The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

TOES ee er Pe Loss of the Victoria. (From Industries and Iron, London, England.) From the unfortunate loss of such a vessel as the "Victoria"' many useful lessons are to be gathered, especially by those who are accustomed to design this class of warship, but to the lay reader some further explanation is necessary to disabuse his mind of the fact that the vessels of our navy are worthless. Be this as it may, it demonstrates very fully the use and destruc- tive power of the ram when in close quarters; but it would, in our Opinion, be a difficult problem to solveas to whether one ironclad would be able to approach another to enable her to use a b ; ' a( co 4 caval roo Yeti} 10 Cables ZOO Are ee aN, a eae Yets \ < ido Yels \, ~ ¢() \ lo NS { € 2a Yeas we 'op Yas ~ cet eS. R - -- --C6lalles ------. ----~ f _. (1200 Yeats J Fic. 4.--F Lerner in rwo ConumMns OF DIVISIONS. Fig. 3.-- FLEet mn SINGLE CoLuMN. her ram, without being thoroughly smashed up by the powerful guns of her opponent. Even should she be able to get through the thick of a heavy fight, it would only be a coup d ctat that could be given probably to herself as well as to her foe. The telegrams and reports as to the actual maneuvre which was being performed off Tripoli have been of a conflictive nature, but taking all the information, and piecing together the salient points, it seems pretty clear that the fleet was divided into two columns or divisions, the Victoria leading the starboard column, © the Camperdown the port column, and that the admiral hoisted the signals: "Starboard column turn 16 points to port;" "port column turn 16 points to starboard." Itis extremely probable that we shall never know what the admiral intended to perform inthis maneuvre. Did he intend to come around so that his star- board side was next the Camperdown's port side, or did he intend to exactly change columns, and so take up the same position rel- ative to the other column that he had previously occupied, but closer to it--one of the rules of the service being that the ad- miral shall always lead the starboard column? 'This, however, is not an invariable rule, for the much-discussed gridiron move- ment is for the express purpose af interchanging the columns, But before going farther it will clear up a good many points that may present themselves later in this article, and which ] ey eee =-@-- - SS SSS SS SS SS SS SS SS SS St ewe Hard a-starboard. Turning Hard a-port. Thurning away from spectator. towards spectator. Fig. 2.--HErim SIGNALS. Helm amidships. would otherwise appear somewhat obscure to the non-technical reader if a general idea be given of the mode of grouping ships together in fleets, and the means employed for the express pur- pose of avoiding, or at least minimising, the chances of collision. Ships are usually arranged in one or more columns, the ships in each column being equidistant--generally two cables or 400 yards from each other, mainmast to mainmast. As most modern bat- tle-ships are over 100 yards long, this only allows a margin of 300 yards from the bow of one vessel to the stern of the ship next ahead, the columns being sufficiently apart to allow space for the ships in the longest colunn to take up their position' be- MARINE REVIEW. | i tween the columns at two cables apart; or a short way of putting it is--the column distance should be twice as many cables as there are ships in the longest column. Fig. 3 shows a fleet of six ships in single column, two cables between each. [A mileat sea is 2,000 yards, not 1,760.] Fig. 4 shows the same fleet in two columns or divisions, the columns being six cables or 1,200 yards apart, the dotted outlines showing the position of the ships b and c were they moved to form single column, An admiral, however, can order any distance he likes to be kept between the ships and between the columns, but the foregoing is the method generally adopted. Fig. 4 also shows the position of the Med- terranean fleet prior to the signal being. given to alter their 'course, a process which was attended with such fatal conse- quences. It is thus easily seen that, the vessels being so close to each other, it is of vital importance that the intention of each -- ship should be clearly understood by every other ship in the wer ' / A Je ie ---- -- oJ -- Na = ae SS SS ioe = es Full speed ahead. Half speed port. Dead Stopped. é Full speed astern. Both engines. slow starboard. Both ahead. - Both engines.* *The cones as shown are wrong way up. 1I'le apices should point vertically downwards. . Fig. 1.--Srram-Sprep Sranars (Stern Virw). fleet--particularly at what speed they are steaming and in what direction they are steering. For the purpose of indicating the speed ofa ship to its neighbor a system of signaling by speed signals is employed. This consists in hoisting or lowering black cones upon the yard- arm, one on each side of the ship in the case of a twin-screw vessel. The cone hoisted point up indicates vessels going ahead; the cone hoisted point down indicates vessels going astern; the cone close up to the yard-arm indicates full speed; the cone half way up indicates half speed. There is also a flag always flying which shows the exact number of revolutions the propelleris making, from which the approximate speed can be ascertained. Fig. 1. will explain this very clearly. She amount of helm a ship is using 1s indicated by an ingenious device worked auto- matically by the helm, and consists of a red flag and a green ball suspended from some point well above the deck. They are con- nected to the same cord, which passes over a pulley above them, so that when one moves up the other moves down. When the helm is amidships the ball and flag are level. On the helm being put over either way the flag or ball rises according to which way it is put over, port or starboard. Fig. 2 shows var- ious positions of the helm signals. Personal Mention. D, M. Philbin, general manager of the Duluth, Missabe & Northern Railway, announces that W.S, Brann has been ap- pointed agent in charge of that company's ore dock at Duluth. -- Commander Robley D. Evans, naval secretary of the light- house board, seems disposed to become acquinted with the needs of the lake marine in the matter of aids to navigation. He is making a tour of inspection in lake districts. -- Col. Eli T. Bangs of Syracuse, N. V., of the firm of Hughes Bros. & Bangs, builders of the new canal lock at Sault Ste, Marie, is paying a visit to the lakes, and will carry home recol- lections of a hearty welcome from many old friends. He is a venezable contractor and has had a hand in some very big jobs for the government. A government official who knows Commander Nicoll Lud- low very well says, in speaking of the Alaska story about the Mohican being fired on in Behring sea: "It was, of course,.a fake. The Mohican was not there at the time indicated, and if the commander had been shot at, he or the other fellow would have gone, McGinty-like, in his good clothes, to the bottom of the sea." Mr. Anderson, constructing engineer for F. W. Wheeler & Co., West Bay City, made the trip down from the ship yard on the new Bradley line steamer George Stone, and had the thanks of the venerable vessel owner for whom the boat is named, as well as the officers of the steamer, for her fine behavior. 'The Stone can be classed among the best wooden steamers on the lakes, ' 2 aes