The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1889-04-09
THE NEW GUN-BOATS.
They Are Modelled After the English Pat
tern. and the Latter Are Reported Faulty.

They Are Modelled After the English Pat
tern, and the Latter Are Reported Faulty.
NEW YORK, April S.-A Washington spe-
cial to the Times says that copies of the
official report to the British Admiralty to-
the committee on the recent English naval
maneuvers have just been received at the
Navy Department and are being read with a
great deal of interest, as they have a very
practical bearing on some of the vessels in
the new United States navy. The York
town and her two sisters, the Concord and
Bennington. are identical with the Archer
class of the English navy. Six of these
vessels took part in the maneuvers, and
concerning them the committee of admirals
says:
1T 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 fore
castle itself Is not strong enough Tor the
weight it has TO bear.' Of the Raccoon,
the only vessel of the class which appears
to have experienced anything like heavy
sea. it is reported that, one occasion,
while going ten or eleven knots against n
moderate swell, q sea was taken on board
which carried away every thing movable
on the forecastle. broke IN the fore hatch,
which was battened down. tore away the
iron stanchions supporting the forecastle
and bent the beams down three inches The
coramittee is of the opinion that much of
this weight IN the eyes" OF
suggests that the bowers should be-
slowed further aft. the spare anchor
removed to a position near the mainmast,
and that the two six-inch guns on the fore
castle should be replaced by five-inch, by
which latter means alone a saving of over
fifteen tons would be effected. 1t submits,
also, that TO substitute fiye-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 observations on the report OF
the committee. says of the Archer class:
II quite concur in the view that these
vessels are too heavily weighted forward,
and should have preferred the substitution
of fire-inch guns for six-inch. one pilot
house instead of two, and the anchors. es-
aft.D
These criticisms bear out the. arguments
advanced by some of our naval officials at
the time the construction of our gun-boats
was undertaken. They held that the York
town and her class ought not 10 carry guns
of any larger size than five inches. and that
the Little Petrol should not carry guns of
over four and half inches at the utmost.
while the English Maggie class of the same
size carry only fOur-lnch guns. heeXpres-
slons of the British Admiralty are reviving
the discussion of the question of how heavy
the ornaments of our gun-boats 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. IL she does
not behave better than her prototypes in
the British navy, 1t is safe TO say that the
weight of the armaments of her sister boats,
and of the Little Petrol, will be much re-
duced. Tins far. th90nly change made in
the line suggested by the English report
has been the location of the anchors further
aft than was originally contemplated.