I LIBRARY Of CONGRES; 4 UNITED STATES OF- AMERICA. :«5«3fi3«6^Me«5eS3Sas«5^ REPORT OF CHIEF ENGINEER J. W. KING, UNITED STATES NAVY, ON EUROPEAN SHIPS OF WAR AND THEIR ARMAMENT, NAVAL ADMINISTRATION AND ECONOMY, MARINE CONSTRUCTIONS, TORPEDO-WARFARE, DOCK-YARDS, ETC., ETC. it b SECOND EDITION, REVISED," ENLARGED, AND ILLUSTRATED. WASHINGTON: GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFIO 1878. ft In the Senate of the United States, February 18, 1878. Resolved oy the Senate (the House of Representatives concurriny therein,) That there be printed 1,000 copies of the second edition of the report of Chief Engineer King on European ships of war, for the use of the Navy Department. (Si LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL. Navy Department, Washington, January 27, 1877. Sir : In compliance with a resolution of the Senate* passed on the 26th instant, I have the honor to transmit herewith the report of Chief Engineer J. W. King, of the United States Navy, on European ships of war, &c. Yery respectfully, GEO. M. EOBESOX, Secretary of the Navy, Hon. Thomas W. Ferry, President pro tempore of the United States Senate. CONTENTS. PART I. Page. Letters 15 Preface to the second edition 17 Introduction 19 The British navy 21 Admiralty designs for ships of war 23 PART II. The Inflexible. — Mastless, armored, sea-going ships. Hull and appendages. Defense. Turrets. Armament. Trials of the 81-ton gun. The new 80-ton gun. Motive machinery. Boilers. Rig. Weights. Cost. Conclusions. Stability of the Inflexible 25 PART III. The Devastation. — Design. Alterations. Dimensions and weights. Consumption of coal. Motive machinery. Official trials of machinery, guns, and sea-going qualities 51 PART IV. The Thunderer. — Design. Machinery. Thorough seaworthiness. Armament. Hydraulic machinery for working guns 63 The Dreadnought. — Design. Details of turret. Hull. Armament. Motive and other machinery. Trials of the 38-ton gun. The Armstrong 39-ten breech- loading gun 70 PART V. Broadside armored ships 77 The Audacious class. — Audacious, Iron Duke, Invincible, Triumph, and Swiftsure .. 81 The Alexandra. — Design. Description of hull. Motive machinery. Boilers. Observations 83 PART VI. The Teme'raire. — Design. Dimensions. Armament. Motive machinery. Boilers. Engines, exclusive of motive machinery. Official trials of the motive machin- ery. Comparison of the engines of the Dreadnought, Alexandra, and Temeraire. Electric light. System of working the barbette-guns 89 The Shannon. — Peculiarities of design. Armor-belt. Construction of hull. Arma- ment. Motive machinery. Dimensions and weights. Boilers. Belted cruis- ers 99 PART VII. The yelson and Xorthamjfton. — Design. Description of hull. Armament. Ram. Zinc sheathing. Rig. Remarks. Motive machinery. Boilers 103 The Warrior. — Old, but still efficient. Repairs. Late performances. A torpedo- ram 109 The JVafencitch. — Peculiar features. Hydraulic propulsion an old idea. Poor performance. Waste of power. Coast-defense vessels 110 The Glutton. — General description and dimensions. A remarkable experiment, to test the ability of a turret to revolve after being struck by heavy projectiles. Description of th(i Chilton's turret and armor. The Hotspur. Cannonade of the Glatton'j turret by the Hotspur. Results. Observations 113 b CONTENTS. PART VIII. Page. Cost of British armored ships. — Addition of percentage for maintenance of plant, for materials, &c, in dock-yards. Cost of repairs 117 Table of dimensions of vessels, armament, machinery, cost, &c, of the armored ships of Great Britain 124 PAET IX. Unarmored ships of Great Britain. — The Inconstant, Shah, Raleigh, Boadicea, Bacchante, Rover, and Euryalus. Positions of cranks in compound engines. Smaller vessels. Opal class. Sloops. Gun-vessels. Arrangement for feather- ing screw-propeller blades. Gunboats. Composite system 129 PART X. Cruisers of the rapid type, the Iris and Mercury. — Built of steel, and designed for exceptionally high speed. Dimensions of the Iris. Trial of machinery and speed. Hull. Motive machinery. Boilers. Roomy quarters for officers and men. Tests of materials. Preparation against the privateers of the United States 151 Steel corvettes. — Design. Names. Dimensions of hull and engines. Increasing popularity of steel as a ship-building material 159 Material for ships of war. — Some advantages of iron over wood as a material for hulls. Table of cost of repairs for a few United States vessels of wood in five years under a single bureau. An amount sufficient to add one effective cruis- ing-vessel to the Navy every year 160 Ships of the mercantile marine suitable for war purposes.— Number of British sailing and steam vessels of and above fifty tons displacement. Objections to fitting merchant-vessels as fighting-ships. Statements and opinions of the admiralty constructor. England and the declaration of Paris 163 PART XI. The Perkins high-pressure compound system. — Description of the engines origi- nally intended for the Pelican. Condenser. Boilers to be tested to 2,500 pounds per square inch. Pressure of steam to be carried. Distilled sea-water not to be used. Other vessels on Perkins's system 167 System of contracting for steam-machinery for the British navy. — Policy of fos- tering engineering works. These establishments build, the dock-yards only repair, naval machinery. Drawing up specifications and. awarding contracts. Designs accepted are not invariably in accordance with specifications 172 Trials at the measured mile. — Subsequent examination by shipwright and en- gineers. Regulations for trial at the measured mile. Semi-annual trial at full power. Objections to the system and deceptiveness of the speed, as subse- quently claimed. Testimony before court-martial in relation to real speed of Iron Duke and Vanguard 173 Personnel of the British navy. — Number of commissioned officers of each rank. Number of enlisted men and boys in each branch of the service. Marine corps. Total number of officers and men 178 Cost of maintaining the navy. — Pay of officers and men. Provisions and cloth- ing for men. The several departments. Dock-yards. Steam-machinery and ships building by contract. Other expenses. Total 179 PART XII. British naval dock yards. — Portsmouth. Chatham. Devonport and Keyham. Sheerness. Pembroke 181 Administration of dock-yards. — The superintendent. Master atteudant. Chief constructor. Chief engineer. Storekeeper. Accountant. Cashier. Civil en- gineer. Workmen and boys. Political. Pay. Police. Pensions. Remarks.. 1S9 PART XIII. The French navy. — Composed chiefly of broadside-vessels. Uniformity of clas- sification carried to an extreme. Description of the Redoutable. Other ar- mored vessels. Reconstruction of the unarmored fleet. Tests of iron and steel for the French navy 193 Table of dimensions, &c, of the armored ships of France *.01 CONTENTS. 7 Page. The Duquesne and Tourville, cruisers of the rapid type.— Dimensions. Weights. Armament. Motive machinery 203 The Duguay-Trouin and Pigault de Genouilly and class 204 Table of vessels building and proposed for the French navy in 1877 205 Dock-yards of France. Division of France into arrondissements maritimes. Di- vision of work in the dock-yards under seven heads. Dock-yards of Cher- bourg, Brest, L'Orient, Rochefort, and Toulon 206 Personnel of the French navy. — Sources from which line-officers are recruited. Grades and relative rank. System of retiring officers. Promotion. Number of officers of each rank and corps. Total number. Expenditures for 1877. En- listed men 210 PART XIV. The German navy. — Of late origin. Plan adopted by the German naval author- ities. Vessels and the character of their service. Encouragement to German engine-building establishments 215 The Deutschland.— Dimensions. Hull. Armament. Armor. Machinery and boil- ers 218 The Preussen. — Dimensions. Hull. Armor. Turrets. Armament. Rig. Weights. Materials of exceptional strength and quality 220 The Sachsen. — Dimensions. Design. Casemate. Iron-clad deck below the wa- ter-line. Cork girdle. Hull. Armament. Machinery and boilers. The Sachsen a complete fighting apparatus 223 Other German vessels, armored and unarmored 224 Dock-vards. — Two principal ones at Kiel and Wilhelmshafen. Ellerbeck. Dant- zic 1 225 Table of dimensions, &c, of the armored ships of Germany 226 Table of dimensions, &c, of the unarmored ships of Germany 227 Krupp's establishment and guns. — Most extensive and important establishment of the kind in the world. Number of furnaces, engines, and machine-tools. Number of workmen employed about 15,000. The great Krupp steel breech- loading gun. Made wholly of crucible steel. Comparison with Armstrong's 100-ton gun and the Woolwich 81-ton gun. Mr. Fraser's improvement on Arm- strong's original plan of manufacture. Materials in the Woolwich gun. Cost of steel guns. Chambering guns. The monster guns for the Italia and Le- panto 227 PART XV. The Italian navy. — Classification of the Italian vessels. The armored and un- armored fleets 233 The Duilio and Da ndolo.— Design. Dimensions, weights, &c, of the hull, motive machinery, and armament. Hull. Position of turrets. Armor. Armament. 236 The 100-ton gun. Construction of gun. Weight of projectile. Trials of the gun. The targets. Revolution in guns, ships, and armor. Ram. Motive ma- chinery. The Duilio a most formidable ship. The Dandolo differs from the Duilio only in motive machinery. Engines and boilers 239 The Italia. — The largest and most powerful ship of war in the world. Dimen- sions. Hull. Armored redoubt. Guns en barbette. Motive machinery. Es- timated speed 244 The Cristoforo Colombo. — A wooden corvette. Hull. Dimensions. Internal ar- rangements. Armament. Motive machinery. Estimated speed 17 knots. Hull too weak to sustain the full power of the engines. Policy of the Italian na- val authorities 245 Dock-yards of Venice, Castellamare, and Spezia 247 Table of dimensions, &c, of the armored ships of Italy 24S PART XVI. The Russian navy. — Divided into two portions. Number of vessels in each, also of their officers and crews. Description of the Peter the Great. Effect produced on the hull and machinery by firing the heavy guns during the prevalence of low atmospheric temperatures. The Knaz Minin. General description of the remaining armored vessels. Unarmored cruisers. Names and classes 249 Circular armored ships. — The Novgorod and Vice-Admiral Popoff. Description by Mr. E. J. Reed. Dimensions. Advantages of the system. Objectionable features. Hydraulic gun-carriages for the Popoff k as 253 8 CONTENTS. Page. Personnel of the Russian navy. No marines employed. Comparatively little accomplished by the Russian navy during the present war 257 Dock-yards. — Two in the city of St. Petersburg. Principal engineering estab- lishment at Kolpino. Government steel-works at Alexandrovsky 258 Table of dimensions, &c, of the armored ships of Russia 259 PART XVII. The Turkish navy. — Ships mostly of English construction. Number and class of the uuarmored vessels. Three vessels detained in England under existing international law. Dimensions of the Memdoohiyeh and Mesoodiyeh. Machinery and boilers of the Memdoohiyeh. Speed , 261 The Burdj Sheref and Peyk Sheref. — Dimensions. Armor. Armament. Motive machinery and boilers. Speed- trials of the Peyk Sheref 264 Table of dimensions, &c, of the armored ships of Turkey 265 Personnel of the Turkish navy. — Importance of the personnel in estimating the strength of a navy. That of the Turkish fleet inefficient. Very little accom- plished by their fleet during the present war - 266 The flotilla on the Danube. — Destruction of Turkish vessels by the Russians .. . 266 The Austrian Navy. — Mistake of building wooden armored ships. General description of the armored ships of Austria 269 The Tegethoff. — Dimensions of hull and machinery, weights, cost, armament, &c. Detailed description of peculiar features of construction and armor 270 Personnel of the Austrian navy 272 Dock-yards. — Naval resources concentrated at Pola on the Adriatic 272 Table of dimensions, &c, of the armored ships of Austria 273 PART XVIII. The Dutch navy. — The armored vessels of old types. Dimensions and general description of the armored vessels. The naval authorities keeping up with the times in the construction of unarmored ships. Dock-yards. Personnel.. . 275 Tables of dimensions, &c, of the armored ships of Holland .* 279 Number and armament of the unarmored ships of Holland 280 The Spanish navy. — Number and class of vessels on the list. Vessels of the cruising-fieet are of obsolete types. The Numancia and Vittoria. Armor and armament of the Numancia. Machinery. Cost. Armor and armament of the Vittoria. The Puigcerda. Personnel of the Spanish navy not in very good condition 281 Table of dimensions, &c, of the armored ships of Spain 282 The Danish navy. — The naval authorities have avoided the mistake of building wooden armored ships. The Danish fleet contains seven armored vessels. Dimensions of the Helgoland. The unarmored fleet 283 Table of dimensions, &c, of the armored ships of Denmark 283 The Swedish navy. — Divided into navy proper and coast-artillery. Tonnage and armament of the vessels of the fleet. Number of vessels in the coasc- artillery. Dock-yards. Limited number of vessels on foreign service. Per- sonnel 264 The Norwegian navy. — Number of vessels in the fleet. Dimensions and descrip- tions of the most important vessels 285 The Portuguese navy. — Number of vessels in the fleet. The armored ship Vasco da Gama. Personnel 286 The Brazilian armored ship Independencia. — Designed by Mr. Reed in accordance with conditions given by a commission of Brazilian officers. Best described by calling her a rigged Devastation. Dimensions. Armor. Breastwork. Deck arrangements. Armament. Manner of clearing away the rigging for action. Machinery. Sea-going qualities. Estimated speed 287 The Japanese armored ship Foo-Soo. — First armored ship built in England for Japan. General description. Dimensions. New system of framing in hull. Armor. Armament. Motive machinery 290 The Japanese corvettes Eon- Go and Hi-Yei — Built in England. Dimensions. Armor-belt. Armament. Motive machinery 291 Iirmime of armored ships.— Total estimated tonnage and cost. Number of ves- sels belonging to various nations. Not tested yet except at Lissa, and that battle not decisive for or against armored ships. The more recent engagement of the Shah and Huascar. Events and causes that led to that encounter. De- scription and dimensions of the Shah, Amethyst, and Huascar. Account of the action. The British commander's reasons for engaging 292 CONTENTS. 9 PART XIX. Page. Torpedc-warfare. — Observations. Two general classes of torpedoes. Explosives used in torpedoes in Europe. Compressed gun-cotton. Dynamite 297 Torpedoes for offensive operations. — Three principal varieties. The Whitehead torpedo. Construction. Delicacy of material and workmanship in the motive engines. External mechanism. Speed. Eecoil after contact. Failure of the weapon in the only known instance of its use in action. Experiments with the Whitehead torpedo on board the Temeraire. Governments possessing the right to use it. Cost. Experiments for its improvement and development. The Harvey torpedo. Design. Construction. Manner of using. Skill neces- sary for its successful manipulation 300 Torpedo-boats.— Messrs. Thornycroft & Co.'s Miranda the prototype of the fast torpedo-launch. The Norwegian torpedo-launch. Norwegian experiments with torpedoes and expenditures upon them. Boats of the same size for Sweden and Denmark. Mode of using torpedoes on the Danish boat. Aus- trian torpedo-launch. Description of the torpedo used. Manner of firing torpedo. Arrangements for working the torpedo poles. French torpedo- launches. Quantity of explosive used in the torpedoes. Mode of working the torpedo-pole used by the French. Good sea-boats. Experiments by the French on the Bayonnaise with one of these boats. Six larger vessels for the French coast. British torpedo-boat Lightning. Boats built for the Italian and Dutch governments. Torpedo-boats built by Yarrow & Co. One for Holland. De- scription of a typical boat bailt by this firm. Mechanism of attack 304 Sea-going torpedo-vessels. Vessels fitted especially for ejecting the Whitehead fish-torpedo. The Vesuvius and other vessels fitted for this purpose. The Ziethen. The Uhlan. Russian torpedo-boat Uzreef. The Italian vessel Pietro Micca. The Swedish torpedo-vessel Ran 310 The Oleron experiments. — Description of vessel. Damage sustained. The tor- pedo more destructive than a projectile from the heaviest gun. Small vessels a necessity. Experiments needed in stopping leaks. Effect of the explosion on the torpedo-launches themselves 314 Defense against torpedoes. — A subject of patient and exhaustive study by the English. Character of defense against moored torpedoes. Hobart Pasha's protection against locomobile torpedoes. His and similar contrivances cum- bersome. Successful and original defense by a Turkish monitor against four Russian torpedo-boats. Illumination the most valuable means of discovery. Experiments with the electric light on board the Comet. Illuminating pro- jectiles 317 PART XX. Sea-valves and cocks. — Should be always accessible and visible. Serious acci- dents have occurred when otherwise placed. The Knight Templar, Europe, Greece, Amerique, Ormesby, and other examples. Water-tight bulkheads should extend above the water-line 319 Steering-gear. — Essentials. Reasons for using steam or other power. The ordi- nary arrangement. McFarlane Gray's gear. Unimportant objection to steam- gear. Hydraulic gear. Description of Brown's gear. Unimportant objection to hydraulic system. Other uses for the gear than steering. Brotherhood's system 322 PART XXI. Compound engines. — Extracts from former report on this subject. In Europe simple engines are almost obsolete. Rapidity in substituting the compound for the simple engines. Lloyd's inspectors state the saving iu fuel to be from 30 to 40 per centum 325 Naval compound engines. — Begun in England in 1871. Report to Parliament. Number of vessels ordered on this recommendation. Introduced soon after into France, Italy, and Germany. Certain objections to the system untenable. Comparative merits of the simple and compound engine. — Experiments on the Swinger and Goshawk. The Mallard and Moorhen. Experiments of the Allan Line on the Polynesia and Circassian 330 Statistics of the performance of engines.— Number of screw-steamers fitted witli compound engines. General form of compound engine. Tables of dimensions of screw-ships and their relative performance at sea. The White Star Line. Performance of the Britannic. Comparison with the Great Wes'e n steamship. 332 10 CONTENTS. PART XXII. Page. Corrosion of marine boilers. — Generally called galvanic action. Doubtless caused by the action of redistilled sea-water. The use of pure rain-water seems to be a preventive. Experience of Messrs. Perkins and Milan. Admiralty circular. Precautions in the merchant service 341 Preservation of boilers in Her Biitannic Majesty's vessels. Two systems, the wet and dry 345 Water-tube boilers. — Difficult to carry high steam and yet make the boilers tight and safe. Extracts from paper of Mr. Flaunery. Boilers of the Montana, Pro- pontis, Birkenhead, Malta, Gertrude, #c 346 Boiler explosions. — Report of the chief engineer surveyor to Lloyd's on the ex- plosion of the Thunderer's boiler 354 Boilers of the mercantile marine. — Either cylindrical or elliptical. Composition tubes used instead of iron ones. Spring safety-valves used instead of those with levers. Adams's spring safety-valve. Extracts from Lloyd's Rules and Formube for boilers 357 Tests required by Lloyd's for steel plates for marine boilers. Extracts from the rules by which the surveyors of the Board of Trade are guided in their inspec- tion of boilers 357 PART XXIII. Conclusions. — Distinguishing features of modern line-of-battle ships, coast-de- fense vessels, cruising-vessels, dispatch-vessels, and torpedo-boats. Compound engines. Very heavy guns and those not of cast iron. Our Navy is not com- mensurate with the dignity of the country. European naval powers have out- stripped us in developing American ideas and improvements in fast-sailing vessels, screw propulsion, shell-fire, heavy guns, and torpedoes. The Mianto- - nomoh and Wampanoag originated mastless sea-going armored ships and the rapid type of cruisers. In war the mercantile marine can furnish numerous large and fast vessels for light guns and torpedoes. We should take advan- tage of the very expensive and exhaustive experiments made by foreign pow- ers, in reconstructing our Navy. The types of cruising-vessels most desirable to possess. Commerce and trade look to Congress for the encouragement afforded by naval protection 363 PART XXIV. APPENDIX. The Royal Naval College at Greenwich. — Regulations for admission of engineer students. Observations 369 Rank, pay, &c, of royal naval engineers „.. 376 Naval models at Greenwich 377 Scientific apparatus at the South Kensington Museum. — Watt's models. Froude's method of ascertaining the resistance of ships. Whitworth's measuring instru- ments. Joule's apparatus for discovering the mechanical equivalent of heat. Howe's link-motion. Brunei's block-making machinery, &c 379 Conservatoire des Arts et Metiers 385 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 1. The Inflexible, broadside view, and plan of upper deck ; plan of lower deck. 2. The Inflexible, section abaft the citadel. 3. The Inflexible, section through citadel. 4. The 81-ton gun, system of operating the gun. 5. The 80-ton gun target No. 41. 6. The Inflexible, curves of stability. 7. Her Britannic Majesty's ships Ajax and Agamemnon, plan of upper deck. 8. The Ajax and Agamemnon, section forward of citadel aud section through citadel. 9. Her Britannic Majesty's ship Thunderer, longitudinal view, midship section and plan of hull. 10. The Thunderer, hydraulic gear for working the guns. 11. Her Britannic Majesty's ship Dreadnought, longitudinal view and plan of hull. 12. The 38-ton gun target No. 40. 13. The Alexandra, longitudinal view and plan of hull. 14. The T4m6raire, longitudinal view and plan of hull. 15. The Shannon, longitudinal view and plan of hull. CONTENTS. 11 16. Her Britannic Majesty's ships Kelson and Northampton, longitudinal view and plan of hull. 17. Sections of the Glatton's turret. 18. Compound engines of Her Britannic Majesty's ship Bover. 19. Arrangement of cranks in compound engines of the Boadicea and Bacchante. 20. Her Britannic Majesty's ship Garnet, longitudinal view and upper-deck plan. 21. Sections of the Cleopatra class, and sections of the Garnet class. 22. The Perkins engine and condenser-tubes. 23. The Buquesne, longitudinal view and plan of hull. 24. Krupp's breech-loading 40-centimeter (15.748-inch) gun, with dimensions. 25. The Duilio and Dandolo, longitudinal view and plan of hull. 26. The 100-ton Armstrong gun. 27. The 100-ton-gun targets, Plate I. 28. The 100-ton-gun targets, Plate II. 29. The 100-ton-gun targets, Plate III. 30. Russian circular armored vessel Novgorod, plan of decks, side and stern views. 31. Russian circular armored vessel Vice-Admiral Bopoff, plan of decks, water-tight di- visions, side and stern views, and section. 32. The Turkish armored ship Memdoohiyeh, longitudinal view, plan of gun-deck and midship section. 33. The Tegeihoff, longitudinal view and plan of hull. 34. Sections of sides of armor-clads Kaiser and Deutschland. 35. The Brazilian armored ship Independencia. 36. The Japanese armored ship Foo-Soo, plan of decks and midship section. 37. Arrangement of torpedo-wires for Thornycroft torpedo-launches. 38. Torpedo-launches for Dutch, Italian, and British Governments. 39. Torpedo-boats by Yarrow & Co., longitudinal views, plan of deck, and section. 40. Boilers of steamship Montana. 41. Watt's boilers in the steamship Gertrude, and details. zf-A-ir/T i LETTERS; PREFACE TO SECOND EDITION; INTRODUCTION; THE BRITISH NAVY; ADMIRALTY DESIGNS FOR HER BRITANNIC MAJESTY'S SHIPS OF WAR. 13 LETTEKS. FIRST LETTER. Washington, D. C, January 16, 1877. Sir: In obedience to your order, dated July 29, 1875, received at Bethlehem, N. JEL, August 6, directing me to proceed to Europe for the purpose of personally observing and reporting upon recent construc- tions and mechanical appliances for ships of war, with the view of utilizing the information to the advantage of the naval service, the accompanying is respectfully submitted. I sailed from New York August 14, 1875, and returned to the United States July 30, 1876. While in Europe I was steadily employed, and no time was unneces- sarily lost in the discharge of the duties assigned, as may be seen from the information collected and contained in the report. All the navies of Europe have been recently undergoing reconstruc- tion, and there has never been a time, during peace, when such large ex- penditures for naval purposes were made as at present, and such radical changes effected in the construction of ships of war, in steam-machinery, in machinery for working guns, and for various other purposes on board ship, and in offensive torpedo-warfare. It is, therefore, expedient for the department to be correctly informed of the extent and character of improvements in European naval warfare and economy in order that it may take advantage of the results. I am indebted for kind attentions to the dock-yard naval officers and proprietors of iron-ship yards and engine-factories visited in Great Britain and on the continent of Europe. I have the honor to be, sir, respectfully, your obedient servant, J. W. KING, Chief Engineer, United States Navy, Late Chief of Bureau of Steam- Engineering. Hon. Geo. M. Bobeson, Secretary of the Navy. SECOND LETTER. Washington, D. C., March 6, 1878. Sir : I have the honor to transmit herewith the second edition of my Keport on European Ships of War, &c. The labor of preparing this work has been no easy task, it having employed my time wholly since the end of May last, except that portion which has been devoted to other official duties. Respectfully, your obedient servant, J. W. KING, Chief Engineer, United States Navy. Hon. B. W. Thompson, Secretary of the Navy. 15 PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION. The flattering reception of the first edition of the Report on European Ships of War , <£c, evidenced by the fact that the 2,900 copies printed by order of the United States Senate were exhausted in a few months, and that the Xavy Department has not recently been able to supply the book to officers and others requesting copies, has encouraged the writer to prepare the second edition, containing more matter and better illustrations. This edition includes" the revision of a considerable portion of the matter contained in the first, also the additions of the ships, dock-yards, and personnel of the navies of Turkey, Holland, Spain, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, and Portugal. Besides, there is additional matter relating to the British ships Inflexible, Ajax, and Agamemnon, Temeraire, Alexandra, and Dreadnought ; cruisers of the rapid type, such as the. Iris, of which a detailed description is given, as her construction, fit- tings, speed, &c, are interesting and worthy of note; composite vessels; the personnel of the British navy, and the cost of maintaining that branch of the British service; additional particulars of the French navy, its personnel and dock-yards ; new ships of the German navy, both armored and unarmored ; the establishment of Herr Krupp, and his great breech-loading gun, with observations on the manufacture of heavy guns; the new Italian ships with their ponderous armor and armaments ; the new Brazilian sea-going armor-clad Independencia ; and the recently-constructed ships for the Japanese Government; tor- pedo-warfare, and tbe latest improvements in the same; torpedo-boats, with descriptions of the weapons used, the manner of using them, and defense against such craft; and additional facts relating to compound engines, and inspection of boilers. The merit of originality cannot be claimed for the contents of this work ; they are in the main the result of persoDal observation during European travel in 1875-'7C, also during two other tours of Europe, one in 1871 and the other in 1873, amounting in all to nearly two years of employment abroad on official duties. A considerable portion of the facts and figures have been obtained by much study of blue-books, parliamentary returns, the reports of committees and commissions, and by correspondence with naval architects, engineers, officers of navies, and other scientific men. I have also availed myself freely of the valu- able and trustworthy information furnished by Engineering and The Engineer, published in London, well and deservedly known as the lead- ing European journals devoted to engineering science and the mechanic arts. I am also indebted for information to the naval columns of the London Times and the Naval and Military Gazette, and for several. items to the excellent periodical E Annie Maritime. While such a compilation of facts as are here collected cannot be 2k 17 18 EUROPEAN SHIPS OF WAR, ETC esteemed a brilliant achievement, it may prove useful to many persons desiring to be informed of the navies of Europe and matters pertaining to them. Postscript. — After this report was fully prepared, a copy of an English edition of the former one was received, claiming to be a reprint of that one, u revised and corrected by an Euglish naval architect." The revision consists almost solely of the substitution of pounds and shillings for dollars and cents, and the change in form of some words, the spelling of which the preface says is peculiarly American. The corrections (for which I am grateful) have reference almost entirely to the productions of Mr. E. J. Eeed, 0. B., M. P. I believe that every important correction, as well as every stricture, has been noted in its proper place in the present edition, and has been acknowledged, except- ing Avhere it had already been made; and my main endeavor has been to make these remarks as brief as possible, because the criticisms them- selves form, in some cases, inconveniently long foot-notes, As my re- viewer has preferred to conceal his well-known name, I have alluded to him under his title of "An English JSaval Architect." J. W. K. INTRODUCTION. For the study of naval construction and marine engineering, the most important field of observation is Great Britain. England is in the fore- front as the leader and model to all European naval powers. In no other country can there be found so many scientific constructors and engineers. The Institution of Naval Architects reckons among its mem- bers many of the greatest masters of their art in the world, and the institutions of civil engineers, of mechanical engineers, and other scien- tific bodies, contain on their lists the names of men possessing the high- est engineering talent in Europe. In addition to their magnificently- equipped public dock-yards, the patronage of the British Government has sufficed to keep in existence and to increase the supplemental resources which relieve and aid the national establishments in time of peace, and which, in time of war, would be to them of priceless value. It is owing to this patronage, and to foreign orders for ships of war, in no small measure, that on the Thames, the Mersey, the Clyde, and the Tyne are found unrivaled establishments fully equipped, with expanded and developed resources, requisite for modern war-ship construction. Besides the numerous ships designed and built yearly for the British flag, English ship-yards have produced, and are still producing, war-ships for other nations. Nearly every considerable naval power, except the United States and France, has employed English designers, English ship-builders, engineers, and gun-manufacturers. It was here that the Konig Wilhelm, Kaiser, Deutscliland, and other ships for the German navy were built. Turkey obtained from the Clyde and the Thames a large proportion of her armored fleet, including all the most powerful vessels. Bussia, Spain, Holland, Italy, Denmark, Greece, Portugal, Brazil, Chili, Peru, and Japan all come to England to have armored ships of war constructed. The Sheffield works not only supply armor- plates for these ships, but also plates and materials for war-vessels built in continental countries. The Elswick works and Whitworth manu- facture guns solely for foreign orders. The armaments of many foreign ships, including the monster guns for the Italian service and the ma- chinery for working them, also the formidable pieces for the last-built Brazilian ships, were made at these works. Besides this, all the nations above named aie customers of the English ship-yards and engineering works, to supply vessels, machinery, and appliances for their mercantile marine. In London may be found naval attaches of nearly every important nation, watching and studying with ceaseless vigilance the principles and science of naval architecture and engineering, especially the newer and later inventions, the experiments in artillery practice, and the progress made every year in the science of warfare, offensive and defensive. Iu consequence of these facts, and for the additional reason that com- paratively little of value, strictly novel, originating with continental naval architects or engineers was found on the contiuent of Europe, the larger portion of my time abroad was employed in Great Britain. 19 THE BRITISH NAVY. In contemplating the power of England, the navy is always regarded as her bulwark. On her navy England depends for security at home and respect abroad. Everything concerning it excites eager interest, and it never fails to receive support, whatever party may be in power. No censure is ever passed upon the large expenditures for maintenance and additions to the fleets ; but the criticisms of the press and the peo- ple are constantly directed to the administration of the admiralty, and the types of vessels constructed. If any condition proposed in a design be not realized in the completed ship, the fact is certain to be exposed by the press, and severely commented upon. This influence, together with the watchfulness over the progress made elsewhere, has not been without effect. In tbe House of Commons, at a recent session of Par- liament, the first lord of the admiralty said, "It is our policy to keep pace, with the inventions of the day, and ahead of all maritime powers." The most able constructive ability and engineering talent in the king- dom is employed in producing designs for new types of vessels, for machinery, and for appliances of offense and defense. It may be con- fidently asserted that never since the application of steam propulsion to ships of war has the British navy been relatively so strong as at the present time, and yet the complaints are that it is not more powerful. The fleets of former beautiful wooden screw-ships, like their prede- cessors of the old sailing line-of-battle ship period, and the subsequent paddle-wheel steamers, are fast disappearing from the navy list for either fighting or cruising purposes. Numbers of wooden line-of-battle ships and frigates provided with auxiliary steam-power, but whose days were passed mainly under canvas; and others that never made a cruise — indeed, antiquated before completed — vessels in whose outlines the beauty of naval architecture may be said to have culminated, are in the same category. In fact, whole squadrons may be seen in the harbors of Portsmouth, Devonport, and other dock-yards, some bearing famous names, and "pierced for" from fifty to one hundred and one guns, but now as useless for purposes of modern warfare as the old paddle-wheel frigates or the fifty-nine sailing-vessels borne on the British navy list. The effective force of the British navy may now be divided into ships for great naval battles, ships for coast defense, and unarmored cruising- vessels. There are so many different types that it is quite impossible to classify them according to any former standard. The present col- lective fleet as presented in the navy list consists of nearly four hun- dred vessels of all kinds< This includes those building, but does not include one hundred and thirty-four laid up or employed in permanent harbor service, and not ever likely to be sent to sea. The total tonnage of these four hundred vessels is about 900,000. From published returns it appears that during the eight years from 1866 to 1874, ten and a half millions of pounds sterling were expended in the construction of new ships, six millions of which were for armored ships, and four and a half millions for unarmored vessels. During tie 21 22 . EUROPEAN SHIPS OF WAR, ETC. same period, one and one-third million pounds were expended on the repairs of armored ships, and nearly four millions on the repairs of ves- sels of all other kinds, and it is now estimated that about a million pounds sterling is expended annually on new armored ships, and three- quarters of a million on all other new vessels. ARMORED SHIPS. It is to the production of the most powerful seagoing fighting-ships that the resources of the navy are first directed ; ships sufficiently armored to resist projectiles of any ordinary kind, sufficiently armed to silence forts or to meet the enemy under any conditions proffered ; suf- ficiently fast to choose the time and place to fight, and sufficiently buoy- ant to carry coal and stores into any ocean. Of this class, according to official statement in the House of Commons, there will be, when those now under construction shall have been completed, eighteen, placed in the order following, according to their power, the Inflexible ranking first.* • TURRET SHIPS. Inflexible, building at Portsmouth, to be completed in 1878. Dreadnought, launched March 8, 1875, commissioned 1877. Thunderer, launched March 25, 1872, first commission 1877. Devastation, launched July 12, 1871, first commission 1873. Agamemnon, building at Chatham, date of completion uncertain. Ajax, building at Pembroke, date of completion uncertain. Monarch, launched May 25, 1868, first commission 1870. BROADSIDE-SHIPS. Alexandra, launched April 7, 1875, first commission 1877. Temeraire, launched 1876, first commission 1877. Sultan, launched May 31, 1870, first commission 1872. Hercules, launched February 10, 1868, first commission 1871. Bellerophon, launched April 26, 1865, first commission 1867. Swiftsure, launched June 15, 1870, first commission 1871. Triumph, launched September 27, 1870, first commission 1872. Audacious, launched February 27, 1869, first commission 1872. Invincible, launched May 29, 1869, first commission 1873. Iron Duke, launched March 1, 1870, first commission 1872. Penelope, launched June 18, 1867, first commission 1870. OCEAN-CRUISING SHIPS OF THE ARMOR-BELTED TYPE. Shannon, built at Pembroke, not yet commissioned. Nelson, building at Glasgow, to have been completed September, 1877. Northampton, building at Glasgow, completed about September, 1877. VESSELS FOR COAST DEFENSE. These are for the most part turret-vessels, built on the breastwork system, and are named Glatton, Hotspur (a ram), Rupert (a ram), Prince * When wooden vessels were first plated with armor, they were known as " iron- clads " ; now that all hulls are built of iron and plated with heavy armor upon a wooden backing, the term "armored ships" is used, as being more proper than "iron- clads." THE BRITISH NAVY. 23 Albert, Cyclops, Gorgon, Hecate, Hydra, Scorpion, Wivern ; also the broadside-gunboats Viper and Vixen. Besides these for home defense, there are the Abyssinia and Magdala, stationed at Bombay, and the Cerberus, in one of the Australian harbors. Any of these monitors are capable of going to sea, but they are unfit for cruising ; all are low free- board vessels, each provided with a single revolving turret rising above the breastwork, the Hotspur and Rupert excepted. The former of these was built to be used solely as a powerful ram,* and the latter has a fixed turret in which the gun revolves on a platform. This vessel is also fitted especially for ramming. SHIPS OF THE ORIGINAL ARMORED TYPE. These vessels are built of iron, and are of the broadside variety. They have become antiquated, and are not now regarded as competent to meet in line of battle the armored ships of the present period. They consist of the Agincourt, Northumberland, Achilles, Black Prince, Warrior, Hector, Valiant, Resistance, and Defence. WOODEN ARMORED SHIPS. Most of these ships were under construction as line-of-battle ships or frigates at the time of the battle between the little Monitor and Merrimac in Hampton Koads : they were subsequently altered and converted into sea-going iron-clads. Many of them are decayed and relegated to har- bor service, and it is not probable that any of them will be much longer continued as cruisers, or extensively repaired. They are as follows : Prince Consort, Royal OaJc, Caledonia (which has an iron upper deck), Research, Zealous (which has an iron upper deck), Lord Clyde (which has had her machinery removed, and is fitted for a drill-ship), Royal Alfred (which has an iron deck), Royal Sovereign (a turret-ship with an iron upper deck), Favorite, Enterprise (with iron top-sides), Lord Warden (with iron inner skin), Ocean, Pallas, and Repulse. The Pallas was built for an iron -clad in 1865, and the Repulse in 1868 ; they were the last armored wood-built ships for the royal navy, and are still cruising, the former in the Mediterranean and the latter in the Pacific. MASTLESS ARMORED SEA-GOING SHIPS. The Devastation, the Thunderer, and the Dreadnought come under the above heading, and take rank first as the most powerful fighting-ships armed and now afloat in the world. The Inflexible, now building, designed as a still more powerful ship, is intended to be masted only during time of peace, as also the Agamemnon and Ajax, ships of the same type but of smaller dimensions. Descriptions and particulars of these powerful ships will be given presently. ADMIRALTY DESIGNS FOR SHIPS OF WAR. But before proceeding to describe Her Britannic Majesty's ships, it will, perhaps, be interesting to examine the details of the system by which they are produced. The designs of ships for the royal navy are prepared by a staff of * The Hotspur was not intended solely as a ram, as she was designed and built to carry a 25-ton gun in a revolving turret, plated with 11-inch armor. When she was built this was the most powerful gun that was being made. — An English Naval Architect. 24 EUROPEAN SHIPS OF WAR, ETC. draughtsmen at Whitehall, under the direction of a council of construc- tion. This council consists of the director of naval construction as the president, three chief constructors, and three assistants ; the engineer- ing department being represented by the engineer-in-chief and an en- gineer officer. In preparing a new design, the initiative is taken by the sea lords of the admiralty, who consult with the controller, the director of naval construction, and the director of naval ordnance. It having been de- cided to add a vessel of a certain type to the navy, the director of con- struction is ordered to prepare the plans. This he does after first dis- cussing the question in the council with the other members of that body. The draughtsmen are then set to work about the preliminary calculations and the salient features of the design, after which the controller and director of ordnance are again consulted. From time to time their lordships are referred to, and throughout the whole period of the prepa- ration of the plans the latter are continually being modified, so as to comply with the decisions arrived at during the discussions of the officials interested. When prepared, the design represents the collective opinions of these officials, or, at all events, it is supposed to be the nearest possi- ble approach thereto, as absolute unanimity can scarcely be expected upon every question. The director of construction is, frequently, the originator of the type, and in every case, after all important conditions have been settled, he is responsible for the realization, in the completed ship, of the design de- cided upon. In professional skill the members of the council of construction have high standing. Every one of them has served his apprenticeship in a royal dock-yard, was sent to the Koyal School of Naval Architecture and Engineering after a competitive examination, and has won his way to his present position through the possession of superior ability and attainments. It would seem that the course of procedure heref set forth as adopted at the admiralty, in the preparation of designs for ships of war, would meet with public favor, but professional traditions and prejudices are difficult to overcome. In a pamphlet, attributed to the Duke of Somer- set, which was published a few years ago, it was stated that li the mind of man does not go back to the time when the management of the navy by the admiralty was not a subject of dissatisfaction," and this is proved by the continuous succession of parliamentary inquiries, commissions, and committees on the subject. No part of the admiralty administra- tion has been so constantly and so seriously questioned as its manage- ment of the designing, building, arming, and equipping of ships, includ- ing the materials required and the maintenance of the dockyards. Whether the unfavorable criticisms, to which the officials have been subjected, have originated from anything that needs reform, or whether it is owing to the eager interest of the Euglish people in the welfare of the navy, is a question not to be considered here. X^J^ttT XX. THE INFLEXIBLE ; THE AJAX AND AGAMEMNON. 25 The Inflexible Broadside Viev Vv. Starboard i ; *s lating of the inner bot- tom, which extends through the length of the double bottom, and which, like the outer bottom, is made perfectly water-tight, is of the uniform thickness of f inch, except under the engines, where it is T 7 ¥ inch. As is usual in iron vessels, the stern of the Inflexible consists of a solid iron forging, scarfed at its lower end to the keel-plates. The stern-post and after pieces of keel, which are formed of the best angle- iron, were also made in a single forging. The rudder is a solid iron frame filled in with wood and covered with iron plates. In consequence of its immense weight — some 9 tons — it is made to work upon double pintles in combination w T ith the ordinary pintles and braces. It is moved by a tiller 4 feet 6 inches below the water. Indeed, the whole of the steam steering-gear will be placed below the water-line and armored deck, so that it will be impossible for the rudder-head to be injured by shot or shell during an engagement. To receive the propeller-shafts two iron tubes are constructed, one under each quarter. The fore parts of these tubes, where they leave the run of the ship, are supported by the frame- work of the hull, which is bossed out in a suitable form for the purpose, the after parts being supported by struts from the ship's bottom. There are four decks — the lower, middle, upper, and superstructure decks — the last being a middle-line erection placed forward and aft above the upper deck for working the ship, carrying and lowering the boats, &c. Outside the citadel the lower-deck beams are covered with iron 3 inches The Inflexible Section abaft Citadel.. THE INFLEXIBLE. 29 thick. This deck is depressed at the fore end so as to meet that part of the bow which is intended for ramming, thus conferring upon it greatly increased strength and resistance when engaged in butting an enemy's ship. It may be here stated that the ram of the Inflexible is of the spur kind, and though it is fixed at the present time, it will eventually be made to unship during ordinary cruises. The middle-deck flat consists of J-inch plating covered with 3-inch deal planks ; while the upper- deck beams in the vicinity of the citadel are covered with 3-inch plating, and in other places with J-inch plating. The beams, pillars, and bulk- heads for supporting the various decks and platforms, and forming the different compartments and rooms, are arranged and fitted so as to give the greatest possible strength to the sides of the vessel. The largest beams are on the main deck. They are 14 inches deep, while those on the upper deck are 10 inches, and those on the lower deck are 12 inches deep. Every beam is either supported by wrought-iron tube-pillars or is trussed where pillars cannot be erected, the strongest being under the turrets. The two superstructures themselves in no wise add to the power of the ship, either for attack or defense. Their purpose in the economy of the ship is to afford accommodation for the officers and crew ; and as the structures are erected on the upper deck, this will be of the best kind, with abundance of air and natural light. Their dimen- sions are : fore superstructure, extreme length, 104 feet 4 inches ; breadth, 21 feet 4 inches; after superstructure, extreme length, 105 feet 4 inches ; breadth, 30 feet. The frames are formed of angle-iron, 7 inches by 3 inches, placed 4 feet apart, and between them are intermediate frames made of angle-iron 4 inches by 3 inches. The ends are covered with |-iuch plates, and the whole surface with 3-iuch deals. The cabin-walls are all coated with Welch's wood-faced cement, as a protection against the results of atmospheric condensation. The officers and men together will number 350. As a protection against the casualties of war and the sea, the hull is divided by means of the transverse and longitudinal bulk- heads into no fewer than 135 water-tight compartments, and arrange- ments will be made for quickly removing therefrom any water that may collect within them through collision or other cause. Powerful steam- pumps, among which may be mentioned two of Friedmann's patent eject- ors, capable of discharging 300 tons of water each per hour, will be fitted. All the bulkheads are provided with water-tight doors of an improved pattern, sluice- valves, manholes, and water-tight scuttles. Water-tight doors can also be fitted, when necessary, to the bulkheads passing- through the coal-bunkers. Each of the water-tight compartments has been tested by hydraulic pressure. Great attention has been bestowed upon the question of ventilation, which in ships of the Devastation class, and indeed in all monitors of low free-board, has been a source of considerable discomfort and embarrassment. In the Inflexible the fresh air will be drawn into the midship part of the vessel through a series of downcast shafts, by means of eight powerful fans, worked by four of Messrs. Brotherhood & Hardingham's patent three-cylinder engines. The air is then conducted into main pipes, which run around the sides of the hull to the extremities, and from these, subsidiary or branch pipes discharge the air in ample quantities to every part of the ship. DEFENSE. The annexed drawings will give a good idea of the design of the ship. Over the shot-proof deck, at a level a little above the water-line, comes the middle deck, and, as may be seen from the plates, the entire space 30 EUEOPEAN SHIPS OF WAK, ETC. between the two decks is divided into compartments arranged partly to carry coals and partly stores packed in water-tight tanks, forming fur- ther subdivisions of the space, !Next to the sides of the ship the com- partments are about 4 feet wide, and are filled with cork, and inside this again are compartments 2 feet wide, filled with layers of canvas and oakum, which, by experiment, are found partially to close holes made by shot passing through, and to check the passage of water. The cork and canvas compartments are carried above the main deck 4 feet and 2 feet respectively, and 30 feet forward of the citadel and 37 feet aft of it. Thus, if a shot hit the unarmored ends of the vessel at right angles to the water-line, it would travel through, first, 4 feet of cork, then 2 feet of canvas and oakum, then such coal and stores as were unconsumed, and finally pass through oakum and cork to the sea, on the opposite side from which it entered. The cork is, of course, intended as a life-belt to the ship, to give her additional buoyancy when the un- protected ends are riddled and filled with water. The protected portion of the ship is confined to the citadel or battery, within whose walls are inclosed the engines and boilers, the turrets, the hydraulic loading-gear, the magazines, and in fact all the vital parts of the vessel. It measures 110 feet in length, 75 feet in breadth, and is armored to the depth of 6 feet 5 inches below the water-line, and 9 feet 7 inches above it. The sides of the citadel consist of an outer thickness of 12-inch armor-plating, strengthened by vertical angle-iron guides 11 inches wide and 3 feet apart, the space between them being filled in with teak backing. JBehind these girders, in the wake of the water-line, is another thickness of 12-inch armor, backed by horizontal girders 6 inches wide, and supported by a second thickness of teak backing. Inside this are two thicknesses of 1-inch plating, to which the horizontal girders are secured; the whole of the armor backing and plating being supported by and bolted to transverse frames 2 feet apart, and composed of plates and angle-irons. It will thus be seen that the total thickness of armor at the water-line strake is not less than 24 inches. The armor-belt, however, is not of uniform strength throughout, but varies in accordance with the importance of the pro- tection required and the exposure to attack. Consequently, while the armor at the water-level is 24 inches in two thicknesses of 12 inches each, above the water-line it is 20 inches in two thicknesses of 12 inches and 8 inches, and below the water-line it is reduced to 16 inches in two thicknesses of 12 inches and 4 inches. The teak backing with which it is supported also varies inversely as the thickness of the armor, being respectively 17 inches, 21 inches, and 25 inches in thickness, and form- ing with the armor, with which it is associated, a uniform wall 41 inches thick. The depth of armor below the load w r ater-line is 6 feet 5 inches, but as the vessel will be sunk a foot on going into action by letting water into its double bottom, the sides will thus have armor protection to the depth of 7 feet 5 inches below the fighting-line. The outside armor is fastened by bolts 4 inches in diameter, secured with nuts and elastic washers on the inside. The shelf-plate on which the armor rests is formed of J-inch steel plates, with angle-iron on the outer edge 5 inches by 3 .J inches by ^ inch. The armor on the fore bulkhead of the citadel is exactly the same in every respect as that on the sides, but the armor of the rear bulkhead is somewhat thinner, being of the respective gradations of 22, 18, and 14 inches, and forming with the teak backing, which is 10, 20, aud 24 inches, a uniform thickness of 38 inches. It may also be useful to mention that before and abaft the citadel the frames The Inflexible. Section Through Citadel THE INFLEXIBLE. 31 are formed of 7-inch and 4-ineh angle-irons, covered with T 9 ginch plates. The total weight of the armor, exclusive of deck, is 2,250 tons, and the total weight of armor, inclusive of deck, is 3,155 tons. TURRETS. But the most singular feature in the design of the ship is the situa- tion of the turrets. In the Devastation and Thunderer, and in fact all monitors afloat, the turrets are placed on the middle line, an arrange- ment which, though advantageous in some respects, possesses this signal disadvantage, that in double-turreted monitors only one-half of the guns can be brought to bear on the enemy either right ahead or directly astern. In the Inflexible, however, the turrets rise up on either side of the ship en echelon within the walls of the citadel, the forward turret being on the port side and the after turret on the starboard side, while the superstructures are built up along a fore-and-aft line of the deck. By these means the whole of the four guns can be discharged simulta- neously at a ship right ahead or right astern, or on either beam, or in pairs toward any point of the compass. Besides these important advan- tages, the guns of each turret can be projected clear of the ship's side- in the case of the one turret to port, and in the case of the other turret to starboard. They can then be depressed enough not only to strike a vessel at close quarters, below the line of her armor, but even to fire down upon her deck, should the enemy be ranged alongside. The walls of the turrets, which last have an internal diameter of 28 feet and an external diameter of about 33 feet 10 inches, are formed of armor of a single thickness of 18 inches (the thickest ever manufactured, with the exception of the 22-inch experimental plate which was rolled at Messrs. Cammell & Oo.'s works, at Sheffield, for the turrets of the Italian frigates), with backing of the same thickness, and an inner plating of 1 inch in two equal thicknesses. All experience has proved that, for many reasons, this arrangement is the best. The wood backing distributes the blow when struck, deadens the vibrations, protects the fastenings, and stops the splinters, while the inner iron is also of advan- tage, since it renders the backing more compact, and also assists in arresting the passage of debris. The height of the turret ports from the load-line is 12 feet, and a foot less from the fighting-line, and all the plating in the wake of the guns is considerably strengthened. 4 * OFFENSE. A very special interest attaches to the armament of the Inflexible, not only because it consists of guns vastly more powerful than any yet mounted afloat, but because these guns are carried and worked on the new and remarkable hydraulic system which has hitherto only been tried in the fore turret of the Thunderer. Each turret weighs no less than 750 tons (including the guns), and having to deal with a moving mass of such enormous weight, and with the superadded difficulty of a float- * Some imx)ortant experiments were made by the British admiralty, in December last, on the target-ship Nettle, at Portsmouth, for the purpose of testing the powers of re- sistance of steel and compound steel and iron plates, having for their immediate object the solution of the problem as to the kind of armor of which the turrets of the Inflex- ible shall be constructed. Steel plates and compound iron aad steel plates from differ- ent manufacturers were fired at ; among them was one made of Whitworth's compressed- when-fluid steel. The results of these experiments were not conclusive, but they seemed to indicate that a perfect substitute for iron as a means of resisting the huge projectiles of modern warfare has yet to be produced. 32 EUROPEAN SHIPS OF WAR, ETC. ing, and therefore unstable, platform on which to revolve, it was deter- mined to commence at this point with the adoption of the hydraulic system of Sir William Armstrong, as developed for gunnery purposes by his partner, Mr. George Rendel. The revolution of the turrets ac- cordingly will be accomplished by hydraulic machinery, in a manner similar to that employed by the Elswick firm for turning swing-bridges and great cranes. In such cases the weights dealt with have already exceeded that of the turrets of the Inflexible ; and so complete is the control afforded by hydraulic machinery in the movements of heavy masses in these analogous cases, that it is believed the turrets will, by this machinery, be rotated at any speed, from a complete revolution in one minute, down to a rate as slow and as uniform as desired. The ad- vantage of the high speed is plain; that of the slow but regular rota- tion will be apparent when it is remembered how much delicacy of adjustment is necessary for following with the aim an object moving rapidly and at a distance. Although the 80- ton guns will be worked on a system similar to that adopted in the case of the 38-ton guns of the Thunderer, yet as the design of the Inflexible had not been completed before the decision to work the guns by hydraulic power was formed, a much more complete hydraulic gunnery arrangement has become possi- ble. The sponging and loading apparatus are still, as in the Thunderer, to be placed at duplicate fixed stations outside the turrets, and under the protection of the armored deck of the vessel. The muzzles of the guns are brought to the loading mechanism by revolving the turret and slightly depressing the guns. But there is no special loading-port as in the Thunderer. All that is necessary is to depress the guns to the small angle required for bringing the muzzles below the level of the deck, which, still further to reduce this angle, is raised and inclined upward at the base of the turrets so as to form a sort of glacis, and to give cover to the muzzles without involving any considerable depression of the gun. By this means the objection brought against the greater depres- sion of the guns of the Thunderer is avoided. A more important nov- elty is the manner of mounting the 80-ton guns in the turrets. Hitherto it has been the practice to place all heavy guns upon an iron structure, called the carriage, on which they rest by means of the trunnions. This carriage bears, besides the gun, the mechanism for elevating and de- pressing the gun, and for " tripping," and also in part the mechanism for checking recoil. Besides the carriage, again, there is the slide upon which the carriage runs. Now in the system adopted for the Inflexible, Mr. G. Bendel has taken the bold step of dispensing altogether with a carriage, properly so called. The leading features of the arrangement are shown in Fig. 3. Two guns will be mounted side by side in each turret. Each guu will be mounted so as to be supported on three points. The trunnions will rest on blocks sliding on fixed beams bolted down to the floor of the turret, while the breech will rest on a third block, sliding like the others between guides upon a beam or table. Behind each of the trunnion-blocks, in the line of recoil, are two hydraulic cylinders, connected with them by piston-rods. The cylinders communicate by a pipe, on which there is a valve, which, on the recoil of the gun, opens and allows the pistons to run back slowly, checking the recoil. By reversing the apparatus, the gun can be run out again. The beam on which the breech rests is sup- ported by a third hydraulic cylinder, fixed vertically beneath it in the turret. By this means the breech can be easily raised or lowered, thus elevating or depressing the muzzle of the gun, which pivots on its trun- nions with a large preponderance toward the breech. In order to load, h 00 <9f> THE INFLEXIBLE. 33 the muzzle is depressed until it comes opposite to an opening made in the upper deck before the turret. A hydraulic rammer works in guides through this hole, and the rammer-head is hollow, and is so constructed that when it is driven into the recently-fired gun, and comes in contact with the sides of the powder-chamber, a valve opens, and it discharges through a number of holes small jets of water, thus acting as a sponge, and extinguishing any remnants of the charge or of the products of the explosion which may have remained smoldering in the bore. It is then withdrawn, and a hydraulic shot-lift raises up to the muzzle of the gun the charge, the projectile, and a retaining wad, and then a single stroke of the rammer drives them into the gun and home to the base of the bore. Again the rammer is withdrawn, the hydraulic piston under the breech of the gun elevates the muzzle, the turret swings around, aud the shot is fired. A 9-inch gun, mounted experimentally in a turret at Els wick, aud loaded on this system, was brought to the loading position, sponged, loaded, and brought back to the 'firing-point in forty seconds. Comparatively equally rapid loading was effected with the 38 ton gun during the experimental trial of the hydraulic gear on board the Thunderer. Thus, the first advantage of the system is rapidity of fire; the second is economy of labor. One man only for each gun is stationed in the turret, another works the hydraulic rammer on the main deck, six or eight others are employed ia bringing up the ammunition to the shot-lift by means of a small tram vay. There are two sets of loading-gear for each turret ; but even, if both were put out of order, the gun could still be loaded with an ordinary rammer and sponge by a number of men stationed on the main deck. The adop- tion of the system enables very heavy guns to be carried in compara- tive^ small turrets. Those of the Inflexible are very little larger than those of the Devastation, so that with the old plan of having a numer- ous crew in the turret and running in the gun in order to load it by hand, only the 38 ton gun could be carried. As it is quite possible that the Inflexible will be armed with even more tremendous weapons than the 80-ton guns, this has been held in view in designing the ship ; and, by a slight modification, it will be possible to mount in each of her turrets a pair of 160-ton guns, with a length of 30 feet and a caliber of 20 inches. The armament of the Inflexible will be composed of four of the* heaviest guns (except those making for the Italian vessels) ever constructed, of which the experimental 81-ton gun completed at Wool- wich and tested is the type.* Fig. 2 is a sectional sketch of the gun, showing the arrangement of the wrought-iron coils welded around the massive central steel tube. This tube, which forms the core of the gun, is bored out of a solid ingot, which cost $8,262. The bore is 24 feet long, and rifled from the muzzle to within a short distance of the base of the tube, where the unrified portion forms the powder-chamber. The greatest external diameter of the gun is 6 feet, and at the muzzle it is 2 feet in diameter. The full caliber of the piece is 16 inches. The * The largest rilled piece previously manufactured is the Krupp gun, exhibited at the Vienna Exposition, and subsequently exhibited at the Centeunial Exhibition. It was mounted on a wrought-iron sea-coast carriage, Laving steel hydraulic recoil-cylinders. This gun is a breech-loader, and is built up with steel hoops over a steel tube. Its weight, including the breech-loading apparatus, is 56£ tons. The length of the tube is 26 feet 3 inches. The length of the bore is 22 feet 6£ inches, and the caliber 14 inches. The twist is uniform. The projectiles consist of both steel and chilled shells, and shells 2.8 calibers in length. The heaviest projectiles, when charged, weigh, the steel, 1,124.;") pounds; the chilled, 1,157.5 pounds ; and the powder-charge of the gun is 242.5 pounds for steel aud chilled shells, and 275 pounds lor long fuse shells. A Krupp gun of greater weight and power will be noticed hereafter. 3k 34 EUROPEAN SHIPS OF WAR, ETC. experimental gun was first bored out to 14J inches and tested ; for a second series of experiments it was given a caliber of 15 inches, and then bored to the full caliber of 16 inches and finally tested. The gun is rilled with 13 grooves, each having an increasing pitch from to 1 in 35 calibers. The service powder-charge is 370 pounds of 1.5-inch powder. The weight of the projectile for the service shell is 1,700 pounds, and the bursting charge about 100 pounds of powder. The details of the series of proof-trials at Woolwich, also the tests at Shoeburyness, have been widely published. Still, for reference, it is be- lieved advisable to give here the results of the trials last made with the caliber of 16 inches, that at which the gun is to be used in actual war- fare: Number of rounds, 1 a, o 83 ® -a o I © 6 ©H ,a © "© S'O -2 9 a> © > © K © © m ^ hi N © •Z ©< Mean pressure in gun. © bt ^ s- © © a, c © ® © o H 1 Cubic inches. U5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 Pounds. 340 350 350 350 350 350 360 370 350 370 360 360 370 370 Pounds. 1,700 1,700 1,700 1,700 1,700 1,700 1,700 1,700 1,700 1,700 1,700 1,700 1,700 1,700 Feet. 1,486 1,505 1, 502 1,467 1,475 1,493 1,487 1,495 1,518 1, 5-23 1,519 1,518 1,519 1,517 Tons per square inch. 20.1 20.4 20.3 19.6 18.4 21 18.8 19.9 20.5 20.3 21.3 20.0 19.8 20.7 Fool-tons. 26, 030 2 26, 740 26, 630 3 4 . j 25 406 5 25, 683 6 26, 314 7 26, 103 8 26, 385 9 27, 203 10 27, 383 11 27, 239 12 27, 203 27, 239 13 14 27, 168 The experiments for range and accuracy were conducted at Shoebury- ness, and are reported to have met the unqualified approval of the au- thorities. When the last experiments were concluded, viz, October 4, 1876, the gun, originally weighing 81 tons, but now reduced by re- boring, &c, to 80 tons, had fired 110 rounds, and it may be interesting to summarize the amount of ammunition that has been thus expended. With its normal caliber of 14.5 inches it fired 4,660 pounds of powder and 27,052 pounds of iron in 21 rounds. With a caliber of 15 inches it fired in 32 rounds 8,223 pounds of powder and 45,712 pounds of iron. With the same caliber, but with a pow- der-chamber of 16 inches, in 21 rounds it disposed of 6,020 pounds of powder and 30,810 pounds of shot. With its present uniform bore of 16 inches, and while at Woolwich, it fired 8,870 pounds of powder and 45,981 pounds of iron in 27 rounds. This gives 27,773 pounds of powder and 149,555 pounds of iron expended at Woolwich in 101 rounds. At Shoeburyness the gun has fired 39 rounds with 14,430 pounds of powder and 66,300 pounds of iron. This gives a total number of 140 rounds, 42,203 pounds of powder, and 215,855 pounds of iron. During the experiments for range, shells were reported to have been recovered from a miuimum distance of six miles ; others were traced still farther, until deep water arrested the progress of the explorers. Some idea of the amount of ammunition required for the 80-ton gun may be formed when it is estimated that, in an action, if the Inflexible would fire only ten shots from each of the four guns, she would expend 14,800 pounds of pebble-powder, and hurl upward of 30 tons of pro- jectiles, at a cost of about $6,320. The cost of the gun, exclusive of carriage and the machinery for working it, was estimated at $72,900, and the factory-plant aud experi- -3_Vj_ _ -% 4-Sr * i 6-2. r-*- && /< Side View (Sectional). -j->i- nttiTb--- 1 Front View. THE INFLEXIBLE. 35 mental trials at $48,600. The actual cost of each of the^ight guns will be best known when all are manufactured. The target against which this gun has been proving its powers at Shoeburyness is the most formidable of any hitherto fired at. It is gi- gantic, even in comparison with those fired at by the 100-ton gun at Spezia, hereafter to be noticed. Its construction is beautifully and plainly shown by illustrations giv- ing front elevation, horizontal and vertical sections, with accompanying figures and explanations, in the Engineer of February 2 and 9, and from which the accompanying figure has been taken. The target is altogether different from the Spezia targets, as may be seen by referring to the sketch. It is composed of four iron armor- plates, each 8 inches thick, sandwiched between three layers of teak each 5 inches thick, amounting in all to 32 inches of iron and 15 inches of teak. The plates are 16 feet in breadth by 10 feet in height. Each plate weighs 23 tons, the collective weight of iron being thus 92 tons. The plates are secured together in pairs by bolts ; that is to say, the front plate is bolted to the second one, the second to the third, the third to the fourth, and the fourth to the horizontal beams in the rear. The bolts employed are 3 inches in diameter. The shank of the bolt has the Palliser projecting screw-thread on it, while the head is made on the ball-and-socket principle, with the bole in the plate allowing play round the neck of the shank, so that one plate may move slightly on the next without shearing the bolt. The target is supported by a heavy frame- work of beams, mostly 14 inches square, and very firmly secured to the ground by strutted piles at the ends, and weighted with an old armor-plate on the top to keep the teak filling from escaping under the force of the blow of impact. The cost of the armor-plates and bolts was about $21,300 in gold, and the cost of the timber and labor about $1,000 more. The first shot was fired February 1. The gun was charged with 370 pounds of powder, cubes of 1.5 inch, and a Palliser projectile filled with sand to 1,700 pounds 7 weight, including gas-check, and plugged. This projectile was of service form, having an ogival head of l| caliber radius. By reference to the sketch it will be seen that the projectile buried itself into the target, having penetrated through the first three plates and the three layers of wood, also about 1 inch into the rear plate; that is, it penetrated through 24 inches of iron, 15 inches of teak- wood, and was arrested with the point 1 inch into the fourth plate, thus leaving 7 inches of iron in front of it unpierced, which iron, being cracked and bent, would offer greatly diminished resistance to further penetration — the projectile itself being split. * The horizontal beam at the base of the back of the target was crushed and split into ribbons, and the whole target structure sprung and shaken. On the same day a blind common shell was fired from the 81-ton gun at an old 8-inch unbacked armor-plate, which was completely demolished, being split and broken across and thrown out of its position, and the shell broken up and scattered. Doubtless the common shell from this gun would be terrible against any weak- armored ship. After these trials, the gun being returned to Woolwich, the powder- chamber was enlarged to a diameter of 18 inches for a length of 58J inches, and that of the bore retained at 16 inches. Early in May the trial of the gun, with the enlarged powder-chamber, took place at Shoebury- ness. The firing, as before, was against the structure known as the No. 41 tar- get, consisting of four thicknesses of 8-inch plates and intermediate layers of 5 inches of teak, above described and here represented by illustrations taken from the Engineer. 36 EUROPEAN SHIPS OF WAR, ETC. These trials for penetration do not involve many rounds, which would necessitate an enormous expenditure for targets. The utmost effect of every round must be carefully considered in order to economize the splendid target against which the gun is directed. The following are the conditions and results of the first trial with the 18-inch powder-chamber: The charge of the powder employed was 425 pounds, that previously used being 370 pounds, 1 5-inch cubes in each case. The projectile was a Palliser shell weighted to 1,700 pounds wi h sand, and plugged ; it was studded, and to its base was attached a Lyon gas-check, which consists of a disk of copper having a thickened rim which is expanded into grooves of the bore by the pressure of the gases of the powder. The range, as before, was 120 yards. The position of the shot fired on the previous round is shown at A, Figs. 1 and 3, and the position on this occasion is shown at B, Figs. J, 2, and 3. The shot struck a spot about 6 feet from the proper left, and 7 feet from the bottom of the target. The hole in the iront plate was rather larger than it should have been, either from the shot not striking quite steadily and truly, or from the setting up of the metal of the shot during penetration. The point was visible through large cracks in the back of the target, in some places open to a width of 2J inches. There was about 5 inches of iron still in advance of the point, but this was fissured and opened in a star crack, shown in Fig. 4. The back plate was bulged or bent back nearly 14 inches, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3, and the horizon- tal beam behind the top of the target crushed and split from end to end. The bolts passing through this beam now protruded at the back to an extent reaching from the target's proper left to right, of J inch, 1J inches, 4 inches, 4J inches, 2 inches, and J inch, consecutively. There was no appearance, however, of any of the bolts having been broken. The initial velocity of the shot was 1,600 feet per second, the highest yet attained by any gun, giving an energy of 30,180 foot-tons, or 600.3 foot-tons per inch of circumference. The striking velocity was 1,585 feet per second, giving 29,620 foot-tons of energy, or 589.2 foot-tons per inch of circumference. The average chamber pressure was found to be 19.9 tons per square inch, a result well within the limit assigned by the Woolwich authorities, which is 25 tons. The charge had 34 cubic inches of air-space per pound of powder, and was ignited centrally through the rear or axial vent. The hollow space for central ignition in the center of the cartridge, which was formerly preserved by means of a wicker pottle or basket, is now maintained ,by a zinc pottle, which an- swers the purpose very well, and is entirely consumed or vaporized. The charge itself was contained in a silk bag. The power of penetration possessed by the 80-ton gun in its chambered condition is consequently proved to be slightly superior to that of the 100- ton gun at Spezia in its unchambered condition. It is remarked, too, that this force was gen- erated in the gun with a defective tube. After the rouud was fired, a guttapercha impression was taken, which showed that no alteration whatever had taken place in the crack, the gun still remaining in a safe condition for further work. It will thus be seen that the Woolwich gun continues to give satisfaction. It was returned to Woolwich after the last round in order to utilize its carriage for the trial of the first of the four 80-ton guns, now being constructed at the royal arsenal for the Inflexible; also to have its damaged tube replaced by a new tube that is being prepared for the purpose. The gun-carriage and its appendages weigh in all 40 tons, and the recoil in this last round up the railway, there being an ascending gradient, was found to be do feet. THE INFLEXIBLE. 37 THE NEW 80-TON GUN. This is the first of the four service guns intended for the Inflexible, the one first constructed and described being experimental. It chiefly differs from the first in having thirty-two grooves in the bore ; the pro- jectile having no studs, but being made to take the rifling by the setting up of a copper gas check fixed on the base, and which thus enters the grooves. It adheres firmly to the base of the projectile by means of radi- ating saw-tooth-shaped cuts on the latter. The new gun has at present a bore of 15.5 inches diameter, without any enlargement at the chamber. The firing-charge employed was in each instance 335 pounds of powder of 1.5-inch cubes. The proof projectile weighed 1,550 pounds. Thefollow- ing muzzle velocities were obtained : First round, 1,603 feet per second ; second round, 1,599 feet ; and third,], 598 feet. The pressure of the three rounds was regi stered at 22.8, 22.4, and 22.8 tons respectively. These results must be considered very good, because the bore and chamber >are not yet brought to their full dimensions, and are uot, there- fore, in the condition to enable the powder to burn to the best advan- tage. It may be seen that the pressures, considering this, are not very high, and are ver'y regular. The same carriage is employed as carried the fir -t gun on the previous trial. MOTIVE MACHINERY. The machinery was constructed by Messrs. John Elder & Co., of Glas- gow. Each screw will be driven by an independent set of compound engines with three vertical inverted cylinders of the collective power of 4,000 horses, giving an aggregate power of 8,000 horses (indicated) for both sets of engines. The diameter of the high pressure cylinder is 70 inches, and the diameter of each low-pressure cylinder is 90 inches ; the former is placed between the two latter. They are steam-jacketed, and are connected together by stay-bolts prolonged to bulkheads, so as to serve as ramming chocks. The pistons have a stroke of 4 feet, and the number of revolutions expected is 65 per miuute. The piston-rods are double, and are connected by crank cross-heads. They are each 7 inches in diameter, the connecting-rods having a diameter of 9 inches and a length of 7 feet 6 inches. The valves are of the piston kind. They are worked by link-motions and levers, and are reversed by an ingenious combination of steam and hydraulic power. The engines at starting are assisted by auxiliary steam-gear, the valves of which are fitted to the receiver. The steam from the low-pressure cylinders is exhausted into independent surface-condensers, having a total cooling surface of 16,000 square feet. The steam is condensed in the interior of a series of tubes of J inch external diameter, of which each condenser has no less than 6,650. The condensers are constructed to be worked as common condensers. The circulating-pumps are actuated by separate engines, each having its own feed, bilge, and air pumps worked by levers from the cross-heads. The air pumps are made of gun-metal, with a diameter of 34 inches and stroke of 2 feet 3 inches, the water being dis- charged below the fir nor-deck. With respect to the centrifugal pumps, it may be mentioned that they are judiciously placed at so high a level in the vessel that in the case of leakage occurring, by which the ship's bot- tom may be flooded to as great a depth as 12 feet, they can be worked with perfect freedom. There are also double-acting hand-pumps, each two coupled; feed donkey-engines, each with double-acting pumps 4 inches in diameter; bilge-donkeys, each with double-acting pumps 6 38 EUROPEAN SHIPS OF WAR, ETC. inches in diameter, and fire-engines, with doable-acting pumps 8J inches in diameter. It may be mentioned that the engines which work the cir- culating-pumps are also made to pump out the bilge, in the event of the ship springing a leak or sustaining damage from being rammed; that the centrifugal pumps are sufficiently powerful to perform the same work in case of emergency; and that a Kingston valve is fitted through the bottom, in connection with each fire-pump. Each cylinder is fitted with an expansion-valve, having a variable cut off, with an extreme range of from one-sixth to one-half stroke. These valves are cylindrical gridiron-valves, of phosphor-bronze,* 3 feet in diameter, working on cast-iron gridiron seats, and giving a minimum of clearance between the expansion-valve and main slide. They are worked by an eccentric on the crank shaft and a slotted lever, and are all connected to a shaft in front of the engines, so that they may be thrown out by a single handle. Each engine is also fitted with a com- mon injection apparatus. The crank-shaft is formed of three pieces, the diameter of the bearings being 17J inches. The propellers will be about 20 feet in diameter, and will be worked outward, the thrust being at the after end. The shaft- tubes are of wrought iron, supported by struts, while the shafting will be made of Whitworth fluid-compressed steel, with solid couplings. It will be hollow, the inner diameter being 10 inches and the outer 16 inches. The faces of the high-pressure cylin- ders are formed of phosphor-bronze 2 inches thick; the liners of the cylinders are also constructed of the Whitworth compressed steel, which possesses properties rendering it not only extremely light, but at the same time much more trustworthy than the ordinary metal used for this and shafting purposes. Each engine will be fitted with a governor, to prevent racing in stormy weather; and, in addition to the hand gear, small auxiliary engines will be erected for turning the main engines. BOILERS. The steam is to be furnished by twelve boilers, eight single -ended and four double-ended. They are constructed of the best Lowmoor plates, * This alloy is now gaining favor for cylinder valve-faces where high-pressure steam is used, and for bearings where heavy pressures are applied. Its component parts con- sist of copper, tin, and phosphorus, and it is capable of being made tough and malle- able, or hard, according to the proportions of the several ingredients. It is rendered so liquid in the molten state by the addition of the phosphorus that it forms very clean castings. Messrs. Levi & Kingel, of the Val Benoit Nickel Works, near Liege, Belgium, have, for a number of years past, been engaged in making experiments for the purpose of improving bronzes of this kind. The results of their experiments are thus summed up by M. Dumas : " The color, when the proportion of phosphorus exceeds J per cent , becomes warm and like that of gold largely mixed with copper. The grain and fracture approximate to those of steel, the elasticity is considerably increased, the absolute resistance under a fixed strain becomes more than doubled, the density is equally increased, and to such a degree that some alloys are with difficulty touched by the file. The metal when cast has great fluidity, and fills the mold perfectly. By varying the dose of phosphorus the particular characteristic of the alloy which is most desired can be varied at will." In a series of experiments at the Royal Academy of Industry at Berlin, a bar of phos- phor-bronze (proportions of components not stated) under a strain of ten tons resisted 862,980 bends, while the best gun -metal broke after 102,650 bends. In Austria the following comparative results have been obtained: Absolute resistance. Lbs. per sq. inch. Phosphor-bronze 81,798 Km pp cast steel 72, 258 Ordnance bronze ; 31,792 THE INFLEXIBLE. 39" tested to 21 tons lengthwise and 18 tons crosswise, and the pressure of steam will be 60 pounds per square inch. The four double-ended boilers are 17 feet long, 9 feet 3 inches wide, and 14 feet 3 inches high, with four furnaces in each. Four of the single-ended boilers are 9 feet long, 13 feet 7 inches wide, and 15 feet 6 inches high, with three furnaces each, and the four remaining single-ended boilers are 9 feet long, 11 feet wide, and 13 feet 4 inches high, with two furnaces, each having a separate fire-box. All the boilers are to be clothed with four thicknesses of boiler-felt, and covered with galvanized sheet-iron, and are stayed to prevent their moving by concussion when the ship is engaged in ram- ming. They are to be supplied with water by four feed-pumps, which are attached to each engine, the pumps being 1\ inches in diameter, and having a stroke of 2 feet 3 inches. In the event of the feed-pumps receiving injury, the boilers are provided with four small auxiliary engines (one in each boiler-room), and having separate connections with the boilers. The two auxiliary engines which are used for wash- ing the decks are also arranged to work the fire-engines in the engine- room. The safety-yalves are fitted with springs upon an improved plan. The smoke-pipes, of which there will be two, are 65 feet high from the dead-plate of the lower furnaces. The bunkers, which are placed at the water-line along the unarmored sides of the ship, where the entrance of shot or water cannot injure them, are built to store 1,200 tons of coal, and are so disposed that their contents can be approached from the upper and lower compartments independently of each other. RIG. The Inflexible is also to possess sail-power, with respect to the ad- vantages of which, however, considerable diversity of opinion exists. She will be brig-rigged, having two iron masts, but no bowsprit or stay- gear. The foremast will be 36 inches in diameter, and will measure 83 feet 6 inches from the deck to the head, while the mainmast will have a diameter of 37 inches, and a height of 96 feet. Each will have a top- mast and topgallant mast, with lower yard, topsail yard, and topgal- lant yard. The total area of sails will be 18,470 square feet. In time of war it is intended that the ship will carry no masts, except for signal purposes. The anchors, of which there are to be four, will be of Martin's self- canting pattern. WEIGHTS. The estimated weight of the hull is 7,300 tons.* The engines will weigh 614 tons. The propellers, shafts, and stern fittings weigh 151 tons each ; the boilers, smoke-pipes, casings, &c, 522 tons, and the water in the boilers when ready for steaming is estimated at 190 tons.t COST. The cost is estimated as follows : Materials $1,307,340 Engines and appendages 486, 729 Boilers 100, 116 Labor 641, 520 * This weight includes all armor and backing on citadel and turrets, the turrets themselves, and the deck-armor. — An English Naval Architect. t The admiralty calculation in 1877 of the total weight of machinery was 1,405 tons ; but this probably did not include coal-bunkers, stern tubes for propellers, &c. — J.W. K. 40 The date named in the navy estimates for the completion of this ship is March, 1878. As a new type of a man-of-war, the leading features of the Inflexible may be summed up as follows : The armor is confined to the central fighting portion and to the main substructure which floats the ship. An armored deck 7 feet under water divides the vessel into two sep- arate portions. The unarmored ends are so constructed that the vessel will float even when they are penetrated by shot. The ship has a wide beam and a comparatively light draught of water. The deck-houses give a high bow and stern, and the turrets are so arranged as to enable all four guns to be fired both ahead and astern, or on either beam. In perusing the foregoing description of the Inflexible, it has been seen that her double bottom is divided and subdivided into an unusual number of spaces, and that the water-tight bulkheads have been intro- duced to an extent not before attempted, and in fact almost every con- ceivable precaution has been taken to make her secure against the ram and the torpedo. If, however, she should be fairly struck by several powerful fish- torpedoes, it is quite probable she would be crippled, water- logged, or possibly sunk. The question therefore presented is, whether two vessels of smaller dimensions, each carrying two 80-ton guns in- stead of four, would not have been a safer and in some respects a better investment. STABILITY OF THE INFLEXIBLE. During the summer of 1875, or thereabouts, Mr. E. J. Eeed, 0. B., M. P., made visits of observation to one or both of the great ships building in Italy. After his return to London he pronounced these ships unsafe for battle. He said : u The Italian ships Duilio and Dandolo are ex- posed, in my opinion, beyond all doubt or question, to speedy destruc- tion. I fear I can only express my apprehension that the Italians are pursuing a totally wrong course, and one which is likely to result in disaster." The charge was promptly met and stoutly denied by the Ital- ian minister of marine, from his seat in the Parliament at Eome. He said: "Mr. Eeed cannot possibly prove any such statements, because no one but the designer and his confidential agents are entitled to have the particulars for making the necessary calculations ; and, in case of a half- built ship, the intentions of the designer with regard to the disposition of a great mass of material not yet arranged and specified form part of these particulars." The Italians have proceeded to complete these two great ships accord- ing to the original design, and trust for both buoyancy and stability to their unarmored ends. And in their later and far larger ships, the Ita- lia and Lepanto, they have, in full view of Mr. Eeed's criticisms, gone still further and abandoned the citadel itself. The Inflexible, which is of the same type, and of the plans of which Mr. Eeed no doubt had knowledge from the time she was laid down in Feb- ruary, 1874, was at this time building, yet nothing was said of the want of stability in this ship. The progress of construction continued rapidly to advance for three and a half years ; the completed ship was promised for 1878, and the British public believed that their government would soon possess the most formidable and the most perfect warship ever floated, when, suddenly, surprise and alarm were created by the announcement that it had become a serious question to one or more naval architects, outside the admiralty, whether the promised and essential conditions of the safety of the Inflexible had been attained. It appeared to a compe- tent critic, who had been investigating the subject, that the central cita- del of the ship was too small to secure of itself the end designed, and that the added buoyancy in the unprotected ends might, in action, soon TBE INFLEXIBLE. 41 be shot away. The Times under date of June 18, 1876, published the result of the calculations, and Mr. Eeed brought on the question, on similar lines, in the House of Commons. The first lord defended the admiralty with conspicuous gallantry, treating the criticisms as a depart- mental attack : the papers and letters were called for and laid before the house, when it was seen that the naval constructors asserted one thing and Mr. Eeed, with no inferior authority, asserted the opposite. Mr. Reed said that in action the cork and stores might be shot away, and the unprotected ends riddled and water-logged; and that in such an event the citadel, though intact, would still capsize. The reply was, that the supposed case was too remote a possibility to be considered, and that without any unprotected ends the ship would still float. The argument became close and intricate. The various means of capsizing a ship were considered, as well as the different operations of explosive shells in the destruction of cork and stores. The varied perils to which the ship would be exposed in battle, with ends riddled — such as the action from the waves, the moving of the "free water" within the ship, the pitching and the rolling, the running out of the guns, and last, but not least, from the action of the rudder as the vessel approached its minimum stability — were all discussed and treated of. The essential points in the correspondence may be summarized as follows : First Mr. Eeed said : On visiting the Inflexible from time to time, I found that the unarmored ends were so very large in proportion to the citadel as to raise in my mind a doubt as to this important condition being fulfilled. Observing this, and also the introduction of cork chambers, I designed an Inflexible in my own office, and had the whole of the calculations made, the result showing that when these cork chambers were destroyed the vessel would have no stability whatever, out would be in a condition to capsize. Second : My objection is not that the Inflexible and other vessels do not possess that final reserve of stability, after a severe and protracted engagement, which I consider nec- essary, but that the cork chambers will be liable in action to speedy destruction, and that the ship will then be left without stability. The reply of the admiralty officers, laid on the table of the House of Commons, consists of several papers quoted below — First, a letter from the director of construction, in which, besides giving the curves of sta- bility and tables of calculations as hereafter annexed (as are also Mr. Eeed's approximate curves), he also states : But when I say that I regard this stability as being sufficient in view of the possi- ble diminution of the stability by slow degrees by the blowing out of the cork walls and internal solid stores, I desire to add that I regard the possibility of the ship ever being reduced to this state as being infinitely remote, although not absolutely impos- sible. If the water be kept out of the coal-spaces by the coffer-dams, as I believe it will be, the ship will retain an amount of stability far in excess of the Devastation, in- cluding her wings added by us. In that case the water will not flow over her decks, as is supposed in the model; these decks will remain as high out of the water as the fore deck of the Devastation, and we should see no more reason for supposing the sea to wash freely from side to side in those decks than in the Devastation. In order to justify Mr. Reed's objection, it is necessary to assume still further that every atom of solid material, excluding water, in the cellular store-rooms and in the cork walls has been blown out of the ship, and that only the battered iron shell remains, loading down the ship, but giving her no assistance. With regard to that, I say that no heavily-armored ship ever has been designed to comply with such a condition. I ought, perhaps, to add that the whole of this discussion turns upon the power of the ship to resist the attacks of artillery, and I have endeavored to show that a fair balance is maintained between thickness of armor and extent of surface covered by armor. But, after all, the power of resisting attacks above water is only one element of the defense. We have also to consider the under-water attack. It would be easy, following Mr. Reed's course, to lay down some principle with regard to these attacks, and to say that no ship is well designed which is not so subdivided as to satisfy cer- tain conditions. 42 EUROPEAN SHIPS OF WAR, ETC The second paper is from Rear- Admiral Boys, director of naval ord- nance. He said: Looking at this as a question of naval artillery, I cannot conceive that the conditions on which Mr. Reed bases bis argument as to the safety of the ship can be brought, about in a naval engagement. These conditions are, practically, that the fore and after ends of the ship are to be utterly demolished. Should the Inflexible be made a target for continued practice, or be placed in a position similar to a fort whose walls could be breached by a battery of fixed guns, it is possible that in time the unarraored parts above water might be destroyed; but I do not think, for the following reasons, it is possible in a naval engagement to commit the havoc below the water that is presup- posed by Mr. Reed : 1. The difficulty of striking a ship at or below the water-line, particularly one of the Inflexible type, that will scarcely ever roll. 2. The projectiles that would be fired at the Inflex* b le would certainly be arrnor-pierc- ing, either chilled iron or steel ; and such shell would not bursb in passing through the thin iron sides of the ship, as they require the resistance of armor to ignite the bursting charge. 3. Considering the few guns that are likely to be carried by any ship engaging the Inflexible, and the ever-varying distance and bearing that must exist in any future naval action, it is next to impossible that any number of shells could be planted in at ship in such an exact position (even supposing them to burst) as to "blow out the cork from the chambers in which it will be fixed." Those in charge of the ship must be devoid of all resources if during the intervals of an engagement — for intervals there must be — they could not take some steps, by the employment of stopper-mats or shot-plugs, &c, to prevent the unarmored euds of the ship from being water-logged ; or supposing the water to come in, to allow it to run into the bilge, to be pumped out by the engines. If the ship should get a list from water finding its way into the divisions at either end above the armored deck, it appears to me there are simple means at hand that can be resorted to for balancing her in an upright position. I have no hesitation in saying I do not share, for one moment, Mr. Reed's anxiety for the safety of the Inflexible in action, from the effect of artillery-hre, as expressed by him. The third paper is from Yice- Admiral Stewart, K. C. B., controller of the navy, the pith of which reads thus : The result which has been assumed in this letter (Mr. Reed's) could, in my opiniou, only be arrived at if we can suppose the ship lying perfectly helpless and immovable, and allowing herself to be attacked by an indefinite number of guns. By this means it is possible that a large portion of the unarmored structure above the water might be destroyed, but even then, I fail to see how it is possible to destroy or remove entirely all material, timber, cork, stores, coal, or other articles which, while remaining in any portion of the structure, must exclude water, or prevent water taking their place. To assume this ship placed in such a position, is, to my mind, representing an exaggerated state of circumstances which could never occur in real warfare, Finally, a letter from their lordships indorsing their subordinates' views in full. Tables of calculations. Table No. 1. Condition. Ship complete, cork in place As in b, but in light condition Fully equipped ; ends riddled As in e, but coal between decks (800 tons) re- moved As in e, but in light condition As in e, but supposing the water in ship when upright lor,ked — As in k, but supposing main deck kept free of water Ft. in. 24 7 21 10 26 1 23 9 26 8£ 26 8* Tons. 11, 500 10, 000 11, 500 10, 700 10, 000 12, 668 12, 668 Beg. 14 18 11 1U 15 11 11 a 53 a re 2? Sa a; * Beg. 31.2 31.7 13.5 15.4 20.8 13.9 27.4 Ft. 3.28 3. 935 .568 .534 .794 .705 2.42 Beg. 74.3 71.5 30.0 32.2 36.8 32.8 71.5 I I Ft. 8.25 8.53 2.0 3.09 2.22 CO ul as / > £C 3 o □ at / LJ / - Ul QC / J K tnj : S : Jo ^j \ - W < \ I 4 In V ,„„7 ££ THE INFLEXIBLE. Table No. 2. 43 Condition of ship (intact draught 24 feet 7 inches.) £3 ©■si i- £ * H 1. Ends riddled and one-third of buoyancy of ends! clear of coals retained, bat water excluded from > Coals between decks in . . . coffer-dams and coal-spaces between decks. ) Ditto, ditto > Coals between decks out., 2. Same as 1, except that the one-third of buoyancy J c } between decks m ... of ends referred to is neglected. 5 Ditto, ditto Coals between decks out. . Ft. 25 23 25 Ft. in. HI 10 The following table is given on page 10 of the official report 1 Inflexible as as- sumed in model, ; un armored ends giving no sta- bility. Devastation with forecastle rid- dled and giving no stability. Maximum stability 6, 532 foot-tons Angle of maximum stability 13§ degrees . Range 30 degrees . . 5, 237 foot -ton s. 9 degrees. 34i degrees. In the end the government was forced to yield to public opinion and appoint a committee to investigate the subject and report their views. The committee so appointed was composed of men of the highest stand- ing and integrity, though none of them were professional naval archi- tects. It would be difficult to name four men in England whose opinion on the points at issue would be entitled to greater weight. They were Admiral Sir James Hope, Dr. I. Woolley, Mr. G. W. Eendel, C. E., and Mr. Froude, E. E. S. They were appointed in August, and were in- structed to consider a series of questions, the investigations of which and the experiments made by them seem to have engaged their lime UDtil early in December, when their report was submitted to the admi- ralty. We quote the essential points from an English journal : First. " As to the possibility or probability of the occurrence of the contingencies con- templated by Mr. Reed as being likely to happen very early in an engagement, namely, the complete penetration and water-logging of the unprotected ends of the ship, and the blowing out of the whole of the stores and the cork by the action of shell-fire.'"' On this point (according to the official summary of the report) the committee are of opinion that the complete penetration and water-logging of the unprotected ends of the ship, coupled with the blowing out of the whole of the stores and the cork by the action of shell-fire, is not likely to happen very early in an engagement ; further, that it is in a very high degree improbable, even in an engagement protracted to any extent which can be reasonably anticipated. Nor do they think it possible, except in the event of her being attacked by enemies of such preponderating force as to render her entering into any engagement in the highest degree imprudent. Question two is divided into two clauses ; the first is, " as to whether there would be any risk of the ship capsizing if she were placed under the conditions mentioned in the previous x>aragraph, supposing that the water ballast were admitted into the double bottom of the armored citadel. The committee find that uuder the extreme condi- tions assumed, the ship, even without water-ballast, would yet have stability, and would, therefore, float upright in still water, and we are of opinion that the stability that she would have in that condition, though small, is,iu consequence of the remarka- ble effects of free internal water in extinguishing rolling, sufficient to enable her to 44 * EUROPEAN SHIPS OF WAR, ETC. encounter with safety waves of considerable magnitude. The ship under tVse circum- sta ces, however, would require to be handled with great cautioD. The . d ussion of water as ballast increases the amount of stability, and is thus of advantage as against steady inclining forces; but on accouut of the deeper immersion it involves it does not materially increase the range of the stability. When the immersion is such as largely to increase the depth of the water on the middle deck, it appears that the extinguish- ing effect of such water becomes less vigorous, so that in a seaway the ship would, in the extreme condition, be safer with a moderate than with a very large amount of water admitted as ballast. It must be clearly understood, however, that we should consider the ship in a very critical state if reduced to this condition in the presence of a still powerful enemy. Her speed and power of turning would be so limited as to pravent her being maneuvered with sufficient rapidity to insure her against being effectively rammed, or so as to avoid a well-directed torpedo, while the small residuum of stability she would possess would not avail to render such an attack other than fatal. Her guns would also have to be worked with great caution, and under restrictions imposed by the high angle to which their combined movements would in broadside firing heel the ship. We have already expressed our opinion that it is in a very high degree im- probable that the ship would be reduced to this condition, even in a protracted engage- ment." The second clause is "whether she would retain a sufficient amount of stability to enable such temporary repairs to be executed as would enable her to reach a port/' The committee think that the destruction, implied by the extreme condition assumed, would be such that nothing effective could be done in the way of repairs at sea under any circumstances. Question three is also divided into sections. The first is, "whether, all points con- sidered, iu so far as can be ascertained from the designs and calculations, the Inflexible is a safe sea-going vessel." The committee are of opinion that in the intact condition the Inflexible is a safe sea-going vessel. The consideration of her safety, when not in an intact condition, properly falls under the investigation involved by the clause which follows. The second clause is, " whether, when the amount of damage to which the unpro- tected ends would be exposed in action is borne in mind, sufficient provision has been made to insure, in all human probability, her safety under such conditions. We have first to consider what is 'the amount of damage to which the unprotected ends would be exposed in action.' We do not hesitate to say that the complete destruction im- plied by riddling and gutting is so extreme an assumption that it may be regarded as a very highly improbable event even in a protracted engagement; yet recognizing the extravagance of one assumption does little toward enabling us to fix a reasonable one, and there is no sufficient basis either of actual experience or of experiment on which to decide what amount of damage to the ends is probable. Nor can we take refuge in adopting and providing for the extreme case as covering all others, because provis- ion cannot be made for the safety of the ship in one way without prejudice to it in another, and to give undue prominence to any one provision for its security becomes a serious error where only a just balance can give the best general result. For exam- ple, any extension in the citadel in favor of the unprotected ends would necessitate a corresponding reduction of thickness of the armor on the citadel. To the best of our judgment, the condition represented under the letters e or/ in the Parliamentary papers is that which might be fairly assumed to represent the greatest amount of damage the ship would be likely to suffer in any action. This condition represents the unpro- tected ends completely. riddled and water-logged, but the materials and cork remain- ing and adding buoyancy. Under e the whole of the coal is assumed in place, under / it is assumed to be removed. In adopting it we include any state of partial removal of material and partial riddling which may be regarded as its equivalent. We find that the ship, if reduced to this condition, would possess both buoyancy and stability enough to enable her to face all contingencies of weather, and to exercise all her powers, subject, however, to the limitations of speed which may be imposed by the character and position of the wounds in the ends, and which might be very serious in the condition. The united movement of all her guns from the loading to the firiug position would not heel her more than 2£ degrees, and the heel due to her circling at the highest speed attainable would not be an element of danger. The actual range of her stability would be not less than 35 degrees, which is considerably below the stand- ard provisionally laid down by the committee on designs, and referred to iu the Par- liamentary papers submitted to us. That standard, however, requires revision by the light of more recent investigations of the theory of rolling. It would be, at any rate, inapplicable to the present case, because the very waterlogging of the ends, which so reduces the range of stability, has a most remarkable effect in preventing rolling. Should the damage to the ends go beyond what we contemplate, the ship would still be in no immediate danger of being placed hors de combat. The transition from the condition e, in which she may be said to begin to have her efficiency impaired, to that extreme in which she must be regarded as in a ciitical state in the presence of au THE INFLEXIBLE. 45 enemy, is necessarily a gradual one, because it follows only the progress of destruction of the ends, and can only be completed with that destruction. It cannot be said that the armored citadel is invulnerable, or that the unarmored ends are indestructible, al- though the character of the risks they run is different. But in our opinion the unpro- tected ends are as well able as the armored citadel to bear the part assigned to them in encountering the various risks of naval warfare, and therefore we cousider that a just balance has been maintained in the design, so that out of a given set of conditions a good result has been obtained." The preceding paragraphs give a summary of the report. In the report itself the committee go into details. * * * Among other points the committee refer to the great difficulty which exists in hitting objects at sea just where the gunner wishes. " Among the chief sources of error in an action at sea are, the motion of the attack- ing vessel, the motion of the attacked vessel, the smoke of both vessels, the rolling and pitching of the vessel forming the gnn-platform, the imperfect knowledge of the distance of the object aimed at, the action of the wind in deflectiug the shot. As re- gards the error from imperfect knowledgeof distance, the means of ascertaining which at sea are at present very rude, it is to be remembered that the high speed at which modern ships of war engage causes them to change their distance with great rapidity. For instance, two vessels approaching to or receding from each other at the rate of twelve knots vary their distance apart at the rate of 40 feet per second. Errors of range from this and other causes are, as might be expected, muck in excess even of errors of direction, and a target which is low and wide, like the ends of the Inflexible, is much more difficult to hit than one which is high and narrow. Rifled projectiles are very devious after ricochet, so that if they fall short of the mark they have little chance of producing effect, while, if they go over, they are equally thrown away. As regards the effect of the rolling of the ship upou the accuracy of fire, the gun is gen- erally fired at the middle of the roll, when the deck is nearly horizontal. At such time the speed of the roll is the highest and the disturbing effect greatest, rendering it a matter requiring great skill and practice to make anything like accurate firing, even at short ranges. " It is to be regretted that there are no exact records of the results of naval firing. The custom is to record by ocular estimate made from the ships from which the prac- tice is carried on. We are, therefore, only in a position to say that such records as we have had before us confirm, so far as they go, the conclusion we have arrived at as to the improbability of a very large number of shells being planted in the unprotected ends. The unarmored structures in question arise 9 feet above the water, and extend 7 feet below it in the fighting condition of the ship. Their length is about 110 feet in front and in rear of the central citadel respectively. The structures to be destroyed are thus about 220 feet long in broadside view, by 16 feet high, nearly one-half of which is below the water-level, aud can only be reached by shells entering obliquely or when the side of the ship is partially laid bare by the action of the waves. Shells striking at or about the water-line may rip the middle deck and let water into the compartment pierced, although it is expected that the canvas and oakum with which the coffer-dam is charged will materially obstruct the inflow. Shells cannot, however, lift and blow out all the materials packed in the compartments except they enter very obliquely, which implies long range and consequent greatly increased inaccuracy of fire. The immersion of the vessel occasioned by the admission of water would in itself add to the difficulty of reaching and removing the materials below the water. Viewed obliquely or directly ahead or astern, one or other of the unarmored ends would derive a considerable amount of protection from the central battery. Shells very rarely make large breaches where they enter the side of an unarmored vessel. The process of ignition of the bursting charge, commenced on impact, takes a sensible time to complete, and the velocity of the shell being high, and but little diminished by the slight resistance offered by thin plating, it passes on at least 6 feet to 10 feet — corresponding roughly with a time of T ' T; th part of a second — before actual explosion takes place. It therefore enters as a shot by a hole of its own figure, and not greatiy exceeding it in size, and from the point at which explosion takes place the fragments go forward in a cone of dispersion, expending themselves in indenting aud cutting in- tervening bulkheads and the opposite side of the ship. The cork wail and coffer-dam being only 6 feet thick iu all, most of the shell may be expected to pass through them and to open in the spaces inside, unless striking very obliquely. The most effective armament to bring against the Inflexible^ ends alone would undoubtedly be one of numerous shell-guns. In an iron-clad such an armament is incompatible with armor of a thickness to be of the least avail against the Inflexible^ guns. It must be a broad- side armament, and this carried at a sufficient height above the water-level to be worked in a sea-way would involve an extended areaof armor incompatible with great thickness. We cannot, therefore, conceive an enemy deliberately adopting the tactics of using or building such iron-clads with a special view to attack the unprotected ends only, nor, considering the difficulty of naval fire, do we think firing could be very suc- cessfully directed at particular portions of the snip, such as the ends, instead of against 46 EUROPEAN SHIPS OF WAR, ETC. the sh'p as a whole. If called on to engage land forts mounting numerous shell-guns, the exceptional range of her great guns would enable the Inflexible to choose her dis- tance, and to engage beyoud the range at which guns of such inferior power could strike frequently or with effect. She could also, in case of need, always retire out of action, and choose her own time for renewing an engagement. Probably the most -effective mode of bringing a destructive shell-fire to bear on the Inflexible would be by a flotilla of gunboats concentrating their fire upon her." The committee compare the Inflexible as she is with a new Inflexible, having her armored citadel drawn out in length so as to render her much more nearly, if not ab- solutely, independent of the unprotected ends, the thickness of the armor being of course reduced in proportion to its extended area. It may be assumed that an addi- tion to the citadel of at least 30 feet in length would be necessary to satisfy this con- dition. The thickness of armor would then be in the new ship 21 inches as compared with 24 inches in the present one. If we now suppose the actual Inflexible to meet in conflict the new Inflexible, both being armed with the most powerful guns existing, which are capable of piercing 22 inches of armor, the new ship with her 21 inches of armor would be in immediate danger of receiving a mortal wound by the penetration of her citadel, where the vital parts are so crowded together that one blow might be fatal, and would almost certainly seriously cripple her. The possibility of ultimately crippling the enemy by a multiplicity of slight wounds in his unarmored extremities would do little or nothing practically to diminish the disparity arising from the fact that one ship possessed penetrable and the other impenetrable armor. Great accuracy of fire would only render it more certain that the penetrable citadel of the supposed new ship would be struck and pierced before the destruction of the ends of the other ship could be completed. In such a case the conclusion seems inevitable that the actual Inflexible would be greatly the superior vessel, and if any increase in the power of existing guns takes place, the same argument would induce a shortening and thick- ening of the armored citadel walls rather than the reverse. Nor would there appear to be a corresponding loss of advantage to the actual Inflexible as compared with the supposed new one, in the event of her having to engage weak iron-clads or unarmored vessels which might be able to bring against her numerous shell-gans equally useless against 21-inch and 24-inch armor, and therefore only able to attack the unprotected ends, because, conceding to the Inflexible the same accuracy of fire which must be assumed for the enemy before we can contemplate the tire of the shell-guns destroying the unprotected ends, either Inflexible would have speedily planted among her oppo- nents the few blows necessary to disable them. The committee conclude with the following recommendations: " 1. Looking to the unexpectedly great demand on the ship's longitudinal stability which may possibly ensue under the circumstances referred to * * we think it deserving of careful consideration whether it will not be advisable to extend the cork chambers longitudinally to the extreme ends of the ship and upward to the upper deck. " 2. We suggest for consideration that the travel of the guns on their slides should be reduced, and that they should either be so placed in the turrets that they may range equally on each side of the center or otherwise, that a slight alteration of the distribu- tion of weight in the turret should be made for the purpose of bringing the center of gravity of the turrets and guns over the center of evolution when the guns are at the middle of their range on the slides. At present the inclining moment due to the run- ning out of the guns is over 1,600 foot-tons, and becomes a serious element of danger as the ship approaches the riddled and gutted condition. It might by the measures proposed be reduced to little more than one-third of that amount. " 3. We note that the total pumping power which the Inflexible will possess, including the use of the circulating-pumps, is capable of throwing out 4,500 tons of water per hour ; and it is understood that in providing that amount of power a large increase (probably in the ratio of two to one) has been made in the proportion of pumping power to displacement hitherto adopted. " Notwithstanding this increase, the pumping-power is very disproportioned to the enormous extent of the leakage to which a modern ship of war is subject in actiou. The 4,500 tons per hour mignt be thrown out by 200 horse-power well applied, and it appears to us to be a conclusion not to be admitted except after the most exhaustive inquiry that a ship which has at her disposal for motive purposes 8,000 horse-power should not have more than 200 available for pumping purposes when she has been struck in a vital part by ram or torpedo. " We do not pretend to say how large a proportion of the engine-power could be made available, but we think it right to draw attention to the subject as one demanding grave consideration. " 4. Having expressed the opinion that future progress in the construction of armored ships lies in the adoption of an efficient system of armor, combined with some cellular or equivalent structure, we canuot but feel desirous that the best mode of dealing with shot and shell in the unarmored portions of the ends should be m*de the sifb- ject of careful aud systematic experimental inquiry. Such inquiry should einbraie THE INFLEXIBLE. 47 not only tl e form and distribution of the shells themselves, but also the best mate- rial, if any, with which they might be wholly or partially filled. It is to be regretted that a similar recommendation of the committee on designs was so imperfectly adopted ; but even the partial experiments made in 1872 added materially to our information, and, so far as they went, they justified the adoption of the cork-filled cells and oakum- and-canvas-packed coffer-dams of the Inflexible. If, however, as we believe, the time has come when cellular structures must form an important feature in a ship's design, the area and scope of such experiments should be greatly enlarged ; and we strongly recommend this subject to the serious consideration of their lordships. " 5. Results which have been obtained in the course of the experiments at Torquay on the resistance of ships show that a considerable increase of the extreme breadth of the Inflexible, if accompanied by a corresponding fining of the ends so as to keep the displacement unaltered, would, if anything, diminish the resistance of the intact ves- sel to propulsion at full speed. Supposing the ship thus increased in beam by 10 feet and the citadel shortened, so as to retain the same perimeter and thickness of armor, her transverse stability would then be about doubled in the e and / conditions, and in the riddled and gutted conditions would be more than it now is in condition e or/. ''Her longitudinal stability in the riddled and gutted condition would be reduced 10 per cent., but would not be diminished in condition e and scarcely appreciably so inf. The increase of beam, would also add to the area of the citadel in a horizontal plane, and thus increase the buoyancy in the riddled condition. " We note that the beam of the Inflexible was limited by the consideration of the width of the docks available for her repair, but we doubt if this consideration ought to outweigh the great advantages which a further increase of beam would give to ves- sels of the Inflexible type. We are the more inclined to doubt it because at present docks capable of accommodating vessels of any breadth can be constructed of iron rapidly, and at no serious cost in comparison with that of such vessels as the Inflex- ib le. " We therefore, in conclusion, desire to bring under the very serious consideration of their lordships the necessity, before proceeding with the construction of more vessels of the type of the Inflexible, of thoroughly investigating whether by more beam their safety may not be largely increased without impairing their speed and efficiency." It must have been apparent to every one who has read the proceedings in this case and considered the subject-matter, that the real question is not so much what might possibly happen in a certain extreme supposed case, as whether this extreme condition lies within the limits of reason- able probability; for, assuming that the probability is infinitesimally small, the question of the resulting effects may be entirely disregarded. Upon this point the committee use very clear and decided language ; they say that "such an extreme condition is in a very high degree im- probable even in a protracted engagement." Of course this is a pre- sumptive opinion, but it is sustained by opinions of able naval officers of high rank whose letters on the subject have been published; and as the question is not a naval architect's question, the opinions of the com- mittee, backed by professional officers, is, in the absence of experience, the best authority attainable. It is impossible to secure immunity from risk in battle. If this much- discussed question should ever be practically tested in actual warfare, the Inflexible in like manner with the Nelson and Northampton having unprotected ends, as well as other British armored ships, if engaged by a powerful enemy, will encounter greater risks of being sunk from the attacks of rams and torpedoes than from the effects of artillery- fire. THE AJAX AND AGAMEMNON. The Inflexible having been accepted as the type of the British future line-of-battle ship, two others of smaller dimensions have been put in process of construction, viz, the Ajax, which was laid down at the Pem- broke dock-yard in 1876, and the Agamemnon, commenced at Chatham in the same year; besides which a third ship of the same type is provided for in the navy estimates of 1877. After so full an account of the Inflexible, any detailed description of these two sister ships would be a mere repetition. By reference to the drawings it will be seen that the leading features of the design are the same. They differ only in dimensions, power of offense and defense, in motive machinery, and in minor details. The cost to build as well as to maintain one of them will be consider- ably less than for the Inflexible, and they will be much less difficult to maneuver. The length between perpendiculars is 40 feet, and the beam 14 feet, less ; the mean draught of water 23 feet 6 inches, against 24 feet 5 inches; and the displacement 8,492 tons, against 11,406. The length of the citadel is 104 feet instead of 110 feet, and the armored deck out- side of the citadel is 5 feet 10 inches below the water-level, instead of 7 feet; and the free-board is 9 feet 6 inches. The cork chambers extend forward of the citadel 30 feet, and abaft it 37 feet ; in depth they are 12 feet, 6 feet be^ow water and 6 feet above. The coffer-dam is of the same length, and 2 feet wide. The defense is considerably reduced ; the armor on the water-line being, first, 10 inches of teak next to the iron hull, faced by 8 inches of iron ; then 9 inches of teak faced with 10 inches of iron, making in all 18 inches of iron and 19 inches of teak, against 24 inches of iron and 25 inches of wood in the larger ship. The armament will consist of four 33-ton guns, worked on the hydraulic system, against four 80-ton guns. The maximum indicated horse-power is to be 6,000, and the speed is expected to come up to that of any armored ship afloat. The following are some of the dimensions and particulars : Length between perpendiculars 280 feet. Length over all , 301 feet 9 inches. Breadth, extreme 6G feet. Draught of water, forward, loaded 23 feet. Draught of water, aft, loaded „ 24 feet. Depth of hold from top of citadel 2L feet 4 inches. Area of immersed midship section 1, 402 square feet. Displacement 8, 492 tons. Free-board ... , . 9 feet 6 inches. Length of citadel 104 feet. Distance from stern to citadel 88 feet 6 inches. Depth of citadel 15 feet 6 iuches. Thickness of side of citadel 3 feet 1 inch. Distance between decks, lower 6 feet 6 inches. Distance between decks, upper 6 feet. 48 EUROPEAN SHIPS OF WAR, ETC. 49 Depth of armored deck below water-line 5 feet 10 inches. Number of turrets 2 Diameter of turrets, external 30 feet. Height of top of turrets above water-line J 7 feet 6 inches. Projection of rani . . - . . 9 feet. Depth of point of ram below water-line 9 feet. Width of forward superstructure 16 feet. Length of forward superstructure - 82 feet. Width of after superstructure 29 feet. Length of after superstructure 92 feet 6 inches. Height of superstructure, extreme 7 feet 9 inches. Distance between outer and inner hulls, amidships . 3 feet 2 inches. Distance between outer and inner hulls, near bilge. 2 feet 8 inches. Distance between outer and inner hulls, near water- line 3 feet 10 inches. Citadel armor, at water line, 10 inches iron, 9 inches wood, 8 inches iron, 10 inches wood, and 1^ inches iron ; total thickness 3 feet 2J inches. Armament 4 38-ton guns. Number of engines, (inverted 3-3ylinder) 2 Number of cylinders . . 6 Diameter of cylinders, high and low 54 inches. Stroke of pistons . . 3 feet 3 inches. Indicated horse-power, maximum 6, 000 Diameter of crank-shafts . 14£ inches. Number of screw propellers 2 Diameter of screw propellers 18 feet. Number of boilers, (return-tubular) 10 Number of furnaces : 28 Total grate- surface 647 square feet. Total heating-surface 18,062 square feet. 4 K :p-A.:r,t hi. THE DEVASTATION. THE DEVASTATION. The Devastation, as designed in 1869, was a low free-board, sea- going turret-ship. She was the first of this character which it was determined to build from plans prepared at the admiralty. The great question of that day in England, "Turret versus Broadside' 7 for mount- ing heavy guns in sea- going armored ships, will still be remembered by all persons informed in the progress of naval construction. So strong were the supporters of certain views with regard to the former system that, notwithstanding the continued opposition of the chief constructor of the navy, the order had been given for the Captain, a vessel embody- ing these views, to be designed and built by a private firm. The Dev- astation may be regarded as designed to compete with the Captain. She represented Mr. Eeed r s views of what a sea-going monitor should be. Low sides were adopted, but not in combination \wth rigging and sails, as was the case in the ill-fated Captain. As originally designed, the Devastation was 285 feet long between the perpendiculars, had 62 feet 3 inches beam, and 26 feet 1J inches mean draught. Her sides, which, except right forward, arose only to a height of 4 feet 6 inches above the surface of the water, were protected by armor 12 inches thick. Her armament consisted of four 25-tou guns, mounted in pairs in two turrets, one at each end of a raised breastwork or platform, which extended about 150 feet along the middle of the upper deck. The guns were thus elevated to a height of some 14 feet above the surface of the water. The turrets were protected by armor 12 inches and 14 inches thick, and the breastwork by armor 10 inches and 12 inches thick. A forecastle extended forward from the fore end of the breastwork, at a height of 9 feet 3 inches above the water-line, but in wake of this fore- castle the armor on the sides dropped to a height of only 6 inches above the surface of the water, this corresponding to the level of an armored deck. All the necessary hatchway openings, &c, into the ship were led up by iron trunks to a light flying deck, which extended between the two turrets, somewhat overlapping each. The vessel was to be propelled by two screws, one under each counter, and each screw was to be worked by separate pairs of engines, so that the ship might be di iven by their conjoint action or by either of them working singly. The total power of the engines was to be 5,600 horses, indicated, and the estimated speed was 12.5 knots. She was designed with a spur bow, the point of the ram advancing some 10 or 12 feet under water. The strength of the hull was arranged so as to give great support to the bow when ramming. She had a double bottom, the space between the two skins, some 3 feet deep, being divided, as is usual, into a number of separate water-tight cells, so that injury to the outer bottom could only result .in the rilling of one or more of these. The hold of the vessel, also, was divided into a number of compartments by water tight bulkheads across the ship; so that even in the event of a clean breach being made through both bottoms, such as might be effected by a torpedo, for instance, she might still have a considerable chance for escape, from being able to confine the water to the compart- ment or compartments into which the breach was made. This was the Devastation as first designed, and the work of building was being rapidly pushed forward at Portsmouth dock-yard. The Cap- 53 ■54 EUROPEAN SHIPS OF WAR, ETC, tain in the mean time was winning a bigh reputation. She had been launched in March, 1869, and had toward the close of 1870 made one or two successful cruises. True, when completed, it was found that a very important element in connection with the design, the weight of the ship, and consequently the draught of water and height of free-board, had been loosely calculated; but the error arising therefrom, though by no means small, was not regarded as serious; and as it did not apparently much influence her sea-going qualities, no special notice was taken of it. Her stability was never doubted by her designers ; nor, indeed, was her critical state ever properly realized by any one ; any doubt that may have existed was smothered by the confidence of her advocates. The chorus of praise which she elicited on all sides con- tinued to increase, and the question, what the type of British war-ship for the future should be, was supposed to be settled in her beyond dis- pute. Then came the dreadful news that she had gone down during the night between the 6th and 7th of September, off Cape Finisterre. The wind had not been unusually violent; the sea had not been exceptionally heavy; there were no extenuating circumstances; she had not bravely battled with ordinarily rough weather; she was proceeding confidently under steam and sails when, in an ordinary squall, she displayed once and for all her subtle and treacherous character by slowly turning over and becoming the coffin of nearly the whole of her crew, some five hundred men, including a large number of accomplished officers. The people of England were almost panic-stricken at this terrible news. How it could have occurred with the comparatively widespread knowledge relating to the subject and. the actual facts and figures of herspecial case before them, it was difficult to conceive. To remove the doubt which immediately arose as to the safety of the other armored ships, and particularly as to that of the Devastation, a special committee was appointed to examine into the designs of these vessels. This committee, which consisted of many of the highest professional and scientific authorities in England, met in January, 1871, and made their report concerning the Devastation class early in the following March. After numerous calculations and investigations they came to the conclusion that the stability of the Devastation was everything that could be desired, and reported that "ships of this class have stability amply sufficient to make them safe against the rolling and heaving action of the sea." The committee, however, agreed in recommending a plan which the constructors of the admiralty had proposed with the view of making safety doubly safe. By this plan, which was afterward adopted, the stability of the sjiip has been very considerably increased ; and besides this, the accommo- dation of the officers and men has been very largely augmented. The plan consisted in the addition of the side superstructures. They were formed by continuing the ship's side upward with light framing, as high as the level of the top of the breastwork, and continuing the breast- work deck over to the sides. The structures were extended aft on each side a considerable distance beyond the end of the breastwork, providing two spacious wings, which add largely to the cabin accommodation. Some other alterations in the design which were suggested by the com- mittee were carried out; among them may be mentioned the introduc- tion of athwartship armor-plated bulkheads, so as to afford additional protection to the magazines and engines. An alteration of consider- able importance had been made some time before, consisting in the sub- stitution of 35-ton guns for 25-ton guns, as originally arranged. With these and some other slight alterations the vessel was completed. Her mean draught of water is now 26 feet 8 inches. Her height of side above water-line is 10 feet 9 inches, except right forward in wake of the THE DEVASTATION. 55 forecastle, where it is 8 feet 6 inches, and right aft abaft the superstruct- ure, where it is only 4 feet. The following tables give all the dimensions and data necessary to be known of this powerful vessel : Statement of dimensions, weights, and other particulars of Her Majesty's ship Devastation. Dimensions, &c. Length between the perpendiculars.. Length of the keel for tonnage Breadth, extreme Breadth, for tonnage Depth in hold Burden, in tons Draught of water: Forward Aft Mean Displacement, in tons Area of midship section, in square feet. Height of port-sills from load water- line: Fore turret After turret Height of upper deck at side water- line : Forward Amidships Engines : Nominal horsepower Indicated horse-power Speed, per hour, in knots Coals, number of tons Water : Number of tons Number of weeks' consumption . Provisions: Number of tons Number of weeks' consumption.. Complement of men and officers Armament Total weight of armor, in tons (in- cluding fastening) Total weight of backing, in tons (in- cluding fastening) Depth of armor below water-line, amidships Height of armor above water-line : <*— Kr h i ps ::::: O, breastwork 5 i^ship^.... Thickness of armor and backing : On sides On bulkheads at break of deck forward On bulkheads in hold On breastwork On turrets Thickness of skin-plating behind armor : On sides On bulkheads at break of deck forwat i On breastwork On turrets Thickness of deck-plating: On upper deck JA;»^»P» Oj belt-Jee'u '.'..'.'.*'".'." On deck over breastwork Estimate of April, 1869. 285 feet in. 246 feet 3f in. 62 feet 3 in. 58 feet in. 18 feet in. 4, 406 57-94 25 feet 9 in. 26 feet 6 in. 26 feet 1| in. 9, 062 1, 449 13 feet 6 in. 13 feet 2 in. 9 feet 3 in. 4 feet 6 in. 800 5,600 12.5 (Estimated.) 1,700 16 2 9.5 4 250 4 25-ton guns. 2,307 306 5 feet in. 4 feet 2 in. feet 6 in. 11 feet 5 in. 11 feet 9 in. Estimate of November, 1869. 285 feet in. 246 feet 3| in. 62 feet 3 in. 58 feet in. 18 feet in. 4, 406 57-94 25 feet 9 in. 26 feet 6 in. 26 feet U in. 9, 062 1,449 13 feet 6 in. 13 feet 2 in. 9 feet 3 in. 4 feet 6 in. 800 5, 600 12. 5 (Estimated.) 1,600 16 2 4 250 4 30-ton guns. 306 5 feet in. 4 feet 2 in. feet 6 in. 11 feet 5 in. 11 feet 9 in. Estimate of January, 1871. 285 feet in. 246 feet 3f in. 62 feet 3 in. 58 feet in. 18 feet in. 4, 406 57-94 25 feet 9 in. 26 feet 6 in. 26 feet H in. 9,090 1,454 13 feet 6 in. 13 feet 2 in. 9 feet 3 in. 4 feet 6 in. 800 5, 600 12.5 (Estimated.) 1,600 16 2 4 250 4 35-ton guns. 2,482 306 5 feet in. 4 feet 2 in. feet 6 in. 11 feet 5 in. 11 feet 9 in. Actual dimen- sions, &c, as completed in April, 1873. 285 feet in. 246 feet 3| in. 62 feet 3 in. 58 feet in. 18 feet in. 4, 406 57-94 26 feet 3 in. 27 feet 1 in. 26 feet 8 in. 9,298 1,487 12 feet 11 in. 12 feet 7 in. 8 feet i 10 feet m. in. 8D0 6,633 13.84 (Actual.) 1,350 30 3 19 6 329 4 35-ton guns. 2,581 314 5 feet 6| in. 3 feet 1\ in. nil. 10 feet 10J in. 11 feet 2£ in. Armor. Inches. 12&10 12 12&10 147. 3 and 67. 4 8,201.52 2 27 ins. and 27. 18 67. 6 and 67. 4 8,233.78 3 27 ins. and 27.25 67. 4 and 67. 3 8,179.94 4 27 ins. and 27. 37 66. 9 and 67. 8,177.77 5 27. 5 ins. and 27. 43 67. 1 and 66. 9 8,155.93 6 27 ins. and 27. 37 66. and 66. 8 8, 207. 39 74 EUKOPEAN SHIPS OF WAR, ETC. The mean power developed by the engines during the six hours was 8,216.28, or 216.28 horse-power beyond the contract. * * * The blasts were not used from first to last. * * * The mean boiler-pressure was 60.3 pounds. The mean pressure of steam on the pistons was, high, 31.6 pounds ; low, 9 pounds. * * * The coal con- sumed on the trial amounted to 50 tons 122 pounds, being equal to 2.27 pounds per in- dicated horse-power per hour. The consumption on the six-hour trial of the Thunderer was 3.14 pounds. In order to show the superiority of the Dreadnought's compound en- gines from an economic point of view, it may be mentioned that had she been fitted with engines of the common type, as those of the Thunderer, she would have to burn 80 tons* a day more fuel to develop the same power as on the day of trial. The engines were stopped from full speed in 18 seconds, and from going astern were started full speed ahead in 15 seconds. The speed of the ship is not given, but the pitch of the screw-pro- pellers was 23£ feet, which, with 12J per cent, slip, would give 13.8 knots per hour. The Dreadnought is now the most formidable fighting-ship on the ocean, and next after the Inflexible will be the most powerful ship of war ever floated in British waters. TRIALS OF THE GUNS. What the 81-ton gun can do against an armored target has been seen, and as some important results have been achieved with the piece which comes next below it in magnitude in the British service, viz, the 38- ton gun of the pattern mounted in both turrets of the Dreadnought, also in the fore turret of the Thunderer, all being now in practical use at sea, besides which others are being manufactured for the sister ships Agamemnon and Ajax, it may be interesting for reference and com- parison to state as a matter of fact that the 38-ton gun has sent its pro- jectile nearly through an armored target of the following combination: A 12-inch plate, an 8-inch plate, 6 inches of teak, and a 5-inch plate, into which last it penetrated 2 inches, or altogether 22 inches of iron and 6 inches of teak. In another instance the projectile was sent through a target built up in the following manner: A 4-inch plate, an 8-inch plate, 6 inches of teak, a 5-inch plate, 6 inches of teak, and an inner 1-inch skin supported by angle-irons, making altogether 18 inches of iron and 12 inches of teak. This was done at close quarters. Be- sides, in October, 1876, at a range of 70 yards, the projectile was sent nearly through a target composed as follows : Three plates, each 10 feet wide, 8 feet high, and 6 J inches thick; between the plates were 5 inches of teak backing, making the total thickness of 19 J inches of iron and 10 inches of teak, or, in all, a target of 29 J inches. The shot, which had a striking velocity of 1,421 feet per second, punched a clean hole 13 inches by 12J inches in the two front plates, and penetrated into the rear plate, where it broke up. The charge was 130 pounds of 1.5-inch pebble-powder, and the projectile weighed 812 pounds. The target was an exact sample of the armor of some of the English coast forts; there- fore, as a prelude to experiments on a large scale, this experiment opens up the question of coast defense. The caliber of this gun is 12J inches. Since the firing above noted the powder-chamber has been increased to a diameter of 14 inches, and in March, 1877, the first trial against armor after chambering took place. It was calculated that after chambering the quantity of powder which could be burnt and the consequent velocity and power of the shot would be considerably increased. The powder-charge was enlarged to 200 *The Times is in error; the correct figures are 76 tons; but this may be instructive, in view of our very limited naval appropriations, to the officers who have been raising objections to the use of compound engines in our Navy. 6\ Zl h Ui CD tr z D O z o I- I 001 ool u I I- Front View. Side View. Pl, THE 39-TON GUN. 75 pounds, other conditions being equal, except that for this trial the target was strengthened by the addition of another 6J-inch plate and 5 inches of teak bolted on to the front of the target, extending over the greater portion of it, making in all 26 inches of iron and 15 inches of teak. The drawing of the target, preceding this description, together with the data relating to the gun, has been taken from the Engineer. The structure is shown in front view, side view, and plan. The plates are bolted together in pairs by means of the Palliser bolts in the same manner as in the target for the 81-ton gun previously described. The shot struck a point 4 feet 11 inches from the ground and 2 feet 5J inches from the junction-line of the thinner and thicker portions of the target. The shot buried itself deep in the target, the base, after the re- moval of the copper gas-check, being found to be 8.2 inches from the front face. The base was split into quarters, speaking roughly (vide Fig. 1). The face of the target was but slightly bulged. The rear of it was not so abruptly bulged as in the case of the target of the 81-ton gun, though it seems apparent that the general effect of the 38-ton-gun shot on its target very closely resembles that of the 81-ton gun on its target. It seems, judging from the work done by this shot compared with that of its predecessor, that the projectile penetrated to a less extent than the one in the last round before chambering. It penetrated only 21J inches of iron and 15 inches of teak, which is not considered a fair representative of the effect of the chambered gun at 70 yards range. The deficiency is represented to have been owing to a difficulty that occurred in the set- ting up of the 200-pound cartridge, which prevented its being rammed down, so that in j'act it had to be blown out and the gun recharged ; two cartridges, each containing 100 pounds, were then employed, and they occupied more room than was intended, extending beyond the chamber. This interfered with the action of the charge, which was burned under less favorable conditions than were designed. The actual initial velocity attained, however, was 1,540 feet per second, and the striking velocity at the target was 1,525 feet per second. This, with a shot of 800 pounds weight and gas-check of 12 pounds weight, it is calculated, would give a penetration of about 23 inches of iron, or an increase of about 2 inches on the uuchambered gun, results that are expected to be attained in future trials. THE ARMSTRONG 39-TON BREECH-LOADING GUN. This gun, the most powerful breech-loader manufactured in England, was tested at the Elswick works in March, 1877. It was described in the Engineer^ February 23, and the details of the trials were given by the same paper March 23. The dimensions of the gun are as follows : Caliber, 12 inches ; -length of gun, 282 inches ; length of bore, 2G4 inches, or 22 calibers ; weight of gun, 39 tons ; weight of projectile, 700 pounds; description of rifling, polygroove ; pitch of rifling, increasing from 1 turn in 100 to 1 turn in 45 ; number of grooves, 45. Theanangementof the breech-closing mechanism follows the pattern adopted in the French marine as far as the form of the breech-screw and the mode of securing, releasing, and withdrawing it are concerned ; but differs materially in the arrangements for closing the end of the bore against the passage of gas. The gas-check is a steel cup attached to and supported by the end of the breech-screw. The supporting surface is slightly curved, and when the body of the cup is acted upon inter- nally, by pressure of the gas, the rim expands, and, fitting tightly upon 76 EUROPEAN SHIPS OF WAR, ETC. a copper ring rolled into a groove in the cup chamber, forms a perfect joint against any escape of gas. When the pressure of the gas is with- drawn, the gas-check cup frees itself by its own elasticity, and the breech-screw is withdrawn with ease. This arrangement has been sub- jected to the tests of practical working by the Italian Government, who, having fired over 500 rounds from a 12-centimeter gun of this descrip- tion, manufactured for them by Sir W. G. Armstrong & Co., subse- quently ordered a considerable number of guns of the same caliber. The projectiles used were fitted with a copper ring at the rear, which, being expanded into the rifling by the gas-pressure, gave the necessary rotation, and at the same time perfectly closed the bore against the pas- sage of gas. A slightly projecting band at the front end of the projectile, carefully turned to fit easily into the bore, supported the projectile at that end. This gun is best dealt with by comparing its trials with the Woolwich 38-ton muzzle-loader just mentioned. The results are tabu- lated as follows : Armstrong breech-loader. Woolwich muzzle-loader. Weight, in tons Caliber, in inches Weight of charge, in pounds Weight of projectile, in pounds Velocity at muzzle, in feet per second AVork stored up, in foot- tons 39 38 12 12* 180 (pebble-powder). 133 700 812 1,615 1,450 12, 656, or 336 per inch of 11, 838, or 301 p*r inch oi circumference. circumference. :p^:r,t -v BROADSIDE ARMORS SHIPS; THE AUDACIOUS CLASS; THE ALEXANDRA. 77 BROADSIDE ARMORED SHIPS. France is credited with having produced the first ship clad in armor. The Gloire * was commenced in 1858 ; two others of the same type im- mediately followed ; all of them woodeu ships plated with iron. The first great English armored ship, the ^Yarrior, was begun in 1859, and was followed by the Black Prince. These ships were ordinary single-screw war-steamers, with iron hulls 380 feet long, incompletely protected by plates 4£ inches thick. After the Black Prince followed the Minotaur and Northumberland, each 400 feet in length ; but it was soon found that these long ships were not well adapted for maneuvering in line of battle, and hence the later armored ships were made gradually broader in the beam and shorter in length. At the same time various improvements were introduced into the build, one of which was the change of the old oblique projecting bow into the reverse-curved, swan-breasted shape, which is substantially the same as that of the present running-down bow or ram. The armor was no longer restricted to the amidship portion of the vessels ; it was extended lore and aft, until they were completely covered above water, and for a short distance below it. The weight of the guns steadily increased, and with it the thickness of armor. Leaving out of account the converted ships,we come to the Bellerophon, put afloat in 1865. This ship was Mr. Eeed's first production. She was considered to be a long step in advance ; still the central battery delivered no end-on fire. That was sought to be obtained by the contrivance of a bow-battery on the main deck. Thus, though the Bellerophon was known as carrying ten 12-ton guns, the bow-fire was intrusted to two 6i-ton guns. The next first-class ship, the Hercules, gained an improved fire from the central battery (18-ton guns) by the expedient of recesses in the ship's sides forward and aft of the battery ; advantage was taken of the recesses to make four ports in the ends, or rather corners, of the battery, * The first account we have of an armored ship is in 1530. The largest ship then known, one of the fleet of the Knights of Saint John, was shtathed entirely with lead, and is said to have successfully resisted all the shot of that day. At the siege of Gibraltar, in 1782, the French and Spaniards employed floating bat- teries, made by covering the sides of the vessels with junk, rawhide, and timber, to the thickness of 7' feet, and bomb-proofing the decks. Iron armor was suggested in the United States in 1812. In March, 1814, a bomb- proof vessel was patented by Thomas Gregg, of Pennsylvania. In 1842 R. L. Stevens, of New York, commenced the construction of an iron-armored ship of war. The first practical use of wrought-iron plates as a defense for the sides of vessels was made by the French during the Crimean war. The vessels used were of light draught, exposed little surface above water, and were termed floating batteries. They rendered very efficient service, especially at the bombardment of Kinburn, in 1855, and their success doubtless led to the adoption, by the French Government, of armor-plating for si ips of war. The English built armored boats at about the same time, which were also used in the Crimean wai. 79 80 EUROPEAN SHIPS OF WAR, ETC. from which four of the guns were able to fire within a few degrees of the line of the keel. If required to fight upon the broadside, these guns, which were mounted on tnrn-tables, were revolved to other ports. The armament of this ship, when put on board in 1870, was considered very powerful. It consisted of fourteen Woolwich rifled guns, of which eight were of 10-inch, two of 9-inch, and four of 7-inch caliber. Her water- line is defended by a belt of 9-inch armor, believed at the time it was put on to be impenetrable at the thickest part to any of the guns at that time afloat in European waters. This armor-belt extends for upward of 3 feet above and 3J feet below the water-line, from stem to stern of the ship. This defensive strength is, however, confined to the belt. The battery from which the largest guns are worked is only pro- tected with 6 inches thickness of armor, and experiment has shown that armor of that thickness with the ordinary backing, can be penetrated at a distance of 1,000 yards and at an inclination of impact of 30° by the 9-inch rifled gun, and at close quarters by the 7-inch rifled gun, such as is carried by many armored ships.* But the Hercules has other ex- cellencies ; she is, for an armored ship, a fair sailer, though represented to be awkward in tacking or wearing. She had a speed under steam on the measured mile of 14 knots, and can probably make 12 knots steadily for a few hours at sea. She is said to be a very steady ship, and can, therefore, use her offensive powers under conditions of sea in which a less steady ship would be almost hors de combat. In the Sultan, built subsequently, of the same general dimensions and much resembling the Hercules, a step in advance was made by adding an upper-deck battery. This ship carries eight 18-ton guns on the lower gun-deck, two of less weight in the upper-deck casemate, and two on this same deck forward, but they do not command an all-round fire. In most essential points the ships are the same, though the Sultan is re- ported to have the defect of excessive top weight, to counterbalance which, considerable extra ballast has been put into her. Both vessels are built with bows having projecting rams, and they are counted with the formidable sea going fighting-ships. * The Hercules is much more efficiently protected than the text above indicates. In evidence of this we may quote the following passage from Our Iron-Clad Ships, written in 1869 by Mr. Reed, the designer of* the Hercules: "The thickness of armor carried has, however, for the present, reached its maximum for sea-going broadside-ships in the Hercules, which has 9-inch armor at the water-line, 8-inch on the most important parts of the broadside, and 6-inch on the remainder. Outside the l^-inch skin-plating of this vessel, teak backing 12 and 10 inches thick is fitted together with longitudinal girders of the usual character. This does not, however, constitute the whole of her protection, for below the lower deck down to the lower edge of the armor, the spaces known as the ' wing-passages' are filled in solid with additional teak backing, and in- side this there is an iron skin £ inch thick, supported by a set of vertical frames 7 inches deep. The total protection, therefore, of the most vital part of the ship, in the region of the water-line, consists of the following thicknesses of iron and wood : Out- side armor, 9 inches; then 10-inch teak backing, with longitudinal girders at intervals of about 2 feet, worked upon 1^-inch skin-plating, supported by 10-inch vertical frames spaced 2 feet apart; the spaces between these frames are filled in solid with teak, and inside the frames there is a further thickness of about 19 to 20 inches of teak, the whole being bounded on the inside by f-inch iron plating, stiffened with 7-inch frames. The total thickness of iron (neglecting the girders and frames) is, then, 11£ inches, and of this 9 inches are in one thickness ; the teak backing has a total thickness of about 40 inches. The trial at Shoeburyness of a target constructed to represent this part of the ship's side proved that it was virtually impenetrable to the 600-poundor gun ; and per- haps no better idea of the increase of the resisting power of the sides of our irou-clads can be obtained than that derived from a comparison of the 68-pounder gun which the IVorrior's side was capable of resisting with the 600-pouuder tried against the Hercules's target." — An English Naval Architect. THE AUDACIOUS CLASS. 81 THE AUDACIOUS CLASS. The loss of the Vanguard, by sinking, off the coast of Ireland, in Sep- tember, 1875, from the effects of an accidental blow of the ram of a sister vessel — the Iron Duke — drew public attention for a time to the easy manner in which one of these powerful and costly ships could be dis- posed of, as well as to this particular class of vessels. In order that the department may be correctly informed on the subject, I have sub- mitted, independently of this report, a complete set of drawings show- ing the construction of the vessel, the entire internal arrangements, and the point penetrated by the ram of the Iron Duke. The class consisted of six broadside-vessels of similar design, viz, the Audacious, Iron Duke, Vanguard, Invincible, Triumph, and Siciftsure. The loss of the Vanguard leaves five. They were all built for sea-going cruising-ships, but the Triumph and Swiftsure only were sheathed in wood and coppered. A brief outline of their history may serve to show how designs for ships of war have sometimes been decided on by the admiralty. It was in the year 1867, in the midst of the controversy between the advocates of broadside and turret systems, that the board of admiralty resolved to invite the principal private ship-builders of the kingdom to compete in designs for either a turret or a broadside ship, at the option of the designer. Certain conditions were imposed in either case : the displacement was fixed, the draught of water was to be 22J feet, and the speed 13J knots. The armor-plating was to be at least 8 inches in thickness at the water-line, and 6 inches in other parts, except at the bow and stern, and it was essential that an all-round fire should be practical, or at least that some one gun behind armor-plates should command every poiut of the horizon. A prize was to be awarded to the successful competitor. Seven ship- building firms responded to the invitation, and sent in designs of vari- ous degrees of merit. The London Engineering Company proposed to build a broadside-ship of 3,800 tons ; the Mill wall Company, a compound of broadside and turret of nearly the same tonnage ; Messrs. Palmer & Co., a broadside-ship with a movable upper-deck battery ; and the Thames Company, a broadside-ship; while the firms of Messrs. Napier & Son, Messrs. Samuda, and Messrs. Laird each designed a turret-ship, fulfilling the proposed conditions. To the surprise of the competitors, all the designs were referred to Mr. Keed, then chief constructor of the navy, and he, though selecting the designs of Messrs. Laird as the best offered, referred to a turret-ship of his own, of the same dimensions, previously submitted, and the con- troller of the navy in reporting on the designs, which was the entire subject-matter referred to him, decided in favor of Mr. Reed's ship over all the private designs, and that the admiralty designs of the Audacious class of broadside-ships was superior to either.* * The author states that the competitors were surprised to rind that their designs were referred to the chief constructor of the navy for report, but it would, we think, have surprised them much more to find their designs referred to any one else, and the author omits to suggest what other or better authority existed for framing a report upon such designs. We doubt if the competitors really felt any surprise at all in the matter, for they must have known that the admiralty invariably referred competitive designs to their responsible professional officers for report. We have never heard the report which the chief constructor made in this case called in question either as re- gards its scientific accuracy or its fairness. It is, no doubt, always to be regretted Gk 82 EUROPEAN SHIPS OF WAR, ETC. Ttiis view was adopted, and the result of all this competition among the naval architects of Great Britain was that six of the Audacious class were ordered to be built, four of them being given out to be built in the yards of the disappointed ship-builders. These ships have all been thoroughly tested at sea, and the results have not been entirely satisfactory. It is reported, in the first place, that the calculations were so defective that the ships have turned out lighter than was intended, and it has been necessary to fill in the bottoms with concrete and bal- last to give moderate stability, and that it became necessary to alter the rig and largely reduce the masts and sails. The Audacious, when broad- side on, presents an area of 6,670 square feet, and of these only 3,207 square feet, or less than one-half, are plated. Amidships for 100 feet by 3 feet, at the water line, the armor is 8 inches in thickness, tapering to 4J inches at the bow and stern, and at the other portions the armor is 6 inches thick, except that the ends of the main-deck battery have only 4 and 5-inch armor, while the ends of the upper-deck battery are un- protected against a raking fire, and more than half the ship's side is in the same unprotected state. It seems, however, that some officers entertain high opinions of the sea-going qualities of this class of ship, as will be seen from the follow- ing. The Audacious is now the flag-ship of the China station. Admiral Ryder, in command, writes to the controller of the navy of this ship as follows : " Whatever objections may have been raised to ships of the Audacious class, the longer experience I have of them the more I am struck with their wonderful steadiness. I have just lately made a pas- sage running before a heavy sea and strong wind, all my stern ports barred in, and to our great surprise the ship did not roll more than 2° to 1° each way. I half made up my mind to broach her to, to see what she would do in such a sea, but the helmsman did it for me. In giving the ship a yaw he brought her to the wind, and positively to our sur- prise she declined to take any notice of the sea at all. An iron-clad flag-ship of a first-class naval power accompanied me. We were both proceeding before the same sea, my flag-ship rolling 2° to 1°, the flag- ship of the other power rolling 20°." After the above brief outline of vessels of former types, we now come to the more recent and important designs of broadside armored ships, taking up first — when a competition ends without result, and especially so when the judges of the com- petitive designs are themselves designers, and have their designs adopted. But we venture to think that; a competition for the design of a war-ship can very seldom ter- minate otherwise in this country, in which the admiralty staff of naval architects en- joy far better opportunities than private firms of knowing the requirements and the working of the naval service, and are in continual intercourse with the lords of the admiralty, who are the real judges in all such cases, and who are bound to build only such ships as they approve of. In the case of the Indian troop-ships a similar result of competition to the above ensued, in spite, as we happen to know, of the chief con- structor's (Mr. Reed's) urgent wish to have a design of Mr. Laird's adopted. A design previously prepared by Mr. Reed was much preferred by the admiralty, and was or- dered accordingly. — An English Naval Architect. "An English Naval Architect" shows himself needlessly apprehensive for Mr. Reed's ability and honesty, neither of which I have called in question ; nor is it my province to "suggest what other or better authority existed." The poiut lies in the question- able equity of the system which permitted one competitor to decide upon all the com- petitors' designs, and to pass judgment upon his own. That he preferred the designs of another, speaks well for Mr. Reed's sense of equity and his good taste; that he called attention to his own, and so influenced their adoption, speaks ill for the sys- tem.— J. W. K. THE ALEXANDRA. 83 THE ALE^AKDKA. The broadside system has proved tenacious of life. For masted ves- sels it fairly holds its own against the turrets. The hitherto unknown perfection to which it has been brought in the Alexandra appears likely to give it a new lease of life, especially in combination with all-round fire from fixed turrets on the upper deck, as will be applied in the Te- meraire. This vessel, the largest masted iron-clad heretofore designed, and now well advanced toward completion at the Chatham clock-yard, is a central-battery ship in the best sense — that is, she needs no bow or stern batteries to give her end-on fire. For the first time a broadside armored masted ship is built with satisfactory all-round tire, for, out of twelve guns, four of them, including the heaviest, can fire straight ahead and two straight astern. On each broadside from four to six guns can be fought, according to the bearing of the enemy. In other words, she has almost as perfect an all-round fire as is attainable in a broadside armored vessel, and this forms her chief claim to consideration. So far as the fighting portion of the vessel is concerned, she is a two-decker, unlike the six armored vessels of the Audacious class referred to above, and she may be considered a perfect example of a war-ship shadowed forth in those vessels. The battery consists of two Woolwich rifled muzzle-loading guns of 25 tons each, and ten of the same kind but of 18 tons each, the former being a size not previously attempted to be carried on a broadside-ship. In Fig. 2 of the accompanying drawing, the numbers denote the weight of the guns in tons. It will be observed that the only two 25-ton guns she possesses are located in the upper bat- tery forward. These can be trained from 2° or 3° across the fore-and-aft line forward, to several degrees abaft the beam, as shown at A. B B are 18- ton guns with much the same training aft that the others possess forward. These lour guns comprise the armament of the upper battery. To local- ize the effects of shells exploding between decks, the main-deck battery is divided into two by an armored bulkhead which forms a contin- uation downward of the forward bulkhead of the upper battery. In the portion which lies under and corresponds with the upper battery are six 18-ton guus, three on each side, for broadside-fire only. These are shown at D D in Fig. 2. In the forward and detached portion uf the main battery are two other 18-ton guns for end on fire, which they attain by means analogous to those employed to give similar fire to the upper-battery guns. Forward of the main-deck battery the whole side of the ship is set back from the level of the main deck (at the top of the armor-belt) upward. In other words, the ship for- ward of the battery is narrower above the main deck than below it; the two guns, C as well as A, can therefore fire right ahead past the sides. Their arc of training is about the same as that of A, or nearly 100°. The sills of the main-deck ports are 9 feet, and those of the upper-deck ports more than 17 feet, above the water. The w 7 ater-line is protected by a belt having a maximum thickness of 12 inches, and it will be seen by Fig. 1 that the armor forward is carried down over the ram, both to strengthen the latter and to guard the vital parts of the ship from injury by a raking fire from ahead, at times when waves or pitching action might expose the bow. The machinery, magazines, &c, are similarly protected against a raking fire from aft by an armor bulkhead, 5 inches thick, shown at A, Figs. 1 and 2. The batteries are protected by armor only 8 inches thick below and 6 inches above, which is a deficiency of 84 EUROPEAN SHIPS OF WAR, ETC. protection against guns now in common use on board armed vessels in European navies. The total weight of armor and backing is 2,350 tons. The principal dimensions and other data of the vessel are: Length between perpendiculars :. - : 325 feet. Breadth, extreme 63 feet 8 inches. Depth of hold 18 feet 7J inches. Tonnage 6, 050. Displacement 9, 492. Draught forward 26 feet. Draaght aft 26 feet 6 inches. The system of framing adopted in former armored vessels has been preserved in its main features. The great weightof armor and machinery, together with the immense power to be developed, necessitates arrange- ments which shall give extraordinary strength to the hull. The chief characteristics of the system, as in other vessels, consists in the adoption of an inner bottom and short angle-irons connected by bracket-plates. Increased strength longitudinally is gained by the use of much deeper longitudinal frames than employed in many former vessels; an advan- tage in this feature is that the space between the two bottoms (4 feet amidships) is roomy and easy of access for cleaning and painting, operations essential to the preservation of an iron structure. Facil- ities are also afforded by these arrangements for letting in water be- tween the bottoms to regulate the trim of the vessel. Provision is made to pump out any compartment required, the space being in several divisions. In addition to the strength and safety proceeding from these numerous water-tight cells between the two bottoms, great in- creased strength is gained by the employment of a heavy longitudinal bulkhead through the center of the ship, commencing at 40 feet aft of the stem and extending to within 40 feet of the stern. Besides the wing- passages, bulkheads on either side form longitudinal divisions of the hold, while advantage is taken of transverse bulkheads to form subdi- visions for the magaziues, shell-rooms, chain-lockers, shaft-passages, and passages between the engines and boilers. By the bulkheads the twelve boilers are subdivided into four separate sets of three each, and the engines of the twin screws into two sets. In other words, the center longitudinal bulkhead divides the engines of each screw; it also divides the boilers, six being on either side of if, besides which there is a trans- verse bulkhead aft of the boilers, one immediately forward of them, and one in the center of the six. These several water-tight bulkheads are so arranged that any one or more sets of boilers can be worked inde- pendently of the others. All communication can also be shut off from either set of engines, so that if one side of the ship be damaged the engines on the opposite side can be worked independently. In the event of damage to the bottom, or accident by fire or other causes, any one of the compartments can be shut off or flooded. All the bulkheads are butted at the joints, beautifully fitted, and strongly secured as one rigid bridge. The water-tight doors on the lowermost deck are fitted with hinges having loose pins, and are secured when shut by levers placed at short intervals all around the edges of the doors, which may be worked from either side of the bulkhead. The doors in the hold are made to slide up and down, being raised or lowered by screws worked from the main deck. Flooding arrangements are fitted to the maga- zines, shell-rooms, and torpedo-rooms, proper stop-cocks with locks be- THE ALEXANDRA. 85 ing fitted in each case to prevent the possibility of water being let in by mistake. Excellent facilities for pumping have been applied, to be worked by steam, also by hand, from the decks. Drain-pipes" are placed between the two bottoms, giving control over the water in every com- partment, so as to fill or empty them • the former when they are used for carrying water-ballast, the latter when they are pumped out in case of accident. The frame spaces and the hollow masts constitute excellent venti- lating tubes, the masts especially being good uptakes. To prevent the liability of the inhabited decks becoming contaminated, great attention has been given to the necessity of conveying the foul air away to the upper deck by distinct pipes from the hold and from the berth-decks. This point has not, however, been carried to the extent it deserves. The last consideration of atmospheric influence consists in providing means for closing all ventilators in event of fire. This seems the more important in the case of hollow masts used as ventilating-tubes, for if a fire should occur in the hold, the masts at once become tall chimneys creating enormous draughts to fan the flames. One case of this kind is known to have occurred in the mercantile vessel River Boyne within a year or two, and it is probable other unrecorded cases have happened. MOTIVE MACHINERY. The Alexandra is the first cruising armored broadside-ship of the royal navy engined on the compound system. The machinery was designed and constructed by Messrs. Humphrys & Tennant, at their works, Deptford on-the-Thames. As in all late armored ships of the royal navy, twin screws are applied to the Alexandra. Each screw is driven by an independent set of engines with three vertical inverted cylinders of the collective power of 4,000 horses, giving an aggregate indicated horse-power of 8,000 for both sets of engines. The diameter of the high-pressure cylinder is 70 inches, and the diameter of the low-pressure cylinders each 90 inches. The high-pressure cylinder is in the center ; its faces are made separately, of hard, close-grained iron, 2 inches thick, and secured to the' cylinder with brass countersunk screws. The linings or workiug-barrels of all the cylinders are made separately, and bolted to the cylinders at one end, and fitted with an expansion-joint at the other, with a width of steam-space of 1 inch between. The intermediate spaces between the high and low pressure cylinders are also steam-jacketed. The slide- valves are double ported and fitted with packing-rings on the back, to relieve them of part of the steam-pressure. Chocks are fitted to the cylinders to stay them in the event of the ship being used for ramming. The crank-shafts are made in three pieces, which are interchangeable. Tbe diameter of the bearings of the crank-piqs is 17J inches, and their lengths equal to the diameters. Tbe crank-shaft brasses are lined with white-metal, and so fitted that they can be removed without necessitat- ing the removal of the shaft, and each top brass and cap has a hole large enough to admit a man's hand for the purpose of ascertaining its temperature. The diameter of the propeller-shafting is 16 inches, ex- cept the §tern-shaft through the tube, which is 18 inches exclusive of the brass casing. The tubes through the stern are of one lengtb, and of gun-metal, and the driving-shafts within them are also cased with gun- metal cast on. The length of the lignum-vita3 bearings in the tubes are at the after end 4 feet G inches, at the forward end 2 feet 3 inches. The engines are raised considerably above the inner bottom of the 86 EUROPEAN SHIPS OF ship, with the view to prevent damage to them in case of accident to the ship's bottom. The propeller-shafts are in consequence inclined toward the stern. The surface-condensers, one to each set of engines, are so fitted as to be worked as common jet-condensers if necessary. They contain an aggregate of 16,500 square feet of cooling surface. The tubes are of solid drawn brass, f inch in diameter, and fitted to be packed at each end in the usual manner practiced at present in Great Britain. The water is supplied by means of centrifugal pumps, worked by independent engines. The air-pumps, two to each low-pressure cyl- inder, are worked directly from the main pistons. Each set of engines is fitted with two feed-pumps and corresponding bilge-pumps ; and an auxiliary engine is fitted to each boiler-compart- ment, capable of working another feed-pump having a set of feed-pipes, feed-cocks, and overflow-valves, separate and distinct from the pipes and apparatus belonging to the main feed pumps. Two additional aux- iliary engines (one to each engine-room) are fitted as fire engines. A double hand-pump to each set of engines is also provided ; also a hand- pump to each screw-funnel, with all necessary attachments, for the pur- pose of drawing water from the lowest point in the ship. The screw- propellers are of the Man gin type, 21 feet in diameter, and work out- ward. The boilers are twelve in number, divided by bulkheads into four several sets. They are placed in the ship back to back against the longitudinal bulkhead. The fronts face the sides of the ship ; conse- quently they are fired from fire-rooms convenient to the coal-bunkers. An additional advantage in this arrangement consists in keeping the sides of the ship clear of boilers, and accessible in the event of torpe- does or rams piercing holes through the sides of the ship The four sets of boilers are arranged to be used separately, in sets or singly. Each boiler contains three furnaces 40 inches in diameter and 6 feet 6 inches long. The total heating surface is 21,900 square feet, and the pressure of steam to the square inch will be 60 pounds. The smoke and gases are all carried into one chimney. Each boiler is fitted with an internal steam-pipe to obviate the effects of priming. This pipe is of brass, | inch thick ; it extends the whole length of the boiler, and has narrow transverse slits through which the steam must pass. " So as to prevent any catastrophe through the safety-valves getting out of order, each boiler, in addition to the ordinary safety-valve box, containing two spring safety-valves, has a supplementary test- valve loaded with a lever and weight and placed on the front of the boilers. There are also two pressure-gauges to each boiler, one being intended to act as a check to the other, the working gauge being graduated to 80 pounds and the other to 120 pounds. The stop-valves and safety-valves are all worked from the stoke-hole floors, and the main engine stop-valves are so ar- ranged that they can be* either worked from the engine-room or from the main deck. The whole of the boiler mountings, including the safety- valves and their boxes, are made of gun-metal." Two blocks of zinc, measuring 12 by 6 by 2 inches, are suspended in each boiler with the view of preventing corrosion. The furnaces are made in short lengths, riveted together with flanges, having short dis- tance-pieces between them. The furnaces, the tube plates, and fire-boxes are of Lowmoor iron, all other parts of B B Staffordshire iron. The thick- ness of the plates is as follows : tube plates f inch ; shells J inch ; back | inch ) front, above and below the tube-plates, f inch; all other parts | inch. The shells of the boilers are double-riveted, and longitudinal seams have butt-plates inside and outside. The grate-bars are of wrought- THE ALEXANDRA, 87 iron, 3£ inches deep by 1J inches wide, and made in three lengths. The fire-rooms are ventilated by means of circular fans, located well up, and driven by small engines. The complement of engineer officers is one chief and ten assistants, and the complement of stokers, eighty. In addition to the care and management of the enormous machinery to propel the ship, the engineer officers have charge of the machinery for steering the ship, for hoisting the anchors, for ventilation, and all the water-tight doors, valves, and cocks in the ship. There are also two pairs of auxiliary engines, imme- diately aft of the main engines, for revolving the screws when discon- nected from the main engine with the ship under sail. These engines work the screws through the intervention of brass bevel-wheels, working into wood cog-wheels on the couplings of the disconnected shafts. The ship has three masts, is bark-rigged, and is designed as a cruiser. Ven- tilators are abundantly provided, carrying fresh air throughout the ship; water-pipes are also extended along the decks, with attachments to the steam and hand fire-engines. The estimated speed of the ship is 14 knots as the maximum, and it is believed that 12J knots under sail may be attained under favorable circumstances. The mind of an officer who has passed his sea-life on board the old type of wooden ships of war, and become accustomed to their low, dark u betweendecks," small and badly-arranged air-ports, wretched venti- lation, and horrid bilge- wafer odor, together with the familiar cast-iron smooth-bore guns, mounted on wooden carriages, must be impressed to a degree of astonishment, when, for the first time, he enters the batteries of the Alexandra, and sees the great rifled guns mounted on Scott's system of wrought-iron carriage ; the unusual height between decks, 10 feet 4 inches in the upper battery, and 9 feet 6 inches in the lower. But lofty and spacious as these battery-decks are, his surprise would be still greater upon entering the berth or living deck. Here will be seen the extraordinary height between the berth-deck planks and the gun- deck beams of 11 feet 6 inches, equal to the lofty ceiling of a modern dwelling-house. He would also be impressed with the large air-ports ; pleasant, light, commodious state-rooms for the officers; and a wardroom centrally located, with a passage between it and the state-rooms on either side ; an arrangement for convenience and comfort unknown to elderly officers. The admiral's cabin is of small dimensions and aft of the ward- room, and the captain is quartered on the upper deck, directly over the admiral. At the official trial on the measured mile, a speed at the rate of 15J knots per hour was attained, with satisfactory working of the machinery. The revolutions made by the screws on this trial were 67 per minute, and 8,600 indicated horse-power was developed, which was 600 horse- power above the contract. During the six-hour trial, 8,300 indicated horse-power was obtained " without difficulty, under somewhat unfavor- able circumstances." :pa.:r,t yi THE TEMERAIRE, AND SYSTEM OF WORKING THE BARBETTE- GUNS; THE SHANNON. 89 THE TEMERAIRE The Temeraire, building at the Chatham dock-yard, is designed for a sea-going ship. Her most important feature — the feature, in fact, which distinguishes her fundamentally from all other armored ships of the British navy — is that she carries the upper-deck armament in two fixed open-topped turrets instead of a central battery. At each end of the upper deck is a pear-shaped tower or battery, standing about 6 feet above the deck, and measuring about 33 feet on its longest axis by 21 feet 6 inches across. This contains a turn-table, on which is mounted a 25-ton gun, worked by hydraulic machinery, on Mr. Rendel's disap- pearing principle : that is, the gun is raised to be fired over the edge of the tower, and immediately after firing sinks under cover to be reloaded. As the sides of the vessel from the level of the upper deck to that of the main deck are, of course, not armored at the extremities, connection is maintained between the tower and the lower part of the ship by au armored truuk or tube, so placed that on the gun being revolved after firing, into the fore-and-aft line, with its muzzle toward the middle of the ship, the muzzle comes just over the opening, ready for the* fresh charge from below. It must, inconveniently, always be brought to one position for loading. The French engineers have, from the first intro- duction of armored ships, entertained a noted antipathy to revolving turrets. Their objections were to protecting the guns by a weight equal to that of those guns and their ammunition ; to a system which pre- vented an enemy from being clearly seen, aud to the impossibility of getting an all-round fire with two turrets on a line 5 while the advan- tages they claimed for the barbette system were that an enemy could be clearly seen, and that the freedom and morale of the gunners were bet- ter assured in a barbette than in a turret battery. The French naturally defend their own system against the opinions of all other European naval authorities. In the usual sense of words, the guns in the open battery of the Temeraire are not barbette-guns at all. They are fired en barbette, just as guns in Moncrieif gun-pits are, but they are not en barbette at any other time, which is an important distinc- tion. They and their crews are not exposed to one-half of the risks which attend guns mounted permanently above the parapet of the bat- tery, as is the case in all the French open top turrets. The upper-deck guns of the Temeraire have much more in common with the MoncrierY system of mounting, or even with guns in ordinary turrets, than with the old and objectionable system of barbette firing. But it remains to be seen whether this disappearing system of Renders, to be tested in the Temeraire, will be successful. The foremost turret is protected with 10-inch armor, the after one with 8 inch. The guns have a clear sweep around the respective ends of the ship to some distance abaft or forward of the beam, as the case may be. In order not to obstruct the fire the bulwarks are kept low, about 4 feet above the deck, an arrangement hardly to be avoided, but likely to be objected to by sailors. The high bulwarks of ordinary men-of-war are liked by the men for the protection they give against wind and wet; on 91 92 EUROPEAN SHIPS OF WAP, ETC. the other hand the TSmeraire gains an upper deck, with no break in it except the poop and forecastle (and' the fixed turrets, which are partly inclosed in them). All recent cruising ironclads had an upper deck here, interfering more or less with the working of ropes ; this is got rid of in the Temeraire. Like all belted ships, the Temeraire has weak places at her water- line ; but amidships, over the most vital parts, she has 11-inch armor (against 12-inch in the Alexandra), reduced slightly above and below; it is also tapered toward the bow and stern. At the bow, to guard against exposure to raking fire in pitching, the armor is carried down over the point of the ram, and similar protection is gained for the magazines, &c, against raking fire from aft, by an ar- mored bulkhead across the hold (shown in the sketches) ; this is plated with 5-inch armor. The iron deck at the level of the top of the belt out- side the main-deck battery is 1J inches thick. The hull, which has the usual double bottom, and is divided into very numerous water-tight compartments, is built on the well-known bracket-frame system, and it is sheathed externally with wood covered with zinc. In like manner with other armored ships a ram is fitted which, in this case, projects 8 feet beyond the bow. The system of framing for the hull is quite similar to that of the ship just described. The vertical keel-plate is of steel 45 inches deep by f inch thick ; it is secured to the flat keel-plates by angle irons 5 by 5 inches by f inch. The inner and outer keel plates are respectively f inch and 1 inch in thickness. The longitudinals, of which there are six, have dimensions varying from 41 inches by £ inch to 31£ inches by T 7 g inch. The transverse frames behind the armor are 10 inches by 3| inches by 3J inches by T 7 g inch thick, and are spaced 2 feet apart; those in the double bottom are 4 feet apart, while the water-tight frames are separated by a space of 20 feet. The frames above the armor-belt forward and aft of the battery are 4 feet from cen- ter to center, and of angle-irons 7 inches by 3 inches by T 7 F inch ; for- ward of the battery these frames are connected to the deck-plating by brackets § inch thick and angle-irons 4 inches by 3 inches by T 7 g inch. Behind the armor, and secured to the skin-plates, longitudinal girders of angle-iron 10 inches by 3£ inches by T 7 -g- inch are worked. The athwartship water-tight bulkheads are seven in number. They extend from the inner bottom to the main deck, the thickness being y 7 ^ inch below the berth-deck and f inch above it ; they are secured aud stiffened by angle-irons, and each one is fitted with a water-tight door, so arranged as to be worked from the main deck. The deck-beams are made with solid welded knees ; those of the lower deck are bulb T-irons, 9 inches deep, with 3J-inch top -flanges ; those of the main deck under the battery are formed of plates 16 inches deep by J inch thick, stiffened on the upper edge by angle-irons 3 inches by 3 inches, and on the lower edge 2J inches by 2J inches. Those of the same deck, fore and aft of the battery, are of the same kind, but 11 inches deep, and those of the upper deck are of T-iron, 10 inches deep, with a G-inch flange. They are rounded 7 inches in their length and spaced 4 feet apart. The outside plating of the hull varies in thickness according to the strength and stiffness required, being 1 inch, J iuch, J inch, }i inch, f inch, and J inch. All seams are double-riveted except the after hood ends, which are treble-riveted. A bilge-keel, 112 feet long by 2 feet deep, outside of the wood sheath- ing, is fitted to each side of the hull ; they are made of zinc plates i inch thick, wedge-shaped and stiffened by wood-filling between the two plates of each bilge-keel. THE TEMERAIRE. 93 The weight of the armor and backing is about 2,300 tons, or nearly the same as in the Alexandra; the bunkers contain only 600 tons of coal; and the guns, ordnance stores, engines, boilers, and all other equipments weigh about 2,200 tons. These weights, amounting in all to 5,100 tons, are carried by a hull weighing 3,300 tons. The spread of canvas is considerable, being 23,380 square feet, but it is carried brig- fashion, on two masts only, to avoid obstructing the end-on fire of the upper-deck guns. It is intended that the top-hamper may, if necessary, be disposed of overboard when going into action. The following are the principal dimensions and other data, with like information added for the Alexandra for the sake of comparison : Temeraire. Alexandra. Length between perpendiculars 285 feet. 325 feet. Breadth, extreme 62 feet. 63 feet 8 inches. Draught aft 27 feet. 26 feet 6 inches. Draught forward 26 feet 6 inches. 26 feet. Displacement 8, 412 tons. 9, 492 tons. Indicated horse-power (by contract) . . 7, 000 8, 000 Speed (intended) 14 knots. 14 knots. Armor : Maximum thickness on belt 11 incbes. 12 inches. Thickness on batteries lO^inch, 8-inch. 8-inch, 6-iuch. Guns of 25 tons 4 2 GunsoflStons 4 10 Weight of broadside-fire 2, 600 pounds. 2, 600 pounds. Weight of bow-fire 1,800 pounds. 2, 000 pounds. Weight of stern-fire , 600 pounds. 800 pounds. Cost, estimated $1,817,640 $2,532,060 ARMAMENT. The Temeraire, from the upper deck, fires right ahead one 25 ton gun ; right astern, the same ; and through a large arc on the beam, two. On the main deck, protecting also the smoke-pipe, is the Temeraire's double or divided battery, shown in plan in Fig. 2, and resembling, except in being shorter, the main-deck battery of the Alexandra. The forward part contains two 25-ton guns, whose arc of training extends from slightly abaft the beam on each side to slightly across the fore-and-aft line, so as to secure a converging fire at some distance ahead of the ves- sel, as already described in the case of the Alexandra. These guns, of course, fire from corner ports, and the sides of the ship above the main deck or top of the belt forward are set back several feet ; this is shown in Fig. 2. The after part of the battery contains four 18 ton guns, for broadside-fire only. On the whole the Temeraire fires three 25-ton guns right ahead ; on either bow, two 25-ton ; right aft, one 25-ton ; on either quarter, one 25 ton ; on either beam (if engaged on one side at a time), two 25-tou and two 18 ton, with a third 25-ton gun available through only half the usual arc. The guns of the Temeraire are better defended than those of any other broadside-ship, and this fact, coupled with a water-line defense nearly equal to that of the Alexandra, an armament which many will prefer to hers, and a much less size aud cost, should give her the char- acter of being the most successful masted ship, provided the system of working the barbette-guns prove successful. She is at least immeas- urably superior to everything, however large, which preceded the Alexandra. MOTIVE MACHINERY. The steam machinery has been designed and constructed by Messrs. Hninphiys,Tenuant & Co., of Deptf'onl, aud the contract provides that 94 EUROPEAN SHIPS OF WAR, ETC. the engines shall indicate 7,000 horse power. Though resembling in general appearance and construction the machinery which w T as supplied by the same eminent manufacturers to the Dreadnought and Alexandra, the engines differ from them in several important details, the principal variations being that, in consequence of want of room, the cylinders are limited to two. They are of the compound vertical inverted type. Each of the twin screws is operated by an independent pair of engines, which, with the boilers, are separated by a longitudinal bulkhead. The diame- ter of the high-pressure cylinders is 70 inches, of the low-pressure 114 inches, the stroke 3 feet 10 inches, and maximum revolutions about 70. The air-pumps are worked directly from the pistons. The crank- shafts are 17J inches in diameter, coupled in the center, and the two sections are interchangeable. The screw-propellers are of the Griffith new type, each having a diameter of 20 feet, a pitch of 23 feet 6 inches (variable from 19 to 24 feet), and an immersion of the upper edge of 4 feet 10 inches at deep load draught. A novel feature in the design of the engines, introduced here for the first time, has been the employment of wrought iron, steel, and brass to a large extent in lieu of cast iron,, the cylinders, their valves and covers, being the only parts made of that material. Thus the whole of the framing is constructed of wrought iron, the bearings of the crank-shafts being also formed of heavy forg- ings of the same tough metal, and connected to box-girders of wrought- irou plates ; while for additional security and strength the girders are riveted to the ship's framing, and are thus made to form a part of the general structure of the hull ; the cylinders are also supported on wrought- iron box-girders placed vertically and strengthened by wrought-iron columns. The whole of the condensing apparatus, including the tube- cases, air-pumps, their connections, &c, are made of brass. The cases are made each in four pieces and bolted together; they contain 11,236 solid drawn brass tubes 7 feet 7J inches in length, with an external diameter of ■§ inch • they are tinned on both sides, and each tube" is secured in its place by a stuffing-box tapped into the plate with a can- vas washer behind it. The total cooling surface is 14,000 square feet. The water is circulated through the condensers by means of centrifugal pumps, which are driven by independent engines. The valve-faces of the high-pressure cylinders are of phosphor-bronze, secured in place by composition screws. Altogether the whole structure presents an appear- ance of lightness and beauty, composing a splendid piece of workman- ship. Boilers.— The steam is furnished by twelve boilers, elliptical in shape, containing three furnaces in each. They are placed in the ship back to back, against the longitudinal bulkhead, with the fronts facing the sides of the vessel, and consequently fired with convenient access to the side coal-bunkers. They are divided by bulkheads into four several sets, in the same manner as those in the Alexandra, previously described. Any one set or any one boiler can be worked independently of the others. The whole of the boiler-mountings, including the stop and safety valves and their boxes, are made of composition. The working-pressure of steam is GO pounds per square inch, and the boilers have been tested up to 120 pounds. As in other recent twin-screw ships, the engine and boiler rooms are divided into two, longitudinally, to limit the entry of water and its inconsequences to the engine and boilers in case of injury from rams or torpedoes. Engines exclusive of the motive power. — Besides the main engines de- scribed, the Temeraire\s provided with thirty other steam eugines. These* include two pairs of small engines placed near each screw-shaft coupling THE TEMERAIRE. 95 for the purpose of turning the great engines, when they are not at work, so as to bring the pistons, steam-valves, or other parts to convenient points for examination and adjustment from time to time, as required; two starting-engines, for the purpose of starting or reversing the main engines ; four feed-engines, for supplying the boilers with water, or drawing it therefrom ; two circulating-engines, for forcing water through the condensers ; two bilge-pump engines ; four pumping-engines, to free the water-bottoms, or to be used in the event of fire or accident to the hull under water; four engines for hoisting ashes, coal, or provisions j four engines for working the ventilating-fans 5 one capstan or anchor- hoisting engine ; one engine for steering the ship ; two engines for work- ing the hydraulic gear of the guns; an engine to charge the torpedo air-reservoir, and an engine to work the electric machine which feeds the lights on the bridge. OFFICIAL TRIALS OF THE MOTIVE MACHINERY. The measured-mile trial in Stokes Bay was made before all the weights were placed on board, the draught of the ship then being 25 feet 4 inches forward, and 26 feet 2 inches aft. Six runs were made over the mile, with and against the tide, with re- sults reported as follows: first, 13.846 knots; second, 15.319 knots; third, 13.636 kuots; fourth, 15.859 knots; fifth, 13.636 knots; and, sixth, 15.721 knots. The mean of the means showed a speed of 14.65 knots, with an indicated horse-power of 7,697. The amount of coal consumed during the trial was 51 tons 2 quarters, being equal to 2J pounds per indicated horse-power per hour, a result comparatively low in consider- ation of the fact that the fires had to be pushed to the utmost, regard- less of economy. The six-hour trial for endurance was made on the 17th of September last, after all the weights were on board and the ship ready for sea; the draught of water at this time being, forward, 26 feet 8 inches, and aft, 27 feet 4 inches, or about the same as the estimated draught of the ship. The sea was smooth, and the run was made near Cowes. The following table shows the results of each of the twelve half-hours during which observations were taken, as reported by the London Times: a Vacuum, in inches. Revolutions. 30 O fa t •6 CS -2 e8 P< 3 r= ,a £h H a to P4 (1 a 3 49 2*75 28.75 71 70 6, 462. 98 57 26.75 28. 75 74.4 74 7, 538. 94 57 2d. 5 2-!. 5 73.0 73.9 7,470.41 57.5 2d. 25 28. 25 74.7 74.4 7, 784. 19 57 28 28 74.3 74. 5 7, 562. 12 59 28 28 74.2 74.2 7, 796. 36 56. 5 28. 25 28 73.6 74 7, 447. 03 28.5 28 74. 5 74.5 7,517. 14 60 28. 25 28 73. 6 73.7 7, 585. 61 58.5 28.25 28 74 75 7, 586. 19 ' 61 28 26 73. 3 74.8 7, 723. 17 59.5 28 28 72.4 72.7 7, 644. 53 The means were: Pressure of steam in boilers, 59 pounds. Vacuum hi condensers- starboard, 28.20 inches; port, 28 inches. Revolutions per minute — starboard, 73. GO ; port, 74.13. Pressure of steam on square inch of piston — starboard, 2G.G pounds high, 26 EUROPEAN SHIPS OF WAR, ETC. and 11.7 pounds low; port, 26.1 pounds high, and 11.68 pounds low. Indicated horse- power — starboard, 3,801.09; port, 3,782.95. The total collective power developed by the engines during the six hours was thus 7,584.04 horses, or 584.04 beyond the con- tract. * * * Comparing the results with the measured-mile data, and taking four consecutive half-hours, counting from the third, as an equivalent for the mile-runs, we have 7,653 horses as compared with the 7,696 horses on the Maplin Sands. * * * Subsequently the ship made a trial run at various speeds, under try- ing conditions of weather, between Spithead and Queenstown, and when in a fresh gale she is reported to have made the extraordinary speed of nearly 14 knots per hour, the wind doubtless being favorable. It is said that during the roughest weather she was remarkably steady, and that her barbette-guns might have been easily and effectively worked, and her after main-deck guns were available the whole time. For comparison of the motive machinery of the three recently-con- structed powerful armored ships, engined by Messrs. Humphrys & Tennant, the following table is given : Dreadnought. Alexandra. Tem6raire. Type of engines Cylinders : Number of Diameter Length of stroke . . . Diameter of crank-shaft Screws : Diameter Pitch „ Type Condensers : Number of Cooling surface .Type Boilers : Number of Total grate surface . Total heating sur- face. Six-hour trial : Pressure of steam.. Revolutions of en- gines. Indicated horse- power. Speed of ship Vertical, compound; twin screw ; three cyl- inders driving each screw. Six Two of 66 inches ; four of 90 inches. 4 feet 6 inches 17£ inches 20 feet 23 feet 6 inches Four-bladed Griffith Two 1 6,500 square feet Surface Twelve 820 square feet 22,025 square feet 60 pounds 67 8,206 14.52 knots per hour Vertical, compound; twin screw ; three cyl- inders driving each screw. Six Two of 70 inches ; four of 90 inches. 4feet 17£ inches 21 feet 22 feet 3 inches Mangin Two 16,500 square feet Surface Twelve 780 square feet 21,912 square feet 60 pounds 64 8,313 15 knots per hour Vertical, compound; twin screw ; two cyl- inders driving each screw. Four. Two of 70 inches ; two of 114 inches. 3 feet 10 inches. 17| inches. 20 feet. 22 feet 6 inches. Two-bladed Griffith. Two. 16,500 square feet. Surface. Twelve. 780 square feet. 19,824 square feet. 60 pounds. 74. 7,518. 14.65 knots per hour. The steam steering-gear is operated by a set of Messrs. Brotherhood & Hardinghanr's three-cylinder engines, which is the first of its type introduced into a ship of war ; it required several little alterations and adjustments after the first trial. The Temeraire, in like manner with all recently-commissioned ships, is provided with the apparatus and appliances for using the Whitehead torpedo. On each side of the vessel forward, above the armor-plating, there has been fitted a tube, the diameter of which is 21 inches, for the purpose of ejecting those instruments of destruction. She is also sup- plied with the Harvey torpedoes, and with outrigger torpedoes, the lat- ter to be used from steam-cutters. Gatling guns are provided for use to guard against the approach of the enemies' torpedo-boats. The electric light which proved so successful on board the Alexandra has been applied to the Temeraire, and wheu tested in the river Medway, in August last, objects were distinguishable for a considerable distance in all directions around the ship. THE TEMERAIRE. 97 SYSTEM OF WORKING THE BARBETTE-GUNS. The principle of sinking guns entirely under cover from horizontal fire behind any sufficient parapet, and raising them only to deliver their lire, is quite old, and, like very many inventions introduced into Euro- pean warfare, owes its origin to American genius. It was proposed more than twenty years ago by officers of the United States Army for our fortifications, and models were made representing the principle of storing and utilizing the force of recoil ; i. e., the gun on delivering fire and sinking behind the wall raises a counter- weight, the fall of which again lifts the gun when required ; and some years ago Captain King, Engineer Corps, United States Army, successfully applied to one of our forts a carriage of his invention on this prin- ciple. Captain Eads, of Saint Louis, Mo., invented as early as 1861, and soon after successfully applied to the two-turreted gunboats Winnebago and Mihvauliee, built at that time on the Mississippi Eiver, a system of mounting heavy guns on a turn-table within a rotating turret. The table, with the guns and their attachments, was raised, lowered, and revolved by steam-power ; the guns were also moved out to the firing positions by the same medium, and the recoil was taken on steam- pressure. For the purpose of loading the guns, the table was lowered to the berth-deck. The work of construction was done under the government supervision of the writer. The trial tests of the machinery and firing of the guns to test rapidity and accuracy were personally executed by him, and an official report of the machinery and results of the target- firing was also made by him April 30, 1861, to the Secretary of the Navy, and published in pamphlet form. Subsequently Captain Eads invented and patented the principle of raising and lowering guns by the elastic force of compressed air, the mechanical appliances being very similar to those afterward used by Major Moncrieff in his second invention, where he has substituted for the counter- weight, air compressed by the recoil through the medium of water ; this part of the Moncrieff invention is thus described : The gun being supported in firing position on levers, supplemented by a ram work- ing in a cylinder which is in communication with a vessel the upper part of which is filled with compressed air, the lower portion containing water. The air has an initial pressure given it sufficient to raise the gun. When the gun is fired the energy of the recoil drives the ram down into the cylinder, forcing the water up into the air- vessel, thus further compressing the air. A self-acting valve preveuts the water from returning after the recoil has been completed. Wheu the gun has been loaded behind the protecting parapet a valve is opened and the water allowed to flow into the cylin- der. The air-pressure is thus brought to act on the ram, which at once raises the gun into the firing position. No power beyond that obtained from the discharge of the gun is required for working the gun, the air-vessel remaining always ready for use. The Rendel system as applied to the Temeraire is analogous to that originated by Eads, except that the power used by the former is applied through the medium of water, that used by the latter being air. An important distinction, however, is in the fact that as here carried out no attempt has been made to store up and utilize the force of recoil of the gun, that force being taken on a hydraulic plunger working in a charged cylinder having a safety-valve loaded to about 750 pounds per square inch. The towers in which the two 25-ton guns are mounted are 7 feet in depth, and are pear or egg shaped, the guns being placed within the broad part of the e^;^. The circular platform is rotated by means of hydraulic presses, which are fitted within the structure of the platform itself; the platform is arrested bv a weighted pawl, which falls into 7 k 98 EUROPEAN SHIPS OF WAR, ETC. notches in much the same way as may be observed in the turn-tables of railway-statious. The gun itself is raised and lowered by means of mas- sive forged bell-crank levers, of which the heads are attached to the trunnions of the gun, and the elbows work on bearings upon the plat- form, the extremities being connected with hydraulic pistons, the out- ward or inward thrust of which imparts the upward or downward motion to the piece. The elevation or depression of the gun is accomplished by means of an elevating arc, which is actuated by a wheel and pinion after the ordinary manner, and the radial action of which, in conjunc- tion with that of the lever, always enables the gun to be brought to the same plane — 3° of inclination — for loading. The sights are fitted to the platform so that the gun may be elevated and laid while being revolved into position for firing, the gunners being at the same time protected by a bullet proof shield. The powder and shell are brought from the magazine directly to the mouth of the gun, without the circum- locution of trolleys, by means of a hydraulic hoist working up and down an armored shaft or well, 3 feet 6 inches in diameter, in which also are placed the pipes communicating with the presses. The upper story, so to speak, of the cradle contains the cartridge, and the lower the pro- jectile. After the former has been introduced into the gun by a push of the hydraulic rammer, the hoist is lifted a step higher and the pro- jectile and the cartridge are forced home. The rammer, levers, and gearing are placed at the small end of the egg-shaped belt, and are pro- tected by a splinter-proof. Indeed, the gun is the only thing which is exposed in the act of firing. The hydraulic machinery is actuated by a couple of small engines, which may be used either in combination or separately, and which, though placed within the armor-belt below the water-line, are each worked from within the turrets. The final trial of the disappearing carriages and hydraulic apparatus for loading, training, and working the guns in the towers, was made November 13, and attracted much attention from the officials who were present. Fourteen rounds were fired from the after tower and eleven from the forward, with charges of 85 pounds of powder, the projectile weighing 530 pounds. Including the firing on former occasions, fifty rounds in all have been discharged from the barbette-guns, sufficient, it is thought, as a test of endurance in respect to the mechanism. Many of the rounds were fired at a floating target, but four were fired against time for the purpose of testing the rapidity with which the gun could be loaded, laid, and discharged, and also of proving the hydraulic gear under such conditions. From fire to fire the time was 1J minutes. The number of men required to work the gun being one man to lay and fire electrically, two men to attend the elevating-gear, one man to take charge of the levers for lifting the gun and rotating the platform, and five men to manage the rammer and shot-hoist. It is not, however, rapidity of fire which is the most important point, for, considering the weight of the projectile, accuracy is everything, a few fair hits being probably all that will be required to disable an enemy. Although the recoil of the gun with service charge amounts to 96 foot- tons, this, enormous force is so absorbed by the water-presses that the recoil upon the cylinders did not exceed an average of twelve inches. It has bem reported that the success of the disappearing system as applied in this ship has not been such as to justify its adoption into other ships of the British service. The whole of one day was devoted to the practical test of the torpedo- fittings of the Temeraire, and to a series of experiments with the White- head torpedo, an account of which will be found under the head of u Torpedo Warfare.' 7 100 EUROPEAN SHIPS OF WAR, ETC. but the double bottom is only 168 feet in length ; it is divided into twenty separate water-tight spaces. There are nine principal athwart- ship water-tight bulkheads, and fifteen water-tight coal-bunkers; but there is no longitudinal bulkhead extending through the vessel, as in all recently-constructed armored ships having twin screws. This back- bone of strength and safety becomes impracticable in single-screw vessels. The stem of the ship has fitted to it a shifting ram, the snout of which is 8 feet 3 inches above the keel, and extends 8 feet ahead of the stem. This ram is at present stowed on board the vessel, the idea being that as so many accidents have occurred iu time of peace from the ram, and es- pecially in view of the loss of the Vanguard from the blow by the ram of the Iron Duke, it would be more prudent to make the ram portable and to fit it in place only in time of war. In favor of this plan much can be urged, but it seems to suggest the questions — first, whether ships on foreign stations will be able in emergencies of war times to go into docks to have their rams secured in place; secondly, whether, if they should succeed in this, the officers, who up to that time will be deprived of all experience in guarding against accidents from it, will be able to avoid multiplying those accidents which have hitherto occasionally happened under the most ordinary circumstances, notwithstanding the experience they have acquired. The outer hull of the Shannon, in common with that of all recently- constructed cruising- vessels of the royal navy, is sheathed with wood. The material is teak, put on in the usual way, iu a single course, with the seams left uncalked, except above the water line, for the purpose of ad- mitting sea-water freely between the iron hull and the zinc with which the planking is covered. ARMAMENT. The armament is placed on an open deck not unlike the uncovered decks of corvettes. It consists of niue Woolwich guns, two of which are 18- ton guns, under protection of armor at the bow from raking fire ahead ; six 12-ton guns (three on either broadside unprotected by armor), and one 12 ton stern-gun, which is carried on a platform amidships aft, and is intended to be fought at a port on either side of the deck. It is also unprotected by armor. The two 18-ton bow-guns can be trained to fire on a line with the keel, or to any point around at right angles with it. One of the features noticed in the design of this belted ship is the protection by horizontal armor at the top of the belt ; an important fea- ture, since the side-armor extends only 4 feet above water. The plated decks protect the magazines, machinery, steering-gear, &C, from plunging fire of any guns that might be carried on an enemy's upper deck, aud could easily send projectiles through the unarmored side above the belt. A second feature is the system of coal-tanks introduced for the first time at the bow of the vessel. An English writer says: Portions of the ship that have uo armor are protected hy coffer-dams, which consist of iron boxes about two feet broad, filled with old rope, canvas, &c, to resist shot. The parts so protected extend from the main to the lower deck abreast the engines aud boilers, and on the fore-side of the armor-bulkhead. The engine-hatch and other hatch- ways on the main deck will be protected iu action by 2-inch iron shutters, which at other times will remain open. Another noticeable arrangement is the adoption of two ventilating- cowls upon the outside of the vessel — one for carrying air directly to the fire-rooms, and the other for ventilating the coal-buukers. THE SHANNON. 101 MOTIVE MACHINERY. The ship is propelled by a single screw. The machinery was con- structed by Messrs. Laird Bros., of Alabama fame. The engines are of the compound, horizontal, return connecting-rod type, with four cyl- inders, two high and two low pressure, the two high-pressure cylinders being placed behind and bolted to the two low-pressure, the pistons of the former being attached directly to the latter by a single piston-rod and working simultaneously with them. The dimensions, weights, and other important data are : Engines: Diameter of high-pressure cylinders 44 inches. Diameter of low-pressure cylinders 85 inches. Length of stroke of pistons 4 feet. Diameter of crank-shaft at journals 17J inches. Diameter of air-pumps 22£ inches. Stroke of air-pumps 4 feet. Cooling surface of condenser-tubes 8,000 square feet. Diameter of screw-propeller 19 feet 6 inches. Pitch of screw, adjustable from 18 to 22 feet. Revolutions of engines per minute, maximum 70 Indicated horse-power, maximum . . 3, 540 Speed of ship on six-hour trial, maximum 12.5 knots. Boilers : Number of . 8 Diameter . . . 12 feet. Length 12 feet. Number of furnaces in each boiler 2 Number of tubes in boilers 3 ,700 Dimensions of tubes 6 feet 6 inches by 3 inches. Total grate surface 380 square feet. Total heating surface „ 8,500 square feet. Pressure of steam per square inch , . 70 pounds. Weights : Engines, appendages, and spare gear, with water in condensers 266 tons. Boilers, including everything between boiler-room-bulkheads; also, water in boilers „ 310 tons. Propeller, shafts, &c 61 tons. Total 637 tons. Total cost of machinery, $245,430. The length of the boiler-space fore and aft is 56 feet, and the width, including tire-room, is about 40 feet. The boilers are placed in the ship back to back, against a longitudinal bulkhead, consequently they are divided into two sets with fire-rooms facing the side coal-bunkers ; in this position they are conveniently supplied with coal. A transverse bulkhead separates the boilers from the engines, and by a second trans- verse bulkhead forward they are separated from the hold ; hence the central position of the boilers in the ship, the division into two rooms, and protection by water-tight bulkheads, give all the security possible in event of damage to the hull by rams, torpedoes, or other causes. The engines operate a single line of screw-shafting. The screw-pro- peller is of Griffith's latest pattern, and is fitted to be disengaged from the driving-shaft and lifted when the ship is to be put under sail. The air pumps, one to each low-pressure cylinder, are worked directly from 102 the pistons. The circulating water is supplied by means of centrifugal pumps worked by independent engines. The starting.and stopping is effected by a small engine under the control of one man. The' engines are designed to work the steam expansively to any desired extent, and there is fitted a special arrangement of valves admitting of the use of steam of low pressure directly into the low-pressure cylinder, and this has been tested to the very moderate figure of 2 pounds ; the object of this arrangement being to meet a danger which it is apprehended by some officers may arise in going into action with steam of high pressure. The coal-bunker capacity is only 500 tons ; it is therefore evident that steaming will be the exception and sailing the rule in the Shannon. It is to the Eussian admiralty that the credit is due for the introduc- tion of the first belted cruiser. It has been four or five years since they built the first vessel in which the vital part, i. e., the water-line only, was protected by armor, leaving the guns and crew unprotected. The Shannon is, however, a notable improvement on the Eussian idea, and yet it has been authoritatively stated that, while she is capable of tak- ing part in general engagements if required, she was primarily designed for distant cruising service, the rig and sail-power being above the aver- age for armored broadside-ships. The trials of this ship at sea have not been as satisfactory as desired. An error appears to have been made in calculating the weights entering into the vessel, and this has been aggravated by additional weights put mi board unprovided for. As a consequence the ship is immersed more than was anticipated, besides which alterations became necessary in the topmasts, and the machinery when on trial did not prove satisfac- tory. -A-IR/T YII THE NELSON AND NORTHAMPTON; THE WARRIOR; THE WATERWITCH; THE GLATTON; A REMARKABLE EXPERIMENT; A TORPEDO-RAM. cot THE NELSON AND NORTHAMPTON These two sister ships, the former built by Messrs. Elder & Co., and the latter by Messrs. Napier & Sons, near Glasgow, on the Clyde, and just completed at the dock-yards, constitute a new type of ocean-cruis- ing broadside armor-plated ships. They are the last productions of armored vessels by the chief naval architect, and before an audience in the summer of 1876, at the loan exhibition, South Kensington, he pro- nounced them to be his "ideal of cruising fighting-ships." A glance at the preceding longitudinal section and plan of gun-deck will convey an idea of the general design. The length between perpendiculars is 280 feet ; breadth, extreme, 60 feet ; mean draught of water, loaded, 24 feet 2 inches ; depth from upper .deck, 42 feet ; load-displacement, 7,323 tons. The framing is on the usual longitudinal system adopted in the con- struction of Her Britannic Majesty's ships of war, and in this instance the longitudinal frames are made of steel, so as to combine lightness with strength. The double bottom extends for about 150 feet amid- ships, and the space between the inner and outer skins is divided into many water-tight compartments. According to the system recently adopted for armored ships, there is a central longitudinal bulkhead, and along the whole length of the engine and boiler spaces she is divided longitudinally by three water-tight bulkheads, besides numerous trans- verse bulkheads underneath the lower deck ; also, wing-passage bulk- heads. Altogether, including the spaces between the two skins, there are 90 water-tight compartments ; all the doors leading to these com- partments are likewise water-tight and are to be worked by machinery, and every conceivable precaution has been taken to provide against destruction by rams and torpedoes. There are three principal decks: the lower, main, and upper. The protecting armor consists of a belt on the water-line of about 181 feet in length amidships ; this belt is 9 feet deep, 4 feet above water, and 5 feet under water. It is put on in two strakes ; the upper plates are 9 inches thick on a 10-inch backing of teak, and the lower plates are tapered to 6 inches thick, supported by a teak backing 13 inches thick. Extending across the ship at each end of this armor-belt there is an armor-bulkhead ; it starts at the bottom of the armor-belt 5 feet under water and extends to the upper deck, having in all a depth of 22 feet. Its thickness is 9 inches above water, tapering to 6 inches at the bot- tom. Between the main and upper decks these bulkheads are shaped to form corner ports at the fore and alter ends of the battery. Between the armor-bulkheads, and at the upper level of the armor-belt, the lower deck is formed throughout of 2-inch plates, by means of which protection is afforded to the machinery, boilers, magazines, &c. A peculiar feature is the horizontal armor as here applied. Eor about 57 feet at the fore end there is an armor-deck. This deck is 3 inches thick, and it is 5 feet under water at the junction with the armor-bulk- head, but inclines deeper toward the stem and terminates forward in the ram. There is likewise a horizontal armor-deck of the same thick- 105 106 ( • ness and depth under water, extending from the after armored bulk- head to the stern. These submerged armor-decks are intended to pro- tect the lower part of the ship fore and aft of the armored bulkheads, especially the steering gear provided against emergencies. From the above outline and reference to the annexed drawing, it will be seen that the central part of the vessel for 181 feet in length, in which all the motive machinery is contained, may be regarded as completely pro- tected from ordinary shots of the enemy. The ends of the vessel above the submerged decks are entirely unprotected by armor, and may, it is supposed, be riddled with shot without serious injury to the flotation of the vessel. ARMAMENT. The armament consists of four 18-ton guns and eight 12 ton guns on the main deck, also six small guns on the upper or spar deck ; the latter are designed to be used as torpedo-boat destroyers. Two of the 18-ton guns, one on either side forward and one on either side aft, are situated behind the oblique portion of the armor-bulkheads, and the ports are so cut that these guns can command a fire across the line of bow and stern. The eight 12-ton guns, four disposed equally on either side, are termed intermediate, and have in front of them the thin sides of the ship only. They are separated by a transverse bulkhead or splinter-screen 1 inch thick, intended to cut off each gun's crew from the others. This broadside of guns is designed to be loaded and laid in close engagement under the shelter of the bow or stern armor, and may be fired by electricity without exposing the crew. The ram is a heavy plate, triangular in shape, set vertically, and ter- minating in a sharp point about 11 feet in advance of the stem ; it is supported by two side plates 3 inches thick, which may be regarded as a continuation of the armor-deck. The rudder, which is massive, is 18 feet deep by 11 feet in breadth, and is formed by two thicknesses of teak planking set in a strong iron frame. The vessel has fitted to it bilge-keels 33 inches deep, formed of two plates riveted together and extending amidships about 100 feet ; and the outer bottom of the hull below the water-line is sheathed with one course of teak planks 3 inches thick, while over that there is also a sheathing of zinc. The seams between the sheathing-planks are left uncalked, with the view of admit- ting free communication between the iron hull and zinc. There are to be three masts fitted, as for a full-rigged ship, and the coal-bunker accommodation is sufficient for a long voyage and cruising in distant seas. In time of war it is intended that only the lower masts shall stand. The novelty of design worked out in the Nelson and Northampton consists in the system of armoring, and, as may be readily seen, the object contemplated is to give thicker plates to vessels of this class over the vital parts of the ship, at the expense of the exposed parts, and to increase the offensive power by carrying a heavier weight of ordnance. MOTIVE MACHINERY. The machinery of the Nelson was designed and constructed under the direction of Mr. Kirk, the manager of the engineering works of Messrs. Elder & Co. The ships are fitted with twin screws, each driven by an independent pair of compound engines, with vertical inverted cj'linders, of the collective power of 3,000 horses, giving an aggregate power of 6,000 indicated horse-power for both pairs of engines. The diameter of the THE KELSON AND NORTHAMPTON. 107 high-pressure cylinders is 60 inches, and that of the low-pressure cylin- ders 104 inches. The length of stroke is 3 feet 6 inches, and the number of revolutions to be obtained on the trial was 75 per minute. These engines are constructed entirely of wrought iron and brass, except the cylinders, cylinder-covers, steam and expansion valves. The two pairs of engines are fixed in the ship directly opposite each other. The central longitudinal bulkhead of the ship, however, divides the two pairs, and all the pipes are arranged so that, in the event of collision or other casualty to the bottom of the vessel, either pair can be worked separately. Each cylin- der is supported by four wrought-iron columns, two cylindrical, the other two partly of channel section and serving as guides for thecross-head slip- pers. The bed-plates, or what serves in their stead, is also of wrought iron. For stiffening athwartships, there is at each end of the engines a wrought iron x frame extending across the ship from one pair of engines to the other, and in addition each front column has a small diagonal stiffener to the bed-plate, while longitudinal stays (wrought-iron bars in cast-iron tubes) connecting the upper part of the engines to the hull give stiffness fore and aft. The condensers are composed of brass plates riveted together. The valve-gear is a modification of the Allan type. The crank-shafts are in two parts, interchangeable, 16J inches in diameter in the bearings, with an aggregate length of bearing of 9 feet 6 inches. The propeller-shafts are hollow, made of Whitworth's com- pressed steel. The screw-propellers are 18 feet in diameter, work out- ward, and they are of the Mangin type, i. e., two2-bladed screws on each hub, separated from each other.* BoilerL — The boilers are ten in number, with three furnaces in each, set back to back against the longitudinal bulkhead, with the fronts tow- ard the sides of the ship. They are oval in shape, 12 feet 6 inches wide by 14 feet 6 inches high, and 9 feet 6 inches long, and are divided by transverse water-tight bulkheads into four separate fire or boiler rooms. The furnaces are made iu short lengths, riveted together with flanges having distance-pieces between them. The pressure of steam is to be 60 pounds per square inch. All the necessary pumps and equipments described for other vesels are here provided. The machinery for the Northampton was designed and constructed by Messrs. John Penn & Son, of Greenwich. The engines of this ship are of Penn's new type, three-cylinder vertical inverted, the first design of which was made in 1875 for the Italian corvette Cristoforo Colombo, built at Venice. The three cylinders are of equal diameter, 54 inches, with a stroke of 39 inches. The cranks are set at equal angles, and the shafts are interchangeable. When the ship is to be driven at full speed, the engines are to be worked as simple expansive engines, cutting off the steam long or short, as desired ; but under all ordinary conditions of steaming they are intended to be worked on the compound system, taking the steam first in the center cylinder and expanding it in the two outside cylinders, valves and connections being provided to effect the change from one system to the other when desired. Each cylinder rests on wrought iron columns in front, i. e., on the side nearest the center of the ship, and on cast-iron columns behind ; each has a main slide and an expansion-valve, each valve having its own link-motion. The start- ing-platforms are about midway up the engines, and placed between them, with direct communication between the two through the longi- *The Mangin screws have given satisfaction as applied to several twin-screw vessels in England and France where the space permitted sufficient separation of the screws on the shafts; but as applied to one of our single-screw second-rates, iu a short well, it proved, as might have been expected, unsuccessful. 108 EUROPEAN SHIPS OF WAR, ETC. tudinal bulkhead. The power to be developed by the engines of the Northampton is to be the same as provided for the Nelson, and the boil- ers are almost identical, ten in number, of the elliptical type, with three furnaces in each, and to carry a pressure of 60 pounds per square inch. The ends of the ship are provided for coal-tanks. On the trial trip made last autumn, with steam at 60 pounds pressure per square inch in the boilers, 27 inches of vacuum and 83£ revolutions, a mean of 6,037 horse-power was obtained. On the five-hour contract- ors' trial of the Nelson, made in February of this year, the mean indica- ted power developed was 6,250 horses, with a maximum speed of 15 knots. THE WARRIOR. This fine old ship, the first iron-armored ship built in England, was lying at Portsmouth during my visit to that place. It is worthy of note that while the first productions of all nations, of wooden ships clad in armor, have gone to decay, the iron hull of the Warrior, now seventeen years old, presents no sign of deterioration, being to all appearances as sound and as durable as when set afloat in 1860 ; and although large expenditures for repairs have been made on the vessel and her machinery, the hull proper has required no expenditure beyond that for its preservation by cleaning and painting. The description, dimensions, and performance of this ship have appeared in various pub- lications many years ago. In consequence of her great length (380 feet), unhandiness, and thin armor (4J inches), she is no longer regarded as suitable for action in great naval battles, but her success as to speed at so early a day in the race for naval supremacy seems to deserve atten- tion still. In 1874 a new set of boilers, made at the Portsmouth dock- yard, were fitted on board. They are of the old box type, having su- perheaters, with the usual appliances of this variety. The grate-area of the boilers is 780 square feet, and the heating surface 19,906 square feet. The cylinders were rebored, the slide-faces and ports strengthened and braced, and the expansion- valves altered to give an earlier cut-off. After these repairs the ship was put on trial at the measured mile, to test the machinery and speed against the runs made over the same ground thirteen years previously. The following is a comparison of the trials at full power on three several occasions : October, 1861. April, 1863. May, 1874. Pressure of steam in boilers Revolutions . Indicated horsepower Speed, in knots Pitch of screw Immersion of screw Ship by the stern 22. 00 pounds. 54. 25 5,471 14. 354 30 feet. 11 inches. 11 inches. 21. 6 pounds. 53.14 5,270 14. 079 30 feet. 27 inches. 23 inches. 21. 5 pounds. 56.0 4,811 14. 158 27 feet 8£ inches?. 13 inches. 5 inches. One curious result noted is the same speed on the last trial with 459 less horse power than on the former trials many years previously. fclOi) THE WATERWITCH. The Waterwiich was built as an experimental vessel, to test the Ruth- ven system of propulsion by a turbine wheel, or what is known as the water-jet engine. The vessel is built of iron ; is 162 feet long, 32 feet broad, 13 feet 9 inches deep ; has a load-displacement of 1,279 tons, and the indicated horse-power on the measured mile was 777. She has an excessively flat floor, is double-ended, and fitted with a rudder at each extremity. An armor-belt 4£ inches thick at the water-line extends around the hull, which rises at the middle of her length into a casemate rendered complete by athwartship bulkheads. The propelling instru- ment consists of a turbine wheel, or centrifugal pump, 14 feet 6 iuches in diameter, made of wrought and cast iron. This wheel revolves in a chamber 19 feet in diameter, in the center of the hull, below the water- line, and the chamber is bored to a smooth surface inside, in order to reduce hydraulic friction to a minimum. The turbine has 12 radial blades or vanes, and weighs about 8 tons ; it is put in motion by a set of three engines, arranged at angles of 120 degrees, the connecting-rods taking hold directly of a single crank rising vertically above the wheel- casing, an application similar to the manner in which the engines of the old Union and the Alleghany were connected to- the once well-known Hunter wheels. * The engine-cylinders are 3SJ inches in diameter and the stroke of pistons 3 feet 6 inches, and are supplied by steam from two ordinary box-boilers having 6 furnaces. The wheel receives the water from a rectangular box, or tank, resting on the keelsons of the ship, and placed in free communication with the sea by means of a large number of rectangular orifices in the bottom. From the wheel-casing perimeter at opposite sides, two copper pipes, about 27 inches by 25 inches internally, lead to the discharge-nozzles at the ship's side. These are 24 inches by 18 inches, and extend about 8 feet along the side of the hull just above the water-line, so that the engines have to raise the water through a very small height. A sluice- valve is arranged at each side in such a manner that the current from the turbine may be directed ahead or astern at pleasure by simply mov- ing a lever, the engines revolving always in one direction. The water taken in through the bottom of the ship is expelled at both sides in the line of the keel, and the reaction of the fluid issuing at high speed im- parts forward motion to the hull. The movement of the vessel ahead or astern is regulated by the direction of the escape of the water. If the water escapes aft, the movement will be ahead ; if it escapes toward the bow T , it will be astern. The idea is exceedingly simple and very old. As far back as 1661, Togood received a patent for propelling vessels by expelling water from * As early as 1782, James Rumsey made a public experiment on the Potomac with a boat 80 feet long, propelled by a steam-engine working a vertical pump in the middle of the vessel, by which the water was drawn in at the bow and expelled through a horizontal tube at the stern ; she went at the rate of 4 miles per hour. Benjamin Franklin and Oliver Evans suggested substantially the same mode of propulsion. Subsequently various applications of the principle were tried in the United States without success. 110 THE WATERWITCH. Ill their sterns. In 1730, Allen secured a patent for nearly the same thing ; and the proposal was also made by Bernouilli eight years subsequently. Indeed, the extreme simplicity of the system seems to have attracted many inventors, for down to the year 1857 it appears that upward of fifty persons have either proposed or patented the scheme in Europe, and many experiments were tried from time to time, but none of them received much encouragement until Mr. Euthven entered the field, and the success, such as it has been, which attended his exertions, seems to have been mainly due to the adoption of the centrifugal pump, with equable and enormous delivery, instead of the ordinary piston-pump commonly adopted by other inventors. Euthven's first patent is dated in 1839. Under this, two small boats were built and exhibited on a canal at Edinburgh, Scotland. In 1849, another boat was built and exhibited on the Thames. In 1853, the Albert was built on this principle in Prussia by Mr. Sydel, the engines and pump being furnished by the patentee. In 1865, the Nautilus was built iu England, embodying all of Mr. Euthven 7 s improvements up to that date. With this little vessel, several experiments were made in the presence of the admiralty authorities, the results of which betrayed them into the construction of the Waterwitch. In consequence of the convenience of directing a vessel ahead or astern by the simple movement of a lever from the deck, this system of propulsion has been very fascinating to many officers; but unfortu- nately for this instrument of propulsion, in common with the Hunter wheel, the Fowler wheel,* and all such submerged water-wheels as ap- plied to steam -vessels, an extraordinary power must be developed by the engines to obtain a small result; or, in other words, only a small amount of the power developed is utilized. At the trial of the Waterwitch, a vessel of only 1,279 tons displacement, * Fowler's steering-propeller is a submerged wheel revolving on a vertical shaft, with paddles which are feathered by an eccentric cam in such a manner that the paddles shall have a pushing and drawing action on the water while passing through the pro- pelling arc, and present only their edges to the water while passing the dead-points. By turning the cam-wheel, which is done at the wheel on deck by a simple connection, the feathering is done at different points, and the vessel may be backed or turned on her center without reversing the engines. The letters patent of Mr. F. G. Fowler, dated January 4, 1870, describe it as follows : "It is a submerged marine propeller, or feathering sculling-wheel. It consists of a vertical shaft, from which proceed horizontal arms, to the extremities of which are attached blades by pivots placed on their vertical central line. These blades oscillate on their pivots, as the propeller revolves, in such a manner that they exert a propel- ling force throughout their entire circuit except when passing two points or centers, when they are neutral. This oscillating motion is produced by an eccentric with which each blade is connected, and the propelling force is exerted in the direction in which the short radius of the eccentric extends. By suitable connections between the eccen- tric and helm the steersman is enabled to turn the eccentric, and thereby cast the pro- pelling force to any point of the compass, by which means he is enabled not only to move the boat forward and backward in a direct line, but to steer it gradually to the right or left, or in a very short curve, or cause it to turn in either direction, on its own center and in its own length of water, the said arrangement serving the treble purpose of propeller, rudder, and reversing-gear." A propeller- wheel of this description was applied to the revenue-cutter Gallatin, on Lake Erie, in 1872; but after several trials it was condemned, as being less efficient than the screw propeller, and, with the machinery to work it, removed from the vessel. A Fowler wheel was also applied to the United States torpedo-vessel A\arm about the same time, and a board of officers has recently recommended its removal and the substitution of the Mallory steering-propeller in its stead. Hunter's steering-propeller, patented in 1874, and intended for canal-boats, is similar to the Fowler wheel in some respects. It has two wheels on opposite sides of the stern- post, revolving in opposite directions. The blades are feathered so as to have but one dead-point. 112 EUROPEAN SHIPS OF WAR, ETC. of light draught and good lines, a. power of 775 horses was developed to obtain an average speed of 6£ knots per hour. Additional alterations and experiments were made two years ago, with the view to obtaining better results. These alterations consist in su- perseding the 140 small apertures through which the water is admitted by one large aperture under the wheel, and in the bottom of the ship ; also in lengthening the nozzles at the sides through which the water makes its escape. The results of the trials after these alterations will, of course, be nearly the same as in previous trials. The speed of the vessel at sea has never exceeded 5 or 6 knots, and although ten years old she has never been trusted out of sight of land, and, as she is neither fit for coast defense nor harbor service, it is believed that the next move will be to break her up ; and thus ends the experiment of propelling vessels bv means of turbine wheels. THE GLATTON. COAST-DEFENSE VESSELS. Of the twelve coast-defense vessels named in Part I., the Glatton is the most powerful. She is an iron double-screw turret-ship of 4,912 tons displacement. Her length is 245 feet; breadth, 54 feet ; and draught of water, 19 feet. The maximum horse power is 2,868, and the maximum speed 12 knots. The hull is double bottomed, and divided into water-tight com- partments in the usual manner. Tbe armor of the hull proper consists of two strakes, the upper (above water) being 12 inches thick, and the lower (below water) 10 inches in thickness. The former has a teak backing of 18 inches, and the latter a backing of 20 inches. The breastwork, which rises 6 feet 3 inches above the upper deck, is armored with plates 12 inches thick, having behind it a teak backing of 18 inches. The deck extending on either side of the breastwork con- sists of 1-inch plates covered by 2-inch plates, and over this, 6 inches of oak planking. The turret, which rises out of the center, above the breastwork chamber, is 30 feet 6 inches in external diameter, and there is a space of 6 inches between it and the surrounding glacis-belt, which is 3 feet in breadth. The general thickness of the turret-armor is 12 inches, with 15 inches of teak backing. All the coast-defense vessels are engined on the old system, the Cyclops and Hydra excepted, the engines of which were the first examples of Elders compounds introduced into armored ships. Each vessel has a pair of vertical inverted cylinders to each of the two screws. The boilers are cylindrical, and the pressure of steam is 60 pounds per square inch. A KEMAKKABLE EXPERIMENT. At the time the Glatton and other monitors were undergoing construc- tion, considerable diversity of opinion existed in England as to the ability of the turret to revolve and to be worked after having been struck in action by heavy projectiles; that is, whether by the impact of a 600- pound shot, propelled by a 12-inch rifled gun at short range, a turret such as the one represented would be jammed or prevented from working. There was also to be ascertained the probable damage that might be caused to the guns and other interior fittings of the turret. With a view of arriving at a definite solution of this question, it was determined to select the Glatton as a target, and to cannonade her turret with project- iles from the heavy guns of the coast-defense vessel Hotspur. In com- pliance with this decision, the two vessels were moored at a distance of 200 yards from each other. The Glatton, above mentioned, carries a single turret, in which were mounted at the date of the experiment, July, 1872, two 25 ton Woolwich rifles, being the heaviest guns at that time in the British navy. The turret of the Glatton, against which the shots were directed, is 113 8 K 114 EUROPEAN SHIPS OF WAR, ETC. shown in the horizontal section A on the accompanying sketch. The armor consists of plates laid on in two rings or tiers, eight plates in each ring, the upper ring or belt having six plates 12 inches thick, and two plates 14 inches thick, namely, those pierced by the port-holes. The lower ring contains seven plates 12 inches and one plate 14 inches thick ; the last mentioned being that between and beneath the portholes. The backing is of such thickness as, with the plates, to make up a total of 29 inches everywhere; that is, 15 inches of oak behind 14 inches of iron, or 17 inches of oak behind 12 inches of iron. Behind the backing comes 1J inches of skin, consisting of two thicknesses of f -inch plate j then ver- tical girders 5 inches in depth with spaces between,, and, finally, what may be termed an inner skin or mantlet skin, of J-inch iron, to prevent bolt-heads and splinters from flying into the interior of the turret and injuring the men working the guns on service. The Hotspur is a ram, 235 feet between perpendiculars. 50 feet in ex- treme breadth, with a mean draught of water of 10 feet 10 inches, and her armament consists of one 25-ton Woolwich muzzle-loading rifle. Against the strongest portion of the Glattotfs turret this gun was brought to bear, at a range of 200 yards. The projectiles used were Palliser 600- pound shot, chill-headed, and the powder-charge was 85 pounds large pebble. The results have been summarized by the Engineer, as follows : The first shot struck at the spot marked B in the elevation, with effects shown in section at A and at B. (1) The entire upper plate was forced back to a distance, at point of junction with lower plate, of 5i inches ; (2) shot penetrated to a depth of nearly 20| inches ; (3) hori- zontal joint between upper and lower plate was opened to a width of 2 inches ; the same effect being manifest in the corner of the top plate being lifted 2 inches higher than that of the adjacent plate ; (4) the lower plate was cracked in a vertical direc- tion and otherwise contorted at the edge ; (5) a bolt was driven some inches backward, the head flying into the interior of the turret ; (6) the double skin was bent back and forced open to a width of about 3 inches, the wood protruding ; (7) the I inch or inner skin was torn open and hanging down to the extent of about 4 feet by 18 inches, a number of rivet-heads, as well as bolt-heads, being thrown into the interior of the turret. Although a little below the spot intended, it was quite clear that this round gave a heavy contorting blow to the turret, the top of which had been so far forced back; it was, nevertheless, found that the turret revolved without the slightest difficulty, and for the object of the experiment the next round might be proceeded with. Considering the spot struck by the first blow, it seemed advisable to pass on a 1 : once to the trial of a blow at the line of junction between the turret and glacis-plate. By means of a mark painted at C, elevation, a shot was delivered, grazing the glacis-plate at a point 3 feet from the turret and glancing into the turret, whicb it penetrated to a depth of about 15 inches, the shot, as before, standing well up to its work and coming easily out of the hole uninjured as far as the front row of studs. The effects produced by this round are chiefly shown in section C. They are (1) penetration about 15 J inches ; (2) glacis-plate grooved to a depth of about \ inch and. cracked ; (3) flange-ring cover- ing joint of turret and glacis cut through and bent ; (4) lower side of glacis-plate bent back and split open to a width of about f inch ; (5) — not shown in figure — a sort of bind- ing-plate, fixed on the lower edge of the armor side beneath the deck, broken off for a length of some feet and the edge bulged downward. This round again severely tested the working of the turret, not perhaps quile to severely as might be conceived were a similar blow to fall in a more downward direc- tion, but quite the kind of blow intended. On trial the turret was again found to work freely and easily. The ports, which up to this time had bteu covered and plugged up with beams of wood, were cleared open and two rounds were fired from each gun ; one a full blank charge of 70 pounds of pebble-powder, and one a battering charge of 85 pounds of pebble-powder with shot. The turret revolved easily in about a minute, and we are not aware that any effort was used to obtain speed. In short, the Glattt n was in good fighting trim at the conclusion of the experiment. Considering how great are the chances against a second shot falling exactly on a spot already struck, it would hardly be going too far to say that the Glutton was in nearly as good condition to go into action as before the trial. Yet it would be difficult to put her through a more severe ordeal, except by bringing the 35-ton gun to bear on her, and as for the object of the experiment, namely, injury to the working of the turret, it may be doubted whether much more effect would, even then, have been produced. A plunging fire we are inclined to believe the most likely to jam the turret. CO Z O Ui I K 1- o U- ; UJ CO THE GIATTON. 115 At the beginning of the experiment several animals and fowls were placed in the turret, and at the conclusion they were found uninjured. The damaged plates, shown in the drawings, were removed to the Chatham dock-yard, where I had the privilege of examining them. SAKTOEIUS TORPEDO-RAM. The sum of 860,264 has been appropriated toward the construction at Chatham of a vessel now known as the Sartorius Torpedo-Ram. But as yet little definite information regarding its structural arrangement or dimensions has been made public. It has, however, been reported that the vessel will be 250 feet long, will have a draught of 20 feet and a displacement of 2,500 tons ; that she will only expose about 4 feet of the hull proper out of water, and this portion will be convex and ar- mored with steel plates ; that the engine-power will be sufficient for a very high speed, while the coal-carrying capacity will also be great ; and that she will have a light hurricane-deck above the cigar-shaped hull, but will not be provided with masts or guns. This extraordinary craft is intended to ram armored ships about 5 or 6 feet below the water-line, and for this purpose she is provided with a formidable submerged ram-snout ; while at the same time she is to dis- charge a number of torpedoes from her stem and also from her sides. Some of these particulars resemble very much the ideas embodied in the model prepared some years ago by Commodore Ammen and still ex- posed to view in our Kavy Department. DP^IR/T YIII COST OF BRITISH ARMORED SHIPS; TABLE OF DIMENSIONS, ETC., OF THE ARMORED SHIPS OF GREAT BRITAIN. 117 COST OF BRITISH ARMORED SHIPS. The account rendered of the cost of the construction or repair of a vessel or its machinery in one of our navy-yards is that of the actual labor and material entering into such construction or repair, uo account being taken of the cost of plant, tools, appliances, fuel, &c, used in con- nection therewith. In the British navy a different system prevails. A nominal percent- age is added to the actual cost of labor, materials, and stores entering into the construction of the vessel, to cover what is believed to be the ship's share of the value of maintenance of the plant, appliances, ma- terials, &c, necessarily employed in the dock-yards as shipbuilding establishments. This nominal percentage has differed materially iu the years prior to 1836, but since that time a bulky volume has annually been presented to Parliament, containing upward of 700 pages of fig- ures, which gives in great detail information of a definite character as to the cost of building and repairing every vessel in the British navy. These volumes were, to some extent, in existence before 186S, but prior to that time they could not, for purposes of comparison, be regarded as trustworthy, consequent upon the results of individual judgments ob- tained by takiug the actual cost of maintaining the dock-yards and of their plant, and distributing it ratably over the dock-yard construction and repairs of ships at the dockyards. Thus, in comparing the cost of the Achilles with that of the Bellerojihon, as the former was built when the percentage was low and the latter when it was high, it is found that these accounts make the former-named vessel apparently cost consider- ably less than the latter, though she really cost considerably more. Since 1866 this fluctuating percentage has been excluded from the ac- counts, and the details relating to the cost of ships have been limited to the actual prime cost of production ; or, in other words, to the cost of the labor, materials, &c., expended on them. At the same time, the necessary information is given enabling a percentage to be added. The following extract from a carefully-prepared paper in the London Times will be found interesting, showing, as it does in detail, the cost of con- struction and maintenance of the British navy for eighteen years : While it was difficult to assess beyond the reach of dispute the proper charge ships •should bear as their share of the cost of keeping up the dock-yards and machinery neces- sary for construction and repair, it was not so difficult, though the difficulty must, necessarily, have been great at first, so to limit the items of charge on account of ship- building as to CD able an effective comparison to be made between the estimate voted by Parliament and the actual expenditure incurred on our fleets for construction and repair; to be able, in fact, to prepare an account which should show on one side the actual votes for labor and stores as given in the navy estimates, and on the othsr side the actual fruit of those votes in dock-yard work of all kinds. The difficulty, which for years existed, of establishing anything lik<; a satisfactory and direct relation between the oioney voted lor ships by Parliament and the money actually paid for ships and expended upon ships by the admiralty was seriously felt, and was acknowledged to be a blot on naval finance; but the course taken by Mr. Childers guaranteed this impor- tant result, and on this principle these accounts since 1866 have been framed. To make this comparison more effectual, the navy estimates are now always accompanied by an analysis of the ship-building votes, or " retabulation," as it is called, which forms tin- basis of the dock-yard accounts. This, however, is not the only result which these accounts give. In addition to the comparatively simple process of setting off actual against estimated expenditure, an exhaustive balance-sheet, which prefaces these nts, shows the value of land, stock - , buildings, and other elements of property 120 EUROPEAN SHIPS OF WAR, ETC. representing the value of our dock -yards at the commencement of each year, with the receipts from various sources on one side; on the other, the expenditure of stores and labor during the year ; and, finally, the balance at the end of the year of stores in hand, and of the appreciated or depreciated value of dock-yard property. Regarded simply for the purposes they are intended to serve, these are, perhaps, the most complete government accounts to which the public have access. In endeavoring, therefore, to ascertain what iron-clad ship-building has cost the coun- try, it is possible to refer for eight successive years to accounts which give, readily and uniformly, this information. While it is only since 1866 we are able to accept the fig- ures in these accounts as useful for this purpose, we are, fortunately, previously to that date, not left without trustworthy information. Mr. Reed, in his book on " Our Iron- clad Ships," gives in detail the cost of iron-clads from the earliest date, and his figures are no doubt derived from official sources. Before the date of these accounts, then, we have Mr. Reed's figures ; and since the 31st of March, 1874, the date of the last published account, an official return gives the estimated cost of each iron-clad which was then incomplete, or has been since com- menced. Mr. Reed's figures give the sum of £7,338,687 as the cost of construction before 1866 ; the admiralty accounts, the sum of £5,961,203 as the cost between 1866 and 1874 ; and the estimated cost from 1874 to the present time gives the sum of £3,439,035, of iron-clads incomplete but still under construction. The result is that the cost of our iron-clad fleet which has been both completed and commenced may be calcu- lated at the sum of £16,738,935. During the past 18 years, then, while the navy esti- mates have amounted to £197,000,000, the sum of £16,500,000 has been spent on the construction of iron-clads ; and, if the cost of wear and tear, repair and maintenance, be added, we may raise this sum to £18,000,000. Mr. Reed's statement that our iron- clad fleet had, since it was first commenced, cost the country about £1,000,000 a year, was founded on a liberal calculation, and is beyond a doubt correet. The two divisions of expenditure on iron-clads into construction and repair will be dealt with separately. In turning, then, to the cost of construction, it will be found that, including four floating batteries, sixty iron-clads of all kinds have been built either by contract or at the royal dock-yards. * The following table exhibits the total amount spent each year on iron-clad construc- tion, and the amounts paid to contractors and spent at the royal dock-yards for this purpose : Cost of construction. At the dock- yards. By contract. Total. 1866-67 £436, 301 440, 143 384, 146 536, 293 558, 800 345, 750 2tt,956 377, 715 £154, 840 348, 474 725, 914 540, 055 455, 415 349, 288 61,869 8, 244 £591,141 1867 '68 788, 617 1,110,060 1, 076, 348 1,014,215 1868-69 1869 '70 1870-'71 1871-72 695, 038 1872 '73 299, 825 385, 959 1873 '74 Before 1866 3, 326, 104 3, 481, 843 2, 644, 099 3, 856, 844 5, 961, 203 7, 338, 687 Total 6, 807, 947 6, 530, 943 13, 299, 890 The following table gives the expenditure for construction and wear and tear (in- cluding repairs and maintenance) of vessels of all kinds in the effective navy : Cost of building. Cost of wear and tear, &c. Tot; 1. Iron-clad. Not iron- clad. Iron-clad. Not iron- clad. 1866 '67. . £591,141 783, 617 1,110,060 1, 076, 348 1,014,215 695, 038 299, 825 385, 959 £423, 265 1, 103, 132 584, 302 310, 699 316, 599 439, 134 509, 262 904, 069 £109,145 159, 552 187,699 130, 743 1S2, 065 87, 595 158,933 291, 381 £782, 728 568, 489 426, 0S4 468, 623 451, 880 358, 388 336, 259 464,911 £1,906,279 2, 519, 790 2,308,150 1 986 413 1867- '68 18fi8-'69 1869 '*0 1 870-7 1 1, 964, 759 1871 '72 . 1,630 155 Ih7:2 73 1 304 279 1873-74 2, 046, 320 Total - 5, 961, 203 4, 540, 462 1,307,113 3, 857, 362 15, 666, 145 COST OP BRITISH ARMORED SHIPS. 121 This table throws a fuller and more accurate light than the previous one on the ship- building policy and expenditure of these eight years. But to give these figures their full value and to test them, as it were, independently, it is desirable to compare them with the amounts voted by Parliament for ship-building and for all naval services, and to compare them further with the number of artisans employed and the tonnage of shipping annually built. The result should present a complete chart of the ship-building work and a guide to the ship-building policy of these eight years, which cannot fail to be interesting. The following table gives this information : Expenditure on building and re- pairs. it .2.2© •+=.3 5 Total naval esti- mates. a © a © a Tonnage built. Year. "3 o s- H O 3 £ 3 O c3 © H 1866-67 £1,906,279 2, 519, 790 2, 308, 145 1, 986, 413 1, 964, 759 1, 630, 155 1, 304, 279 2, 046, 320 £2, 718, 000 3,091,000 3, 219, 000 2, 655, 000 2, 124, 000 2, 557, 000 2, 384, 000 2, 797, 000 £10, 031, 000 10, 976, 000 11,157,000 9, 996, 000 9, 370, 000 9, 756, 000 9, 532, 000 9, 872, 000 18, 607 18, 309 15, 464 14, 124 11,223 12, 831 12, 826 13, 485 7,013 12, 448 15, 045 18, 769 12,567 10, 678 4,798 4,050 15, 384 1867 '08 33, 701 1868-69 26, 291 1869- ! 70 . 24, 230 1870-'71 19, 925 1871-'72 21, 137 1 872-'73 16, 092 1873-'74 17, 329 Total 15, 666, 090 21, 545, 000 80, 690, 000 85, 368 174, 089 To return, however, to the cost of construction. The sum of sixteen and one-half millions sterling rex>resents, as has been shown, the total cost of iron-clad construction, past and prospective, so far as naval accounts and estimates are concerned. To the 31st of March, 1874, the sum of £13,299,890 had been actually spent of this sum. What have we got for it? Forty-nine finished and seven unfinished iron-clads. These last consist of the Alexandra, Temeraire, Dreadnought, and Inflexible, whose partial cost had amounted in March, 1874, to £1,084,887. The remaining 49 vessels, whose total cost had been brought to account in March, 1874, had cost £12,215,000. Judging by the standard suggested by Mr. Reed, we may cousider seven only of these 49 vessels effective ; or, we may say that, of the above sum, two millions sterling represent the cost of our effective iron-clads, and ten millions of those which are obsolete or inef- fective. To go still further into detail, it may be interesting to compare the cost of these two classes. In the obsolete class of broadside-vessels the Warrior, for instance, one of the oldest, was built at a cost of £379,154, and her sister ship, the Black Prince, at a cost of £378,310, each having a burden of 6,109 tons. Then the Achilles, with 6,121 tons, cost no less than £470,230, and the Northumberland, with 6,621 tons, cost £490,681. Of modern iron-clads the Hercules and Saltan are smaller, having a ton- nage of 5,226 tons only, but they may each be regarded as four times as strong as the Warrior, while their cost in construction was respectively £377,007 and £374,777. A smaller class of vessel, which the loss of the Vanguard has drawn attention to, namely, the Audacious class, consists now of five vessels, each having a tonnage of 3,774 tons. The Audacious cost £256,295, the Iron Duke £208,763, and the Vanguard £272,100. In the construction of the Bellerophon, an attempt was first made to economize the cost of construction, and at the same time increase the strength. The vessel cost to build £364,327, or more than £100,000 less than the Achilles, wi h which it may be compared. Of turret-vessels, two, the Monarch and (rlatton, are included in the class of the seven effective iron-clads already referred to. The Monarch cost £371,413, aud the Glatton £223,105, to build. The unfortunate Captain cost £355,764. The most expensive of the four small coast-defense vessel?, built in 1870, is the Cyclops, which cost to build £14!), 465; aud the two rams, the Hotspur and Rupert, cost respectively £175,995 and £235,032. So far, then, as these 49 vessels are concerned, it seems clear that, as time advanced, the tont of construction diminished ; it may, indeed, be said that recent in- vention lias had the tendency to increase power with diminished size and cost. The satisfaction, however, this statement may cause must, we foir, be short-lived ; for, w hile up to 1874 or 1875 this is true enough, since then iron-clads have become much more expensive than ever. Increased prices and more costly appliances have had an unmis- takable effect on the iron-clads now under construction. The Inflexible is estimated to cost £521,750, the Dreadnought £508,395, and the Alexandra £521,500, Then the Teme- raire is to cost £374,000, the Xelson £333,800, and the Northampton £349,000. These 122 EUROPEAN SHIPS OF WAR, ETC. vessels, not yet finished, show a startling advance in cost as compared with some of the vessels we have noticed, or even with vessels like the Thunderer and Shannon, which are not yet complete, hut are of earlier construction, and are estimated to cost £334,000 and £266,500 respectively. These points are worth noting, as they are essential to auy effective criticism or comparison of past and present naval expenditure, and will help to correct many erroneous impressions on the subject. Bnt a more serious element of disturbance in naval finance has been caused by the sudden if uot entirely unsuspected demands made for the repair of iron-clads. The repair of iron-clads is a difficulty which has only made itself felt seriously in the past three years. Mr. Goschen, in bringing forward the naval estimates in 1873, alluded to the necessity which existed for making special provision for this work by employing additional hands at the dock-yards. But Mr. Hunt, following in the same line, ex- plained last year that extensive repairs of a costly character were inevitable. When iioclads were first built it was considered satisfactory that, although the cost of con- struction was great, the ships would last longer than unarmored vessels. This, how- ever, seems doubtful, now that we have the experience of fifteen years as a guide ; and even were iron-clads exceptionally durable, it is quite certain their repair is exception- ally costly. For the first ten years the charges for repair were, comparatively speak- ing, light; but during the last three years the necessity of entering upon an expensive course of repair has made itself felt. The following table shows the actual co3t during the eight years from 1*866 to 1874 of providing for the wear and tear of iron-clads and unarmored vessels, and of keeping them in repair, in commission, and reserve : Year. Iron-clads. Unarmored vessels. Total. 1866 '67 " £109,145 159, 552 187, 699 130, 743 182, 065 87, 595 158, 933 291, 381 £782, 728 568, 489 426, 084 468, 623 451, 880 3*58, 388 336, 259 464, 911 £891, 873 728 041 1367 '68 186^-'69 613, 783 1369-70 599, 366 1370-71 633, 945 445 983 1871 '72 1872-73 495, 192 756 292 18";3-'74 . Total 1,307,113 3, 857, 362 5, 164, 475 Here it will be seen that in 1873-74 the largest expense was incurred for the repair of iron-clads. It is also worthy of remark that a small number of vessels only was dealt with, as a reference to the accounts would prove. Thus, in that year alone the Achilles cost £24,907, the Bellerophon, which had cost nearly £30,000 in 1870, was again in 1873 charged with an expense of £40,395; the Minotaur cost in this year £16,681; the Northumberland, £10,255; the Resistance, £31,647; and the Warrior the large sum of £50,000. From these instances it will be seen that the maintenance and repair of iron-clads have introduced a new and serious element of expense into the ua ,T y which for some years is likely to make itself severely felt. A reference to the above table will show that the cost of the maintenance and repair of the entire fleet, for the eight years which have been analyzed, amounts to more than five millions ster- ling, of which £1,307,113 is applicable to iron-clads; and that of this sum no less than a third was incurred during the last ten years. * * * * Coming now to the consideration of what has been the cost of repairing individual vessels during this period, it appears that those which have already been classed as obsolete or old- fashioned, including serviceable and unserviceable ships, have cost during this period £870,000. Of these the Warrior is the most remarkable; for her cost has amounted, for maintenance and repair, to £124,245. She was built in 1860, cost £379,154 to build and fit out for sea, and has now, in the eight years since 1866, cost no less than a third of this sum to keep in good order. The Defence and Resistance, which were built at the same time as the Warrior, but are much • smaller, have cost during the same period no less than £82,450 and £91,965, which, when compared with the cost of their construction, are large sums. The Black Prince, sister ship to the Warrior, and built at the same time, has for the same period cost only £59,193. But this difference would, in all probability, vanish if we knew what her cost had been during the past two years. The Minotaur has cost for the same period £55,627, and the Achilles £61,209, against a cost of construction of £478,885 and £470,230 respectively; the Hector, the cost of whose construction was about half that of either of those vessels, has cost for repair and maintenance £56,490. These, however, are all old-fashioned broad- side-vessels. The turret-ships are most of them too recently built to enable an opinion to be formed of what they will cost to repair; it will bo seen that the whole cost amounts to £139,845. Of this sum the Monarch absorbs a large share, which amounts to £53,018. Of effective and powerful eea-going broadside-vessels, the Bellerophon, COST OF BRITISH ARMORED SHIPS. ]23 Hercules, and Sultan may be takeu as good examples. The Belleroplion was launched in 1665, and the cost of her maintenance and repair, from 1866 to 1874, is £87,256, or about one-fourth of the cost of her construction, which was £364,327. The Hercules was launched in 1866, and has, similarly, cost £37,537, against a cost of construction of £377,007 ; and the Sultan, which is, comparatively speaking, a new vessel, has only cost £15,666. The Vanguard shows a cost, since 1869, of £12,891 ; the Iron Duke, since 1870, of £ 17.022 ; and the Invincible, since 1870, of £18,274. These instances prove suffi- ciently that the cost of the maintenance and repair of iron-clads is a growing item of naval expenditure, and an item which requires as much consideration, from a financial point of view, as building. When a million a year represents the full normal average amount available for iron-clad construction out of naval estimates amounting to ten millions sterling, it is alarming to find £300,000 is required in one year alone for their repair and maintenance. 124 EUROPEAN SHIPS OF WAR, ETC. •eaqont ui 'guq-j^BAY <\i juuijb jo segujpiqx CM CM 00 00 GO Ci red -do p a a 43 83 83 c4^5 •saqout puB !J99J UI \l9!}BAY 9AOqB A'aa^Bq jo ^q§PH o o ■* o a a SJObO ll qq qq. q fl oo^oo^oS OO OOOOCT3' - ' d-3*^ mm***,^ a aoia oo jo co oo oo cs CS 88 <_ CM^H go 00 00 :l CM ■ K) .a •S9qoui puB ^99j ut '^jB^qSnBJCE tiownooos !0O»«O«OOOO'*O •seqoat puB aoaj ui 'pjbaijoj; ^qSnBJQ K10 5)ISOOt"f ccoooco-TJCM-tf' CMCMCMCMCNCMCMCM i (moo oao o oo o o suoq. ui '^neui9DB{dsTQ; lOXl'-HTC- "OOlOiOOMfflOO «0!* O — i — 'OlOCOOO vtTnWHHOso t^ao— '.-hmoooooo •69q0ni puB 599J ui 'q^pBa.iq 9Ui9.i}xg; OOMrtOOSOO mnsNtoofn 1» CO (O (O to « o to oomoooooooooo •89qoui puB ^99j ui 'BJB^nnipugd -,i9d u99J449q q^Sugi oooooooo COMCMCMCMCMCOCO oooooooooooo OlrtlOlCOOOOOOOM MOOCMMOQCOOCCOOOOOcr: n cm r to CM CM O O CM M CM r-c — ' OCMCMOO i— n n t- t- oVVW o o o o o ooo o o eoOOCCCMCMCMCMCMCM'O CM CM CM CM CM ■9a « a OB 5f a ft e S 2 3 .2-£ OsS 5 .©.3 „ © 5 KCfiH ■*? nn .9 M in 25 oooosoi.nninir.wost't-oxM ooo-^omr-ooco OB»00OOO(M«t-WtSei • r- - ! 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'A'jgaiqoBj^ kO ■* to I- t- t- 00 ftf ^- tO tOtO-<*<©Jt©tO©i©l tO-*©l©l©J©l©|- BflflnJ O O o © ©cog © © © J, Jjsl tin et-i ^h ^ '•*•*& a a a -2 o o WW N N SI N^ i-H^S-^CO N "E "C *E3 "E3 : ? ° ° ° "C WtEJWW |HHHE-:W 5 ® o 5-erS © > § II) s a «, a ^ « a ^ © Pi £ •2-s.a s © © £ s as ^^^.2^ 3-S ■© © a a, © s . a ©^ § S3© a :§ J©o-3t: 3 BRITISH ARMOEED SHIPS. 127 lo o» -r to cr. co l- i~ to x co i- — x 01 10 co — co to -r to 7. — r. i~ to to to ITS lo ~i 7t T l- t- t- r- r* CM 01 ' x" l~-" t-" t-" CO-" 3} t-" J"-" c~ t- i- t- _. x co BO 3 00HOK»-C0«O»^ — x — — x x to co — to i- ~. to -* ,— O 'S" ' 1.0 — k - r. r: n r. t f k ti< x to ---xo-Tn " T» Ol i~ 0! — to 0! CO ?! X X I- of ~S ^T 7i -< OS CO X to l- CO o = x c» x t~ to to to OJ cr. lo tf2 lo — T-h* of «n ao oo •-(S!oaa to to co co o? — i r-i ,-, to en _ o ; o • o :<« ' *** ^ = c ia <-"; i • c - i = ' 5 § = 5 : - % s c to °§ to x i- 01 -r — o -r i ro o o co © cr. -y co i x r. si ^ « o « - ■ -cc m ot so co ' ' ' * ffl — x -.i o> cj to to x r- OJ -T LO 0! i- — LO CO OJ CO co tr. i-o t-- t- so o? no t o to" co* co* lo" lo" lo" co" co" of of i"T f a lo o n n n t- o m to" co" co" co" V co" V co" co" i-T ^h" 0* • CO* CN O LO 0U 01 — x x cr. cr. x cr. x tr. co «io ^r co oo '«S'-TC?^-I''^<'• OJ 0< 01 0* Ol 01 0« CN Cl CN CO'OI 0lOl<0lO*CMOJ'!t ri;i. ill 181 -; g *g S a g -a w ™o--5o 1 — ? — S £ © . o — — to a ; M^lsrs I H !M £ (H CD g : CD O =0 ="- i-3l"iirT ' CD _ g co — H «^ll3i 1 21? 5 « = ^ gll*! i ■Sll||.2< 10 CO £~ = t - ,CI- S 3 ~ a » l?JJ1" ;-= ~ &s :p^:r,t iz MODERN UNARMORED SHIPS OF GREAT BRITAIN; TABLE OF DIMENSIONS, &c. ; THE INCONSTANT, SHAH, RALEIGH, BOADICEA, BACCHANTE, ROVER, EURYALUS, AND SMALLER VESSELS. 9 k I.. UNARMORED SHIPS OF GREAT BRITAIN. It has been noted already in this report that all the old types of Brit- ish naval vessels are gradually disappearing from the navy list for lighting or cruising purposes; sailing-craft, paddle-wheel vessels, and auxiliary or low-speed screw-vessels are alike obsolete. Besides which, wooden vessels of all classes are docrned, and at no distant day will be counted out or relegated to harbor service. The modern cruising-fleet consists of full-powered screw-ships, having iron or steel hulls cased in wood ; and vessels of the smaller class called composite, in which the materials are either iron or steel, except the outside planking, put on in two courses, as is hereafter described. The corvettes Sapphire and Diamond, built in 1874, were the last wooden war-vessels that will probably ever be added to the British navy, for it has been authoritatively made public that no more wooden ship-frames, knees, or beams will be required at the dock-yards. The British modern unarmored cruising-fleet may be divided into seven or eight classes or types. The frigates, corvettes, and sloops of this new fleet, constructed and in process of building, are as follows : MODERN" UX ARMORED SHIPS. 6 © a ©" £■ 11 a •s © © eS ro fc. © ",3 1 .2 a © O P< a •a © 3 © _a 11 © Jl ** 5 « a © rt 3 © o a IP§ a , © © a © © & 'S c3 O ►3 © a 'So a © o *a a M © u c A a a a a ©^ ■T3 © © W a c a sue o © fit 2 s I- K u J. 2 02 o Remarks. IKON FRIGATES. Shah 334 8 52 23 6,040 5,782 Simple ....do 7,477 7,361 16 6 SB 1, 119, 861 1, 036, 756 In Pacific ; first com- mission. Second commission. Inconstant 333 50 1 23 7 16.5 16 298 49 22 5,200 do 6 158 15 5 t >.) 939, 856 Do IRON CORVETTES. 280 45 22 4,027 3,932 Compound do 5,130 5,250 14 8 H6 1,040,040 1, 020, 600 Fitting for sea. Do. P.acchante 280 45 21 7 15 U6 Euryalus 280 45 21 7 3, 932 ....do 5,250 i ll(i 1,015,740 Do. 280 4.', 6 20 2 3,494 3,078 3,078 do 4 964 14 5 H 782, 460 617, 706 613, 104 First commission. Built in 1870. Do. Volage 270 42 1) 4-> Simple 4,532 4,015 15 1 J 270 15 10 One of new type, dimensions not given. STEEI. DI8PATCH- VESSBLS. Iris 300 4(j 20 3 735 Compound do . . 7,000 7,000 16 5 Ml §889, 380 Fitting for sea. Building at Pem- broke. Mercury 300 46 20 3^735 §17 HI * The speeds of the ships were taken when the engines were being driven to the utmost for a short period onlv. t Under covered deck. ♦ Trial trip not made. § Estimated. 131 132 EUROPEAN SHIPS OP WAR, ETC. Modem unarmored shijjs of Great Britain — Continued. .2 If © += £ © P © !« © 3 hi © .3 - 00 fl © rO © X ' H .2 u © «4H © © H ^i M © W «M 3 C8 05 a" a o 3 ~H CD a © o c3 ft O CD a "So a © CM O "3 13 M © o ft © 00 Fh O B 3 B "w c3 CD a © H s p a s ©^ 5. a n © © ft XII a 3 M o © S 3 Cost of hull and machinery, in dollars (gold). Remarks. STEEL AND IRON CORVETTES. Cleopatra Carysfort Champion 225 225 225 225 225 225 220 220 220 220 220 220 170 170 170 170 170 170 170 170 44 6 44 6 44 6 44 6 44 6 44 6 40 40 40 40 40 40 36 36 36 36 36 36 36 36 20 20 20 20 20 20 16 3 16 3 16 3 16 3 16 3 16 3 14 6 14 6 14 6 14 6 14 6 14 6 14 6 14 6 2,383 2,383 2,383 2,383 2,383 2,383 1,864 1,864 1,864 1,864 1,864 1,864 1,124 1,124 1,124 1,124 1,124 1,124 1,124 1,124 Compound ....do ....do ....do ....do ....do Compound ....do ....do ....do ....do ....do Compound do ....do ....do ....do ....do ....do ....do 2, 300 113 2, 300 1 13 2, 300 1 13 2, 300 tl3 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 12 12 12 12 12 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 400, 000 400, 000 400, 000 400, 000 400, 000 400, 000 420, 390 397, 908 Building by Elder & Co., Glasgow. Do. Do. Do. Conquest 2, 300 tl3 2, 300 1 13 Do. Do. COMPOSITE COR- VETTES. Opal 2,116 1,972 1,990 2,100 2,100 1,830 987 720 900 900 800 1,010 900 900 12.5 12.5 12.5 12.5 12.5 12 In Pacific; first com- Tourmaline Turquoise mission. First commission. In Pacific ; first com- mission. Fitting for sea. Do. Ruby In Mediterranean; COMPOSITE SLOOPS. 1st class. 220, 678 220, 678 220, 678 220, 678 220, 678 220, 678 220, 678 220, 678 first commission. Fitting for sea. In Pacific; first com- Cormorant mission. Building at Chatham. Building at Devon- port. In East Indies; first commission. In Pacific ; first com- Wild Swan Osprey mission. Building at Devon- port. Building at Sheerness. 2d class. 160 160 160 160 160 160 150 125 31 4 31 4 31 4 31 4 31 4 31 4 29 23 6 13 13 13 13 13 13 12 9 894 894 894 894 894 894 700 430 Compound ....do ....do...,. ....do .... ....do ....do Compound ....do .... 916 884 836 1,011 838 975 656 406 8 4 4 4 4 4 4 3 4 171, 558 171, 558 171, 558 171, 558 171, 558 171, 558 145, 800 70, 837 cific. In commission; Aus- Flying Fish tralia. In commission; East Indies. In cominission ; China. Albatross Fantome In commission ; Pa- cific. Do. SINGLE-SCREW, COMPOSITE GUN- VESSELS. Six of Arab class. Twenty -one of Coquette class. Displacement and horse-power vary for different vessels. Do. * The speeds of the ships were taken when the engines were being driven to the utmost for a short period only. I" Estimated. MODEEX UNARMORED SHIPS OF GREAT BRITAIN. 133 Id addition to the above there are eleven twin-screw iron gun-vessels of 774 tons displacement and 811 indicated horse-power; twenty-one twin-screw composite gun-vessels of 584 tons displacement and 587 indi- cated horse-power; thirty-eight twin-screw iron gun-vessels of 254 tons displacement and 262 indicated horse-power ; and five siDgle-screw gun- vessels of 570 tons displacement and 336 indicated horse-power, all of modern build. Several other unarmored corvettes are projected. It is intended to construct them with an armored deck three feet below water, and with a ram, and to fit them to use the Whitehead torpedo. The speed is to be 13 knots per hour. The first essential element of power for an unarmored cruising man- of-war of the present day is speed ; a speed sufficiently high to overtake any vessel on the ocean desirable to capture, and to escape from any powerful fighting-ship desirable to evade. The above-named vessels constitute the present fleet of fast unarmored cruising-ships of the British navy. The hulls of these vessels, larger than the Opal, are of iron and steel, and they are built with improved struct- ural arrangements for securing great strength to withstand the immense engine-power put into them and to endure it for any desirable length of time. The bottoms are sheathed with wood, and coppered or zinked to prevent fouling. They carry a large spread of canvas, are provided with lifting screw-propellers, and are in all respects fitted to keep the sea. They have not the speed aimed at by the naval authorities, i. e., such speed as- will be attained in the class of vessels now building called rapid cruisers, and in which vessels requirements for keeping the sea for lengthened periods must be sacrificed; but they have speed superior to that of the cruising-ships of any other navy, besides which they are reputed to be excellent sea-boats, fast under sail, and are armed with rifled guns, some of which are of heavy caliber. The Inconstant is the only one of the number to my knowledge that has as yet been driven under full steam-power alone for upward of twenty-four consecutive hours. This was in the emergency when carry- ing the news of the loss of the unfortunate Captain from Gape Finisterre to England, on the 7th of September, 1870. On this occasion a speed of very nearly 15 knots per hour was averaged for the whole distance.* The speed of each of these cruising- vessels on the measured mile has been shown in the column above, and it is fair to conclude that the maximum performance of any one of them at sea, in smooth water, for a period of, say, twenty-four hours, would be one and a half knots less than was recorded on the measured-mile trials. THE INCONSTANT. Every officer familiar with the progress and advancement in naval science of late years is acquainted with the fact that when the Wampa- noa<) and that class of vessels were under construction at New York and Boston, reports went abroad of the extraordinary speed and terri- ble power they were designed to possess, and of the fearful destruction which would follow their path. These reports, published in American journals, and copied and commented on in the Loudon papers, alarmed the British government ; and as a consequence the chief constructor of the admiralty was directed as early as 1S66, before the Wampanoag was completed, or her defects known in Europe, to prepare the plans * It has been understood that the Inconstant' 8 speed on this occasion was nearly lv knots.— An English Naval Architect. 134 EUROPEAN SHIPS OF WAR, ETC for competing vessels. Thus originated the Inconstant. She was de- signed for full-sail power, and provided with a lifting screw, and to give sufficient scope for the combination of high speed with what was then a heavy armament, good sea-going qualities, a large carrying capacity, and provision for all requirements ; she was made to have a displace- ment of 5,782 tons, was 333 feet long, had 50 feet beam and 23 feet mean draught of water. Iron sheathed with wood, and coppered, was the material chosen to stand the immense strain of the power to be devel- oped by the engines. She was launched November 12, 1868, and the trial cruises were made upward of a year afterward. Subsequently a sister ship, the Shah, was constructed, and was launched in 1873. These two ships represent the largest class of unarmored frigates, and are in all essential features of construction the same. The latter has, however, an increased length of 20 inches over the former, and, in order to confer greater stability than is possessed by the Inconstant, an increase of beam to 52 feet was given. The armaments of the Inconstant and Shah are as follows : Main deck. Upper deck. Pivot-guns. Broadside. 10 124-ton. < 16 ej-ton. \ 2 6|-ton. 2 18-ton. 4 6J ton. 6 64-pdrs. Shah I 2 64-pdrs. J The particulars of the ShaWs guns are taken from a paper published by the committee on designs. Several alterations, tending to greater efficiency, have been made, and one — the substitution of 18 for 12 ton pivot-guns — is embodied above. The bow-guns fire on a line with the keel. The 18-ton 10-inch guns mounted on the Shah are similar to the broadside-guus of the Sultan and the Hercules. The Inconstant has been refitted during the last autumn and again commissioned. It is worthy of consideration that this iron ship, sheathed in wood, now nearly ten years old, is still sound in all parts of the hull and iron work, and notwithstanding the alterations neces- sarily made to keep pace with the times — such as fitting tubes and gear for Whitehead torpedoes, and apparatus for charging the torpedoes with air, building magazines for these, also for the Harvey torpedoes, rearranging the armament, scraping, cleaning, and painting the iron skin, repairing the machinery and fitting the ship for sea — the cost of the refit, exclusive of boilers, is reported at only $58,320. The heavy armament formerly carried remains unchanged, but the power of the guns is increased by using battering charges of 50 pounds of pebble-powder for the Palliser shell, instead of 43 pounds as pre- viously used, and the weight of the projectile is increased to 250 pounds. THE EALEIGH. This ship, launched also in 1873, is of the same general design aud con- struction, but of reduced dimensions. The cost of her construction was $180,005 less than the cost of the Shah, and $96,947 less than that of the Inconstant. Although the Raleigh is not possessed of as powerful a MODERN UNARMORED SHIPS OF GREAT BRITAIN. 135 battery as the larger ships, she is by far more serviceable, more easily handled, and less costly to maintain. The comparison betweea the Raleigh and the Inconstant stands thus : Raleigh. Inconstant. As designed. As com- pleted. Tonnage Displacement Length between perpendiculars. Breadth, extreme Draught {tS""* h»-p—!=— ::::::: Gans 'i upper deck J main deck . 3,210 5,200 298 feet. 49 feet. 20 feet. 23 feet. 800 5,639 2 12Hon. 4 64-pdrs. 14 90-cwt. 2 64-pdrs. 3,978 5,495 333 feet. 50 ft. 1 in. 22 feet. 24 feet. 1,000 7,361 4 6i-ton. 10 12A-ton. 4,066 5,782 These ships, as previously stated, are built of iron ; externally they are entirely sheathed with wood, the chief object of which is to admit of copper being applied to the bottom. There are two thicknesses of sheathing, except over parts of the top-sides, where there is one thick- ness only; the first is secured to the skin of the ship by galvanized iron screw-bolts, which are tapped into the skin, but also bear lock-nuts on the inside. The bolts are of course screwed in through holes pre- pared in the wood, for the holes become unduly enlarged if there is the slightest want of concentricity between the threaded and the plain parts of the bolt, thus occasioning leakage through the wood to the skin. The second layer of planking is secured to the first by metal wood-screws, which stop short, naturally, of the iron skin, and avoid contact with the galvanized bolts. The two courses of planks break joint, and are care- fully put on the iron skin, the planks being properly painted and their joints made tight by calking. The wood is teak, and the thickness as a rule is, for the first course 3 inches, and for the second 2£ inches, taper- ing as the top is approached. This system has been tested for some years on the Inconstant, and has proved to be so successful that its adop- tion for all naval iron cruisiug-vessels, both of English and Continental build, has become general. It may be well to mention that the courses of planks are both applied horizontally, except in the Shah, where one course is vertical and the other over it horizontal.* The motive steam-machinery of all these ships was designed and con- tracted for prior to the date of the adoption of the compound engine by the admiralty. They are, therefore, of obsolete types, and the consump- tion of fuel in each of them is upward of 30 per cent, greater than in the ships of recent construction. Moreover, the anticipated speeds have not been realized. t A. brief description of the machinery of the Raleigh and of the trials may not be out of place. The engines, constructed by Humphrys, Ten- nant & Co., are of the horizontal, direct-acting, return-connecting-rod * It is the Inconstant, the first built of the type, in which one thickness of sheathing is worked vertically and the other horizontally. In the other both thicknesses are horizontal.— Ax English Naval ARCHITECT. tThe speed the Inconstant was designed to have over the measured mile w r as 16 knots, and the actual speed 16.52. The Shah was designed for 10 to 16.1 knots, and made 16.65, and the Raleigh was designed for 15 to 151 knots, and made 15$. — AN ENGLISH Naval Architect. 136 EUROPEAN SHIPS OF WAK, ETC. type, and intended to indicate 6,000 horsepower. A few of their dimen- sions are as follows : Number of cylinders 2 Diameter of cylinders 8 feet 4 inches. Stroke o 4 feet 6 inches. Diameter of piston-rods, 4 to each piston 7 inches. Diameter of back trunk, 1 to each piston 1 foot 6 inches. Travel of slide-valves ( vertical, double-ported ) 10£ inches. Length of valve 5 feet 10 inches. Width of valve 5 feet 1-J inches. Length of ports 5 feet 2-fe inches. Width of bars in extreme ports, 2 in each 2 inches. Width of bars in other ports, 2 in each 1 inch. The expansion- valves are horizontal and of the gridiron type, placed above the slide-casing, and worked from rocking-shafts by means of eccentrics on the main shaft. The cut-off ranges from 3 J inches of the stroke onward, and is varied by moving the end of the eccentric-rod along a quadrant arm on the rocking-shaft. There is one surface-con- denser to each cylinder. The air-pumps are 25J inches in diameter, double-acting, and worked direct from the pistons. The circulating- pumps are centrifugal, and driven by separate engines with 12-inch cyl- inders having 12 inches stroke, exhausting into the condensers j the water is forced through the condensers outside the tubes. The condenser- tubes are vertical, and there are 6,740 in each condenser; their dimen- sions are as follows : Diameter inside h inch. Diameter outside f inch . Length between tube-plates . 6 feet 6£ inches. Cooling surface 12,000 square feet. The starting-gear can be worked by hand or steam. A Silver's gov- ernor is fitted. The propeller is by Hirsch, two-bladed, has 26 feet 8 inches pitch, and is fitted for being raised when the ship is under sail alone.* The number of boilers is nine ; but two of them are small and intended for auxiliary purposes ; these are together equal to one of the large ones. The chief data relative to the boilers are as follows : Number of furnaces .. 32 Length of fire-grate 6 feet 10 inches. Breadth >. 3 feet 3^ inches. Area of fire-grate 720 square feet. Number of tubes 2,S80 Length between tube-plates 6 feet 4 inches. Diameter of tubes outside 3 inches. Tube-heating surface 14,300 square feet. Number of superheaters (steam passing through the tubes) 2 Number of tubes 248 Diameter of tubes, inside « f 2 inches. Length of tubes 9 feet. Superheating tube surface 1,170 square feet. Number of chimneys 2 * The screw-propeller invented by Hermann Hirsch, of Paris, patented in France December 16, 1865, and in the United States April 26, 1870, has been successfully ap- plied to many ships in Europe. The claims set forth in his letters patent are, "1st. Constructing screw-propellers with blades the faces of which are formed of concave lines in cross-section, iu combination with an increasing pitch or helicoidal inclination from the axis to the circumference. 2d. Iu combination with said transverse curva- ture and graduated helical form, the recession of the forward terminal edges of the blades." A two-hladcd screw, made from the drawings of Mr. Hirsch, was applied to one of our second-rates in 1872, but after a trial at sea in rough weather it was reported on un- favorably, and removed from the vessel. The Hirsch screw was also applied to the United States vessels Trenton, Tennessee, and Huron. It was removed from the latter, but remains on the former and has given satisfaction. MODERN UNARMORED SHIPS OF GREAT BRITAIN. 137 The boilers are of the ordinary box kind, and carry 30 pounds pressure on the square inch. The dimensions quoted above give the following relative areas per indicated horse-power : Square feet. Grate surface 117 Tube-heat in g surface 2. 320 Superheating tube surface - '. 190 Condenser-tube cooling surface 1. 950 Trials of Her Britannic Majesty's ship Raleigh. Date of trial Kind of trial "Where tried Draught : Forward Afc Mean Ship by the stern Screw : Diameter Length, greatest Upper edge, immersed Force of wind State of sea Steam-pressure and tem- perature: Boilers Superheaters Engines Vacuum ; Forward Aft Revolutions per miuute Indicated mean pressure Indicated horse-power . . Speed of vessel Revolutions per knot Slip, per cent Temperatures: Deck . .- Eugine-room Stoke-hole, aft Stoke-hole, fore Kind of coal used on trial. April 1, 1874 '\ September 2 Measured mile j 6 hours Maplin Sands Off Portsmouth.. 19 feet 6 inches 23 feet 6 inches 21 feet 6 inches 4 feet 21 fret 10 inches 25 feet 2 inches . 23 feet 6 inches ., 3 feet 4 inches . . 21 feet 21 feet 1 inch ... 3 feet 2i inches 3 feet 3f inches . 2 feet 10 inches 2 feet 5h inches . 4 to 5 4 too Smooth Moderate f 32.7 pounds. I Mean, 310°. I 31.2 pounds, 274°. 27. 6 inches, j 26. 9 inches. ) 73.9 19.8 C157 I 15.503 286.0 I 20. 28 f 29.1 pounds 27.4 pounds 370° | Mean, 325° I 27.6 pounds, 282° 25.9 pounds, 289°. 27. 4 inches j 26. 4 inches ) 58.5 13.8 J 3413 13.455 |260.8 I 12.6 27. inches 26. 5 inches 19.1 5541 15.139,calculatec 272. 5, calculated 16. 35, calculated 56 degrees 65 degrees . 77 degrees 105 degrees 118 degrees Xixon's navigation 87 degrees. 118 degrees 110 degrees Nixon'a naviga- tion. September 2. Measured mile. Stokes Bay. 21 feet 11 inches. 24 feet 10 inches. 23 feet 4* inches. 2 feet 11 inches. 21 feet 1 inch. 3 feet 3J inches. 2 feet lj inches. 3 Smooth. 28 3 pounds. Mean, 320°. 26.8 pounds, 281.-. 26. 8 inches. 26. 8 inches. 69.6 19.2 5639 15. 320 272.5 16.35 64 degrees. 83 degrees. 108 degree?. 92 degrees. Xixon's naviga- tion. The Inconstant has seen considerable service ; the Raleigh made a cruise to India and returned; but the Shah was just put on the last ineasured-mile trials at the time of my visit on board that vessel in April, 187G, and she is now in the Pacific on her first commission. It is now freely admitted by the authorities that both the Inconstant and the Shah are undesirable property. They were too costly to build, are too costly to maintain, and too unwieldy to handle.* It is said by Mr. Brassey, M. P., that " the designers of these vessels were betrayed into an exaggeration of size from over-anxiety to combine in a single ship every quality with which an unarmored vessel can possibly be en- dowed. They were to possess unrivaled speed, both under steam and * We have never seen any reason for believing that this is a correct statement of the estimation in which these ships are held by our admiralty. The placing of the Shah on the South Pacific station is a proof that their qualities are highly estimated, while the action between the Shah and the Peruvian iron-clad Huascar showed that instead of the Shah being too unwieldy to handle, as Mr. King says, she was maneuvered with snch ability and success as to avoid being struck by the enemy. The power of the Shah, which might have been made much greater by the introduction of the heavier armament she is able to carry, combined with her handiness, was sufficient to enable her to come successfully out of a contest with an unquestionably bandy vessel protected by armor- plating. It should be remembered, however, that, as Mr. King lias said, these ship- were built to compete with the American Wampanoag class, about which some alarm was felt in this country while they were being built, and that in this competition the English ships have been successful. There have been no threats expressed since the 138 EUROPEAN SHIPS OF WAR, ETC. UDder sail, and to be armed with such batteries of armor-piercing guns that it was hoped engagements might be fought even against armored ships with some prospect of success. The attempt was ambitious and not altogether unsuccessful, but they are now found to be too expensive for mere protection of commerce, and their guns would be useless against armored ships of the present day.' 7 U A perfect ship of war," as it was very prudently observed by the admiralty committee on de- signs, " is a desideratum which has never yet been obtained ; any near approach to perfection in one direction inevitably brings with it disad- vantages in the other." We now come to recent productions, ships set afloat two years ago, and ships not yet completed. They are the Boadicea, Bacchante, Euryalus, and Btover. These vessels are of smaller dimensions than the Raleigh; they are engined on the new system with three-cylinder compound en- gines, and promise, with modifications which experience may prove ad- vantages, to have permanence as types. They are all rated as corvettes, although the main batteries of the first three named are carried under covered decks. THE BOADICEA. This ship has 95 tons more displacement than the other two just de- scribed; she has a brass stem, and the bottom is sheathed with two courses of planks and coppered, while the other two ships are built to utilize the power of the ram ; and with this object in view, they are formed with upright bows, have iron stems, and are sheathed with only one course of planks which is covered with zinc instead of copper. When such vessels are fitted for ramming, it not only becomes neces- sary to make the stems of iron or steel, but also to build them of addi- tional strength, and to avoid coppered bottoms, for the reason, that any damage to the bow in ramming which should expose the iron skin to the action of the copper sheathing would cause serious galvanic action. The Boadicea has been completed and equipped for sea. Her engines were tested at the measured mile in October, 1876, and in December a special run of six hours' duration was made, when the following results were attained, the draught of ship forward being 20 feet 6 inches, and aft, 22 feet 4 inches : Pressure of steam in boilers, 70 pounds ; horse-power in the first hour, 4,893, with 73 revolutions; in the second hour, 5,406 horse-power and 74.6 revolutions ; in the third hour, 5,414 horsepower and 75.3 revolu- tions ; in the fourth hour, 5,227 horse-power and 74.5 revolutions ; in the building of the English ships, of sweeping our commerce off the seas in the event of war, by fast American cruisers. This is a complete justification of the Inconstant ami Shah if any were required. Mr. Brassey's criticism was obviously based upon an imper- fect appreciation of the objects with which these ships were first designed, and of the manner in which they have been realized. — An English Naval Architect. In selecting the action between the Shah and Ruascar to prove the handiness of the former, "An English Naval Architect" is unfortunate, for, whereas the Shah possessed this quality only in a small degree, the Haascar possessed it in a still smaller, and moreover was by far the slower vessel. I must concede that the Wampanoag attained her speed, viz, 16.97 nautical miles per hour, for only twenty-four hours during her trial trip at sea, in one hour of which she achieved 17.75 nautical miles, and that she never performed any service thereafter. This class of vessel was built during our war, at a time when all the iron-mills were working to their full capacity to fill orders. As a consequence, the hulls being unfor- tunately built of wood, were not capable of sustaining the weight and great power of the engines. The war having ceased before the vessels were completed, no necessity existed for their use. — J. W. K. Compound Engines of H.B. M.S. Rover JLour //ress u re Cylinder. JiX&tLu str Fijoe . //zjg'/i Pressure Cy/inder. JZx/iaust JPz'pe l.ow Pressure dy /in de r. AH, . UrossJ/ead Guides . Condenser. Cross Jfead £ aides Condenser. - 47rass Jfead Guides , MODERN UNARMORED SHIPS OF GREAT BRITAIN. 139 fifth hour, 5,523 horsepower and 75 revolutions ; in the sixth hour, 5,320 horse-power and 74.4 revolutions ; the mean being nearly 5,300 horse- power, 74.5 revolutions, and speed 14.5 knots. The engines are reported to have worked satisfactorily, and one fea- ture of tbe trial was working them with a pressure of only 10.5 pounds in the boilers. THE BACCHANTE. The Bacchante, built at the Portsmouth dock-yard, and recently fitted for the first commission, is of the same length and breadth as the Boadi- cea, but the draught of water is 5 inches less, and the displacement 3,932 tons against 4,027 tons. Unlike her sister, she has been built with a ram-bow and running-in bowsprit, to enable her to ram wooden and unarmored ships. A second difference is in the wood sheathing applied to the outside hull; this is formed of a single strake covered with zinc instead of copper, the seams between the planks being un- calked, with the view that as the water gains access to the iron skin, and galvanic action is set up, the hull is then supposed to be preserved at the expense of the zinc. With the exceptions named, she is similar to the Boadicea, even as regards the armament, in regard to which there exists considerable diversity of opinion among officers since the fiasco between the Shah and Huascar. The eugines, which have been constructed by Messrs. Keunie Bros., are of the compound, horizontal, return-connecting-rod type of three cylinders; the high-pressure cylinder being 84 inches and the low- press- ure 92 inches in diameter, with a stroke of 4 feet. The steam is supplied by ten cylindrical boilers; the initial pressure of steam is 70 pounds per square inch, and the contract indicated horse- power is 5,250. Late in the summer of 1877 a trial of the machinery was made with the ship light, the draught at that time beiug 15 feet 4 inches forward, and 21 feet 6 inches aft. A six-hour run was made, and the following results were recorded : Pressure of steam, in pounds. Vacuum, in inches. Revolutions. Horse-power. 67 70£ 71 69 27 and 26* 27 aiid26.V 26£ and 25 26£ and 25 72. 60 73.36 73. 33 72.50 5, 293. 75 5, 432. 38 5, 246. 34 5, 154. 51 The mean results gave 5,282 horses, or 32 beyond the stipulated power, the mean revolutions per minute being 73. The means for the entire six hours were as follows : Pressure of steam in boilers, 68.33 pounds ; vacuum forward, 2G.75, aft, 2G.37 inches ; rev- olutions, 72.G8 ; mean pressure of steam in cylinder, high-pressure, 31.80 pounds, low-pressure, 11.08 pounds ; horse-power, 5,164. The speed through the water attained during the day never fell below 15, and, measured by the ship's log, a speed of 15J knots per hour was occasionally realized. THE ROVEK. This vessel was built by contract; she has 493 tons less displacement than the Bacchante and Euryalus. She was launched August 12, 1874, put on the trial trips in November, 1875, and sent to the West India 140 EUROPEAN SHIPS OF WAR, ETC. squadron immediately thereafter. She approaches the size and rype of a class of vessels very greatly needed in our own Navy. The length between perpendiculars is 280 feet ; breadth, extreme, 43 feet 6 inches ; draught of water forward, 17 feet 2 inches ; aft, 23 feet 2 inches ; dis- placement, 3,494 tons. The contract price for hull and machinery was $ 782,460. She was made large enough to be sea-going, to act as a ram, and to be fast; and no ship having structural strength to endure the engine-power neces- sary to drive her 15 knots per hour, to act as a ram, to have all the re- quirements necessary for a war-ship, and to keep the sea as a cruiser, is likely to be made very much smaller until some further advancement is made in engineering. The engines are the first of their kind completed and used in the British navy, and special interest has been taken in their performance. They are compound and surface-condensing, and belong to the type known as the horizontal return connecting-rod, and have their cross- heads working in slipper-guides. According to the contract, they were to indicate 4,750 horse-power at the measured-mile trial. The preceding diagram shows the main parts of the engines in plan. The diameter of the high-pressure cylinder is 72 inches, equivalent to an area of 4,071.51 square inches of piston. The diameter of each low- pressure cylinder is SS inches, and the area of piston 6,082.13 square inches. The two low-pressure pistons combined giving an aggregate area of 12,164.26 square inches, the high and low pressure pistons bear the ratio to each other of 1 to 2.987 in effective area. The high-pressure cylinder, which is fitted with a working barrel made of Sir Joseph Whitworth's patent compressed steel,* is placed between the two low- pressure ones, and each cylinder stands separately and distinctly by itself, securely attached to its own two main frames — these latter, six in all, carrying the crank-shaft. The slide-valve of the high-pressure cyl- inder is placed on the upper side of it, and lies on its face; the valve- face of the cylinder is cast separately, and bolted to its place, with a view to its ready repair or removal in case of need. The slide-valves of the low-pressure cylinders are placed on the sides of the latter, the valve-faces of these cylinders being also bolted on ; and all the slide- valves are fitted with the usual metallic packing-rings on their backs to relieve the pressure. Steam : starting-gear, in addition to the ordinary hand-gear, is fitted for facility of handling them, and the easy way in which these large engines can be handled is best told by describing the results obtained. While running full speed ahead, they were stopped * This metal, first introduced by Sir Joseph Whitworth, about twenty years ago, and since used for his ordnance, is now gradually gaining favor for such constructions as demand a material of exceptional strength and toughness, or where a combination of strength and lightness is essential, as in many parts of marine steam-engines, especially in cylinder-linings and valve-faces, where hardness is also necessary to resist abrasion. Steels, as ordinarily cast by pouring into ingot-molds, are found to be porous and comparatively heterogeneous in texture, and brittle in consequence of gas and air- holes. Whitworth adopted the simple but effective expedient of subjecting the ingot or casting, while still molten, to the tremendous action of a heavy hydraulic press while solidifying ; by this means the pores and bubble-holes are effectually closed, and the compressed steel is given a strength and homogeneity unequaled by any other known metal. Although a simple expedient, it has required a considerable amount of experi- ment, ingenuity, and cost to produce this compressed steel with uniform success; this was, however, accomplished, and the material is now used in the British navy, in France, and in Austria. The inventor has stated that by a careful selection and treatment of metals, a steel can be produced capable of resisting a tensile stress of 45 tons per square inch of sec- tion, and of elongating 25 per cent, before breaking. First cost is the only objection raised against its general use. MODERN UNARMORED SHIPS OF GREAT BRITAIN. 141 iu nine seconds, went astern at full speed in six seconds more, and were reversed from that position to full speed ahead again in eight seconds. The casing of the high-pressure slide-valve, to which the expansion- valve casing is attached, is connected with the low-pressure slide-valve casings by four copper pipes, A, A, A, A, which are fitted as shown, and through which the steam passes after leaving the high-pressure cylinder. These pipes and the passages connected with them form the only steam- reservoirs between the cylinders. The surface-condensers are on Hall's system, the steam passing through the tubes ; they stand on the side of the connecting-shaft opposite to the cylinders, and each condenser is connected with its own low-pressure cylinder by an eduction-pipe, through which the steam passes on leaving the latter. The Condensers have a total number of 7,224 brass tubes, tinned inside and outside, with a total cooling surface of 9,500 square feet. The tubes are fitted in the tube-plates with screwed glands and stuffing-boxes, and the condensers are so arranged that they may be worked as common condensers, if required. The air- purnps, double-acting, are two in number, 23 inches in diameter, with a stroke of 4 feet, and the circulating water is driven through the condens- ers by two centrifugal pumps worked by an independent pair of small engines, and the main receiving-pipes to these pumps are fitted with branches leading into the bilges of the vessel, so that the pumps may become large bilge-pumps in the event of any leak arising in the vessel. There is the usual arrangement of feed and bilge pumps fitted on the main engines, two of each ; they are of gun-metal, and are 5 inches in diameter, with a stroke of 4 feet. In addition to these pumps there are two feed auxiliaries, a bilge auxiliary, hand-pump, and fire-engine, all fitted in accordance with the admiralty specification. The length of the stroke of the main engines is 4 feet, and the length of the connecting-rod is twice the length of the stroke. The diameter of the connecting-shafts is IS inches, and of the crank-pins 20 inches. The shaft is made in three pieces, having couplings forged on the ends, by which they are bolted securely together. The diameter of the line-shafting is 16J inches, and that of the stern-shaft is 18J inches, the latter running in the usual lignum-vitce bearings fitted in the stern- tube. The screw-propeller is of gun-metal, is on the Hirsch principle, has a diameter of 21 feet, and is driven by an ordinary cheese-coupling keyed on the stern-shaft, and is fitted to lift in a banjo-frame by means of sheer legs and tackles on deck. BOILERS. The boilers, which are ten in number, stand athwartships in two groups. Each group of four and six, respectively, has its own separate chimney, fitted on the telescopic principle, and the boilers carry a work- ing pressure of 70 pounds to the square inch. They are about 11 feet 10 inches in diameter, 9 feet G inches long, fitted with brass tubes 3 inches iu outside diameter, and with wrought-iron stay-tubes. Each boiler has two furnaces 3 feet 10 inches in diameter and feet 8 inches long. The total heating-surface of the boilers is 12,700 square feet, and the grate-bar surface is 510 square feet. Among other fittings of the engines it may be mentioned that both low-pressure cylinders have separate starting-valves ; a double-beat regulator-valve is placed iu the main steam-pipe close to the expansion- valve, and beside this a steam-separator. There is also a throttle- valve to be used with a Silver's governor. The high pressure piston is provided with a 20-inch trunk at the back, which is inclosed in a casing 142 EUROPEAN SHIPS OF WAR, ETC. bolted upon the cylinder-cover, and works always upon an adjustable composition block ; the latter thus takes the principal weight of the piston, by which means it is hoped that excessive wear of the cylinder may be prevented. This adjustable block is regulated by set-screws, and although at the time when made it was thought to be an improve- ment, it has since been found to be a disadvantage, because there is no means of ascertaining just how much to raise or lower the piston. The starting and reversing gear referred to is simply a vertical steam-cylin- der with the necessary valve-gear ; the lower end of its piston-rod is connected with the reversing-gear by a link, the upper end of the same rod is formed as a very coarsely-pitched screw ; this is so proportioned that it does not move of itself when steam is turned on, but is theu so far balanced that scarcely an effort is required at the hand-wheels (of which two are provided and connected with the piston-rod by bevel- gearing) in order to move the reversing-links in either direction. The following results were obtained in November, 1875, on the meas- ured-mile trial : The mean speed on the six full-power runs was then 14.533 knots, the mean revolutions being 68.51 ; steam, 68 pounds to 70 pounds ; vacuum, 27J inches. The mean indicated horse-power on these runs was 2,476.6 in the high-pressure cylinder, 1,343.2 in the for- ward low-pressure cylinder, and 1,143.7 in the after low-pressure cylin- der; the total being thus 4,963.5 indicated horse-power. The mean speed on the four half-power runs was 11.714 knots with 54.26 revolu- tions, 66 pounds of steam, and 28 inches of vacuum. The indicated horse-power was 1,240 in the high-pressure cylinder, 580.6 in the for- ward low-pressure cylinder, and 501.7 in the after low-pressure cylinder, the total being 2,322.3. The propeller was set at a mean pitch of 24 feet 11 inches. As previously stated, the engines of the Rover are the first of the kind put on trial in the royal navy. The most marked feature about them is the use of two low-pressure cylinders instead of one. The diam- eter of one cylinder, equal in area to the two low-pressure cylinders of the Rover, would be nearly 124 J inches. Cylinders of about this size have been used in Her Britannic Majesty ? s navy, working with pressures greater than those at which the low-pressure cylinder of a compound engine works, and they have been used in the merchant service in compound engines; but the experience with these large cylinders has been very unsatisfactory, consequent upon the number that have been cracked by unequal expansion and contraction in these large castings, besides which the inconveniences of handling and working with such large and heavy parts in the confined space of an engine-room are very great. For these reasons the low-pressure cylinders have been kept within reasonable limits in all recently-designed engines for the naval service. THE EITKYALUS. The engines and boilers of this ship are similar to those of the Rover except that the high-pressure cylinder has a diameter 2 inches greater than that of the Rover ; the low-pressures are correspondingly increased in diameter, and also the working parts. The power of the boilers is also increased by an addition of one furnace in each, thus making 30 furnaces in the ten boilers, each having a diameter of 3J feet and a 6-foot length of grate. During the time these and the several other sets of three-cylinder engines have been building, the subject of the position in which the cranks should be set relatively to each other has received considerable To i /lust rate Mr. Jennie's /taper on Tnree-throitr crank engines of tke Compoim H.B.M.S. Boadicea and Bacchante. jr- ■ j Mean, pressure f (9 Tons, *' ' acting- at a Tangent of cire/e of £ Feet radius. Max. i67Tons. Mi n. 6$ " © ($ ,&' Max. f90 Tons. Min . SS " / 135 / \ 0- <([ 90' j \ 135' \ Max. /8S Tons. Mm. 6X - J3 \ IZO' \ Max. ISO Tons. ' Ftir.3. H.M.8. 3riton . tMean pressure 39 Tons., acting- at aThng-ent of a eircie of J '&. 4iia. radius : JWax. OOTons. Min.ZSTons. 95 Me rotations. £6.8 t&S. mean, pressure 8-4/os. mean pressure — -o So' J i MODERN UNARMORED SHIPS OF GREAT BRITAIN. 143 attention and discussion. At the fifteenth session of the Institution of Naval Architects, Mr. G. B. Eeunie, a distinguished mechanical engi- neer and marine-engine builder, read a paper on the subject (to be no- ticed directly), and at the last session of the same institution Mr. John E. Eavenhill, also well known as a mechanical engineer, made the fol- lowing statement: In the month of March, 1874, a paper was read l>y Mr. G. B. Rennie, on engines at that time under course of construction by his iirm for Her Majesty's steamships Boadicea and Bacchante, in which he brought under our notice a series of diagrams showing the theoretical force exerted by the three cylinders at all parts of th.3 path of the crank-pin's centers, in four different ways of setting the relative angles of the cranks, which he described as follows: "No. 1. With equal angles of 120° with each other. No. 2. The two low-pressure cranks with 90° between them, and 135° between these and the high-pressure crank. No. 3. The low-pressure crauks with the same angle between them, but at angles of 150° and 120° with the other one. No. 4. The low-pressure crauks placed opposite to each other, and at right angles to the high pressure crank." And he proceeded to give his reasons for concluding to adopt the position described in No. 4, for the angles of the cranks of the two above-named ships. (See Figs. 1 to 4.) In the discussion that followed, I stated that in the three-cylinder compound eDgines then making by my late firm for the Rover, I had adopted the plan of placing the cranks at equal angles of 120° with each other (see Fig. 1), and promised to furnish the institution with the practical result obtained. Recent experience has demonstrated most clearly that we have closely approached, if we have not actually reached, the point at which the crank-pins of large high-speed engines will work sat- isfactorily in consequence of the very limited amount of bearing surface that of neces- sity can be allotted to them ; and unless phosphor-bronze should come to the assistance of the marine engineers, as white-metal and lignum-vitw did in days gone by, it may be necessary to reduce the load on the high-pressure crank-pins. Rather than depart from the angle of 120° for my cranks I would alter the multiple of my cylinders, for with the three cranks set at equal angles to each other you possess the great practical advantage of being able to work on with any two cylinders out of the three, under many circumstances, in the event of temporary derangement with the third, an advan- tage that might prove to be the salvation of a ship and her crew on a lee shore or in the time of war. It will be seen that the cranks of the engines of the Rover are set as represented by the position at Figure No. 1. The cranks of the engines of the Boadicea and the Bacchante are set according to the positions rep- resented at No. 4, In the armored ships Alexandra and Dreadnought, the position adopted for the engine-cranks is that of No. 2. The following is the paper by Mr. Eennie, and the preceding are the diagrams produced by him: ON THREE-THROW CRANK ENGINES OF THE COMPOUND SYSTEM— HER MAJESTY'S SHIPS BOADICEA AND BACCHANTE. By G. B. Rennie, Esq,, Member of Council. [Read at the fifteenth session of the Institution of Nfaval Architects, 27th March, 1874 j the Right Hon. Lord Hampton, G. C. B., D. C. L., president, in the chair.] Since I bad the houor of reading a paper before you on tbe subject of compound en- gines of Her Majesty's ship Briton, in 1871, tbe system of engine adopted in tbe navy has been almost entirely compound, even to tbe largest size. Tbe engines for the ships Thetis, Encounter, and A melhyst closely followed those of the Briton, of similar size and construction, besides others of the same size and many smaller. All of these were made with one high-pressure and one low-pressure cylinder ; but when a much larger power thau that developed in the Briton was required, it was considered advisable by Mr. "Wright, chief engineer of the admiralty, to have two low-pressure cylinders and one high-pressure cylinder, on account of the risk involved in making good castings of tbe size of cylindeis that would be required if made with one low-pressure cylinder, especially as casualties had taken place in some of the larger cylinders in Her Majesty's ships. Last year my firm entered into a contract for two sets of compound engines, each 5,250 horse-power, to be fitted on board Her Majesty's, ships Boadicea and Bacchante ; each set of engines has three cylinders, one high-pressure of 73 inches diameter, and two low-pressure of 93 inches diameter, the stroke being 4 feet. 144 EUROPEAN SHIPS OF WAR, ETC. Wishing to ascertain the most advantageous angles to place the cranks in relation to each other, so as to develop the required power with the greatest regularity of mo- tion, with the least strain on the shaft, I had some carefully-made diagrams con- structed, taking into account the cut-off to which the valves were made to [work], as well as making allowance for the capacity of the ports, passages, &c, between one cylinder and the other at each successive point of the travel of the pistons. The steam being cut off at half -stroke in the high-pressure cylinder by a separate expansion - valve, and at three-fifths of the stroke in the two low-pressure cylinders ; the initial pressure being 82 pounds, and the back pressure, from imperfect vacuum, at 4 pounds. It was impossible to make allowauce for the " wire-drawing" of the steam through the ports, pipes, &c, with any degree of accuracy; this, therefore, was not taken into account, so that the total horse-power indicated on the diagrams is in excess of that which would be actually realized in practice; but as each case is relatively the same m this respect, it would not affect the general comparison. The diagrams are made for four different positions of cranks : No. 1. With equal angles of 120° with each other. No. 2. The two low-pressure cranks, with 90° between them, and 135 c between these and the high-pressure crank. No. 3. The low-pressure cranks, with the same angle between them, but at angles of 150° and 120° with the other one. No. 4. The low-pressure cranks placed opposite to each other, and at right angles to the high-pressure crank. Having thus ascertained the pressures at different points, in each case, when the cranks were placed at the above-named angles, the diagrams of the tangential forces were constructed, taking into account the length of the connecting-rod, to be four times that of the crank. These diagrams show the force exerted by the three cylinders at all parts of the path of the crank-pin center; and the greater regularity of the curve, and the near- est approach to a straight line, the more uniform the rotation of the shaft and screw- propeller. It is seen clearly by the diagrams that the most uniform motion is derived by placing the cranks at right angles, as in No. 4 ; and the next best position is where the angles are equal (No. 1). The more uniform motion also gives the least maximum strain on the shaft, and thus allowing for the same margin of safety in each case. And, supposing in one case the diameter of the shaft to be 18 inches, in the other it would have to be 19| inches diam- eter. As regards the better propelling-machine, I can fancy there can be little doubt among naval engineers that a steady, continuous pressure will be a far better propelling -ma- chine than one subject to a series of jumps and variation of strain during the rotation of the propeller. In order to ascertain the effect of an earlier cut-off than half-stroke, I had a further diagram (No. 5) made, supposing the steam cut off at one-third in the small and one- half in the large cylinders, but this does not appear to affect the irregularity of the motion, but merely shows a gradual depression throughout the circle. How far a greater cut-off in the low-pressure cylinders affects the curves I have not yet gone into, the engines in question not being fitted with separate expansion-valves on the low-pressure cylinders. The sixth set of diagrams are those of the Briton, with two cylinders, taken on her trial trip, and reduced to a curve, showing the tangential force to turn the shaft round. From these examples, it seems to me that in compound engines — whether with two or three cylinders — the best position to place the cranks, both for uniformity of motion as well as strain on the shaft, is where the low-pressure cylinder cranks are placed at right angles to the crank of the high-pressure cylinder. SMALLER VESSELS. There is yet a smaller class of modern corvettes of a type known for merly as the Mapicienne, now as the Opal class, that promises perma- nence ; it consists of the Opal, Tourmaline, Turquoise, Ruby, Emerald, and Garnet. The two first-named were launched in 1875, the next three in 187G, and the last od June 30, 1877. They have all been completed and are in commission except the Garnet, which vessel is just receiving the fin- ishing strokes. These vessels are of composite build, and, as may be seen from the aunexed drawings of one, the Garnet, inspected when in process of h til Z < CD inches long, made of /'.--inch plate, 5 inches deep, with 158 double angles 2£ inches by 2£ inches by ? s inch on the upper and lower edges, riveted together with f -inch rivets (3-J- diameters apart), was bent under hydraulic pressure to the form shown, without fracture, when the fixings failed. It was removed before the test could be completed. ' (19) A piece off-inch plate, 12 inches diameter, forced by hydraulic pressure through a ring 10 inches diameter, and dished to the form shown, that is, 3£ inches deep, by a pressure of 145| tons, without fracture. (20) A piece of f-inch plate rested during experiment upon a perfectly horizontal surface of an annular iron anvil, a central circular portion of the plate, 12 inches in diameter, being unsupported. The anvil was firmly imbedded in the ground. A charge of 18 ounces of compressed gun-cotton was suspended over the center of the plate, an air-space of three inches intervening between the upper surface of the plate and the base of the charge. The charge was exploded by detonation. The result is that the plate is dished down to the extent of 1£ inches, but there is no sign of fracture. l (20a) A piece of f-inch best best iron, similarly tested, is almost shattered to pieces. (21) A piece of plate \l~ inch thick, supported on anvil as above. Charge of gun- cotton 10 ounces, and 3 inches in diameter, placed upon the upper surface of the plate in a central position, and exploded by detonation. The result is that a hole 1^ inches diameter is made in the center of the plate, and that for f inch all round this hole the plate is beautifully cupped or countersunk, as if it had been done by a cutting-tool. There are no laterai fractures in the plate. (21a) A piece of best best iron plate xi inch thick, similarly treated, was fractured as shown. (22) A piece of plate doubled close up fourfold, as shown, without fracture. * * * * *■ # * HOT FORGE TESTS. (1) A piece of |-inch plate subjected to the ram's-horn test, the lower end being doubled close while cold, without fracture. (2) Shearings of -i-inch plate about 1| inches wide, welded together and bent in the weld to a radius of f inch, without fracture. (3) Two pieces of plate welded together and bent in the parts welded, one to an angle of 90 c , and the other to an angle of 105°, without fracture. (4) A box-end made from |-inch plate to form angle-steel, 3 inches by 31 inches by j inch. It is soundly welded, and is in every respect as sound as one made from angle- iron. (5) An intercostal, made from £ inch plate, to form angle-steel, 31 inches by 3 inches by £ inch, soundly welded, and considered a good job. (6) An outside corner, made from ^-inch plate, to angle-steel. This is a fair average weld, these corners being much more difficult to make than inside corners, as the gus- set piece has to be welded in after being fitted. (7) Two pieces of plate, 2^ inches by | inch, welded together straight, then turned (upon) its edge to form a circle 6 inches in the clear. It is a sound weld, and there is no fracture in the turning. (8) Two pieces of plate, 3 inches by -£ inch, welded together and bent off at right angles. It is soundly welded, and bent to the form shown without fracture. • f (10) A piece of plate, 21 inches by 10 inches by -£■ inch, turned to the form of a tube (not welded), then placed in a flanged socket, and a flange-pin forced into it by blows from a 60-cwt. steam-hammer. It assumed the form shown after eight blows. Stood well. (11) A piece of |-inch plate, 12 inches diameter, forced into a socket by blows from a steam-hammer, to the form shown. Stood well. (12) A piece of ^-inch plate dished to form shown, No. 11, then flattened back nearly to its original form. Stood well. (13) A piece of |-inch plate, 12 inches in diameter, forced into a tube, then flanged back on the auvil to form shown. Stood well. (14) An outside and inside corner, made from angle-steel, 6 inches by 3| inches by 1% inch, welded sound, but with more difficulty than in welding iron. * * * * The above tests establish the fact that the material can be easily ma- nipulated, and I was informed by the officers in charge that welding was successfully accomplished.* In addition to the qualities claimed for this steel, it is represented that a series of experiments extending over about three years, carefully conducted at the Terre Noire works, had established the fact that when exposed to the action of sea-water this soft steel * The account of Landore steel is chiefly from a paper by Mr. Keilly, the manager of the works. THE IRIS AND MERCURY. 159 suffered by corrosion only in the proportion of 60 to 140, when compared with the effect of similar treatment upon iron plates. I do not know of any boilers made from this steel; it would seem, however, in consid- eration of the rapid decay of the plates of iron boilers consequent upon the use of redistilled sea- water, that a liberal expenditure in this direc- tion would be wise. PURPOSE OF THE LRIS AND MERCURY. At a date soon after these two ships were ordered, a distinguished English writer in a London magazine enunciated the following: It is forgotten that by the declaration of Paris the field of operations is much re- stricted as regards either the necessity for protecting our own commercial marine or the possibility of injuring an enemy's commerce. This declaration, to which most European maritime powers adhered, but which the United States did not join in, is a contract to respect private x>roperty, not being contraband of war, if carried in ships bearing a neutral flag. * * * Many advantages to this country result from the declaration, although serious disadvantages press upon ship-owners, and our position as the chief maritime carriers must suffer. On the other hand, it must be noted that the United States and England are under no such mutual obligations, and with the rankling recollection of the mischief done by the Alabama and her consorts to their own mercantile marine, Americans never miss an opportunity of expressing their in- tention to make similar attacks on British commerce in case of war, so that England is bound always to maintain an unarmored fleet more powerful than that of the United States, and not to allow individual unarmoved ships in hev navy to be surpassed in speed or power by vessels of the American 2savy. STEEL CORVETTES. This type of vessel, of which six are in process of construction at the works of Messrs. Elder & Co., Glasgow, are to be full-rigged cruisers, sheathed with wood, and fitted with single screw-propellers arranged for lifting. They are named the Cleopatra, Curagoa, Conquest, Champion, Carysfort, and Comus. The principal dimensions are: Length between perpendiculars '. 225 feet. Breadth, extreme 44 feet 6 inches. Depth of hold 21 feet 6 inches. Tonnage 2, (Ml tons. Displacement 2, 377 tons. The three first named are being engined by Messrs. Humphrys, Teu- naut & Co., the dimensions of the engines being as follows: Type of engines: horizontal, compound, four-cylinder, with return connecting-rods. Nn in her of cylinders (one pair of engines) 4 Diameter of high-pressure cylinders 36 inches. Diameter of low-pressure cylinders 64 inches. Stroke of pistons 2 feet 6 inches. Diameter of crank-shaft 13 inches. Revolutions per minute (estimated) 100 Indicated horse-power, maximum 2,300 Diameter of screw 16 feet 6 inches. Pitch of screw 14 feet 6 inches. Type of screw Griffith's two-bladed. Type of boilers Cylindrical, single-ended. Number of boilers 6 Number of furnaces in each boiler 2 Tot al grate surface 266 square feet. Total heating surface 6,714 square l'eet. Pressure of steam 60 pounds. Speed of vessel (estimated maximum) 13 knots. Armament. — This is to consist of two 7-inch revolving guns and twelve 64-pounders on the broadside, all rifles. The description of the method of applying the wood sheathing to iron or steel hulls has been seen a few pages back ; reference to the foregoing 160 EUROPEAN SHIPS OF AVAR, ETC. sketch of the midship section of the vessels named, will, by illustration, make plain this system, now in common use in European navies. A section is also here given of the Garnet* showing the composite system of construction previously explained. The Cleopatra class are built with two decks ; the principal water-tight bulkheads are four in number ; and for the purpose of protecting the machinery, the lower deck, for the distance extending over the engines and boilers, is armored with 1J inch steel plates. The materials entering into the construction of the hulls is, in the main, steel, about half of which has been made by the Siemens process and the other half by the Bessemer; both kinds furnished for the corvettes have been represented to be of good and uniform quality, having a tenacity of 25 to 26 tons per square inch, and sufficiently soft to double cold with- out fracture. The rivets used are of iron. Steels are now rapidly gaining favor, both in the navies of Europe and the mercantile marine, for use in the construction of vessels, of boilers, and many parts of the engines. In consideration of the greater tenacity and ductility of this material over the iron usually entering into ship-construction, Lloyd's Kegister has agreed to accept for mer- cantile vessels a reduction of 20 per cent, from their standard for iron, and 25 per cent, in the thickness of boiler-plates, while the Board of Trade has allowed boiler-steel to be accepted at its tested strength of 28 to 30 tons, the saving in weight here being just what corresponds to the ratio in which this tenacity exceeds that of ordinary boiler-plates. MATERIALS FOR SHIPS OP WAR. In a paper by Mr. John Vernon, on the construction of iron ships ( Trans. I. M. E.), it is stated : " The main points of superiority of iron ships over those built of wood consist in the superior strength, greater durability, and consequently less cost of iron ships, together with their larger carry- ing capability and greater facility of construction." The greater strength of iron ships is shown in daily practice in numer- ous ways, and it is also shown by the fact that in many modern wooden ships it has been found necessary to introduce diagonal iron straps in- side the framing, and in many cases the use of iron bulkheads, knees, beams, and stringers, and even the frame-work itself for the whole struct- ure; but this arrangement, it is admitted, falls far short in point of strength of a vessel built entirely of iron. Again, the introduction of iron affords great facility for obtaining the necessary strength in keels, stem and stern posts, screw-port frames, and other parts, by the appli- cation of large forgings, also by tying the bottoms, decks, and sides of a vessel together with bulkheads. The greater comparative durability of iron arises mainly from its free- dom from the decay to which wood is always liable, in consequence of being unavoidably subject to constant and extreme variations of tem- perature and moisture. Another important source of this greater dura- bility is to be found in the firm and substantial union of the several parts of an iron ship by means of riveting, which effectually prevents that working under heavy strains to which all wooden ships are more or less liable, and which is a source of great difficulty with the engines, caused by the screw-shafts being forced out of alignment, and thereby strained. Abundant proof of the superiority of metal over wood for ship-con- struction may be found in the records of our Navy I)epartment,as shown by the yearly sale or breaking up of vessels, not by reason of their being MATERIALS FOR SHIP-BUILDING. 161 of obsolete types, but consequent upon the timber of which the hulls were composed being decayed to such an extent as to render them unfit even for repairs. Quite a number of vessels have been found so decayed after the first commission as to condemn them for further service, and others having been several years on the stocks have rotted and been con- demned before being launched. Some vessels have been rebuilt, while others, retained in the service and kept in repair, have cost in the course of ten years, more than the sum necessary to build the same number of new ships of iron, of similar dimensions. In corroboration of this statement the following table from the tes- timony taken by the House Committee on Naval Affairs (H. E. Mis. Doc. 170, p. 450), officially furnished by the Navy Department, July 6, 1876, showing the cost of repairs, &c, is given : S s 9 a a a ■2»- ^w'-g Name of ship. Kate. Cost of repair 1870 and 18 reau of Coi and;Repair. Name of ship. Rate. Cost of repair 1870 and 18 reau of Coi and Repair. Franklin First $103, 703 57 Omaha Second $179, 762 51 do 303, 899 45 512, 222 62 *203, 653 52 ....do 550, 294 27 153, 905 85 124, 293 71 301,100 86 ...do do .., ....do do 143, 766 96 396, 690 06 84 002 21 Third ...do ... do 501, 104 11 . do .. do . 143, 218 31 104, 152 65 ...do 360, 804 65 ....do ....do 600, 000 00 445, 792 94 ....do 54, 410 87 ....do * The estimated additional cost of repairs.for this vessel in February, 1878, was $187,000. The foregoing list * does not include all the wooden vessels of the Navy of which the cost for repairs was reported to the committee. It includes only those on which the greatest amounts had been expended in the five years between 1870 and 1875, and it does not include any vessels rebuilt under the head of " repairs." It is proper to state that the large suras expended on repairs, as here reported, have not been due entirely to the fact of the hulls being of wood, but the largest portion of it, at least 75 per cent., is so due ; that is to say, the money was expended in substituting sound timber in lieu of rotten or defective wood ; almost the whole of which money would have been saved if the hulls had been of iron or steel. Evidence of this may be found by a comparison of the bills for repairs of the United States iron steamer Michigan during the thirty-five years she has been in continuous service with those for the above-named vessels. It is fair to assume that the difference between the cost of the repairs of our entire fleet and one of the same number and dimensions of ves- sels, all having iron hulls cased in wood, would be a sufficient sum to add to the Navy yearly at least one good-sized cruising-vessel. The preceding figures are sufficiently appalling to cause any Con- gressional committee to pause before recommending the construction of * The amounts given in the table as having been expended for repairs include only those directly under the cognizance of the Bureau of Construction, and for labor and materials only ; a large additional amount is also to be charged for repairs, &c, by the Bureaus of Steam Engineering, Equipment, and Ordnance. 11 K 162 EUROPEAN SHIPS OF WAR, ETC more wooden ships. Yet that able ordnance officer, Captain Simpson, U. S. K, in a letter to the Army and JS T avy Journal of March 2 of this year, writes "A word of caution" against building iron ships of war; and, to sustain his views, quotes the antiquated reports of experiments made in England twenty-eight and thirty-eight years ago, showing that 32 pound shot, fired with charges of from 2J to 10 pounds of powder at a distance of 450 yards, were shivered to pieces in passing through the thin sides of an iron hull ; and that if the plates be of f -inch thickness, the shots will be broken by impact. He also states, " In the matter of material for building ships England has no choice ; with her it is a necessity that forces her to build of iron. Had she the forests of America at her back we should have never heard of her fleet of composite light cruisers." Persons well informed in the history and progress of naval construction are acquainted with the reports quoted by Captain Simpson, also with the fact that, consequent upon said reports, the introduction of iron ships for general service in the British navy was long deferred until better experience was acquired. We have knowledge of, and have referred on another page to, a report made about the same time (1840), by officers of the same royal navy, that the screw-propeller was not suitable for ships of war. It is scarcely necessary to mention the fact that when the experiments referred to by Captain Simpson were made, ships of all navies were propelled by the wind; that the guns they carried were of cast iron or bronze, of smooth bore and small caliber, and that the pro- jectiles used were cast iron, spherical, solid shot. The types of ships, the materials of which they are composed, the guns mounted on them, the projectiles and instruments of. all kinds employed in modern warfare, differ from those of former times so radically that better authority would be the numerous and expensive iron- target-firing experiments of recent times, rather than going back twenty-eight years for illustrations. Surely no such conditions as are named in the experi- ments quoted will ever concur in modern warfare. The art of artil- lery-fire has now reached such perfection that it may be confidently asserted that any unarmored vessel, of whatever type, should be sunk in a brief period by the common shells of the present day, and whether the materials of which her hull is composed be wood, iron, or steel, will not materially alter the time necessary to send her to the bottom: the Alabama, Congress, and Oneida deserve the title "slaughter-pens" as well as any iron vessels Captain Simpson refers to. The first requisite in a modern ship of war is high speed, and the strength of hull necessary for this cannot be obtaiued by any combination of wood bolted or spiked to wood ; the Ioica and class, and numerous other examples, are proofs of this. The British admiralty have abandoned wood ship-building for the reason that the requisite strength of hull and endurance of ma- terials composing it could only be obtained by the use of metals, not for want of timber, for the markets of the world are open to them now as in former times, and wooden ships can be built in their dock yards at less cost than in our yards. The naval authorities of all other European countries are following the example of the British, and are now building their vessels of iron and steel, the hulls of which are cased in wood, or as in the composite build, with the plauking of wood and all other parts of metal. It may be added that steel is rapidly gaining favor, and will, probably, soon be most generally employed. To say that we are right in adhering to wooden ships, is to say that the vast experience of the skilled naval architects, and that of the naval authorities of the great navies of the world, is all wrong — a position MATERIALS FOR SHIP-BUILDING. 163 which, in view of our comparatively limited experience, we are no more justified in assuming than we would be in saying that our cast-iron smooth-bore guns are superior to the steel or wrought-iron and steel rifles of European navies. SHIPS OF THE MERCANTILE MARINE SUITABLE FOR WAR PURPOSES. According to the returns of the British Board of Trade, at the begin- ning of 1876 the number of registered sailing-vessels having a tonnage of 50 and upward was 18,696, and of registered steam-vessels of 50 tons and upward there were 3,436; total number of merchant-vessels sailing under the British flag, 22,132. Out of the number of steam-vessels thus registered about 300 are recorded as having a speed of upward of 12 knots per hour, regular steaming, at sea; quite a number of them have a speed of from 14 to 15 knots, and several of the Atlantic steamers have made upward of 16 knots per hour, under favorable conditions, for sev- eral days consecutively. In August, 1875, the writer was a passenger on board the Germanic, of the White Star Line, which made the passage from Sandy Hook to Queenstown in seven days and twenty-one hours, unaided by sail. This time has since been beaten by the same ship in a number of trips, also by the sister ship Britannic, which vessel made the run in August, 1877, from Queenstown to Sandy Hook in seven days and eleven hours. All of these mercantile ships are iron-built, and have great strength of hull; they are engined on the compound system, and are provided with sufficient coal-storage for long runs. But objections are raised against such vessels being fitted as fighting- ships; these objections consist, first, in the position of the motive ma- chinery. In unarmored ships of war the engine, boilers, and steam-pipes are kept below the water-level ; moreover, in recently-built British un- armored ships of war coal is stored between the sides of the hull and the engines and boilers from a few feet below the water-line to some distance above it,* while in the merchant-ship the steam-cylinders, steam-pipes, and tops of the boilers are usually above the water-level, consequently exposed to shot and shell traversing the ship, and any serious injury to these vital parts would disable her. The second objection is to the material of which the ship is built. Un- armored ships of war of modern build almost invariably have wooden skins, even if the ribs, beams, and interior parts are of iron. In large ships of high steam-power, where the necessary strength and rigidity of the structure cannot be secured without iron or steel, wood is used as an outer covering for the iron skin. The reason for the objection to iron plates without wooden sheathing in such structures is, that if the iron skin exists alone, projectiles passing out at low velocity at the side opposite to that at which they entered are likely to drive away from the frames a considerable area of plating, and if this should happen on or below the water-line the consequences might be serious. A thick, well- fitted wood sheathing secured on the plates tends to prevent this. For this reason, and also to prevent the fouling to which the iron skins are subject, a wood sheathing is now applied to nearly L all ships of war having iron or steel hulls. * Experiments were made at Portsmouth, in October, 1877, to test the effect of firing shells, containing bursting charges, into coal-bunkers. The vessel used for the experi- ment was the Oberon, and the guns were 64-pounders, fired from the gunboat Blood- hound. The range was 2l'0 yards, and the bursting charge of the shell was 7 pounds. The result of the experiment showed the coal to be a protection agaiDst this kind of projectile, but did not show whether the coal, which was bituminous, would be ignited by the explosion. 164 EUEOPEAN SHIPS OF WAR, ETC. The third objection is, that there is no effectual division of the ship by water-tight bulkheads, while there is no uuarmored ship of war, built of iron, which is not so divided as to be secure against foundering in ordinary weather with any one compartment in free communication with the sea, which is a condition held to be necessary. This bulkhead objection will, however, be removed from mercantile steamers constructed in the future, as all the ship-owners in the United Kingdom have accepted the admiralty condition, and it is now believed that every first-class steamship hereafter built will float in smooth water with any one of its compartments in free communication with the out- side water, and bulkheads can be readily introduced into any vessels now afloat that may be selected as suitable for naval purposes. The first and second objections are not so easily and quickly remedied; but, assuming that such ships would be no match for unarmored ships properly built for war, they would evidently be the equals, and probably, as a consequence of their speed, the superiors of merchant-ships em- ployed by the enemy; besides, they would be numerous and formidable against sailing-vessels and slow steamers, and they would have reason- able security against capture by Alabamas. The subject of arming mercantile vessels in the event of war has long been under consideration by the admiralty, and their views have recently been foreshadowed by the director of naval construction, who read a paper before the eighteenth session of the Institution of Naval Architects, the notable parts of which are extracted, as follows : * * * I believe the ships may he so defended and armed as to become not only quite capable of defending themselves and of destroying armed ships not regularly built for war, but also most useful auxiliaries in all important naval operations. It is quite certain that they can at a few hours' notice be efficiently defended by a shot-proof screen across the deck before the machinery, and can as a rule be quickly and inex- pensively armed with rams and with two 64-pounder guns in the bow. So long, there- fore, as they can be fought bow on, they will compare favorably for ordnance, for the ram, and for the torpedo, with unarmored ships of war. The same holds good as to the defense and armament of the stern. About the broadside I am not so clear, but 1 should not despair, in view of structure and stability, of giving at short notice to many of our fast ocean-going ships an efficient broadside of 64-pounder guns, and 6- inch armored screens between decks, if that were ever found to be desirable. I think, however, we may be content with an armament which would be an absolute guarantee for their own preservation ; for the equally fast unarmored ship of war or privateer would not, and the slower armored ship could not, attack them ; an armament which would, moreover, make them more than a match for some of the slow wooden frigates and corvettes of old type in foreign navies, and more than a match also for rovers not regularly built for war. The extent to which, with the protection and armament I have indicated, they could be employed in naval warfare may be thought out, if we consider what those operations will be. I think they may be summarized as follows : Naval operations in warfare.— Defensive. — (1) Self-protection by merchants or travelers on the high seas against rovers, whether men-of-war or armed merchant-ships. (2) The patrol of the highways of commerce by vessels in the employment of the gov- ernment, for the destruction or capture of rovers. (3) Clearing the offing of important harbors, at home and in the colonies, of hostile vessels, including breaking the attempt- ed blockades of ports. (4) Convoying merchant-ships. (5) Protecting harbors, naval stations, and coasts, at home aDd in the colonies, against violation. Offensive. — (1) The capture of trading-fchips belonging to the enemy, or liable to cap- ture on his account. (2) The infliction of injury upon harbors, naval stations, and coast towns, and landing military forces on the enemy's territory. (3) Disabling or destroying the armed ships of the enemy. (4) Blockading the principal ports of the enemy to prevent the passage of merchandise inward or outward, and to lock up his armed ships. (5) Transporting troops, stores, and munitions of war, and keeping up communications by dispatch-vessels. Of the five classes of work placed under the head of defensive warfare, a fast mer- chant-ship, armed, could perform two, in independence of the regular ships of war, and could take part in all the rest as auxiliaries to the iron-clads. And a precisely similar statement holds good with regard to the five classes of work placed under the head of offensive warfare. I do not stop to particularize these, as a little study of the question will, I believe, insure acceptance of this view. MERCHANT VESSELS FOR WAR PURPOSES. 165 There are certain general principles which may be accepted as arising out of the rela- tion between the several types of fighting-ship. (1) The iron-clad ship will, as a rule, be slower and have less coal endurance than the first -class unarmored or lightly- ar- mored ship. The iron-clad ship will therefore be unable to force the first-class unar- mored or lightly-armored ship to engage her. (2) In duels between fast unarmored or lightly-armored steamships, the ship with most guns — supposing them to be equally good and equally well served — will generally be the victor, whatever the relative speeds or turning powers of the ships may be, because such actions will generally be deter- mined at long ranges. (3) Since the merchant-ships cannot mount numerous guns, they will, even when armed, find the modern regular ship of war almost always their victor in single combat, and fast unarmored or lightly-armored ships will be more effective against armed merchant-ships than iron-clads would be. It follows from this that fast unarmored or lightly-armored ships of war must be of great consequence to a navy against which armed merchant-ships may be employed by an enemy. (4) The speed with which fast steamships can in any weather bear down at night upon slower steam- ships and sailing-ships, and the terrible nature of the attack they can make upon such ships with shells, the ram, and the spar-torpedo, will make it impossible to convoy successfully sailing-ships and slow steamships in face of the attack of even unarmored ships, provided they are fast and efficiently armed. ENGLAND AND THE DECLARATION OF PARIS. By the provisions of the declaration of Paris, privateering is abol- ished. The result of this is that Great Britain, being at war with any power possessing a navy, immunity from capture on the high seas can only be secured for British merchandise by carrying the same in ships sailing under a neutral flag and registered in a sea-port of a neutral power. Some eminent Englishmen concluded that, as a consequence of this international law, a protracted war with a naval power would cause the transfer of a great portion of the carrying trade of England to some other country. The agitation upon this question first assumed a defi- nite shape in the well-known pamphlet of Mr. Brassey, published nearly two years ago. Beiug precluded from granting letters of marque to merchantmen, they now propose to overcome the difficulty by commis- sioning, in time of war, as many merchant-steamers — as may be built in accordance with certain requirements laid down by them, provided their owners consent to the arrangement upon the receipt of a certain subsidy. Au admiralty officer in the controller's department has, during the past twelve months, visited every sea-port in Great Britain and Ireland, and surveyed or obtained particu- lars of the iron steamships sailing therefrom. The result of this inspection has been highly satisfactory, and their lordships are informed, upon the authority of this offi- cer, that a very large number of these steamships are already built in accordance with the admiralty requirements for the purpose in view. With the addition of a little strengthening under the guns, and the construction of a magazine and shell-room, these vessels will be most formidable cruisers, fitted not only to defend themselves, but to act as policemen in the tracks which will be pursued by other merchantmen on the principal ocean voyages. These tracks will be marked out by the hydrographical department, in order that vessels may pass along the protected routes to their several destinations. The admiralty stipulate that vessels selected and subsidized for this service shall be capable of steaming at least twelve cousecutive hours at not less than twelve knots an hour, at sea ; also that they shall be so divided by bulkheads that, with a hole of any size in any one compartment, they shall continue to float in smooth water. It is proposed to arm these vessels with two 64-pounder guns, one forward and the other aft. * # * * It will be a question for their owners to consider whether the advantages offered are sufficient to compensate them for the cost of the alterations and the inconvenience resulting from the original intentions in the ship's design beiug departed from. Exteusive water-tight subdivision does not meet with much favor in certain trades, as it interferes seriously with the stowage of the cargo and the opera- tions of loading and unloading. Underwriters do not at present make that difference in the premiums of insurance which is represented by the additional outlay and the inconvenience endured, notwithstanding the greater chance of safety to vessel and -cargo which these bulkheads provide. The whole question is purely a commercial one, and by commercial principles it will bo tested by the shipping portion of the commu- nity. :pjl:r,t ixi. THE PERKINS HIGH-PRESSURE COMPOUND SYSTEM; METHOD OF CONTRACTING FOR STEAM-MACHINERY FOR THE NAVY; TRIALS OF SHIPS AT THE MEASURED MILE; PERSONNEL OF THE BRITISH NAVY; COST OF MAINTAINING THE NAVY. 107 The Perkins Engine. THE PERKINS HIGH-PRESSURE COMPOUND SYSTEM. The machinery about to be described was under construction for Her Britannic Majesty's sloop Pelican, and considerable progress had been made when a suit at law between the constructors of the engines and the patentee unfortunately caused the work to cease, and as a conse- quence the naval authorities canceled the contract, declined to enter into any other engagements relating thereto, and placed engines in the Pelican similar to those in the Fantome. The British admiralty have long been noted for the careful investi- gation given untried plans of any kind proposed for ships of the royal navy. As a rule, they adopt useful inventions only after such have been successfully established in the mercantile marine ; a case in point was the caution exercised in the introduction of the compound engine. It must therefore have been unusually strong proof which decided that august board to make the test, on a large scale, of a system so far in ad- vance of the present day, and to pass from 70 pounds pressure per square inch as the highest used in boilers of the navy to 300 pounds pressure per square inch ; it was a step beyond anything previously attempted. The Pelican is a composite sloop, of 1,124 tons displacement, built at Devonport. The steam-machinery originally intended for this vessel was designed by the Yorkshire Engine Company, under letters patent granted Mr. Loftus Perkins, an enterprising American, long established as a manufacturer in London. The novelty of the design and the prin- ciples involved are so unlike those which have influenced the construc- tion heretofore of machinery for marine purposes, that the subject excited no small degree of attention among parties interested in naval and mercantile vessels. The contract provided that the vessel should on the trials at the measured mile, and on the six-hour runs, develop 900 indicated horse-power and consume not more than 3£ pounds of coal per indicated horse-power per hour. The engines have 5 cylinders of three different diameters, two high-pressure of 16 inches diameter, two medium-pressure of 32 inches diameter, and one low-pressure of 56 inches diameter. One high and one medium pressure cylinder are bolted together end to end ; these cylinders are single-acting, the steam being- admitted first to the high-pressure, thence on a return stroke to the op- posite end of the medium-pressure cylinder, and thence it escapes into a receiver. The other high and medium pressure cylinders are bolted together in the same manner and are acted upon by the steam in the same way. The low- pressure cylinder is double-acting, and draws its supply of steam from the receiver into which the medium-pressure cylinders ex- haust, and itself exhausts into the condenser. There are three cranks, placed 120° apart, and these are coupled, the after crank to the common piston-rod of one pair of cylinders of high and medium pressure; the center crank to the piston-rod of the low-pressure cylinder, and the for- ward crank to that of the other pair of high and medium pressure cylin- ders. The stroke is 2 feet, and the revolutions per minute were to be 169 170 EUROPEAN SHIPS OF WAR, ETC. D about 100. The valves employed throughout are of the piston variety; the advantages claimed for the method of construction in these valves is the almost entire absence of friction, wear, or leakage, combined with a balanced valve. The surface-condenser, also patented by Mr. Per- kins, is constructed in such a way as to prevent leakage through the tubes when they are correctly fitted. The tubes are galvanized, and arranged as illustrated by the annexed sketch.* The cooling- tubes, which are surrounded by steam, and of which one, C D, is shown, are closed by welding up one end,D, and are accurately and permanently screwed into a strong plate at the other end, C. Each has within it a circulating-tube, B, secured to a tube-plate placed at a little distance from the former. The circulating water passes from the sea into and through the internal tube and returns by the annular space between the two tubes, passing out to the pumps. The pistons of the steam-cylinders are made tight by having several rings, or sets of rings, say six, of hard metal ; each being separated from the others by what the inventor terms intermediate junk-rings. These rings, of Mr. Perkins's patent metal, are composed of five parts of tin and sixteen parts of copper. All hot surfaces of the cylinders and pipes are sur- rounded with a jacket of sheet iron, packed with vege- table black. Independent air, circulating, and feed pumps were to be provided, driven by a separate pair of engines. The boilers contain a nest of built up tubes, placed horizontally, close to each other, and having the flame and gases passing around and among them. These tubes are 3 inches in diameter and f- inch thick ; when put together in the boilers, they are proved to 2,500 pounds hydrostatic pressure to the square inch, and worked at a pressure of 300 pounds per square inch. There is consequently an enormous margin of safety, and every precaution is taken in building the tubes together to insure tightness, and their connections are to be be- yond doubt of danger or waste. So also with the engines : they are made of the best materials, and in- volve the best workmanship. The water-gauges em- ployed are made of mica, and to secure a tight joint between the two plates of mica and the two opposite faces of the body of the gauges there is formed a narrow raised edge, against which the mica is firmly pressed by a metal plate applied to its front face. The first peculiarity of the Perkins system is the ex- tremely high pressure at which he works the steam — in this case from 250 to 300 pounds per square inch ; and he claims to have quite overcome all the difficulties hitherto experienced in using steam at sea above ordinary working pressures. A second peculiarity of the sys- tem is the absence of internal lubrication with either oil or tallow, thereby avoiding the possibility of corrosion by fatty acids; while, to prevent the wear of cylinders and slides, which is experienced under ordinary circum- stances, he uses a metal of his own, whose composition and working are reported as unobjectionable. Another peculiarity and important feature of the Perkins system consists in the use, over and over again, of soft * From Engineering. c ~wm \ PERKINS HIGH-PRESSURE COMPOUND SYSTEM. 171 fresh water or rain-water. The continually recurrent use of pure water, not distilled sea-water, is claimed as the only remedy against the internal corrosion of marine boilers supplied with water from surface-condensers. So much importance is attached to this point, that the committee ap- pointed by the admiralty to investigate the subject of boiler corrosion were urgent in their recommendation to test the system, without loss of time, on a scale sufficiently large to arrive at correct conclusions on the subject. Of course this involves the necessity of carrying at sea a supply of fresh water sufficient to make up for all waste accruing during a voy- age, and objection has been urged to the system on this account ; but, on the other hand, it is alleged that all joints are to be made mathe- matically correct and tight, as shown by the boilers and engines now in operation on the system, hence the leakage will be reduced to a minimum. This would have been the first attempt to use steam of 300 pounds pressure at sea $ and while an expression of opiuion has become need- less, it is proper to state that Mr. Perkins has been entirely successful in his land-engines built on the same system, one of which has been con- tinuously employed at his works for fourteen years, using steam at 500 pounds pressure per square inch. The tubes of this boiler, cut out after thirteen years 7 service, as inspected by me, were found to be in a remark- able state of preservation, as were also the piston-packing and valve- rings, which had been at work eighteen months without lubrication. Besides the land-engines manufactured by Mr. Perkins, he has built and kept employed during the last few years, for his own use, a small yacht, the Emily, engined on his own system, the greater portion of the time running under a boiler-pressure of 500 pounds per square inch. The number of cylinders in this boat is six ; two high-pressure, two inter- mediate, and two low-pressure. The high and intermediate pressure cyl- inders are single-acting, the latter exhausting into a chamber from which the low-pressure cylinder is supplied. The steam is expanded 24 times, and the expenditure of fuel is a little above 1 pound of coal per horse- power per hour. Mr. Perkins has also engined one of the Thames tug-boats on his high- pressure double compound system. There is in this case a pair of engines working a screw 8 feet 6 inches in diameter, and of 11 feet 6 inches pitch. The cylinders are four in number, with diameters of 15 and 30 inches, and the working pressure is 250 pounds per square inch. It was after the inspection of this boat, the yacht Emily, and Mr. Perkins's land-engines that the committee appointed by the admiralty recommended the system to be tested on a considerable scale in one of Her Britannic Majesty's vessels. The system of working the steam in the cylinders is the same as in the land engines of Mr. Perkins, which the preceding drawing and his explanation following will make clear. a is a single-acting high- pressure cylinder. & is a single-acting cylinder of four times the capacity of a. c is a double-acting cylinder of four times the capacity of b.