The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1904-01-01

THE RELATIVE STRENGTH
Of JAPAN AND
RUSSIA
SIDNEY NJ. BALLOU

and the Japanese fleets in the Far Eas
II will give different results according Il
i different methods employed. If ever!
4 equal value the result would be il
/ favor of Russia, but if considerati oT
| is given to the age OF the ships and the
| increased power of the more modern
vessels, the balance swings in favor OF
| Japan.
| Probably the most satisfactory meth
cd is that adopted by Fred T. James, an
| English naval writer, by which each
| ship is considered on it's own merits
and assigned a fighting value in which
gun power and armor protection are
carefully considered. Under this strict
classification, all ships of any conse-
quence are divided into seven classes.
with fighting values ranging from one
to ten. AS applied to the American
squadron which has just left Honolulu.
this classification puts the Wisconsin
and Kentucky in the first class, the
Oregon in the second, the Albany and
New Orleans in the sixth and the Gin
cinnati and Raleigh in the seventh.
The accompanying table shows the
result as applied to the armored ves-
sells of Japan and Russia in the Far
East. Only arrnored vessels are con-
sidered because upon them depends the
command of the sea.
Not only if the Japanese fleet is
crushed in the first engag cement, but
if it fails to obtain decisive advan-
tage, the war will come to an abrupt
end. Japan cannot land troops on the
mainland as long Russia is in posi-
ton to dispute with her the mastery of
the ocean. The newspapers have given
US accounts of Russian fleets ranging
from forty to ninety vessels. AS a
matter of fact, no number of small
cruisers, armed merchantmen or tor
pedo craft win prevent the arnored
vessels from conveying transports and
holding open the sea lines of commune
cation. For purposes of comparison,
therefore. the cruisers may be omitted
and attention confined to the armored
ships
Under the strict classification alreaay
battleships. At the head of these is
the ''Mikasa,'' the largest, and, in many
respects, the strongest battleslaip in
commission. She was the first ship to
carry her six-inch guns behind a solid
wall of Krupp armoI. The three ships
of the "Shikashima" class carry their
six-inch guns in classmates IN the En-
glish fashion, with unarnored gaps be-
tween, but they are built ON the prin-
ciple that their best protection is their
own gun fire Besides the usual
twelve-inch guns in turrets, each of
these battleships has fourteen quick
firing six-inch guns, two less than our
recent Maine" class. but as com
pensation, CO rries a Formidable second
airy battery of twenty three-inch guns.
Somewhat less formidable are the
''Fuji'' and ''Yashima.' rated as first
class battleships but placed here in the
second class Every one of the six Jap
anese battleships has done well over
eighteen knots on trial, and the Hat
teen. The United States has only one
the Missouri" which has
exceeded eighteen Knots on trial.
There can be no doubt but the Jap
anese six armored cruisers will be found
in the line of battle when the two fleets
engage. A nation which matched its
cruisers against the Chinese iron-clads
will pay very little attention to the
western theory that armored cruisers
were not made to fight battleships.
These armored cruisers are splendid
vessels of their class. 1t viii be suf-
ic1ent for the purposes of comparison
% state that each of them is rated al
vice the fighting value of the New
York or the Brooklyn" The <afdzu- |
no. and -Iwate'' have Krupp armor |
md a 21a-inch sloping deck behind a |
;even-inch belt, while the 'Azama" |
md -'Tokiwa" carry Harvey-nickel ar |
nor of the same thickness These four |
ire 22-knot boats while the ''Yakumo" |
md +'Azuma'' are a knot or two slow |
r. All the armored cruisers carry four /
ight-inch guns as their heaviest bat
cry in place of the twelve-inch guns of
ne battleships.
he same class with the four big Jap-I
uilt --Retvizan'' and the newly COM
leted -'Tsarevitch.'' Each of these is
900 tons smaller than the "Mikasa'
nd carries two six-inch guns less, but
we'll protected with Krupp armor.
he "Pobieda'' and "Peresviet'' were
uiit as fast, light battleships whose
liz guns are only of ten-inch calibre
lstead of the usual twelve-inch. ONLY
ne first named has an armored belt
omplete from stem to stern, and their
Ugh, unarfnored sides will present ex-
client targets for the Japanese quick
rers.
The next group of three battleships of
he "Poltava" class takes us back to
lie date and general design of our
Iowa" with scant armor. unprotected
ids, and the protective deck laid fiatI
top of the belt instead of bending
,wn to re-enforce it 1t is strainingI
point IN their favor to put them in
e same class with the Full" and the
Yashima'' which are better armored
Id three knots faster.
@bo ~,-u;Sore