The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1894-10-07

" hhhh ~ 10 hALN WI .NNFNNu- Wy Lnt NVNtT0-
ing process was concluslveiy shown. The sdop-
ton of this. new system, the Admiralty agrees,
Will result in a great saving in cost for Given de,
fence, and BY mea1s Of these improvements the
nesses and weights OF armor has been very
greatly inereaeSd,. and this. circumstance must
ships 10 be laid down IN the future. VI ""''o
The Introduction Of the strong, yet slow. pow
dess, called a"kelsss" made pfesticable the
arm. France was the first to lead the way, but
the most advanced step in this direotion has
adoption OF the smallest calibre OF rife in any
service, The opinion Of experts seems TO be that
moderate cost the smallest effective calibre Is
;238 inch. In experimental firing the new gun
onds, an ordinate for 500 yards of % feet while
Be- but os pounds The ride has penetrated
Tho annual Contains an elaborate. discussion Of
the, BRAZILIAN revolt from n naval standpoint,
theories that no naval establishmentis formida-
bly,. equipped without an adequate. number Of
tho mainstay Of the insprgents. and without her
the insurrectlqn would have promptly COL
ions tfRss'ii in sG Rio n'i Bay lS'' L Hwfi L al as. .9s 9sv and 2ps %ss
able, to pass and repass the forts prac.
tt1ssl'' m Saaafn sSn. ff s9sa ' from hail mods RI f sasil
The paper presents a strong instrument in favor
S So,d tse , sssstb s ysla sso Of at this Slss' q vessel; and
manned, and with bunkers. filled with coal and
With magazines well preyided, she would have
an accurate and fuf account is given Of the
gents. A few weeks ago The Sun printed a
he RSss' vessel inS CAUSED tSe the Ssf impact ssat of II 9h shs so slSs Of
but In the annual Just issued the detailed facts
The fleet which operated against the battle
ship was under command OF Brazil's senior Ad-
miral, and consisted Of the America, the Mic
thPr0y- Tirandantaa the tornado CrnteaR Aurnra
and a number OF other frst-class torpedo boats.
On q clear night the Aurora was sent scouting
fleet lay at anchor, but later II became so dark
that the, commanders OF the Aurora ran to within
cred her. The crew of the latter were expecting
a small steamer from Desterro that night. and,
near by without firing. The .Aquidaban was
heading toward the south. When first seen
S SS fh Bow A0F IRE latter sns t here qe t the sfa To-
starboard TO launch the bow torpedo. This. by
some S3nn mistake mis- Of the officer in charge Of it. was
and without effect. The Aurora then backed
and turned under the stern of the .Aquidaban,
not more than twenty yards from her. In this
remarkable position. however. IL was not until
the stsr6osrd after torpedo was fred. II struck
with terrific effect about twenty feet abaft the
ably out OF the water. Tn" Aurora then dashed
ahead at full speed to Join the squadron.
ban Re opened ede FIRE hrs' With sHfPe her W" Secondary m n yp Battery He@,u on
the torpedo boat, hitting her thirty five times in
the upper works and three in the hull by the
Nordenfeld l-inch steel projectiles. One of
them penetrated. the starboard bow near the
water line and damaged the distiller. Two OF
them hit a Hotchkiss rapid-fire three-pounder.
septine a cadet. who lost a : finger. no one on
due to the darkness OF the night, coupled with
such proximity to the battle ships that the
fired by the Aurora was of a German make and
contained e. gun,cotton charge weighing 12o
newed on the battle ship the next day it was
found that the torpedo had done its work and
the great ship lay Junk n IN tT e1sd n.r ieet OF
Accounts heretofore printed of the sinking Of
the Aquidaban said that she had been sunk by
torpedoes while at anchor, but the above report
shows that the skill aud strategy, Of the torpedo
vessel and thereby bringing TO a close the in
surrection.
The paper In concluding has this to say in re-
gard TO the important part taken by the battle
ship ha1ida6an in the Brazilian outbreak:
end Of the revolt the head and centre of the
operations. In the fighting in Rio Bay she bore
gun that could be brought to bear on her. and
with but little harm 70 the shin. Three times
the mouth OF the harbor. She passed out and in
practically unscathed, despite the searchlights
perhaps the chief lesson developed by this war
Is the fact that the A.guidaban was the strength
would have been crushed in a short
time: for. considering the number OF guns
time, no excuse could be offered bv the Govern.
ment forces for not capturing the islands and
driving the ships from the harbor. or else fore
portant, "a demonstrating the value of battle
ships In an attack, upon a coast. and their re;
operations were constantly before the Brazilian
Government and people as the most important
of all. Every one felt that IL she were destroyed.
short work would he made of the other revolt
ing forces. That she did not try conclusions with
due to lack OF men. coal, and ammunition. Her
central and commanding position emphasizes
tactieians that battle ships will be the principal
units int attack OF defence, and that without a
s Sgm li6e nt bh attie ea 1' be- snS prese n1 ddea araies ae l hos.
tile AID modern feet. For more than six
months RsS ,hs c this sS Sps ss ssttls q sh Rio PSTsGG, sSsl1S, a 4ssn, e
the numerous well-armed forts and batteries"
In reviewing the progress Of ship construction,
results are made apparent with what has been
accomplished by other powers. France and
in the number OF ships completed and the liberal
programme for q continuation of enlarRing their
three ships TO our one, and have made provision
for greatly enlarging their, defences at sea by
cruisers, and hordes OF torpedo boats. EngIand's
fotilla Of these boats run well up into the hun
OF the vast trouble il would take TO give each a
suitable name. France has probably 200
torpedo boats. ana Germany quite as many as all
the vessels we have In the navy. Great Britain
has laid down this year a most liberal outline
for more ships, which contemplates a total OF
40 vessels of all types and spreads over a term
OF five years, beginning with the current fiscal
year and ending March 81, lsDO. Ten battle
ships OF about 1900 tons displacement are in
Guided, I'VE to be finished in is97-oS and five
the following two years. Six battle ships Of
d. 1000 tons displacement are also contemplated.
Their designs are to have neither turrets nor
barbettes, but are 10 be completely armOred on
the broadside and carry their guns in
Two great protected cruisers are To be laid down
early In the year, and tao more are 10 follow
soon afterwarc. The programme also Includes
six protected cruisers Of the Talbot type, 10 be
finished next year, eight 10 be finished in 1897,
and ten To be completed by 1880.
Whca the amount OF money that Great
Britain has appropriated. 70 be expended during
The fiscal year for torpedo boats alone. Is COM
pared witt, what our navy has secured for con- |
structlon, IL will be appreciated that our prog
ress Is painfully slow. The budget contains
a provision OF nearly seven and a half millions
dollars for forty-two first-class torpedo boats OF
the HavOck type, exclusive Of armament and
ordnance stores. The new building programme
proposes 10 increase the number OF these boats
10 slxty-four. on the basis OF four for each battle
ship for the Channel and Mediterranean squad