The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1898-08-21
WARS NAVAL LESSONS.
ottToRRS Or THE TEXAS GITB THEIR
IIEIns ON THE SUBJECT.

. y hANH- " ANG NuNN 1n0uAu NNHAANu
the s-Inch sloW-Firers-searohliEht and
Telephone Indispensable in Service.
"The big ship with big guns and the mon
who know how TO fight on IL Is the one that
can do the business said Captain Jack"
Philip. in his cabin on the Texas. THAT is the
chief naval lesson Of the war. or. at least. so
much Of IL US I have seen. Torpedoes, tor
pedo boats, and the small fast craft. which some
naval authorities expected 20 play 30 big q part
in any war OF the present day. have scarcely
had a showing. As for submarine mines. why.
there Is one down on the for'ard deck that we
bumped into at Guantanamo. IL had barnacles
growing on II 80 thick that the firing pins could
not operate. That particular modern inven-
ton did not work exactly as Il was intended.
or else we should not be here now.
1T 10 not for me. however. to attempt to set
tie conclusions which naval experts will proba-
bly, draw from the seq fighting of the Cuban
coast. l am not a naval expert. I have been
only a ships Captain. / will say. though. that
the magnificent utility OF the battleship that
can fight and follow. too. the tremendous value
OF the main battery and the destructive force
OF rapid-flre guns have been demonstrated be-
yond question. Above all in Importance. the
men behind the guns have justified Anglo
Saxon traditions and have fought with the
nerve and daring 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 mon OF the Texas that I wish
never to sec a ships company do their work
better or more thoroughly.
1T has been said that the Texas has boen
put out OF date by the recent improvements In
battleship construction and appliances; but II
there were any deficiencies OF that kind they
have been more than made up by the spirit OF
the mon. and ! think that the record Of the
Texas will stand with that Of any OF the other
ships that took part In the fighting.
In regard to such lessons as are TO be drawn
from the actual test OF the guns or the other
appliances on the ship. Lieut.. Heilner. the
navigating officer, and Lieut.. Bristol. the ex-
ecutlve officer of the Texas, are better qualified
to speak than lam"
Lieut.. L. G. Hcilner. the navigator of the
Texas, was standing by a 6-pound rapid-lre
gun mounted in the wardroom. His con-
versation soon showed that he lie an en-
thuslastic believer In the usefulness In action
OF q considerable secondary battery.
IF there is any one lesson that has been
made moro clear than another by this war" he
said. lit Is that our ships should have plenty Of
the smaller calibre rapid-fre guns In the make
up OF their armament. 1t was the raking.
ssethinR hail Of fire poured into the
that drove them on the shore at San
tiago. Put q 6-pound shell here" open
ing the breech of the Hotchkiss gun
by q dexterous pull at the lever as he
spoke. glance through tho breech sight at the |
cone Just ahead. pull the trigger here. and the
mischief has begun. Ten times a minute these
shells. each charged with enough explosive
material to set a ship on fire. can be pumped
into the target, aimed with substantial &C. |
curacy to scatter death and destruction on an
enemy's decks. SO great is the saving Of time
afanfnH In lNoHiny nnH AHin1 hu Ia,t-- A. |
ammunition in one pa~ckage-powder. shell,
fuse. and primer-that fifteen or more shells
can be fired from these guns in action in sixty
seconds with hurried aim. Full accuracy can
be obtained with from six to ten shots in the
The effect on the enemy of this raining Of
e explosives lgs y. Spa 9 be ,imaEiRed. Only the Span
ing in all directions. explosions at every turn,
starting UP I'm half q dozen different
i Tie Spanish ships had boon especially
age from our rapid-fre guns. their arrange
ment could not have been better calculated.
they were; easy food for the flames which tho
EMAIL sn1i nts sal16re tS guns s6 started Te6t IN int every 9HHarter b;
splrsef. hme sde mV s6ipsst and ap' Su mina Americs an
sailors and gunners didn't have the opportunity
to prove what they can do ip a good. SQUARE,
,wrotched. their fine armored Cruisers
obOW Wlu uIlIcItu ulbtT uT6 ItuIly l
Of in a sea fight, and l am afraid they
not be much Of an. addition to our fleet Il
saved. such was the effectiveness Of the Ameri-
"Stlll | am of the opinion that the battleship
stIli a ! o l ithe ef barthlos i Gn arc en to resu II from f3s o3 f6e
experiences OF this war, I should say that there
ought TO be an increase Of speed power and a
Strengthening OF the secondary battery. In this
respect Manila and Santiago must, rank to-
yetner. The heaviest guns that Admiral Dewey
feet. the burned and shattered hulks
ot Montojo's far moro numerous sG~uadroniyinR
Of the secondary battery"
Lieut.: M. l. Bristol. who has been or. Philips
Texas in 1856. has been a careful and enthuo
slastic observer OF his ships performances in
he stirring events Of the p9st few weeks. It
Inees Of the Texas made by such men as Lieut..
Bristol and Lieut.; I. 6. Haeseler. who is asso:
ler good record.
Year and a half ago the Texas was so much
n effective part Of our lighting establishment.
since then her interior mechanism has been
her officers. 80 that In the essentials OF
ship she seems worthy to stand beside
ley Iessb Il ne fex s5sts Witch In q fact ao the ss sseonddi rate "a b bat +
n, 1ea a Massirch %eSiaSe;m rs sSf;dH Sst IL the s,l ltSht Of
for a demonstration OF up-to-date sea
As the 12-tnch. guns which form the main
)attery of the Texas were operated before
Haeseler made his improvements IN the !
lad to be, trained fore, and at OF, abeam. before
hey could be loaded. Then they had TO be
moved Into the position from which 1t was de-
irod TO fire them, BY this laborious pro
'ess they could be fred once in about
icnlly changed. the entire Arrangement Of
no interior of the gun %turrets, but his
Improvement was a controlling valve
minute and twenty-nine seconds. The power ,
" which the, four Pinch guns are fired is
n the redoubt outside tho turrct. The differ !
IN effect OF half q dozen S5O-pound shells
against an enemy's sides where
'nly one could have been fired before need not
Electrical appliances on the modern war ,
hip and. In the various auxilinrjes OF up-to-
late warfare, said Lieut., Bristol, cannot be :
hey have not been Of any great Use in either Of !
.ur big sea fights. although this Is not saying
hat they might not be OF tho greatest i'm '