The Red Cloud chief., 1898-09-02
The N&CKNM q THE SPANISH 9lARN.
A Few Pointed Lessons. -VieWs of a Naval
Expert Upon the Condition of the Spanish
Ships, with Some Pertinent Dcduc-
lions About Naval Warfare.

The gun is still the supreme sea
weapon.
1t is true hat greatest havoc in the
Spanish ships driven ashore off San
tiago was caused by fire. but this con-
migration was a secondary and not a
primary cause.
Or the four ships examined and re-
ported upon by the Naval Board three
were wrecked by the explosion of
their magazines. This was also a Sec
ondary, not n determining cause. No,
1he main weapon was not the ram nor
the torpedo, but the gun.
IL Is impossible yet to state what ef-
rect the American projectiles may have
mad upon the submerged parts Of the
nulls. but the above water structure
yields convincing evidence of gun
power. The total number Of shots
hred in the action has not been made
public. but we have reports of two
ships. and If these be accepted as a
ratio for the others. the ammunition
rainod upon the Spaniards must have
been enormous. Captain Evans, of the
' ''sN'o INA tbt lOIioN lux Is t1
approximation Of the projectiles fired
from his ship: Thirty-one Pinch
semi-armor piercing shells. with full
charges; 30 S-inch common shells. with
full charges: PSI finch Common shells.
l,O56 ~6-pounder cartridges, common
shells. and 100 1-pounder cartridges,
common shells. Captain Cook. of the
RrQnkIyn rannrtc that Ia, AL fnn
rounds Of S-inch shells. 473 5-inch.
200 %6-pounder. and 200 1-pounder am
munition. II the other battleships
made the same average as the Iowa
we will get. after allowing for the re-
spective differences In caliber, a total
OF about 1900 pounds OF metal, OF
ninety tons, discharged against the
enemy.
Assuming that a1yIt $500 shots in
all were fired, and this approximation
Ia fairly close, We find, excluding the
fires from the 6 and l Founders, that
1900 proiectiles of the larger cali
bers were discharged by the Oregon,
Brooklyn, Iowa, Indiana and Texas.
IT. will be interesting to note in this
connection the number Of direct hits
made by these shells. This is taken
from the report made by the Examin-
ing Board, convened by Admiral Samp-
son Immediately after the battle:
'Four-inch shells-Fircd only by the
Iowa-The Infanta Maria Teresa. 1:
the Almirante Oquendo, 8; the Viz
caya. 2.
"Five-inch shells-Fired only by the
Brooklyn-The Infanta Maria Teresa,
8; the Vizcaya. 6; the Almirante
Oquendo, . Zone OF which exploded a
torpedo: the Cristobal Colon. 4.
"Eight-inch shells-Fired by the
Brooklyn. the Iowa, the Oregon and
the Indiana-The Maria Teresa. 3: the
Almirante Oquendo, 8: the Vizcaya. 4.
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 it is quite
certain that the Texas fired one.
al the Spanish ships were riddled
by the rapid fire of the / and 6 pound
ers 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
]ayman this may seem a small ratio,
but It is very good indeed when the
smoke, distance and the difficulties Of
a running fight are considered. The
engagement started at a 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-
ed being Just over 1000 yards.
The Spanish statement Of their gun
fire has not been given specifically.
All we know is that they opposed a to-
tai of 146 guns to the 225 mounted on
board the American ships-that is, IL
the batteries of the Gloucester and
the Vixen be included. Our marked
superiority was in the heavy guns, as
We opposed fourteen to their six. but