The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1898-09-06
U. S. BATTLESHIP IOWA.

of the fleet from the Canaries. 1t Is said
that all the jails there were opened and
the Indicators taken aboard the Spanish
ships. You can force a man aboard ship,
but you cant force him to fight
Our men had another advantage. They
had had gun practice. Most of the gum
ners were on personally affectionate terms
with their guns, had made bullseyes 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
they could lick the other fellows, and
their whole interest was In their own
ships, not In those of the enemy. The
Spaniards are not towards, yet their i'm
pulse from the first was to dive out of
their ships. They felt sure of defeat.
I value, too. the moral effect on the
men of large ships. That also gives con-
iidence.
SHELLS AND ARMOR.
The resistance of thick armor was H.
Illustrated in some instances. Battle is a
better test than the condition of the prov
ing ground. In the Colon's six-inch arm
or the nose of quite n good-sZed projec-
tile was found sticking. and a large -
inch common shell had exploded on II
without doing any damage. However, on
the Nizcaya "A 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 uuarmored
part of the ship The first, a 6-inch, did
not even pierce the coffer-dam. but
though 1t pulverized the cellulose, 1t Is
| still In the coffer-dam, the inner side OF
which II did not penetrate. Moreover, as
| II did not explode. the rotating band he.
| from the shell, 1t presumably was an
| armor-piercing shell. Surely II must hav,
had little velocity. This is the more sur.
| prsing, as the Spanish ships all had the
long h-p h.
blow probably was an oblique 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 coffer-dam
Striking a hatch well amidships. IT ex.
ploded, but the pieces seem to have beer
carried along, most of them going through
the chain locker, which Is right abreast
| the hatch. There are seven good-slzed
holes through 1t, besides any number Of
| dents. The chain locker happened to h,
| empty. so the pieces passed through into
the midshlp chain locker, where they were
4 caught by the chain. One Of them passed
| through the after side of the chain locker
and struck the base of the turret. Mos
OF the pieces were picked IN around tn,
deck In the immediate vicinity and in thu
| chain locker, showing that the force Of
the bursting charge must have beer
slight. One of the pieces gave the arc
OF the base of the shell, which proved t.
| be 12-inch, The shin was struck by
number. OF other smaller shells, once OF
| n stanchion aft, probably any number
of times on the armor, and scars mad,
by two small-arm bullets We're discovered
| on the muzzle face Of me OF the afte,
i2-inch guns. Everything would tend I,
| emphasize the superiority OF armoreC
| ships over unarmored ones Such rid
ding as some of the Spanish ships re
| ceived could not have been inflicted OF
| any OF our ships that were engaged
| Everything goes 10 prove the value q
| the battleship. the power thew have e
keen on torpedo boats and rapid-fire fus
| ilade and the confidence n hattleship IN
spires In the crew, all go to show IN.
value OF the type.
| The Importance OF having no woodwork
| aboard and making the most perfect nro
| visions against fire cannot he overestimat
| ed. Fire was what DESTROYED the Spanisl
| fleet, and not only the fire from our shin,
| hut that aboard their own. Now, the,
| had little wood aboard any OF the yes
| sells, vet no one Of them was under fir.
more than n few minutes labout fifteen
| before smoke could be seen rising from
| the decks, II seems even the cork pain
| burned one fire on the Nizcaya was ex
both forward ami AFT, The water main
were shot away, md the fight had 10 W
| given up, Something must he done I,
| prOtect these mains hereafter In ever,
lighting sin, Fire ana smoke always hav,
the worst possible effect on the crew, an'
| owing 10 the great number of matches an'
commandments on the shlp flames are th'
found slmply impossible to keen hghtinl
both the FIRE and the shin, the gunhr'
slackening IN Immediately the alarm wa
given. So clear did this become tina
whenever the flame ana smoke could ~
seen from our fleet II was felt that al
was mp with that shin, and the tendencl
was TO direct our gunnre on some o'he