The British and Foreign Review, 1843, Vol. 15
Author:
Publisher: Forgotten Books
Published: 2016-12-26
Total Pages: 646
ISBN-13: 9781334768347
DOWNLOAD EBOOKExcerpt from The British and Foreign Review, 1843, Vol. 15: Or European Quarterly Journal From the commencement of this century may be dated the improvements which have slowly taken place, and only since the last American war have been systematically pursued. It is evident, that we must always keep our naval power in ad van cc of every other nation. To a certain extent this object has been kept in view. The Americans have taught us to build f1'igtltes of greater tonnage and with heavier metal than ever before existed. Their ninety-gun ships on two decks require a corresponding class to be added to our navy. The weight of metal requires greater solidity of structure, both for de fence and attack, particularly in the bows and transoms and the frame-work of the stems, for those parts would be the chief points of attack by steamers. No ship should now be built without strong water-tight compartments in the hold, so that in case any of the enormous shot intended to be fired from steamers and other large vessels should penetrate under water, the danger of sinking may be materially diminished. The utility of such divisions below the water-line in case of striking on a sunken reef, tarting a but-end of a plank, or any other such casualty, is obvious. In a ship of great breadth of beam it would be important to get rid of the chains, and, if possible, to bring the shrouds down to, or within, the gunwale, and thus render more efficacious at least eight guns on the forecastle and quarter-deck. The actual difference of the support to the masts is a simple calculation; and is so small as to be overbalanced by the advantage mentioned, the protection a 'orded to the shrouds where most likely to be injured, and the facility afforded of repairing damage. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works."