Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1898-07-19

than the proverbiaI fashion butterfly In the
height Of Jne season. The work of these
DISPATCH boats was most eXhausting, ana
care should be taken that they be given
great credit for their efficient and valuable
services. Indeed, these smaller craft are
Fcted for the lack of space aboard FOR
oilers
1t is obvious. of course. that a large sup
ply fleet is Indispensable. A ship can't run
without fuel, and in war times the boilers
seem to eat up coal. Nor can crew, no
matter how brave. fight as well hungry
they can on a full stomach. 1T is hatd
work fighting on cracker hash,' so let there
be plenty of supply ships. Our repair ship
Vulcan was an Indispensable adjunct, and
50. of course, was the ammunition supply
ship. After each engagement every ship,
no matter how little she used, brought her
ammunition supply up to the limit. The
hospital ship has to a fleet not only the
obvious use that makes it a necessity; it
getI out OF sight the wounded men and is
a comforting thing to know is near at
hand.
Perhaps one of the most important les
sons is the advantage of smokeless pow
der. With the fncessant firing of our shots
there was always smoke hanging around
some part of the ships batteries, though
had a gentle breeze and the enemy was
to windw&rd of US. Fire from the guns
had to be slackened again and again, and
l doubt if the Colon could have escaped
with 50 little punishment if the smoke from
the few minutes of firing at the leading
ships had not left a cloud which, COM
bined with the firing of the smaller quick
fire guns, prevented the pointing of the
heavier guns. OF course, with a quick-fire
gun any temporary lifting of the smoke
Will give plenty of time to deliver fire.
but with the slower firing turrent guns
the view must be unimpeded for some time
The smoke from our guns did the enemy
no harm, either, as some part of the ship
was almost bound to protrude, and with
this assistance his guns could be laid Both
sides were even in this, however since
with the exception of the Colon none of
the Spanish ships had smokeless powder
me Colon did not have any heavy guns
In her turrets, as they had not been COM
pieted Wash deck gear it is said filled
up thelr turrets. but the turrets could not
nave been so small as that would imply
Inc teachings OF Mahan about men were
1uily borne out. The great lesson of the
war is the Importance of the personnel
foor men make poor ships. No matter
now brave and efficient the officers NAV he
Ihey cannot fight well with a poor crew
Ihlrty men, however alive cannot infuse
their knowledge and enthusiasm into 5Oo
others The officers may make the men
stand up at the guns and prevent then,
from jumping overheard by closing the
hal1-ports and by other means hut tbe,,
cannot cause other than real men-of-war's
men 10 put up a good fight. No wonder
tnat the crews of some of the Snanieb
SHIPS wanted to jump overheard on com
ing out or the harbor. All the men wara
before the departure of the fleet from the
Canaries II is said that all the jaiIs there
were opened and the ma!efactors taken
aboard the Spanish ships. You can force
a man aboard ship, but you can't force
him to fight.
Our men had another advantage. They
mad mad gun practice. Most of the gun
ners were on personally affectonate terms
with their guns, had made bulIs-eyes with
them and not only ached to train them on
the enemy, but had such confidence in their
craftsmanship that fear was out of the
question. The crews simply knew thew
could lick the other fellows and their whole
interest was in their own ships not in
those of the enemy The SnanIards ara
not towards, yet their impulse from the
nrst was to dive out of their ships. They
felt sure of defeat any
value, too. the moral effect on the men
VI ldrSe shlps- That also gives confidence
Shells and Amor.
The resistance of thick armor was Illus
uated In some instances. Battle is bet
ter test than the conditions of the proving
ground. On the Colon's sx-inch arnor
the nose of quite a good-sfzed projectile
was found sticking, and a large Pinch
common Shell had exploded on it without
doing any damage. However, on the Viz
caya large shell had entered well aft in
the cabin and had passed right through.
tearing off a plate on the other side: She
was not armOred. On the Iowa two large
shells struck well forward at the water
line. but on the unarmOred part of the
ship. The first, 6-inch, did not even rierce
the coffer-dam. but. though it puveriZed
the cellulose. it is still in the coFerdam,
the inner side of which it did not ppne-
trate. Moreover, as it did not explode, the
rotating band being recovered entire,
though separated from the shell it pre-
sumably was an armor-piercing she'll
Surely 1t must have had little velocity.
ships all had the long, high-power English
guns. Still. the blow probably was ar OBJ
Gque one. The other big shell also struck
the water line just few feet aft OF The
first one, and made a clean hole in the cof-
ferdam. Striking a hatch well amidships,
it exploded, but the pieces seem to have
been carr- ID along, most of them going
through the chain locker. which is right
sized holes through it, besides any number
of dents. The chain locker happened to be
empty, so the pieces passed through into
the midship chain locker, where they were
caught by the chain. One of them passed
through the after side of the chain locker
and struck the base of the turret Most of
the pieces We're picked up around the deck
in the immediate vicinity and in the chain
locker. showing that the force of the burst
Ing charge must have been slight One of
the pieces gave the arc of the base os the
shell. which proved to be a Pinch The
ship was struck by a number of other
small shells, once on a stanchion aft prob
ably any number of times on the arrnor
and scars made by two small-arm bullets
were discovered on the muzzle face of one
of the after 12-inch guns Everything
would tend to emphasize the superiority of
armored ships over unarmored ones Such
a Kidding as some of the Spanish shins re-
ceived could not have been Inflicted on any
OF our ships that were engaged
Everything goes to prove the value of
the battle ship; the power they have to
keep OF torpedo boats and rapid-fire fusil-
iade, and the confidence a battle ship in
spires In the crew, all go to show the value
of the type.
The Importance of having no woodwork
aboard and making the most perfect pro-
visions against fire cannot be oycresti-
n ated Fire was what DESTROYED the
Spanish fleet. and not only the fire from
our ships. but that aboard their own.
Now, they had little wood aboard any of
the vessels. yet no one of them was under
hre more than few minutes (about fif-
teen) before smoke could be seen rising
from the decks. 1t seems even the cork
paint burned. One fire on the yizcava
was extfnguished. but others started ,IuIck-
ly, both forward and aft The water
mains were shot away, and the fight had
10 be given up Something must be done
to protect these mains hereafter in every
hghting ship. Fire and smoke always
have the worst possible effect on the crew.
ana owing 10 the great number of hatcnes
ana compartments on the ship flames are
the harder 10 discover and fight. 1t was