Part 19

“It is a weakness with the officers and men of any of Her Majesty’s ships to ‘crack up’ the vessels to which they belong, and it is rarely that a bluejacket growls openly against his ship. The warm confidence expressed in the ill-fated _Captain_ by her unfortunate crew is well remembered, and is sufficient to prove that even the first of this necessarily uncomfortable class of monitors was not met by the seamen of the Fleet in any complaining spirit, but that they submitted to the discomforts imposed upon them with characteristic cheerfulness. When, therefore, an unmistakable feeling of dissatisfaction prevails throughout a ship, and no hesitation is shown in expressing it, we may be certain that there is some valid reason for so unusual an occurrence. We hesitated to give currency to reports which reached us during the cruise of the _Devastation_ around the coast with the Channel Squadron, as we had good reason to believe that it was the intention of the Admiralty to pay her off, and berth her in Portsmouth harbour as a tender to the _Excellent_, the advantage of so doing being that a very large number of men passing through the School of Gunnery would thus be enabled to become acquainted with the latest improvements in the turret system.... But since the arrival at the Admiralty of Rear-Admiral Hornby, late in command of the Channel Squadron, who certainly should be able to form a correct estimate of the _Devastation’s_ fitness in every respect for sea service, it has been determined that she shall be ordered to Gibraltar, there probably to remain during the coming winter as a kind of ‘guardo.’ A cruise across the bay in the month of November is not looked forward to by the present crew, who have had a little experience both of being stifled by being battened down and of being nearly blown out of their hammocks when efforts at ventilation are made by opening every hatch. Her qualities as a sea-boat have been fairly tested, and the present notion of filling her up with stores for six months’ further service, and then stowing her away at Gibraltar, leads to the conclusion that on this point at least the value of the counsel of the First Lord’s new Naval adviser is not altogether apparent.

“... It is needless to comment on the facts. They speak for themselves. The condensers will be repaired, no doubt, and strengthened and modified; but no engineer can guarantee that they will not fail again, or, if they turn out a permanent job, that the cylinders will not split, or some other of the mishaps to which marine engines in the Navy are subject may not happen. If the failure takes place in the day of battle it will constitute little short of a national calamity. Even as it is, it must be looked on as a most fortunate circumstance that the sea was perfectly smooth and the vessel near a port. Had the breakdown occurred during the six hours’ run of the ship--which was to have been made on Wednesday--and in a stiff breeze blowing on a lee shore, the ship might have been lost before an effort could have been made to save her. Very important improvements in marine engines of large size must be made before we can reconcile ourselves to the adoption of mastless sea-going monitors.”

With such labour and travail was the modern British battleship born! Public opinion decidedly modified naval construction--leading, as it did, to a considerable delay with the _Thunderer_,[111] the re-designing of the _Fury_, and the building of some old-type ships which else had probably never been constructed.

As already mentioned, Sir E. J. Reed left the Admiralty before the _Devastation_ was completed. None the less the ships which immediately followed were in all essential particulars “Reed Ships,” and so are included in this chapter.

The _Devastation_, owing to the Committee on Designs, received certain minor modifications before completion. These mainly concerned the hatches. Her sister ship, the _Thunderer_, built at Pembroke and engined by Humphrys, was held back, pending the _Devastation’s_ trials, and not completed till 1877.

Save that in one turret she carried a couple of 38 ton (12.5-inch) instead of 35 ton (12-inch) guns, she was a replica of the _Devastation_.

A third ship of the same type, named the _Fury_, was in hand, but criticisms of the _Devastation_ caused her to be re-designed, and she was eventually completed as the _Dreadnought_. In her the very low freeboard forward and aft of the _Devastation_ type was done away with and freeboard maintained at a uniform medium height.

The _Devastation_ and _Thunderer_ had their armour-plates amidships pierced with square portholes. These with some reason were attacked as likely to weaken the armour very considerably, and the _Dreadnought_ was built entirely wall-sided and so depended on artificial ventilation, known in the Navy in those days as “potted air,” even more than her predecessors.

Particulars of the _Dreadnought_:--

Displacement--10,820 tons.

Length--320ft.

Beam--63ft. 10in.

Draught--26ft. 9in.

Armament--Four 38-ton M.L.R., two 14in. torpedo tubes.

Armour (iron)--Belt 14-11in., Bulkheads 13in., Turrets 14in.

H.P.--8,210 = 12.40 knots.

In the original design of the _Fury_ provision was made for a conning tower with a heavily-armoured communication tube. She proved a very successful ship. No sisters were ordered, probably because the Admiralty wished to see how she did before committing themselves to the type. Ere she was finished a different fashion in warships had set in. The cost of the _Dreadnought_ was about £600,000.

The _Alexandra_ was designed long after Reed had left the Admiralty. That famous constructor had nothing whatever to do with her. None the less she was the apotheosis of his box-battery ironclad ideas and for that reason is included in his era. She was simply an “improved _Sultan_.”

Particulars of her:--

Displacement--9,490 tons.

Length (between perpendiculars)--325ft.

Beam--63⅔ft.

Draught--26½ft.

Armament--Four 25-ton M.L., ten 18-ton M.L., four above-water torpedo dischargers (14in.)

Armour (iron)--12-6in. belt, flat deck on top of it. Bulkheads 8-5in. Battery 12-6in.

Horse-power--9,810 = 15 knots.

Coal--680 tons = 2,700 knots at 10 knots (nominal).

She was built at Chatham Dockyard; engined by Humphrys; completed for sea, 1877.

Four of the 18-ton guns were carried in an upper deck battery, and had end-on training. The other guns were carried in the main-deck battery, which was some 10ft. high. The 25-ton guns had a right-ahead training.

After completion she served as Mediterranean flagship, though at the bombardment of Alexandria the flag was transferred to the _Invincible_, which, being of lighter draught, was able to enter the inner harbour. At a later date (about 1890) she was “partially reconstructed.” For her original barque rig a three-masted military rig was substituted, and six 4-inch Q.F. were mounted on top of her upper deck battery. She has been described as the apotheosis of Reed broadside ideas, and a very apotheosis she was. No broadside or central battery ironclad of the British or any other Navy ever equalled her, and she dropped out of the first rank only because the big gun rendered broadside ships entirely obsolete.

_GUNS IN THE ERA._

The principal guns (all M.L.R.) in the Reed Era were as follows:--

======+=======+=========+==========+=========+=======+========= Weight|Bore in| Length |Weight of | Muzzle |Muzzle | Penet’n in |inches.| in |Projectile|Velocity.|Energy.| Iron at tons. | |Calibres.| lbs. | f.s. | f.t. +----+---- | | | | | |yds.|yds. | | | | | |2000|1000 ------+-------+---------+----------+---------+-------+----+---- 38 | 12.5 | 16 | 810 | 1575 | 13,930| 16 | 18 35 | 12 | 13½ | 707 | 1390 | 9470| 13 | 15 25 | 12 | 12 | 609 | 1288 | 7006| 11 | 12 25 | 11 | 12 | 544 | 1314 | 6560| 13 | 14 18 | 10 | 14½ | 406 | 1370 | 5360| 10 | 12 12½ | 9 | 14 | 253 | 1440 | 3695| 9 | 10 9 | 8 | 15 | 174 | 1384 | 2391| 7 | 8 6½ | 7 | 16 | 112 | 1325 | 1400| 6 | 7 ======+=======+=========+==========+=========+=======+====+====

In the early part of the period Armstrong breech-loaders up to 120 pounders had been in use, but the elementary breech blocks were so unsatisfactory that the Navy quickly discarded them, and adhered to muzzle-loaders long after all other Powers had given them up.

The big muzzle loaders tabulated were of a very elementary type also. They were made by shrinking red hot wrought-iron collars over a steel tube; and it was never quite certain how far the interior would be affected. The projectiles never fitted accurately, with the result that there was considerable leakage of gas and very erratic firing. The rifling consisted of five or six grooves into which studs in the projectile fitted.

In 1872 some experiments were carried out, the _Hotspur_ firing at the _Glatton’s_ turret at a range of 200 yards. The first shot missed altogether, the other two struck the turret, but not at the point aimed at. The turret was not appreciably damaged, though theoretically it should have been completely penetrated. This eventually led to the invention of an improved gas check--reference to which will be found at the end of the Barnaby Era.

_UNARMOURED SHIPS OF THE ERA._

Contemporaneously with the _Hercules_ the _Inconstant_ was designed. She was inspired by the United States _Wampanoag_, a type of large, fast, unprotected, heavily-gunned frigate, to which the Americans had always been partial. The _Wampanoag_, as a matter of fact, never reached expectations, whereas the _Inconstant_ was a decided success so far as she went. She marked, so far as the British Navy was concerned, the first appearance of the theory that speed and gun power--in other words, “the offensive”--might be developed advantageously, at the cost of defensive arrangements, a theory which still survives in the “battle-cruisers” of to-day, though of course in a very modified form. None the less, the _Inconstant_ represents the germ idea of our present battle-cruisers, and is supremely important on that account.

Particulars of the _Inconstant_ were:--

Displacement--5,780 tons.

Length (between perpendiculars)--337⅓ ft.

Beam--50¼ft.

Draught (mean)--25½ft.

Guns--Ten 12½ ton M.L.R., six 6½ ton M.L.R.

H.P.--7,360 = 16 knots (trial 16.2).

Speed--Sixteen knots (trial 16.2).

Built at Pembroke Dockyard. Completed for sea 1868 at a cost of £213,324. She had an iron hull, wood-sheathed and coppered. A coal supply of 750 tons gave a nominal radius of 2780 miles. She was ship-rigged and sailed well.

She was followed by a couple of variants on her, the _Raleigh_ and _Shah_, the former 5,200 tons and the latter 6,250 tons.

The _Shah_ was originally named the _Blonde_, but rechristened out of compliment to the Shah of Persia, who was visiting England at the time of her launch.

At a later stage in her career (1877) the _Shah_, then flagship on the S.W. Coast of America, fought a much-criticised action with the Peruvian turret-ship _Huascar_, a Laird-built monitor, carrying a couple of 12½ ton guns, launched in 1865, and generally of the same type (though smaller) as the British _Hotspur_ and _Rupert_.

The _Huascar_ had been seized by the Revolutionists and practically turned into a pirate ship. In attacking her the British Admiral de Horsey gave hostages to fortune, seeing that it was an axiom of those days that an unarmoured ship was helpless against an ironclad monitor. He had, however, no alternative.

As things turned out, the _Huascar_ never succeeded in hitting either the _Shah_, or the _Amethyst_ which accompanied her, while the British flagship, having a speed advantage, the efforts of the _Huascar_ to ram her were futile. The _Huascar_ was hit about thirty times, and one man was killed on board her, but the damage done to the turret-ship was practically nil. The engagement is of further special interest as for the first time a torpedo was used from a big ship in action. The range, however, was too great and no hit was secured.

During the night following the action an attempt was made to torpedo the _Huascar_ from the _Shah’s_ steam pinnace, but the enemy could not be found. Yet it is probable that the knowledge of the _Shah’s_ torpedoes was the reason why Pierola surrendered the _Huascar_ next morning to the Peruvian fleet.

It must have been abundantly clear to him that he had next to nothing to fear from the British gun-fire, while a single water-line hit from him would probably have put the _Shah_ entirely at his mercy, save in so far as her torpedoes might make attempts to ram fatal to him.

END OF VOL. I.

A SHORT GLOSSARY OF COMMON NAVAL TERMS.

=ABAFT.=--Behind or towards the stern of the vessel. Thus one would say that the aftermost turret guns in any ship are “abaft” the mainmast.

=ABEAM.=--On the side of a vessel amidships. To say an object is abeam (or on the beam) means that its bearing by compass is at right angles to the vessel’s course.

=ADMIRALTY, BOARD OF.=--That department of State which is responsible for the proper constitution, maintenance, disposition, and direction of the Fleet in its material and personal elements, executing the duties formerly charged upon the Lord High Admiral; it is presided over by the First Lord (a Cabinet Minister) and consists of Naval Officers--the Sea Lords--and Civil Officials.

=AHEAD.=--In advance--an object is said to be ahead of the ship when its compass bearing is nearly the same as the vessel’s course.

=AHEAD FIRE.=--The discharge of guns along the line of the keel directly ahead of the vessel.

=AMIDSHIPS.=--Generally speaking, in the middle portion of a vessel. The point of intersection of two lines--one drawn from stem to stern, the other across the beam (or widest part)--is the actual “midships.”

=ANCHOR.=--A ship carries several distinct kinds of anchor: the bowers, which are always used for anchoring or mooring the ship; the sheet anchor, as an auxiliary to the bowers; the stream and kedge anchors, which can be used for special purposes.

=ANTI-TORPEDO ARMAMENT.=--Those guns in a ship which are specially mounted for repelling attack by torpedo craft.

=ARC OF FIRE.=--That sector of a circle through which a gun can be moved or trained for effective practice.

=ARMAMENT.=--The weapons of offence with which a ship is armed, including guns and torpedo tubes.

=ARMOUR.=--Any effective covering which protects a ship. The following specify a few main features of armour protection:--

1. =Armour Belt.=--The vertical belt of armour which forms the citadel or fortress of a ship, and may extend right forward to the bows and right aft the stern.

2. =Side Armour.=--Vertical armour placed on the exterior of a ship, being both the belt and additional thereto.

3. =Armoured Deck.=--A curved steel deck protecting the engine room and other vital portions of a ship inside the citadel. A ship may have as many as three armoured decks.

4. =Armour Backing.=--A thick layer of teak which acts as a cushion behind the armour and to which it is secured.

5. =Bulkhead Armour.=--Vertical armour in the interior of the ship, placed across it from side to side.

=ASTERN.=--The opposite to ahead.

=ASTERN FIRE.=--The discharge of guns along the line of the keel directly astern of a vessel.

=ATHWARTSHIPS.=--At right angles to the keel.

=AUXILIARY.=--A ship--not necessarily a fighting ship--which forms a component part of a Fleet. These include Repair vessels, Hospital ships, Depôt, Submarine and Destroyer Mother-ships, Colliers, etc.

=AUXILIARY ENGINES.=--The machinery employed for boat-hoisting, pumping, electric lighting, refrigerating, ventilating, and other purposes on board ships.

=BACKSTAYS.=--Ropes stretched from a mast or topmast head to the sides of a vessel--some way abaft the mast--to give support to the mast and prevent it going forward.

=BALLAST.=--Weighty material placed in the bottom of a ship to give her “stiffness”; that is, to increase her tendency to return to the upright position when inclined or heeled over by the force of the wind or other cause.

=BALLISTICS.=--That branch of science particularly devoted to the theory of gunnery.

=BARBETTE.=--The steel platform or mounting on which a power-worked gun rests and within which it revolves.

=BARGE.=--A general term given to flat-bottomed boats. The _Admiral’s_ (or _Captain’s_) Barge is usually a special steamboat belonging to a warship reserved for the use of the Admiral or Captain.

=BATTEN.=--Long strips of wood used for various purposes.

=To batten down.=--To cover up and fix down, usually spoken of hatches when they are covered over in rough weather.

=BATTERY.=--That portion of a ship’s armament inside the citadel. The entire armament is frequently spoken of as a “battery.”

=BATTLE CRUISER.=--A vessel combining the speed and other essential qualities of a cruiser with an armament and protection sufficient to enable her to take her place in the fighting-line beside the battleships.

=BATTLE PRACTICE.=--An annual practice carried out in the Navy, to test the battle or fighting efficiency of the component parts of a ship’s armament.

=BATTLESHIP.=--A ship specially designed to take and give the hard knocks of a Fleet action.

=BEAK.=--The extreme fore part of a vessel.

=BEAM.=--The widest measurement across a ship.

=BEARINGS.=--This word properly belongs to the art of navigation, in which it signifies the direction (by compass) in which an object is seen.

=BEFORE.=--Forward or in front of; the opposite to abaft.

=BERTHON BOAT.=--A collapsible boat used in destroyers and small craft.

=BETWEEN DECKS.=--In a vessel of more than one deck, to be between the upper and the lower.

=BINNACLE.=--The fixed case and stand in which the compass in any vessel is placed.

=BLOCKADE.=--So to besiege a port that no communication can take place from seaward.

=BLUE PETER.=--A square blue flag with a square white centre, hoisted to denote that a vessel is about to sail and that all persons concerned must repair on board immediately (the letter “P” in the international flag signal code.)

=BOOM.=--A boom is a pole extending outboard--i.e., away from the sides of a vessel.

=Lower and Quarter Booms.=--Booms, conveniently placed, to which boats can make fast.

=BORE.=--The interior diameter of a gun at the muzzle; also the name given to the interior of a gun. Also a word used to express a sudden rise of the tide in certain estuaries as in the Severn.

=To bore.=--When down by the head a ship is said to “bore.”

=BOTTOMRY.=--The hull of a ship pledged as security for a loan.

=BOWS.=--A term indicating those portions of a vessel immediately on either side of her stem (q.v.). Differentiated in association with the terms “Port” or “Starboard.”

=BOWSPRIT.=--A pole of “sprit” projecting forward from the stem of the ship.

=BOX THE COMPASS.=--To name the points of the compass in regular order, i.e., in the direction taken by the hands of the clock.

=BREAKWATER.=--An artificial wall or bank, set up either outside a harbour or along the coast, to break the violence of the sea and so create a smooth shelter.

=BREECH.=--The end of the gun into which the projectile and cartridge are inserted when loading.

=BREECH-BLOCK.=--A heavy steel block which seals the breech when the gun is loaded.

=BREECH-LOADER= (=B.L.=)--Formerly a gun which was loaded at the breech end as opposed to a muzzle-loader. Now used to denote a gun the cartridge of which is not contained in a metal cylinder.

=BROADSIDE.=--The number of guns which can be brought to bear on one side of, or the total weight of metal which can be fired at once from either side of a ship.

=BULKHEAD.=--A structure, transverse or longitudinal, dividing the interior of a ship into compartments.

=BURDEN.=--The capacity of a vessel, as 100 tons burden, etc.

=BURGEE.=--Properly a flag ending in a swallow-tail. Yacht clubs’ burgees are frequently “pennants” which are flags ending in a point.

=CADET, NAVAL.=--A youth who is under training to become a commissioned officer in the Navy.

=CAISSON.=--A hollow, watertight vessel which can be raised or sunk by compressed air or water, and which is used when building foundations under water; or, specifically a lock gate used for closing the entrance to dry docks.

=CAISSON DISEASE.=--A disease to which divers are subject.

=CALIBRE.=--The calibre of a gun is the diameter of the bore (q.v.). This diameter is used as a unit of measurement. Thus, a 50-calibre 12-in. gun is a 12-in. gun which is 50 ft. long, etc.

=CAMEL.=--A hollow tank or vessel filled with water and placed under the hull of a stranded ship. When well secured, the water it contains is pumped out, and the buoyancy thus created helps to lift the ship to which it is attached.

=CAPITAL-SHIP.=--A general term for all warships of such high standard in fighting capacity as would enable them to take part in a Fleet action.

=CAREEN.=--To heel a ship or make her lie over on one side.

=CASEMATE.=--An armoured gun-emplacement in the side of a ship.

=CATAMARAN.=--Properly a species of sailing craft used in the Indies. The heavy wooden rafts which are used to protect the ship’s side when she is lying alongside a dockyard wall.

=CAULKING.=--The operation performed in making the sides or wooden decks of a ship watertight.

=CLASS.=--A ship is said to belong to a certain “class” when there are others identical in appearance or design.

=CLEARING.=--The passing of a vessel through the Customs after she has visited a foreign port.

=COAMING.=--A raised edge of iron or wood placed round a hatchway to prevent water from washing below.

=COASTAL-DESTROYER.=--A large torpedo-boat not considered sufficiently strong structurally to do more than coastal work.

=COASTGUARD.=--A semi-naval organisation of seamen, mostly living along the shores of the United Kingdom intended originally for the prevention of smuggling, but now converted into a force for the defence of the coast or to assist wrecks.

=COMMISSION.=-A ship is said to be commissioned when she is manned for service in the fleet.

A =commission=, the length of time the crew remain in a ship; the order by which a person becomes an officer.

=COMMODORE.=--A Naval Captain specially appointed to take command as such of a squadron of war vessels, or perform some special duty not assigned to an officer of flag rank.

=COMPLEMENT.=--The total number of officers and men forming the crew of a ship.

=COMPOSITE BATTERY.=--A battery consisting of more than one type of gun.

=CON.=--To direct the steering of a vessel.

=CONNING-TOWER.=--An armoured compartment in a ship from which she can be steered, or the gun-fire in an action controlled if necessary. A ship may have more than one conning-tower.

=CONTINUOUS VOYAGE, DOCTRINE OF.=--The doctrine or principle which enables contraband of war to be captured when consigned to a neutral port, but intended for a belligerent.

=CONTRABAND.=--Munitions of war or other goods which are prohibited entry into a belligerent State.

(_a_) Absolute Contraband, material which is always contraband.

(_b_) Conditional Contraband, material which may be declared contraband.

=CONTROL STATION.=--A platform whence range-finding instruments are managed, or from which the gunnery officers of a ship control gun-fire in an action.