The Philipsburg mail., 1898-10-14

The gun is still the supreme sea
weapon.
1t is true that greatest havoc in the
Spanish ships driven ashore off San
tiago was caused by fire. but this con-
migration was a secondary and not
primary cause.
OF the four ships examined and TO
ported upon by the Naval Board three
were wrecked by the explosion of
their magazines. This was also a sec
ondary, not determining cause. No,
the main weapon was not the ram nor
the torpedo, but the gun
1t is impossible yet to state what eff
rect the American projectiles may have
mad upon the submerged parts of the
hulls, but the above water structure
yields convincing evidence of gun
power. The total number of shots
flred in the action has not been made
public, but we have reports Of two
ships, and if these be accepted as
ratio for the others, the ammunition
rained upon the Spaniards must have
been enormous. Captain Evans, of the
approximation of the projectiles fired
from his ship: Thirty one 12-inch
semi-armor piercing shells, with full
charges; IS 8-inch common shells, with
full charges: 251 4-inch common shells.
1856 6-pounder cartridges, common
shells. and 100 1-pounder cartridges.
common shells. Captain Cook, of the
Brooklyn. reports that he fired 100
rounds of 8-inch shells. 473 5-incn,
1900 6-pounder, and 200 1-pounder am
munltlon. If the other battleships
made the same average as the Iowa
we will get, after allowing for the re-
spective differences in caliber total
Of about 10000 pounds OF metal, Or
ninety tons, discharged against the
enemy.
Assuming that aiHs1t $500 shots in
all were fired, and this approximation
Is fairly close, we find, excluding the
fires from the 6 and 1 Founders, that
1.500 projectiles of the larger cali
oers were discharged by the Oregon,
Brooklyn, Iowa, Indiana and Texas.
1t will be interesting to note in this
connection the number of direct hits
made by these shells. This is taken
trom the report made by the Examin-
ing Board, convened by Admiral Samp-
son Immediately after the battle:
'FOur-inch shells--Fired only by the
[owa-The lnfanta Maria Teresa 1;
the Almirante Oquendo, 5; the Viz
caya, g.
'Five-inch shells-Fired only by the
Brooklyn-The Infanta Maria Teresa,
8: the Vizcaya, 6; the Almlrante
Oquendo, S Zone of which exploded a
torpedo; the Cristobal Colon, 1.
''Eightinch shells-Fired by the
Brooklyn. the Iowa. the Oregon and
the Indiana-The Maria Teresa, 3; the
Almirante Oquendo, 3; the Vizcaya, l.
AS the Indiana did not follow the
chase she probably had nothing to do
with the hits on the Vizcaya.
'Twelve or thirteen inch shells
Only two on the Teresa must be cred |
tied to the battleships Oregon, Indiana,
Texas and Iowa, although 1t is quite
certain that the Texas fired one.
"k-ll the Spanish ships were riddled |
by the rapid fire of the l and pound
srs carried by all the American ships"
This total of forty hits applied to
the projectiles fired gives about three
per cent of successful shots. TO the |
layman this may seem a small ratio, |
but 1t is very good indeed when the |
smoke, distance and the difficulties of |
running fight are considered. The |
engagement started at range of six |
thousand yards-that is, at a distance !
OF about three miles Following out |
an approved sea maxim and the espe-
cial instructions formulated by Rear
Admiral Sampson, the ships closed !
gradually, so that both torpedo boats
and two Of the armored cruisers were
destroyed when within $500 yards At |
one time the Vizcaya and the Brook
iyn were engaged in close order for |
modern fighting, the distance estimat-
sd being just over 1000 yards
The Spanish statement of their gun
IRE has not been given specifically.
All we know is that they opposed to-
tai of 146 guns to the 225 mounted on
board the American ships-that is, if
the batteries of the Gloucester and
the Vixen be included. Our marked |
superiority was in the heavy guns, a
we opposed fourteen to their six. bu