The largest class will be armed with two 107-ton guns in a turret, and two 26-ton guns in a barbette. The thickness of armor will vary from 16 to 18 inches.
The second class will be armed with two 75-ton guns in a turret, and two 26-ton guns in a barbette. The thickness of armor will be from 11 to 16 inches.
The smallest vessels, for harbor defence, modified Monitors, will be armed with two 44-ton guns in a turret, and two 26-ton guns in a barbette. The thickness of armor will be from 10 to 13 inches.
A fleet composed of such vessels as are represented in the largest type would be able to engage an enemy at some distance from the coast—an important object in these days when the range of heavy rifled cannons makes it possible to shell towns from a great distance, and at points remote from shore batteries.
Nominally we have now a fleet of vessels for coast defence, the old war Monitors of the Passaic class; but the contrast between them and the vessels recommended by the Fortifications Board is about equal in degree with that between our wooden fleet and the new steel cruisers.
It is intended that a movable automatic torpedo shall be utilized by all armored vessels, either by means of a torpedo-boat to be carried by armored cruisers, or by the vessel itself in the case of coast and harbor defence ships.
The torpedo that has mainly succeeded thus far in recommending itself to the naval powers is that invented by Mr. Whitehead. Numerous efforts have been made by others in this field, but the difficulties that surround it are made very apparent by the paucity of the results. It will be understood that the torpedo, when launched, is left entirely to automatic control; hence, apart from the motive power, it is necessary that it shall possess directive power, vertically to control immersion and horizontally to control direction in the horizontal plane. In the Whitehead torpedo the immersion is well regulated, and if no deflecting influences are encountered, the direction is also preserved; but it fails where deflecting influences intervene. During the Turko-Russian war valuable experience was gained, and instances are known where the torpedo failed to operate from want of directive power. An instance is cited where a torpedo was deflected by striking the chain of a vessel at anchor, causing it to pass harmlessly to one side. Another instance is cited where the torpedo was deflected from the side of a ship owing to the angle at which it struck. It is evident that perfection cannot be associated with a weapon of this class that has not a strong directive force inherent in it.
The torpedo invented by Captain J. A. Howell, of the United States navy, possesses this property to an eminent degree, and it is regarded by most competent experts as the successful rival of the Whitehead. In the Howell torpedo the power is stored in a fly-wheel revolving with great rapidity in a longitudinal vertical plane, and its gyroscopic tendency makes it impossible for the torpedo to deviate from its original course in a horizontal plane; the principle is the same as insures the accuracy of the rifle-bullet, enabling it to resist deflecting influences. The latest experiments of Captain Howell in controlling the immersion of his torpedo were very successful, and it is probable that the auto-mobile torpedo for our new navy will be an American invention. Liberality in experiments is indispensable in perfecting a device of this kind; it is to be hoped that such may be extended to the Howell torpedo.[52]
