The record-union., 1898-07-24
REMARKABLE GUNNERY.
Examination of Cervera's Destroy
ed Ships.

ST.
OFF SANTIAGO, July 12-"Any
doubt that may have existed that the
Maine was blown up by an outside ex-
plOsiOn has been dissolved by the ex-
animation of the destroyed Spanish
ships" said member of the board Of
survey that examined the remnants of
Admiral Cervera's fleet.
"Of four ships examined, three had
been blown up by their magazines" he
continued, ''and of those one had every
magazine exploded and torpedoes in ad-
dition, yet on none of them was there
the same effect as that produced by the
explosion on the Maine. There was no
upheaval Of the keel and little bulging
of the plates, except in the immediate
vicinity of the explosion. The effect
was nearly altogether upward in some
cases the protective deck being lifted,
but outside of the springing of a few
plates, the hulls were intact"
The examination of the wrecks of the
Spanish ships, three of which were
burned and all their magazines ex-
ploded, was made. first for the our
pose of ascertaining the effect Of
American gunnery, and secondly, TO
find the effect of internal explosion
Both subjects bore upon the Maine in
cident as noted above and the awful ef-
feet of well-aimed shots was demon
strated in the destruction of the fleet
When it is remembered that the Amir
ante Oquendo and the Infanta Maria
Teresa were both sunk within forty
minutes of the time they left the en-
trance of Santiago harbor, the work
of American gunners may we'll be con-
sidered as remarkable The Almirante
Oquendo was struck over fifty-fve
times and the Infanta Maria Teresa
thirty seven times, but by larger pro-
jectiles.
The record of damage to these ships
is one of great interest. The fight
started at a range of 6,00O yards. or
three miles. At 1000 yards or 2.5OO
yards, two torpedo boats and two cruis-
ers were annihilated. The closest fight
ing was done at ] 100 and 1000 yards
by the Brooklyn and Vizcaya. with an
initiating effect on the Spanish ship.
But two projectiles larger than S-inch
struck a vessel, both of these, either
II or 13-inch, being put through the
Infanta Maria Teresa. The S-inch.
6-inch, o-inch and 6-pounder pro-
jectiles did the bulk of the work and
t.
Of the effect can be obtained from a
brief summary of the injuries to each
ship as found by the Examining Board.
The board had upon it such capable
men as Executive officer Rogers of
the Iowa: Executive officer Mason of
the Brooklyn, an expert on the effect
of shells on armor; Lieutenant Huess-
Ter of the Texas, who has made some
splendid improvements in gun firing
on that ship, and Naval Constructor
Hobson of the Merrimac fame who
has a reputation for knowledge of ship
construction. Briefly these findings
follow:
Cristobal Colon, battleship, first class.
with six inches of steel for protection
not only on the water line, but around
the G-inch guns. This ship was hit
with large projectiles but six times,
as she kept out Of range nearly the
whole time, passing behind the other
ships for protection. and finally MAX
ing a run for it. The hits were made
by the Brooklyn and Oregon One
S-inch shell went into the port side
of the wardroom and left on the star
board side without exploding. but
cleaned out everything in the room.
A o-inch hit just above the armor belt
and a O-inch struck her on the bow
None of the injuries We're sufficient to
put her out of action, nor as serious
as those received by the Brooklyn at
one time her sole antagonist. The as
sertion is that the Brooklyn was over
hauling her. and the Oregon's terrific
13-inch guns We're striking nearer and
nearer and that escape was impossible
The ViZcaya is of the same class
battleship as the Texas and the Maine
She carries two 11.5-inch guns and two
1O.5-inch guns, with projections ten
and twelve inches thick double and
treble that of the Brooklyn This ship
was the special prey of the Brooklyn
and the Oregon, although the Texas,
after her destructive work on the
Oquendo. added a little at long range.
The S-inch guns Of the Brooklyn and
Oregon and the 6-inch guns on the
Oregon and the 5-inch on the Brook
lyn tore her structure above the armor
belt almost into shreds while the
6-pounders and 1-pounders made it too
warm for men to stand at the guns.
The Texas got in a few 6-inch shots
and the Iowa landed a couple of 4-inch
No 13 or 12-inch shells struck her
The Infanta Maria Teresa. of the
same build as the Vizcaya. was badly
punished, and was the only one of the
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