The Warrior, completed in 1861, was built entirely of iron, protected at vital points by armour-plating four and a half inches in thickness, which, at the time, was supposed to render her invulnerable. She was the precursor of a class of enormous fighting machines, which, however ungainly in appearance, have increased the sea-power of Britain to an incalculable extent. But, alas, for the four and a half inches of armour-plating! Developments in gunnery called for increased thickness of protective armour. The rivalry betwixt gun and armour-plate, keenly contested for years, has not yet been definitely settled; but when ships’ guns are actually in use weighing 110 tons and over, capable of throwing a shot of 1,800 lbs. with crushing effect a distance of twelve miles, and, on the other hand, when ships are to be found carrying twenty-four inches of protective iron and steel plating, it seems as if the climax had been nearly reached. In the meantime the insignificant-looking “torpedo destroyer” is coming to the front as one of the most formidable instruments of marine warfare. Although only about 200 feet long, with a displacement of perhaps 250 tons, they have yet a motive power of 5,000 to 6,000 horse-power, and a speed of from 25 to 35 knots an hour. Some of these destroyers are supposed to be strong enough to deal a death-blow to a first-class battle-ship, and all of them are swift enough to overhaul the fastest cruiser on the ocean. The estimation in which they are held by the Admiralty is apparent from the fact that already upwards of one hundred of them are in commission, and many more are being built. Twenty-five destroyers, it is said, can be built for the cost price of one battle-ship, and in actual warfare there would be exposed the same number of lives in fifteen destroyers as in one battle-ship.
Although no great naval battles have taken place to test the power of the steam navy of Britain, it has been occasionally demonstrated in the form of object lessons. The great Jubilee review of 1887 was a magnificent spectacle, when there were assembled at Spithead 135 ships of war, fully armed and manned, and ready to assert Britain’s sovereignty on the high seas. Two years later the exhibition was repeated in the presence of admiring Royalty. In January, 1896, shortly after President Cleveland’s threatening message to Congress, and while strained relations with Germany had arisen out of complications in South Africa, in an incredibly short space of time the famous “flying squadron” was mobilized and made ready for sea and any emergency that might transpire, without at all encroaching on the strength of the ordinary Channel fleet. The recent naval review in connection with Her Majesty’s Diamond Jubilee, however, surpassed any previous display of the kind, not alone as a spectacular event, but as a telling demonstration of sea-power, such as no other nation possesses. On this occasion 166 British steamships of war were ranged in line extending to thirty miles in length, and this without withdrawing a single ship from a foreign station; the only regret expressed on this occasion being that not one of the old “wooden walls” was there with towering masts and billowy clouds of canvas to bring to mind the days and deeds of yore, and to emphasize the remarkable changes introduced by steam.
The following table published by the London Graphic exhibits in convenient form the numerical strength of the British navy at the beginning of 1897:
| Classification. | No. | Tons. | Horse- Power. | Officers and Men. | Guns. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Battleships, 1st class | 29 | 377,176 | 355,000 | 19,291 | 1,301 |
| " 2nd class | 12 | 114,030 | 75,000 | 5,672 | 346 |
| " 3rd class | 11 | 77,820 | 57,600 | 5,487 | 365 |
| "armoured | 18 | 136,960 | 116,000 | 10,386 | 604 |
| Coast Defence, Iron-clads | 16 | 61,410 | 30,460 | 3,211 | 209 |
| Total armored | 86 | 767,390 | 634,060 | 44,047 | 2,825 |
| Cruisers,1st class | 17 | 157,950 | 278,000 | 10,514 | 688 |
| " 2nd class | 57 | 243,820 | 461,100 | 19,346 | 1,359 |
| " 3rd class | 52 | 110,685 | 220,340 | 10,994 | 927 |
| Gunboats, Catchers | 33 | 25,940 | 113,300 | 2,935 | 203 |
| "Coast Defence | 42 | 11,828 | 5,860 | 1,527 | 106 |
| Sloops | 22 | 23,305 | 28,000 | 2,764 | 318 |
| Gunboats, 1st class (police) | 20 | 15,810 | 23,400 | 1,670 | 202 |
| Miscellaneous Vessels | 24 | 112,712 | 202,300 | 4,998 | 318 |
| Torpedo Boats and Destroyers | 250 | 25,000 | 300,000 | 5,860 | 690 |
| Grand Total | 689 | 1,494,440 | 2,266,360 | 104,855 | 7,638 |
First-class battle-ships are vessels of from 10,000 to 15,000 tons displacement, with steam-engines of 10,000 to 12,000 horse-power and attaining a speed of from seventeen to eighteen knots. To this belong the Magnificent, the Majestic, the Renown, the Benbow, etc. The first three carry each four 12-inch guns, twelve 6-inch, sixteen 12-pounders, twelve 3-pounders, eight machine guns, and five torpedo tubes. The Benbow carries two 16.25-inch guns, each weighing 110 tons, in addition to her armament of smaller pieces. Second-class battle-ships, such as the Edinburgh and Colossus, are under 10,000 tons, and with 5,500 horse-power develop a speed of about fourteen knots. Third-class battle-ships are represented by the Hero and Bellerophon, vessels of 6,200 and 7,550 tons respectively.
First-class cruisers include such well-known ships as the Blake and the Blenheim, each about 9,000 tons with 20,000 horse-power and twenty-two knots speed. The Powerful and Terrible, also belonging to this class, are among the finest ships in the navy, each 14,200 tons, 25,000 horse-power, twenty-two knots speed, and having crews of 894 men. Additions to the British navy are not made arbitrarily, but with due regard to the enlarged and improved naval armaments of other countries, and with the determination to keep well ahead of all foreign rivals. Accordingly we find that an order was given by the Admiralty in 1897 for the construction of four additional battle-ships and four large cruisers of great speed, the former to be of the Majestic type, but with heavier guns, more efficient armour and higher speed, at the same time of slightly less draft, so that if necessary they can pass through the Suez Canal. The cost of a first-class battle-ship, including armament, is about £700,000 sterling or about $3,500,000. A first-class cruiser of the ordinary type costs £450,000, but the Powerful and Terrible, when ready for sea, are said to have cost £740,000 each. The latest type of torpedo destroyer costs £60,000. The largest projectiles used in the service (as in the Benbow) are 16¼ inches diameter, weigh 1,820 lbs., and are fired with a charge of 960 lbs. of powder. The average annual expenditure for construction and repairs is between four and five millions, but in 1896 it reached £7,500,000 sterling.
THE “RENOWN,” FIRST-CLASS BATTLE-SHIP, 1895.
Flag-ship of Vice-Admiral Sir John A. Fisher, K. O. R.,
in Command of the British North Atlantic Squadron, 1898.