Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume IX.djvu/402

 388 IRON-CLAD SHIPS in the same manner, but the plates are 9 in. thick throughout. This system seems to bo capable of great expansion as affording the means of constructing batteries practically in- destructible, and capable of carrying any weight of armor or armament.: The offensive powers of ironclads, in common with those of other ships of war, are measured by the number and power of their guns, the rapidity with which they may be loaded and fired, and the facility with which they may command all points within range. The wooden frigates of the English navy in use before the construction of ironclads carried 32-pdrs. and 68-pdrs. ; while the Americans used 42s, 64s, and 9- and 10- inch Dahlgren smooth-bore shell guns, which at the outbreak of the civil war they increased to 11-inch guns. Subsequently they adopted 13- and 15-inch iron guns of the Dahlgren model, cast after the Rodman process, the 15- inch guns throwing solid shot weighing 450 Ibs., with a charge of 60 Ibs. It is now pro- posed to make and use on the monitors 20-inch guns throwing shot weighing 1,080 Ibs., with a charge of powder weighing from 120 to 250 Ibs. It is thought to be practicable to con- struct and use even 25- or 30-inch guns of this model. This system is based upon the idea of a heavy projectile of large size moving at com- paratively lovy velocity, instead of an elonga- ted projectile moving at a high velocity, and is termed the " racking or battering " system, in contradistinction to the English " punch- ing system," based upon the use of rifle guns throwing large elongated shot at higher ve- locities. The latter, instead of using the 68- pdr. (8-inch) gun, which failed to penetrate the Warrior's armor at 200 yards, now use 6J-ton rifle guns, which would pierce it at 500 yards, 12- and 18-ton guns, which would do the same at 2,000 and 3,000 yards, and 25-ton guns, which would probably penetrate any ironclad afloat, except perhaps the Her- cules, at 4,000 yards. They have made and will use on the Thunderer and Devastation 30-ton rifles, throwing shot weighing 600 Ibs. They contemplate the construction and use at an early day of 70- and 80-ton rifles, and ultimately will doubtless construct them of still greater weights and power. The projec- tile of the 6J-ton guns is 7 in. in diameter and weighs 115 Ibs., taking a charge of 22 Ibs.; that of the 12-ton gun is 9 in. in diameter, weighs 250 Ibs., and is fired with 43 Ibs. of powder; that of the 18-ton gun is 10 in. in di- ameter, weighs 400 Ibs., and is fired with 60 Ibs. of powder; while those for the 25- and 30-ton guns are 12 in. in diameter, weigh 600 Ibs., and are fired with 70 Ibs. and 100 Ibs. of powder respectively. Great differences of opin- ion prevail with reference to the merits of these two systems, but experiments made by the Eng- lish seem to fairly indicate the superiority of the punching system. They show, for instance, that the 15-inch smooth-bore gun, throwing a spherical solid shot weighing 484 Ibs., with a charge of 50 Ibs. of English powder (said to be equal to 60 Ibs. of American powder), would fail to penetrate the Lord Warden's side (see fig. 8) at any range, while the English 9-inch 12-ton gun, with an elongated shot weighing 250 Ibs. and a 43-lb. charge, would penetrate her at 1,000 yards. They also show that the 15- inch smooth-bore gun would not penetrate the Warrior at a greater range than 500 yards, while the 7-inch 6^-ton rifle, weighing only about one third as much, would penetrate her at the same distance with a charge of 22 Ibs. and a shot weighing 115 Ibs. As a matter of course, the rifles of 12, 18, 25, and 30 tons would penetrate at correspondingly increased distances. On the other hand, there seems to be but little doubt that the American guns have greater battering power ; the real question at issue is as to the relative merits of penetra- tion and battering or racking. The English and the French prefer the former, and for appa- rently sound reasons, while the Americans as yet prefer the latter and point to the experience of the civil war in vindication of their opinion. But it must not be forgotten that the ironclads disabled or captured by them from the confed- erates were hastily constructed and poorly ar- mored, and carried light guns in comparison with those of the well built and strongly ar- mored ships of the European navies. The advocates of the racking system lay particu- lar stress upon the " smashing " of the sides of the casemated ship Atlanta by the 15-inch shot of the monitor Weehawken, at a range of 300 yards ; but the Atlanta was not a first-class ship in any respect. There is now but lit- tle doubt that the United States government will be forced to abandon the racking system in its future vessels, or better still, to combine it with the punching system. Iron-clad Earns. The introduction of steam men-of-war gave rise to numerous proposals for reviving the ancient method of naval warfare, that of dis- abling or sinking an enemy by ramming ; and when the Gloire and the Warrior were built, their bows were designed, strengthened, and projected with this object in view. In all suc- ceeding ironclads more or less efficient pro- visions have been made to adapt the bows to the same purpose. In the American navy a special class of small swift river steamers were fitted up specially for this purpose during the civil war. The confederates built several ex- traordinary crafts of this class, designed spe- cially for harbor defence, among the most notable of which was the Merrimack already mentioned. Most if not all of the monitors were also strengthened for ramming, and sev- eral of the engagements, particularly those on the Mississippi, were greatly influenced if not decided by ramming. The French and English followed the example of the Americans, and at the end of the war they had generally adopted the opinion of our naval officers that " every ironclad should be an unexceptionable ram ; in other words, susceptible herself of being used