FOOTNOTES
1 Most of the criticism past and present of the Barnaby era is rendered worthless by an ignoring of this report.
2 This is instanced by the increasing ahead fire given to the broadside ironclads.
3 Our Ironclad Ships.
4 In this connection see Imperieuse and Warspite later on.
5 Naval Developments of the Century, by Sir N. Barnaby, pp. 163–164.
6 Re-designed to give extra protection.
7 See Reed Era.
8 In the Chili-Peruvian War—as late as 1879–81—a torpedo fired from the Huascar did this.
9 The full report is to be found in Part IV of Brassey’s Naval Annual, 1888–9.
10 It is worthy of note that these ships were abnormally “over-gunned” according to the ideas which were then in official favour, and which, later on, came more into favour still. The same applies to the Arethusa class.
11 It is interesting to note that the Laird firm, who built the Rattlesnake, which was easily the fastest of her class, made her engines considerably heavier than Admiralty specifications. For this they were fined £1,000, which sum, however, was remitted after the brilliant success of the ship in the manœuvres above referred to.
12 Mr. W. T. Stead, who edited the Pall Matt Gazette at that time, intimated some twenty years later that Lord Fisher was behind him in commencing the agitation. Lord Charles Beresford, then in political life, brought the Bill forward.
13 In 1899 the Blake was re-boilered. The ships remained upon the effective list till 1906, when they were converted into sea-going depot ships for destroyers, most of their guns being removed. They now carry each 670 tons of coal of their own, and 470 tons stowed in one cwt. bags for use by destroyers.
14 This ship very greatly exceeded her nominal displacement of 14,200 tons. She was actually 15,400 tons. The essentially White ships were, on the other hand, of about their nominal displacement. Of the Hood it may further be added that she was greatly inferior to the others as a sea-boat—a serious set-off against her superior big gun protection.
15 4 Astræas = 8—6in., 16—4.7. 5 Apollos = 10—6in., 15—4.7
16 The Lynch and Condell (launched 1890) sank the Chilian Blanco Encalada in 1891; the G. Sampaio (1893) the Brazilian Aquidaban in 1894.
17 In 1894 the Thunderer had her upper works painted in black and white chequers, like the old three-deckers of the Nelson era. Ships with the top of their upper works yellow were also not uncommon.
18 About 1902–3 four additional casemates for 6-inch guns were added on top of the four amidship casemates.
19 The large tube Yarrow, now so general, did not appear till at a later date.
20 Comparatively recently a ship—best left unnamed—made wonderful speed. With a new Engineer Commander she suddenly lost 25 per cent. of her horse-power. The newcomer was rather inexperienced in the type, and closely followed Admiralty regulations. Presently the ship recovered her power—he had given up following the book! It is only fair to say that the restrictive regulations of the Admiralty were mostly forced upon them by people ashore, who probably had not even a nodding acquaintance with the engine-room of a warship, or warship requirements.
21 This idea was borrowed from the Continent. Germany had long adopted batteries, and nearly every other nation had followed suit.
22 Also under Naval Defence Act an additional sum of £10,000,000, spread over seven years.
23 The Nelsons were delayed in completion, as the 12-inch guns made for them were appropriated for the Dreadnought, in order to ensure rapid completion of that ship.
24 To some extent this is probably true of slower firing of larger guns. The only warships with single 12-inch—the Italian Victor Emanuele class—have generally achieved almost as many hits at target practice as the Brine, with two pairs of 12-inch. Improved mountings have since appeared, but certain advantages still seem inevitable to the single gun. Its disadvantage lies, of course, in much extra weight, and to-day in the space question also.
25 Armament recently altered to 9—4 inch.
26 They had a bow tube besides broadside tubes. This bow tube was soon done away with and a couple of 6-pounders substituted.
27 The vessels of the Amalfi class designed by Col. Cuniberti in 1899 were of 8,000 tons displacement; they were to have been armed with twelve 203-m/m (8-inch), twelve 76-m/m (12-pounders), and twelve 47-m/m (3-pounders). The armour belt was 152-m/m (6-inches) thick, as also was the armour of the battery and of the turrets. The engines were to be 19,000 H.P., and the speed with 15,000 H.P. was to be 22 knots.
28 The Vittorio Emanuele proved a most successful ship, answering all expectations of her. One of her chief novelties was the employment of a special girder construction, and the scientific reduction of all superfluous weights upon a scale never before attempted. Though apparently lightly built the ship was found to be abnormally strong.
29 The false impression that a British battleship could be built in about a third of the time that German ships take to construct had far more to do with subsequent shipbuilding reductions than any deliberate ignoring of naval needs, such as those responsible were accused of.
30 They first appeared, as already recorded, in British cruisers of the Minotaur class. Their safety record is to be found in the survival of the Pallada at Port Arthur; their inconvenience in the fact that in the Neptune they were abandoned.
31 These were announced as intended to carry four 12-inch and eight 10-inch, besides smaller guns. The 10-inch proved later on to be mythical.
32 American scientific gunnery rather post-dates the South Carolina design.
33 It should be remembered that alterations were made in the Invincible class in the course of construction, and this probably helped to swell the cost.
34 In the Chinese ships Ting Yuen and Chen Yuen, built in Germany in 1882 with big guns en échelon, the former had the port big guns foremost, the latter the starboard ones—presumably an appreciation of and an attempt to overcome the inherent defect of the échelon system—the two ships being intended to fight in company, and so have one of the two always in the best fighting position were the enemy anywhere on the beam or quarter.
35 The torpedo, for example, may possibly bring about something of the sort by a state of speed and accuracy which leads to heavy or anticipated heavy long-range losses from it in fleet actions. To offer only one-fifth or so of the target would then be a serious consideration.
36 This is rumoured to have been abandoned for oil fuel.
37 Something of the same kind was also observed about 1870 or earlier, when a Whitworth gun punched through a 6-inch iron plate!
38 Since these words were written the Lusitania has been torpedoed. I see no reason whatever to alter the original thesis.
39 Dean Swift in “Gulliver’s Travels” described almost exactly the moons of Mars long before their existence was ever suspected.
40 Of these, the third in either case was built or put together in Australia.
41 Now renamed Zelandia.
42 In May, 1912, the New Zealand was definitely handed over to the British Navy. The Australia still remains a Commonwealth ship.
43 See Vol. I., Chap. III. No less a man than Sir Francis Drake appears to have invented “spit and polish.”
44 See Vol. I., page 194.
45 The minimum is given in each case.