The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1893-08-15


almost wholly an experiment There
has never been pitched battle be-
tween tie most modern squadrons,
and ind ed these ships have taken
great Clre t. ivld such meeting.
Their f re the ,lfynsNe and defensive
value Of the steel levilthans is N. h'em.
atic,l Something might have been
learned about it if the Russians and
Turks had chosen to grapple at Sc in
1877, r. if the attending ChtIeans TWO
years ago had seen fit t. have laval
duel. But the fleets, fr the mo st part,
were kept oul Of harms way True the
Chilean rebels lost a cruiser, but that
was not in fair fight
1t is held by sJtne experts that any
great explosion on board modern
man of war, such as might be caused
by melinite or dynamite shall, would,
if it did not sink the great iron pot
altogether, disarrange its intricate
mechanism and reduce it to helpless
hulk and target. The loss of the
Victoria shows how inadequate are
armored sides to resist the impact of a
steel prow-and why not great conicaI
shell ? - and the same catastrophe
proves the unreliable nature of the all
compartment as means of buoyancy
All these circumstances are full Of
gravity, particularly to England, which
with an ineffective or helpless fleet
would be in danger of falling to the
rank of thirdclass power.
The chief peril to the modern navy
seems to be from two forms of cage
inventiveness-that which is at WORK
upon submarine torpedo boats anc
upon aerial cars. OF these undertak
lngs the submarine boat has the bes
promise of success. Several vdrletle:
of this craft have been patented, The
last one being the invention of ;
Haverhill Mass genius. The boat i
Of the cigar shape, twenty one feet long
and five feet in diameter at the larges
section, and on the inside of this shell
hangs cradle, fifteen and one hal
feet long, on points carrying the burden
machinery, operator and ballast also
an electric three horse power engine
from which the outside shell is made t,
revolve rapidly, and this shell, being
furnished with fins, is made to dar
through the water with great speed
| The stern has three distinct movements
One that allows the hull to rotate anC
another to steer the craft by, and ais,
one to drive a small propeller, Blu
which is only used when landing O
taking in air when the hatchway is open
The air is furnished from two Ions
copper tanks when the boat is unde,
water, and when on the surface there
is suction pipe through stationary
part of the stern. Should this device
prove as practicable as many think, the
great battle ships Of the day may az
well 60 out of commission.
AS to aerial cars, capable Of running
any course they might choose, they
would transfer the field of human con
flict to the sky. Ships and forts coulc
not stand under them, for they Coulo
drop explosives from the clouds; anc
no doubt, after their destructive advent
the world would soon come to see the
need of universal peace.
Meanwhile, the building of grea
navles will go on, though everyone
knows as well as the British officer who
raised the note of warning, that the
bright idea which flashed across the
mind of some young artificer a veal
ago may, in a year to come, make every
battle ship that floats bulk of wasteo
metal.