Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-05-28
SKELETON MAST SURVIVES
Steel Structure Not Brought Down
by Five Shots.
Officers Face Fire in Danger Zone
Navy Men Satisfied With Results.
Torpedo Tests Next.

place the effectiveness Of offensive war
fare in advance of the art OF defense.
did not suhstaitiate this anticipation yes
terday. when the monitor Florida was
target for the guns of her sister ship, the
monitor Arkansas.
Battle Scared but not vitality injured.
the Florida xithstood the impact of pro-
jectiles charged with the most terrible
explosive known. Her Pinch starboard
gun was disabled. her deck-turret armor
was crushed in and her skeleton mast
shot away in a dozen places But the
Florida was still in efficient fighting trim.
able to continue battle had the occasion
required it; and the skeleton mast was
rot out of commission.
The test was made in Hampton roads
yesterday morning near the spot where
the first monitor fought the historic bat
tie with the Confederate ironclad ram
Merrimac.
Gets Away Under Own Steam.
At forty minutes past l. o'clock Rear
Admiral Mason, chief of the bureau of
ordnance, declared the gunnery test at
an end. The Florida was ..ble to get
away under her own steam, her forward
guns still responding perfectly to the
training gear.
Her oecks were strewn with small frag
ments of battered steel and dlscolored
powder from the explosions. but her
Fighting efficiency was only injured by
the loss of the gun sights of l.cr star
board Finch rifle. swept away by frag-
ment of shell which got inside the turret.
The terrific impact of the high explo-
sive Finch projectile against her turret
armor was entirely absorbed by the out
side plate. The fittings were twisted and
bent, a large cash was opened by the
shell as it crushed the armor in, but the
eff ect inside was practically nil.
standing in their positions when the tur-
ret was examined after the shot; the port
gun was entirely intact. the ammunition
moist and mechanism were not disturbed
and the pressure gauge showed no
change.
Five we'll directed shots, three 4-incn
solid shots one 4-inch high explosive and
one 12-inch snot. were unable to bring
shot was effective. greatly damaging the
structure.
Important Lesson Learned.
Rear Admiral Mason, Chief Constructor
Capps and army and navy ordnance ex
perts and others who were present at the
test are elated over the showing made by
the monitor target. They are convinced
that several important lessons have been
learned which will materially affect fu-
ture battleship construction.
One lesson is the value of the skeleton
mast for use of the fire control system
and the unquestionable superiority of this
mast over the steel masts now used. Any
one shot would have brought a solid steel
mast crashing to the deck of the ship.
Under ideal weather conditions many
ordnance experts of the army and navy
witnessed the Smelling of the monitor four
miles from the Hotel Chamberlin. in the
bay The shells were fired toward the
capes.
When the shot was directed at the ar
NOR of the monitor the officers remained
aboard the firing ship Arkansas. out then
went aboard the Florida to observe the
effects and remained on the Florida while
the guns were trained and fired at the
aft structure.
Despite danger of flying fragments
which tore the wooden deck In places
after each shot the officers refused to
obey orders to seek cover, but remained
in exposed positions to better observe the
results.
Officers in Danger.
When the twelve-inch rifle tore away
mass of steel from the hollow circular
tubes of the mast one fragment struck
within a few inches of several officers
from Fort Monroe, who were well for
ward on the ship. and tore a hole in the
deck. The officers quickly lodged behind
the turret.
Another element of danger which was
braved by all concerned and which gave
the test a touch of real battle was the
possibility of the skeleton mast. with
four tons of weight on the top. falling
to the deck. Theoretically both Rear
Admiral Mason and Chief Constructor
Capps believed the mast would withstand
the shock. There was no certainty until
the experiment had been actually made
The Arkansas opened fire at forty-five
minutes past 10 o'clock.
The Florida shook under the force of
the blow. The officials. seeing the huge
cash in her turret. believed the shell had
gone through, putting both guns out OF
action and otherwise seriously damaging
the vessel.
Shell Did Not Penetrate.
Several of the Floridas crew who had
taken positions almost directly below the
target turret. in spite Of danger from pos
sible explosions, then rushed to the oam-
aged part and hastily signaled mo pen
etration."
Re- ar Admiral Mason. Chief Constructor
Caps and others were taken aboard in
launch and put the guns through pre-
scrbed test
The training gear was tested and re-
sponded perfectly. The ammunition hoist
and elevation hoists were then tested and
showed defect. The drill was again
gone through when gunners aboard the
Arkansas were transferred to the Florida.
The only damage on the inside Of the tur-
ret vas the broken sight of the starboard
gun and the injury to that dummy gun
itself
Chief Constructor Caps said after the
examination that the fighting efficiency of
ale turret was only decreased by about
one-third The shell had struck within a
few inches of the marked spot.
Rear Admiral Mason called confer
ence of officers after the test. who made
a minute examination of all parts of the
mast. Lieut.. White climbed to the top
structure and endeavored to shake some
of the battered tubes loose. The naval
constructor then tested. the speaking
tube. which worked although cut. The
electrical apparatus also proved in good
order.
Foreign experts have said that one shot
from the enemy's gun exploding in the
vicinity Of the electrical system of fire
control would probably derange the en-
tire system. 1t was clearly demonstrated
that in this view, as in Others their
opinions are not borne out by actual ex-
pertinent.
The torpedo test will be held as soon