The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1908-07-19
The Battleship of the
uture

made in battleship building. Prior to
that year a few thoughtful naval ex-
perts had come to the conclusion that
the more heavy guns battleship ear
ried the more formidable she would be,
even at the sacrifice of some guns OF
lesser calibre, but these few experts
were widely regarded as theorists, too
prone to put many eggs in one basket.
The experiences of the Russo-Jap-
anese war, the only great war where
modern war-vessels have been put to
thorough test, proved emphatically the
correctness of the theory that a CON
centration of many guns of heaviest
calibre in one ship, instead or tnelf
distribution among two or three SHIPS,
is the best solution of the problem OF
maximum effectiveness. The aI-blg-
pun-ship, - as it is called, is the result,
and this type, which is the accepted
type today, is well represented IN the
Brush Dreadnought class, the japanese
Satsuma class and the American Della
ware class.
Prior to the Russo-Japanese war, the
standard battleship was heavily
armored vessel of Il, 900 to 10000 tons
displacement, of about Is knots speed,
and carrying a battery composed, as
general thing, of four big guns of II
inch or 13-inch calibre, an intermediate
or auxiliary battery of 10 to 10 guns,
VARYING in calibre from 6 to inches,
and secondary battery of about 70
small rapid-fre guns, IN size from D
nounders to 14-pounders.
In the all-big gun-ship, the inter
mediate battery is eliminated, It's place
being taken by additional 12-inch guns,
s, 10 or II of which are carried by the
standard battleship of the present, and
couple more may be added to the bat
tleship of the future, the only add1-
tional armament of which is>the sec
ondary battery of rapid fire guns OF j.
inch calibre and under, for protection
against torpedo-boat attack. The main
fighting will be done by the 12-inch
guns, which are the accepted highest
calibre guns for use afoat.
There are several reasons for the
change of policy during the past four
years, most of these reasons being
founded on, or at least confirmed by,
the practical tests of the Russo Jap
anese war, which demonstrated the
facts that the modern naval battle will
usually be fought at great ranges, be-
ginning at about 7 miles distance, which
calls for big guns; that the smaller
guns are not greatly destructive against
modern thick armor; and that greater
concentration of fire may be secured by
greater concentration of guns
This last detail is highly important
one. Suppose an call big gun ship
carrying twelve 12inch guns, has them
so mounted that ten of them may be
brought to bear on one broadside. Four
such vessels may thus bring 40 to bear
on one side, whereas, to bring 40 to
bear on the same target it would take
ten of the old battleships carrying only
four 12-inch guns each. In other words,
the battle column of the old ships, for
the same gun power, would have to be
two and half times as great as that
of the new, and the effectiveness of
their fire. much less because of the
great space over which the ten vessels
would be distributed.
Guns of intermediate calibre, say be-
tween 5 and 5 inches, are cruiser guns,
to be used by and against cruisers, an
they are of little effect against battle
battleships, and the more 12-inch guns
they have the better can they fight
their own kind.
. A still more notable consideration is
in regard to accuracy of fire. It was
conspicuously demonstrated in the tar
get practice of the United States bat
tle-feet off Cape Cod last September
that better shooting can be done with
the big 12-inch guns, at the usual battle
yan Iar
Better scores, more ''hits per gun per
minute, were made by the II and 49,
inch guns than with the s, z, or even
5-inch guns.
Another factor of warship efficiency
is speed, which practice has shown to
be of utmost value in a battleship, as
well as in a cruiser. Mobility is a
powerful aid to the effectiveness of a
fleet and speed gives mobility. A fleet
should be able to move quickly and
strike the enemy often. It should also
be swift enough to follow up defeated
enemy and crush him. Hence, the speed
of battleships is now placed at 20, 81
or even p knots, which, ten years ago,
was considered high speed even for
cruisers.
There has been no increase in the
latest battleships, the quality having
been so improved that the 11-inch armor
of 1908 offers better protection than
the 18-inch armor of twenty years ago,
or the 12-inch armor of 1898.
Increased number of water-tight bulk
heads and triple bottoms for great dis
tances under the hull, have, however,
added some weight, as well as increased
coal-carrying capacity, to secure in
creased radius of action.
To meet the requirements of addi-
tional weights, occasioned by heavier
batteries, heavier machinery, more am
munition and more coal, it has been
found necessary to increase the dis
placement of the latest battleship to
10000 tons, as in the American bat
tleshlp Delaware, now building.
The standard battleship of today has
been described above, and in general,
such it is apt to remain for some years
to come.
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