New-York tribune., 1908-03-01
NAVAL OFFICERS HEARD
CRTTTCISE WARSHIPS.
Hill, Togelgesang and Fiske Before
Senate Committee.

charges made by Mr.. Reuterdahl were based.
Lieutenant Commanders F. X. Hill and Carl T.
yoeeleesang and Captain Bradley A. Fiske gave
.h.ir views on naval construction and Rear AG-
,nirsl Capps asked questions and commented on
their testimony they proceeded
Lieutenant Commander Hill the first wit
ness It developed that his criticism had been
directed solely at the location of the armor heit.
end he insisted on confining his testimony to
that nojnr Our ships" he said, ARE very good
ships but ] believe there are certain specific
errors which should be remedied, and the loca-
ton OF the water line armor belt of our battle
ships IS according 70 my opinion. one of these
defects" He said that last October the Secre
rary OF the Navy decided TO appoint board TO
investigate these matters but later on decided
Tot 10 do So At that time Mr.. Hill prepared
2 report and had letters bearing the contro-
- x.,qsv 10 submit 20 the board He had submitted
the papers the Secretary. showing the crit
icisrn and proposed remedy for the defects.
i am not the originator of this criticism.
said Nr Hill This subject has been discussed
To- long time and criticisms have been made
~ officers aboard ship. and special boards have
been ordered board ships by request of the
Navy Department. There questions in
regard to 1he arnor belt. One IS the thickness
and the other is the location. l believe the
thickness is plenty. # not than il should
he. but the location is not correct, according To
nv view You want to get ship into action at
or near a particular water line and have that
water line protected. You must have sufficient
width Of armor above and below so as TO pro-
teCt that particular water line"
COAL CAPACITY AND SPEED.
Mr. FIin explained that he thought the battle
ships should be constructed TO carry ali the coal
possible. The ships. he said. have their water
lines fixed by estimating but two-ffths of their
An fal1 ALL
trial to show the greatest speed possible
Il think" he added, rarely have any of our
ships in service shown the speed they developed
the trial trip Foreign ships he said have
the same weakness in this respect, but foreign
constructors correcting the error That was
particularly in the German navy, in which
some OF the hattleships eight or ten years old
had been reconstructed TO allow the carriage of a
larger amount of coal
Il enough coal board 10 chase the
enemy after fighting him." he declared. saying
the battleships should have all the coal pos
sible, with the waterline fixed with view TO
accommodating il.
The new ships of the navy. he said. if pro- |
vided with a full load of COAL will have seven
feet and six inches Of armor below the water !
line and six inches above it
Senator TillTnan suggested that the contractors |
have the waterifne stablished that they |
can get the best speed out OF the battleships. |
'and get the best OF the bargain"
Rear Admiral Capps interrupted with a ques- |
ton. which followed by statement by |
him contradictory TO much Mr. Hill had said |
He declared that the practice of English Japan
csc and American constructors is the same. GER |
tainiy for the last ten years, regarding the |
wat=rline and the coal carried. If there was
any difference, he said. the japanese provided |
for less coal. The German practice. he as
serted. is not different. The tendency in the |
American navy had been to provide as large |
lsunkers possible. The Germans in most Of
their ships have small bunkers. and the amount
of coal carried in ships has been greater.
Mt Hill said he thought the waterlne arnor
belt of the bsttleships should be raised !
ten inches.
DANGER IN TCRRETS.
Lieutenant Commander Vogelgesang. mem |
ber Of the turret board that examined all the |
turret ships on the Atlantic Coast six months !
ago. was then called. The result of the ex-
animation. he said was to show that there |
should be some structural separation between |
the turrets proper and the handling rooms on
hattIeships which does not now exist, and |
never has existed In the service. II is, he said
imperative that there should be some improve
-nent The safety shutters had proved TO be
cumbersome and Ineffective A well designed
TWO stage hoist is what is needed he said he
Thought American inventors ana mechanics
should be interested in the navy, is the case !
.n England where every big firm is working
for ,he good of the navy. He suggested that 4 |
,,.--,anent board Of design would be valuable |
In selecting and obtaining improved mechanical /
devices
Replving TO question by Senator Gallinser. |
he said be believed American turrets TO be H. |
f.rIor 10 those Of foreign ships He thoushI d |
.f,a.+er s,,ch as that on the Missouri. which I
coo. e,xtaen lives could not have happened on |
2 foreign ship The bareback would have been |
turrets OF those ships
Admiral Capps asked whether ne hao eN"' +
seen any protest against the direct type OF hoiS'
,n ,he Spanish-American war. and the Witness /,
could recall such protest
Senator Hale said he thought he unders'oou
the trouble that caused the turret disasters.
"r),a they ever have these disasters before the
mania arose for rapid target practice! ne
asked.
NJ yoeelzesang replied that rapid practlce
prss necessary train the men for battle Inc
troubles of the bareback had arisen since SMOKE
less powder had come into use.
IF Won can propose anything 70 render a
.urre. absolutely safe Admiral Capps SAID. !
YOU will earn the undylng gratitude Of the
Navy Department. ] personally believe that IL
Will be impossible TO make any batueship I'M
rnune from danger during times OF battle
Admiral Capps added that the accident on the /
Fat IS An 0ffenSe.