The star-independent. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1904-1917, 1915-04-13
NAVAL PROBLEMS
How to Protect warships From Mines
and Torpedoes

The next departure in the eonstruc-
tion of war vessels will be armoring
their bottoms. The mines and the sub
marines have demonstrated that side
armor and impenetrable turrets are of
very small account when the bottom
of q ship can be so easily pierced.
The problem of protecting the bot
tom may LOOK insolRble. but it can
not look more hopeless than the protee-
tion of the sides did fifty or sixty years
ago. The i6ea of getting enough ar
NOR upon the sides of a snip TO afford
substantial protection looked impos
sible to naval architects of two genera
tions ago But bold inventors and
constructors tned the experiment, and
it succeeded
Then the guns were increased in
size in order to penetrate the thin ar
NOR of the day. and the naval con-
structors found il possible to add great
ly to the thickness, of the plates. and
successive improvements in the quality
of the plates were effected.
The next step was TO attack the
decks of war vessels by vertical fire.
and the constructors introduced pro-
teetive decks, Then the mine and the
torpedo We're perfected, and the SUBJ
marine vessel was invented, and now
the problem is to protect war vessels
below the water line.
1t may or It may not be possible
to do this, but the experiment will be
made, and I Is as likely to succeed as
some of the earlier experiments. Of
course, bottom arnor would add great
ly TO the weight of vessel, but the
displacement can be increased enough
to give the necessary buoyancy.
Besides, it may be worth while to
take off some of the turret and side
armor to save weight OF course, the
stability of the ship would be in
creased if the heaviest plates were be-
low the water line instead of above.
The sides of vessel 10 not present
very large target, and the protection of
the bottom may be important enough
TO justify reduction in the protection
of the sides.
When the naval architects found il
necessary to increase the thickness of
the side armor they reduced the area
to be protected to the vitals of ship,
the engine room and the principal bat
terry. The low and stern could be shot
TO pieces and vet leave the central part
of the ship intact, with the motive pow
er and the biggest guns.
This principle may be carried still
farther. Still less protection may be
given the sides and top of the ''eita-
del, = in order TO give more to the bot
tom, which can be attacked by an in
visible enemy. The turrets are very
heavy and, being placed high above
the water, they are where they have
the greatest effect in impairing the
vessels stability.
At the distances at which vessels
usually fight now the platforms of the
big guns present very minute target;
the chances of their being hit is small.
For the sake of protecting the bottom
it may be worth while to replace the
massive turrets with light shields de-
signed only to protect the gun crews
from small, rapid-fre guns and frag-
ments of shells. and put the weight
where it will resist torpedoes and
mines.
1t may be that no bottom will stand
the explosion of a mine or torpedo,
but the next departure in battleship
construction will test this The eff
cacy of the submarine has been demon
strated, and the present task of naval
constructors is to devise protection
from it.-Philadelphla Record.