THUBBDAY, APEIL 21, 1898. THE NAVIES OF SPAIM AND AMERICA.

Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume XXXIII, Issue 10895, 21 April 1898, Page 2

Hawke's Bay Herald. THURSDAY, APRIL 21, 1898. THE NAVIES OF SPAIN AND AMERICA.

at tnia stage of trie situation between these two nations It la Interesting to compare their relative navel strength. Of armoured sblpß posteßtlog a displace, ment of 7000 torn and upwards, Spain ' has Dime. One other, the Catalnno, 1b In ■ oonrae of contraction, Approximating very closely to the same magnitude, ' there is the Cristobal Colon, an armoured einlsei, bought in Italy, of 6840 tona ' displacement. A ship of a similar •' obaraoter and the tame blzb, to be called ' the Pedro d Aragon, is now being bnllt in ' Italy, having been ordered by tbe Spanish < | Government of the earn 3 firm that : supplied the Ctletobal Colon. Two of 1 the twelve chips thus referred to are of 1 iron, datlag from 1863 and 1865 ; and one ■ of these is mcd as a training ship, The • largest ship on the Hit Is tbe Poloyo, of ' 9900 lons, lannohed in 1887. Bat 1b it I intended to oonitraoH a battleibip of I 11,000 tons, as well as two ornlserß of 6800 I tons, and a cruiser of 5300 tona to 1 take' tho plaoa rendered vaosnt by I tbe lois of the Betas Rogente. The i [ batlleihlp li to have a speed of 18 knoH, '

and the two larger oiuhers 21 knob. Of the armored fleet of the United States the Buialleio 'displacement nbove 7000 tona li 8200, in the case o! the armored croleer New York, The maximum la exemplified by the lowa, with 11,410' tODB, to bu followed in 1899 by the Alabama, Illlnoli, Whoonnln, KeaHßße, and Kentnoky, each having a dlaplaoement of 11,525 tooß. Tho progresß made Id the development) o! the American navy Is shown by the addition of eight vesicle Id 1895, these bairjß sbo Indiana, Msenachueettß, Oregon, Monadhook, Terror, KatehtUn, Ericsson, and Brooklyn, the first three o( whloh are armor-cladt, of 10.288 ton*. Of armored ships, built and building, the United Statei, at a recent date, had 33, from whloh must now be dedaoted the Maine. Bat many of these are small, ranging down to a displacement of lees than 2000 tons among the clans %t coast defence ablps. Spain chows In comparison only 13 armorblatig, Bnt with one exception, the smallest hare a displacement of 6848 tolw. Of the latter there are two, one of whloh Is Id course of oomtmotlon, the remaiidet Vanßicg from 7000 tons nearly np to 10,000, and of these one is being built. A farther comparhon eonsiata In the fact that of armored ships exceeding 8000 torn, Amerloa hai laanohed six, and fire are building, to be completed next year. Of anarmored ctulelog ships America has 34, being outnumbered by Spain with 39. Among the Spanhh craft of this description the largest Is the Alfonso XIII,, of 6000 tons displacement. She it ite'el built, and was launched In 1801. The Alfonso XII., which was anohored at a ahort dletanoe from the Maine at the time when the latter waa blown np In the harbor of Havana, io a vessel oJ a little over 3000 tons. The larger ship is stated to have a speed of 20 knots, The same speed li attributed to the Lepanto, of 4800 tons, as also to some of the torpedoganboata. The Deitrnotor, of 458 tons, built at Clydebank, la Btated to have a speed lomowhat exceeding 22 knott. Bat the United States ornltnr Minneapolis, with a displacement of 7500 tons, designated, In oommon with the Cilnmbla, as a "oommeroe deatroyer,' 1 la reckoned to have a speed of 23 knots. The speed of the Columbia, a ship of the same size, is Boaroely less, ' ■■ The Spanish Government has protested Havana against surprises. Three torpedo I boat destroyers, recently built In England, form part of a small nqiadron to join the firat-cldia ornleers Visusya and Oqnendo ab Havana, Two were bnllt at Clydebank, the Furor and the Terror, having euginea of 6000 lndloated horsepower. Four otheta we building, having a displacement of 400 tone, the speed to be 30 knots per hoar. A second flotilla, oomposed of three torpedo-boat deßtroyers and an equal number of torpedo boati, followed the sqnadron already specified. One of the cruisers, the Vißcaja, Is an armoured ship with a displacement of 7000 torn. Although not greatly exceeding In nlza the American warship so disastrously sunk Id the harbor of Havana, her coat was as mnohas £600,000, iv comparison with £817,800. Bat while the ladloa'fd horse- power of iho Maine was only 9000, that cf the Vlzjaya is as muoh v 13,000, the spaed of the former vessel being 17 knots par hoar, and that of the Spanish ship 20 knots. The Vizoaya la understood to carry three search lights, eaoh of 20,000 oandla-powor. The Vfzsaya and the Oquendo are Bister ships, and also oorreepond to the Maria Teresa, except that the last-named la somewhat the largest of the tbroe, though her ooat wao the same. The activity of the Spanish authorities farther appears from a statement recently made fey the London Standard correspondent at Madrid, that before the end of March the Peninsular squadron of evolutions under Admiral Oervera, oompospd of the first -clasa orulaers Alfonso XUI, and Maria Tereaa, together with two seoond'olasa ornhera and several torpedo veoaola, would be reinforced by the battle-shlpa Pelayo, Charloa V , aod Christopher Colnmbna, acoompanied by three den troy era and threo torpedo vessels. The fleets thua to be brought together, In the West Indlea and in the evolutionary squadron, aredesorlbed aa " representing all the available naval force for foreign service," and will be entirely mobilised. Some old lronolads, whloh have 'recently been thoronghly refitted, are to be utilised for gaardtopr the ooaatt of the Fenlnsnlar. The Naval Department cf the United States has oonoentrated at Hong Eong a squadron that lnolndes the steamers Olympia, Boston, Raleigh, and Conoord, acoompanied by the gunboat Petrel. Thlerquadron la in readiness, should It be required, to operate against Manilla. The cruisers are steel bnllt, and among them the Olympia la the largest, having a displacement of 5800 tons, Her guns are proteoted by armor of four lnohes, and ahe has deck plating varying from nearly fire inches down to two. She ie said to have a ipeed of more than 21 knots, and her complement of men and offioers amounts to 412. The Boston and the Raleigh are a little over 3000 tons In displacement, and eaoh has a moderate thlokneas of deck plating. Tho speed of the B niton it 15 knots and that of the Raleigh 19. The Conoord has a displacement cf 1700 tons. The Olympia cost £477,000. She carries 34 gunß, of which four have a oalibre of eight Inches, while ten ore qulok-firara of five leches. To aid In the defence of the United States teaboard the Malntonomoh is to be pat la commission, and the armoured ram Katahdin, Tho former li one of a group cf five coast defenoe turret ships built several years ogo, her lannoh having taken place aa far baok aa 1876, after which she wai reconstructed, The largest of the five waa the Parltan, of 6GOO tons, the others being a little under 4000, All have armour with a maximum thiokneis of 11} lnohes, except that the Parltan has a maximum of twelve Inohes, Tney are Iron bnilr, and the speed, of coarse, Is not great, being about tenor twelve knots. The mala armament of the Malntonomoh consists of four tenInoh guns, oarrled In two turrets. The same armament Is In three of the other ships Id this olaee, bat the Parltan has four puns with a calibre of twelve Inches, I Toe Katahdin Is a ooast-defenoe ram of 2150 tons', launohed la 1893, and coating £186,000. Her armament U limited to four six • pounder qalok • firers, and her (peed is 16 knots, She has the peculiarity of being painted eeagreen—an attempt at Invisibility whlob haa alio been resortfid to In the German navy, The naval ordnance of the United States haa a maximum penetrating power equsl to 34 61a at the muzzle of the gun. The calibre of the gun is, in this instance, 13 lnohes. The Spanish gun of 32 centimetre?, whloh is the I&rgeßt, has a penetrating power at the muzzle of rather less than 29 Inches. The weight of the Spaolßb gun slightly exoeeds 48 tons, compared with 601 tons in tho case of the Amerloan waspon. These are rifled breeoh»loadlng guns, and the perforation is that effeotad upon wrought Iron, It It to be observed that some of the armored shlpa Id the American navy carry smoothbore gnns of a calibre np to 15 inches. In the Illinois, the Indiana, the M&bbb. ohntettß, the Oregon, and the Wisconsin, the cillbra existing or appointed extends to 13 InchCß for the rifled breach-loaders. In the Spanish navy the Pelayo oarrles two gnns of 12} inoh oallbie. the prevail* Ing oailbres being 10 and 11 Inobes. Inoludlng the Aiturlas, of 7000 tons dliplßoement, now completing, and the Cataluna, In oonrie of construction, Spain haß cix ships belted with armor 12 inohes thiok, the gun position being In eaoh case defended by armor of 10} Inohei. The Pelayo has an armor belt 37§ Inches thick, and gun protection of 191 inches. In the case of the United States navy, if we omit the five vessels to be finished next year, we find three— the Indiana, the Oregon, and the Maisaohnsottabavlng an armor belt of 18 Inoheß. But, Id fact, none of the vessels building will have a belt co thick as this, three having 16} Inches, and two a belt of 15 Inobes. Again, omitting tha five that are coming, we find the gun position proteoted by 18 Inohes of armor In the Katahdin, the belt having only 16 Inohei. The lowa has 15 inohea over the goni, and 14 Inches In the belt, Tho Monterey haa gnn proteotlon ranging from ten to 14 Inohea, I and a belt of 13 Inches, The I Toxaa protect* her goni with 12 Inches of J

armor, and the Fatltan has 11J Inohes for the same purpose, eaoh having a 12 Inch belt, The armor which protests the gatu ol the Indiana, the Massaohnselts, and the Oregon varies from ilx to 17 Inches. The same will be the case with the Keaißftße and the Kentnoky, eaoh having a belt of 15 lDohes, The Illinois, Alabama, and Wlioonain will defend their gnna frith armor of 17 Inohes, the belt In eaoh ahlp varying from bj to 16}. The Monterey Is an laitanoe of a ship of little raoro than 4000 tons oairving a greater thlokoees of armor than the Maine, of nearly 6700 torn, Two considerations affect the qneition of the gnn as against the armor. Mnoh depend,, on' the kind of armor that la employed E9 a defence, and in this reapebt there has been a vast Improvement la recent years. Another element la that of range, the effeat at a distance being proportionately lens than at .the mnzss'e. An example appears In the obbb of the British gun of 13J Inohes, which ban & penetrating power tqnal to 34 inchea of wrought lion at the muzzle, deollnlng to 28 Inches at a ranee of 1000 yards and 20 lnohee at 2000 yards. Ihe quality of the projectile alto affects the issue, and an interesting kind of contest is going on in England and abroad, in the mannfaotare of projectiles whloh ahall penetrate armor, as well as of Improved armor whtch ahall retlstthe projectiles.