The West Virginian. [volume] (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1914-1974, 1915-05-07
NAVAL PROBLEMS.
How % Protect Warships From
Mines and TorpedOes.
gAN BOTTOMS BE ARMoRED2.
HIS Is Question Tina. Can Be An:
sNsrsdio only BY Experiment and May
twelve Radical Changes In Con-
struetien Above tho Water Line.

etruetien Above the Water Line.
ME next departure in the construc-
Hon Of war vessels will, be armoring
their bottoms. The mines and the
submarines have demonstrated that
stde amor and impenetrable turrets
Rte g very small account when the
bottom of a ship can be SO easily
pierced
The problem of protecting the bot
tom may look insoluble, but 1t cannot
look more hopeless than the protection
% the sides did fifty or sixty years
ago. The idea of getting enough arr
nor upon the sides Of a ship to AFFORD
Substantial protection looked impossi-
biet to naval architects OF two genera
tonsIago. But bold inventors and con
Btructors tried the experiment and 1t
succeeded.
Thensth guns were increased IN she
IN order to penetrate the thin armor
OF the day, and the naval constructors
fohndsit possible to add greatly to the
thickness OF the plates. and successive
Improvements in the quality Of the
plates were effected.
Au6HutA SIGp was " 80
decks of war vessels by vertical FIRE.
ard the constructors introduced pro-
tectiye decks. Then the mine and the
torpedo$were perfected, and the sub
marine vessel was invented. and now
the problem is to protect war vessels
below the water. line.
It5may or It may not be possible to
SdoSthIs, but the experiment will be
made, and 1t Is as likely to succeed as
some OF the earlier experiments. or
course, bottom armor would add great
ly5to the weight OF 3 vessel, but the
displacement can be increased enough
% give the necessary b%uoyancy.
Besfdes It may be worth while to
takesonsome of the turret and side
afmorstot save weight. OF course the
stability ofithe. ship would be increased
~ the heaviest plates were below the
waters line instead of above. The sides
of vessel do not present a very large
target, and the protection OF the bot
tom may be important enough to jus
tifyias reductlon in the protection of the
SIDES
Whensthe naval architects found it
necessary to Increase the thickness Of
the side armor they reduced the area
TO beFprotected to the vitals Of n ship.
theSengine room and the principal bat
terry. The bow and stern could be shot
stospfecesiand yet leave the central pnrt
OF the ship intact, with the motive
power and the biggest guns.
This principle may be carried stlll
farther. Still !esa protection may be
given theSstdes and top of the ''citadel,"
insorder to give more to the bottom.
which can DO attacked by an invisible
enemy. The turrets are very heavy
and&being placed, high above the water.
they are where they have the greatest
eject In impairing the vessels stabil-
ity.
at the distances at which vessels
usually fight now the platforms of the
big guns present a very minute target;
theschances of their being hit is small;
for the sake of protecting the bottom
Rss may be worth while to replace the
massive turrets with light shields de-
stgaed only to protect the gun crews
from small, rapid fire guns and frag-
ments Of shells, and put the weight
where 1t will resist torpedoes and
mines.
Itmay be that no bottom will stand
the explosion of II mine or a torpedo,
but the next departure in battleship
construction will test this. The efficacy
oflthe submarine has been demonstrate
ed, and the present task Of naval con-
structors Is to devise protection from
H-Philadelphia Record.