Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1892-12-13
LEAD THE WORLD.
AMERICAN ARMOR PLATE AND PROJECTILES
FAR IN ADVANCE.
The New American Navy, Begun Under Secretary
Whitney and Carried Forward by Tracy on
the Same Lines Proves the Superiority Of
American GeniOuS and Industry.

Secretary or the Navy III uAS o. :. 49,
mort. sets forth the fact when the pres,
ent administration came In, oesioe olu
and obsolete wooden ships, only three
modern war vessels were In commits
sion. During the administration ~ new
vessels. aggregate tonnage 54,S32 tons,
mounting 12-inch guns, 6 1O-inch, 10
s-ineh and So 6-inch guns have been
constructed and put In service. Ihere
are under construction is vessels, on
which rapid progress is being MADE
All Of these are being manufactured IN
this country. Advertisements nave
Eeen issued for the two new vessels,
authorized by the last session OF Con-
Rress, the Iowa and Brooklyn.
THE NEW NAVY.
The new navy, including all vessels
built or authorized, now consists OF the
following: One seagoing battle SNIP
6rst-class-Iowa; three coast line battle
ships, Observation-Disclosures Inul,
ana. Oregon; two battle ships seconu
class-Maine, Texas, six douole-turret-
ted harbor-defence vesselS-Purltan'
Monterey, MiantOnomah, MonadnocK,
Terror, Amphitrite; two armoreu
cruisers-New York, Brooklyn; one
ram: two protected cruisers OF extreme
sDeed-Columbia, Minneapolis; fourteen
cruisers-Ulympia, Baltimore, Chicago,
philadelphia. San Francisco, Newark,
Charleston, Boston, Atlanta, Cincinnati,
Raleigh. Detroit, Montgomery, Marble
head: one dispatch vessel-Dolphin; SIX
gunboats-Yorktown Concord, Ben
Dinpton, Machias, Castine, Petrol; one
dynamite yessel-Vesuvius; one prac-
tice vessel-BancrOft; two torpedo
boats-Cushing, No. .; total OF ~ yes
sells.
The progress, both in ships and ord
nance, by which the United States has
emerged from It's condition OF helpless
ness az sea, and by the employment OF
its own resources, has distanced It's
more exp erienced competitors, marks
an epoch in the naval development not
only of this country but Of the world.
The development for the past four
years has not been confined TO ships
alone At the beginning OF this ad-
ministration, says the Secretary, the
naval establishment was entirely desti-
tute OF certain elements Of efficiency,
each OF which was indispensable TO its
practical employment as q lighting
force, and the absence OF which, II IL
had been possessed of a hundred ships,
would still have left il in
A CONDITION OF PARALYSIS.
These were armOred topedoes, heavy
raDid-fring guns, armor-piercing shells,
smOkeless powder, high explosives.
-. . 40 Hnli Of
plate caused the dates Of the final COM
pletlon of the armOred vessels under
construction to be somewhat later than
al first contemplated The only COM
pensation for this delay is superior
quality Of armor that has been recently
developed. In connection with the de-
Vehement Of nickel steel for armor the
navy department has undertaken SER
les of experiments in the application OF
this material to other purposes OF con-
struCtien which promise no less import
ant results than those already attained.
II the expectations now formed are re-
allied It will not be long before nickel
steel will be extensively used, both in
ship frames and marine engines, with
marked Improvement, both in strength
OF parts and reduction Of weight; while
its non-corrodable qualities, already
partly demonstrated, point to the pro-
liability that il may ultimately present
the solution for the haraSsing problem
Of preserving the submerged plating OF
ships. Coming down TO q detailed
statement as to the armor tests, the
Secretary tells Of the work accomplish
ed; OF the tremendous tests TO which
HarVeyed nickel steel armor plate was
subjected In November, 1891, as re-
suit OF which improved methods were
introduced in manufacture by Harvey
process and a final test made on July 30
last.
The plate was Of nickel steel, Har-
veyed, Of 1919 inches thickness. An s.
inch gun was used in the test. Five
Holtzer-forged steel shells, weighing $50
pounds each, with striking velocity of
1,7OO feet each, with an euergy of 5000
tons TO the square foot were fired at the
plate at a distance OF thirty yards.
Never before these trials had any ar
NOR plate in the world been subjected
TO such a test as represented by these
five blows OF a total energy of $4,000
tons. All FIVE Of
THE PROJECTILEs WERE SMASHED
upon the surface Of the plate, which
showed no sign Of injury beyond the
opening Of a slight temper crack
inches in length from one edge and
vale less than l inch in thickness on
the back Of the plaJe opposite each
point OF impact Such a result has
never been approached before
By any armor-plate, American
or foreign. IL has been demon
strated by the United States, in
the construction Of its navy, which
ten years ago, had no existence, even on
paper, is enabled to place upon each
and all of its armored vessels material
the like Of which the world has not, M
TO this time, seen; and while vast sums
have been spent in plating the sides Of
foreign men-of-war with inferior mate
rial, this country will employ for the pur-
pose an armor which not only is far more
efficient but which represents unQues-
tiOnably, having reference to the d.
mansions Of the plates thus far tested,
the highest development Of modern
science and development reached by
its own Independent effort.
Following our example, the English
government four weeks ago held trial
OF the new American armor, and it is
clear from the highly successful results
that the United States, instead Of be-
last in the race in the constructions Of
vessels ef war, or Of borrowing the
beet ideas from abroad. has set an ex-
ample in this respect which other
maritime nations will speedily follow.
With regard to the armor contracts
the secretary says neither the Bethle-
hem nor Carnegie companies is making