Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume IX.djvu/393

 IRON-CLAD SHIPS 379 are dispensed with, and the seven guns thus arranged will be as formidable as a whole broadside arranged in the ordinary way. This vessel was still incomplete when it was an- nounced to be sold by auction on Oct. 2, 1874, by the state of New Jersey, to which it was bequeathed by Mr. E. A. Stevens. The ex- periments of the American government to test the theories of Mr. Stevens were repeated by the English admiralty at Woolwich. A target was constructed of 14 thicknesses of sheet iron, or about 2J in., riveted together and backed by 2 ft. of oak. It was fired at with 64- and 32-pdr. guns, at a distance of 375 yards; 32 projec- tiles were used, 8 of which broke the plating, but none of which succeeded in piercing the target. A new series of experiments was made in France in 1843 and 1844, at the request of the prince de Joinville; and in 1845 M. Dupuy de L6me published a memoir urging the con- struction of iron-plated frigates, having thin- ner plating than it was generally thought ex- periment had shown to be necessary, but car- rying fewer guns of heavier calibre. The ex- periments up to that time had not indicated clearly enough the manner of constructing the walls of ships, and as Dupny de Lome's me- moir demanded still further experiments, the construction of ironclads was not yet under- taken. In 1846 the English admiralty made further experiments with 32-pdr. guns at 200 yards, against targets composed of iron plates riveted together. The results were thought to be unfavorable, and no further steps were taken at that time toward the employment of iron in the construction of ships of war. In 1847 M. Gervaize proposed a screw ship composed entirely of iron, and, basing his opin- ions on the experiments undertaken at Gavres in 1843-'5, he asserted that the impenetrabili- ty of iron walls is as much greater than that of wood, as the penetrating power of solid shot is greater than that of shell, and that conse- quently the true machine for naval warfare is the iron ship. He also claimed the possibility of using such vessels as rams, owing to their superior swiftness and solidity. These ideas were also put aside for the time being, and further experiments were undertaken, without any notable results till active operations in the war of England and France against Russia had taken place in 1854. It was then found that the English and French war ships drew too much water to get within close range of the forts in the Baltic, and hence it became neces- sary to construct vessels of lighter draught and greater force. The emperor of the French au- thorized M. Guieysse to make such further ex- , periments as might be found necessary in de- ciding upon the plan. These were made at Vincennes, and resulted in a determination to lay the iron plates on an elastic backing of wood, and to have the plates rolled to the required thickness rather than composed of thin plates united together. The plans of Guieysse were adopted, and five floating batteries, the D6- vastation, Tonnante, Lave, Foudroyante, and Congreve, were begun. They were 160 ft. long at the water line, 42 ft. wide, and 8 ft. draught. Their armament consisted of 16 50- pdr. guns under the cuirasse and 2 12-pdrs. on the forecastle ; the plating was composed FIG. 8. The Devastation. of 4| in. of iron backed by 8 in. of oak. The engines were of 225 horse power, with boil- ers designed to act under a pressure of 75 Ibs. to the square inch. The first of these vessels was launched in March, 1855, and the rest soon after. At the same time that the order for these vessels was given the French minister of marine, M. Ducos, sent the plans to the English government ; but Sir James Graham, the first lord of the admiralty, hesi- tated much before deciding to build any of this new class of ships. As a preliminary measure the experiments made at Vinconnes were tested at Portsmouth in September, 1854, in the pres- ence of Gamier and Guieysse. The results were satisfactory, and on Oct. 3 the admiralty ordered the construction of five batteries of the new type. Although they were sea-going vessels, they were without claims as ships, being designed simply for strong floating batteries. The French vessels of this class were towed to the Baltic by the screw frigates. On Oct. 17 the Lave, Tonnante, and Devastation attacked the fortress of Kinburn at close range, and, although they were hit many times, succeeded after five hours and a quarter in silencing the enemy's guns. The performances of these vessels left no doubt as to the utility or sound- ness of the idea on which they had been con- structed, and at once attracted the attention of naval constructors throughout the world to the necessity not only of vessels of this class for harbor defence and attack, but also of having iron-clad cruisers and rams of high speed and fine sea-going qualities. The French them- selves were the first to profit by their own experience, and at Toulon on March 4, 1858, under the orders of Napoleon III., began the construction of the Gloire, an iron-plated screw frigate of the first class. Her form does not essentially differ from that of the ordinary Fio. 4. The Gloire. wooden frigates of the French navy, although, as she is also intended to act as a ram, her bows have a peculiar form specially designed for crushing the sides of her opponents. Her length over all is 250 ft., breadth of beam 55 ft. ; her armament consists of 36 guns of 6'3 in. calibre. Her armor, which covers only her