It is well known that the Bureau of Naval Intelligence at Washington has in its possession plans of all the merchant vessels sailing under the U.S. flag which could be converted into armed auxiliary cruisers. It is understood that designs for arming these vessels have been prepared. Certainly such information and data should prove of inestimable value in case of sudden emergency, but as yet no opportunity has arisen to call for the practical execution of such plans.
It will be readily granted that the simple execution of well prepared plans would be quite a different matter from arming a vessel complete without the least previous knowledge of her construction, when the time limit was extremely short, and the material scattered not only over this country, but beyond the Atlantic as well.
The recent conversion of the merchant vessels El Cid and Britannia into the armed cruisers Nictheroy and America for the Brazilian government presents an object-lesson, the value of which can scarcely be overestimated. These two ships, together with the pleasure yachts Feiseen and Javelin, were so quickly transformed from their peaceful condition into efficient fighting vessels and torpedo-boats, as to astonish naval officers and others having knowledge of the circumstances.
It is thought by the writer, who took an intimate part in the practical work of installing the battery, that a resume of the work would prove of interest, possibly of value.
NICTHEROY.
The El Cid, now Nictheroy, is a steel vessel of 2, 908 net tonnage; 407 ft. long and 44 ft. wide, built in 1893 for the Morgan line by the Newport News Ship Building Co. She was built strictly for freight, the construction being first-class in every particular. The vessel has spar, main (converted to a gun-deck), a lower deck running the whole length of the ship, and a short deck still lower, both forward and aft. There are three deck-houses, one forward, connected to the pilot-house, one long house amidships, and one short house aft. These were left, but the wheel-house aft was removed to permit complete train of after gun. She is provided with triple-expansion engines capable of driving the vessel at a speed of 17 knots. Extra coal bunkers were so arranged as to protect, as far as possible, the engines and boilers.
The battery decided upon depended (as would be the case in any emergency) on the material available. It was as follows:
One pneumatic gun, 15-in. calibre.
One Hotchkiss rapid-fire, 1 2-cm.
Two Hotchkiss rapid-fire, 10-cm.
Eight Hotchkiss rapid-fire, 6-pdrs.
Nine Hotchkiss rapid-fire, 1-pdrs., 7 heavy, 2 light.
Two Hotchkiss revolving cannon, 37-mm.
Four Hotchkiss torpedo launching tubes for Howell torpedoes.
The ammunition supplied was as follows:
50 rounds, fixed, for 1 2-cm. gun.
200 rounds, fixed, for 10-cm. gun.
1419 rounds, fixed, for 6-pdr.
200 rounds, saluting, fixed, for 6-pdr.
540 rounds, fixed, for 1-pdr., heavy.
600 rounds, fixed, for 1-pdr., light.
10 Howell automobile torpedoes, complete, with war-heads.
1 full calibre projectile, loaded, for 15-in. pneumatic gun.
7 10-in. sub-calibre projectiles, loaded, for 15-in. pneumatic gun.
3 10-in. sub-calibre projectiles, to be loaded on board.
Not a very heavy battery, it is true, but one requiring a vast deal of work when it is considered that not even a preliminary plan was at hand, while the ship had to be prepared, the material ordered and shipped from various sources, received and placed on board in service condition; gun mounts located and bolted down, carriages assembled, guns mounted, torpedo tubes placed and connected to steam and exhaust pipes, magazines located, designed and fitted, ammunition, gun-cotton and other explosives received and stored, etc., and all this in twenty days. Material was received from Paris, Chicago, Providence, New Haven, Hartford, Cold Spring, Wilmington and Springfield, and, so far as known, not a package was lost or misplaced.
The armament being decided upon, the first thing to be done was to decide upon the exact location of the several guns, tubes, etc., locate and design the magazines, all the while considering methods of strengthening and means of transporting ammunition.
THE PNEUMATIC GUN.
The pneumatic gun, with all its accessories, was unquestionably the most complicated and awkward piece of mechanism ever installed on a floating vessel, and required a vast deal of preliminary work for its reception.
An opening, circular in shape, 26 ft. in diameter, but flattened forward, was cut clear through the spar-deck, beams and all, the centre being 3 ft. to starboard of the midship line. Coamings about 14 in. high, of ½-in. plate iron, were fitted around this opening through which the gun and its carriage were to project. The gun was thus placed off the amidship line simply to permit direct ahead fire and not interfere with forestays and other necessary obstructions in the; eyes of -the ship.
Directly under this opening, on the main deck, a huge circular pile of timber, 18 ft. in diameter at the bottom, was built of 12 in. x 12 in. yellow pine, five courses high, each course tapering in steps toward the top. This is the foundation on which rested the carriage for the pneumatic gun. Under the main deck and between successive decks, 4-in. stanchions were fitted, extending down to the bottom of the ship to support the immense weight of carriage and gun. A circular opening was formed in the centre of the wooden pile to receive the air-pipe from accumulators below to the gun, also for such wires, etc., as were required for the electric motors working the carriage. The wooden foundation was very securely bolted through and through and down to the deck. A heavy cast iron base ring resting on top was bolted down through to the lower deck.
When mounted, the carriage and gun projected through the opening in the spar-deck, giving the gun a clear range forward and permitting training on both bows. In this respect the installation of the gun is entirely different from those on the Vesuvius; the carriage, which was built for land service, as mounted permits not only training but also elevation of the gun.
The accumulators were fixed in the lower hold on the starboard side directly under the gun, a central air-pipe leading up through the foundation as described.
The air-compressor of the Rand horizontal double-direct acting type was installed on the between deck just aft of the engine-room bulkhead; steam-pipes from the boilers and air-pipes to the accumulators forward were led through the various bulkheads to their respective positions.
The projectiles were stored in the lower hold on the starboard side, the means provided for their transportation to the gun being quite elaborate. An elevator of the ordinary freight pattern, worked by a hoisting engine installed on the main deck, was fitted to run up through the main cargo hatches forward from the lower hold to the main deck. The projectiles are first loaded on the elevator in the hold, raised to the main deck and rolled into a loading trough (as it may be termed) resting on four trucks. The loading position of the gun is in a horizontal plane trained over the port bow. The trough with the projectile is run forward over a light guide-rail along the main deck to another elevator, which conveys it up through the spar-deck, and from this the projectile is loaded into the gun.
The gun and carriage are manipulated from the spar-deck, light shields being provided to protect the gunners and the air-valves, levers, etc., which otherwise would be entirely exposed.
TORPEDO TUBES.
The torpedo launching tubes were of the broadside type and were located on the main deck, ports being cut through the side of the ship eight feet long and two feet wide. Port shutters in two sections which could be opened independently were fitted with hinges on the bottom, so that the torpedo would be protected from light fire until the last moment, when it would only be necessary to slacken one bolt and push the shutter open, its weight insuring its dropping and keeping out of the way.
The launching tubes requiring steam for use by the motor in spinning up the fly wheel of the torpedo, connection with steam pipes from the boiler was necessitated. In order to permit training of launching tubes, a special arrangement of the steam and exhaust pipes is required. Where these are to pass through a deck the steam pipe passes inside through the exhaust pipe, one end of each being screwed into a special cast elbow provided with passages and openings for both the steam and exhaust pipes. The other end of these pipes is fitted to a similar elbow, but in place of being screwed in is arranged to swivel through a stuffing box formed in the end of the elbow. This arrangement requires but one hole through the deck at the centre on which the tubes are to train, the exhaust pipe forming the point for the tube.
Steam and exhaust pipes were found on the ship in the channels where they were originally placed for leading steam to winches and capstans. These pipes were cut wherever a tube was located, turned back against the side of the ship and tapped for connection with the steam motor on the tube. These connecting pipes were carried down through the deck and made into the double elbow described above.
Wooden deck circles were fitted to the sheer and crown of the deck and leveled on top to receive the metal deck circles of the tube, and a wooden block was bolted to the channel-plate to receive the steam pipe pivot. Care was exercised in making up the connections to insure against danger from expansion of the long pipes in the channel, loops being formed in the copper pipe used for the purpose. A steam and exhaust valve was provided for the two tubes forward and the two aft respectively.
Near the outer end of the tube and around it was a light band, on top of which a pintle was formed. This pintle was so adjusted as to be directly over the centre of the steam pipe pivot below, and turned in a socket which was bolted to the frame-work of the port by flat-iron braces. The lower carriage supporting the tube is also braced from the steam pipe pivot.
The tubes were located directly athwartships from each other, two forward and two aft. The torpedoes with practice heads complete were stowed in boxes amidships between the tubes. These boxes were a sort of combination loading-trough and stowaway box, the bottom forming a loading trough when the cover was removed, in which the torpedo rested and from which it could be pushed forward into the tube. A rope bale was provided so that the trough could be suspended, and the torpedo pushed out through it. A light overhead rail of 3 x ½-in. flat iron was suspended from the deck above and ran across from tube to tube. A light trolley with chain falls of the ordinary commercial pattern was provided for handling the torpedoes.
No strengthening of the ship was required for the torpedo installation beyond a heavy iron frame of 6 x ½-in. iron at the ports. This was simply to supply strength lost by cutting through the two frames of the ship, in forming the long ports.
THE 12-CM. GUN.
The 12-cm. gun was located aft of the after-deck house. The wheel-house having been removed and the steering gear protected by a 2-in. steel armor plating, the gun had a clear stern fire and could be trained on either side to about 30° forward of the beam.
The spar-deck being entirely too light to resist the shock of so heavy a gun, a plan of strengthening was adopted, which it is believed could be employed to advantage in many cases, so distributing the strains that a gun of considerable weight could be safely mounted on a vessel of very light construction. The position most desirable for the gun, while requiring the removal of a steam capstan, utilized the strengthening originally designed for that purpose. The wooden deck was cut away for a space 6 ft. wide by 8 ft. long. An iron plate 3/8 in. thick was found on top of the beams and another 1 in. thick, to which the capstan engine had been bolted, under the beams. A wooden platform of yellow pine timbers, 12 x 12-in., was bolted down in the space cut out of the deck and leveled off on top about 8 in. above the line of the deck. The base ring for the mount was bolted down through this platform and the iron plates, the bolts extending down through the main deck below. Each bolt passed through a 4-in. double extra thick pipe which fitted closely between the iron plate under the spar-deck beams and the main deck below, resting on heavy cast-iron steps made for the purpose. When the bolts were set up, it will be seen that a very strong, rigid structure was formed, capable of resisting heavy shocks.
THE 10-CM. GUNS.
The 10-cm. guns were mounted forward on the bluff of the bow one on each side. They could be trained directly ahead, on broadside and nearly astern, being limited in this direction only by the deckhouse. With the pneumatic gun elevated slightly, either gun could be fired across bows nearly abeam. Platforms of 12 x 12-in. yellow pine timber 6 ft. square were fitted to the sheer and crown of deck and leveled on top. Two heavy iron clip stanchions were fitted from the deck beams under the platforms to the main deck below. The bolts passed through the base ring down through the platform and deck, setting up on a i-in. plate placed under the beams. A bulkhead, just forward of the mount, added materially to its support
THE 6-PDRS.
The eight 6-pdr. guns were distributed equally on each broadside, six on the gun-deck at original freight ports and two on the spar-deck at the forward end of the after-deck house. The shape of the base of the mounts and size of the ports on the gun-deck permitted a total train of about 100°. The two guns on this deck aft were so located that a train aft of the beam of about 70 was possible. The four guns at the midship and forward ports were located so as to give about 70 forward train. The two on the spar-deck had almost a clear fore and aft fire, being limited only by the rigging and danger of firing close to the deck-houses.
The mounts on the spar-deck rested on and were bolted through platforms of 8-in. yellow pine timber in addition to the deck. The mounts on the gun-deck rested directly on the deck itself. The ship was constructed with a heavy steel plate over the main deck beams at the side, running fore and aft, so that the outer bolts of the mounts passed through it, the inner bolts passing through the 4 ½-in. deck only.
1-PDRS.
The nine 1-pdr. guns were distributed on each side, 2 on the after corners of the forward deck-house, 2 on the forward corners of the deck-house amidships, 1 on the port side of the spar-deck near the after end of deck-house amidships (a circle was placed on the opposite side, but there was no gun tor it), 2 on the forward corners of the after deck-house, 2 on the after corners of the after deck-house. These guns, with the exception of two, were all of the heavy pattern, on recoil mounts and shifting stands.
Extra deck circles, to the number of nine, were provided so that the guns could be remounted in any position found desirable at any time. Six of these were not bolted down, owing to lack of time. No special features occurred in mounting these guns. Through bolts were used on the deck-houses to bolt down the deck circles, lay bolts where deck circles were bolted to deck.
37-MM. REVOLVING CANNON.
The two 37-mm. revolving cannon were located on the pilothouse, one on each side. They were mounted on the standard 1-pdr. cage-stand, and each had direct ahead, clear broadside and nearly astern fire. The stands rested on wooden platforms of 3-in. yellow pine and were bolted through the top of the pilot-house.
MAGAZINES.
Two magazines were provided, one on the port side in the lower hold just forward of the fore-cargo hatch. They were built of 3 x 4-in. scantling and matched boards and lined with zinc. They were divided into several compartments for the various sizes of ammunition and explosives, all opening from one ample passage way. They were well lighted from the outside by electric lights. Arrangements were provided for flooding.
A light elevator, worked by hand, floor 2x3 ft, was provided at each magazine, running straight up through the hatches. A number of light trucks were also provided for distributing the ammunition from the elevator to the several guns.
Five of the Howell torpedoes being stowed between the forward launching tubes and five aft, the corresponding war heads were stowed in the magazines below. These heads were the actual heads of the torpedo, of brass, and contained each about 92 lbs. of wet gun-cotton in discs fitted directly to the inside of the heads, which are provided with water-tight bulkheads. The loaded head is stored in a wooden box 34 in. long, 16 ½ in. wide and deep, and handled in this way until removed on deck to be connected to the torpedo for use.
The dry gun-cotton primers for the torpedoes, containing each 2 lbs. dry gun cotton, are brass tubes with wooden caps fitted with cork bottoms. Five of these primers, separated by blocks, are stored together in a wooden box and kept in a closet in the captain's room.
The detonators, containing each 30 grains of fulminate, are stored in small pine boxes, in which holes are bored to receive them. The holes and cover are lined with velvet. The boxes are kept in a safe place in the captain's room.
AMERICA.
The Britannia, now America, an iron ship of 672 net tons, displacement 2600 tons, 260 ft. long, 34 ft. wide, loaded draught forward 17 ft, aft 19 ft, was built in Bergen, Norway, expressly for tourists' excursions. The vessel has triple-expansion engines, originally capable of driving the ship at 16 knots, but the introduction of a steam fan for forced draught is expected to increase her speed at least 1 knot.
The vessel has but one main deck available for mounting guns. A short deck-house forward and one aft were entirely removed, leaving a clear space forward and aft of the main deck-house for gun platforms; the top of the deck-house is widened out over the passage way between the deck-house and the rail, forming a promenade deck, the outer edge being supported by stanchions from the main deck below.
Locations for several small pieces were found on this deck.
The steering gear and engines which were entirely exposed aft on the main deck were covered and protected by a 2-in. armor plating. The ship was constructed with a ¾-in. iron tie plate 4 ft. wide, running clear forward and aft along each side over the main deck beams. This plate furnished a very strong support for guns mounted on the broadside.
The battery installed was as follows:
Two Armstrong 4.72-inch quick-firing guns.
Two Hotchkiss 14-pounders.
Six Hotchkiss 6-pounders.
Six Hotchkiss 1-pounders, light.
Four Hotchkiss torpedo launching tubes, for Howell torpedoes.
The ammunition furnished was as follows:
200 rounds for 4.7-inch guns.
250 rounds, fixed, for 14-pounders.
1332 rounds, fixed, for 6-pounders.
100 rounds saluting 6-pounders.
660 rounds, fixed, for 1-pounders, heavy (for the Nictheroy).
1400 rounds, fixed, for 1 -pounders, light.
Eight Howell automobile torpedoes, complete with war-heads.
One Sims-Edison torpedo stowed on top of the hurricane deck abaft the foremast.
For the Nictheroy:
Two full calibre projectiles to be loaded on board.
Sixteen 10-inch sub-calibre projectiles to be loaded on board.
THE 4.7-INCH QUICK-FIRING GUNS.
The two 4.7-inch Q. F. guns and mounts were of the very latest Armstrong pattern, fitted with all the latest improvements. They were mounted forward, one on each side on the bluff of the bows. Platforms 10 ft. long by 6 ft. wide of 12 x 12-in. yellow pine timber were fitted to the sheer and crown of deck, and leveled on top. No other strengthening was supplied at these points, as the ship seemed to be so strongly constructed as to need none. The bolts passed down through the base ring of the mount, the platform and deck. The carriages were fitted with curved upright shields with slanting roofs. These guns, like the two after guns, were staggered; that is, by mounting the port gun abaft the starboard one, beam fire from both guns was possible on either side.
14-PDRS.
The two 14-pdrs. were located aft, one on each side, one ahead of the other, so that each gun had not only a complete aft train and about 6o° forward of the beam, but both could also be trained on either broadside. These guns rested on wooden platforms 10 ft long by 6 ft wide of 12x12 in. yellow pine timber fitted to the deck and leveled on top. The platforms were built almost over the place left on the deck by the removal of the after deckhouse. This place had been covered by ½-in. iron plating riveted to the deck beams and a 4-in. white pine deck flush with old deck. The bolts for the mounts extended through base ring, platform, and all but one or two through the ½-in. plating. It was intended that bolts should be passed through to heavy iron plates to be fitted under the deck-beams, but this was not done.
6-PDRS.
Four of the 6-pdrs. were located on the main deck in the passage way between the deck-house and the rail, two on each side, and rested on platforms of 3-in. yellow pine. Two others were located near the forward corners of the promenade-deck out over the passage way. 3-in. yellow pine plank was fitted under the projecting deck above for the mounts, and four 3-in. iron stanchions were tightly fitted between these planks and the main deck. Through bolts passed down through the base ring of the mount, the promenade-deck and the planks. All were provided with shields.
1-PDRS.
Two of the 1-pdrs. were located on the main deck, just forward of amidships. Four were located on the promenade-deck, two forward, and two aft. All were provided with shields.
TORPEDO LAUNCHING TUBES.
Two centre-pivot tubes were mounted as broadside tubes on the main deck amidships. Two were mounted as bow tubes on the deck beneath. The two centre-pivot tubes required very little preparation for their reception. A four-inch hole was bored through the deck, at the centre of which the tubes were to train. A complete deck circle of yellow pine, 5 ft. 2 in. in diameter, 3 ½ in. wide, and a circle 23 in. in diameter, both 1 in. thick, were fitted to the deck at the centre and leveled on top. The base ring of tube was lag-screwed to the 23-in. circle; the cone base of the launching tube fits down on the base ring and is held to it by a clip-ring which is fitted to act also as a clamp.
Small roller trucks on the tube rest on a ¼-in. iron circle screwed to the top of the deck circle, adjusted to carry the weight.
The same arrangement of steam and exhaust pipes as described for the broadside tubes of the Nictheroy pass up through the 4-in. hole bored in the deck. Steam and exhaust pipes from the boiler lead into the double elbow below the deck. Valves were provided to be worked from the main deck near the tubes by wrenches through the deck plates.
The two tubes required considerable preliminary work. The forecastle in the eyes of the ship, under the main deck, was cleared out and converted into a torpedo-room, which ended aft in a heavy collision bulkhead. Holes were cut in the bow, one on each side, about 3 ft. below, and the same distance abaft the hawse pipes. Heavy castings, in the form of a tube, of an internal diameter somewhat larger than the launching tube, with flanges fitting the outside plating of the ship, were cast and bolted into place.
The front end of the castings were faced off, and the shutters grooved for a rubber packing ring.
The shutters were arranged to hinge to a lug formed on the casting so that they dropped down and outward, at an angle of about 45°. They were held in place against the rubber ring by a shaft forming the hinge bolt, to which they were keyed. This shaft extended through a stuffing box secured to the plating of the ship, and was provided on the inside with a long lever; the shutters could thus be opened or closed from the inside, a lashing at the end of the lever to a ring bolt in the deck securing the shutter in closed position.
The castings were so fitted that the centre lines of the tubes, while parallel to each other fore and aft, inclined downward ahead at an angle of about 4° with normal water-line. The launching tubes were entered into the ship through the openings cut in the bows before the castings were bolted into place. They were fitted into the castings, and made water-tight by two packing rings which fitted the tubes tightly, and were packed around the outside with oakum.
The after ends were supported by a light A-frame of 3-in. angle iron, bolted to the tube and to the deck. Steam and exhaust pipes direct to the motor were connected with steam and exhaust pipes passing through this same compartment for the windlass engines on the main deck above.
The distance between the rear of the tubes and the collision bulkhead being too short to permit loading of the torpedoes, circular openings 22 in. in diameter were cut through the bulkhead in line with the tubes. Water-tight doors were fitted over the holes to be removed only when loading a torpedo. Eye bolts in the deck above, in line with the tubes, were provided, one on each side, just to the rear of the tube, for a pair of chain falls, for handling the torpedo; the other farther aft, for supporting a ½-in. iron rod for supporting the end of the torpedo, and prevent its tipping when hoisted in position for loading, and while the primers and firing points are being adjusted before entering the torpedo into the tube.
On this ship it was thought best to economize space by loading a torpedo in each tube.
There being two torpedoes per tube the extra ones were stored in boxes, two in the forward torpedo-room against the collision bulkhead, and one on each side on the main deck just aft the centre-pivot tubes.
MAGAZINES.
There were two magazines, one forward and one aft. The forward magazine was located in the lower hold just forward of the fore hatch through which the ammunition was hoisted to the deck and distributed on trucks.
The after magazine was in the lower hold just forward of the after hatch through which the ammunition was hoisted.
The magazines were divided into compartments for the several kinds of ammunition, and were lighted by electric lamps.
Four war heads for the torpedoes were stored aft and four forward. They were in boxes as described for the Nictheroy. The dry gun-cotton primers and the detonators were stored in the captain's room.
TORPEDO-BOATS.
There were three torpedo-boats in the fleet. Two were converted from the yachts Javelin and Feiseen; the third being obtained complete, with the exception of launching tube, from the well-known English builders, Yarrow & Co.
The Javelin and Feiseen were stripped of their deck and pilothouses and furnished with light steel conning-towers. , The Feiseen had originally a long, low house over engines and boilers, extending aft over a cabin. This was all removed and a light steel deck built over, crowned up in the centre to give head room in the engine and boiler-rooms. A blower for forced draught was added.
A centre-pivot launching tube was installed forward of the conning tower, the work necessary being precisely as described for the centre-pivot tubes on the America, with the exception of the connection of the steam and exhaust-pipes. These were made up in the usual way into the double elbow spoken of previously; but in the steam-pipe it was necessary to provide a reducing valve, as steam pressure in the boilers was in excess of the safety limit for the piping and steam motor on the tube.
The valve was set to furnish steam to the motor at 125 pounds pressure. The exhaust-pipe was so arranged that the exhaust could be delivered either into the condenser or outboard.
A low mount for a 1-pdr. R.F. gun was riveted to the top of the conning-tower, and a deck circle for alight steel cone mount bolted to the deck aft. One light 1-pdr., with the accessories and spare parts, was furnished to each boat. The pivot for the gun fitted both mounts and could be shifted to either position.
The work done on the Javelin was similar to that on the Feiseen, one centre-pivot launching tube and one 1-pdr. being fitted as on the other boat.
These two boats were hoisted and carried on the deck of the Nictheroy, one on each side amidships and secured in a cradle prepared for it.
The Yarrow boat was fitted with a bow launching tube. The stem and plating were cut through to receive the tube which was entered from the rear, the plating of the conning-tower being removed for that purpose; the tube passed through a hole in a bulkhead about 6 ft. abaft the stem.
The launching tube itself being too short for this boat, a short piece of tubing of wrought iron was rolled up, screwed and fitted to the end of the tube to extend it out through the stem. A plate of ¼-in. iron was shaped to the outside of the tube, flanged to the bow of the boat and riveted to it.
The inside extension piece being caulked to the outside plate and to the tube, itself, formed a perfectly water-tight joint; the inside end of the tube was supported by an A-frame, as in the bows of the America, and was also braced to the sides of the boat by light, flat iron.
The steam and exhaust-pipes were, led directly through the boiler-room bulkhead and made up into the unions on the motor. A reducing-valve was fitted in the steam-pipe as on the other boats.
The torpedo for this boat must be loaded through the bow.
Mounts on the conning tower and aft were furnished, as on the Javelin and Feiseen; the gun, however, was a heavy 1-pounder.
The Destroyer, a craft well known as a vessel designed to carry a submarine gun, was also one of the fleet. In addition to her submarine gun a centre-pivot torpedo launching tube was installed on the deck forward. Two heavy 1-pounder R. F. guns, with 300 rounds ammunition, were added to her equipment. The guncotton for her projectiles and torpedoes was stored in the lower hold.
No alterations of any account were made in this craft beyond extra timber along her sides, wooden braces inside the light deckhouse and a sea breaker forward, all to preserve her stability, and make her more seaworthy while on the voyage to Brazil.
A heavy steel wire hawser, secured by staples, was carried around the vessel and ended forward in a big thimble, to which was attached a ring and chain.
The Destroyer was taken in tow by the ocean towing tug Santuit, which also carried the Yarrow boat lashed on her deck forward.
The base ring of the launching tube was fitted to the deck of the Destroyer, but the tube itself, with the torpedoes, guns and other equipments were carried as cargo on the Santuit.
The El Cid arrived in port from commercial voyage Oct. 26. Cargo was taken out and the vessel put in dry dock.
On Nov. 18th, she dropped down the bay practically completed. The torpedo-boats were hoisted aboard the night of the 19th, and the vessel sailed on the morning of the 20th.
The Britannia arrived in port on Nov. 6th, went into dry dock, and dropped down the bay on the 24th. She sailed the next day, Nov. 25th.
One incident seems well to illustrate the expeditious manner in which all the work on both ships was performed. As stated above, the Britannia dropped down the bay on the 24th.
The two 4.7-in. quick-firing guns had not yet arrived, and only one carriage was at hand and in place. The guns and other carriage were on the S. S. Germania, which arrived at the dock at four o'clock in the afternoon. It was found that the material required was at the very bottom of one of the freight-holds. Work was immediately begun on her cargo, and by midnight the material was on the wharf. The guns and carriage were hoisted on board a lighter in the morning, and one gun and carriage assembled; the lighter then started down the bay.
Meanwhile a tug had taken the base ring down to the Britannia, together with a gang of mechanics, so that by the time the lighter arrived with the carriage and gun, the base ring was bolted down in its place. The carriage and gun were hoisted on board, dropped into place and bolted to the base ring. The second gun was hoisted into place on its carriage, already in position. This work was fully accomplished, and the vessel started for sea by three o'clock in the afternoon of the same day.
This article has been confined strictly to a resume of the armament of the fleet. The work performed in the other departments, the electrical work (both ships were completed, fitted with dynamos, two search-lights each, and lights in every part of the ship), the engineers' department, the stewards' division, and all were carried along at the same high pressure.
No better illustration could be had of what can be done in case of an emergency.
It must be borne in mind, however, that there were no hitches, that every one worked as for a common interest, and that no time was lost. When anything was found to be needed it was obtained without delay.
Note.—The accompanying plates are not intended to be accurate drawings of the ships. They are sketches to scale, and will serve to illustrate the relative positions of the various guns. The port forecastle gun of the America should be represented abaft the starboard one, as is shown in the case of the after guns.