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The Sturdy Sec Fighters, Now so All Important Abroad, are the Result of Years of Patient Study and Experiment HE ship of the line built of | wood, reached its greatest de- velopment just prior to the civil war of the United States of Amer- ica. The change from wood to iron covered a period of twenty (20) years, or from 1856 to 1876. A little later than the end of this period sail power was abandoned and steam relied upon entirely, the last full rigged ship of the United States navy being the Newark as originally built. In wood- en vessels the United States led the way among the nations and its mod- els and methods of construction were eagerly sought after and copied by foreign navies. Slow to Adopt Iron The Hartford and Franklin classes were of the best American type, and were immediately followed in the Eng- lish navy by similar vessels. The United States was rich in building ma- terials, especially in live oak, from which the frames of the vessels were made, and .which was practically inde- structible. For this reason, perhaps, as well as that its corps of naval con- structors were men of great practical skill in wooden ship building, the United States continued the use of wood when the lack of such material was driving the European navies into the use of iron in place of wood. A study of the construction of one of these fine specimens of naval con- struction is of great interest, especial- ly when the construction was more or less composite. In the best ves- sels iron was used in strapping the frames both inside and out, and rein- forcing the upper strength members with iron clamps. The vessels were full rigged, having auxiliary machinery capable of steaming at 10-knots’ speed. They were fitted with two-bladed pro- pelled wheels, which were hoisted or triced up above the water line when the vessels were under sails. The vessels were armed with smooth bore muzzle loading guns, gen- erally of 8-inch diameter of bore, throwing solid shot of 68 pounds and having a penetration of about 4 inches in wrought iron at close range. Later in the United States navy 11-inch pivot guns were used, one being Read before the Engineers’ Club of Phila- delphia. mounted on the centerline, usually forward, and served on either broad- side. The reason for the superiority of the United States designs for wooden vessels of this period is perhaps little understood at the present day. To fully appreciate it one must have in- timate knowledge of the character and personality of the corps of construc- tors of the navy at this time. For many years the design of vessels rest- ed in a board of navy commission, to which were attached a chief naval constructor and a chief engineer. Later both branches were detached from the active control of the line and became separate bureaus. At the head of the construction bureau stood John Lenthall, a man educated in the French technical schools of the time, which were certainly ahead of the world in mathematical investigation of the principles of applied mechanics, especially in the field of naval archi- tecture. Mr. Lenthall was the peer of any naval architect of his time in technical ability and training, either at home or abroad, and to him alone must be given the credit for the strength of construction and harmo- niousness of design that characterized the vessels of the United States navy at this period. The remaining mem- bers of the corps under him were men of great practical skill in ship- building and of great natural ability, though perhaps with little knowledge of the application of mathematical principles to the art of shipbuilding. U. S. Had Best Ships With Mr. Lenthall to advise as to the disposition and combination of ma- terials, for the use of iron was adopt- ed for increasing the strength of the members under greatest stress, and a score of men like William Hanscom, Mintoyne and the Harts to carry into execution his ideas, the United States had the finest wooden vessels afloat, by right of technical and practical skill, which we are little apt, in these days of more widely diffused knowl- edge, to be willing to accord to these giants of their day. Unfortunately Mr. Lenthall did not believe in the Monitor type and re- fused to commit the bureau to the advocacy of their construction. The 424 By W. A. Dobson “Monitor ring’ was strong both in politics and in the Gustavus Fox wing of the navy administration, consequent- ly the design and construction of the Monitors prior to 1875 were taken out of the hands of the bureau of con- struction and repair and placed in the hands of the engineers of the navy, with Mr. Stimers at their head. The result of the study and design of the engineer board: was the class of Mon- itors known as the light draft Mon- itors which owing to a miscalculation would not float and proved a com- plete failure. As a “cub” in the Roach shipyard, I was much interested in seeing several of these broken up and noting the skill displayed in their construction. After this fiasco the design of the Monitors Puritan and Miantonomoh class were placed in the bureau of construction and repair un- der Isaiah Hanscom, who _ succeeded Mr. Lenthall as chief of bureau. Scarcity of Building Material The scarcity of building material led to the building of iron vessels in the English and French navies. The idea of an armored vessel seems to have occurred to both these nations at about the outbreak of the civil war with us and the result was the WaAr- RIOR in England and the La Gtorre in the French navy. The belt of armor on each vessel was made 4 inches in thickness, which was sufficient to re- pel the 8-inch smooth bores of the day at fighting range. It should be borne in mind that vessels carried as many as 50 of the 8-inch 68-pounders arranged in broadside with bow and stern chasers. While this development was going on abroad some of the brightest minds, quickened by the pos- sibility of war in the United States, were giving earnest thought and study to a fighting machine, notably John Stevens and Theodore Timby, Amer- ican-born citizens, and John Ericsson, a Swede, who afterwards became an American citizen. Stevens made the plans of a remarkable vessel called the Srevens Barrery, and at his death left a sufficient. sum of money avail- able for the completion of the vessel. The vessel, however, was never com- pleted, but some of the features of her design will be referred to later on. Theodore Timby had given years to