Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1895-12-25
OUR NAVAL SIREN G 7 H
As Measured With That Possessed by
Great Britain.
Battle Ships and Cruisers-POSverful
Vessels, but Still Greatly Outnum-
81" bered by the English Fleet.

The complete plan for a war with England
is locked up in a safe at the Navy Depart
ment. 1t only remains for Congress to touch
the button, and instantly the whole machin-
cry of conflict springs into action. Fleets
of floating fortresses. clad in steel and pres-
nant with destruction, will leap into being,
as If from the sowing of the tabled dragons
teeth 1t is known pretty accurately what
chance each one of our ships would nave
against British vessels corresponding more
or less with them in strength. The figures
are down to the smallest gun, the exact
weight of each ship and the thickness of her
armor to a fraction of an inch.
An examination of these details shows
that our battle ship Brooklyn would be
more than a match for the British ship
Blake. The Brooklyn will be ready for serv-
ice within a few months. The New York
and the Blenheim are giant cruisers OF
about the same size, and would be fair
match. The Brooklyn has better protec-
ton of armor than the Blake, and is able
to fire a greater weight OF projectiles .Ihe
unarmored cruiser Baltimore would be likely
to defeat the British Arethusa, being speed
Ter and carrying heavier guns The Boston,
likewise an unarmored cruiser, would match
the Leander; the Charleston would equal the
Ehaeton; the Chicago, the Mercury; the
Cincinnati, the Melampus. and the ocean
greyhound Columbia, the Royal Arthur. the
former being three knots faster. All of
these are unarmored cruisers.
Our cruiser. the Detroit, might be matched
against Great Britain's Alacrity OF other
United States cruisers the Marblehead might
be put against the Mildura; the Minneapolis
against the ST. George; the Montgomery
against the Tauranga: the Newark against
the Thames: the Olympia against the Gil
braltar; the Philadelphia against the Astrea;
the San Francisco against the Latona; the
Raleigh against the Iria.
now ready for business. In duel with the
British Royal Sovereign she would be likely
to come out ahead, inasmuch as she has
heavier armor and more speed. Her bat
terry is enormously powerful, comprising
four thrteen-inch guns-the largest ever
made for the United States vessels-eight
eight-inch guns. six four-inch. twenty
six-pounders and four machine guns. An
other of our battle ships has already gone
. into commission-the Maine-and is off on
a gunnery trial She is not so heavily ar
mored as the Indiana, and her guns are not
so formidable, consisting of four ten-1nch,
six six-inch, eight rapid-fire sN-pounders
and a dozen weapons of smaller caliber.
Nevertheless, she would almost certainly
beat her majesty's Conqueror, the latter
being less speedy and not SO strongly armed.
Powerful Battle Ships.
The battle ship Massachusetts will go into
commission about six months hence. She
would have as good prospect in conflict
with the Royal Oak the Indiana against
the Royal Sovereign, inasmuch as the lat
ter and the Royal Oak are sisters. The mon
itor Monterey would be a good match for
the British BelleiSle, having about the same
battery, two knots more speed and armor
one inch thicker The Battle ship Oregon is
a sister of the Indiana and Massachusetts.
She is nearly finished, and Will carry four
thirteen-inch guns, eight eight-inch, four
six-inch and twenty sN-pounders. She
might be set off against the Resolution of
Great Britain. Our battle ship Texas is
now locked at New York, but has not had
her final trial yet. She has two twelve-inch
Against her might be put the Hero OF Eng
land The Texas, however, is superior.
Our battle ship Iowa has not been begun
yet. She will be an improved Indiana, light
er, but fully as efficient. she would be
more than a match for the Majestic. For
two of our new battle ships, the Kearsarge
and another not yet named, the contracts
have not been awarded. They will probably
get the better of the Magnificent and Jupi-
ter both of which are sisters of the Males
tic. They have heavier guns than the Brit
ish vessels and more of them. Against cur
Puritan might be put the Dreadnaught, and
as an antagonist of our Terror, the Cyclops.
A fair opponent of the Miantonomoh would
be the Citation, and Of the Monadnock the
Agammemnon.
Put against our cruiser Atlanta the Am
phion; against our Wilmington, the Blonde;
against our Petrol. the Landrail, and against
our Bennington, the Archer. The remaining
vessels of the United States navy do not
amount to much. We have number of
inferior ships, which may be set off against
more or less out-of-date craft belonging
to the British. An equivalent of our entire
navy, it is said, might be subtracted from
that of England, and she would hardly no.
tice the loss.