The times., 1898-05-30
THE AMERICAN NAVY.
An Exhaustive Criticism by an Ex-
merit.


pert.
There are three types of heavy fighting
vessels In our Navy, says Prof Ira N
Hollis in the June Atlantic the harbor
defense monitor. capable Of service in
smooth water; the coast line battleship,
for coast defenses. and the seagoing bat
tleship. which can handle Its guns in
fairly heavy sea-. None OF these have
speed exceeding sixteen or seventeen
knots. the principal difference between
the three classes being in the height OF
the guns above the water line, and the ca
pacity to maintain their highest speed In
rough water. The Iowa. as the best of
these. is our only completed example OF
seagoing battleship. and shei may be
taken as a type. She has been described
as "a vast honeycomb OF steel" Doubts
have been expressed as to the stability of
this houeycomb under the .Shock OF
heavy projectile. Writers who have had
no experience on the sea are likely 10 for
get the heavy shock which the hulls of
all our ships have already wfthstood In
firing their own guns. In fact there is
not much difference IN the jar to the tur-
ret and its machinery from the reaction
of Finch sheel and that resulting from
a blow.
The Iowa carries forty-six guns. Just
two more than the rating of our old Con-
stitution. and. like her. is among the first
OF new type. -Four Pinch guns are
mounted near the ends of the ship in
steel turrets fifteen inches thick and
TOUR S-inch guns are placed on each side
in smaller steel turrets SIX inches thick
These turrets have steel covers and are
like inverted cheeSe-boxes. with holes for
which are fully twenty-five feet above
the water The other guns are OF small
er caliber of the raDid-firing class. Four
Gatiing guns are mounted in platforms
on the single mast. called the fighting
tops. They are placed high in the air for
the purpose of delivering plunging fire
upon the decks of an opponent While
the Constitution fired a broadside weigh
ing about 700 pounds. the Iowa is capable
of discharging 1850 pounds in one broad
side. II we reckon the total weight of
| metal which can be thrown by the Iowa
in the time required by the Constitution
to fire broadside. we have not far from
5000 pounds.
At best torpedo boats are frail struct-
ures in which everything is sacrificed 70
speed. Even a voyage across the Atlantic
is perilous, and they are of no use what
| ever unless accompanied by a coal supply.
The protection against torpedo boats is
provided by number of rapid-fre guns.
and when we consider that one shot would
be likely 10 destroy the motive power of
one of these little craft. we can under
stand what slender chance she would
| have If discovered. The Iowa could fire
at least 120 of these shots per minute on
each broadside. and could thus surround
| the ship with perfect rain of projectiles
delivered with great accuracy of aim. Is
| 1t unwarrantable 10 believe that our
ships will scarcely find torpedo boats a
grave element of danger? They undoubt-
edly create a feeling of nervousness and
, apprehension on battleship. only ex-
| ceeded by that on the torpedo boats.
| which have only their speed for defense.
| The stake in men. time, and money is
far greater for the former. but the risk is
almost prohibitive for the latter. In a
| fleet action such small vessel would be
| like a small boy who has interfered in a
street fight among men.
A feature of the modern gun viii doubt
| less be it's accuracy OF aim. The guns or
the first monitor had the ordinary sights,
and the men had to look out through the
portholes of revolving turret 10 find the
enemy. We might say they often fired
| ION the wing" with very indefinite no.
! tions of the range and the briefest instant
| for training the guns. The IOwa'S tur-
rets have small boxes projecting above the
| covers for lookouts. Horizontal Sits are
| cut near the tops of these boxes, giving
a view around the horizon. The guns
| themselves are aimed by means of cross
| hairs in telescopes. and fired by electric
| buttons which are instantaneous in their
| action Once the cross-hair is on the OBJ
| ject the proiectile may be sent on its
way at a velocity of 2,009 feet a second
| before the roll of the ship has time TO inn
| pair it's accuracy. The range is found by
| means of instruments set up as far apart
| as possible which make the ship the base
line of a triangle having the target for
| it's apex. In case of failure Of the in
| struments the range may be found by
| trial of the rapid-fire guns. which deliver
| from six to twenty shots a minute.
/ II Is an axiom to say that with equal
| ships on both sides the result of a fight
| will depend upon het steadlness. the in
1 telligeBce and the 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 a more elementary type. The ability
| and bravery of our people cannot be
| questioned. One of the finest episodes
| of history is the sinking of the Cumber-
| land at Hampton Roads Her crew went
| down firing the guns until the ship was
| submerged. and the flag was never low
| cred. In calculating the chances of vic
! tory we must take into account the dis
| positions and character of our opponents
| Any deficiency in their mechanical
| knowledge and skill is certain TO invite
| defeat Bravery goes for naught in the
| presence of machinery. If people be
| hampered by tradition and methods be-
| longing 10 the Middle Ages. Evidence for
| the present case may be gathered from
| the behavior of the descendants of the
Spaniard in South America. The machin-
| cry of their ship has always suffered ex-
/ cept in the hands of foreign engineers,
| principally Sco,ch and English. hired
| for the purpose. That they have cour-
| age when cornered is undoubted.
| The distinction between those men and
| ours is not one of bravery, but one OF
| mechanical knowledge and force. which
seem likely to be the determining factors
| in this particular war.