Evening star., 1898-08-20
Conclusions Drawn BY the Officers of
the Texas.
BATTLE SHIP HOLDS FIRST PLACE
The Important Part Played by the
Rapid-Fiire Guns.
VALUE OF THE SEARCHLIGHT
Correspondence of The Evening Star.

WIN hno" HoW TO hight on 1t is the one
tnat can do the business said Capt.
JACK Philip, soon to be Commodore Phil
Up, In his cabin on the famous fighting ma
chine Texas. That is the chief naval les
son OF the war, or at least so much of it
as nave seen. Torpedoes, torpedo boats
and the small fast craft which some naval
authorities expected to play SO big a part
in any war of the present day have scarce
ly had showing. AS for submarine mines
Why there is one down on the for'ard deck
that We bumped into at Guantanamo 1t
hao parnacles growing it so thick that
the Hring pins could not operate. That par
tlcular modern invention did not work ex-
actly as it was intended, or else it should
not be here now
III Is not for me, however to attempt to
settle conclusions which naval experts will
probably draw from the sea fighting off the
Nupan coast L am not a naval expert,
ohly shps captain. l will say, though,
that the magnificent utility of the battle
snip that can fight and follow, too, the
tremendous value of the main battery and
tne destructive force of rapid-fire guns
nave peen demonstrated beyond question.
ABOVE all In Importance, the men behind
the guns have justified Anglo-Saxon tradi-
Iions ana nave fought with the nerve and
caring that We long since learned to expect
from American seamen. They are the main
reliance, the blood and sinew of the ship
can say for the men of the Texas that l
WISH never to see ships company do their
work better or more thoroughly
1t has been said that the Texas has been
put out OF date by the recent improvements
IN pattie snip construction and appliances
put II there were any deficiencies of that
klho, they have been more than made up
by the spirit of the men, and l think that
the record of the Texas will stand with
that OF any OF the other ships that took
part in the fighting around Cuba
drawn from the actual test of the guns or
the other appliances on the ship. Lieut.
Seilner, the navigating officer, and Lieut..
Bristol, the executive officer are better
quallned TO speak than l am"
Value of Secondary Battery.
Lieutenant L. c. Heilner, the navigator
of the Texas, was standing by a six-pound
rapid-fire gun mounted in the officers mess
ROOM His conversation soon showed that
he is an enthusiastic believer in the useful
ness in action of considerable secondary
battery. E
IF there is any one lesson that has been
made more clear than another by this
war he said, 'it Is that our ships should
have plenty of the smaller caliber rapid-fire
guns in the makeup of their armament.
1t was the raking, seething hail of fire
poured into the Spanish ships by the guns
of this class that drove them on the shore
at Santiago. Put. stx-pound shell here"
X
by deXterous pull at the lever as he
spoke, glance through the breech sig..t at
the cone just ahead pull the trigger here
and the mischief has begun. Ten times
minute these shells, each charged with
enough explosive material to set a ship on
fire, can be pumped into the target, aimed
with substantial accuracy to scatter death
and destruction on an enemy's decks. So
great Is the saving Of time effected in load
ing and firing by having the ammunition
in one package-powder, shell, fuse and
primer-that fifteen more shells can be
fired from these guns in action in sixty sec
onds with hurried aim. Full accuracy can
be obtained with from six to ten shots in
the same period
Rapfd-Ffre Guns.
1.-THE effect on the enemy of this raining
of explosives can be imagined. Only the
Spanards can tell exactly what it is Splin-
ters flying in all directions. explosions at
every turn, flames starting up in half a
dozen different quarters at once-is it any
wonder that the Spanish ships of Cervera
burned for three or four days? If the
Spanish ships had been especially con-
structed to receive the most possible dam
age from our rapid-fire guns their arrange
ment could not have been better calculated.
With their fine boats and elaborate wood
work they were easy food for the flames
which the small-caliber guns started in
every quarter by spltnterng the woodwork
into kindlings. Of course, American ships
and guns, American sailors and gunners
didn't have the opportunity to prove what
they can do in a good, square, standup
fight. The Spanish have not learned much
in the past four hundred years. Their gun
merry was wretched, their fine armored
cruisers didn't show what armored cruisers
are really capable of in sea fight. and |
am afraid they will not be much of an ad-
dition to our fleet If saved, such was the
effectiveness Of the American gunnery.
Battle Ships Hold First Place.
"Still I am of the opinion. in spite Of the
fact that the Spanish cruisers were not the
hest representatives of their class and in
spite of the fine work done by our cruisers
that the battle ships still hold the palm.
If any changes in the construction of the
battle ships are to result from the expe-
riences Of this war / should say that there
ought to be an increase of speed power
end a Strengthening of the secondary bat
terry. In this respect Manila and Santiago
that Admiral Dewey had were S-inch rifles.
and, as In the case of Cervera's fleet the
burned and shattered hulks of Montijo's
far more numerous squadron lying in the
Philippine waters, are witness to the eff
cheney of the secondary battery"
Lieut. M. L. Bristol, who has been on
Capt. Philips staff since the latter took
command of the Texas in 1896. has been
careful and enthusiastic observer Of his
ships performances in the stirring events
of the past few weeks. 1t is to the i'm
provement in the fighting appliances of
the Texas made by such men as Lieut.
Bristol and Lieut.. F. G. Haeseler, who is
associated with him on the captains staff.
that the ship owes much of her splendid
record.
improvements in the Texas.
A year and half ago the Texas was go
much out of date that naval men hardly
counted her an effective part Of our fight
ing establishment Since then her interior
mechanism has Been almost entirely re-
n odeled from plans drawn by her officers.
so that in the essentials of a fighting shin
she seems worthy to stand beside any Of
her sisters. In fact, the second-rate battle
ship Texas, which Is not supposed to be in
the same class as the Indiana Oregon
Iowa and Massachusetts, is today in tho
light of her actual achievements better
calculated PERHAPS than any other vessel
of the navy to stand for demonstration
of up-to-date sea fighting.
AS the Pinch gums which form the main
battery of the Texas were operated before
Lieut.. Haeseler made his improvements in
the arrangement of the fighting mechan-
ism, they had to be trained fore and aft or
abeam before they could be loaded Then
they had to be moved into the position
from which 1t was desired to fire them. Ry
this laborious process they could be fired
oEce in about eight minutes. Lieut.. Haes-
elers plans practically changed the entire