The evening times., 1898-08-03
LESSONS LEARNED IN WAR.
Conciasions Reached sy !. Board o.
Naval OAcers,

1noOVNO LEA6N6U In WAX.
Conctasions Reached by . Board OF
Naval OAcers,
The use OF wood In the construction
and equipment of wAfships should be re-
duced to the utmost minimum possible.
| Loaded torpedoes above the water line
are serious menace to the vessels car
ryins them. and they should not be SO
carried by the vessels other than torpedo
boats.
The value of rapid fire batteries cannot
be too highly, estimated.
All water and steam pipes should be laid
beneath the. protective deck and below
the water line and fitted with risers at
such points as may pc considered neces-
sary.
These are the conclusions of a board of
naval officers appointed by Commodore
Sampson. after the battle of July 8, to re-
port upon the condition of Cervera's sun
ken feet. the extent Of damages done by
American shells. and the lessons to be
learned therefrom to guide America in
its future ship construction.
The board found that the ships Infanta
Maria Teresa. Almirante Oquendo and
Vizcaya, were destroyed by confagration.
caused by the explosion of shells in the
interior and setting fire to the woodwork
Inc upper deck and, all other woodwork
on these ships are entirely consumed ex-
cept at the extremitfes. thus showing the
Importance Of freproofing all woodwork
on poard ships as persistently advocated
py Chief Constructor Hichborn.
Many of the guns on board tho hurnad
ships were found loaded at the time of
the boards visit. indicating the haste
with which the crews were driven from
| their guns.
ohe OF the most interesting facts
brought to light by the board in its re-
port is the number Of 5-inch shell holes
round by 1t in the hulls of the Infanta
Maria Teresa, Vizcaya and Crtstobal Co
Ion. The board found numerous holes in
the null OF the Almirante Oquendo. but
was unable to state positively whecher
they had been made by 4 or 5-inch shells.
AS the armored cruiser Brooklyn was
the only ship participating in the action
that carried 5-inch guns, II is evident
that Commodore Schley's ship was in the
beginning. In the middle and in the end OF
the fight
ING board appointed by Commodore
sampson which conducted the examina-
tion was composed of some of the ablest
experts in the service 1t consisted of
Lieut. commander r. p. Rodgers, execu-
i've ofncer OF the battleship Iowa, chair
man, Lieut.. Commander L. T. Mason ex-
eeu.ve omcer or the Brooklyn; Lieut. r.
r. Nlchoison. navigator of the battleshin
oregon; Passed Assistant Engineer ID w
McEiroy. chief engineer of the Glouces,er.
Passed Assistant Engineer F. NJ. Ben.
nett on duty on board the New York.
Lieut.. J. F. Haesler. ordnance officer of
the Texas; Lieut. E. +. Capehart. watch
ofncer on board the New York. members :.
corder.
These officers. on the day foIIou,,ro ,h.
battle. inspected the srnken Spanish
ships, and have filed report at the de-
partment which is fairly bristling with
facts Of great Importance when future ma
val construction is considered.
me lnfanta Maria Teresa and CristobaI
Colon are the only ships which the board
reported could be saved The Infanta Ma
ria Teresa was struck twenty-five times
by American shells, of which two were
lz-lhch, three S-inch, three 5-inch. one A.
iHch' fourteen 6-pounders and two l.
Founders. The vessel is nearly upright.
the board reports, but flooding was prac-
ticaiiy complete at the time of its fnspec-
tion- Iae structural solidity of the ship
Is not to any considerable degree injured
and except for local distortions the huIl
is practically intact. The outside skin. rs
reported by divers. is intact, so far ms
holes are concerned
The board described The effect C, TIE
American projectfles' as terrific. driving
the men from their guns and causing heir
fire to slacken and finally cease The ma
chinery of the Iafanta Maria Teresa WAS
found to be in good condition. All the
woodwork was entirely consumed by FIRE. 1
and the deck beams and stanchions were
found TO be warned BY the heat The con-
di,ion of the cruiser generally is reportad
to be good, and she will be a trst -c.ass
vessel when rep iired
The Almirantef Oquendo lies uneasily
down by the stern. The vessel is described
by the board to be. a structural wreck.
and is practically broken in two Fer
engines and boilers are in good condition.
and the wreckers will be required TO raise
them and bring them to Norfolk where
they will be installed in any ship whose
boilers may be beyond repair. "The ef-
feet of the gun fire on this" the re7or.
states, was terrific. The sides, smoke
stacks, ventilators, and hatch trunks all
seem to have been riddled by shell ny
fragments of shell and by an infinite nr,n-
ber of small projectiles. When 1t is CON-
sidered that the boats, which no Ionser
exist, We're in place and must have been
frequently hit, it will be recognized that
the effect Of the fire was quite sufficicn:
to create dismay among the ships COM
pany, besides setting fire to the wood |
work. 1t would be most difficult II not |
impossible, to save this vessel. She is a |
structural wreck, and is practically |
broken in two at point about abreast |
of the forward turret, besides being more |
or less injured elsewhere. The board Is of |
he pi,,to ha ba l.
ing facilities, the battery of five 5-inch |
guns on this vessel may be saved. |
The effect of the gun fire of the Ameri- |
can ships on the Oquendo is illustrated |
by the board. which described the de- |
struction wrought by an S-inch shell. |
This projectile struck the hood of the |
forward 11-inch gun at the edge of the |
port. detaching one of the lanyards. |
bursting and evidently killing everyone |
in the turret and disabling the gun.
'It is evident" continues the boards |
report, that the fire of the gun crews |
of the Vizcaya was very materially les
sened and almost silenced by their not |
being able to serve their guns under the |
severe fire poured upon them by the |
American ships"
The vizcaya lies about eight miles west |
of the Moro. The vessel has not struc-
tural strength sufficient to warrant an |
endeavor to wreck her, but the board |
believes that the battery and machinery |
OF this vessel can be removed with ad-
vantage. The number OF shells that |
struck the ship seems to show by their
direction that about half struck as she |
was leaving the harbor-the shell ranging |
aft-and the other half as she was at
tempting to run away.
The board found that the Cristobal Co.
Ion is in the best condition of any ships it
examined. Although she lies on her star
board beam, about $50 feet from the
|