The sun., 1896-07-28
CLASSIFYING WAR SHIPS.
DISPLACEMEST AND FIGnTIyo
POWER SS THE sTANDARDS.

italian, American, aud Other Methods
Whenever war n rumor OF war betwe ei
two maritime countries Is started, one OF tn
nrst steps in discussing II Is to compare thei
lavtes. And invariably II Is found that mer,
record OF numbers conveys no accurate idea o
aggregate fighting strength. while even tn,
description OF vessels as battle ships. pro-
teoted cruisers, and so on, is also inadequate,
because much depends on whether the ship.
are old or modern, and on their size, ba !tery
power, protection, speed, radius OF action, and
other particulars.
There are also differences In the systems of
rating In different countries. Thus, in our navy,
the simplest o! all systems, that of displace-
ments. Is rcsurted to. Excluding torpedo
boats. tugs sailing slips, and receiving ships all
our vessels grouped under four rates. The
first includes all of 5000 tons and over; tho
eccond, those from 5000 to 5000: tho third
those from 1000 TO 5000, and the fourth all
below 1000. We find among the frst-rates
armored ships like the Indiana, armored cruis-
ers like the NewYork, and protected cruisers like
tho Columbia: in tho second class. steel cruis-
ers like the Baltimore and iron monitors like
the Ampbitrito; In the third class more moni-
tors, wooden cruisers like the Marion, and
steel cruisers like the Montgomery, with gun
boats and the ram Katahdin; in the fourth,
q like variety.
The Italians have similar system OF rating
by size without regard to type; but they have
seven different rates. The first Includes ves-
sells Of 5000 tons more; the second, all be-
tween 5000 and 1000; tho third. all between
1000 and 0,U00; the fourth, all between 5000
and 1000; the fifth, all between 1000 and
5000; the sixth. all between 500 and 1000;
the seventh, all below 500. Thus, an Italian Sec
ond-rate would mean something quite different
from our American eecond-rnte: and the Ital-
ians classify as miputely their torpedo boats
those of 100 tons over being frst-rates: be-
tween 60 and 100, second-rates: between 30
and 80, third rates. and below 80 TONS fourth
rates.
On the othcr hand the British ships arc classi-
fed by types into armored, protected, partially
protected, and unar mored. The first and last
terms describe themselves. and the former class
includes coast defenders and armored cruisers
A protected ship Is held to be ono whose deck
is armor plated for its full length. while'a
partially protected ship has the deck plated
for only part OF the length. There are also
three classes OF battle ships and three classes of
cruisers. the classes deoending not. as with us,
on size, but wholly lighting efficiency or
value. thus the Inflexhle, IL, 900 TONS and tho
DreadnauRht. IL .00O are put down as second
class battle ships, and yet both of them exceed
In displacement nine OF the frst-class battle |
ships.
The Germans apparently aim to combine |
these opposite systems. They first divide by |
types into ironclads. ironclad Kunboats. cruis-
ors, and gunboats. Then come four subdivi-
sions by displncements. for the ironcads with
10000, 900, 5000. and 5000 as the respcc-
tive minimums, the last class being called
'coasting." Under 5000 tons such vessels be-
come ironclad gunboats, also denominated
coasting. The cruisers also have four classes.
Hr9f 1tGf hnta hrfh Cfl ,,,I, a
and carry guns OF not less than the 25-centi-
metre 'abont sI4-inChJ calibre: the second
deck armor and at least l5-centimetre 90
smaller guns than the 5.9-inch; while the fourth
class has no deck arinor. guns less than the 90
Inch. and II displacement of not less than 900
IONS. Vessels OF less than 1000 tons, II NOT
torpedo boats, are gunboats.
,, MI Francis Elgar. formerly Director Of tho
British do"kyards. in a recent essay lnuIlires
y. @ There is not Er9IpnE possible accord
j, those just set forth The truth IS thai amy
entirely distinct methods have been adopted
q n times past, In our own navy. the old meth
than on Br.S Brhs Sarhfa Ehns
It the beginning of the seventeenth century
nen they carried. In the middle of that
century the basis became the plumber of guns, {
hips and rretes. These ratings 1oE VERB
cred as the number OF guns increased, and at
ne ne beginning Of the present century the first
r all three-deckers: the second rate, two
!ecked ships of eighty guns and over. ard the
bird rate two-deckers Of less than eighty and /
more than sixty guns. 9
But II is noteworthy that in 1888 the ancient I
While the first rats included all three. ieckers
ne second rate included all two-decked ships J
Upward, and the third rate twodeckers whose a
Ompiements were between 700 and 600. When I
fonclads ron were Introduced a new classfca-
he Warrior and Black Prince were launched,
no . nrst 1d rate was made TO include ships carry
more. There were corresponding increases /
the other rates, and the sixth rate carried q
eryed that IN those days the largest British t
,ar ships carried nearly POO men, while none Y
eduction in the complement is an Offset to the I
ncreasen cost Of modern ships, whether re.
o. the los, Of life that mSht be
aHsed US by the destruction OF a single ship.
Before the days OF ironclads and monster !
ween cost, displacement, number OF guns and q
lumber OF men. Mr.. ElEar says that I'm the 8,
.rger rates the displacement was about forty q
ms for each gun carried, and the cost OF a a
rge line Of battle ship fitted complete with d
nsts. yards, sails, furniture. and sea stores "
as about tl.oo0 per gun in the year 1892, u
lien built AT war rates, and Is to 20 per cent !.
rodigious lOO.ton guns Of the Duiio and her her
iccessors came to be carried, it was eyidert |
lat the relations between size and guns were
In our own ships of the present time there is
similar want OF exact relation between these fl
| III
10 loxas Is an eight-gun ship and the Detroit a
nine gun ship: yet the former has q displace- fl
ent OF 6.3l5 tons and the latter of only OSp IL
nr old regulations made still more confus.
z method or rating. which has perhaps es- la
Dol Mr.. Elgar's notice, or. at all events he In
'eS not mention II. When ironclads came in gs
was provided by law, In n somewhat oddly ~
formed contrast between "steamships' and In
r0nclhis, as II the latter were not propelled dF
stenm' that steam vessels OF ! 900 tons or AZ
or" displacement and ironclads OF 4. 900 tons AT
more measurement should lie first rates: ba
AT steamers OF 1000 to 1000 tons dispisce co
ont nnd ironclaSs of from 1000 10 q 600 co
hs measurement should he second rates; that
Gamers OF from 300 To 1000 tons displac.. ia
eht ana rOncnds Of from ] 600 10 . 900 te
Gs measurement should be third rates; fl a
iy, that fourth rates shou d include steamers gr
low 500 tons displacement and despatch YES tn
- ana stO"e ships. VI
Eere Was IA double source OF discrerancies 81
e helng the great difference between tonnage br
ta"pTement and: tonnage displacement and Ito
Hthcr the different standards as 10 tho ha
,I mner or tons. Accordingly, mp 10 very az
trht date, We found the Maine Of q Gs2 m,
}S q as ,Hhispt,acemnsnt put down as second rate,
Il the Philadelphia, OF 4,3?4, as a first rate up
the same system. while the Raleigh, OF tn
~ tons was second rate, the MiuItono- los
m, rRla f..J