Virginian-pilot. (Norfolk, Va.) 1898-1911, 1900-04-06
TERROR FOB SEAS
A Warship invented that May
Wreck All Nayies.
It Hos No Armor Plate. Is Low in Water
and Almost Invisible to Enemy :
Mounted With Guns which Fire Ter
rifle Explosives.
(The Chicago Inter-ocean.O

of the Gathmann gun and the terrible
gun-cotton explosive, has invented
battleship which he believes is capable
OF carrying the Gathmann gun, and
wrecking any warship afioat with
single Shot. Should it prove practi-
cable. 1t will revolutionize seafighting.
Gathmann has proceeded upon the
theory that fighting-boat is merely a
gun-carriage. The gums the thing,
after all. and anv contrivance which
VIII TRANSPORT one of these destroyers
most quickly and effectively is the bat
tieship of the future
Gathmann's invention is ship with
| out armor. with wide sailing radius
ana eAtravagant speed. mounting huge
guns and few rapid flrers to ward Off
torpedo-boats. 1t is designed to hurl
gun cotton at the enemy. and relies on
single we'll placed projectile to put
any ship afoat out of action.
MONITOR TYPE.
Inc new shin has the strict monitor
type forward for about one third its
length. That is 1t is sharp-prowed,
una the treeboard. or the distance from
the sheathed deck to the water-lne Sc
very Slight 1t is almost awash MS
they say at sea. When In motion this
forward deck is usually under water
- tie vessei DICKS bone in her teeth.
would certainly be washed by the
waves caused by swift motion
Inc vessel has dimensions approxi-
matng those OF the warship Texas
type. She Is about $50 feet over eli
with about forty feet beam The var
Sinp mas proportion of about l i'm r
Ue.Meen length and beam. Thus the
"; 'ISonS,h' with trifie under 400 feet
~ iehEth: would have some sixtv-tive
rect width. Gathmann's shin TO- ~
nroportlon extended to about In
Inc reason for this is to Increase ,ba
| speed capacity. She is constructed afr
VI the armor-belt and gun station
viii ''iae the torpedo-b boat of to-day.
.ne water-line and curved stern Her
| PiOPeiier wells are covered
one ois3laces about 1880 tone ,,a
.aWs siSteen feet. to some twenty.
~ 49,, ~. me Iexas, on an S,oOo-ton dis
r~e,, ~ ~ her engines are aft and
ana quarters for the officers and ma,
are aoaft the armor-belt.
HAS SPEED OF TH1RTv Y>-ore
she is Of light steel construction fol-
lowing the modern method of ,,siyv
thin metal in preference TO heavv ti,''S
oer. But her sides arc not protected
| against an ordinary field rifle or to
day. She could be hulled if broodsidn
OH by an old-time muzzlo-Ioafiinr
nnSo nolc. Her speed is to be not
unoer twenty-three. and In forced
draught may run up TO thirty knots
| speed and the low freeboard aro her
strons points. She presents almost NO
target. and is SO swift as to he ahje
70 choose her own position for attack.
Inc strength of warship is OF
SouIse us battery. Back of one single
piate OF armor will be mounted n r,n
which will throw GOO pounds of gun
cotton at the enemy at each fire. The
shell Will leave the muzzle at the rate
| OF 1000 feet a second. A single dis
charge of this gun will be equal to q
nroadside from the Oregon, or about
ed. Mr.. Gathmann believes. will wrecl,
the most formidable armored war
snip ever constructed. Two or three
guns will be mounted on the main
battery. each with q bore of sixteen
| inches.
"A PECULIAR FEATURE.
one of the peculiar features of the
Gathmann ship Is its so-called armor-
belt. The vessel has no armor proper
put part of 1t is protected by armor-
belt. This belt rises to a point n tribe
above the roof of the after portion Of
the ship. 1t is placed on an acute an
gle with the lateral diameter of the
ship The angle is placed farthest
forward, with the two arms extended
aft and to the sides of the ship. The
belt Is also curved from tho deck nIona
| backward to its highest extremity
Thus any shot not delivered souareiv
at right angles to the arm of the hell
and with a plunge sufficient to over
come the backward slope, no matter
how fiecely delivered. will not even
start a rlyet- It will inevitably glance
or because full impact is relatively
impossible. The belt being placed far
enough aft to pass the point of eouili-
brium may be made as heavy and as
imperetrablc as science can devise
BOAT IS ALMOST INVISIBLE.
Directly aft of the gun is coming
| tower, aft of that Is the forward funnel
! Well aft is n second coming tower and
| funnel forward of 1t. Ventilators with
curved tops to catch the wind. made
by the ships motion. project them
selves a short distance above the
covered. cgar-shaped deck. Hand
rails run all round this deck so that
the men handling the secondary bat
terry will not be washed overheard.
Mounted at intervals over this rail are
a half dozen rapid-fire guns intended to
repel attack from torpedo boats and
| destroyers penetrable by smaller pro
| 5ectiles AS these types are very flimsy
in construction. small Colts. briggs
| Schroeders. or MaXimums can be used
| here.
The vessel lies so low In the water
| that with an ordinary sea on she would
| be practically invisible a great portion
| Of the time in action. Its superior
| speed-as great as that of any torpedo
boat afioat-would enable this ship to
| choose it's own position in n fight
| against any heavy, unwieldy warship
! OF to-day. She would sail all around
such a fort on water, and could always
| present her bows to the enemy thus
materially reducing target-surface,