The age-herald., 1898-06-09
THE THREE
 TYPES OF SHIPS

There are three types of heavy fighting vessels in our navy, says Prof. Ira N. Hol- lis in the June Atlantic: the harbor defense monitor, capable of service in smooth wa ter; the coast line battleship, for coast de- lenses, and the seagoing battleship, which caIi handle its guns in fairly heavy sea. None of these have speed exceeding six teen or seventeen knots, the principal dif- ference between the three classes being in the height of the guns above the water line and the capacity to maintain their highest speed in rough water. The Iowa, as the best of these, is our only completed exam pie of a seagoing battleship, and she may be taken as type. She has been described as a "vast honeycomb of steel" Doubts have been expressed as to the stability Of this honeycomb under the shock of heavy projecti.e Writers who have had no ex- perience on the sea are likely to forget the heavy shock which the hulls of all our ships have already withstood in firing their own guns. In fact, there is not much dit- ference in the jar to the turret and its ma chinery from the reaction of 12-lnch shell and that resulting from blow.
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 The Iowa carries forty-six guns, just two
 more than the rating of our old Constitu-
 ton, and, like her, IS the first of a new
 type. Four 12-inch guns are mounted near
 the ends of the ship in steel turrets io inches thick, and four dght-inch guns are
 placed on each side in smaller steel turrets six inches thick. These turrets have st el covers, and are like inverted cheese bax s, with holes for the muZZles of the guns,
 nearly all of which are fully twenty-five feet above the water. The other guns are of smaller ca,ibre of the rapid-fring class.
 Four Calling guns are mounted in pa-- forms on the single mast, called the fight ing tops. They are placed high in the air for the purpose of delivering a plunging fire upon the decks of an opp onent Whiae
 the Constitution fired broadside weigh ng
 about 700 pounds, the Iowa is capable of
 discharging 4.5so pounds in one broadside. If we reckon the total weight of metal
 which can be thrown by the Iowa in the time required by the Constitution to fire a
 broadside, we have not far from 9.o01 pounds.
 At best torpedo boats are frail structures
 in which everything is sacrificed to speed.
 Even voyage across the Atlantic is peril
 ous and they are of no use whatever us- less accompanied by coal supply. The
 protection against torpedo boats is providt by a number of rap dire guns, and when we consider that one shot would be likely | to destroy the mo i've power of one of these little craft, We can understand what | slender chance she would have If discov- | cred. The Iowa could fire at least 12O of these shots per minute on each broadslde. and could thus surround the ship with perfect ra n of projectiles delivered With
 great accuracy of a m. Is it unwarra table | to believe that our ships " Il scarcely ind | torpedo boats a grave element of danger! | They undoubtedly create feeling of r. | vousness and apprehension on a battle ship, | only exceeded by that on the torpedo boats,
 which have only their speed for defense. | The stalk in men, time and mony is far | greater for the former, but the risk is al- l most prohibitive for the latter. In fleet | action such a small vessel would be like
 small boy who has interfered in street | fight among men,
 | A feature of the modern gun will doubt | less be its accuracy of aim. The guns of | the first monitor had the ordinary sights. | and the men had to look out through the | portholes of a revolving turret to find the | enemy. We might say they often fired lon | the wing" with very indefinite notions of
 the range and the briefest ins ant for train I | small boxes projecting above the covers for | lookouts Horizontal slits are cut near the | tops of these boxes, giving a view around | the horizon The guns themselves are | aimed by means of cross-hars in telescopes | and fired by electric buttons which are in- | stantaneous in their action. Once the cross l hair is on the object, the projectle may ! be sent on its way at a velocity of 2.090
 feet a second before the roll of the ship l has time to impair it's accuracy. The range I
 as far apart as possible, which make the l ship the base line of a triangle having the 1 target for it's apex. In case of failure of | the instruments. the range may be found 1 by trial of the rapid-fire guns. which de- | liver from six to twenty shots minute It is an axiom to say that with equal | ships on both sides the result of a fight | will depend upon her steadiness, the intel | ligence and training of the men. After all, | it is they who form the chief element, as | well in these days as in the past, when our | weapons and ships were of more ele- mentary type. The ability and bravery of | our people cannot be questioned. One of the finest episodes of history Is the sinking l of the Cumberland at Hampton Roads. Her
 crew went down firing the guns until the | ship was submerged. and the flag was new CT lowered. In calculating the chances of 1 victory we must take into account the dis positions and character of our opponents. | Any deficiency in their mechanical knowi-
 edge and skill is certain to invite defeat.
 Bravery goes for naught in the presence of
 machinery if a people be hampered by tra-
 ditions and methods belonging to the Mid | de Aces. Evidence for the present care
 may be gathered from the behavior of the | descendants of the Spaniards in South
 America. The machinery of their ships has
 always suffered except in the hands of for
 eign engineers, principally Scotch and Eng
 fish, hired for the purpose That they have
 courage when cornered is undoubted
 The distinction between those men and
 ours is not one of bravery. but one of me-
 chanical knowledge and force, which seem likely to be the determining factors in this | part t,cular war.
 THE HEROES OF THE MERRIMAC.