Los Angeles daily herald., 1889-09-14
WASHINGTON VIKINGS.
Consolation for American
Ship-Builders.
OUR NAVY OFFICERS TAKE HEART
British Ships Found to Be No Bet.
ter Than Ours-WhO Will
Succeed Tanner.

Associated Press Dispatches to the HERALD |
WASHINGTON, September 13.-Naval
officers here, and others who have had
something to do with constructing naval
vessels, find much to encourage their
faith in the American Navy, and to con-
sole them for what appeared to be bad
failures in marine architecture, in the
report of the latest English naval
maneuvers, which has just reached the
Department. This report is entitled to
weight, as it was made by the four Ad-
mirals commanding the British squad.
rons.
First, as to the torpedo boats. They
find these boats are Of great value to
blockaded ports, but illy-adapted to
blockading work. Their machinery is
constantly in need of repairs, and they
require frequent attention in matters of
water and coal. The deterioration OF
their machinery soon took away their
speed, which constituted their principal
value.
Touching the larger vessels, the report
says: From all sides during the
maneuvers came complaints of defective
machinery. The equadrons were con-
stantly impeded in their speed and
movements by ELAINE ducks'' needing
repairs. The failure to realize the speed
at which the ships were rated (from 10
to II knots) was one of the most dis
appointing features of the maneuvers.
The best speed the Rupert could make
at the very beginning was eight knots
The Shannon kept up nine knots with
difficulty, and another ironclad dropped
astern, making still less. The In
flexible also fell behind from a
break in her engines. The Agincourt,
an old ship, was steaming easily at the
time under two boilers. The other ships,
in fact, seem to have done very we'll.
The vessels that appeared to travel
with the greatest ease and least smoke
were the Black Prince, built in 1861 the
Hercules, built in 1868; and the Devas-
tation, in 1871. The Hotspur, North
ampton and Active Grated at sixteen
knots) had difficulty in keeping up
to ten knots. Almost every one
of the fast cruisers failed to
steam up to their nominal
speed, or to maintain the maximum
steam pressure when it was reached.
The Mersey, an 1S-knot ship, steamed at
14a knots, but had to slow down for
several heNrs to clean her tubes. The
Mercury was the only cruiser in the first
squadron capable of making 10 knots for
4S hours. (This ship was built to COM
pete with the Wampanoag and other fast
boats built by the United States at the
close of the war;.
The Mohawk class failed in boilers.
The Raccoon practically broke down.
The Archer and Cossack had their boil
ers re.tubed before they had been three
months in commission. these are
types for our new 2,000.ton vessels, but
the machinery has been improved in de-
sign and durability The Serpent was
almost constantly under repairs in port.
AN unsuccessful effort was made to in
troduce like machinery into the new
practice ships for Annapolis.)
The Rationale class proved to be
entirely too delicate for rough work.
elm point of fact" says a correspond
emit, "whatever else the campaign brings
out, it will demonstrate this to a GER
tsinty, that there is not an officer of
either of the four squadrons that feels
the least confidence in his ship to steam
in an emergency"
Winding up their criticism upon the
machinery trials, the Admirals say that
in view of the failure of the ordinary
boilers at high steam pressures, expert
ments as to the practical employment
OF tubular, or coil, high pressure boil
ers will be followed with increased in
terest.
Our own Navy Department has already
begun to make trials of these boilers at
the instance of Chief Engineer Melville,
and upon his recommendation they are
to be placed in the new coast defense
vessels