Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1928-09-02
Fifty Years Ago
I'm The Star

So great has been the advance in
naval construction during the past so
r,. years that the following
ErlcSSonS in The Star of August
destroyer IL somewhat prophetic
tone:
wooden ships of war have had their
day; iron ships have been partially re-
placed by those clad in steel; and the
time has come for another revolution
in naval warfare. II Ericsson's torpedo
boat, which is now completed, acts as
expected, 1t will be the means of work
ing this change. For years Europe has
been building immense ironclads. and
the ingenuity of her inventors has been
taxed to make the walls OF these float
ing fortresses impenetrable. The YES
sells resulting are heavy. clumsy and
unwieldy AS the projectile force OF
cannon has increased with the thick
ening and strengthening of armor. the
ironclads have not by any means at
tanned invulnerability. The principal
effect of the heavy mass OF metal under
which the vessels stagger seems to be
to render them unseaworthy and un-
manageable. They do not walt for the
shots of the enemy before they &C
down. The laundering of the English
vessel, the Inflated Vanguard. and the
disaster which befell the GroSser Kur-
furst are incidents suggestive in this
connection.
There seems to be q tendency now
to adopt a steel-clad model of little
weight and great speed. carrying q few
heavy guns. But the ironclad still
holds its own. with vigor. The DAN
dolo, launched not long ago by the
Italian government Is a two-turreted
vessel of this class, $500 horsepower
10. 569 tons and armed with four guns,
each weighing 100 tons. And two ships
even larger are now In course of build
ing at Leghorn.
LAS the United States has no navy
which is OF any consequence under the
present conditions of naval warfare. a
radical change in these conditions
which shall make the formidable ma
vies Of the European powers harmless
and valueleSS will, of course be re-
ceived in this country with Satisfae-
ton.
Capt. Ericsson's invention will, 1t Is
believed. effect this revolution. A
shark-shaped ironclad boat, only $50
feet In length. which can rush through
the water at marvellous speed, can
sink itself when under fire. so low IN
the water that no vital part Is exposed,
and project torpedo, charged with
dynamite, through the water for the
first 250 feet at the rate OF 60 miles
an hour. is the new vessel, the De-
aroyer. with which we are to defend
cur shores.
"A compressed air engine discharges
the torpedo with irresistible force
against It's hull and down goes the
Dandolo or the Infiexible as the water
rushes into its broken side. And the
process may be repeated on all the YES
sells In an invading fieet Meanwhile
the smokestack of the Destroyer may
have been shattered by the broadsides
OF the feet and the iron-framed quar-
tiers for the officers broken into pieces,
But the crew of ten or twelve men are
d rfectly safe, and the destroyer can
disport itself among the vessels OF
hostile navy with inpunity,
',rhe exploits which the new ship Is
expected 10 perform remind one OF the
achievements OF the remarkable sub
marine vessel which the fertile mag
nation Of Jules Verne sent twenty
thousand leagues under the sea, Capt,
Ericsson believes that one of his veS-
sells In each important harbor will be
an effective defense against foreign in
vasion. II the Destroyer really de-
stroyS. as expected. the money which
we haven't spent on ironclads and
coast Notifications is so much gained.