IRONCLADS

Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Aug 2, 1877

A bold advance in the construction of iron-clad ships has been decided upon by the Italian Government in respect to the two vessels which are to excel the Duilio and the Dandolo. The new ships are now begun, but it will probably be six years before they are complete. They are to be unrigged turret-ships, propelled by twin screws. They are to be much larger than the largest ships in the British navy, and much faster, in addition to which they will be much more costly. The most powerful engines in her Majesty’s fleet are those of the Inflexible and the Dreadnought, working up to between 8,000 and 9,000 indicated horse-power. But this enormous amount is to be at least doubled by the engines of the Italian ships. According to present conclusions, the armor will be steel, probably a metre thick, or fully half as thick again as the maximum armor of the Inflexible. What guns these colossal ships are to carry is as yet undetermined, but it is not unlikely that in ordnance, as well as in other respects, the forthcoming ships will transcend all predecessors.