The times., 1898-05-08
Our Fleets and spain's Compared.

Our Fleets and Spain's Compared.
From the Brooklyn Eagle.)
One of the important features of to
days news is that the Key West squad
ron has put to sea. Capt. William r.
Sampson. who is in command, has been
authorized by the President to hoist a
rear admirals flag on the New York
The fleet which this morning left Key
West Is numerically and in tonnage
stronger than the Spanish fleet which is
lying at the Cape Verde Islands, await
ing orders. A comparison of the Ameri-
can flying squadron which left Hamp-
ton Roads yesterday afternoon with the
Spanish flying squadron which is lying
at Cadiz shows the two to be about
equal in tonnage, although Spain's fleet
Is larger numerically and includes two or
three vessels of a small but dangerous
type-the torpedo boat destroyer.
The American squadron. which left
Key West this morning, is composed OF
the following vessels: The battleships In
diana and Iowa, the armored cruiser New
York, the protected cruisers Marblehead
Cincinnati, Montgomery and Detroit; the
gunboats Helena, Wilmington, Nashville
and Castine; the monitors Terror. Puri-
tan and Amphitrite; the torpedo boats
Foote, Gushing, Ericsson, Winslow, Por-
ter. Dupont and Newport; the dynamite
cruiser Vesuvius and the supply boat
Fern. This makes twenty-three vessels
in all, with an aggregate displacement of
60 $50 tons
The main battery Of these ships, which
constitutes their chief offensive power.
may be classified as follows: The bat
tleships have four 13-inch and eight s.
inch breech-loading rifles The New York
Is armed with six 8-inch and twelve T.
Inch rifles. The four cruisers have each
ten 5-inch rifles. The gunboats have eight
4-inch rifles The torpedo boats each
have three 1S-inch torpedo tubes The
monitor Puritan is armed with four 12-
inch and six finch rifles. The Terror and
the Amphitrite are each armed with four
lo-tnch rifles. which, in the Amphitrite
are supplemented by two finch The
dynamite cruiser Vesuvius has three
rheumatic guns, Is inches in caliber, for
the discharge of dynamite shells.
Against this fleet Spain will oppose one
which.in tonnage and numbers is, weaker
but which is formidable enough to be
worthy of very serious consideration. II
includes the aTmored cruisers AImirante
oquendO, ChristObal Colon, Infanta Maria
Teresa and Vizcaya. 1t Is asserted that
the Carlos has also Joined this fleet
and that il has been further REINFORCED
by the hrSt-ciass battleship Pelayo, the
only vessel of this type which Spain pos
sesscs. Besides these six vessels Spain's
Cape Verde squadron includes the tor
pedo boat destroyers Furor, Terror and
Pluton and the torpedo boats Ariete
Azor and Rayo. The aggregate dispiace-
ment OF this feet IS % 300 tons or about
half that Of the Key West fleet under
Captain Sampson. This Overwhelming
disparity in favor of the United States is
somewhat equalized by the fact that
three Of Spain's fighters constitute a very
dangerous type of vessel. the torpedo
boat destroyer, of which the United
States have none.
Then, again. a comparison of the arm
ored tonnage of the two fleets is not so
unfavorable 10 Spain. the United States
having 20 900 armored tons in It's squad
ron against almost 10000 for Spain. This
fact is worthy of consideration when il
IS remembered that the brunt Of battle
falls upon the armored class of ships and
that victory In naval engagement de-
pends greatly upon the offensive power
of the big armorclads rather than upon
the comparatively insignificant fighting
powers of the lighter cruisers
1t is not unlikely too that conjunc-
tion of Spains Cape Verde and Cadiz
fleets will be effected. In such an event 1t
is. of course, probable that the flying
squadron under Commodore Schley would
cooperate with the vessels under the
command of Capt. Sampson. Still. the
ability to effect a conjunction OF the two
fleets of each nation would be more ad-
vantage0us TO Spain than the United
States. There VIII be an opportunity to
display considerable naval strategy by
both nations. for it would indeed be a
brilliant move for the commander of eth
or the American or Spanish forces to
effect a conjunction of his own fleets,
while preventing a union of the enemys.
and then give battle to the adversary's
forces thus divided. II was exactly such
a move as this that enablde Perry to
gain the brilliant victory which he did
over the British forces in the battle OF
Lake Erie It is. however. premature
TO discuss the tactics which VIII be fol-
lowed. They are largely determinable
only by the situation which confronts
the commander when the moment of ac-
tion arrises.