New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1893-06-24
THE TICTORJI DISASTER.

The sinking of the British battleship Vic
toria. flagship Of the Mediterranean squadron.
! is a portentous reminder of the weakness OF
| the Wanted modern navy. She was among the
newest and most formidable irOncladS alioat,
vet could not endure an accidental thrust from
the ram of another battleShip running at low
| spced. She began TO settle as soon as the rent
was made in her side, and in less than fifteen
minutes was at the bottom Of the sea with more
than four hundred of her officers and crew.
II so dire a catastrophe could be caused while
two ships were manocuvr;ng in smooth sea
under clear sky, who can venture to forecast
what would happen if two modern fleets were
under fire and closely engaged? Ba'heShilS
encoscl with invnlncrable armor and armed
with 11O-ton guns are as powerful as the arr
of the designer and the gnnmaker can rcndcr
them. But how weak and defenceieSs they arc
under the sudden impact Of ram or torpedo
The battle of LISA revealed to the naval en-
cineers Of Europe the potentiali;y OF an iron
ram in \ sea fight but the lesson has not been
adequately learned after twenty-five years.
The shattered hulk Of the Victoria at the bot
tom CT the sea bears witness 10 the helpless
ness of a battlcship when this tremendous en-
cine OF naval warfare is brought TO bear upon
her.
The Victoria. being named after the Queen,
WIS designed to be model ba,tc>hlp III al
respects She was leviathan III SIZE, win
engines Of very high power amor OF the great
est defensive qualities and battery with
maximum radius Of action. The Nile, the
Trafalgar and the Royal Sovereign when sub
seouen,ly launched, surpassed her in offensive
and defensive qualities, but she was battle
shin worthy of the Queen and of the naval
genius of the English people. But, unlike the
gracious sovereign after whom She was named,
the ship was unlucky from the day she was
mt in commission. The 1l0-t0n guns in her
turr,t proved to be mi>calculated failures Ihey
fairly shook the top-heavy, Unbalanced snip 10
riecas when fired and their utility in naval
engagement was largely probema'Ical Last
wear the ship ran aground oil the coast OF
Greece under circumstances involving the reprl-
mandinc OF her captain by court inafual.
Rescued and repaired with great difficulty ana
expense she has now gone to the bottom win
the Rear Admiral's flag flying and with hum
dIed> of brave British tarS imprisoned between
her decks Her name will hcnceforih he asso-
ciatod with one Of the greatest disasters III
naval history occurring in time OF peace. IL
will be a synonymc for mlscalculahon, mis-
fortune and death on the high seas.
4 court martial will have the melancholy
duly Of determining tie responsibility for this
terrible catast ophe. 50 destructive was the
onset Of the ram that the Admiral and twenty
officers of the Victoria were engulfed with ;hc
wreck. The Campeldown's officers VIII have
few witnesses to contradict 'hcm when they
explain how it was possible for their snip TO
run afoul of the Victoria in midsummer cruise
of naval practice. They may be able to clear
themselves at the expense OF the sealiailshlp
and presence of mind OF thor unfortunate
associates of the Victoria; but such invcSii9a-
tions are always thorough IN the British Navy
and the responsibility for 50 appalling disaster
canno. easily be shirle1. Last year five ships
of war; the Naiad, Apollo. Victoria. Howe and
Warspte, ran ashore and torpedo-boat was
sunk in the summer manOcuvrcs. That was
black record indeed for British seanlanship and
official competence but it was trivial in com
parison with the loss of one Of the finest baidlc-
ships, with two-thlds Of her officers and crew.
through collision with 4 sister ship. That is a
disaster 50 serious as to inspire the Admiralty
with the reflection that the practice gained by
fleet manoeuvrcs offers inadequate compensa-
ton for the dangers incurred
As there have been no naval wars of any
consequence since the building OF the Modem
steel nayies was undertaken, ii is only through
experience in such catastrophe As this, or in
a similar one which bcfcll 4 German warship
fifteen years ago, that the permanent value and
real efficiency of new designs in marine archi
lecture can be approximately tested great
naval war whenever il comes will be followed
by Brcyclution in marine architecture That
is inevitable, since nnc-tcn;hs of the design
ing Of the last quartercentury is tentative and
experimental. A naval engagement will offer
a supreme test of armor, guns, models and ma
chincry. Meanwhile, disasters from wreck or
collision have morals of their own. They dis
credit the seaworthness and defensive power
of the armorcd evia;hans. They magnify the
importance of the ram. They favor the view
that the strongest battlcship is the one having
the highest speed and the greatest manoeuvnng