ENGLAND'S EIGHT MARINE GIANTS.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume VII, Issue 2137, 4 November 1885, Page 2

ENGLAND'S EIGHT MARINE GIANTS.

Tho Inllexiblo is the largest and most powerful ship in the British navy, and leaving out of account Italy's foul' huge ironclads, which have never yet been tested, is the most formidable warship in the world. Each of the four guns of % Inflexible carries .i shotthat weighs 17001b, and all four can be fired at once, and in the same cjirectlon, The vessel is simply an armoured citadel, with unprotected ends lying beneath the surface of the water to keep her afloat. Although 320 ft in length, the armour-protected portion in the centre extends only 110 ft,, but as the Inflexible is 75ft wide, the citadel thus'enclosed is of generous dimensions, Tt rises 10ft above the surface of the water, and is 6ft Sin below; but as the vessel 18 sunk by water ballast' a foot in going into action, the protection beneath the surface of the water is increased to that extent.

The Ajax and Agamemnon are exact reproductions of tho Inflexible in every respect except size. They are <oft, shorter 14ft, narrower, and draw 23}ffc. of water. Their displacement i 5.8,800 and'their speed 18 knots. In these vessels the citadel is 104 ft, long, and the armor upo.n it 18in. thick. The armored deck oyerthe submerged hull is Gffc. below the watcy level, and the height of the citadel abjoyo the water is 9ft. The turrets are arranged in the same maimer as those of the Inflexible, and they are armed with four'3B-ton guns, carrying a 750-pound shot. The Devastation, Thunderer, and Dreadnought are of the same class, although they differ in minor point? of detail, and may be desonbed as mastless, monitors.

The Devastation is 255 ft long, 62ft wide, and draws 26ft water, Ja™ .hull, engines, boiler, and magazi( ted by 12in. of armor, and at the sides and her deck by 3in, • She has two turrets, plated with 14in, armor, and oarrlea in them four 35-ton guns, capable of sending 9 projectile weighing 7001b. These turrets are enclosed in a central armed citadel, the deck in front of it being given up wholly to the waves in rough weather, but a narrow deckhouse, running between the two turrets, is opened out at the top so as to form a spacious hurricano deck 24ft. above the water, The Devastation has a speed of 'newly 14 knots, and can carry 1000 tons of coal—enough to take her a distanco of 9000 miles, She is a very handy vessel, and ean make a complete circle at full speed in a diameter of 339 yards in 4min 34sec. ■; The Thunderer is similar to the Devas-. tatioii in every respect except that her four guns are of 38 tons, and are worked by hydraulic machinery." She is about; half a knot slower than the Devastation, her speed being 12J. • The Dreadnought, on the other hand, ia more.than half a knot- faster than lih§

Devastation, and is a larger ship by about 1500 tons, She carries heavier armor on ther sides (Win instead of 12in), and her armament, like that of tho Thunderer, is four 38-ton guns. The Colossus and Edinburgh, which were launched in 1882, are like tho Inflexible, but of different dimensions. The latter with ii length of 320 ft, and a > width of 75ft, so that it is difficult to N obt.vi'i much speed without a great waste of puffer. The new ships are 325 ft long, and only (ißft wide, and their displacement is 9150 tons, They are very fast, tho •Colossus having a speed of 191, and the Edinburgh 1G knots. Their armor is 18in thick, and steel-faced, they each carry four 43-ton guns in their turrets, and four v 6in breech-loaders. The 43-ton guns are also breach-loaders, and greatly superior to the 35-ton and 38-ton guns with which the Devestation and Dreadnought are armed.