Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume IX.djvu/401

 IRON-CLAD SHIPS 387 system possesses many advantages, but also under some circumstances so many disadvan- tages that its introduction has occasioned much diversity of opinion among naval officers and constructors throughout the world. The ad- vantages are as follows : the facility with which large guns may be smoothly and easily trained, and with which the same guns may be used in all directions ; the small size of the ports, and the difficulty of hitting them ; the low freeboard, and consequently small target offered to the ene- my's fire; the great thickness which may be given to the armor, and the great size and pene- trating power which may be given to the few guns protected by it. As fighting ships, there is no reason why the monitors may not be made superior to any other form of ironclad yet invented. The only serious defect which has been developed in their fighting power is the liability of the turret as originally con- structed to become jammed by being struck at FIG. IT. Eads's Revolving Battery. or near the junction with the deck, so that it will not revolve. This defect has been par- tially remedied by the use of a massive ring of iron, surrounding the base of the turret, and by the breastwork system. A still better remedy has been introduced by James B. Eads, 0. E., of St. Louis, who constructed stationary turrets and arranged the guns so that they might be traversed in pairs, as shown in fig. 17. The greatest defect in this system is that ships constructed after the original Monitor model are poorly adapted for sea-going purposes, and hence cannot be made first-class cruis- ers. This opinion is not controverted by the fact that the Miantonomoh and similar ships have crossed the ocean in various directions. It is now generally admitted that no monitor, with turrets standing upon the low deck, un- protected by breastworks, with hatchways, air shafts, and low turret tops opening through her deck only two or three feet above the water line, can be considered as a satisfactory sea-going vessel. On the other hand, with such improvements as have been or may here- after be made, this class of ships are and will probably remain unrivalled for harbor and coast defence, and for use against land bat- teries and fortifications, and may ultimately be made to serve successfully as cruisers. Two circular monitors, the Kiev and Novgorod, de- signed by Admiral Popoff, have been construct- ed by the Russian government, for use in the FIG. 18. Russian Circular Monitor, Elevation and Deck. North and Black seas. These batteries are called Popoffka, and are about 100 ft. in diam- eter, bordered with wood and lined with cop- per, after the system followed in the construc- tion of the Raleigh in England. Their draught is about 12 ft., height of upper deck above water about 2 ft., and displacement about 2,530 tons. Their stability in the water is secured by 12 keels. The middle of the vessels is sur- mounted by a turret 30 ft. in diameter and 7 ft. high, carrying two steel 11-ton 8-inch breech-loading rifles. The lower part of the hull is double-skinned, the outer skin being about J in. thick, and the inner one j- in. The space between is about 3 ft. and divided into water-tight compartments. They are pro- pelled by six separate engines and screws, each working up to 80 horse power. Their speed is about 9 knots per hour; complements of Fid. 19. Deck of Russian Circular Monitor. officers 11, men 85 to 90. The hull armor is composed of two strakes of plates each 2 ft. wide, the upper one about 9 in. thick and the lower about 7 in., backed by 7 and 9 in. of teak respectively. The turrets are constructed