Defenseless America

told their own story, and they have commanded conviction of t

g the size of guns and projectiles. Brown prismatic powder was developed to slow the burning and lessen the initial pre

own prismatic powder, but it was found that after firing a few rounds, the gun

mainly during the ten years between 1887 and 1897, res

lance, that smokeless powder, whose products of combustion are entirely gaseous, possesses enormous ballistic advantages, quite independent of its smokelessness. Less than half the products of combustion of the old smo

ey are much hotter than the products of combustion of the old, smoky, black powder. Owing to thi

is thrown from one of our long naval guns, it has a striking energy, fifty feet from the muzzle, of about 50,000 foot-tons-that is to say, it strikes with a force equal to that of 50,000 tons falling from a height of one foot, or one t

e same as though the projectile were to be dropped from a height of

ing the projectile its high velocity; and the quantity of heat absorbed from the powder gases in throwing a thousand-pound pro

an energy sufficient to fuse a hole right through it, and this is substantially what it does. The hard and toughened steel of the plate is heated and softened by the forc

g to make up for the greater smashing power of huge projectiles, thrown at a lower velocity, with projectiles of smaller size, thrown at much greater velocity and having

aliber had to be made, capable of withstanding the enormous pressure necessary to throw projectiles of suf

nd enlarged, until now no armor-plate carried by any ship can withstand the naval guns

Roads, half a century ago, was far less decisive than

he Federal fleet from destruction. But the salvation of the Northern fleet was of little advantage,

ernation. It was a world-wonder that no government had before resorte

es in the sides of wooden warships and to pound down the walls of brick or stone forts. Bombshells were then thin, hollow spheres of cast iron, charged with black gunpowde

merit must also be so indubitably proven by application and use as to replace the old and revered, in spite of the opposition of overzealous conservatism. The substitution of the sail for the galley-slav

rmor-plate, for the reason that the launch or motor-boat would have vastly greater speed, and also for the reason that its gun would have vastly greater range, and would be able to penetrate the soft iron armor of the Monitor with projectiles c

is opposed. An unarmored vessel, with guns capable of penetrating the armor-plate of an opponent having shorter-range guns, needs only to have superior speed in order to

are-the limit of vision due to the rotundity of the earth, even in clear weather, the limitation of vision, at much nearer distances, in thick or hazy weather, and, of course, the greatly increased diffic

re more than the upper works of the Bluecher could be seen from the decks of the British ships. Only by the fire-control officers, a hundred feet above the decks, co

d not be able with her small guns, if she carried them, materially to injure her armored enemy, whereas the enemy, with its secondary batteries, firing with enormous rapidity and faster than the speed of the heavier guns, would be able to riddle her in a few moments. Consequently, it is considered wise to employ sufficient armor to afford protection against the rapid-fire guns of smaller calibe

r-plate of but moderate thickness. Actually, such a ship is the modern battle-cruiser. We have as yet not one of these ships in our Navy, while the

osition beyond the range of the Guns of those Forts; also showing how, after Fort Hancock is destroyed, the Fleet could move yet nearer for the Destruction of Forts Hami

h-bore, with spherical projectile, was replaced by the breech-loading rifle and the conical projectile having a copper driving ring and gas

tance, while battleships have been made larger and larger to support heavier and heavier armor-plate. Nevertheless, the first improvem

with high explosive, is the most powerful dynamic instrument ever produced by man. A 12-inch naval gun throws a projectile weighing half a ton, at a velocity nearly

, armor-piercing, half-ton projectile, thrown from one of the most powerful 12-inch

y be consumed in fragmentation, and retained in the motion of the flying pieces. If two armor-plates, twelve inches in thickness, could be brought tog

hirty-five to fifty miles per second, and sometimes as high as two hundred miles per second, instead of but three-quarters of a mile per second. The heat developed by the collision of worlds is sufficient not only to fuse them, but also to gasefy them, and reduce them to their ultimate elements. All the suns that emblazon the evening sky

they are dashed to pieces and consumed upon it, as though it were a solid shield of hardest tempered steel. It is seldom, indeed, that a meteorite has sufficient size and mass to penetrate through the atmosphere to the earth's surface. Were it not for the protection offe

tleship fires a 12-inch shot at another war-vessel ten miles away, the velocity is greatly reduced during flight, for an enormous amount of energy is consumed in punching a 12-inch hole ten miles long through the atmosphere. Gravitation, also, is dra

ir. It would not make any difference whether it were made of the toughest, hardest tempered steel, or whether it were made of soft iron. The velocity would be so great that it would pass through the heaviest armor-plate witho

ployed is wholly effectual, except the range be long. By consequence, then, future naval batt

immediate destruction would be mutual. They would cripple each other more in four minutes than

labama was destroyed. Were two of the biggest and most heavily armored battleships in the world to

ac, and these huge projectiles have also a multiplied velocity. The total thickness of the armor of the Monitor's turret was ten inches. An iron

the projectile. The projectile has far more than held its own. It is necessary, therefore, that the most heavily armored ships, as well as those unarmored, must fight today at long range, depending mainly upon skilled marksmanship and power and rang

ale, embodying essentially the same conditions as would be involved in the larger commercial application. Similarly, we may get a very just and dependable idea of the relative

cannon-fire; the other wearing no armor, and being thereby enabled to run much faster than his armor-clad opponent. Obviously, if the unarmored man had a gun of longer range than that carried by the protected

have been made in fire-control, and the accuracy of gun-fire. Today, a battle-cruiser, going at the rate of thirty knots, will hit an object on the

ned fire on each other with deadly effect at 12,000 yards. In the running fight of

battle was fought at a range of over seven miles. The German guns, being mounted so that they could be elevated much more than the British, were

he diameter, while the mass increases as the cube of the diameter. Consequently, large projectiles lose less vel

at the limit is no longer that of hand-power. Wherever in nature forces are opposed, there is a tendency toward an equilibrium. There is now

at of the moderate caliber guns, as, for example, 6-and 8-inch guns. If there were no larger guns than those of 6-and 8-inch caliber, guns and armor-plate w

on, thus determining the range and the direction from which the attack shall be made. If the fleet happens to have guns of larger caliber and longer range than the enemy, it ma

lel lines, the range being chosen by the fleet, F, ha

e of both its front ships on the van ship of the slow fleet, whil

ower fleet, S, with increased concentration of fire on the leadin

er fleet, S, and pours into its foremost ships and overwhelming en

a circular position and destroyed, while its

forward of the van ships of the enemy, turning in front of them, thereby bringing the front ship of the enemy's line under the combined fire of its own two foremost ships, while the rearmost ship in its line of battle gets out of range of the rearmost ship of the enemy, placing the latter entirely out of action. This move

n of Great Britain, in which I illustrated and recommended the employment of a

ombustion progressed this condition was reversed and a very large area was presented to the flame of combustion in proportion to the mass. Consequently, the initial pressure in the gun was much reduced, while greater pressure was maintained behind the projectile in its flight through the gun than could be obtained by any other f

s of which a yet lower initial pressure for a given density of loading

gun. This gun was designed to throw a semi-armor-piercing projectile weighing 1,700 pounds, and carrying an explosive charge of 1,000 pounds, the total weight of the projectile being 2,700 pounds. While the projectile was not designed to pierce heavy armor, it was capable of penetrating the decks and sides of light-armored cruisers a

ing fuse, designed to explode it after having penetrated the o

tons, having a caliber of 23-1/2 inches, which also is capable of thro

n many scientific and engineering magazines, and in newspapers both here and abroad. The descriptions of this gun and projectile were

throwing large bursting charges of high explosives from high-power guns. Prior to that time the only success achieved in throwing large charges of high explosives was by use of the Zalinski pneumatic dynamite gun, a battery of which had been made and mounted at g

, using a propelling charge of gunpowder, appeared to many to be a very hare-brained inten

e than seven thousand fragments of the projectile were recovered, being sifted out of the sand. Twelve-inch projectiles charged with Maximite were repeatedly fired through 12-inch armor-plate without exploding. Later, similar projectiles, armed with a fuse, were fired through the same plate and were exploded behind the plate. Although Maximite was fifty per cent. stronger than ordinary dynamite, yet it was so insensitive to shock as to b

number of huge howitzers. He would build a large number of good roads, capable of standing the tread of these howitzers. He would build as well a go