Modern ships of war

by Sir Edward J. Reed; Edward Simpson

“I may also express the opinion that for repairing damages in a raft-bodied ship at the water-line far more efficacious means can be resorted to than the ordinary shot-plugs, and that the use of cork bags for closing shot-holes in the coffer-dam sides, if they are open at the top, is far from being an unreasonable or ‘stupid contrivance,’ as it is called, considering that, as a general rule, the perforations through thin plating would not be ragged or extensive. Sir Edward Reed’s wise suggestion to make the outer skin of the coffer-dam of two-inch steel plates would render machine-gun fire of little avail. The injurious effects of shell fire would, I reckon, be far more fatal if the projectile exploded in passing through the ten-inch belt than if it burst at some distance inboard after penetrating thin plating. I think it will be admitted without dispute that this feature of design must be governed to a great extent by tactical considerations, the object sought for being to secure out of a given weight of steel the greatest amount of fighting vitality consistent with the power of manœuvring available between skilful antagonists. This view of the case is especially applicable to single actions at sea, when a clever tactician will select his mode of fighting according to the offensive and defensive properties known to be possessed by his opponent, and in this respect an armor-plated bow and stern will afford enormous advantages, both for attack and defence, if the plating is extended as high as the upper deck.

“In fleet actions the ram and torpedo will require more attention than the gun attack, and that feature of battle introduces another disputed point, namely, the limit of size of ship; but that question is outside the scope of the present discussion, and I shall conclude my arguments by a strong expression of opinion that, as gunpowder has so completely mastered the pretensions of outside armor protection, the direction in which prudence leans towards defensive properties in future designs for ships-of-war is that of deflection rather than of direct resistance, and that in this respect science has not reached its utmost limit of invention.

“The prevailing disposition to regulate the power of the gun by the size of the vessel is, I consider, a great mistake, seeing that the additional weight of a powerful gun is not inadmissible, even in such vessels as our belted cruisers, and looking to the strong inducement held out by the continued use of armor-plating, even of such moderate thickness as ten inches. In the splendid steamers purchased from the mercantile marine, which are being armed with light guns only, one 25-ton gun would greatly add to their fighting power, but the cause of this omission may probably be found in the answer to the question, Where are the guns?”

The following reply appeared in the Times (London) of May 1, 1885:

“Sir.—The letter of Admiral Sir George Elliot ... deals ably and candidly with a subject of such fundamental importance to our navy that I venture to offer a few observations upon it.

“I am glad to see that the gallant admiral separates his case and the cellular or raft-deck system from any connection with the Collingwood or Admiral type of ship, but I regret that he has treated my criticisms of that kind of ship just as if I had applied them in the abstract to the system which he advocates. This is not fair either to the gallant officer himself or to me, as will presently appear.

“If Sir George Elliot will remove the cellular or raft-deck question completely away from the very unsatisfactory and unpleasant region of Admiralty practice, and let it be treated upon its merits, while I shall still have to respectfully submit to him some cautionary considerations, I shall also be prepared to make to him some very considerable concessions. One thing I should find it desirable to press upon him is the absolute necessity of giving closer attention to the provision of stability. He treats the subject mainly as a question of ‘buoyancy,’ and wisely so from his point of view; but ‘stability,’ or the power of resisting capsizing, comes first, and on this he declines to offer an opinion. Again, when the gallant officer speaks of a ‘raft’ deck, I would point out that this may be a very different thing from a cellular-deck. The characteristic of a raft is that it is usually formed of solid buoyant materials; you may make it of cellular steel if you please, but in that case wherever injury lets in water the steel so far ceases to be a raft, which helps to float its load, and becomes a weight to help sink it. Now, cells formed of thin steel do not upon the face of the matter appear to be safe materials for a raft which is to be subject to the multitudinous fire of small guns and the explosions of shells of all sizes. It needs a very skilful artificer to build a safe floating raft of thin steel for such a purpose, especially when regard is had to the dangers of raking fire, against which bow and stern armor would not sufficiently provide.

“Having expressed these cautions, I will go on to say that in my opinion the main idea of your gallant correspondent, which he has so long and so steadily developed, is nevertheless a sound one, and one which has a great future. I do not, of course, for a moment admit with him that the gun has yet mastered the armor. I believe the Dreadnought, though of old design, would still fight a good action against all ships now ready for sea, and have to fear only a very exceptional, and therefore either a very skilful or very fortunate, shot. The recent Admiralty ships, where they are armored, are practically proof against almost every gun afloat. Further, I have satisfied myself that if the existing restrictions imposed upon us by the absence of floating docks adapted to receive ships of great breadth were removed (these restrictions crippling us to a most unfortunate degree), and if certain professional conventionalities as to the forms of ships were set aside, it would be perfectly practicable to build war-ships no larger and no more costly than the Inflexible, with enough side-armor more than a yard (three feet) thick to preserve their stability, and at the same time made ram-proof and torpedo-proof. Meanwhile, of all the vulnerable objects afloat, the recent guns themselves, by reason of their absurdly long and slender barrels, left fully exposed to all fire, are among the most vulnerable.

“Still, the raft-deck system has a wide field before it, and I am quite prepared to admit that I believe in its practicability and in its sufficient security for certain classes of vessels if properly carried out. This it has not yet been in any single instance. Even in the case of the great Italian ships, as in our own, there are elements of weakness which would be fatal to the system in action, but which are not unavoidable. Allow me to assure Sir George Elliot that I have largely and closely studied this subject, and that my main objections to it are not objections of principle.

“If the raft-deck system is to be adopted, it must in my opinion be carried out in a much fuller and more satisfactory manner than hitherto, and with the aid of arrangements which I have for a long time past seen the necessity of, and been engaged upon.