The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1901-03-03

Teen inches ~ amor. and oarrylu. fvo
guns which threw each u shell of q IN
weight.
THE GOIAG OR rHE NOSlrOC.
til" first monitor la~ been called m
epoCl-making ship. for she hrrar an crl.
The lnfeNiblc was also epoch makmg.
she closed the era or the monitor pure ari
simple Upon a development Of 3ru ,n,.
Of length she carried only four guns. =
which it Is not too much To lay thai t.or
power wa very far IN excess Of almu-. Il
targets that could be- opposed to 'u"..
II. indeed, her possible opponents onl'i
have carried such an arIuor n her rH,n
all over their exposed surface her guns
would have been no heavier than n"oIaI,
and the fewnc>~ must b" accepted hu,
this was not the case. Like herself. ship,
Of 1000 tons must have a rouetrah's
target far exceeding IN surface ih" ain,-,
~impregnable box sine pre.onted The I'M
reasonahleness Of the result struck men
al once, though o' course she had aH,o.
Gates. As an exception, slicn n ship might
pass, as a type. never 1t va, pointed o.t
that guns Of very smell power could Ilprca
the exposed ends about the water Lite.
and that, rs water entered by numerous
holes. she would not only sink lower. bat
for construCtlonal reasons. not No.. 49,
sary here 10 give. she would lose stability
rapidly become liable TO over-o'. Ifunia-
such conditions she attempted 10 jIrn round
the inclination Vessels take In 80 dong
would be enough alone to cause her -
Gan.i1, IIav atap4.-.. Sid MOT dom 49,.
hut they said thar the likelihood ~ hor *
posed ends being so riddled was too light
TO Justify alarm.
Under artillery condition 'hor 'hl~ ror'-
wa, plausible, though II soon ceased IN 10
50. Even then. however. II Wa lru" ma.
n ship with only fOur guns that FREQ very
slowly. and with such an exposed -uris %,
was liable 10 serious injury from a nin,bs
anita gonist firing many guns rapidly. Ins
defensive weakness of the Infnxible ts ap-
parent. her offensive power. great a. in
the aggregate 1t was, wa much impaired
10y lack Of proper development. Wv uud =
compression into very few guns. the larger
part Of whose effect was wasted. EXCEPT
in the rare instances when they struck
a target not often To he encountered. Bus
this was not the only deduction from her
strength through excess Of conccn'ra-
ton. Very large guns fire very slowly.
yet they are as subject TO inaccuracv FROM
the motion Of the ship as is the small,
piece. Where the target j. missed = =
immatcrial whether the shot weighs p tn
or a pound; and a gun that fire. ten times
10 another's once has ten times the chsrcs
of hitting. II Is evident, therefore. taking
the lnfexihle as she was, that a ship Of -
same weight and length with ten guns q
hroadside twenty altogether and VIII
similar armor over her engines only, VOID
have at the least n fair chance against -
Inhexible. and would be much more eFi-
cient against vessels with average Rrmor.
Each of her ten guns firing once n minute
while the InfieXible's cannon required tts
minutes for one discharge would give over
ten shots TO one.
CRITICISM OF THE I%NrILNlRIr.
While the In1exible was building there
was born the idea whose present maturity
e~nforces the Abandonment Of N" pure
monitor. except for vessels comparatively
small and for special purposes. Machine
guns, the Calling and the mitraIilorse.
were already known. and the primer .
was being applied to throw prolcct.'s
Of a pound weight and over. which We
automatically loaded and fired. rcquIr.u:
only to be aimed. Upon these i"iloT"i
the rapid-fre gun, Of weight greatly eI-
ceeding theirs. the principle OF which may
be said TO he thai II is loaded by hand,
but with ammunition So prepared and
.,.,lo,,.pn f,r l,ulipy 81 .tpntla AMI -.
peditious, NJ to permit a rate Of firing h,re-
tofore unparalleled. The highest ey''r-
sion of this principle Is reached IN iu' D..
inch gun, mp to which size the Car'rr.ts
and the projeCtile make r single package
called fSed ammunition, which i pa 4
10y one motion. Together they "" -
ninety-fve pounds. about as much a. u
average man can handle in q seav1y.
he proinc'ilc itself weighing - rugr =
There are, II j. true. 6-inch rapid-tr" gura,
but in them the cartridge and sh"u -
placed separately, and il Is question: =
whether such increase Of effect, Nm. n
greater weight. a. they give, j., 10. - 'rd
at a loss Of due rapidity.
The InHeIible oxemplifod in an o,'.sEs
form the elements Of oNeuiv" AMI
fensive strength ana weaku"-- i.-
guns Of enormous calihre and mo- o'.or
battery. except pieces 80 light A. 10 b" 80
less against the thinne-t armor. a0 r-
penetrable wall, covering a very .ry'l
area, and the remainder ~ IN" hV' 80
posed. 10 b- cut To pieces by a.a, ~
Of enormous light cannon Wien - =
latter the rapld-frc idea was -ur''.-'r y
applied. multiplying their eNcI'url .i-'
or four fold. her position, ~ an 'Nnf =
70 be followed. became u|uiouahi,
monitor idea. which refused To- ui'IIr
broa dside for developing fire art In
chiefly Al minimizing ~" target. e'l3'''Y
needed qualification after a certain w'..-
ate limit OF size was passed ami 'it' .'
of size was when the entIre weigh II
terry the ship could carry %suiic".i .
for two. or, Al tho most, four gun, Of r"" r
great enough to pierce heavy an =.
SiyictIv in Tho nninipn Of il, Wit, a