The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-08-01

mountable BY the simple expediont OF laying her
the Shs,i FORM A. q Y h ss'b hui. liquid DO least 'n'O'iv' upon
Il do not BY any means argue that tho com.
or constructor, But, having famIisrized him
self with principles II that art which touch d.
his ship under sea conditions Of common 90
s%9rronsS and having gained suficisnt knowl-
AN instant and correct Judgment as to her
point o.. best behavior in any soawsy. 1t
goes without, saying that sea experience Is tho
worked out
= Several years sso Mr.. CCrsmp pointed ont in
TO be set in the size Of tho ocean-going stoam-
ship, owing to the fact that she must bo
H nsn ssiS tsat and MS,,c commanded ws mIdSt by one pan ~
mansions Of the ship, we could not Increase the
dimensions, mental or otherwise, of the man
fixed quantity OF mans capabilities assumes
even wen more Importance. Mr.. Cramp says:
or e6sst qSetSl" to no sSm pSs be { n nSS' b "T ssIs ts
sdasS. the Fl, sTSS sno9 e IEi5HIGiplS,s q 4 that art which Il,
ship as q whole likewise l would say that he
tion to tho numerous and diverse mechanisms
tiai to The emclcney Of his Is = B Sat'i Il
be really commands, he must know enough
when thoy arc doing It we'll and when not; to
know whether his subordinates Immediately In
charge Of tho several devices are operating
exist and Gsdpp when tsoy g1 have % b seoT mS w az so od.o' Il
no docs not know or cannot learn those things
diHately in charge and their reporss viii be law
to, him, or II not law, at least decisions from
Te,S 3 he /. h Ss,. RS Si pgSnn.t MbSni fest ytb su inas a
pendent and self relying autocracy which is tho
essential and fundamental principle, Of naval
sooner or later vanish into mere empty form or
conventional myth. These, facts, even moro
than any. other considerations argue for. uni
fOrmity or type. no that in LEARNING the trnita of
one battleship the officer acquires experience
s eSara sn OF sSs Su, SiSPliI S an,t e. once to the dis
modern ba.:leship fnds himself et the parting
breaks his pennant- One road lie that Of tax.
mag .h In I, s sSsy i5 Fslyins 6linaiy 81 on ,h sas 2 Ia:
that may como to Him, starting perhaps. at a
g ISrSas6 q, '9ntsrn ,5sssPYsssstqllE fofw wa up
The other road is the hard one. I need not
describe 1t in e~xtenso, but simply say that 1t is
Vision aU" insight 9 hSsu IN. sh Sast.H actual iin co@msnd i IN tho
broadcast practical sense, In fact as we'll as In
Passing TO consideration of tho unit of OPP
GRAFTON, the fleet and the Admiral, we find an
other array Of problems. Let us assume tina.
the n &amilra ai'ai nSas simsei 4 III P0ee oSSan ado Of in sn
differences nSSs ! in &C e%fasieney as ssf be efSsSnnt the several several
units units q fSa ACTION ssst win sttll remain and It will DO,
s and locate Ias as't tS sSss d div see As9iE With 70 S SGsFrins
should Guild k now to an 1di'ssiy he Persona ssaatien
be able to sifrerentisSte the tpsits Of r. %re snaHIe
readiness Of repsponsibiiiity and boldne IS S Of e1e:
cution. He should know precisely the steering
S %oaid, Of sf course sSsry 'hi aeels at oE her f iPsss, .D Which H.,
time of altering course in any degree, from q
FRACTION of a point to wearing clear around.
and definitely in his mind a true conception Of
the coeficient of performance of each unit Of
his ommand in all situations, and he should
be able. at any time and in any emergency to
relate these coeftlGients to each other and to tho
E Wn9le tb %if isaa aht somnsts pTe1 dsSis,, L b 1t , happens
effective ship and the ab!est Captain the best
ship, the range of coeficients wifi be wide; II
the conditions are reversed, giving to the poor
est chip the best Captain and 20 the best ship
the poorest Captain, the range Of coeficients
some diversity. and the tact and skin Of the
Admiral must be measured by his success in
reducing the tactical effect of such diversity to
Tho management Of individual battleships
being IgS 81 iGi9m oP Mr.. : CfFamp lays stress on the
have diversified thelF tygss' and no calls atten.
disaster the British Mediterranean squadron.
consisting Of ten battleships. had six different
IIsPSS sttl 81 S sSsf no t srs s%tssis sRsSS & 9h sh sf, s9asaF9 n
the weakest c6n type Of sH1ttlsship and least com
petent commander. AL the rest OF the squad
there would be . wide discrepancy in the power
obviated and the response to orders would be
ties Of the Various e" "oSnnAn aRSn 'n Mr. ee cramp
therefore believes that we should make our
He says Of the Indiana: HiAnA Type
Our very first attempt at battleship design
produced a TYP, which I consider the fairest
stiles yet reached anywhere. The resulting
ship carries on a displacement OF lo,4OO tons
OF 14,l5O tons, Is equal to hem in m%anor ring
speed. and much quicker and handler under
helm. think no one contends thRt thc Iowa
Is an improvement upon the IaIIaLa CiaSs.
Without going into detail OF the differences be-
tween the two ships. l win say, generally. that
amy first rate hattleship afioat as TO armor and
armament; she has as much speed as will ever
coal capacity is sufficient for any cruise that
the policy Of the United States viii ever require
When to these offensive and defensive quail
ties is added the fact that the Indiana developed
on her preliminary trial a readiness Of response
OF marvellous IN view OF her dimensions and
weight, she becomes by great odds the handiest
of her navigating officer on that occasion, she
steer"d like n pilot boat I submit that 1t does
not require me training q a naval %tactician TO
ships. alike in all leading qualities, would have
the ten diverse and unequal battleships Of the
British Mediterranean feet at an initial disad-
vantage of tremendous effect, and this without
taking account Of individual superiority"
Air. Cramp says that In his long career in
shipbuildlng tho elimination Of the human fac
tor In the management OF ships has become
almost Il passion with him. He has striyen in
his advance In his profession TO accomplish
that end; Three years. ago he declared in an
address In this city that the average ocean
liner was AT the mercy largely OF the tank
trimmer" ,Hc said that II a ship had on board
a tip5y tank trimmer the safety OF her passen.
gors and her cargo would be in as great jeopardy
as II her Captain, were incompetent In time OF
a great crisis. The human factor in battle
"hips centres largely In the skill and competence
Of each individual Captain, and tho ability and
competence of the Admiral in command. The
only way to bring the powers OF the Captains
and Admiral to their fullest efficiency Is by the
mastery OF battleShip seainanship. As to that
Mr.. Cramp closes with this remark:
After all preparatory courses, academic or
post graduate, the one and only ultimate school
Of efficiency is the deck itself, and hat must DO
the deck Of q ship under way"