The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1890-05-19
MAKING USE or THE MONITORS.
a Scheme for Turning to Account the
Single Turret IroncIads.

Single Turret IronclAds.
WASHINGTON, May 1s-The thirteen small
! monitors which survived from the civil war
have been looked Mt again and again to SEQ
| whether something could not be done 10 mako
| them effective. There used to DO fourteen, but
tho Saugus was condemned to the scrap heap
ana now on tho active list thoro remain the
Ajax, the Canonicus, the Mahopac the Man
haitian. tho Wyandotte. the Camauche, the
Catskil the Jason, the Lehlgh, tho Montauk
tho Nahant, the Nantucket. and tho Passaic
The five first namod are OF 2,l00 and tho other
eight OF l,S75 tons displacement. All have sim
Clio tur1ets and single screws; each carries
couple Of smooth bores In its turret. Seven
are in ordinary near Richmond. three moro in
ordinary at League Island and ono each ut
Brooklyn. Marc Island, and Annapolis.
Heads OF bureaus us distinguished and as
practical as Chief Engineer Melville and Chief
Constructor Wilson have united in recon-
mendinE tho laying out of reasonable sums on
this bakors dozen OF vessels in order TO mako
them tit for service. But Secretary Whitney,
and after him Secretary Tracy. have dlsap-
proved these recommendations on the ground
that the vessels are obsolete, and that to at
temDt to tinker them into usefulness would lie
throwing good money after bad.
Now however. a plan has been devised which
aims ut making an important change in the
light-draught monitors. The Pneumatic Gun
Company has PROPOSED to remove the turrets
and to substitute for the smooth bores rincd
eiEht-ipch guns mounted on disappearing
platform. worked upon the pneumatic rrln-
chile The assignmG;nt Of q large sum for an
mont TO tho. Navy AUTHORIZATION bill while an
been introduced into the House. Possibly the
eNperiment MAJ DO made instead or in add
RDn With he SHntnckot which is now ut tho
disappearing gun, carriages are an old in,
ventlon, which has long been i'll successful
England and Italy The Moncrleii carriage for
this purpose has been known Tor many years.
disGIppe%1i8E gun is iqmiT E:on The Irni
Of at Ention for our forts Gen Sheridan for ex-
emp amplSt having called attention to It three or
nattor of familiar d scussiOn here and Of prac-
teal construction In foreign countries Keeping
the men and their guns sheltered when prnrt
cable m riue pits was univ orsaiy Understood in
our civil war from 1851 TO 1860 and mechanical
ordnanGo OF forts would naturally suggest
ltScll. Tho thing now i'll our own country. on
THE subject is tho present proposal to extend
the system to vessels. raising tho guns above
tho level OF the water, as in the british system
thoy are raised above the level OF tho ground
lire for relOadIng.
The real advantage OF the new proposition,
AoNoNol may lut Oul ~ 10 lCSS III us nOulluul
purn0se OIL Improving the tins.c.tllrst nonl-
tors than in determining the practicabiiiy of
using tho disappearing pneumatic carriage on
armorclads worthier OF the upue Of harbor de-
tenders. Tho main gain. OF cUurs" in the i'm
melate case would consist in tho ability to
loss effective old-ia- hi!ned smooth boros.
This is 70 be ACCOMPLISHED hy dispensing with
tho weight of the turrcts. Another gain is tho
one characteristic OF the disappearing system.
thai Of nQS exposing the gun 10 hostile fire eX-
eopt during the timo REQUIRED Tor raising
firing. and lowering Emf tho Of
Of these little monitors Is very small target
in any case.
The objection to applying this system to
these vessels is that il will not make them less
the turrats, which 1t Is proposed to remove.
have eileen inches Of Illuminated armor.. with
the additional advantage Of their cylindrical
shape III making hostile shot glance Oil, tho
hull remnin- rs now with only five inches of
iron And it was the hus hat attracted see
one OF the guns OF Il ti!sl-'lu5s ironclad.' ho /
-ntd. "cQuId send /. proIecie clean thr ugh |
tho monitor from stem 70 stern: Hence niter |
the large sum required Tor fitting IN these |
as Liable to the sam objection IS before III re- |
gard to tho Nu!ncrnbilitY OF tho huls.
liut. on tho OTHER nand. il NAV I've urge that |
thoy would ut least have Il great deal more ag- !
grosSivc power with their new guns, and that |
while these were used thu extremely low free
exceedingly hard TO hit She could 80 in ShoRl !
waters. whore large ironclads could not and |
might provo very hnrassnE TO them. At all !
events, the value of tho pneumatic Disappear |
ing carriage does not really derend, on Tho |
ability To uso it on tho existing. sngle-turlet |
since it could he still better applied |
to powerful !iOa'lnE batteries, with heavy steel
armor and low freeboards.