The Dalles times-mountaineer. [volume] (The Dalles, Or.) 1882-1904, 1898-06-25
MODERN WARSHIPS.

Within the last twenty years marked
advancement has been made in the
construction of seagOing fighting
machines, but it is evident that
perfection has not yet been reached,
and the next twenty years will prob
ably witness more marked improve
ment than the last. Attention has
been given in recent years to the con-
. struction of powerful vessels, the
three requirements being speed, en-
durance and capacity to carry batteries
that would FIRE heavy, solid shot into
the enemy at long range. AS result,
we have in our navy such battleships
as the Oregon, Indiana and Iowa, and
the armored cruisers New York and
Brooklyn. These are terrible engines
of war, but it is likely the place of
ships of their class will. eventually be
taken by vessels less expensive, yet
capable of doing greater damage, es-
pecially at short range. A frst-class
battleship costs from three to three
and a half million dollars, and the
New. York, probably the best cruiser
in our navy. cost s2,9S 900. They are
powerful boats. but when their service
is compared with that of some of the
less expensive vessels, it would seem
the comparison is odious.
To illustrate, the New York, Massa-
chusetts and a number of our other
fine vessels have been hammering
away at Santiago at intervals, and
while they did immense damage, it
was left for the little dynamite cruiser
Vesuyius to demonstrate what real de-
struction is.
The Vesuvius is little ship of only
929 tons displacement and cost the
government s350,OO0. De Borden Will
mot, one of her constructors, says of
her ability as fighting machine:
"The Vesuvius has a battery of
three pneumatic guns, mounted in the
bow at an angle of eighteen degrees.
The guns are SIS feet long, Is inches
bore and built rigidly into the vessel.
From all have read about Mondays
trial with three shots, am convinced
that she has not shown half her abil-
ity. What can she do? She can drop
500 pounds of nitro-gelatine nearly
two miles away with accuracy. She
can repeat this feat fifteen times in ten
minutes. This means three and one
half tons of high explosive thrown on
the Spanish ships Or forts or Whatever
the object OF attack may be. The de-
structive power of such broadside is
almost beyond computation. 1t Is
enough to destroy city, to wipe it off
the face of the earth and eliminate
every trace of its existence. The
nitro-gelatine is half as strong again
as dynamite. Imagine the effect of
three and thre-fourts tons of it.
.Where shell strikes from one of
the guns of the Vesuvius the havoc is
awful. One of her projectiles drop
ping in the midst of regiment would
eliminate it from the war. If any man
in the regiment was not torn to bits,
he would not be fit for fighting.
Against ship the Vesuvius would be
deadly. One of her big shells drop
ping on the deck would crush through
the armor and exploding in vital
part, would shatter the ship. If one
of these shells exploded in the air or
in the water within fifty feet of ship
of war it would crush her side or bot
tom and sink her. If one of these
shells explodss within fifty yards of a
modern man-of-war it will render her
useless for fighting"
The three charges of dynamite the
Vesuyius was permitted to drop into
the Spanish batteries did such destruc-
tion that all the naval officers in the
fleet were amazed. They did what
Mr.. Wilmot says they will do, and
proved beyond doubt that dynamite |
cruisers must take prominent place
among modern navies.