Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XII.djvu/195

 NAVY 1ST ships of war to be built both in France and England. The Russian war gave a new im- pulse to this radical change in naval construc- tion ; and when it was found that all strong- built ships of war could, without too much difficulty, be fitted with a screw and engines, the transformation of all navies into steam fleets became only a matter of time. No large naval power now thinks of constructing sailing vessels; all ships newly laid down are screw steamers, except the few paddle steam- ers which for certain purposes are still re- quired. The Crimean war called into exis- tence two new na- val constructions. The first of these is the steam gun boat or mor- tar boat, originally con- structed by the Eng- lish for the contem- plated attack on Cron- stadt ; it is a small vessel drawing from 4 to 7 ft. of water, and armed with one or two heavy long-range guns or a heavy mortar ; the former to be used in shallow and intri- cate waters generally, the latter in the bom- bardment from a long distance of fortified naval arsenals. The gun boats, when acting in concert with coast batteries, will strengthen the defence, and will also provide naval war- fare with those light skirmishers which were hitherto wanting to it. The second innova- tion is the iron-sided, shot-proof floating bat- teries, first constructed by the French, for the attack of coast defences. The navies of the world are at present in an experimental state. For defence of harbors and coasts iron-clad ships are taking the place of wooden unar- mored ships, and indeed the French and Brit- ish and some other European nations have sent to sea iron-clad cruisers. Several Ameri- can monitors also have been tested at sea, and some contend that they are suitable for cruis- ing; but the success of ironclads has not been so far fully demonstrated. For an account of the history of such vessels, and of rifled naval guns, see IRON-CLAD SHIPS. The vessels of war of which modern navies are composed are classed in various ratings, from first to sixth rates. The classification before the introduction of steam and iron-clad ships was the following : 1. Ships of the line were the largest men-of- war afloat, destined to form the line of battle in a general action, and to decide the struggle by the weight of metal thrown into the enemy's ships. They were either three-deckers or two- deckers ; that is to say, they had either three or two covered decks armed with guns. These decks were called the lower, middle, and main or upper deck. The upper deck, which was formerly covered in at the quarter deck and U. S. Screw Ship of War Wabash (first rate). forecastle only, was afterward covered in by a continuous open deck from stem to stern. This open deck, which was called the quar- ter deck and forecastle, also carried artillery, mostly carronades; so that in reality a two- decker carried three, and a three-decker four tiers of guns. The heaviest guns were of course placed on the lower deck; and the guns became lighter in proportion as the bat- teries were more elevated above the water. The calibre being generally the same, light- ness was obtained by reducing the weight of the guns, in consequence of which those on the upper decks could only stand reduced charges, which implied that they could be used only at shorter ranges. The only exception to this rule was in the case of chase guns, which were placed at the bow and stern of a ship, and which, even if placed on the forecastle or quarter deck, were still as long and heavy as possible, being required to act at the longest ranges practicable. Thus, the bow and stern guns of English ships of the line were com- posed either of 8- or 10-inch shell guns, or of 56-pdr. (bore 7'T in.) or 68-pdr. (bore 8'13 in.) solid-shot guns, one of which was placed on the forecastle on a traversing platform. There were in the English navy generally six stern and five bow guns to a first rate ; the remain- ing armament of such a ship was as follows :