Ironclad warship

“ For the Navy that had been founded by Alfred the Great had lasted till then without any fundamental change till came this first Ironclad Battleship. There is absolutely nothing in common between the fleets of Nelson and the Jutland Battle! Sails have given way to steam. Oak to steel. Lofty four-decked ships with 144 guns like the “Santissima Trinidad,” to low-lying hulls like that of the first “Dreadnought.” Guns of one hundred tons instead of one ton! And Torpedoes, Mines, Submarines, Aircraft. And then even coal being obsolete! ”

“ The irresistible artillery with which modern science had armed the warships of all nations had made these feats impossible, and so had placed the valour which achieved them out of court. Within the last few weeks scarcely a day had passed but had witnessed the return of some mighty ironclad or splendid cruiser, which had set out a miracle of offensive and defensive strength, little better than a floating ruin, wrecked and shattered almost beyond recognition by the awful battle-storm through which she had passed. ”

“ But while in England men were still discussing the problem of the sea-going ironclad, the French constructors were solving it. They had to look not to parliamentary and departmental committees, but to the initiative and support of an intelligent autocrat. So events went quicker in France. In 1858 the keels of the first three French sea-going armour-clads were laid down at Toulon, and next year the armoured frigate "Gloire," the first of European ironclads, was launched, and every dockyard in France was [Pg 212] busy constructing armour-clads or rebuilding and armouring existing ships. ”

“ EFFECT OF A TORPEDO ON AN IRONCLAD.
The British government lately strengthened up the bottom of the old ironclad Resistance, and tried the effect of firing off a 90 lb. guncotton torpedo against the vessel. To the surprise of every one, the ship was not seriously damaged. The Engineer comments upon the experiment as follows:
The Resistance experiments so far tend to demonstrate that the total disablement or destruction of a modern ironclad is not so easy as many people imagined. It was too hastily assumed that the explosion of a charge of 90 lb. ”

“ The direction of improvement in ironclad vessels appears to be the concentration of armor at a few points and the protection of the remainder of the vessel from the entrance of water by a streak of armor at the water-line and numerous bulkheads, etc., in distinction from necessarily thin and inefficient plating over all; high speed without great increase of weight of the driving parts, by means of improved engines and boilers and high pressure; the production of tenacious iron in large, thick, homogeneous masses; and the rapid manoeuvring of heavy ordnance by machinery. ”

“ Increased range of gunfire, 194 Indian war canoes, 22 Infernals, 58 Internal combustion engines, 304 Iron armour, 83 Ironclad, first ship designed, 81 Ironclad rams in action (see Tennessee, Merrimac, Monitor; also Terribile and Formidabile) , 153 Ironclads, conversion from wooden ships, 146 ”

“ But, during the transitional period 1860 to 1880, when armour and iron ships, steam engines, rifled guns, and fish torpedoes, were all in their infancy and subject to the most rapid development, no such classification was recognized. The circumstances of the Crimean War, with the adoption of armour and the sudden and enormous growth in the unit of artillery force which took place soon afterwards, led to the first differentiation of ironclads, into ocean-going and coast-defence vessels. ”

“ But when the practice of using fire-ships became common and effective, and trimmer, more active ships superseded the cumbrous galleasses, it was seen that this close formation only exposed a fleet to destruction, and an open order had to be adopted, with a consequent change of tactics. Another lesson was, that a sea-fight was a sailor’s battle, where soldiers were out of place, and that to take a great number of weak ships into action, crowded with men, was only to risk life unnecessarily. ”

“ The roar of the guns, the crash of the explosions, the thunder of the great engines of war as they romped through the seas, the flashes of fire as shells left the maws of the terrific weapons—all went to make up a scene of horror, of impressiveness. It was a battle between rival giants at giants’ distance, while simultaneously another battle was raging between the smaller cruisers and torpedo craft. There is no doubt that one reason why the Germans chose a running fight was that they hoped to be able to lure their pursuers into the minefield round about Heligoland. ”

“ Fast cruisers cannot be built of iron alone on account of the fouling, and the smaller the ship the greater the harm from this cause. War-vessels of any kind are excluded from this construction on account of the vulnerability of the sides, combined with the impossibility to stop a shot-hole which is starred with long rents. In the heavy iron-clad, however, the third disadvantage is done away with by the application of armor. ”

“ Several opposing difficulties have now to be met in the construction of ironclads. Invulnerability as regards the enemy’s guns, protection to the men on board, speed, and the quality of being easily managed at sea,—all these points have to be carefully considered; and the difficulty is that one quality wars against another. A ship might be built which was proof against any guns that could be devised, and then might be found utterly unmanageable and unsafe at sea. ”

“ Before a month was over a small squadron of battle-cruisers raided the Bight between Heligoland and the German harbours, sank there small cruisers and half-a-dozen destroyers, challenged the High Seas Fleet to battle, and came away without the enemy having attempted to use his capital ships to defend his small craft or to pick up the glove so audaciously thrown down. The mere mobilization of the British Fleet seemed to have paralyzed the enemy, and it looked as if our ability to control sea communications was not only surprisingly complete, but promised to be enduring. ”

“ It is impossible now to tell what would have been the result of a conflict between the English squadron and those innumerable gun-boats, manned by one hundred and fifty thousand men, surrounding in swarms every ship-of-the-line, piercing them in every direction with their guns, and sweeping their decks with a perfect hail-storm of bullets, while, in their turn, they were run down by the large ships, dashing, in full sail, through their midst, sinking some in their crushing onset, and blowing others out of the water with their tremendous broadsides. ”

“ Through and through the barbette, and the hull itself, plunged and exploded the steel projectiles. Dead and dying men lay in heaps everywhere about the decks; the ammunition hoists were wrecked and the steering-gear disabled, so that the great, tortured battle-ship could only stagger over the water round and round in a circle, her remaining guns still firing at intervals, until the merciful waves swept over her, and with all on board, living and dead, she went down. ”

“ We are arming our ironclads with 9-inch smooth-bores and 100-pounder rifles, whilst the Americans are constructing their armour-ships to resist the impact of 11 and 15-inch shot. By next June, the United States will have in commission the following ironclads:
These, too, without counting six others of “second class,” all alike armed with the tremendous 15-inch, and built to cross the Atlantic in any season. But it is not in ironclads alone that America is proving her energy ”

“ Even if the Battleship Fleet is absent — which it ought not to be so long as invasion is within the bounds of possibility, and never will be, if those who are conducting the war know their business—yet it is unthinkable that a sufficient defending force of cruisers and torpedocraft should be absent at the same time. ”

“ These preparations were made upon a most extensive scale, and were said to have included an army of a hundred thousand men and a fleet of ships which, if laid side by side, would have reached from Calais to Dover. The news of this terrible armament caused great excitement in England, and various preparations were made to receive it. The Earl of Arundel was made high admiral [29] and was dispatched to sea with instructions to destroy the ships of the enemy as they disembarked; while the people on shore laid waste the country, and dealt with them as opportunity served. ”

“ It is true, one of the old maxims of naval warfare is, that one gun on shore is equal to an entire ship's battery. Still, there is reason to suppose that the armament of the ironclads, although comparatively not very numerous, is so powerful in point of calibre as to be adequate to the task before it. The only fear of naval men is, that obstructions will prevent the vessels from reaching the proper position for an effective bombardment. ”

“ In the new forts, as Spithead, etc., iron is to be employed as the facing, in plates of such vast thickness and weight that it is supposed no ship can ever possess any comparable power; and as they are to be armed with guns the smallest of which will probably be 300-pounders, it is expected that they will be able to destroy any fleet that could be sent against them. At the present day, the value of sea fortifications is disputed, as iron-plated vessels may pass them with impunity, unless the artillery in the fort be so heavy as to destroy the armor of the ships. ”

“ Nearly all nations had followed the example of France and this country in reconstituting their fleets, so that in 1866 Italy was able to muster twelve ironclads, varying in size from 5800 tons to 2000 tons. According to dimensions, they were protected with 51⁄2, 41⁄2, or 4-in. iron plates. The armament was in most cases a combination of rifled and smooth bore ordnance, mounted on the broadside system. Besides these ironclads there were several wooden frigates and smaller vessels. ”

“ It seems not improbable, therefore, that the dangerous system of exposing two-thirds of the ship’s length to destruction from all kinds and every system of naval guns, even the smallest, which prevailed in the British navy for more than twelve years, and which has now happily been superseded in the powerful new ships Nile and Trafalgar, obtained but little more than momentary approval in France, and is likely to have led to the condemnation of the only two ships in which it was attempted—a result which is creditable alike to French science and to French sagacity. ”

“ But of course this was well matched by many a vessel on the British side, in a fight so fierce and a turmoil so appalling that only men of iron training and steel nerves could face it. Light craft of all kinds were darting to and fro, attacking, defending, firing guns and torpedoes, smashing and being smashed, sinking and being sunk, and trying to help or hinder the mighty lines of battle whose own gigantic guns flashed and thundered without a moment's pause. ”

“ But I think we may credit our seamen with being able to fire their guns a bit faster than that. Constant running out of powder seems to have been the great trouble in the English fleet engaged in the discomfiture of the "Invincible" Armada. And not only did the English ships carry heavier ordnance and fire heavier broadsides than the Spaniards, so that the British cannon "lacked them through and through", but our gunners are said to have fired their pieces three times to the Spaniards' one. ”

“ By this time the first destroyer flotilla was out of action and the third flotilla and the [35] Arethusa had their hands full with the Koln. The light cruisers were followed at 12.15 by the English battle cruisers, the Lion came first, and she alone among the battle cruisers seems to have used her guns. Her gun power beat down all opposition. The Koln made for home, but the Lion’s guns set her on fire. The luckless Ariadne hove in sight, but the terrible 13.5-inch guns sufficed for her. The battle Cruisers circled around, and in ten minutes the Koln went to the bottom. ”

“ Germany appears to have no iron-clad, large or small, under construction at present. It is unnecessary to set forth in detail her small armored gun-vessels; suffice it to say that she has one iron turret-ship, the Arminius, of 1560 tons, with 71⁄2-inch armor, but only carrying four 9-ton guns, and steaming 10 to 11 knots; and eleven iron vessels of 10 feet draught of water, 1090 tons displacement, 700 horse-power, 9 knots speed, and 8-inch armor, each carrying one 12-inch gun of 37 tons. ”

“ The author is aware that actual invasion of a country from the sea would be a greater disaster than blockade, and that defense against invasion has often been urged in Great Britain as a reason for a great navy; so that the primary reason for a navy might be said to be defense against invasion. But why should an enemy take the trouble to invade us? Blockade is easier and cheaper, and can accomplish almost everything that an enemy desires, especially if it be enlivened by the occasional dropping of thousand-pound shells into Wall Street and the navy-yard. ”

“ In the case of the Warrior the heavy figure-head so overhung the ram that many were dubious whether the latter would seriously damage an enemy; and, moreover, the wisdom of driving a fully rigged ship against another vessel, and risking the dismantling of her masts and rigging, was widely doubted. In other respects, except for her armour belt and for the material of which she was built, that vessel was not radically different from her predecessors; the first of iron-built ironclads was a handsome screw frigate not unlike previous British ships of her type, from whom she was lineally descended. ”