The Norfolk Virginian. [volume] (Norfolk, Va.) 186?-189?, 1896-03-10
Sshlp 81 That atari are Not Duplicated Outside Of
Uncle Sans Navy.
I|Ea gl:: ], ARE i GREAT COAST DEFENDERS.
Nc Pther Nation IIns Anything Like
; d, tho Monitor Amphitritc. the Rum
sskatahdtn, The Dynamite Cruiser
sssSS; vesnSius, or the Holland sub,na.
rhine, Torpedo Bont.
SGopyrlght. 1896, by S. S. Mcclure, Lin

SIS English naval experts have not ohiy
publicly in recent years
that the quality of the new navy OF
the United States is better than that
s0f any afloat, but they have declared
THAT all lions must look to this coun-
ftry for decided advance in the art of
naval warfare. Yankee ingenuity, they
$expect, will solve many difficult pro-
eblems Ship for ship our naval vessels
are known to be superior to ships OF
.Similar types In other naVles me SUI
Eperiority of out battleships Of the In
diana class to those OF the Royal Sow
Sereign class In England although the
English vessels are nearly 1000 tons
larger, is beyond dispute. Undoubtedly
the fact that the United States has al
ways excelled in quality in naval mat
tiers leads the officials of other countries
ito expect greater things.
@& Whatever may come of this eXpecta-
}tion it is not known generally that al |
ready this country has four types OF |
vessels not possessed by other nations.
Each of these types marks an advance
in naval warfare. and although perhaps
only one Is new, their development has
given the United States navy n defen-
!sive strength such as the navy OF no
other country has. These types are:
The Monitor type OF Eattleship. the
best example Of which Is the Puritan,
room to go into commission: the so-callod
cruiser NeSuNluS. MS 10 WHOSE
success or failure the Navy Department
seems to be in doubt the Ainmen ram
sKatahdin. just ready for active work
and the submarine torpedo boat, de-
fSigned by ]. p. IIolla nd. and now be-
ling built in Baltimore.
M Although the monitor type Of war
ships is nearly thirty years old and its
success is beyond dispute other nations
9have been content to lei 1t remain an
SAmerican type, for which of course
there is reason. That probably is that
monitors are good for defensive pur-
poses chiefly. Foreign nnvics want
soffenSive as well us defensive ships. No
gcountry possesses ram like the Kata-
Sdin. Doubt as to the success of the
sEENesuvius has prevented other nations
from copying after her MANY nations
have tried submarine boats and some
Nhaye had partial success with them.
,snntably Russia and Turkey, but their
vessels have been small affairs compared
with the Holland boat which the United
Estates is now building. and which, it
SIS believed, with all the confidence that
s6cisnce can assert In the domain OF
3apeculntion, will be n complete solution
Sof the problem of navigation under
water.
ssTHE FINEST FIGHTING MACHINE
AFLOAT.
American naval officers have asserted
sSor years that the Puritan will be the
finest fighting machine afoat. She Will
shave four guns of IL inch bore. which
lis next to the largest size available for
fuse on vessels. at n distance OF mile
atheSe guns will be able to pierce the
&thickest armor on any shin afloot What
.Smakes the Puritan especially formida-
Sble is the fact that she presents such 4
small target in herself. She has less
sthan two feet Of free board when fight
sing. She can lower herself several in
liches in the water by flooding tanks
SShe has fourteen Inches of the very best
sarmor on her sides. Her two turrcts
Sseem to be the only places of impor-
stance on the ship where she can be
shit. These are to have eight inch armor
and innsmuch as this armnr is curved
lis as effective for protection as If
sitswere several inches thicker The
vessel draws only eighteen feet of water.
This light draught makes the Puritan a
Smodel harbor defender. In New York
gEhe would not be compelled to lie in
1.-THE main ship channel. but she could
cut across lots in the Swash channel and
head off any foreign battleship that
might have slipped by her
1.-THE Puritan, like the Terror Monad-
mock, Amphitrite and Miantonomah has
$Deen twenty years in building. On the
whole. 1t is well that their completion
has been delayed, for they have twin
iaGTeWS, improved arnlOr and modern
guns, which they would not have had
had they been finished according to
their original designs. Although they
do not belong strictly to. the new navy"
They are as modern in their line as any
SofE the new navy vessels. So thorough
Fly American III their type that one of
zine strictly new navy vessels has been
constructed on their principle That
vessel is the Monterey.
4 Observation-Disclosures ON r11r, >,~~,
TOR
,tss There Is a mistaken notion that mont |
.ssor boats are not seaworthv. 1t is true
ssitlhey are not adapted to trans-ocean voy-
SAges because they lack coal carving
capacity, but they are thorough seago-
ss!ns boats. They are ''wet" boats. but
SYney are staunch. That was shown
Ssonciusivey three years ago when tho
81 famous old KGarsage was towing one
s9t88lne OLD civil monitors from New York |
10 North Carolina. They got in furi
& S9 ulss gaze Off the mouth of the Chesn
1 lIfI;eulAe. The gale was OF cyclonic nature
~ nHHose on the Kearsage thought the mon
iTii'tor would sink before their ewes Thn
Ss sSsW line parted. IT seemed jncredibio
d St lt,at an old monitor with limnine on
Il lines lilies and leaky joints could 1.-Two she
MAS mas nothing but q chip OF iron Oo,,i,S
~ III a terrific sea. At first those an ,t,,e
::ssSSnonltor thought that their tine hnt1
ss;;sttas9sne. They would not give i'm bn,,,
iissfer, and found that they could ma IN
ssltaln steerage way with the antiouatel.
iSiLlAcnlnerys and that tbnv ,,o,,ti, - !