Engineering Wonders of the World
Volume I

THE WARSHIP OF THE FUTURE. 455 at the root of the rise and fall of every empire. Admiral Paris, one of France’s most distin- guished naval writers, summed up this ques- tion concisely. “ The further we go,” he wrote, “ the more will naval war be waged with money rather than with men.” Hence we may anticipate vast vessels of A uniform or one-calibre armament simplifies the “ spotting ” of shot fired at an enemy, and therefore the training of the gunners, and renders the service of ammunition very simple. It permits the concentration upon a single floating platform of a “ main ” armament formerly spread over two or three units. High THE LATEST UNITED STATES “ DREADNOUGHT,” OF 26,000 TONS DISPLACEMENT. LENGTH, 545 FEET • DRAUGHT, 29 FEET; BEAM, 92 FEET; HORSE-POWER, 33,900 J SPEED, 21 KNOTS; ARMAMENT, TWELVE 1J-INCH, SIXTEEN 5-INCH GUNS; COMPLEMENT, 1,100 OFFICERS AND MEN. In the three lower cuts this vessel (to the left) is compared with the North Dakota of 20,000 tons and the Connecticut of 16,000 tons. (Ihoto, Copyright, 1909, by Munn and Company. Reproduced by courtesy of the “Scientific American.”) 40,000, 60,000, or even double that tonnage, carrying an armament of one-calibre guns of huge size, and steaming at far greater speeds than are at present accepted. Increased dis- placement makes for greater steadiness of plat- form, and hence for better shooting in rough weather. Also it permits a higher freeboard, while giving a better “ command ” to the guns. speed gives tactical superiority over slower vessels, and the power to run down and, by reason of the stronger armament carried, to crush hostile armoured cruisers or battleships of an earlier or slower type. The Dreadnought is of 17,900 tons, 21 knots speed, and carries ten 12-inch guns. Already we have the Nep- tune displacing 20,250 tons, and the natural