Part 3 of 3

+------------------+----------------------------------------+---------+ | NAME OF SHIP. | Armament. | Cost. | | | | | +------------------+----------------------------------------+---------+ | _Armored._ | Main. Secondary. | Dollars.| |Puritan | 4 of 10 inch} |2,300,970| |Miantonomoh | 4 ” 10 ” } |1,637,110| |Amphitrite | 4 ” 10 ” } |1,590,930| |Monadnock | 4 ” 10 ” } |1,592,849| |Terror | 4 ” 10 ” } |1,891,077| | |{2 ” 6 ” } Not determined. | | |Battle-ship |{2 ” 10 ” } |2,500,000| | |{2 ” 12 ” } | | | | } | | |Cruiser |{4 ” 10 ” } |2,500,000| | |{6 ” 6 ” } | | | _Unarmored._ | | | | |{4 ” 8 ” } 2 6-pdrs., 4 47 mm., | | |Chicago |{8 ” 6 ” } 2 37 mm. |1,576,854| | |{2 ” 5 ” } 2 1-pdrs., 2 short Gat. | | | | | | |Boston |{2 ” 8 ” } 2 6-pdrs., 2 3-pdrs., 2 |1,031,225| | |{6 ” 6 ” } 1-pdrs. | | | | | | |Atlanta |{2 ” 8 ” } 2 47 mm., 2 37 mm., 2 |1,031,225| | |{6 ” 6 ” } short Gatlings. | | | | | | |Dolphin | 1 ” 6 ” } 2 6-pdrs., 4 47 mm., 2 | 460,000| | | } Gatlings. | | | | | | | | Auto-mobile torpedoes. | | |Charleston |{2 ” 10 ” } 4 6-pdrs., 2 3-pdrs., |1,017,500| | |{6 ” 6 ” } 1 1-pdr., *Amt | | | | | | |Baltimore |{4 ” 8 ” } 4 37 mm., 2 short |1,325,000| | |{8 ” 6 ” } Gatlings, *Amt | | | | | | |Newark |12 ” 6 ” } *Amt |1,300,000| | | | | |Gun-boat No. 1 | 6 ” 6 ” } 2 6-pdrs., 2 3-pdrs., | 455,000| | | } 1 1-pdr., *Amt | | | | | | |Gun-boat No. 2 | 4 ” 6 ” } 2 37 mm., 2 short | 247,000| | | } Gatlings, *Amt | | | | | | |Dynamite cruiser |{3 ” 10½ ” } 2 3-pdrs., 1 1-pdr., | 350,000| | |{ (Dynamite.) } 2 37 mm., 2 short Gat. | | | | | | |Cruiser No. 4 |12 ” 6 ” } Not yet determined. |1,500,000| |Cruiser No. 5 |12 ” 6 ” } |1,500,000| | | | | |Gun-boat No. 3 | 6 ” 6 ” } Same as Gun-boat | 550,000| |Gun-boat No. 4 | 6 ” 6 ” } No. 1. | 550,000| | | | | |Torpedo-boat | .... } 2 rapid-fire guns. | 100,000| | | } 5 torpedoes. | | | | | | |Stiletto | .... } Not yet determined. | 25,000| |Floating batteries| .... } |2,000,000| +------------------+----------------------------------------+---------+ *Amt = Auto-mobile torpedoes. Thanks to the force of public opinion, liberal appropriations have been made for the navy. Leaving out of consideration the double-turreted Monitors, the additions to the fleet have been the cruisers _Charleston_ and _Baltimore_, the No. 1 and 2 gun-boats, the cruiser _Newark_, the two armored vessels, the torpedo-boat, the dynamite cruiser, the No. 4 and 5 cruisers, the No. 3 and 4 gun-boats of No. 1 type, and the floating batteries. The _Stiletto_, if accepted, will be bought from the Herreshoff Company; all the rest, except the battle-ship, are to be or have been constructed by contract in private yards. Of the new ones the _Charleston_ and No. 5 cruiser will be built at San Francisco; gun-boat No. 2 at Baltimore; the dynamite cruiser, gun-boat No. 1, the _Baltimore_, _Newark_, and cruiser No. 4, at Philadelphia, and gun-boats Nos. 3 and 4 at New York. The steel partially protected cruiser _Charleston_ is, except in details of internal accommodations, a duplicate of the _Naniwa-Kan_, which was in turn a progressive development of the type-making _Esmeralda_, inasmuch as she has greater speed, more powerful armament, and superior protection to stability. The plans of the _Charleston_ were bought abroad simply because they could not be made here; and notwithstanding the twopenny-ha’penny criticisms this action evoked, its wisdom has been justified. The _Charleston_ has neither poop nor forecastle, and the unhampered ends give in action perfect freedom of fire for two 10-inch guns, which are mounted in low, thin-plated barbettes, situated on the ship’s middle line, at a distance of sixty feet from the bow and stern respectively. These pieces are without armor protection, except that offered against machine-gun fire by a two-inch segmental shield. Between these heavy guns a high waist stretches amidships, in which six 6-inch breech-loaders are mounted on sponsons or in projecting turrets. The secondary battery includes two 6-pounder rapid-fire guns, eight machine guns, and four above-water torpedo-tubes. The 10-inch guns must always be brought back to the fore-and-aft line for reloading, and their ammunition is passed through steel tubes which extend below the protective deck. The engines are double-compound, situated in separate compartments, and in the _Naniwa-Kan_ the type developed 7650 horse-power and 18.9 knots. In the twin-screw cruiser _Baltimore_ a longitudinal water-tight bulkhead joins the double bottom, which runs under the engine and boilers to a protective deck that extends the whole length of the ship, and is three inches thick on the flat top and four inches thick on the sloping sides. The machinery consists of a pair of triple-expansion compound engines which are to develop 18 knots and 7500 horse-power with natural, and 19½ knots and 10,750 horse-power with forced, draft. There are two separate engine-rooms and two boiler-rooms, and the normal coal capacity of 600 tons will be sufficient for 1800 knots. Additional space is provided for 300 tons more, and with this total there ought to be an endurance of 8000 miles at 11 knots, and of 14,000 miles, or 75 days’ steaming, at 8 knots. No sails except storm-sails will be provided. The _Baltimore_ is to have a poop and forecastle, on which four 8-inch guns with direct fore-and-aft fire will be mounted. On the main deck six 6-inch guns will be carried in broadside, and the secondary battery and torpedo-tubes are effective and well disposed. The maximum price fixed at first by Congress for the _Newark_ was less than any of the bids received, but at the last session the appropriation was increased to $1,300,000, and the contract was awarded in August of this year. The _Newark_ is a bark-rigged, twin-screw cruiser of 4083 tons displacement. A double bottom extends through 129 feet of her length, and a protective deck, which rises fifteen inches above the water-line amidships, runs uninterruptedly fore and aft. Four feet above this the berth-deck is built, the intermediate space being greatly subdivided and utilized for stores. Numerous water-tight frames are worked in the double bottom, and wherever practicable the cellular construction is employed. The engines are to develop 6000 horse-power with natural draft, and 8500 horse-power and a maximum speed of eighteen knots with forced draft. This vessel has a poop and forecastle, and the guns are carried on the upper deck. The main battery consists of twelve 6-inch centre-pivot guns, furnished with segmental shields, and mounted on sponsons so as to obtain the greatest arc of fire; the two guns nearest the bow and stern converge their fire at a point 400 feet distant from the ends of the ship, and those in broadside can be concentrated within 100 feet of the ship. In addition to the secondary battery given in the table, there are six above-water torpedo-tubes. The development of naval construction cannot be proved more conclusively than by comparing the new cruisers with those which were first laid down. In the _Atlanta_, for example, the builder guaranteed that 664 tons of machinery would produce 3500 indicated horse-power; but the _Charleston_ must, before acceptance, develop 7000 horse-power for 710 tons of machinery; that is to say, the energy for weight has been doubled within four years. The twin-screw gun-boat No. 1 is the prototype of a class that now include three vessels, and a very promising nucleus it is for a fleet to which the defence of the country’s coast must mainly be intrusted. The ship is to be built of steel, with a three and a half inch complete water-tight deck, so arched as to have a spring of about three feet in its greatest width, and a crown that will nearly reach the water-line level. There is no double bottom, but the number of water-tight compartments is very great, and coffer-dams surround the engine and fire-room hatches, and are carried to a height of eighteen inches above the main deck. The complement numbers 150, and the rig is that of a three-masted schooner, with a sail area of 4400 square feet. The machinery is estimated to indicate 2200 horse-power with natural draft, and 3300 with forced draft, and consists of two independent compound engines placed in separate compartments. The speed is given as sixteen knots, but it is probable this rate will be considerably exceeded. The main battery consists of six 6-inch guns, the secondary of two 57-millimetre rapid-fire guns, two 37-millimetre revolving cannons, and one short Gatling. Four of the 6-inch guns are mounted on the poop and forecastle—two forward, two aft—and the other pieces of this calibre are carried on sponsons amidships, so as to have a large arc of fire about the beam. The elevated guns are eighteen feet above the low-water line, the centre ones ten feet, and all are mounted on central pivots and fitted with protective shields. The torpedo armament is of great relative importance; of the eight tubes supplied, the stem and stern ones are fixed and fitted with under-water discharge, while the other six can be trained, and are distributed four forward and two aft. In gun-boat No. 2 the machinery is to develop 900 horse-power with natural, and 1350 with forced, draft; the engines, boilers, and magazines are placed beneath a steel deck three-eighths of an inch thick, which amidships is twenty-seven inches below the water-line at the edge and eight inches above at the crown. The armament consists of four 6-inch sponson-mounted guns, two 47-millimetre guns, two 37-millimetre revolving cannons, and one short Gatling. She is barkentine rigged, with a plain sail area of 4480 square feet, and has a slightly ram-shaped, cast-steel stem. The complement is 100. The pneumatic-gun cruiser is to be armed with three of Zalinski’s pneumatic dynamite guns of 10½-inch calibre, each of which is to throw a shell containing 200 pounds of high explosives for a distance of one mile, and to be capable of being discharged at least once in two minutes. The guaranteed speed is twenty knots. Under the law of August 3, 1881, authorizing the construction of two new ships, it was provided that these should be “sea-going, double-bottomed, armored vessels of about 6000 tons displacement, designed for a speed of at least sixteen knots an hour, with engines having all necessary appliances for working under forced draft, to have a complete torpedo outfit, and be armed in the most effective manner.” According to the circular issued by the Navy Department, one of these was to be an armored cruiser, with a maximum draught of twenty-two feet, and the other a battle-ship, with a draught of twenty-three feet; both were to be built of steel, with double bottoms, to have numerous water-tight compartments fitted with powerful pumping apparatus, and to be supplied throughout with perfect drainage and ventilation. A ram bow, twin screws, electric search-lights, torpedo outfit, and a protected steel-armored deck running the whole length of the ship and covering the boilers, engines, and magazines, were essentials; while high power and economy were so equally demanded that, to a maximum maintained speed of seventeen knots when fully equipped, great coal endurance and small fuel consumption were to be added. In each vessel a space sufficient for two hundred and seventy people, for provisions for three months, and for water for one month, was required. The cruiser was to have two-thirds sail-power on two or three masts, each supplied with a military top fitted to mount one or more machine guns. The armament of this ship was to include ten steel breech-loading rifles—four of 10-inch and six of 6-inch calibre—and a secondary battery of four 6-pounders, four 3-pounders, and two 1-pounders, rapid-fire, and four 47-millimetre and four 37-millimetre revolving cannons, all of the Hotchkiss pattern, together with four Gatling guns. There were to be fitted six torpedo-tubes—one bow, one stern, and two on each side, of which at least one on each side forward was to be under water. The heavy guns were to load in not less than two positions, and were to be protected by at least ten and a half inches of steel armor, properly backed; the 6-inch guns were to be fitted with shields, and all the guns were to be arranged so as to obtain the greatest horizontal and vertical fire consistent with other conditions. Any vertical armored protection at the water-line was to be at least eleven inches thick in the heaviest part, and thicker, if practicable. The armament of the line-of-battle ship was to consist of two 12-inch and six 6-inch guns, and of a secondary battery which included four 6-inch, six 3-pounder, and two 1-pounder rapid-fire guns; of four 47-millimetre and four 37-millimetre revolving cannons, and of four Gatlings. The torpedo outfit was similar to that of the cruiser. The plans submitted were opened on April 1st of this year, and notwithstanding the difficulties which the displacement imposed upon the other requirements, no less than thirteen designs were received from ten different competitors. The most important of these were offered by the Thames Iron Ship Building Company and the Barrow Ship Building Company, of Great Britain; by A. H. Grandjean, Esq., of France; and by Chief Constructor Wilson, Naval Constructor Pook, and Lieutenant Chambers, all of the United States navy. The designs were submitted to a board, and this finally recommended the Barrow plan as best suited for the armored battle-ship. So far as the armored cruiser was concerned, the Board reported as follows: “The marked differences in the essential features of the designs of armored cruisers of the Barrow Ship Building Company, Lieutenant W. I. Chambers, A. H. Grandjean, and the Thames Iron-Works and Ship Building Company, prevent their classification in the order of merit. Each exhibits features which strongly commend themselves, but the Board does not consider it advisable for the government to build a vessel upon any one of these plans.” The battle-ship, though designed by one of the most distinguished marine architects in England, has not in its present form received the general approval of experts, for between it and the plan submitted by the Bureau of Construction there seem to be differences of merits which are strongly in favor of the latter. The dimensions of the new ships are as follows: BARROW SHIP. Length between perpendiculars, 290 feet; on load water-line, 300 feet; extreme breadth, 64 feet 1 inch; mean draught, 22 feet 6 inches; displacement, 6300 tons. NAVY DEPARTMENT SHIP. Length between perpendiculars, 300 feet; on load water-line, 310 feet; extreme breadth, 58 feet; mean draught, 22 feet; displacement, 6600 tons. The striking differences between these two ships are found in their relative stability and sea-going qualities. Mr. John, the designer of the Barrow ship, in a paper on “Atlantic Steamers,” read before the Institution of Naval Architects July 29, 1886, made the following statements: “This question of stability will have to be carefully watched and studied within the next few years, because there is a tendency at present towards a rapid increase in the proportion of beam to length; and as the draught of water in these large ships is limited, we must be careful that in seeking higher speeds with increased beam we do not get too much stability, and so render the vessels heavy rollers and very uncomfortable as passenger-ships. It is possible the future may see vessels of greater beam than any yet afloat in the merchant service; but if so, it is almost inevitable that they will have to be made higher out of water in order to render them easy and comfortable at sea, but even that has its limits. Perhaps it is well to give an extreme case, and here I will make use of our old friend _The Great Eastern_.... Now, for the purpose of trading it is quite clear that _The Great Eastern_ cannot be loaded much deeper than other ships, while her beam is half as great again; and the consequence is, her stability, as compared with our modern passenger-ships, is so excessive that she is bound to be a tremendous roller among the heavy seas in the Atlantic. Her metacentric height, when loaded, was, I believe, stated by the late Mr. Froude to be as much as 8.7 feet, which is from three to four times as much as is thought sufficient for ships in the present day, or consistent with their easy behavior at sea.” Thus Mr. John himself regards 2.9 feet to 2.2 feet as the proper metacentric height for those steamers, and it is generally considered by modern designers that from 2.5 to 3.2 feet is most suitable for this class of armored ships, and is conducive to easiness of motion in a sea-way. The value of this quality to a ship intended for sea-fighting cannot be overestimated, for upon her steadiness as a gun-platform the aim and efficiency of her guns greatly depend. It will be noticed that this ship has exceptionally great beam, that of most ships of her class and displacement, varying from 54 to 59 feet, and judging from the sketches which have appeared, her water-line coefficient is about 0.72. From an approximate calculation based on this assumption it is found that her metacentric height will be about six feet. The water-line coefficient may possibly be a little finer than 0.72, and thus reduce the metacentric height, but if this ship is assumed to have a metacentric height of three feet, her water-line coefficient would be 0.6288, which is an _impossibility_, if her coefficient of fineness of displacement be that given in the published dimensions. Such a water-line and coefficient of fineness for 6300 tons displacement would produce a perfect rectangle for a midship section. So that, unless her dimensions are changed, she will surely be a heavy roller, and after much sea duty she will suffer such severe strains as to require frequent and costly repairs. The battle-ship designed at the Navy Department has very different qualities, if the dimensions already published be correct. To possess a metacentric height of three feet she would require a water-line coefficient of 0.753, and a midship-section coefficient of 0.89 to 0.90, which is a good proportion for such a vessel. Not only in sea-going qualities does the American design seem to be superior, but her battery is far more powerful and better disposed in every way, while her speed and endurance are equally as great as the plan recommended. Mr. John has adopted the _échelon_ arrangement of heavy guns, a disposition which both the English and Italian governments have, after long trial, discarded in their latest ships. When the first sketches of a design are made, this arrangement of guns is theoretically perfect, as it is supposed to give quite as much power of fire ahead and astern as on each broadside; but when the design is developed and practically tested, it is found that too much of the ship’s efficiency in other respects is sacrificed, that the powerful end fire is not attained, and that the broadside is greatly weakened, owing to the obstructed arcs of fire. Besides this, the guns, being placed at some distance from the midship line, have less accurate fire in rolling, and the ship’s propensities to roll are encouraged and are greater than would be the case if the guns were placed on the midship line. It is also found that the blast from the heavy guns is destructive to superstructures and other fittings on the upper deck. The Italians, indeed, have placed stout ventilating shafts on their _Italia_ and _Lepanto_ to prevent the rearmost pair of heavy guns from being trained within twenty degrees of the fore and aft line. This is done so that the blast from these guns will not prostrate the gunners attending the other pair, notwithstanding the fact that those men are under the armor cover. The _Duilio’s_ forward smoke-pipe is placed entirely on the port side of the fore and aft line, in order to permit of one pair of turret guns firing ahead. The upper-deck, 6-inch, central-pivot guns of the _Andrea Doria_ class are now to be placed wholly within the superstructure, in order to be out of danger from the blast of the heavy guns when the latter are fired near the line of keel, and the same change would have to be made with the upper-deck, 6-inch guns in the Barrow design. Similar objections exist to the Bureau of Construction design for an armored cruiser. This vessel, although possessing the bad features inherent in the _échelon_ arrangement of heavy guns, does not have the best ideas of the Barrow design, _i.e._, high freeboard, heavy guns mounted high above the water-line, and commodious quarters for officers and men. Both designs besides have the very objectionable and old-fashioned features of requiring the turrets to be revolved to fixed loading positions after being fired. The Bureau cruiser, it may be said, is not saddled with too much metacentric height. She has ten feet less beam, her centre of gravity is about one foot lower, and unless her water-line coefficient is very full, she will have a metacentric height rather less than what is regarded to be the best. It is not surprising, however, that the Bureau plans are so different in efficiency, for while the better plan, the battle-ship, is original with the Navy Department, the armored cruiser is a copy of, and no substantial improvement over, that of the Brazilian ship _Riachuelo_ designed several years ago. This ship is considered one of the best of her date, but great improvements in ship design have been made within the past few years, and it is against the tendencies of American inventive genius to take a step backward. The general plans of cruisers No. 4 and 5 were published in the _New York Herald_ of June 1st, together with the following data: “They are to be twin-screw cruisers, 310 feet long on the water-line, 49 feet 1¾ inches extreme breadth, 18 feet 9 inches mean draught, displacing 4083 tons. They are to have machinery of 10,500 indicated horse-power under forced draft. The maximum speed is 19 knots, rig that of a three-masted schooner, spreading 5400 square feet of sail. They will have a double bottom extending through 129 feet of the length. The framing in this portion is on the bracket system. Before and abaft the double bottom, above the protective deck, Z-bars form the transverse frames. The protective deck, which is nineteen inches above the water-line amidships, is flat across the top, with sides which slope down to a depth of four feet three inches below the water-line. The horizontal portion is two inches thick, the slope being three inches, reduced at both ends to one and a half inches. It extends uninterruptedly forward and aft, and protects the machinery, magazines, and steering-gear, the machinery being further defended by the disposition of the coal-bunkers. The main hatches in this deck are protected by armor-bars, and have coffer-dams extending to the upper deck. The guns are carried on the gun, forecastle, and poop decks. “_Armament._—The main battery, which consists of twelve 6-inch breech-loading rifles, all on centre-pivot mounts, with two-inch segmental steel shields, is arranged on sponsons so as to obtain the greatest possible arc of fire. The forecastle, the poop, and the bridges have been as much as possible availed of to shelter the guns. The two guns forward and the two guns aft converge their fire a short distance from the ends of the ship, and the broadside can be concentrated within 100 feet of the side. Four above-water torpedo-tubes are provided on the berth-deck, and two direct ahead under-water torpedoes in the bow. The secondary battery is composed of four 47-millimetre revolvers, four 57-millimetre single-shots, two 37-millimetre revolvers, and one short Gatling. The coal capacity is 850 tons. The complement of men 300.... “To appreciate what is required to make nineteen knots an hour at sea, we have only to remember that the _Umbria_ and _Etruria_ are 500 feet long, with more than 12,000 tons displacement and 14,500 indicated horse-power, ordinarily making 18½ and on special occasions 19 knots an hour. Now, to increase her speed to 20 knots an hour, the _Umbria_ would require about 19,500 horse-power, which means 5000 extra horse-power for the extra knot. For a second extra knot would be required about 6000 horse-power more, making about 25,000 horse-power necessary to develop a speed of 21 knots.” Gun-boats Nos. 3 and 4 are to be copies of gun-boat No. 1. No designs for the floating batteries and the torpedo-boat have been published. The _Stiletto_ is one of the famous Herreshoff boats, and is now being tested in consequence of a favorable report made by a board of officers. On July 23, 1886, with a total displacement of twenty-eight tons, she made an average of 22.12 knots as the mean of four runs over the measured mile in a rough sea and fresh wind, and on July 30th she attained an average of 22.89 knots. These were excellent results for a boat ninety feet in length, and promised that the type, with certain modifications, was equal to greater demands. The trial data of this year have not yet been published, though it is unofficially reported that her performance was equally as creditable. UNITED STATES NAVAL ARTILLERY. From the time of the introduction of cast-iron cannons in 1558 until a comparatively late period, development in naval artillery proceeded at a very slow rate. The security that was attained by the adoption of cast-iron was so great, as compared with the danger attending the use of the more ancient artillery, that the new guns were regarded as fully supplying all the demands of a suitable battery. The guns were muzzle-loaders, making the manipulation simple, the previous rude attempts at breech-loading being abandoned. The number of calibres that were introduced was very numerous, partly to suit the weight of the batteries to the ships, and partly to accommodate the fancy of the time for placing in different parts of the ships guns varying much in size and destructive effect. The general character of the batteries and the multiplication of calibres can best be illustrated by noting the armament of two typical ships of the seventeenth century. [Illustration: BRONZE BREECH-LOADING CANNON CAPTURED IN COREA, AGE UNKNOWN.] The _Royal Prince_, a British ship built in 1610, carried fifty-five guns. Of these, two were _cannon-petronel_, or 24-pounders; six were _demi-cannon_, medium 32-pounders; twelve were _culverins_, 18-pounders, which were nine feet long; eighteen were _demi-culverins_, nine-pounders; thirteen were _rakers_, 5-pounders, six feet long; and four were _port-pieces_, probably swivels. These guns were disposed as follows: on the lower gun-deck, two 24-pounders, six medium 32-pounders, and twelve 18-pounders; on the upper gun-deck the battery was entirely of 9-pounders; and the forecastle and quarter-deck were armed with 5-pounders, and the brood of smaller pieces which swelled the nominal armament. The _Sovereign of the Seas_, built in 1637, in the reign of Charles I., was unequalled by any ship afloat in her time. She mounted on three gun-decks eighty-six guns. On the lower deck were thirty long 24-pounders and medium 32-pounders; on her middle deck, thirty 12-pounders and 9-pounders; on the upper gun-deck, “other lighter ordnance;” and on her quarter-deck and forecastle, “numbers of murdering pieces.” In the obstinately contested actions between Blake and Van Tromp in the Cromwellian time, the ships and batteries did not differ in any great degree from those contemporaneous in construction with the _Sovereign of the Seas_; and when we remember the inferior character of the powder used in those days we can account for the duration of some of the engagements between the English and Dutch ships which were sometimes protracted through three days. [Illustration: BRONZE BREECH-LOADER USED BY CORTEZ IN MEXICO.] The brood of “murdering pieces” of small calibre and little energy was, after many years, dispersed by the introduction of carronades—a short cannon of large calibre, which was found to be a convenient substitute for the 8-pounders and 9-pounders on upper decks, and for the “lighter ordnance,” which was ineffective; but this change was brought about slowly, as is seen by referring to the batteries of some ships which fought at Trafalgar. The Spanish seventy-fours in that action had fifty-eight long 24-pounders on the gun-decks; on the spar-deck, ten iron 36-pounder carronades and four long 8-pounders; and on the poop, six iron 24-pounder carronades—total, seventy-eight guns. [Illustration: BREECH-LOADER CAPTURED IN THE WAR WITH MEXICO.] The _Victory_, the English flag-ship, mounted on her three gun-decks ninety long 32, 24, and 12 pounders, and on the quarter-deck and forecastle, ten long 12-pounders and two 68-pounder carronades. The _Santissima Trinidada_ mounted on the lower gun-deck thirty long 36-pounders; on the second deck, thirty-two long 18-pounders; on the third deck thirty-two long 12-pounders; and on the spar-deck, thirty-two 8-pounders. In the British accounts she is said to have had one hundred and forty guns, which number must have included swivels mounted for the occasion. At the end of the eighteenth century the 18-pounder was the preferred gun for the main-deck batteries of frigates, guns of larger calibre being found only on the lower decks of line-of-battle ships. The 18-pounder was the maximum calibre that was employed on board the ships of the United Colonies of North America in the war of the Revolution. The resources of the colonies did not admit of building ships to contend with vessels fit to take their place in line of battle, but such as were constructed were well adapted to resist the small British cruisers, and to capture transports and store-ships. The so-called frigates of that day were vessels varying from six hundred to a thousand tons, and, according to their capacity, carried 12-pounders or 18-pounders in the main-deck batteries. There was usually no spar-deck, but the forecastle and quarter-deck, which were connected by gangways with gratings over the intermediate space, were provided with an armament of light 6, 9, or 12 pounders. A few carronades came into use during this war. At the conclusion of this war the Colonial fleet disappeared, and it was not until the time of the depredations on the growing commerce of the United States by the Algerine corsairs that Congress felt justified in incurring the expense of establishing a national marine. The ships which were built under the law of 1794 were fully up to the most advanced ideas of the time, and some of these ships carried on their gun-decks a full battery of 24-pounders, thirty in number, while the others were armed with 18-pounders on the gun-deck, with spar-deck batteries of 9 and 12 pounders, the carronade not having been yet definitely adopted for spar-deck batteries. It is not until the war of 1812 that we find the carronade fully established as the spar-deck armament of frigates. The _Constitution_ and the _Guerrière_ carried 32-pounder carronades of very similar weight and power in the place of the long guns of smaller calibre on the spar-deck. The original name of this piece of ordnance was the “Smasher,” the leading purpose of the inventor, General Melville, of the British artillery, being to fire 68-pounder shot with a low charge, thus effecting a greater destruction in a ship’s timbers by the increased splintering which this practice was known to produce. Carronades of small calibre were subsequently cast, which were adopted for spar-deck batteries of frigates and line-of-battle ships, and, as they grew in favor, formed the entire battery of sloops-of-war and smaller vessels until about 1840, when the attention that had been given for some years to the subject of naval ordnance began to assume tangible shape, and the effort was made to proceed in this matter in accordance with an intelligent system. [Illustration: BRONZE 12-POUNDER, “EL NEPTUNO,” 1781.] The advantage of large calibre was firmly impressed upon those who occupied themselves with the ordnance matters of the navy. As the fleet was developed, the 24-pounder gave way to the 32-pounder, and for the lower-deck battery of line-of-battle ships the 42-pounder was introduced. Some 42-pounder carronades were also introduced as spar-deck batteries for these larger ships. With the disappearance of this class of ship the 42-pounder was abandoned, and the 32-pounder was retained as the maximum calibre, different classes being assigned to different sizes of ships. These classes were divided into the gun proper, with 150 pounds of metal to one of shot; the double-fortified gun, with 200 pounds of metal to one of shot; and the medium gun, with 100 pounds of metal to one of shot. The carronade of the same calibre, mounted on a slide, had a proportional weight of 65 pounds of metal to one of shot. [Illustration: U.S.N. CARRONADE, SLIDE, AND CARRIAGE.] In the interval between 1840 and 1845 the double-fortified 32-pounder was replaced by a gun of the same calibre of 57 hundred-weight, called the long 32-pounder; and to suit the capacity of the different classes of ships then in the service, there were introduced the 32-pounders of 46 hundred-weight, 42 hundred-weight, and 27 hundred-weight, in addition to the regular medium gun of 32 hundred-weight. This period also marks the introduction of shell-guns as part of the battery. To this time no explosive projectiles had been used with cannons properly so called; their use had been limited to mortars and howitzers. The mortar was originally used for projecting huge balls of stone at high angles. The first practical use made of them for projecting bombs was in 1624, but the unwieldy weight of the mortar and its bomb, the latter sometimes exceeding 300 pounds, prevented their use in field operations. To provide for this, light mortars were cast, which, being mounted on wheels, were denominated howitzers. Frederick the Great of Prussia brought this form of artillery to its highest development for field and siege use, and the Continental powers of Europe adopted it to a large extent for projecting bombs at high angles of fire. The mortar has never had a place in regular naval armaments; it has been used afloat for bombardment of cities and fortified positions, but never with a view to contending with ships. [Illustration: U.S.N. MEDIUM 32-POUNDER.] The success attending the use of explosive projectiles at high elevations did not lead at once to their application to horizontal firing from cannons. An important link in the progress of the idea resulted from the effort to avail of the advantage of ricochet firing with bombs. In order to effect this, the angle of elevation had to be reduced to enable the bomb to roll along the ground. The reduced angle of elevation was still greater than that used for cannon, but the success of the experiment led to the casting by the French of an 8-inch siege howitzer, which, in connection with the development in the manufacture of fuses, made it practicable to apply the idea of firing shells, like shot, horizontally, and the chief object in view seems to have been to operate against ships. The combining of the elements necessary for the achievement of this important step in naval artillery is by common consent credited to General Paixhan, of the French artillery, who, though not claiming the invention of any of the numerous details involved in the system, succeeded in so judiciously arranging the parts as to make the system practicable by which the whole character of naval armaments was revolutionized. Following the progressive ideas of the age, shell-guns were introduced in the United States navy. These were of 8-inch calibre, and of weights of 63 hundred-weight and 55 hundred-weight. The guns were shaped in accordance with the form adopted by General Paixhan, and were easily distinguishable in the battery from the ordinary shot-gun. From this circumstance they obtained the title of Paixhan-guns, though there was nothing special in the gun itself to merit an appellation. The whole system was Paixhan’s; the gun was only a part of the system. It required many years to bring the shell-gun into such general application as to displace the solid-shot gun. They were assigned tentatively to ships in commission, and in 1853, by a navy regulation, the battery of a frigate was provided with only ten of these guns, which were collected in one division on the gun-deck. The first vessel in the United States navy whose battery was composed exclusively of shell-guns was the sloop-of-war _Portsmouth_, in 1856. This vessel carried a battery of sixteen 8-inch shell-guns of 63 hundred-weight. These were among the first of a new pattern of gun for which the navy is indebted to the skill and study of the late Rear-admiral Dahlgren. The determination of the best form for cannons was a question which had occupied the minds of artillerists for some years. In the older guns the thickness of metal was badly distributed; it was too uniformly extended along the entire length, not arranged in such proportions as to accord with the differing strains along the bore. Colonel Bumford, of the United States Ordnance, had been among the first to consider this subject, and for many years the results of his experiments had guided construction to a great degree. General Paixhan made a further step in advance by reducing very much the thickness of metal along the chase of his guns, but it remained for Rear-admiral Dahlgren to produce the perfection of form in the gun so widely known bearing his name. In this gun the thickness of metal is proportioned to the effort of the gases in the bore, and all projections and angular changes of form are suppressed, giving to all parts a curved and rounded surface. The suppression of angular formations on the exterior of a casting has a remarkable effect on the arrangement of the crystals while cooling. These arrange themselves normal to the cooling waves, which, if entering from directions not radial with the cylindrical casting, produce confusion in their arrangement, establishing planes of weakness where the waves meet, which, in case of overstrain on the piece, assist rupture and determine the course of the fracture. With the introduction of the Dahlgren shell-gun the transition of the artillery of the United States navy may be said to have been completed. The shell-gun of 9-inch and 11-inch calibres followed the 8-inch, and ships were armed with such as were appropriate to their capacity as rapidly as the new guns could be manufactured. When fully equipped, the armament of the United States navy was superior to that of any other navy in the world. The substitution of shells for solid shot marks an important epoch in naval artillery. The probable effect of a shot could be predetermined and provided for; that of a shell was unknown. In order to produce serious injury with a shot, it was necessary to perforate the side of an enemy. This was not indispensable with a shell; with the latter, perforation might be dispensed with, as penetration to such a depth as would give efficacy to the explosion might prove more destructive to the hull than would absolute perforation. With the shot, damage was done to life and material in detail; with the shell, if successfully applied, destruction was threatened to the entire fabric, with all it contained. Naval artillery entered a new phase; the rough appliances of the past would no longer answer all demands. The founder could not alone equip the battery; the laboratory was called into use, and pressed to provide from its devices. The “new arm” depended upon the successful working of the fuse of the shell, without which it was but a hollow substitute for a solid shot, and this detail demanded the utmost care in preparation. It was the perfecting of this device which, more than aught else, delayed the general adoption of the new artillery for so long a time after its advantages had been recognized. [Illustration: U.S.N. 9-INCH DAHLGREN (9-INCH SMOOTH-BORE).] The fuses that were used to explode the ancient bombs were long wooden plugs, bored cylindrically, and filled with powder condensed by tamping it to a hard consistency. The fuse case projected from the bomb, and to avoid being bent by the shock of discharge, was placed carefully in the axis of fire. Before the discharge of the mortar the fuse was lighted by a match. In applying the fuse to shell-guns fired horizontally, the problem was so to arrange it as to ignite it by the flame of discharge, and so to support it in the wall of the shell as to prevent any dislocation of the fuse composition, the cracking of which would permit the penetration of the flame into the mass. This was successfully accomplished, and the United States navy fuse was justly famous, one feature of it being a simple but most effective device called a “water-cap,” which guarded against the injurious introduction of sand or water when the shell was fired _en ricochet_. The introduction of a safety-plug in the bottom of the fuse case, which required the shock of discharge to displace it in order to open a way of communication between the fuse and the bursting charge in the shell, and the absence of all accidents in manipulation, inspired such confidence that the new arm advanced to favor, and both officers and men were proud to be identified with it. Previous to the introduction of shells there had been in use incendiary projectiles, not explosive, but intended to set fire to an enemy’s vessel. Hot shot were applied to this purpose, but the use of these was chiefly confined to shore batteries, where a suitable heating furnace could be conveniently provided. The projectile for this purpose chiefly used from ships was the carcass, which was a shot in which several radial cylindrical holes were formed which were filled with powder tamped to a hard consistency; these columns of composition were ignited by the flame of discharge, and continued to burn until consumed. The flame issuing from these holes served to ignite consumable material in their vicinity. The chief danger from a carcass was from lodgment in the side of a ship; if it landed on deck it could be removed and thrown overboard, as there was no danger from explosion; the addition of the bursting charge in the cavity of a shell produced a projectile which was far in advance both for generating a flame and for preventing interference with its mission. The probable destructive effect of shells exploding in the sides or on the open decks of ships was thoroughly recognized, and experiments at targets sufficiently proved it; but circumstances on a proving-ground and in action are so dissimilar that the experience of a naval engagement was looked forward to with much interest, in order to satisfy as to the effect of the new projectile in all the varying conditions of a sea-fight. Referring to the history of the past thirty years, which marks the period of the general introduction of shell-guns, it is remarkable how few engagements between ships have taken place; but on every occasion of the use of shells, when unarmored vessels were engaged, the effect has been most decided and complete. Three instances only can be referred to of purely sea-fights, _viz._, the engagement between the Russian and Turkish fleets at Sinope in 1853, during the Crimean war, the engagement between the United States steamer _Hatteras_ and the Confederate cruiser _Alabama_ during the war of the rebellion, and the fight between the _Kearsarge_ and the _Alabama_ during the same war. In the affair at Sinope the Russian ships used shells; the Turkish had only solid shot. The result was the total destruction of the Turkish force. Not one ship escaped; all were burned or sunk. The fight between the _Alabama_ and the _Hatteras_ resulted in the sinking of the _Hatteras_; and the contest between the _Alabama_ and the _Kearsarge_ ended the career of the _Alabama_. And it may be noticed that but for the failure to explode of a shell that was embedded in the stern-post of the _Kearsarge_, that vessel might have accompanied her antagonist to the bottom of the sea. The gallant attempt of Rear-admiral Lyons with the British wooden fleet before the forts of Sebastopol is an instance which proved the uselessness of subjecting unarmored vessels to the steady fire of fortified positions using shells from their batteries. One other instance of a sea-fight can be cited in the engagement in 1879 between two Chilian armored vessels and the lightly armored Peruvian turreted vessel _Huascar_. The _Huascar_ was terribly over-matched during this fight, but at its conclusion her boilers and engines were intact, and indentations on her sides showed that her light armor had deflected a number of projectiles; but the effect of the shells that had burst on board of her was apparent in the great destruction of life. The very decisive engagement which took place at Lissa in 1866, between the Austrian and Italian fleets, should not be omitted in alluding to sea-fights of a late period; but this action can hardly be quoted as one in which the element of shell-fire can be recognized as the exclusive cause of destruction, for the remarkable impetuosity and dash of the attack and the desperate use of the ram produced a crisis which obviated the necessity for continuous bombardment with cannon. The necessity of providing a defence against shells was recognized both by England and France during the Crimean war, and a protection of armor was supplied to some floating batteries built at that time which were intended to operate before fortified positions; and at the conclusion of the war the English built the _Warrior_ and the French built _La Gloire_. These were the first specimens of iron-clad ships of war. They were capable of resisting successfully the entrance of shells from guns of the period. It is thus seen that almost coincident with the general adoption of horizontal shell-firing, naval construction entered a new phase, and a new problem was submitted to the naval artillerist. Against an iron-faced target the solid shot might be partially effective, but the impact of the spherical shell was harmless, and the explosive effect of the bursting charge enclosed in it would be superficial. This was amply demonstrated in actual practice during our war experience, notably at Mobile Bar, in the engagement with the Confederate iron-clad _Tennessee_, the roughly constructed armor of which vessel resisted a storm of our heaviest shells. [Illustration: HORIZONTAL SECTION OF MILLWALL SHIELD.] The impotency of the spherical shell against armor being recognized by foreign governments, they proceeded to develop the rifled cannon, which with its elongated projectile offered the means of effecting the object of the time—to perforate armor with an explosive projectile. Our authorities, however, persevered in their faith in the smooth-bore, and held that the _racking_ effect of a spherical projectile of sufficiently large calibre was superior to that produced by the perforation of a rifle projectile of inferior diameter. The 15-inch and 20-inch smooth-bore cannons were cast in accordance with this idea, and the racking side of the question was so obstinately held that the British government imported in 1867 from the United States a 15-inch gun for the purpose of determining by their own experiments what foundation there was for the advantages that were claimed for it. The gun was bought of Charles Alger & Co., of Boston; it weighed nineteen tons, and threw a cast-iron spherical solid shot of about four hundred and fifty pounds. It was mounted at Shoeburyness, and was fired in competition with English rifled cannons of 9-inch and 10-inch calibres. The result of the experiments went to show that against a target with a power of resistance inferior to the energy of the projectile the effect of the large sphere at short range is more disastrous than that of the elongated rifle projectile of the same weight; but that against a target able to resist the total energy of both the injury done by the rifle projectile is by far the greater. The comparative effect is well shown on a target called the “Millwall Shield,” consisting of a plate nine inches in thickness, backed by Hughes’s hollow stringers—an arrangement of target which to the time of the experiment had proved invincible. The 15-inch smooth-bore spherical shot rebounded from the target six feet, leaving a 3-inch indentation on the plate, while the 9-inch rifle projectile, weighing two hundred and fifty pounds, made complete penetration of the plate, passing two or three inches into the backing, and the 10-inch rifle projectile, weighing four hundred pounds, penetrated to the rear of the backing itself. It should be mentioned in this connection that the United States government adopted during the war of the rebellion a rifled cannon proposed by Captain Parrott of the West Point Foundery, New York, of which many were introduced into both the navy and army, and did good service as long as the charges of powder were limited in weight; but when these guns were called upon for work requiring great endurance, they proved untrustworthy and dangerous to those who served them. At the naval bombardment of Fort Fisher several of them burst, causing loss of life on board the vessels of which they formed the armament. They were constructed of cast-iron, having a coiled hoop of wrought-iron shrunk around the breech. They have ceased to form a part of our naval armament. During the years of inaction in the United States that have intervened since these experiments, the smooth-bore partisans have had time to reflect and to learn lessons of practical usefulness from observing what has been transpiring abroad. Opportunities have been afforded to note the progress made in armor and artillery, and though the smooth-bore shell is still operative against unarmored vessels, the advantages of the rifled gun under all the circumstances of navy experiences have been admitted, and in the transition through which our naval artillery is now passing we are not embarrassed by the presentation of views antagonistic to the principles on which it has been determined our new artillery is to be constructed. The system at the basis of our present acts is founded on a comprehensive view of the whole subject, and is intended to provide our ships with a surplus of offensive power over what their capacity for defence might seem to call for. Our navy will possess a certain number of armored vessels for coast defence, and armored sea-cruisers are certain to be included in the list, but the more numerous class will be unarmored, and the first problem to be solved is that of providing for these a suitable armament. [Illustration: A KRUPP GUN ON A NAVAL CARRIAGE.] The work to be done by an unarmored cruiser must be done from a distance when risking an engagement with an armored enemy. The superiority of armament must compensate for deficiency in defensive power which precludes close quarters. To make these ships effective they must be armed with guns capable of doing an extraordinary amount of work, and yet the size of the vessels will not admit of their carrying guns of immense weight. In order to get this amount of work out of a comparatively light gun, we must secure great initial velocity for the projectile. This can only be done by burning a large charge of powder, which involves a long bore in which to burn it, while care is necessary to secure a large margin of strength in the material of which the gun is constructed. These essential demands required a radical change in the form and material of our present armament; they also forced a change in the method of construction. [Illustration: ALFRED KRUPP.] The superior fitness for cannons of steel over cast-iron was recognized many years ago, but the difficulty of casting steel in large masses prevented the introduction of steel guns, and the generally acceptable treatment of cast-iron made it answer satisfactorily the demands for gun-metal not subjected to unusual strains. Mr. Frederick Krupp, of Essen, in Germany, was the first steel manufacturer who succeeded in casting steel in large masses, and he produced a number of steel guns cast from crucibles in solid ingots, which were bored, turned, and fashioned as in the case of cast-iron smooth-bore guns. These guns held a position in advance of other manufactures on the score of strength of material. But the