Warships and their story

by R. A. Fletcher

PREFACE

To the people of a seafaring nation the story of the growth of the warship, from the primitive craft of our savage ancestors to the marvellous fighting machines of the present day, should prove of endless fascination. In this book I have sought to indicate somewhat of the lines upon which the development of the world’s warships has taken place. The amount of information available concerning warships is virtually inexhaustible, whether the ships are regarded structurally and comparisons are made of the forms of the hulls, the strains they may withstand, the speed of which they may permit, and their modes of propulsion; or whether, sociologically, as evidences of the stages of the progress of civilisation of the different peoples; or simply as aids to an appreciation of naval combat, of deeds afloat of individual and national heroism, of the rise and decline of maritime powers, and finally as implements in that tremendous struggle, which has made England what she is, for maritime supremacy. I have not written this book from any one of these aspects, but to describe in popular, not technical, language the more important types of warships favoured at different times in different parts of the world, to show, where possible, where type has succeeded type, and the main lines of divergence and development.

Reversing the usual practice of treating the warships as incidental to the naval battles, I have preferred to treat the naval battles as incidental to the warships. For that reason I have attempted no word pictures of the onset of contending fleets, no more or less imaginary accounts of famous engagements, no descriptions of weird manœuvres and impossible strategy. Even under the restrictions I have been compelled to observe, the abundance of material to be dealt with is so vast that I feel I have done no more than skim the surface, as it were, and have by no means collected all the cream. The task of deciding what to insert and what to omit has been no light one. Much that my readers and critics may think ought to have been included has, perforce, had to be left out, and the necessity of keeping the book within the limits of its present dimensions must be my excuse for the sins of omission of which I shall no doubt be found guilty.

So uneven, or erratic, has been the progress of warship construction, that in some of the world’s harbours, riding the waters almost side by side, one may see dug-outs and “Dreadnoughts,” sampans and submarines, canoes and cruisers, barges and battleships, the vessels of peace—though in times past they were not always vessels of peace—resting securely under the protection of the grim and terrible modern warships.

Every care has been taken to obtain accuracy, but I do not guarantee the absolute correctness of every detail given, for the simple reason that the authorities consulted are not themselves always in agreement, and this applies equally to the warships of the past as to those of the present time.

Every care, also, has been observed to give credit to other writers for the assistance derived from their books, and in this connection I would specially mention the “Encyclopædia Britannica,” Mr. Cecil Torr’s “Ancient Ships,” Sir W. Laird Clowes’ “History of the British Navy,” Mr. H. W. Wilson’s “Ironclads in Action,” “The Warships of Europe” by Chief Engineer J. W. King, U.S.A., “The New American Navy” by John D. Long, ex-Secretary of the Navy, U.S.A., “Maori Art” by A. Hamilton, “The New Zealanders” by George F. Angas, “History of Steam Navigation” by John Kennedy, “The Story of the Submarine” by Colonel C. Field, “Ancient and Modern Ships” by Sir George C. V. Holmes, “Submarines and Submersibles” by E. C. Given, M.Inst.C.E., “Canoes of the Solomon Islands” by C. M. Woodford, F.R.G.S., “Naval Architecture” by J. Fincham, “Rise and Progress of the Royal Navy” by Chas. Derrick, “Transactions of the Institution of Naval Architects,” Appleton’s Cyclopædia of American Biography, “History of the Marine Architecture of All Nations” by J. Charnock, “Our Ironclad Ships” by Sir E. J. Reed, “Cyclopedia of Antiquities” by Rev. F. D. Fosbroke, M.A., and the “Naval,” “Navy League,” and “Fleet” Annuals. A great deal of information has also been derived from the columns of Engineering, the Engineer, the Times, Illustrated London News, Marine Engineer, Scientific American, and other papers, to all of which I express my deep indebtedness. If it should be found that I have not acknowledged every item derived from these sources, I trust that this general admission will cover my shortcomings in this respect.

I have also to thank personally the Chief Librarian of the Colonial Office for assistance in dealing with some of the canoes; various officials of the British Museum for valuable suggestions they were kind enough to offer; Mr. A. J. Dudgeon, M.Inst.N.A. and M.I.M.E., for his kindness in again lending me his scrap-books; Mr. James A. Smith, M.Inst.N.A., for revising a portion of the proofs; the Secretaries of the Institution of Naval Architects and of the Institute of Marine Engineers for again placing the libraries of those organisations at my disposal; the Secretary of the Navy at Washington for illustrations of vessels which achieved fame at the time of the American Civil War; the Commissioners in this country of the Imperial Japanese Navy for pictures of the early Japanese warships; the Hon. J. G. Jenkins, formerly Agent-General in London for South Australia, for New Guinea illustrations; Mr. Harry J. Palmer, of Paterson, N.J., for information and assistance in regard to American ships; and many shipbuilders, both in this country and abroad, for supplying details and illustrations of the vessels they have constructed. I have also to thank Lord Dundonald for his courtesy in lending me a picture of the Rising Star, probably the first steam war vessel to be built in this country, which his ancestor, the famous Admiral Cochrane, commanded in the service of Chili.

On other pages will be found a list of the illustrations and the sources whence they have been derived or the names of the gentlemen who have been kind enough to supply them.

R. A. Fletcher.

CONTENTS