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AN MARINE REVIEW. WO. WLI The Loss of the Victoria. The awful disaster to the British battle-ship Victoria, the queen's namesake, which has shocked the whole civilized world, on account of the great sacrifice of life, was at first looked upon as a severe lesson to the navies of the world, from which some decided changes in the construction of ships of war would result in the future. Comment from naval experts so far brought out does not, however, establish any direct conclusions, although various opinions have been given-on the efficiency of the com- partment system and the advantages of the ram in naval warfare. The engraving of the Victoria presented here is froma pic- ture of the vessel published in Engineering of London shortly after she went into commission in 1889. She is 360 feet long over all and 70 feet broad, and her mean draught is 27 feet, with a displacement of 10,700 tons. 'The power developed by her machinery at the official trial was 14,244 indicated horse power CLEVELAND, @. Ann hile S@o Mei JUNE 29, 1893. No. 26. discussion relative to the collision which caused the ship to turn over and go to the bottom, importance has been attached to the heavy armament above the main deck and the arrangement of the compartments, which were opened up on one side by a rip- ping blow from the Camperdown, and in which the bulkheaddoors were not closed. As explained in dispatches giving detail of what happened after the two vessels had come together during the maneuvering tactics of the squadron, Admiral Tyron of the Victoria evidently hadno thoughtof his vessel capsizing from the ef- fect of the blow she had received. He had succeeded in restoring discipline and had his vessel directed for shoal water, with the men trying to close bulkhead doors, when, after about ten min- utes run, the ship all at once leaned over to starboard and with a' great roll and plunge buried her bow beneath the sea. 'Then followed the awful scenes among the struggling hundreds of men that have been so graphically described in all accounts of the THE H. M.S. VICTORIA--SUNK IN THE MEDITTERANEAN. during a trial of four hours duration, which would give hera speed of about 17 knots. She could carry 1,000 tons of coal, suf- ficient to enable her to steam from 8,000 to 9,000 knots. She and her sister ship the Sanspareil are similar in design to the Rupert, Couqueror and Hero. They carry in a single turret forward two powerful guns, each of 110 tons weight, and behind this turret there is a structure over about two-thirds of the length of the vessel rising above the upper deck, within and upon which ad- ditional powerful auxiliary armament is carried, so that in the matter of heavy guns, which contributed largely to the sinking of the Victoria, the vessels of her class carry above the upper deck more weight than any of the various kinds of ships in the British fleet. The Victoria was protected about one-third of her length amidships by a belt of compound armor 18 inches thick and 7 feet 6 inches wide. Above this belt there was an armored deck 3 inches thick, and before and abaft the belt were sunken decks 3 inches thick, continuing to the extremities of the ship. A longi- tudinal bulkhead extended through the vessel and there was be- sides a number of cross bulkheads dividing her into compartments on each side of the main longitudinal division. This description of the vessel will serve to show in all the disaster, and which have shaken English confidence in heavy vessels. Whether smaller boats will be built hereafter or, in fact, any great change in the British naval policy be made on account of the accident is, however, still a great question. In this case the compartment system may be said to have failed of its purpose be- cause the water-tight doors were not closed in time to confine the water to the damaged portion of the vessel, but it is absolutely necessary to keep these doors open most of the time owing to the impossibility of securing air to breathe when they are closed, es- pecially in tropical climates. Some electrical or other device may be found to close these doors under such circumstances. It may be said also that the accident affords another illustra- tion of the terrible effectiveness of the ram in naval engagements, but the efficiency of the ram may easily be over-estimated, for actual experience in warfare has proved that it is exceedingly difficult and in most cases impossible to ram an antagonist that is fully aware of the purpose of the enemy, as attack can be gen- erally defeated by sharp maneuvering, while the vessel making the attempt must expose herself at her most vulnerable point to