LAUNCH OF THE NEW TURRETSHIP THE GLATTON.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume VI, Issue 127, 31 May 1871, Page 4

LAUNCH OF THE NEW TURRETSHIP THE GLATTON.

TheWlaunch of the Glatton on the 7th of Marfl^i, marks a decided advance in the character and construction of our ships of war. She is a turret vessel of the Monitor type, and is the first of the kind, built for service in the Royal Navy. It is, perhaps, hardly creditable that nearly ten years have elap&ed since the monitor fprm of construction was in existence beiore .our navy possessed a siDgle vessel of.theikind; but it is satisfactory now to know that the Glatton is complete, and that since the Board of Admiralty determined upon her construction, several J low freeboara vessels of a similar type to the Glatton, but much more powerful, have been ordered and are now beiug built. Glatton was commenced in 1868, at Chatham Dockyard, from designs by Mr. Reed, under the authority of Mr. Corry. She was founded on the American model, -but with this difference, that the errors which were found to exist in the monitors of the United States navy have beeu rectified in the Glatton. Although the daring inventions of Ericsson gave his country a novel and powerful class of vessels in the numerous monitors which he constructed, yet experience has brought to light many defects which detract from their capabilities both as sea-goiiig and fighting; vessels, and which are too often lost sight of by enthusiastic admirers of the monitor system. In the Kalaraazoo, which is about the most powerful type of turret ships in the United States navy, and in the Dictator, protection by armorplating has been sacrificed to a serious extent to gain speed and to reduce size. Not only under water is this armor-plating reduced to a minimum, but the deck is exposed to injury from vertical fire, and the turrets are liable to be, completely disabled by a chance shot. „', To remedy these defects was Reed's view, in designing the Glatton, and was his reason for departing from the conventional form of monitor. By increasing the armor-plating above the water-line, by means of a large breastwork for the protection of the turret, and by protecting the, hull below the water-line with armor plates of considerable thickness, he has given the Glatton a more efficient protection than the ordinary monitors, but at the expense of her speed. In addition to this, an unusual step has been taken in plating the upper deck with three-inch iron plating. The object of this is to avoid danger from shells falling vertically upon the deck; but this protection is gained at the expense, of increasing the armor of the ship by about 600 tons, or as Mr. Reed says, by adding armor sufficient to plate the sides of the vessel all round with 9-inch iron, and add seven feet to the freeboard. Mr. Reed's views was, as he has shown practically in the construction of the Devastation, Eupert, and Thunderer, that the speed lost by this additional armor should ,be regained by increasing the size of the vessel. In t~b^ construction of the Glatton the Board of* Admiralty refused to consent to this and Sir Spencer Robinson, in a meoponandum drawn up to show the position d£ iron shipbuilding for the Navy in 1869, while admitting that the permission by the Board to construct the Grlfttton was a valuable concession, protests thai she was compromised by her fliae.

It is early yeKto speak with any confidence about this vessel, for it yet remains to be proved that her stability will not be affected by the. heavy breastwork which rises on each side of the hull, and that considering how small she is for the armor Bhe carries, she really possesses a speed of nine knots an hour. But taking her as she stands, she is unquestionably almost powerful vessel. Her freeboard is only 3 feet in height, and, if necessary, this cau be reduced to 2 feet by the use of water ballast. Her hull above the water-liua is plated with 12-inch armor, fastened On to the 20-inch teak backing, and with an inner skin plating of 1-inch iron. Below the water-line the armor is reduced toMO and 8-inch iron. There is only one turret, which is revolving, and contains two 600 pounder 25-tou guns. For the protection of this turret, which ii plated with iron 14 and 12-inches thick, and of the funnel, a breastwork rises on each aMe six feet above the hull. It is c vei^T with armorplating 13 inches thu (Jrfastened oo to I^-inch teak backup Thus the guns and gunners areymoul ly protected from accident. Thjft turrei rises 7 feet above the breastwork, which I allows of the gu^s being used with ease aid freedom. .The breastwork gives ther the advan^ffi^e of being used at almost tie same height as in a broadside vessel, but with the advantage also of leaving a smaller surface exposed. One of the most important features is that the guns have, a clear range in the fore part of the vessel. This gives the Glatton a superior advantage to the Monaach and Captain, and to any of the broadside vessels; for, although she will carry masts, they will not obstruct the range of the guns towards the bow. She is doublebottomed, like most of the ships designed by Mr. Reed, and the bulkheads between the iuner and outer sides of (he ship can be used for water ballast. In addition to her guns she carries au euormous ram, which protrudes 8 feet from the stem, and could be used on an emergemcy with great effect. These are the principal features of this remarkable ship, which is the first of a series of low freeboard turret ships now being constructed in the Navy.