The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1898-02-17
Irelv. There was no

azine exploded entirely. There was no
sn1okeless powder on board the ship and the
ten-inch ammunition was made up OF brown
prismatic powder Not only is this powder
most carefully packed in Theoretically sealed
copper cases, but its heat resisting quail
tiles are so great that 1t cannot be ignited
by the flame of a match. COO degrees fahren-
heit being the amount Of heat that must he
applied for some time to set off the powder.
On the other hand. it Is readily ignited, as
in the case of the charge in gun, by the
explosion of good quantity of illuminate.
Every precaution is adopted aboard ship
to safeguard the magazine. In its vicinity
q sentry stands on duty continually. The
the ship is cleared for action. AT 3 O'Clock
every night the temperature is taken and
the keys of the lock door are placed in tho
captains hands for the night. The records
Of the Navy Department show that 81 de-
grees was the maximum temperature in the
Names magazine during the past month,
a very low and safe temperature. These
facts make ii extremely difficult to account
for the explosion, particularly as no visitors
are admitted under any circumstances 10
the magazine. OF course, 1t is possible that
there was spontaneous combustion of some
Illuminate or gun cotton INTENDED for use IN
torpedoes. There were no steam pipes or
furnaces near enough to the magazine to
cause the belief that they might have ex-
ploded the powder.
The coal bunkers were in the neighbor-
hood, and 1t Is just possible that in them
might be found the origin of the accident.
1t depends on whether they were empty or
contained coal to some degree. 1t was said
to be the practice of commanders to empty
the lore DunkefS or the snip nrSL, IN winch
case the Names bunkers in that quarter
We're probably enptied owing TO the length
of her stay in Havana harbor. If, however.
the bunkerS We're not entirely empty they
undoubtedly contained within themselves
elements of danger that might account for
the explosion. The department within re-
cent years has been greatly troubled BY
complaints of spontaneous combustion or
coal in ships bunkers, which have endan-
Of the ships. The cincinnati twice. at least.
has been obliged TO flood her magazines to
prevent her blowing up during fires of this
kind, and the cruiser Boston has been in the
same condition. In some of these cases
shelving in the magazines which separate
the powder charges have been charred by
the intense heat caused by the burning coal
in the adjacent bunkers. Although the
bunkers are inspected under the regulations
a frequent intervals so numerous have been
these cases of spontaneous combustion that
the Navy Department only recently had
special board Investigate the subject with
the view to applying preventive measures.
Unfortunately this board was prevented
from making the thorough investigation
necessary because no funds were applicable
to the purpose. Even empty bunkerS have
exploded. In the case of the Atlanta some
years ago, the bunker exploded with great
violence and the only explanation that could
be given was that it probably was caused
by ignition of the Vapors arising from the
new paint applied to the lining of the bunk
ers
The theory advanced by the Spanish au-
thorities that the disaster might have been
caused by the explosion of one of the boilers
in the bounds of credibility. The Names
boilers were separated from the powder
magazines at the nearest point by space of
about four feet. usually filled with coal
At least one boiler undoubtedly was kept
under full steam in order to run the
dynamos and move the ship in case of need.
The explosion of such boiler might easily
drive through the bulk head and fire the
magazine.
Inasmuch suspicion exists in some
quarters that torpedo was used against
the Maine It may be said that majority
of naval officers believe the character of
the explosion was hardly such as could be
attributed to q torpedo. torpedo, charged
with about one hundred pounds of powder
or gun cotton, it is believed would have
torn q large hole in the bottom or side of
the Maine, but was scarcely likely to fire
the magazine, which is not near the bottom
1t is said at the Navy Department that
there is no lack of precedent for such dis
asters as that sustained by the Maine, all of
which can be traced to accidental causes
In 1885 the United Statesb man-of-war Mis-
souri, then lying at Gibraltar was wrecked
by the explosion of her magazine. Another
case famous in naval history is that of
her Majesty's ship DOterel. In 1897 she was
lying at anchor off Puenta Arenas in the
straits of Magellan. An explosion wiped
the ship from the face of the waters and
left almost none of her crew alive. This
was another case of magazine explosion
though it may have originated in the coal
bl1p lxpPc Or