Admiral George Dewey
Commodore Winfield Scott Schley
Admiral William T. Sampson
Captain Alfred Thayer Mahan
US Navy Pay Rates and Prize Money
Energy of Gun-Fire
Two English writers, Lord Brassey and Admiral Colomb, each independently in 1896 introduced a new standard for measuring gun-power of vessels; that is, energy of "gun-fire per minute." The power of the gun is measured by the force its projectile could exert. This force is termed energy and is measured by the number of tons it could lift one foot, hence called foot-tons.
The 13-inch gun has a muzzle energy of 33,627 foot-tons, that is, the force with which the projectile leaves the gun would be sufficient to lift that many tons one foot. In computing the energy of gun-fire for the vessels of the United States navy we have assumed that each vessel would enter action with her guns loaded and fire them at the following rate of speed: 13-inch, one round in 3 minutes; 12-inch, one round in 2.8 minutes; 10-inch, one round in 2 minutes; 8-inch, one round in 1.5 minutes; 6-inch, slow-fire, one round a minute; 6-inch rapidfire, six rounds a minute; 5-inch rapid-fire, ten rounds a minute; 4.7-inch, rapid-fire, twelve rounds a minute; 4-inch rapid-fire, fifteen rounds a minute. This speed is far higher than could be maintained in actual combat, but has been attained at drill. Energy of gun-fire would not measure accurately the fighting efficiency of a vessel, but a gun that can be fired only once a minute must be at a disadvantage when opposed to one that can be fired six times as fast.
The private gunmakers of England are turning out some remarkable guns and selling them to whoever will buy them.
As an example of this, the "Blanco Encalada", a Chilian cruiser, at target-practice fired four shots from an 8-inch gun in sixty-two seconds, and took the ammunition from the magazine. Another Chilian cruiser, the "Almirante O'Higgins", belongs to the same class as the "New York" and "Brooklyn." A little larger than the "New York" and not so large as the "Brooklyn", she mounts in her primary battery four 8-inch, ten 6-inch, and four 4.7-inch guns, all rapid-fire. Her energy of gun-fire for one minute should be 606,000, while that of the "New York" for the same time is only 208,688. A few examples like this should convince our authorities of the advisability of getting a modern armament on board our vessels.
At the close of the Civil War the United States had the most powerful navy in the world, but no effort was made to keep it up and it was not long before this country had not a modern gun afloat in its navy nor a single modern warship for the performance of the most ordinary duty abroad. We had no plant that could turn out a ton of steel armor. Gun forgings for our cannon were bought abroad. The "Texas," launched at the United States Navy Yard at Norfolk, Va., was even built from plans purchased in England.
In 1883, the protected cruisers "Atlanta," "Boston and "Chicago," and the dispatch boat "Dolphin," were authorized. They were built by John Roach & Company of Chester, Penn., and launched the following year. This was the beginning of the "new navy."
In 1885 Congress authorized the building of the protected cruiser "Charleston." The plans were purchased abroad and the contract went to the Union Iron Works, San Francisco Cal. The vessel was launched in 1858, and commissioned in 1889. The construction of the cruiser "Newark" was authorized the same year and contract given Wm. Cramp & Sons, Philadelphia, Penn. She was launched in 1890 together with the torpedoboat "Petrel."
An appropriation of $3,178,046 was made to complete the "Amphitrite," "Miantonomoh," "Puritan," and "Terror," the keels of which had been laid a decade before.
In 1886 were authorized the "Maine" and "Texas," two second-class battleships, the cruiser "Baltimore" and the dynamite cruiser "Vesuvius." In 1890 three first-class battleships, "Indiana," "Massachusetts" and "Oregon."
The "Indiana" was the first to be launched (Feb. 28, 1893) and the first to be commissioned five years from date of the act authorizing, her construction. Since that time our naval progress has been fairly rapid, and each ship when completed has usually represented the best of its type afloat. Within the past fifteen years $400,000,000 has been appropriated for the navy, about 50 per cent. of it within the last five years.
Importance of Sea Power: Our navy has been a rather neglected child and never a very popular one in some parts of the country, but the excellent service it has lately given us should reconcile all opposition. The destruction of the Spanish fleets at Santiago and Manila has dealt crushing blows to Spanish power. It is the superior condition of our navy that has so quickly enabled us to carry the war into Spain's territory, and its well demonstrated effectiveness will make Europe likely to hesitate before interferring with us.
It is interesting to note that when Japan began her recent war with China she had only 160,000 tons of steam merchant vessels afloat. It is four years since, and her merchant tonnage now aggregates more than 400,000. The recent partition of China is a striking example of what it costs a nation to be unprepared for war, and especially to be weak in sea power. None of the nations, with the exception of Russia, who are wringing concessions from that ancient country could make their force felt other than through their naval power.
Commerce destroyers and harbor defense monitors alone are not sufficient. Captain Mahan has shown that although American privateers did immense damage to English commerce during the war of 1812, yet the commerce of England increased with great rapidity, because by means of her battleships she kept control of the sea and blockaded our ports.
For many years the policy of the United States has been to maintain a strictly defensive navy, apparently forgetting that this would give an opponent the option of attacking and secure him from attack whenever he ceased to press the offensive. It is an axiom of war that the best defense is an aggresive offensive movement.
If our first line of defense is confined to our coasts, we must simply man the defenses and sit there until in his own good time the opponent chooses to attack. If our first line of defense is a fleet of modern sea-going battleships, we have the advantage of making the attack near the opponent's coast if we so choose, and derive all the advantage of beginning, at our option, the warfare thousands of miles from our own defenseless cities.
Kinds of Battleships
The battleships of the United States are divided into two classes, the coast-line defense battleship and the seagoing battleship. A coast-line defense battleship lies lower in the water, the sides are not so high and the heavy guns are not carried so far above the water line. In moderately still water this would be an advantage, as it would not present so large a target for the enemy's guns, but as the water roughens the advantage decreases and becomes a weakness.
The "Indiana," the "Massachusetts" and the "Oregon," three sister ships, are our coast-line defense battle ships. The "Iowa" is at present the only sea-going battleship in commission, but to this list will soon be added the "Kentucky," "Kearsarge," "Alabama," "Wisconsin" and "Illinois."
The "Oregon"
She was made at the Union Iron Works at San Francisco, Cal., and her exceptionally fine performance in her long voyage attracted such attention that her builder, I.N. Scott, was at once invited by the Czar of Russia to come to St. Petersburg and make contracts for building Russian war vessels.
As an illustration of how long it takes us to build a good battleship, the "Oregon" was authorized by the act of June 30, 1890; the contract was signed with the builder November 18 following; the keel was laid November 19, 1891; she was launched October 26, 1893; date of completion, according to contract, November 19, 1893, and was first commissioned July 15, 1896, rather more than six years from the time Congress passed the act authorizing her construction. The "Oregon" class are the heaviest gunned battleships in the world -- that is, they mount more heavy guns than any other, but many others excel them in energy of gun-fire per minute.
The "Oregon" is 348 feet long, 69 feet 3 inches wide and draws, when fully loaded, 27 feet 1 3-4 inches of water. She then displaces 10,288 tons. Her motive power is furnished by twin- screw vertical triple-expansion engines-that is, the vessel has two screw propellers, and the steam from her boilers is used three times: first when fresh from the boiler on the high pressure cylinder, then, as it cools somewhat, in the intermediate cylinder; last, as it becomes cooler, in the low pressure cylinder. At her trial she made an average speed of 16.79 knots for four hours.
She made her remarkable voyage from San Francisco, Cal., to Jupiter Inlet, Fla., 13,000 miles, at an average speed of more than 13 knots an hour for the whole distance. She made 375 miles in one day, an average of nearly 16 knots an hour. The fortitude of her firemen is shown when we remember that during the whole of this voyage the temperature in the engine-room never fell below 125' and sometimes reached i5o.'
In the pursuit of the "Cristobal Colon" off Santiago, when her men in the fire-room were falling from exhaustion, the engineer asked Captain Clark to fire a gun, because if the men could hear the music of the guns and feel that they were in the thick of the action their indomitable pluck would enable them to return to their work.
Her primary battery consists Of 4 13-inch guns mounted in pairs in turrets fore and aft, 8 8-inch guns mounted in pairs in four turrets, two on each side, and 4 6-inch guns, two on each side.
Her secondary battery of rapid-fire guns consists of 20 6- pounders, 6 1-pounders, 4 Gatlings and 2 field guns.
The armor belt of the "Oregon" is 190 feet long, 71 feet wide and 18 inches thick. At each end there is a barbette running from the protective deck to the 13-inch guns, 35 feet in diameter, 17 inches thick and 12 feet high. The turrets of the 13-inch guns are 15 inches thick and the bases are protected by the barbettes. The turrets of the 8-inch guns are 8 inches thick but have no protection at the base. A 6-inch shell well placed would put them out of service. Above the armor belt up to the gun deck the sides are protected by 5-inch armor. The conning tower has 10-inch armor. The 6-inch guns are protected by 6-inch armored casemates.
The "Iowa"
Differs chiefly from the "Oregon" class in being a little larger, having a higher freeboard, mounting 12-inch guns in place of 13-inch, and 6 4-inch rapid-fire guns in place Of 4 6-inch slow-fire guns. The armor of the "Iowa" is not so thick as that of the " Oregon " but it has been treated by the reforging process which is supposed to increase materially its efficiency. She is a fine. seagoing battleship, and could use her upper guns in a gale when those of the "Oregon" would be unserviceable.
"Kentucky" and "Kearsarge"
The striking feature of these vessels is the placing of an 8-inch turret above the 13-inch turret. By this arrangement the ship saves the weight of 2 turrets and 4 8-inch guns, and is able to bring as many guns to bear on each broadside as the "Oregon." The disadvantages are that if the 13-inch turrets were disabled it would put the 8-inch turrets out of action also. They mount 14 5-inch rapid-fire guns and should be superior to the ships of the "Indiana" class.
According to law battleships are named after States, and in order to perpetuate the name "Kearsarge" a special act of Congress was necessary. She was launched March 24, 1898, and Mrs. Herbert Winslow, wife of Lieutenant Winslow whose father commanded the old "Kearsarge" in her famous battle with the "Alabama," broke the time-honored bottle of wine over the bow of the new ship and said " I christen thee 'Kearsarge'."
The Kentucky was christened with a bottle of water taken from a spring where Abraham Lincoln as a boy used to drink. They should be ready for commission January of 1899.
"Alabama" " Wisconsin" and "Illinois"
These seagoing battleships will be complete and ready for commission about October, 1899. They will differ from ships now in commission in having 13-inch guns that can be fired almost twice as fast, and fourteen 6-inch rapid-fire guns in place of 8-inch and 6-inch slow-fire guns of the "Indiana" class.
NEW BATTLESHIPS
By act of May 4, 1897, three new battleships were authorized, to be known as numbers ten, eleven and twelve, and named "Maine" (at right), "Missouri" and "Ohio." These ships are to be 386 feet long, 72 feet wide, draw 23 and 1/2 feet of water, with a displacement of 11,500 tons, fitted with ram bows and two military masts with fighting tops mounting three machine guns in each.
Large Photo: Maine (66K)
Jumbo Photo: Maine (slow: 180K)
There will be a belt of armor extending from the bow as far astern as the after turret. This will be 16 1/2-inches thick and 71 feet wide over the middle portion and taper 2 to 4 inches thickness at the bow. Connecting the ends of the belt will be a transverse bulkhead at least 12 inches thick with another forward of the boiler space, the same thickness. The turrets will be protected by barbettes 15 inches in thickness in the front and 10 inches in the rear. There will be side armor from the armor belt up to the main deck, and extending from barbette to barbette, 51 inches thick. The turrets will be 14 inches thick. A protective deck 5 inches thick on the slopes and 2 3/4 inches thick on the flat will extend the whole length of each vessel, and about the water line will be a belt of cellulose.
The primary battery will consist of four 13-inch guns mounted in two barbette turrets on the midship line, one forward and one aft, ten 6-inch rapid-fire guns on broadside of the main deck and four 6-inch rapid-fire guns on the upper deck within the superstructure. The 6-inch guns will be protected by 5 1/2-inch armor, and between the guns there will be a splinter bulkhead (partition), 1 1/2 inches thick.
The secondary battery will consist of at least twentyfour small rapid-fire and machine guns. The smaller guns will be protected by gun shields, and each vessel will carry two submerged torpedo tubes.
| BATTLESHIPS | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NAME AND DATE OF LAUNCH | BATTERIES | ARMOR (inches) | Speed, knots; displacement tons | Gun fire for one minute (Foot-tons) | |||||
| Main | Secondary | Belt | Barb | Turrets | Slopes | Flat | |||
| Alabama Illinois May 18, 1898 | 4 13" B.L.R. 14 6" RF guns |
16 6pdr R F 4 1-pdr RF, 1 Colt, 2 field guns | Top 16.5 Bottom 9.5 Waterline 13.75 | 15 10 | 17 15 | For'd. 3" aft 4" | 2.75 | 16
11,525 | 403,644 |
| Indiana Feb. 28, 1893 | 4 13" B.L.R. 8 8" B.L.R. 4 6" B.L.R. |
20 6-pdr. R.F. 6 1-pdr RF 4 Gatlings | 18 | 17 8 6 | 15 6 | - | 2.75 | 15.547 10,288 | 209,688 |
| Iowa March 28, 1896 | 4 12" B.L.R. 8 8" B.L.R. 6 4" R.F. guns |
26 6-pdr. R.F. 4 1-pdr R.F> 4 Colts 2 field guns | 14 | 15 8 and 6 | 15 8 7 | - | 2.75 | 17.087 11,340 | 250,378 |
| Kearsarge Kentucky March 24, 1898 | 4 13" B.L.R. 4 8" B.L.R. 14 5" R.F. | 20 6-pdr. R.F. 6 1-pdr R.F. 4 Colts 2 field guns | Top 16.5 Bottom 9.5 Waterline 13.75 | 15 12 | 17 15 11 9 | For'd 3" aft 5" | 2.75 | 16 11,525 | 423,312 |
| Massachusetts June 10, 1893 | 4 13" B.L.R. 8 8" B.L.R. 4 6" B.L.R. | 20 6-pdr. R.F. 4 1-pdr R.F. 4 Gatlings 2 field guns | 18 |
17 8 6 | 15 6 | - | 2.75 | 16.21 10,288 | 209,688 |
| Oregon October 26, 1893 | 4 13" B.L.R. 8 8" B.L.R. 4 6" B.L.R. | 20 6-pdr. R.F. 4 1-pdr R.F. 4 Gatlings 2 field guns | 18 |
17 8 6 | 15 6 | - | - | 16.79 10,288 | 209,688 |
| Wisconsin | 4 13" B.L.R. 14 6" R.F. guns | 16 6-pdr R.F. 4 1-pdr R.F. 1 Colt 2 field guns | Top 16.5 Bottom 9.5 Waterline 13.75 |
15 10 | 17 15 | For'd. 3" Aft. 4" | 2.75 | 16 11,525 | 403,644 |
Our Modern Monitors
The United States has six modern, double turreted monitors, of low freeboard, coast-defense type. They are of iron hull, excepting the "Monterey," which is of steel. The "Amphitrite," "Monadnock," "Monterey" and "Puritan" each have two steel barbette turrets ; the "Miantonomah" and the "Terror" have turrets without the barbettes; and those of the "Miantonomah" are of compound instead of all steel armor. They each have one military mast.
Photo: US Monitor Monterey (59K)
| Monitors | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NAME AND DATE OF LAUNCH | BATTERIES | ARMOR IN INCHES | Speed knots displacement tons | Gun fire per minute (Foot-tons) | |||
| Main | Secondary | Sides | Turrets | Barb | |||
| Amphitrite June 7, 1883 | 4 10" B.L.R. 2 4" R. F. |
2 6-pdr R.F. 2 3-pdr. R.F. 2 37mm H.R.C. 2 1-pdr R.F. | 9 5 | 7.5 | 11.5 | 10.5 3,990 | 88,590 |
| Miantonomah December 5, 1876 | 4 10" B.L.R. |
2 6-pdr R.F. 2 3-pdr. R.F. 2 1-pdr R.F. | 7 | 11.5 | - | 10.5 3,990 | 88,590 |
| Monadnock September 19, 1883 | 2 4 10" B.L.R. 2 4" R. F. |
2 6-pdr R.F. 2 3-pdr. R.F. 2 37mm H.R.C. 2 1-pdr R.F. | 9 5 | 7.5 | 11.5 | 10.5 3,990 | 88,590 |
| Monterey April 28, 1891 | 2 12" B.L.R. 2 10" B.L.R. |
6 6-pdr R.F. 2 Gatlings 4 1-pdr R.F. | 13 8 6 | 7.5 | 11.5 | 10.5 3,990 | 88,590 |
| Puritan December 6, 1882 | 2 4 10" B.L.R. 2 4" R. F. |
2 6-pdr R.F. 2 3-pdr. R.F. 2 37mm H.R.C. 2 1-pdr R.F. | 9 5 | For'd 8.5 Aft 7.5 | For'd 13.5 Aft 11.5 | 13.6 4,084 | 82,540 |
| Terror March 24, 1883 | 4 10" B.L.R. | 2 6-pdr R.F. 2 3-pdr. R.F. 2 37mm H.R.C. 2 1-pdr R.F. 2 Gatlings | 7 | 11.5 | - | 10.5 3,990 | 61,140 |
Armored Cruisers
The United States has built but two armored cruisers, the "New York" and the "Brooklyn," and the war with Spain has shown us how useful these were and how desirable others would be. Lieutenant Eberle of the United States navy, in the "Naval Institute" for March, says: " We should have more armored cruisers, cruisers that can fight under all conditions of weather, to accompany our battleships for defensive purposes during the severe weather. When a vessel of the 'Oregon' type is in a moderate gale, rolling from fifteen to twenty-five degrees, with her main deck awash, an armored cruiser of the 'Brooklyn' class could come along and 'knock seven bells' out of her."
Cruisers are Named After Cities : "New York"
The "New York" was the first of these vessels built. She was authorized by the act of Congress, Sept. 7, 1888, and the contract let to Wm. Cramp & Sons of Philadelphia, Pa. She was launched in 1891 and commissioned August 1, 1893. The cost of her hull and machinery was $2,985,000; armament about $1,000,000; whole cost $4,038,408.07. She was the finest and most powerful armored cruiser in the world, but in five years marked advances in naval architecture have been made and she no longer occupies that proud position.
She is 380 feet 6 1-2 inches long; 64 feet io inches wide; and draws, fullyloaded, 26 feet 8 inches of water, giving her 8,200 tons displacement. Her engines of 17401 I.H.P. move twin screw propellers which gave her a trial record Of 21 knots an hour. She can steam 13,500 miles at a 10-knot speed without re-coaling. She is covered by a protective deck 6 inches thick on the slopes and 3 inches on the flat, and carries on her side a belt of armor over the machinery space, 4 inches in thickness. The turrets are 5 1-2 inches thick, and their bases, turning machinery, etc., is protected by barbettes. Her broadside guns are protected by 4 inches of armor and from each barbette run down to the magazine armored tubes through which the ammunition is hoisted to her heavy guns.
Her armament consists of six 8-inch slow-fire rifles, two in the forward turret, two in the aft, and one each in the broadside turrets. She mounts on each broadside six 4-inch rapid-fire guns. Her secondary battery of rapid-fire guns consists of eight 6-pdr. and two 1-pdr., four Gatlings and two field guns. She has two tubes for firing Whitehead torpedoes.
Her high freeboard gives her light and air, and fine quarters for the officers and crew, and places her heavy guns 25 feet above the water line. The ship has four engines, each screw propeller being driven by two. Off Santiago the "Cristobal Colon" had about seven miles the start of the "New York," which was slowly steaming in the opposite direction with her forward engines uncoupled when the "Colon" appeared, but in spite of all the disadvantages the "New York" caught her after a run of about forty-five miles, and did not use her forward engines either.
The energy of fire for one minute of the primary batteries of the " New York " is 209,688 foot-tons. It is to be regretted that so good a ship as the " New York" is fitted with so poor an armament; 8-inch rapid-fire guns are now made that have far more energy and can be fired five times as fast as those of the "New York."
"Brooklyn"
The "Brooklyn" was authorized by act of Congress in 1892, and contract awarded the Cramps who had been so successful in building the "New York." The vessel was launched in 1895, and entered into commission December, 1896. She has greater displacement, coal endurance and gun power than the "New York." Her admirers claim that she has more speed, for the "Brooklyn " at her trial averaged 21 .91 knots for four hours and earned a premium of $350,000 for her builders. But on that trial the " Brooklyn " only displaced 8,150 tons, and when fully manned and equipped she displaces 9,215 tons. She is 400 feet 6 inches long, 64 feet 8 1/4 inches wide, and draws, fully loaded, 26 feet 2 inches of water. She is moved by vertical triple expansion engines of 18,769 indicated horse-power, driving twin screw propellers.
She has a protective deck the same as the "New York," 6 inches on the slopes and 3 inches on the flat. Her turrets are 5 1/2 inches in thickness, protected by barbettes 8 inches thick in front and 4 inches in the rear. The boilers are all below the protective deck, placed in three water-tight compartments. The hull is made of mild steel, and is subdivided into 242 watertight compartments. For the greater part of its length the bottom is double and 3 1/2 feet thick. The armor belt is 192 feet long, 8 feet wide and 3 inches thick, and extends along the sides opposite the engine and boiler spaces. All the armor is of Harveyized nickel steel. The ship has two military masts, each with two fighting tops, a ram bow, four torpedo tubes, three very high smoke stacks, which are almost equivalent to giving her a forced draft.
The armament consists of eight 8-inch slow-fire guns, mounted in pairs in four turrets, one forward, one aft and one on each side. There are twelve 5-inch rapid-fire guns mounted in sponsons on each side. Her secondary battery consists of twelve 6-pdr., four 1-pdr. guns, four Colt automatics, four machine guns and two field guns. The energy of gun fire of the primary battery for one minute is 284,168 foot tons. Her splendid service off Santiago has made her name a familiar one. In the battle in which Cervera's fleet was destroyed, the "Brooklyn" was struck twenty times by shell and many times by pieces of bursting shell and the smaller shot of machine guns.
The "Columbia"
The "Columbia" and "Minneapolis" were far and away the finest and speediest protected cruisers in the world at the time they were completed, and the "Columbia" holds the international long-distance record for cruisers, as the "Oregon" does for battleships. That she might be given the test of an ocean voyage she was ordered to run from Southampton, England to New York at full speed.
She left Southampton Friday July 6, 1895, and reached Sandy Hook the following Friday, having steamed the entire distance 3,080 knots in 6 days, 23 hours and 49 minutes, at an average speed of 18.41 knots an hour. The whole trip was made under natural draft. It was intended to make one day's run under forced draft, but her complement of men was not sufficient to enable her to get the coal from her farther bunkers to her furnaces fast enough.
The "Columbia" has a displacement Of 7,375 tons, a speed Of 22.8 knots and an armament of one 8-inch, two 6-inch slow- fire and eight 4-inch rapid-fire guns in her primary battery. Her secondary battery of rapid-fire guns consists of twelve 6-pdr., four 1-pdr., two Colts and one field gun. Her gun power is not formidable, but she was built for speed rather than fighting.
The "Minneapolis"
The sister ship of the " Columbia " closely resembling her in most respects. She has two very large smokestacks in place of the four smaller ones of the " Columbia," carries more coal, has more powerful engines and a little higher speed, having the record Of 23.07 knots. Her armament is the same as that of the "Columbia."
The "Olympia"
Dewey's famous flagship is our most powerful protected cruiser. She has a speed of 21.7 knots and a powerful armament of four 8-inch slow-fire guns in pairs in two turrets of Harveyized steel 3 1/2 inches thick, whose bases are protected by barbettes Of 4-inch nickel-steel, an unusual protection for the armament of so light a cruiser, ten 5-inch rapid-fire broadside guns mounted in sponsons 4 inches thick. The arrangement is such that she can fire five of them directly ahead or astern and use five of them in broadside. Her secondary battery consists of fourteen 6-pdr., seven 1-pdr., four Gatlings and one field gun.
The following table will show the strength of the United States in protected cruisers, many of them have been refitted and the "Newark," "Charleston" and "Chicago" have been rebuilt.
Ram "Katahdin"
The "Katahdin" is the only ship of its kind in any navy in the world. She was authorized in 1889, and went into commission in 1896. She is 250 feet and 9 inches long, 43 feet and 5 inches wide, and draws 16 feet of water, and has a speed of 16.11 knots. The two cuts shown of her give a good idea of her peculiar shape that enables her to turn easily in the water. Her turtle-back deck is of 6-inch armor on the sides, tapering to two inches on top. The conning tower rising above this is heavily armored and when ready for action, water is let into some of her apartments until the edges of the boat are beneath the water line. Below she is protected by an armored belt five feet wide, ranging from six to three inches thick. In these days when the high power gun seems to have lately demonstrated its efficiency, the value of the ram remains to be proven, especially as this one has a speed less than that of the battleships.
PROTECTED CRUISERS
| PROTECTED CRUISERS | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NAME AND DATE OF LAUNCH | BATTERIES | ARMOR (inches) | Speed, knots; displacement tons | Cost | Gun fire for one minute (Foot-tons) | ||
| Main | Secondary | Slopes | Flat | ||||
| Atlanta October 9, 1884 | 6 6" R.F. 2 8" B.L.R. |
2 6-pdr R.F. 2 3-pdr. R.F. 6 1-pdr. R.F. 2 Colts 1 field gun | 1.5 | 1.5 | 15.60 3,000 | $617,000 | 131,366 |
| Baltimore October 6, 1888 | 4 8" B.L.R. 6 6" B.L.R. |
4 6-pdr R.F. 2 3-pdr. R.F. 2 1-pdr. R.F. 4 37mm H.R.C. 2 Colts 1 field gun | 4 | 2.5 | 20.10 4,413 | $1,325,000 | 48,683 |
| Boston December 4, 1884 | 2 8" B.L.R. 6 6" B.L.R. |
2 6-pdr R.F. 2 3-pdr. R.F. 2 1-pdr. R.F. 2 47mm H.R.C. 2 37mm H.R.C. 2 Gatlings | 1.5 | 1.5 | 15.6 3,000 | $619,000 | 32,660 |
| Charleston July 19, 1888 | 4 8" B.L.R. 6 6" B.L.R. |
4 6-pdr R.F. 2 3-pdr. R.F. 2 1-pdr. R.F. 4 37mm H.R.C. 2 Colts 1 field gun | 3 | 2 | 18.2 3,730 | $1,017,500 | 32,660 |
| Chicago December 5, 1885 | 4 8" B.L.R. 14 5" R.F. |
7 6-pdr R.F. 2 1-pdr. R.F. 2 Colts 1 field gun | 1.5 | 1.5 | 18 4,500 | $889,000 | 288,804 |
| Cincinnati November 10, 1892 | 1 6" B.L.R. 10 5" R.F. |
8 6-pdr R.F. 2 1-pdr. R.F. 2 Colts 1 field gun | 2.5 | 1.0 | 19 3,213 | $1,100,000 | 186,173 |
| Columbia July 26, 1892 | 1 8" B.L.R. 2 6" B.L.R. 8 4" R.F. |
12 6-pdr R.F. 4 1-pdr. R.F. 2 Colts 1 field gun | 4 | 2.0 | 22.8 7,375 | $2,725,000 | 123,357 |
| Minneapolis August 12, 1893 | 1 8" B.L.R. 2 6" B.L.R. 8 4" R.F. |
12 6-pdr R.F. 4 1-pdr. R.F. 2 Colts 1 field gun | 4 | 2.5 | 23.1 7,375 | $2,690,000 | 123,357 |
| Newark March 19, 1890 | 12 6" R.F. |
8 6-pdr R.F. 4 1-pdr. R.F. 4 Colts 1 field gun | 3 | 2.0 | 19 4,098 | $1,248,000 | 230,688 |
| Olympia November 5, 1892 | 4 8" B.L.R. 10 5" R.F. Armor 3.5 and 4.5-in |
14 6-pdr R.F. 7 1-pdr. R.F. 4 Gatlings 1 field gun | 4.75 | 2 | 21.69 5,870 | $1,796,000 | 215,444 |
| Philadelphia September 7, 1889 | 12 6" B.L.R. |
4 6-pdr R.F. 4 3-pdr. R.F. 2 1-pdr. R.F. 3 37mm H.R.C. 4 Gatlings 1 field gun | 4 | 2.5 | 19.69 4,324 | $1,350,000 | 33,276 |
| Raleigh March 31, 1892 | 1 6" B.L.R. 10 5" R.F. |
8 6-pdr R.F. 4 1-pdr. R.F. 2 Gatlings 1 field gun | 2.5 | 1.0 | 19 3,213 | $1,100,000 | 186,183 |
| San Francisco October 26, 1889 | 12 6" B.L.R. |
4 6-pdr R.F. 4 3-pdr. R.F. 2 1-pdr. R.F. 3 37mm H.R.C. 4 Gatlings 1 field gun | 3 | 2.0 | 19.53 4,098 | $1,428,000 | 33,276 |
Dynamite Gun Boat "Vesuvius"
The United States possesses in this vessel the only one of its type found in any navy. She was built by William Cramp & Sons of Philadelphia, Pa., and cost $350,000, exclusive of her armanent. This consist of three 15-inch dynamite guns, with a secondary battery of three 3-pound rapid-fire guns. She has a displacement of 929 tons and a speed record on her trial of 21.42 knots.
The peculiar feature of the "Vesuvius" is the three
dynamite tubes, 54 feet long, built into the boat and passing from
below the water line up through her deck, at an angle of about 18
degrees. The screw-shape vane gives a rotary motion to the
projectile (at right) when fired and keeps it from turning end over end. Four
sizes of the projectiles are made, the largest about 15 inches in
diameter, and carrying about 250 pounds of gun cotton.
The "Vesuvius" is really a floating gun carriage. The guns are aimed by turning the boat until the tubes point in the proper direction. The elevation is given by the amount of compressed air admitted into the gun. Great things have been expected of her, but as yet she is almost an unknown quantity. The work done at Santiago seems to have been to frighten rather than to harm people. In experiments made by the ordnance department last year 307 pounds of wet gun cotton was hung against the face of a thick steel plate and a chicken tied 43 feet away. The heat of the explosion only burned the face of the plate, and the chicken was scorched, but not killed.
Unprotected Cruisers
The United States has three unprotected cruisers, the "Detroit," "Marblehead" and "Montgomery," each having a displacement of 2,089 tons. The "Marblehead" will be remembered for her effective work in support of the marines landed at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. They each have an armanent of 10 5-inch rapid-fire guns, with a secondary battery of 6 6-pounders, 2 1-pounders, 2 Colt's and one field gun. They have no armor protection except gun shields.
Unarmored Steel Gunboats
"Bancroft," "Bennington," "Castine," "Concord," "Helena," "Machias," "Nashville," "Petrel," "Wilmington" and "Yorktown." The "Machias," the largest, has a displacement of 1,777 tons; the "Bancroft," the smallest, 839 tons. "Petrel," 892 tons, Nivas the little boat sent into the shoal water to finish off the Spanish fleet at Manila. The "Castine," " Helena," 11 Machias," "Nashville" and "Wilmington" each mount 8 4-inch rapid-fire guns in their main battery; the "Bennington," "Concord" and "Yorktown" each mounts 6 6-inch slow-fire guns; the "Petrel" 4 6-inch slow-fire, and the "Bancroft" 4 4-inch rapid-fire. They all have some machine guns.
Composite Gunboats
"Annapolis," " Marietta," 11 Newport," " Princeton," "Vicksburg" and " Wheeling." These are all little boats of 1,000 tons displacement, and each has an armament of 6 4-inch rapid-fire guns, with a secondary battery 4 6-pounders, 2 1-pounders, one Colt and one field gun. The "Marietta" will be remembered for her exceptionally long cruise from Alaska to San Francisco, thence around the Horn to Florida with the battleship "Oregon."
Torpedo-boats and Torpedo-boat Destroyers
These are named after distinguished naval officers not living. Of these there are built the following torpedo-boats: "Cushing," "Ericsson," " Foote," " Stilleto," " Porter."
There are now being built, or authorized to be built:
TORPEDO-BOATS
-
"Rogers," "Barney," "Winslow," "Biddle," "Dahlgren," "Blakely," "T.A.M. Craven," "DeLong," "Davis," "Nicholson," "Fox," "O'Brien," "Morris," "Shubrick," "Talbot," "Stockton"
"Gwin," "Thornton," "Mackenzie," "Tingey," "Bagley," "Wilkes."
TORPEDO-BOAT DESTROYERS
-
"Bainbridge," "Macdonough," "Barry," "Paul Jones," "Chauncey, "Perry," "Dale," "Preble,"
"Decatur," "Stewart," "Hopkins," "Truxtun," "Hull" "Whipple," "Lawrence," "Worden."
Secretary Long in his report for 1897 summarized the naval strength of the United States as follows:
- First-class battleships 9
Second-class battleships 2
Armored cruisers 2
Armored rams 1
Double-turreted monitors 6
Single-turreted monitors 13
Protected cruisers 13
Unprotected cruisers 3
Gun-boats 10
Composite gun-boats 6
Special class 6
Steel torpedo-boats 22
Iron cruising vessels 5
Wood torpedo-boats 1
Wooden cruising vessels 11
Sailing vessels 6
Tugs 14
Wooden steam vessels unfit for sea service 8
Wooden sailing vessels unfit for sea service 6
Of these, 109 were available for service. According to the report of the Navy Department, July 1st, 1898, we had 301 vessels, of which 236 were available, showing that in six months we had built or purchased 126 vessels and had lost only one, the "Maine." Some of these were tugs, colliers, receiving ships, etc. Of the 236, 38 were auxiliary cruisers and converted yachts.
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