulling of lanyard. III
machinery spoken of is usually actuate
by compressed air or hydraulic powe
sometimes by steam, and will probabI
in the near future be driven by ele
tricity.
Ali modern ships have in addition
the heavy guns-that Is, guns OF oy,
five or six inches bore-what is called
secondary battery OF revolving cannon
rapid-tiring guns, and Calling gun
The so-called revolving cannon are mat
up of several rifle gun-barrels OF fro
one to two inches calibre reyolvin
about a central axis. The breech mech
nism, which is stationary is 50 col
structed that each barrel IL successive
49,. g.rI oa - raochac a oo,fa,