Grand Rapids herald., 1892-10-21
sr1urx BIZ rxn Axxuu aAA

strengthened BY ne knD~aedeo that
his vessel u practically invuinersoae TO
hostile guns
The acsscs srygesecd BY Admiral
Amrnn with these rams Is 30 send
them forward at the beginning Of the
bottle, letting them bear the brunt and
take DO first shock of the conflict.
When they bad performed their mission
--sfnt IA, when they had sunk or dis
pbied - many of The encrnys ships as
poesfbie-tne reserve squadron OF bat
slszsflips and large cruisers would come
up snd complete the victory.
The contrzsrt price 0f the ram Is
go 900, Tho cost Of q first-cisss battle
strip Is over q. s.o0o. 900. 70 which must be
added an expensive armament of guns
and tpypefiocs- The rams are compar-
stively cheap 70 maintain; the battle
ships eytrenoly expensive
Yet. on the other hand. the rams have
b-It one sphere Of usefulness They are
u-clsss for cruising purposes, for bonn
hssrtfuserTf. for commerce destruction
The battleships are not only of immense
Importance in coast defense. but they
are adapted for the three forms OF naval
operations named
The qncstsDn rs deep one, and the
most rsts1rIai view Of the matter would
seem - bs. n Admiral Arnmen sng-
srcsts. 10 construct a number Of rams 20
b. ADDED - the remainder Of the naval
establishments
Described IN ser1i-technical language,
the rams most important features are
follows Fer extreme length, over all.
ls 81 fest. extreme breadth. % feet 5
inches, total depth. from bottom Of
keel 80 crown Of deck. - feet 10 inches.
frn.ier normal conditions she viii draw
"a feet n inches ,t water. and at this
dranght her displacement n s.t55 tons.
When Erring into action. however. she
"a lowered In she water ~ a fghting
slranuht II Is feet inches, and her dis
placemeus II then increased - a.24o
tons
Ths. feature which II apt, st first
glance. - strike The observer a. most
remarkable. = the peculiar shape of the
hail. A. shown in the cross-section.
THE lower portion II the hull. instead
~ being parabolic. a. in other vessels.
* dish shsred no - = sharp isnuc<ls.
which runs completely around the vss-
sel. forming \ sharp blade the edge ot
which il ordinarily six inches beneath
tFs surface 81 the water. hut one foot
below at the Sighting drsught
This blasie-lize side is most notable
characteristics ~ the rsm. It Wa
adopted rot oriv - facilitate exit from
an eneruy's holl after rsmming, but ia
orSfsr that. after striking an antaE-
er,ist's si,le. he latter might be ripped
ynyie...d literally cnt away. lt slso
Increases she destructive eject q a
si.-ss.i,fr bfrvv ard ~ che same tifne IN
e-asees the rams struetural strength.
Above shfs "ixnnckie or blade he
.hsc-. - the ball IL tliat - a circular
A.. with q rsdins anidships - about
thi~tv feet There - thus formed a
-,,rvv-f 1setx or 'turtis- haciS. which =
a~-rn,-es throughout. the thickness q
ar1sor taperinx froSn AK inches ss the
.'lsr,sie sl.s' to tsvo inches - the crown
~ i..ek Below fae knucsie extends
AZ srr,,or b-lt sve ss.es ieep. the taick-
ness ~ th-s eelt tape~inz fr3yn six -
shree f,ches. The walls ~ tae ssonning
tsyvs.r are eighteen inches taiek. The
}.,rver pa-siss-s - the snsesestsc'y sod
e. ventiiators are projected with - :
f1ehes of ar-a1r Al the arasor = a
s1cst