From Trireme to Dreadnought the Development of the Warship from Ancient to Modern Times by J

NOVEMBER, 1921 SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN 25

From Trireme to Dreadnought The Development of the Warship from Ancient to Modern Times By J. Bernard Walker

T is not possible to name less than one hundred were I any definite date or even used at the battle of Sala period when the warship, mis. An invariable feature even in its most crude form, found on all warships was came into existence. It is the ram, which consisted of probable that from the ear a massive projecting spur liest days the mariner found below water level, and an it advisable to carry with other ram-like arrangement him arms for defense, fOl' we to strike the ship between know that even centuries be wind and water. Ramming fore the Christian era, those was the principal tactic em wonderful sea traders, the ployed in ancient sea fight Phoenicians, were armed suf ing, and it sometimes hap ficiently to protect them pened that the attacking boat selves against the pirates suffered only less severely that infested the trading than the enemy. I'outes of those days. The As the Greeks followed the development of tile warship Phoenicians, so did the Ro is necessarily associated with mans, the Greeks, each de the development of the mer veloping and enlarging the chant ship. In fact, the one ships of predecessors. The grew out of the other. The Romans are principally to be difference between the two remembered for the develop was that, whereas the mer ment of their merchant ma- chant ship relied principally rine, with its famous corn upon its sail power, the war ships, which brought the Greek warship of the date oOf the Salamis battle Typical Roman TQ.emeo q{,tlte. Punic Wars ship depended principally • produce of distant Mediter- '-' for speed and maneuvering ability upon its oarsmen. from the Red Sea and coming back through the J\£e<'tt•. ran�an countries to Rome. In Roman history, as with Our earliest record of sailing ships is to be found terranean. the British Empire, the Roman merchant marine was upon those wonderful historical sculptures, engravings It is probable that the Greeks modelled their earlier the great bond between the imperial seat of power and and paintings with which the ruins of ancient Egypt ships after those of the Phoenicians, and we present an the outlying provinces. Lucian has left a most fascl abound. illustration of the type of Greek warship which took nating description of his visit to one of these ships, and Egyptian seamanship, however, was confined almost part in the battle of Salamis. The meager records of he speaks of the ship's cabins, of the sailors, mounting entirely to the naYigation of the Nile, and it was history fail to tell us just when it was that the ship the lofty masts by the ropes and running out along the not often that their vessels ventured beyond the Nile followed in its structure that of the skeleton of the fish, �'ards. Forward he notes the prow bearing the ship's delta into the waters of the Mediterranean. To them, with backbone and ribs, but we know that the Greek name, and aft, the vessel sweeping up into a gilded however, must be credited the familiaL' form of the ship was provided with keel and ribs to which latter goose-neck. He speaks of the capstan and the windlass, ancient ship, with its curving prow and lofty stern, and the ship's planking was fastened by means of tree-nails and finally, of the captain, "an honest fellow, bald-pated, with its long bank of rowers. This form persevered for or pegs of wood. There was also a certain amount of with a fringe of curly hair." It should interest us here some 3000 to 4000 years, and may be seen (of course use made of bronze nails. A single mast with one in America to know that the early Romans extempor greatly modified) in the ships of the Greeks, Romans square sail was used, and this was characteristic of ized their fighting fleets, and that they set about their and the Venetians. the early warships for many centuries. Homer tells us preparation only at the approach of war. Later, how The first great race of seamen was undoubtedly the that the Greek warship was manned by from twenty to ever, Rome was provided with decks; but it was not Phoenicians, whose enterprise carried them throughout fifty rowers, who sat upon transverse seats or thwarts. until the Punic War that this great military people the full length of the Mediterranean and Ultimately There was a cabin forward and another aft. On the appreCiated the need for a navy. We know that the through the Straits of Gibraltar and to the coasts of forward cabin deck was the lookout, and at the stern Romans defeated the Carthaginians with a fleet of one Britain. of the after cahin was the helmsman, the Greek ship hundred quinquiremes and twenty triremes-that is, Vie know from the Syrian sculptures that the Phoe having two steering oars, one on each side of the stern yessels with fiye and three banks of oars. nicians, as early as 700 B.C., were building biremes, post, which were connected by a cross bar to which was The first warships of all early nations were undecked, with two banks of oars; and that their vessels must attached the tiller. The stern of the ship was carried open boats. Then came the erection of forward and have been seaworthy and themselves great navigators up in a huge sweeping, ornamental tail. Up to the year after enclosed structures, corresponding to the fore- for those early days, is shown by Herodotus, who re 700 B.C., the largest ships contained fifty rowers, ar- castle and poop, and following that, or contempora cords that Neco, king of Egypt, failing to build a canal ranged in a single bank, but later an upper deck was neously with it, a central gallery or platform connected from the Mediterranean to the Red Sea, sent a crew of added and a second bank of oars, such ships being the two deck structures, for the use of the captain and Phoenicians on a voyage around Africa, which, wonder known as biremes, and this was succeeded by ships with other officials. Then, as ships increased in size, they ful to relate, they succeeded in accomplishing, leaving triple banks of oars known as triremes, of which no became completely decked, and upon the deck of the

14th Venetian galley of the Middle Ages One of the dreaded Viking craft 0 FreLHlh w.arship,middle century

© 1921 SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN, INC 26 SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN NOVEMBER, 1921 fighting galley the troops genesis of that lofty poop, were stationed, the rowers which was destined to be a being below deck. The Ro characteristic feature of war man galleys grew to formid ships of the Spanish Ar able size. The single forward fighting with artillery which mast with a fighting top was was just about to open. retained, but for speed and The next illustration in power reliance was placed order is that of one of the upon the oarsmen, the banks ships of the Spanish Ar of oars being increased from mada, which sailed toward the original single bank up the close of the sixteenth to as many as five. There century. Here we note, as has been a hot discussion compared with the French among the students of an vessel of the middle of the cient warship construction 14th century, that a third mast as to whether the oarsmen has been added and that the were placed in successive fore and main masts have tiers above one another, or grown in height until they whether they were not ar carry topsails and even to' ranged on one deck with each gallant sails. The crude two, three or more sets of cannon of that day of low oars operated through the power and short range are same porthole, the oars be carried on two decks, and it ing of different length to en will be noted that the above able the rowers to clear each water ramming stem head of other. The argument in fa the early days of the war vor of the super-position of ship still survives in the the banks of oarsmen is huge stem piece with its stronger, and certainly more super-incumbent dragon. agreeable to the pictorial Once the oar had given records that have come down place to the sail, and the from ancient times. bow and arrow to the gun, Limitations of space for the line of development was bid more than a passing ref obvious, and ships of the erence to our illustration of seventeenth and eighteenth a typical Venetian galley. century grew steadily in size The Venetians had a notable Spanish two-decker of the Armada, 1588 ·,The "Victory" of Nelson's day-a three-decker and sail power until they share in the development of reached the great three-deck- both the merchant and the ers of the Nelson period. as warship in early and medireval times in the Mediterra ,self_ How they did their navigation, it is impossible The largest of these craft carried many as 120 to 130 nean. We notice that the famous lateen sail which is to tell. The slln by day and the pole star by night and guns. One of our illustrations shows the "Victory," still a favorite type in Mediterranean waters, was con a certain fine instinct for the sea were about all that Nelson's flagship at the battle of Trafalgar, as she must spicuous on the Venetian galleys. 'l'he vessel shown is they had to depend upon. That such open craft as the have appeared when under sail. three-masted, and it marks a considerable advance in Viking boats could outlive the Atlantic gales was proved The wooden sailing ship held its own until the second sail power over the earlier types of which mention has during the time of the Chicago exposition, when a boat half of the nineteenth century. The first radical change been made above. The advantage of using longer oars modelled after the remains of a Viking boat which had began with the introduction of steam as an auxiliary led to the adoption of an outrigger frame-work which been discovered in a burial mound in Norway was sailed to sail power, and the steam frigates of which our own was a continuous structure, running the full length of across the Atlantic for exposition at the Chicago fair. "Hartford" is a conspicuous example, held sway as the the ship in the wake of the oars. Ultimately, this was Leaving Bergen on May first, she reached Newport, most formidable type of fighting ships for many years, provided with outer bulwarks for the protection of the Rhode Island, on June 13th. The captain stated that and figured largely in the naval operations of our rowers and the fighting men. The galley has always the "Viking" had proved herself to be an excellent sea Civil War. held a conspicuous place in the annals of naval warfare, boat, and that under her square sail to which a flying Too much stress cannot be laid upon the introduction particularly of naval development, and the Venetian jib was added, she was able to make a speed that com by Ericsson of the monitor-a vessel of steel with a galleys were justly famous in their day. Even in mod pared well with that of modern merchant vessels. The low freeboard of a foot or two, with nothing above deck ern times the genius of Italian naval construction has Vikings were a hardy race, and they never appeared to but a single armored turret with a couple of heavy left a profound impress upon both the ships and the have made any effort to house in their boats, which were guns. A few years before the appearance of the mon fighting material of our modern navies. always long, lean, open and probably the fastest vessels itor, the French had plated the sides of their steam We have spoken of the Phoenicians as holding a high afloat in their day. The rowers sat on thwarts, and, frigates with fron, and it is the ultimate plating of the place both in navigation and seamanship among the indeed, the vessel was in many respects similar to the monitor and the iron-plated frigate, together with the ancient maritime peoples; but we think that even they open lifeboat of modern times. For shelter they used development in naval marine engines and the power must yield pride of place to the Scandinavians, than a pair of crutches with a ridge pole laid between, over of the gun, that led up to the development of the mod whom a more daring, robust and capable race of sea which canva's was stretched, and the boat was steered ern armor-plated battleship, a notable example of which men has never existed. Unlike the cumbersome boats by a rudder which was carried on the starboard side. is our own "Oregon." In this ship we have the heavy, of their contemporaries, the ships of the Viking mar Our illustration showing a French warship of 1352 18-inch side armor plate, the heavily plated turret, and iners were built with fair, easy lines, and with a splen marks the closing of the period when ships were pro the guns carried entirely behind armor. The freeboard did sheer, which carried bow and stern well above the pelled by a combination of oars and sails, and when the has been raised to 13 feet, in order to give seaworthi reach of breaking seas. Not only did they navigate fighting was done at close range by archers and cross ness. This brings us to the year 1895. their own coasts, but the Vikings did not hesitate to bowmen, or by means of, stones and weights thrown The final step in the development of the fighting ship reach out into the unexplored ocean to the westward, from crossbows and catapults, or hurled from the fight was the introduction by the British of the dreadnought, ' and it is now generally accepted that the Vikings landed ing tops. This curious vessel shows a bowsprit rising in which the mixed battery of 12-inch, 8-inch and 6-inch in America several hundred years before Columbus him- from a forward fighting platform, and aft we note the guns was aban?oned, and a single coaliber of 12 inches

Ericsson's monitor, introducing the armored turret Battleship "Oregon"; moderate freeboard and heavy armor

The dreadnought "Pennsylvania," 32,000 tons; speed 21 knots; 13"-18" armor; The battle-cruiser "Hood"; 42,000 tons. Speed on trial, as pictured here, 32 Twelve 14" guns knot!;l; 12"- 15" armor; eight 15" guns

was substituted, with a few small anti-torpedo-boat with materials boiling at lower temperatures, and thus The well-known expert, "Va. Ostwald, has made ex guns. The Dreadnought was a ship of about 17,500 securing a ready starting, ease of control and smooth tensive tests on such tetraline-benzol mixtures, about tons displacement, 21 knots speed, 11 inches of armor, running of the engine. Thanks to an addition of gaso which he writes as follows: "A mixture of equal parts and she mounted ten 12-inch guns. From that time on line, the specilic weight of tetraline is reduced to a of tetraline and benzol constitutes a remarkably good the development has been in the direction of increasing figure intermediary between those of engine gasoline engine fuel, readily starting and burning without any the caliber of the gun, thickening the armor and in and benwl, thus doing away with the necessity of any hitch. No alteration of existing nozzles is required. creasing the steaming radius, and providing. cellular material alteration of existing carburetors. The fuel has a high energy capacity, yielding a high compartments along the sides as a protection against Comprehensive tests at the Internal Combustion En number of kilometers per liter. No difficulties of any Dr. A. Gradenwitz. the submarine. The "Pennsylvania" may be taken as a gine and Motor Car Testing Laboratory of the Berlin kind have been experienced."-By good example of the highest development of the modern Technical High School have shown a mixture of 1 fighting ship. She carries twelve 14-inch guns behind part by weight of tetraline and 1 part by weight of Business as Usual While Moving 18 inches of armor, and is protected by 13% inches of the usual engine gasoline to give the most sa tisfactory ITHIN a comparatively short space memory can armor at the water line. Her speed is 21 knots. results (approximately equivalent to those obtainable W carry us back to a time when a house-moving job A new type has been developed by the British during with benzol). When lighter gasoline is used, the per of any sort was an undertaking of considerable note. the war which may or may not become permanent, and centage of tetraline can be augmented, thus insuring Today the ordinary dwelling is shunted about from one this is the "Hood," a vessel 860 feet in length over-all, even better performances. Similar results are ob place to another, moved across half the town, turned of 42,000 tons displacement and mOlinting eight 15-inch served when using benzol in the place of gasoline as around, and otherwise treated as though its transporta- guns, the ship being protected by twelve inches of face additional fuel, when apart from the advantages above bility were equal to that of the big truck that does the hardened armor. A remarkable feature about this ves referred to (especially an extreme ease of starting), a hauling. sel is the fact that this heavy gun power, armor pro greater increase of energy in the fuel tank is obtained. The only possible kind of house-moving undertaking tection and great size are associated with that gets anybody excited in the present a speed of 32 knots. generation is one that our fathers would have branded, without argument, as ut ANew Engine Fuel t�rly impossible. T the meeting of the Society of Ger One of the most ticklish jobs of the A man Chemists recently held at Stutt sort we have seen is illustrated on this gart, Dr. Schrauth, private lecturer at the page. The brick building is always the University of Berlin, made an interesting bane of the house-mover-there are so communication on a remarkable ne,Y en many places where it can break apart, gine fuel derived from naphtha line. Ger so many different courses that a dan pur man engineers are, under present econom gerous crack, once started, may ical conditions, anxious to find new sue. Nevertheless, brick buildings are sources of engine fuel in the home supply moved with considerable confidence-as of raw materials. Though the use of the picture shows. This structure was in naphthaline had even in pre-war times the swath that was being cleared in con been suggested, endeavors made in this nection with the widening of SecolJd Ave., connection had so far failed to give any Pittsburgh. It was eight stories high, positive results on account of the high and it housed a busy business. It was de melting point of that material, solid at cided to save the building by shunting it ordinary temperatures, as well as of the back forty feet on to a new site. But complicated preheating devices required what of the business? Logically it might to melt and gasify it. seem that this ought to move out pending According to the new process made the shifting of the building. But there known at the meeting, naphtha line is by was no place to move to, so it was decided to chemical means converted into a new move the business along with the build liquid compound, bearing the somewhat ing. So that was the arrangement made comprehensive name of Tetra-hydronaph with the contractor-and at every moment thaline, but termed Tetraline for the sake of the Jong-drawn-out moving job the of of shortness, which has proved to be a fices and storerooms in the structure were surprisingly satisfactory engine fuel. on a basis of "business as usual." The new fuel is a liquid clear as water, Gas, water, sewer, electric light, steam of the specific. weight .975, having its heat and power for the elevator, and tele boiling pOint at 205 deg. Cent. and the phone connections were maintained at all constancy of which at low temperatures, times. An elevator running in a moving on account of its low freezing pOint (-30 building is perhaps something really new deg. Cent.), compares favorably with that under the sun. Another curious feature of benzol. The high boiling point and a was that the reinforced concrete side flash point lying at 78 deg. Cent. make walks, being part of the building and tetraline an especially desirable fuel for necessary to cover the cellar extension the high-compression internal compression under the new site as well as under the engines constituting the ultimate goal of old, were supported by beams attached to present tendencies in engine construction, the steel frame of the building and moved its high heating value (11,600 calories/kg. along with. the rest of the establishment. as a minimum) insuring a remarkably The building was raised twelve tnches, high output in a limited space, such as moved forty feet, and deposited on its new neither gasoline nor benzol would allow. foundations without a hitch. The feat However, tetraline can as well be used attracted no little attention in Pittsbvrgh, in present engi ne types designed for pe Eight-story building of brick that was moved forty feet, sidewalks and all, the crowds making the task still more trol and gasoline operation, by mixing it without any interruption to the business difficult.